Eighteenth-Century Parma: Entertainment, Sovereignty, Reform

Musical Theater
in Eighteenth-
Century Sovereignty,
Entertainment,
Parma Reform
Margaret R. Butler
Musical Theater in
Eighteenth-Century Parma
Butler.indd i 12/11/2018 5:01:44 PM

Eastman Studies in Music
Ralph P. Locke, Senior Editor
Eastman School of Music
Additional Titles of Interest
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Stephen McClatchie
Building the Operatic Museum:

Eighteenth-Century Opera in Fin-de-Siècle Paris
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Sarah McCleave
Laughter between Two Revolutions: Opera Buffa in Italy, 1831–1848

Francesco Izzo
Marianna Martines: A Woman Composer in the Vienna of Mozart and Haydn

Irving Godt
Edited by John A. Rice
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David Schulenberg
Music Speaks: On the Language of Opera, Dance, and Song

Daniel Albright
Venanzio Rauzzini in Britain: Castrato, Composer, and Cultural Leader

Paul Rice
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Vol. 1: Essays on Early Modern Italy
Vol. 2: Essays on Musical Voices
Edited by Rebecca Cypess, Beth L. Glixon, and Nathan Link
The Violin
Edited by Robert Riggs
A complete list of titles in the Eastman Studies in Music series may be found
on the University of Rochester Press website, www.urpress.com
Butler.indd ii 12/11/2018 5:04:54 PM

Musical Theater in
Eighteenth-Century Parma
Entertainment, Sovereignty, Reform
Margaret R. Butler
Butler.indd iii 12/11/2018 5:04:54 PM

The University of Rochester Press gratefully acknowledges generous support from
the American Musicological Society.
Copyright © 2019 by Margaret R. Butler
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation, no

part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system,
published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted,
recorded, or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission of the copyright owner.
First published 2019
University of Rochester Press

668 Mt. Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620, USA
www.urpress.com
and Boydell & Brewer Limited
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK
www.boydellandbrewer.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-58046-901-2
ISSN: 1071-9989
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Butler, Margaret Ruth, 1966– author.

Title: Musical theater in eighteenth-century Parma : entertainment, sovereignty,
reform / Margaret R. Butler.
Other titles: Eastman studies in music ; v. 151.
Description: Rochester : University of Rochester Press, 2019. | Series: Eastman
studies in music ; v. 151
Identifiers: LCCN 2018045783 | ISBN 9781580469012 (hardcover : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Opera—Italy—Parma—18th century. | Traetta, Tommaso, 1727–
1779.
Classification: LCC ML1733.8.P28 B87 2019 | DDC 782.109454/4109033—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018045783
This publication is printed on acid-free paper.
Printed in the United States of America.
Butler.indd iv 12/11/2018 5:05:47 PM

To my mom, Pat Greenow, with love and thanks.
Butler.indd v 12/11/2018 5:05:47 PM

Butler.indd vi 12/11/2018 5:05:47 PM
Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
List of Abbreviations xiii
Notes to the Reader xv
Introduction: The Genre Problem: Reform as Continuum and Brand 1
1 The Genesis of Parma’s Projet 8
2 Behind the Scenes: Production and Management at the

Teatro Ducale 36
3 The French Entertainments: Creation, Publicity, Propaganda 53
4 Moving On While Looking Back: Traetta’s First Parma Operas 85
5 The End of the End of Reform: The Wedding, the French

Ambassador’s Opera, Traetta’s Departure 110
Conclusion: Reform Revisited 127
Appendix: General Chronology 131
Notes 135
Bibliography 157
Index 171
Butler.indd vii 12/11/2018 5:05:47 PM

Butler.indd viii 12/11/2018 5:05:47 PM
Illustrations
Figures
2.1 Du Tillot’s statement on production, with transcription and
translation, undated 38
2.2 Cover page for 1756 account book 44
2.3 Cover page for the “comedias francesas” subfascicle, 1756 48
2.4 Cover page from 1757 account book 50
2.5 Cover page from 1759 account book and transcription 51
3.1 Libretto for Zelindor, re de’ silfi (Parma, Autumn 1757), cover page 57
3.2 Libretto for Les Incas du Pérou / Gl’Incà del Perù (Parma,
18 December 1757), cover page 60
18 December 1757), 20–21 63
18 December 1757), 22–23 63
3.5 Libretto for Castor et Pollux / Castore e Polluce (Parma,
6 December 1758), cover page 65
3.6 Libretto for Castor et Pollux / Castore e Polluce (Parma,
6 December 1758), 102–3 65
3.7 Libretto for Anacreonte (Parma, 1759), cover page 71
3.8 Libretto for Anacreonte (Parma, 1759), beginning of scenario, xi 73
4.1 Income sheet for I tindaridi, 14 May 1760, opening night 101
4.2 Poster prohibiting the loan of theatrical boxes to visitors at
performances of Ippolito ed Aricia, 1759 104
4.3 “Entrata dell’Opera intitolata I Tindaridi.” End of document,
“Ristretto dell’entrata” 106
5.1 “Respira già contento,” score for Armida (Vienna, 1761) 118
Butler.indd ix 12/11/2018 5:05:47 PM

x ❧ illustrations
Examples
3.1a “Tendre amour,” Castor et Pollux 1754 Paris score, p. 158,
mm. 28–34 67
3.1b “Tendre amour,” in Mangot’s anthology (I-Bc, Ms. II. 260),
104v–105r, mm. 29–41 68
3.2a “Tendre amour,” Castor et Pollux 1754 Paris score, p. 161,
mm. 82–90 70
3.2b “Tendre amour,” in Mangot’s anthology (I-Bc, Ms. II. 260),
110v–112r, mm. 97–112 71
5.1 Rameau, “L’air gracieux pour Zéphire et les graces” from
Les fêtes d’Hébé; “Ballo / Tendrement” in Parma score for
Le feste d’Imeneo (A-Wn 17863), 109v–110r 114
5.2a “Respiri già contento,” aria from Armida inserted in Enea e Lavinia,
Vienna score, 69v–70r, mm. 38–50 119
5.2b Respiri già contento,” aria from Armida inserted in Enea e Lavinia,
Vienna score, 72r–73v, mm. 86–100 120
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Acknowledgments
This book owes its existence to the generosity of many friends and colleagues. I
thank my longtime friends and mentors, the eighteenth-century opera experts
Marita McClymonds, John Rice, Paul Corneilson, Bruce Alan Brown, and
Kathleen Hansell, for fruitful conversations about operatic reform over many
years, and for helpful readings of conference papers and other writing that
found their way into these pages. Marita’s work on operatic innovation and her
encouragement have long been inspirations to me. Any words I could find to
thank her for her unflagging support would be inadequate. I have long admired
the wide-ranging scholarship of Daniel Heartz, whose seminal article on Traetta
in Parma inspired my interest in this topic. On various aspects of French opera
I have benefited from valuable exchanges with Charles Dill, Rebecca Harris-
Warrick, David Charlton, Lois Rosow, Antonia Banducci, Carol Marsh, and
Catherine Massip. Graham Sadler has been generous in sharing prepublication
versions of his work with me and providing much helpful advice.
Among my many Italian friends and colleagues, I am particularly grateful
to Paolo Russo, who has offered much expert advice, shared his unpublished
research with me, and answered many questions on Parma and its music over
the years. Other friends and scholars in Parma, Giuseppe Martini and Federica
Dallasta in particular, helped me navigate the archives and offered much sup-
port and expert guidance during my Parma sojourns. Angela Romagnoli and
Lucio Tufano provided help with Italian sources that greatly benefited this
project. I thank Marco Russo for sending me a copy of his edition of Traetta’s
librettos. My research in Italy over the years would never have been as pro-
ductive as it has been without the help and support of my dear friends Elisa
Fornero, Antonio Massone, Valeria Gennaro Lerda, and Roberta de Martini.
Dancer Guillaume Jablonka’s suggestion that we collaborate on a perfor-
mance workshop on Anacreonte for the Rothenfels Historical Dance Symposium
added a new dimension to my experience of that piece, and for that I thank
him sincerely. Beverly Wilcox’s help and advice were indispensable during my
brief period of research in Paris and she has provided welcome support in
many other ways since then. Rori Bloom read drafts of chapters and was always
ready with insightful comments and suggestions. I thank her and Mary Watt for
help with translations and all kinds of moral support.
Butler.indd xi 12/11/2018 5:05:47 PM

xii ❧ acknowledgments
Support from the University of Florida, including the Rothman Summer

Fellowship from the Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere, and
Scholarship Enhancement Fund awards and a sabbatical from the College of
the Arts, helped me conduct the research and write the manuscript. Archival
staff and librarians at several Italian institutions offered their expertise and
assistance. I am particularly grateful to the staff (in Parma) at the Archivio di
Stato, and the Biblioteca Palatina, Sezione Storica e Sezione Musicale; and (in
Turin) the Archivio storico della città di Torino, especially Enzo Ferraro. I am
sincerely grateful to Ralph Locke for his enthusiasm for this project, for the
expertise of editorial director Sonia Kane and other University of Rochester
Press staff members, and for the helpful advice and questions posed by the
anonymous readers of the manuscript, which strengthened the book in numer-
ous ways. I thank Anne Miller for her expert assistance in the engraving of the
musical examples. Finally, I thank my husband, Dennis Lloyd, for his never-
ending support and encouragement.
Butler.indd xii 12/11/2018 5:05:47 PM

Abbreviations
Library Sigla
A-Wn Austria, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Musiksammlung,

Vienna
D-Bds Germany, Deutsche Staatsbibliothek, Musikabteilung, Berlin
F-LYm France, Lyons, Bibliothèque Municipal
F-Pn France, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris
F-Po France, Bibliothèque-Musée de l’Opéra, Paris
I-Bc Italy, Museo internazionale e biblioteca della musica di
Bologna (formerly Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale),
Bologna
I-CR Italy, Biblioteca Statale, Cremona
I-Fc Italy, Conservatorio di Musica di Luigi Cherubini, Florence
I-Mb Italy, Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense, Milan
I-PA, Palatina Italy, Biblioteca Palatina, Parma
I-PAas Italy, Archivio di Stato di Parma, Parma
I-PAc Italy, Conservatorio di Musica Arrigo Boito, Parma
I-Tac Italy, Archivio Storico della Città di Torino, Turin
I-Tci Italy, Biblioteca Civica Musicale “Andrea della Corte,” Turin
I-Tn Italy, Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria, Turin
I-Vcg Italy, Biblioteca Casa di Goldoni, Venice
I-Vqs Italy, Fondazione Querini-Stampalia, Venice
P-La Portugal, Palácio Nacional da Ajuda, Lisbon
US-CA United States, Harvard, Houghton Library, Cambridge, MA
Butler.indd xiii 12/11/2018 5:05:50 PM

xiv ❧ abbreviations
US-NYp United States, Public Library at Lincoln Center, Library and

Museum of the Performing Arts, New York, NY
US-Wc United States, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Other Abbreviations
NGO New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Edited by Stanley Sadie. 4 vols.

London: Macmillan, 1992.
Primary Sources and Their Abbreviations When Used
I-Bc, Letters of Padre Martini

Gozzi, Paolo Luigi. “Storia di Parma,” II, 1701–78 (unpub. mss. at I-PA,
Palatina, ms. parm. 422)
I-PAas, Fondi:
Archivio Sanvitale
Carte Du Tillot
Carte Moreau de Saint-Méry
Carteggio borbonico francia (abbrev. Cart. borb. francia)
Carteggio farnesiano e borbonico estero (abbrev. Cart. farn. e borb.
estero)
Casa e corte borboniche
Censimento per la città
Censimenti parrocchiali
Computisteria borbonica, fili correnti, Teatro: 1756–1805 (abbrev. Comp.
borb., fili correnti)
Computisteria farnesiana e borbonica (abbrev. Comp. farn. e borb.)
Decreti e rescritti
Gov. Borbone, Teatri e spettacoli pubblici (abbrev. Teatri)
Indice dei morti del vescovado di Parma
Ruoli
Ruoli di provvigionati farnesiani e borbonici
Sgavetti, Antonio. “Cronaca.” 13 vols. 1746–71. Ms 27
Stati delle anime
I-Tac, Carte sciolte della Nobile Società dei Cavalieri di Torino (abbrev. Carte
sciolte)
Butler.indd xiv 12/11/2018 5:05:50 PM

Notes to the Reader
In the captions for the musical examples I indicate page and measure num-
bers. Certain examples include scores (manuscript and print) with measures
that are not numbered. The numbering of the excerpts in the examples, then,
reflects my own numbering of the measures starting from the beginning of the
relevant excerpt from the larger work from which it is drawn (arias in most
cases). I have preserved the textual and musical content of the musical exam-
ples including minor errors that appeared in the sources. All English trans-
lations are my own except where specified in notes. In my transcriptions of
primary sources I have preserved the orthography of the original and have not
made editorial changes (corrections of spelling, addition of accent marks, or
other adjustments).
Butler.indd xv 12/11/2018 5:05:53 PM

Butler.indd xvi 12/11/2018 5:05:53 PM
Introduction
The Genre Problem: Reform as
Continuum and Brand
“Le projet de nos opéras sur un nouveau plan est abandonné.”

[The plan for our operas on a new format has been abandoned.]
—Guillaume Du Tillot to Francesco Algarotti, 1762
In 1985, Thomas Bauman described North German opera in the eighteenth

century, writing: “We often judge as trivial that for which we have not yet found
a context.”1 Over the ensuing thirty some years, scholars of eighteenth-century
music have explored myriad contexts for many newly examined repertories. It
is all the more surprising, therefore, that for certain musical genres we still lack
detailed knowledge of a rich and nuanced context that might change our view
of their development, the reason for their generic designations, how audiences
understood, enjoyed, and used them, and how they fit into a broader picture:
basic considerations that still have the potential to exert a strong influence on
our understanding of music and culture.
Eighteenth-century reform opera is one of these genres. The genre itself is
a complex problem consisting of many parts. Perhaps the thorniest part is that
its label is anachronistic: it signifies a category that did not exist in the eigh-
teenth century, but that is nevertheless understood as one in modern scholar-
ship.2 Another part is that despite widespread calls for change in opera during
the mid-eighteenth century, no “reform movement” actually existed, although
this term’s appearance in the literature implies a certain degree of concerted
effort, and evokes expectations of a level of uniformity among the works in
its associated category.3 Yet another part of the problem is that the generic
label is performative: it sets up expectations of pieces that accomplish a certain
goal that, for most eighteenth-century theaters, was complicated to achieve
and even more difficult to sustain, largely because of practical reasons. A more
flexible perspective of operatic reform than the one scholars have traditionally
Butler.indd 1 12/11/2018 5:05:56 PM

2 ❧ introduction
held is urgently needed, but as long as we continue to lack a rich and nuanced
view of its most important representatives, one conditioned by a broader and
deeper context, it will continue to elude our grasp. This book’s goal is to help
fill that lacuna.
Briefly recounting the traditional narrative of mid-eighteenth-century oper-
atic reform and its related genre will help contextualize some of these issues,
and will illuminate still other problems with the generic label. In basic terms,
reform opera resulted when midcentury critics of Italian opera seria, frustrated
with the domination of solo singers and the bad behavior of inattentive and
unruly audiences, advocated a return to dramatic unity.4 Opera seria, the genre
that had long dominated theatrical stages throughout Europe, was to be
reformed through the integration of French operatic elements into the tradi-
tional dramaturgical format that privileged the solo singer. The widely traveled
man of letters and theatrical critic Francesco Algarotti (1712–64), in his Saggio
sopra l’opera in musica (1755), called for emphasis on visual spectacle and vari-
ety, and greater control on the part of the poet as a means to dethrone the solo
singer. Algarotti lobbied for the inclusion of dance, chorus, and flexible scene
structures, with scenes of dialogue blended with divertissement—components
drawn from French opera—as a path to reform. Other writers voiced similar
sentiments, although Algarotti’s Saggio enjoyed the greatest circulation inter-
nationally and was held up as a manifesto on the issues.5
Although most public theaters in Italy during this era, because of the way
they were run, could not afford to listen to the basic criticisms of opera’s
problems,6 other theaters reacted differently. The responses emanating from
Vienna resulted in reform opera’s canonic exemplars. In the hands of com-
poser Christoph Gluck, poet Ranieri de’ Calzabigi, and their collaborators in
the Habsburg Empire’s cosmopolitan capital city where Mozart later worked,
reform led to masterful works that represented a synthesis of elements. Gluck
and Calzabigi’s first two collaborations are the best known: Orfeo ed Euridice
(1762) and Alceste (1767), operas that evince simplicity and clarity in their
pared-down musical expression and highlight scene structures in which chorus
and dance intermingle freely.7 The composer and poet’s preface to the libretto
for Alceste clearly set forth the tenets of their reformist views.8
French culture held sway in a number of European cities beyond Vienna:
several in Germany—Mannheim, Munich (where Mozart’s reformist master-
piece, Idomeneo, premiered in 1781), Stuttgart, Ludwigsburg, and Berlin among
them—and northern Italy—Turin, and more importantly, Bourbon-occupied
Parma.9 Operas blending French and Italian elements emanated from courts
in all these places. Great strides have been made in revealing the musical tra-
ditions in these places and a more nuanced view of operatic reform’s varied
manifestations has been emerging for some time.10 But Parma, the center that
sponsored the deepest and most influential innovations exerted on opera seria
Butler.indd 2 12/11/2018 5:05:56 PM

introduction ❧ 3
on Italian soil during the whole of the eighteenth century, still deserves greater
scrutiny than it has received up to now.
French influence in Parma had deep roots.11 Its mid-eighteenth-century
efflorescence begins in 1748, when Parma had been placed under Bourbon
rule as the result of the treaty that ended the War of the Austrian Succession.
(Appendix 1 provides a general chronology of events in Parma during the
period under discussion here.) After arriving in Parma the following year (9
March 1749), Philippe de Bourbon and the administrator of his royal house,
Guillaume-Léon Du Tillot, hatched an ambitious plan to transform the city
into a modern and sophisticated European capital. Their goal was to con-
struct and legitimize the Bourbon court’s image.12 To this end they imported
French cultural products of all kinds, and their efforts affected the city’s visual
art, architecture, literature, music, theater, and dance.13 These efforts began
immediately, with the 1749 engagement of composer Egidio Duni, whose
opéras-comiques form an essential component of Parma’s theatrical history.14 In
1755 Du Tillot hired a large troupe of French actors, singers, and dancers,
who gave a wide variety of French plays, operas, and ballets by Jean-Philippe
Rameau and other French composers during their three-year residency—some
two hundred works including approximately twenty-three operas and ballets.
By 1758 when court composer Tommaso Traetta arrived in Parma, the city
had become one of the two most important centers for French opera outside
Paris, together with Vienna. After the troupe departed, starting in 1759 Traetta
composed Italian operas that contained French components, works that put
the tiny duchy of Parma on the international operatic map. Perhaps no other
city in the Italian states could claim a theatrical experience as cosmopolitan or
one whose innovations touched such a broad population at midcentury. But
the plan was short-lived. In 1762 Du Tillot wrote to Algarotti: “Le projet de
nos opéras sur un nouveau plan est abandonné” (The plan for our operas on
a new format has been abandoned). The abandoned plan, the circumstances
surrounding its creation, the French and Italian entertainments that resulted
from it, and the generic transformation that these works instigated, whose
effects resonated in opera into the next century, are the subject of this book.
In the following chapters I seek to contribute to our continuously evolv-
ing view of reform opera by showing that a series of works most crucial for
our understanding of the genre’s malleability—the four innovative operas
Traetta created for Parma—have been misunderstood and, in my view, con-
sequently undervalued, in part because they have long been contextualized
largely within the Viennese milieu. This reality is understandable—perhaps
more so even for Parma than other places—since it is born of historical cir-
cumstances: Parma and Vienna shared long-standing political ties that served
to intertwine their theatrical worlds. Their sovereigns shared strong interests
in French culture, which led to engagement of French performing troupes
Butler.indd 3 12/11/2018 5:05:56 PM

4 ❧ introduction
and productions of Italian operas with French-inspired elements in both cit-

ies.15 Traetta composed works for Vienna during his Parma engagement, he
and other theatrical personnel traveled between the cities, and the Bourbons
and Habsburgs were united in 1760 with a wedding that occasioned Traetta’s
third reform opera for Parma, to name only a few of the crucial links.16 Given
the numerous similarities and points of contact between midcentury Parma
and Vienna, comparisons of their French-inspired works seem entirely rea-
sonable ones to make.
Yet compared to Viennese reform efforts, the four French-inspired operas
Traetta composed for Parma’s Teatro Ducale have been viewed somewhat as
curiosities, works that represent novelty but are unbalanced, lacking in certain
ways, and possessing a Franco-Italian mixture that juxtaposes disparate ele-
ments rather than smoothly integrating them. The works are:
May–July 1759: Ippolito ed Aricia (Libretto by Parma court poet Carlo

Innocenzo Frugoni). The opera opened on 2 May; the length of the
run is unknown although the season ended on 3 July.17
14 May–30 June 1760: I tindaridi (Libretto by Frugoni; based on Jean-
Philippe Rameau’s tragédie en musique Castor et Pollux).
September 1760: Le feste d’Imeneo (Libretto by Frugoni. Opéra-ballet loosely
modeled on Rameau’s Les fêtes d’Hébé and other works; given for
wedding of the Infanta Princess Isabella of Bourbon to Archduke
Joseph II of Austria).
1 May–29 June 1761: Enea e Lavinia (Libretto by Jacopo Antonio Sanvitale;
reworking of the 1690 tragédie en musique by Bernard Le Bovier de
Fontenelle, Enée et Lavinie, set by Pascale Collasse; later set by Antoine
Dauvergne, 1758).
The originality of these operas has been suspect for two main reasons.
First, they are all based on preexisting French pieces, reflecting their models
in varying degrees—some are reworkings, while others are loosely based on
their French predecessors. And second, the first two are based on operas by
Jean-Philippe Rameau, the century’s greatest master of French music, and in
them Traetta included portions of Rameau’s music.18 But more problematic
for their membership in the reform opera category is the fact that in certain
aspects of their structure and style they perpetuate the very convention of
opera seria that led to the worst abuses in the reformers’ view: the high degree
to which they highlight the virtuoso solo singer despite their integration of
chorus, dance, and flexible scene structures drawn from French opera. The
time frame of their premieres further compounds the problem: they span the
very short period of just two years—one not nearly long enough to sustain any
kind of reform. Such realities and assessments related to them figure into the
Butler.indd 4 12/11/2018 5:05:59 PM

introduction ❧ 5
earliest critiques of operatic reform at Parma, leading some scholars to ques-

tion whether reform actually existed at all there.19
Algarotti’s link to the philosophes merits more attention than it has thus far
received. It is well-known that the Venetian man of letters traveled extensively
and published essays on numerous topics related not only to the contempo-
rary arts but to other subjects.20 He was widely respected in literary and artistic
spheres. He lived in Paris where he became friends with Voltaire, and was later
called to Berlin to serve as adviser at Frederick the Great’s court. While in Paris
before his Prussian stay (which occurred between 1740 and 1753) he would
have been in direct association with the emerging currents of Enlightenment
thought. His Saggio sopra l’opera in musica has been viewed as a reaction to the
operatic decadence he found upon returning to Venice,21 but it is worth rein-
forcing the point that this view is one that would have been influenced by
his experience in both Berlin and Paris, and his travels to a number of other
European cities in the years before the Saggio’s publication. His views on the
relationship between music and drama, then, emerged from a French milieu
that was cutting-edge on many levels, and reflected a thoroughly cosmopolitan
orientation. His advocacy for merging French and Italian style took place in the
context of broader dialogues that transformed social and historical thought.22
Algarotti had corresponded with Parma’s creative personnel, and sent
copies of his Saggio to Du Tillot and Frugoni.23 The court hosted him just
before the premiere of Traetta’s first French-inspired work, Ippolito ed Aricia.24
Algarotti evidently occupied a “supervisory role” in Parma at around that time,
although the specifics of his involvement there are unknown.25 His name
has been linked publicly with Parma’s innovations since as early as 1764, the
year of his death, in an essay in which Traetta’s Parma operas were judged
to be unsuccessful attempts at doing what Algarotti had recommended in
the Saggio.26 This link has been seen as the main reason that Traetta’s operas
became associated with operatic reform.27 Another reason for the connection
between operatic reform and Parma is Du Tillot’s introduction of numerous
reforms in other spheres, which touched every major social and political insti-
tution in Parma (most notoriously affecting religion and resulting in his dis-
missal). In this view’s extreme version, reform represented a general “slogan”
that appeared in many contemporaneous writings on literature and theater.28
The view of Traetta’s Parma operas as precursors of operatic reform or failed
attempts at it,29 in a sense, have rendered them trivialized, to recall Bauman’s
dictum I mentioned above.
Nevertheless, the works themselves have long intrigued musicologists
and have thus been studied from a variety of perspectives.30 Daniel Heartz,
in a seminal article on Ippolito ed Aricia, revealed much about the work’s gen-
esis and analyzed its musical content and cultural context. Martha Feldman
examined the same work through the ideological lens of sovereignty. Claudio
Butler.indd 5 12/11/2018 5:06:02 PM

6 ❧ introduction
Gallico compared the choruses of I tindaridi to those of Rameau’s Castor et

Pollux. Paolo Russo analyzed Le feste d’Imeneo in the context of its generic con-
ventions and Enea e Lavinia in its relationship to the French model; he also
placed Parmesan opera in the context of Bourbon court music. Gian Paolo
Minardi synthesized the correspondence among Voltaire, Algarotti, Du Tillot,
and Frugoni surrounding the efforts toward the Franco-Italian fusion. Mary
Cyr’s study dealt with intersections between Rameau’s and Traetta’s works. In
his masterful dissertation on Traetta’s operas for Parma, George Loomis ana-
lyzed Traetta’s style and reexamined the historical background. Marco Russo
explored the poetry and its literary context in his study of the four libret-
tos. Gaspare Nello Vetro provided detail on them in his history of opera in
Parma. In fact Traetta’s operas for Parma have enjoyed comparatively more
attention than have most other mid- to late century Italian operas. Despite this
reality, the works have never been adequately examined within the context
from which they emerged—perhaps, primarily, because the focus has usually
been the works themselves rather than the conditions that engendered them.
Building on the essential groundwork laid by these inquiries, I seek here to
explore Traetta’s Parma operas from other perspectives and both broaden and
deepen our knowledge of the surroundings within which they are more pro-
ductively considered. Accordingly, this book is less about Traetta’s operas, per
se, than it is about context and genre, and the interplay of those factors as the
operas themselves took shape.
Although a few pieces of this context have been explored, many others
have not; more importantly, however, is that the existing pieces have never
been synthesized and put to the service of illuminating larger questions of
genre. For instance, despite the scrutiny that the French presence in Parma
has received from cultural historians, its full effect on the city’s musical the-
ater has not received the attention it merits. Although an important study of
Parma’s French troupe uncovered details about its members and preliminary
titles of their repertory,31 our knowledge of it has not moved very far beyond
that point. Many works have not been fully identified, to name just one related
question that still remains open. Limited by the dearth of musical sources
for Parma’s French entertainments, musicological scholarship has not gone
into any kind of understanding of what they consisted of and how they were
adapted for local audiences. Other components of the context—the produc-
tion and administrative mechanism that supported French music at Parma,
extramusical circumstances and their impact on Traetta’s activities in Parma,
the role of Parma’s French opera singers, and overlooked aspects of Parma’s
social and cultural history—require reexamination as well.
Seeking to confront these issues, I assembled an array of sources, some of
which have long been cited in the literature but never examined, and some
that I examine anew—manuscript musical materials, printed librettos, and
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introduction ❧ 7
institutional documents reflecting theatrical production practices—and have

sought to reconstruct the French context for Parma’s theatrical entertain-
ments, which preceded Traetta’s operas, to explore elements of the aftermath
of Du Tillot’s plan, and link these findings to the Bourbon court’s ambi-
tious goal to transform the seat of its duchy into a sophisticated and mod-
ern European capital. Select sources help illuminate the particulars of a few
of the French works. I explore what these entertainments consisted of, how
they were produced, and what they might have meant to audiences. Doing this
allows me to show that Parma’s reform operas represent points along a con-
tinuum—they are part of a long tradition of adaptation in Parma that was at
times more French, and at others, more Italian, depending on shifting cul-
tural, social, economic, and aesthetic realities. Alterations to the French operas
show that stylistic fusion was a continuous, unified, Parmesan tradition with
its own conventions. Traetta’s works represented the Italianate variety of this
ongoing tradition. Exploring the mechanism of operatic production at Parma
and its intersection with Parma’s particular brand of entertainment illuminates
the way in which institutional structures bolstered the ambitious innovations to
which its creative personnel aspired.
Precisely because reform at Parma was one with “short legs,” in one schol-
ar’s assessment,32 what needs revising is not our placement of Parma’s operas
in the category, but rather our understanding of operatic reform itself as a con-
ceptual framework. Although such an indictment—a call for reform of reform
itself, as it were—is by no means new, what we continue to lack are rich bodies
of evidence connected to local circumstances that can serve to undergird the
critique of the notion of reform as one of correction, involving progress and
evolution.33 Traetta’s works constitute reform operas because of the principles
underlying their dramaturgy, which links them to others based on similar prin-
ciples. This is true regardless of whether or not Traetta’s operas conform to
the ideals of integration represented by the canonic works that have come to
represent reform as generally understood or whether or not they succeeded
in achieving the goal their generic label implies.34 Parma’s particular brand
of reform opera grew out of a tradition of adaptation that was unique to the
city and conditioned by specifics of its environment—much in the way that
eighteenth-century arias were tailored to fit their singers like suits of clothes, to
paraphrase Mozart’s famous metaphor.35 Somewhat in the vein of eighteenth-
century opera scholarship on singers’ vocal profiles, in this book I propose to
forge a path to a new way of understanding an operatic genre—one of the eigh-
teenth century’s most intriguing and enigmatic ones—as a genre conditioned
by its surroundings, with a profile as unique as those surroundings themselves.
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Chapter One
The Genesis of Parma’s Projet

Parma’s history evolved within the complicated politics among Spain, France,
and the Habsburg Empire, forming the complex backdrop of Du Tillot’s
auspicious plan to create a new type of opera. Although the French pres-
ence in Parma has long provided fertile ground for historians and musicolo-
gists, some aspects of it with links to Du Tillot’s plan deserve a closer look.
The somewhat conflicting aspirations of Philippe de Bourbon and his wife,
Louise Élisabeth, and the contributions made toward theatrical innovation
by two of Parma’s key creative personnel, Jean-Philippe Delisle, the director
of Parma’s French troupe, and Jacques-Simon Mangot, director of Parma’s
court music, all affected French musical theater in Parma in ways that merit
further exploration.
Parma and Its History
A brief overview will help contextualize these particular factors. The Bourbon
dynasty had become linked with Spain in the early eighteenth century. In 1714
Phillip V of Spain, the country’s first Bourbon king, married Elisabetta Farnese,
his second wife. Parma came under Bourbon control in 1731, when Charles,
their oldest son, became duke. In 1734, with the aid of Spain, Charles captured
Naples from the Austrians and moved to Naples, taking with him many of the
Farnese dynasty’s possessions that had established Parma’s prominence as an
artistic and intellectual center. Charles’s achievements in Naples influenced
Parma in the envy they were to create in his younger brother, Philippe, sec-
ond son of the Spanish king. The Habsburgs annexed the duchy of Parma in
1738, and the Bourbons regained it in 1748 by the terms of the Treaty of Aix-
la-Chapelle. Philippe de Bourbon was installed in Parma as the duchy’s new
sovereign, arriving in the city in 1749 and ruling there until his death in 1766.
His wife, Marie Louise Élisabeth de Bourbon (1727–59), was King Louis
XV’s eldest daughter. Duchess Louise Élisabeth maintained her close ties with
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the genesis of parma’s PROJET ❧ 9
France, often visiting her father at Versailles. The enhancement of Parma’s

French artistic life during the Bourbon period was achieved in large mea-
sure through her intervention and she exerted a strong influence in diplo-
matic spheres as well.1 That mid-eighteenth-century Parma can be considered
“a mirror of France in Italy” had a great deal to do with Louise Élisabeth’s
involvement in matters ranging from the aesthetic to the political.2 The story
of Parma’s French influence has long been told largely from the perspective
of Philippe de Bourbon and Du Tillot’s initiatives and accomplishments, with
the duchess appearing in the narrative but remaining on the periphery. Louise
Élisabeth’s decisive role in shaping culture in midcentury Parma, however, is
now coming to be better understood. Louise Élisabeth’s influence, in part,
frames the discussion that follows here, providing the basis for a new perspec-
tive on some of the most distinctive elements of Parma’s French and French-
inspired musical theater.
The long-standing rivalry between two of Europe’s greatest powers ended
during the course of Philippe’s reign in Parma. In 1760 Habsburg empress
Maria Theresa consolidated an alliance with France by marrying Archduke
Joseph to Princess Isabella of Bourbon (the occasion commemorated by
Traetta’s Le feste d’Imeneo), uniting Austria and France against Prussia in the
war that had begun in the early 1750s. Maria Theresa’s daughter, Archduchess
Maria Amalia, wed Ferdinand de Bourbon, Philippe’s son, in 1769, further
strengthening the Bourbon-Habsburg union. The duchy of Parma changed
hands between the Bourbons and the Habsburgs, then, for about two decades.
The establishment of Parma as a center for French culture, innovation, and
reform in multiple spheres of activity, occurred in the context of Bourbon and
Habsburg reconciliation.
The smallest of the Bourbon possessions in Italy, the duchy of Parma
was also one of the smallest of the Italian states at midcentury. Unhappy
with a territory of such insignificance, Philippe, under Louise Élisabeth’s
influence and with Du Tillot’s assistance, sought to enhance its capital city
and revitalize the tiny duchy. Philippe and Louise Élisabeth’s transforma-
tion of Parma occurred rapidly starting from his arrival in 1749. Philippe
summoned leading figures in French architecture, sculpture, and other arts
to his court. The ducal library was founded, civic spaces were refurbished,
and elegant gardens and fountains around the palaces were enhanced. The
lavish and expansive suburban residence in Colorno, located some sixteen
kilometers north of Parma, was modified during the Bourbon period to
resemble Versailles.3
Guillaume Du Tillot engineered Parma’s transformation.4 His influence
extended into every sphere of Parma’s artistic and political life. He served
Philippe de Bourbon first as general intendant of the ducal house and direc-
tor of entertainments, and later as prime minister and secretary of state. Du
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10 ❧ chapter one
Tillot corresponded with governmental administrators Claude Bonnet in Paris

and Jean-Baptiste Mauro in Lyon in his efforts to re-create a version of Paris in
Parma.5 Bonnet sent funds for the French troupe’s maintenance and shipped
Parisian products and goods of all kinds to Parma, including music; he and
Du Tillot wrote often regarding the French theatrical troupe and many other
issues relating to Parma’s music and theater. The immersion in French musi-
cal, choreographic, dramatic, artistic, and architectural styles in Parma that Du
Tillot effected was to last more than a quarter century. During the Bourbon
period the arts and letters flourished there to such a great extent that the city
became known as “the Athens of Italy.”6
Philippe de Bourbon sought to expand the duchy’s geographical borders,
in keeping with the treaty that had awarded Parma to the Bourbons: the
duke had received large subsidies from France and Spain that were designed
to fortify the duchy as a Bourbon power against the Habsburgs. In terms of
expansion, Du Tillot and Philippe set their sights on the neighboring duchy
of Modena, itself a place where French culture flourished and which had long
been a thriving artistic center.7 The plan to broker an alliance with Modena
was one later thwarted by Vienna,8 when the hand of Isabella, Philippe and
Louise Élisabeth’s daughter, was sought for Archduke Joseph.
Certain key political events associated with the Bourbon desire for territorial
expansion and influence coincided with the reform operas’ creation. Stitching
these strands together reveals heretofore unexplored connections that might
have conditioned the operas’ inception, in particular that of Ippolito ed Aricia,
where Louise Élisabeth’s influence seems to have been decisive. Her daughter,
Isabella, had been born in Spain in 1741 but spent her childhood in Parma.
As early as 1749 Louise Élisabeth had favored marriage between Isabella and
Archduke Joseph of Austria.9 At the end of April 1759 the duchess was notified
that the marriage had been decided in Vienna, and on 29 July imperial majes-
ties made the official request to Louis XV.10 The well-known correspondence
between Frugoni and Algarotti concerning the creation of Ippolito ed Aricia,
and its premiere on 2 May 1759 coincided, then, with the same period dur-
ing which the marriage must have been discussed.11 The decision to give a
version of Hippolyte et Aricie in Parma had been made by 30 January 1759.12
Frugoni penned the libretto during February and March, writing often to
Algarotti with news of its progress and his thoughts on its content, structure,
and future reception. The notification of the marriage decision, in late April,
would have occurred just before Ippolito ed Aricia’s premiere on 2 May. The pro-
duction was highly publicized in advance and again shortly after the premiere,
with an adulatory letter appearing in the Journal encyclopédique on 1 January,13
and a review in the Mercure de France in July 1759.14 Du Tillot wrote to Algarotti
enthusiastically on 9 May, reporting, “It enchants a nation.” Given these cir-
cumstances, it seems that Ippolito ed Aricia might have arisen in connection
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with the Bourbon-Habsburg union, perhaps pertaining to it more closely than

scholars have heretofore recognized.
By the time the French troupe had come and gone, the Parma court had
risen greatly in status. In the years immediately after its departure, Philippe suc-
ceeded in his goal of enhancing the court’s prestige, although the outcome—
an alliance with Vienna rather than an expansion through Modena—differed
markedly with what he had initially envisioned. By contrast, however, the out-
come reflected Louise Élisabeth’s long-cherished goal to pair her daughter
with the future sovereign of international prominence.
A New Theatrical Public in a Transformed City
The city that Parma’s new Bourbon sovereigns created was among midcentury
Europe’s most unusual: a small Parisian satellite within northern Italy, with
a mixed population consisting of a blend of Parmegiani and francesi. Along
with the importation of so many French cultural products came the migra-
tion of French citizens, who created a new public for opera at the Teatro
Ducale. Parma’s French residents constituted “a true French colony,” which
around 1760–61 consisted of about 4,000 in a city of between about 32,000
and 45,000.15 While Parma’s cultural environment would not have resembled
that of Europe’s large cultural centers in its degree of cosmopolitanism, the
city at midcentury nevertheless represented a diversity that at once opened up
opportunities for stylistic intermingling in its artistic products (as represented
by Traetta’s operas), while simultaneously introducing a level of tension that
played out in various ways in the city’s daily life apart from its entertainments.
The French began arriving in Parma soon after the Bourbon’s acquisition of
the duchy. The Parmesan chronicler Andrea Pugolotti, in his manuscript Diario
from 1749, reports that the French began to infiltrate any sector in which
there were funds to be managed, taking positions of control previously held
by Parmegiani.16 In government-run industries the French installed tax collec-
tors (burlandotti) to oversee production, evoking the strong reaction expressed
in the following verse, posted in public, at the four entrances of the city’s salt
manufacturing facility in July 1749.
Amiamo li Spagnuoli, e Patriotti

Abboriam li Francesi e Burlandotti
E per la via quanti ne troveremo
Tutti tutti per dio gli accoparemo.
(We love the Spanish and patriots / We hate the French and tax collectors /
And as many of them as we find in the street / By God, we will do away with
each and every one of them.)
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12 ❧ chapter one
The extremity of this reaction to the French presence in Parma probably rep-
resents a level of hostility that exemplifies more the world outside the opera
house than within it. Nevertheless, the tension it conveys gives us some idea
of the level of skepticism, or at least curiosity, that Italian members of the
Parmesan audiences must have experienced when introduced to new forms of
entertainment. Much of the commentary on Parmesan entertainment from the
local barber and chronicler Antonio Sgavetti, our main source of knowledge
for contemporary reception, confirms this view.17 What the French audience
members saw and heard must have been likewise unfamiliar in some respects,
as we shall see. The mixture of styles that Parma’s musical theater represents,
then, reflects a multicultural audience that was new to the city at midcentury,
and a need and desire on the part of its sponsors to find various ways, at differ-
ent times, to communicate with this new, strange, mixed public.
Du Tillot, Jean-Philippe Delisle, and the French Troupe
In Parma’s theatrical history, 1755 was a watershed year in which Du Tillot took
three decisive steps: he issued a public decree on theatrical behavior, seeking
to introduce a standard of decorum to the Teatro Ducale’s evidently unruly
audiences.18 He changed the Teatro Ducale’s administrative structure, shift-
ing more control toward the royal house, which now assumed the costs for
the scenery and costumes for all the Teatro Ducale’s operas, both Italian and
French, including the opere serie and buffe traditionally given during carnival
season and at other times.19 And he engaged a large troupe of French per-
formers led by the choreographer Jean-Philippe Delisle, who for just over
three years would give almost daily performances of French ballets and operas
in many genres, with luxurious stage settings and sumptuous costumes, and a
wide variety of spoken plays. These occurred at the Teatro Ducale and at the
small court theater at Colorno. The Bourbon House bore the French troupe’s
full expenses. Du Tillot instituted a complex administrative structure that facil-
itated the smooth functioning of Parma’s multifaceted theatrical life. Under
Du Tillot’s supervision the spectacular element of opera at Parma became
institutionalized and significantly enhanced.
When Du Tillot engaged Delisle’s troupe it was not the first time he had
imported French entertainments for Philippe de Bourbon. Du Tillot and
Philippe’s association was long-standing, Du Tillot having been in charge of
entertainments for the court during military exploits in the early 1740s in
Milan and Chambéry, then part of the Savoy territories in the present-day
Piedmont region of northwest Italy.20 He had overseen the construction of a
royal theater in the castle at Chambéry and imported performers and stage
materials from Lyon,21 arguably the French cultural center that exerted the
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greatest influence on Parma’s midcentury French musical theater—one more

significant than even that of Paris where certain aspects of the performing arts
are concerned.
Of southern France’s major cities, Lyon is the closest to Parma at a distance
of some six hundred kilometers. It was in Lyon that Du Tillot was promoted,
rising to the rank of intendente générale of the royal house on 26 June 1749.22 It
is clear that Du Tillot considered Lyon chief among the French cities that rep-
resented the high level of artistic achievement to which Parma should aspire:
writing to his Parisian contact in 1755, he stated, “Les artistes à choisir pour
Parme devaient l’être non pas d’après les exigences des théatres parisiens,
mais de ceux de Lyon, Bourdeaux, Marseille ou Strasbourg, au rang desquels
ou pouvait mettre celui di Parme.”23 Du Tillot’s correspondence with Jean-
Baptiste Mauro, through whom Du Tillot imported goods of all kinds, began
in 1749.24 Several artists who left a lasting mark on Parma hailed from Lyon.
These include two architects, Ennemond Alexandre Petitot, whose civic struc-
tures transformed Parma’s urban profile, and Jean-Antoine Morand, who
renovated the Teatro Ducale before the wedding in 1760,25 and Parma’s most
influential French musician, Jacques-Simon Mangot, who arrived in 1756. He
imported some of Lyon’s operatic repertory and possibly performers as well,
as we shall see. Du Tillot’s long-standing connection with Lyon and its musical
theater, then, was decisive for Parma’s midcentury revitalization.
Parma’s French troupe is routinely mentioned by scholars who have sur-
veyed Parma’s musical theater, and a seminal study on its membership and rep-
ertory laid the foundation for our understanding of some of its elements.26
What we have lacked up to now is a detailed and reliable chronology of the
works the troupe performed, a synthesis of the few but critical extant sources
that illuminate this repertory, knowledge of its French performers, and an
understanding of Mangot’s significant influence over its activities. The rela-
tionship between Parma’s French productions and Traetta’s operas, in terms
of personnel, repertory, and reception, the administrative structures that
facilitated the troupe’s presence, and the troupe’s role in Du Tillot’s plan
that transformed Parma’s cultural life all merit closer scrutiny. These factors
demonstrate that in the years preceding Traetta’s first reform opera, Ippolito
ed Aricia, the Parmesan public became well-acquainted with French stage spec-
tacle and music thanks to the troupe’s performances.
Jean-Philippe Delisle’s troupe of singers, dancers, and actors arrived in Parma
in August 1755 and stayed three years and three months, until November 1758.
They came directly from a four month engagement in nearby Turin, another
city where French culture strongly influenced entertainment.27 There they per-
formed at Turin’s comic theater, the Teatro Carignano, from May to August
1755.28 At the time of the troupe’s engagement Delisle and his performers were
in the service of Nantes, in northwestern France. Correspondence between
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14 ❧ chapter one
Delisle (in Rennes at the time, some one hundred kilometers north of Nantes),
the administrators at Turin’s Teatro Regio, and the Duke d’Aiguillon, one of
Philippe de Bourbon’s secretaries, who engineered the troupe’s movements
from Nantes, to Turin, and then to Parma, reveals much about the members,
their character types, and their complex travel arrangements.29 Although it is
known that Du Tillot began to restructure the troupe starting in 1756, our hazy
view of the repertory has obscured the significance of the changes that occurred
among the personnel. Seven members were dismissed, and at least ten and
perhaps eleven new members joined. By the time the troupe left Parma their
repertory had expanded significantly and their membership had undergone a
transformation of its own. In beginning to plan, Du Tillot drew up a document
that details the troupe’s composition in 1756 and changes he made for 1757.
Only some of the new arrivals are listed in this document, which evidently rep-
resents an early stage of the planning and not the sum total of the new addi-
tions; the extant material clearly shows the complex shuffling of personnel that
occurred at this stage in the troupe’s residence.30
A different payment document presents a list of new members and the
places from which they traveled in order to join the troupe.31 This item con-
firms Lyon’s importance for new talent recruited to Parma: of the ten new
additions, four of them came from Lyon, and another two traveled through
the city (coming north from Toulouse and Carcassonne) on the way to Parma.
His troupe comprised about forty members,32 and included well-known danc-
ers such as Pierre Aubry, Costanza Tinti Salamone, Giustina Campioni, and
Mimì Favier.33 Actors and actresses, some of whom also sang, included Mlle
Lavoy, Anne-Marie Margery, Mlle Mercier, and Mr. Godard (some of their
given names are unknown). These performers were members of the troupe
from the time of its arrival. The singers included Joseph Caillot, Jacques Le
Noble, Marguerite Hédoux, and Joseph Guigues. At least three of them—Le
Noble, Hédoux, and Guigues—and possibly Joseph Caillot as well, joined the
troupe in 1757 or later. Their presence coincided with a repertorial shift that
paralleled the changes in troupe membership, in which Mangot apparently
played a decisive role.
A preliminary list of the troupe’s operas and stand-alone ballets appears in
table 1.1. The performers shuttled back and forth between Parma and Colorno
presenting works that had been given at both the Opéra and some less highly-
ranked Parisian theaters as well. As the table shows, they gave a diverse array
of the era’s most popular genres: ballets, opéras-ballets, tragédies en musique,
pastorales-héroïques, ballets-héroïques, divertissements, intermèdes, and opéras-comiques
or parodies en vaudevilles by Charles Simon Favart (and occasionally the origi-
nals on which the parodies are based). Their spoken plays included tragédies
and comédies by Corneille, Racine, Molière, Voltaire, Dancourt, and many oth-
ers. They gave French versions of important Italian comic works, La servante
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Table 1.1. Parma repertory of Delisle’s troupe, August 1755–November 1758,
by genre
Colorno and Parma, Parma, Teatro

Genre/composer court (private) Ducale (public)
Opéra-ballet
L’Europe galante (Campra) 1758
La danse (from Les talents lyriques, 1757
Rameau)
Le feu (L’acte du feu; possibly also 1756, 1757,
“l’opera des vestales”); (from Les élémens, 1758
Destouches and de Lalande)
Vertumne et Pomone (likely “La terre” from 1757
Les élémens, Destouches and de Lalande)
Pastorale-héroïque
Eglé (Aeglé) (La Garde) 1756, 1757, 1758
Issé (Destouches) 1758
Ismène (Francœur and Rebel) 1756, 1758
Titon et l’Aurora (Mondonville) 1758 1759
Ballet-héroïque
(entrées from Rameau, Les Indes galantes)
Prologue 1757
Gl’Incà del Perù 1757
L’acte des sauvages (l’adoration du soleil) 1757, 1758
L’acte turc (Le Turc généreux); L’atto turco 1758 Carnival 1759
Other ballet-héroïque
Zaïde, reine de Grenade (Royer) 1757, 1758
Vénus et Adonis (Mondonville) 1757
Amphion (entrée from Le triomphe de 1757
l’harmonie, Grenet)
“L’acte de l’amour fidelles”; probably 1757
L’amour constant (entrée from Les
caractères de l’amour, Collin de Blamont)
“L’opera de cleopatre” (likely Cléopatre, 1756, 1757, 1758
from Les fêtes grecques et romaines, Collin
de Blamont)
Tragédie en musique
Castor et Pollux (Rameau) 1758 1759
(continued)
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Table 1.1.—(concluded)
Colorno and Parma, Parma, Teatro

Genre/composer court (private) Ducale (public)
Zoroastre (Rameau) 1758
Favart parodies
Raton et Rosette ou La vengeance inutile ? [copyist’s receipt
(Favart parody of Titon et l’Aurora) 1758]
Ninette à la cour (Favart parody of 1756
Bertolde à la cour)
Les amours de Bastien et Bastienne (Favart 1755, 1756, 1757
parody of Le devin du village)
Opéras-comiques or parodies en vaudevilles
La coquette sans le savoir 1755
Le coq de village 1755
Le devin du village (Rousseau, intermède) 1756, 1757, 1758
La chercheuse d’esprit (Favart) 1758
Opera bouffon/intermède
Les troqueurs (Dauvergne) 1756, 1757
La servante maîtresse (Baurans trans. and 1757, 1758
rev. of Pergolesi La serva padrona)
La bohémienne (Favart trans. and rev. of 1757
Rinaldo di Capua La zingara)
Divertissement (one-act opera)
Zelindor, re de’ silfi 1757 Autumn 1757
Ballet
Anacreonte Carnival 1759
Aci e Galatea 1757 Carnival 1756
Le feste di Tersicore [ballets performed Carnival 1756
with the carnival operas]
Unidentified works (genre unknown)
Soliman 1757
Note: Dates and some titles drawn from Ferrari, “La compagnia”; additional titles and correc-
tions of dates based on my study of sources in I-PAas; identifications of certain titles based on
LaJarte, “Bibliothèque.”
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maîtresse and La bohémienne, revisions by Baurans and Favart of Giovanni

Battista Pergolesi’s La serva padrona and Rinaldo di Capua’s La zingara respec-
tively.34 Most of the ballets and operas were given in Colorno and Parma,
and the spoken plays only in Colorno.35 A ten-page manuscript repertory list
found among other archival material reports many titles and where the per-
formances of them were given (whether at Parma or Colorno), but is incom-
plete, as other material shows.36 Many additional items, such as copyists’ lists,
receipts, and payment records, and other sources provide clues as to the
troupe’s full repertory.37
Overlaps in personnel, genre, and in actual repertory resulted in a high
degree of continuity between the French musical entertainments and the
Italian operas, a fact whose significance merits attention for the impact it
exerted on Parma’s theatrical productions. Such bridges must have served to
establish continuity, factors that were evidently still a cause of concern even
around the time of the troupe’s departure. Frugoni’s revealing comment to
Algarotti in April 1759 about his efforts to tread lightly in introducing French
elements when authoring the libretto for Ippolito ed Aricia—“a foreign taste
cannot be introduced all at once”—underscores the awareness of the need to
cultivate a sense of familiarity with regard to opera’s unconventional stylistic
blend.38 Exploring how Parma’s audiences—both court and public—might
have experienced the troupe’s performances enhances our view of the milieu
in which Traetta’s operas emerged.
In terms of personnel, the French dancers performed the entr’acte bal-
lets for the carnival opere serie during the years of their residency. During their
debut carnival season, 1756, their dances were even more prominently dis-
played than in subsequent seasons: this year saw the publication of Le feste di
Tersicore, poems dedicated to each of the troupe’s carnival ballets. The pub-
lic was well-acquainted with them and the spectacles they provided between
1756 and 1759. By the time Traetta used Rameau’s dances and some of his
other music for Hippolyte et Aricie in Ippolito ed Aricia, giving French dances and
music in a variety of contexts on the Ducale’s stage was an established prac-
tice; indeed, not having actual French music danced by the French dancers
in an opera based on a French model might have been seen as unusual—per-
haps even undesirable—given the precedent set by the troupe’s repertory. A
few French and Parmesan singers mingled in the choruses both for Traetta’s
operas and some of the French operas; the French singers hopefully helped
along the Italian ones in Traetta’s choruses, who were undoubtedly unfamiliar
with French-influenced theatrical conventions.39
Generic overlaps were ubiquitous in Parma. We find them between the
troupe’s spoken plays and its musical works, between the troupe’s ballets and
their operas, and between the troupe’s operas and Traetta’s operas. In par-
ticular, the genre of opéra-ballet formed a significant link between the troupe’s
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18 ❧ chapter one
works and Traetta’s third French-inspired opera. This genre consisted of a

series of entrées, short independent acts, related to some unifying theme, that
included dance, solo and choral singing, and eye-catching, elaborate cos-
tumes. In 1757 and 1758 the troupe performed acts from Rameau’s famous
opéra-ballet Les Indes galantes (The Amorous Indies, although “Indies” at that
time was understood to mean any non-European locale). The first of Les Indes
galantes’s entrées, Gl’Incà del Perù, was given for the public in a performance of
18 December 1757. Two other entrées from Les Indes galantes were given as well:
Les sauvages and L’acte turc (L’atto turco in Italian), “the Turkish act,” an informal
way of referring to Le Turc généreux. Along with Campra’s L’Europe galante, these
performances prepared the court and public for the genre of Traetta’s Le feste
d’Imeneo, later given for the wedding of Princess Isabella of Parma to Joseph II
of Austria in 1760. By partaking of this entertainment form in various guises,
Parma’s court and public could have counted themselves as among the most
fashionable of European audiences.
French spectacle escalated in the months preceding Ippolito ed Aricia.
Rameau’s Castor et Pollux was given in early December 1758. Carnival 1759 was
then filled with two opere serie: Traetta’s Solimano and David Perez’s Farnace,
both with French entr’acte ballets; a repeat performance of Castore e Polluce;
L’atto turco; Anacreonte, a one-act balletto fashioned from an entrée of a different
opéra-ballet by Rameau (a significant work that will be explored further below),
and Mondonville’s pastorale-héroïque Titone e l’Aurora (in its Italianized title).
Just prior to Ippolito ed Aricia the Parmesan public heard and saw more French
entertainments than Italian ones.
Ippolito and I tindaridi were preceded by related works the French troupe
performed. Pellegrin’s libretto for Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie drew its theme
from Jean Racine’s great tragédie Phèdre. As shown in table 1.2, the French
actors gave both Racine’s play and Jacques Pradon’s rival drama on the same
subject, Phèdre et Hippolyte, for the court annually from 1755 through 1758, for
a total of ten performances. Racine’s seems to have been the favored of the
two, receiving seven over Pradon’s three.40 There is no evidence that Rameau’s
well-known masterpiece Hippolyte et Aricie was performed at Parma; the popu-
larity of Racine’s drama at court might have influenced the creators’ choice
of Hippolyte as a subject for an opera. While Phèdre was given only in Colorno,
with likely only the court in attendance, Rameau’s Castor et Pollux was given for
the public at the Teatro Ducale. Castor et Pollux was a popular French work in
Parma, with sixteen performances known to have been given.41 Table 1.3 pro-
vides the dates.
Traetta’s I tindaridi thus represents a more direct link to an operatic model
and subject with which Parma audiences were familiar. Unfortunately, this
familiarity might have had a negative impact on I tindaridi’s reception at Parma,
as will become apparent on further examination.
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Table 1.2. Performances of Phèdre (Racine) and Phèdre et Hippolyte (Pradon)

at Colorno
1755 27 September
1756 6 June; 7 August; 1 September; 7 November
1757 14 February; 6 June; 11 September
1758 28 June; 20 July
Table 1.3. Performances of Rameau’s Castor et Pollux in Parma

1758 3 January
23 November
3 December
6 December (with printed libretto)
8 December
1759 Carnival (11 performances ending 23 February)
Enter Jacques-Simon Mangot
French entertainment at Parma, viewed as a whole, represents a potpourri of

the most modern works in all the popular styles of the day. Table 1.1, show-
ing the works in generic groups as it does, clarifies this fact particularly well.
Considering the repertory chronologically, however, affords a different view. It
reveals that Jacques-Simon Mangot’s arrival coincides with a significant reper-
torial shift, which represented a decisive attempt to raise the level of Parma’s
musical theater.
Table 1.4 presents the aforementioned repertory given chronologically
according to the dates of premieres, when known.42 It is clear that in 1755
the troupe’s musical entertainments consisted strictly of a few opéras-comiques
and parodies. Spoken tragédies and comédies were frequently given this year.
Productions of works in all the other genres, especially the loftier ones of tra-
gédie en musique, ballet-héroïque, and pastorale-héroïque by composers considered
among the most prominent of the era, appeared just after Mangot’s arrival
the following year. The years 1756 and 1757 were transitional for Parma’s rep-
ertory: as we shall see, documents confirm that Mangot had a few works in
lighter genres prepared for Parma in advance of his arrival (Ninette à la cour,
La bohémienne, La servante maîtresse), works that, in terms of generic qualities,
resemble those the troupe gave earlier, under Delisle’s influence. These works
would thus have not taxed the troupe’s performers unduly, representing pieces
whose general style and conventions the singers would have found familiar and
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Table 1.4. Parma operatic repertory of Delisle’s troupe by date of premiere
1755 La coquette sans le savoir
Le coq de village
Les amours de Bastien et Bastienne (Favart parody of Le devin du village)
1756 Le feu (L’acte du feu; also “l’opera des vestales”); (from Les élémens)
Eglé (Aeglé)
Ismène
Le devin du village
Les amours de Bastien et Bastienne
Ninette à la cour
Les troqueurs
Aci e Galatea (carnival, public)
Le feste di Tersicore [ballets performed with the carnival operas, public]
1757 Prologue, Les Indes galantes
L’acte des sauvages (also l’adoration du soleil, from Les Indes galantes)
Le feu, or L’acte du feu (from Les élémens)
Les élémens
Vertumne et Pomone (“La terre” from Les élémens)
La danse (from Les talents lyriques)
Eglé (Aeglé)
Zaïde
Vénus et Adonis
Amphion (from Le triomphe de l’harmonie)
L’acte de l’amour fidelles (probably L’amour constant from Les caractères de
l’amour)
Le devin du village
Les amours de Bastien et Bastienne
Les troqueurs
La servante maîtresse
La bohémienne
Aci e Galatea
Zelindor, re de’ silfi
Zelindor, re de’ silfi (public, autumn 1757)
Gl’Incà del Perù (from Les Indes galantes, public, 18 December 1757)
Soliman
(continued)
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1758 L’acte des sauvages (from Les Indes galantes)

L’acte turc (Le Turc généreux from Les Indes galantes); L’atto turco
L’Europe galante
Eglé (Aeglé)
Issé
Ismène
Titon et l’Aurora
Zaïde
Castor et Pollux
Zoroastre
Le devin du village
La servante maîtresse
[Raton et Rosette ou La vengeance inutile (Favart parody of Titon et l’Aurora)]
Les Incas du Pérou from Les Indes galantes
Les talents lyriques
L’acte du feu (from Les élémens)
1759* L’acte turc (Le Turc généreux from Les Indes galantes); L’atto turco (carnival,
public)
Titon et l’Aurora (carnival, public)
Castor et Pollux (carnival, public)
Anacreonte (carnival, public)
*The only data extant for 1759 concern the public performances. Presumably court perfor-
mances took place as well until the troupe’s departure after carnival season.
Note: Given for the court in private performances unless otherwise indicated.
approachable. The first operas the troupe presented were small in scale, usu-
ally in a single act, lighthearted in content, and given only for the court. In
1757 public performances of two lighter works were given—a divertissement and
an acte of a ballet-héroïque—but after these no further productions of new works
in lighter genres were mounted (though some from earlier were revived).
Moreover, the 1757 works were ones that represented a higher level of status
and were by prominent composers. Operas given for the court and public soon
expanded to encompass tragédies en musique and ballets-héroïques. In 1759 two
full-length works were given at the public theater, made accessible to the pub-
lic through printed librettos presenting the text both in French and Italian, as
we shall see.
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22 ❧ chapter one
The influence on the elevated side of Parma’s French repertory was

undoubtedly exerted not by Delisle, but by Mangot. The involvement of
Mangot was key for Parma; he raised Parma’s international profile as a cen-
ter for elite and refined French entertainment and led its Teatro Ducale to
become truly unique among Europe’s theaters: No theater in any city outside
France produced as many works in the genres of tragédie en musique, ballet-
héroïque, and pastorale-héroïque.43 Even Vienna, whose French theater gave plays
and opéras-comiques, never attempted full-length performances of serious rep-
ertory.44 In fact Mangot’s presence in Parma served, whether intentionally or
coincidentally, to set the city apart from Vienna. Exploring Mangot’s contribu-
tions to Parma’s musical theater at once amplifies and clarifies the context in
which Traetta’s operas and reform in Parma are most productively placed.
Although Mangot’s contribution to court chamber music is coming to be
more clearly understood,45 his connection with Parma’s operas and ballets,
while generally acknowledged, still remains largely unexplored in its details.
Mangot brought to Parma a wealth of experience as an instrumentalist, con-
ductor, singer, composer, and opera director. In Parma he collaborated with
Delisle and the troupe, conducted the orchestra, and oversaw music copying.
He overlapped with Traetta, and the two must have interacted, although no
evidence of their relationship has yet come to light. He became maestro di cap-
pella after Traetta’s departure. Mangot likely engineered the creative revisions
of several French operas performed for the public, three by Rameau, and had
many more of Rameau’s works performed at court, as heretofore overlooked
materials demonstrate. After revised versions of Les Indes galantes and Castor et
Pollux, Parma’s creative team adapted Rameau’s Anacréon, an entrée from Les
surprises de l’Amour, as the ballet titled Anacreonte (1759). This work forms a
critical link—significant both for its chronological position and its generic
intermingling—between the last of the French opera productions and the
first of Traetta’s French-inspired Italian adaptations, converging in fact dur-
ing a period that spanned anywhere from six months to just one: Anacreonte
premiered in carnival 1759 (carnival season’s length varied, running from 26
December to sometime between January and April, in general), and Ippolito
ed Aricia in May 1759. In the absence of an extant score, and seeking to bet-
ter understand how Mangot’s adaptation process might have worked, I recon-
structed the ballet’s music based on the Parma scenario for Anacreonte and
Rameau’s score for Anacréon. The result, explored in chapter 3, is a creative
reinterpretation of a work that carried multiple layers of significance for Parma
and its audiences. The evidence shows that chief among the resources neces-
sary for re-creating Rameau’s works was a strong musician experienced with
their style and knowledgeable about their production. Moreover, it took some-
one with imagination who was capable of reconceiving works on the same sub-
ject in different guises; Mangot had already demonstrated this ability in a letter
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he wrote to Du Tillot in 1762 from Vienna, proposing a creative re-creation

of Castor et Pollux.46 Thus, the key to understanding Parma’s unique theatrical
environment, and by extension the subsequent French-inspired reforms there,
seems to be Mangot, his activities, and his long-standing influence.
Mangot the Musician
Mangot gained most of his musical and theatrical experience in Lyon, his
native city.47 The family had moved to Paris when Rameau married Jacques-
Simon’s sister, Marie-Louise. An oboist in the Grande Écurie in 1718, Mangot
was also a singer, a point deemphasized in the studies that recount his activi-
ties. He performed as a basse-taille in the Concert de Marseille in 1746. Three
years later he took over the direction of theater in Lyon, where he hastened
to reestablish a tradition of opera.48 Mangot’s Lyonnaise experience affected
opera in Parma in numerous ways.
Table 1.5 provides the operas performed in Lyon under Mangot’s direc-
tion, several of which were given in Parma. In Lyon he built on the activities
of his predecessor, François-Lupien Grenet. Mangot overlapped with Grenet
in Lyon, and had the third entrée of his Le triomphe de l’harmonie, titled Amphion,
performed later in Parma. Another work Mangot would have known from his
time in Lyon (before his tenure as opera director) was Mouret’s Le ballet des
sens (titled in the Paris printed score as Le triomphe des sens), given in Lyon in
1739; the third entrée from that work was adapted as the “Iride” act in Traetta’s
Le feste d’Imeneo of 1760. At least two operas by Rameau from Lyon’s repertory
are important for Parma’s: Hippolyte et Aricie and Les Indes galantes. While no evi-
dence documents a performance of Hippolyte in Parma, Mangot’s experience
having produced it must have influenced its adaptation as Traetta’s Ippolito ed
Aricia, especially given the inclusion of Rameau’s music in Traetta’s work.49
(The same might be true of Les fêtes d’Hébé, of which one dance turns up in
Traetta’s Le feste d’Imeneo.) The prologue and at least three of Les Indes galantes’s
four entrées were given for the court. Les Incas du Pérou was also presented for
the public, where it was creatively expanded. As shown above, during Mangot’s
two years as director of opera in Lyon he sang in eight of the operas he pro-
duced. He composed and sang one of the three leading roles in his own ballet-
héroïque, Le triomphe de Vénus, given at Lyon’s Académie Royale de Musique in
September 1749.50 His experience as a performer of numerous operatic roles
in different genres must have given him a perspective broader than that of
most ensemble conductors of the day. In 1752 he directed the orchestra at
Lyon’s Académie des Beaux Arts, a post he held until 1755. Having sung, com-
posed, and conducted a wide variety of French dramatic music, he knew the
stylistic and performance conventions of a repertory whose variety parallels
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Table 1.5. Repertorial overlaps, Lyon and Parma
Mangot’s Done in
Opera in Lyon Composer roles in Lyon Parma/Colorno
1749
Les élémens Destouches Valère Third entrée, Le feu (titled
and De L’acte du feu in Parma)
Lalande
[none] Fourth entrée, “La terre”
(titled Vertumne et Pomone
in Parma)
Les amours de Mouret Ragonde
Ragonde
Les Indes galantes Rameau [none] Prologue, 1757
Huascar Les Incas du Pérou (titled

Gl’Incà del Perù in Parma),
1757
[none] Les sauvages (titled L’acte
des sauvages in Parma),
1757, 1758
Osman Le Turc généreux (titled
L’acte turc and L’atto turco
in Parma), 1759 carnival
Les fêtes de Polymnie Rameau Jupiter,
Seleucus,
Zimès
Thésée Lully Egée
Le triomphe de Vénus Mangot Mars
Zaïde, reine de Royer [unknown] 1757, 1758
Grenade
Les fêtes d’Hébé Rameau Alcée, Tirtée [one dance included
in Traetta’s Le feste
d’Imeneo, 1760]
Idomenée Campra [unknown]
Callirohé Destouches [unknown]
Issé Destouches [unknown]
Ajax Bertin [unknown]
Roland Lully [unknown]
(continued)
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1750
Armide Lully [None]
Omphale Destouches Alcide
Hippolyte et Aricie Rameau Pluton [Traetta’s Ippolito ed
Aricia, May 1759]
L’Europe galante Campra [unknown] 1758
Les fêtes de Mouret [unknown]
Thalie (entrée La
Provençale)
La chercheuse d’esprit (attr. Egidio [unknown] 1756
Duni but
doubtful)
Les fêtes grecques et Collin de [unknown]
romaines Blamont
Les fêtes vénitiennes Campra [unknown]
(entrée L’amour
saltimbanque)
Iphigénie en Tauride Desmarets and [unknown]
Campra
Notes: Roles as in librettos at F-Pn and elsewhere; other data from Léon Vallas, Un Siècle de
Musique et de Théâtre a Lyon, 1688–1789 (Lyon: P. Masson, 1932; repr. Geneva: Minkoff, 1971).
Le triomphe de l’harmonie by Grenet (1737), with whom Mangot worked in Lyon; third entrée,
Amphion, performed in Parma, 1757. Le ballet des sens (Le triomphe des sens) by Mouret (1739);
third entrée, La vue, adapted as the “Iride” act of Le feste d’Imeneo in Parma, 1760.
that of Parma’s—one unmatched by any other European theater in the eigh-

teenth century.
The date of Mangot’s arrival in Parma to take up his post as director of
court music has long been unknown.51 However, newly examined documents
confirm that he was to depart Lyon on 26 April 1756; he received a partial
reimbursement, presumably of costs relating to his travel, by 30 April, so it is
likely he was in Parma by that date or shortly thereafter. 52 This finding, when
combined with others revealing Mangot’s activity, confirms how rapidly French
operatic production increased in the months around the time of his arrival
in Parma. A copy of Mangot’s appointment letter confirms that he had been
engaged by 13 March 1756 but had not yet arrived (it refers to payment begin-
ning from the day he departs Lyon).53 Receipts for music copying show that in
the same month of March he had French works copied in Lyon, which were
later performed for the court.54 He started receiving a stipend on 1 May.55
On 18 May he traveled from Parma to nearby Reggio with Giovanni Jacobi, an
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26 ❧ chapter one
Table 1.6. Premieres of French operas at the Parma court, 1756 and 1757 as in
manuscript repertory list (identifications in parentheses according to works in
table 1.5)
1756 17 June: “L’opera D’Eglé” (Eglé, or Aeglé, by La Garde)
8 July: “Le Devin de village” (Le devin du village, Rousseau)
29 August: “L’opera des troqueurs” (Les troqueurs, Dauvergne)
2 September: “L’opera d’ismene” (Ismène, Francœur and Rebel)
3 October: “L’opera de ninete a la cour” (Ninette à la cour, Favart
parodie)
23 October: “L’opera de cleopatre” (likely Cléopatre, from Les fêtes grecques
et romaines, Collin de Blamont)
19 November: “L’opera des vestales” (likely Le feu from Les élémens,
Lalande and Destouches)
1757 30 May: “La servante maîtress” (La servante maîtresse, Baurans trans. and
rev. of Pergolesi La serva padrona)
2 June: “L’opera D’amphyon” (Amphion, from Le triomphe de l’harmonie,
Grenet)
10 July: “L’opera de venus, et Adonis” (Vénus et Adonis, Mondonville)
7 August: “L’opera de Vertumne et Pomone” (likely “La terre,” from Les
élémens, Lalande and Destouches)
17 August: L’acte du feu (Le feu from Les élémens, Lalande and Destouches)
25 August: “L’opera de Zaide en 3 actes” (Zaïde, reine de Grenade, Royer)
18 September: “L’opera des sauvages pour madame Isabella” (Les
sauvages from Les Indes galantes, Rameau)
important member of Parma’s theatrical personnel.56 Receipts for music copy-

ing dating from 20 July at the earliest confirm his work with a team of Parmesan
copyists.57 Mangot was thus in Parma probably by 30 April, and certainly by 18
May 1756. He had started preparing French works for Parma before departure,
and the repertory changed quickly—about a month or so—after his arrival.
The troupe began to give operas starting on 17 June with their first, “l’opera
D’Eglé” as in the repertory list, presumably La Garde’s Eglé.58 Operas were
given with great frequency thereafter. According to the repertory list, the pre-
mieres of the French operas occurred on the dates in table 1.6. Once an opera
had premiered, it was usually offered again, sometimes several times during
the months of its premiere and those immediately following. New works were
introduced about once per month for the next six months. The scribe who
penned this partial list sometimes referred to the operas informally, and usu-
ally opera titles are prefaced by “l’opera de.” The large number of new works
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the troupe performed annually—seven the first year, and six the second
(assuming “l’opera des vestales” and L’acte du feu are one and the same, Le feu
from Lalande and Detouches’s Les élémens)—demonstrates the rapid escalation
of operatic activity after Mangot’s arrival. Although most of these works are in
a single act and relatively brief, the amount of new material the performers
would have needed to learn in these two years is nevertheless impressive. The
first time a full-length work was presented was apparently a significant event,
given that it was specified as such in the repertory list: Royer’s Zaïde, reine de
Grenade, premiering as a full-length work in August 1757, is given as “L’opera
de Zaide en 3 actes.”
Mangot and Delisle maintained joint control over the French entertain-
ments, drafting contracts to performers, and likely interacting in many other
ways.59 This relationship was apparently difficult by 13 April 1758, if not ear-
lier. On that date Delisle complained bitterly in a letter addressed to Du Tillot:
according to the choreographer, Du Tillot had replaced him with an unnamed
person, one who wielded great power and authority.60 Delisle’s account tes-
tifies to this person’s intervention in rehearsals, and the strong influence he
must have exerted over production. No other member of Parma’s theatrical
personnel enjoyed this great a degree of control. Because of his court appoint-
ment, related duties, and opportunities to influence repertory, this person
could have been none other than Mangot.
The Teatro Ducale’s French Operas:

Re-creations and Solo Singers
Whatever the differences between Mangot and Delisle, Mangot’s presence
resulted in the troupe undertaking a decisively more varied and ambitious
repertory. While no sources for the court performances survive other than
documents listing titles or providing other information, librettos were printed
for some of the operas performed for the public at the Teatro Ducale. To my
knowledge, only four are extant: Zélindor, roi des silphes, titled Zelindor, re de’ silfi
(1757); Les Incas du Pérou, titled Gl’Incà del Perù (1757); Titon et l’Aurora retitled
Titone e l’Aurora (1759); and Castor et Pollux retitled Castore e Polluce (1759). All
these operas were given first for the court in private performances; librettos
were printed when they were given later for the public. The first two librettos
contain an Italian translation, while the latter two present the original French
poetry together with a translation. These texts have never been subject to schol-
arly inquiry. They reveal that alterations were made for the Parma productions,
as I determined by comparing them with the originals for the Paris revisions
that are closest in time to the Parma performances. Especially in the absence
of extant musical materials, these librettos represent crucial evidence of the
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28 ❧ chapter one
form the French works took in Parma. They document a heretofore unknown
component of Parma’s operatic history and add a new layer to the works’ own
performance histories as well.
The following brief overview of the adaptations they exhibit, whose details
will be further explored below, elucidates the depth of Mangot’s involvement in
Parma’s French entertainments. Some of the alterations involve the same three
singers, who must have commanded particular attention in Parma: haute-contres
Jean-Joseph Guigues and Jacques Le Noble, and dessus (soprano) Marguerite
Hédoux. Considering the singers who performed the roles that were most
affected by the adaptations reveals their status and function within the troupe.
Guigues and Hédoux were among the new additions that Du Tillot had made
in 1757—the year of Zelindor’s public premiere. The fourth solo singer of lead
roles in the new repertory, basse-taille Joseph Caillot, might have been newly
added as well (a Caillot had been with the troupe from its inception, although
Caillot also appears in the document detailing the travels of those who joined
the troupe in 1757; he arrived from Lyon). While archival materials generally
report only singers’ last names, the librettos allow us, in some cases, to identify
these individuals with greater specificity. The elevation of Parma’s repertory,
initiated by Mangot, called for different singers, specifically haute-contres, which
were not needed in the troupe as originally configured, with its standard fare
of spoken plays and opéras-comiques.
The first public production that Mangot could have overseen is also the first
French opera for which a libretto is extant: Zélindor, roi des silphes, given on 20
November 1757. In Parma’s production of Zélindor a two-stanza aria for the
sylph king and a dance replace the original work’s final chorus. Les Incas du
Pérou, given the same year, ended with a lengthy, rewritten final scene with new
choruses, dances, arias, and a duet. No significant revisions were made to Titon
et l’Aurora; the basic shape of the work is consistent with the original. Parma’s
Castor et Pollux represented the work’s most modern version, one that post-
dated the most recent revival in Paris. The alterations include an expanded
final scene with an additional chorus and an ariette whose musical text was elab-
orated in Parma. Castor is the only French opera given in Parma with related
musical sources, as we shall see.61
Basse-taille Joseph Caillot was featured as a soloist three times in the pub-
licly given operas, singing the roles of Zulim, Pollux, and Eole in Zélindor, roi
des silphes, Castor et Pollux, and Titon et l’Aurora, respectively. He performed at
the Comédie-Italienne between 1760 and 1768.62 A “Caillot” was among the
most important members of the troupe when it was engaged in Turin, and
Delisle described him as a performer of “seconds rois, raisonneurs, [and]
peres nobles.”63 D’Aiguillon’s assessment of Caillot is more detailed: “Joue des
Confidans, des amoureux dans l’opera comique, bon musicien et ayant peu de
voix, jeune et d’une assez jolie figure.”64 Caillot’s only known appearances in
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Parma are those mentioned above, however.65 If these Caillots are one and the
same, it is possible that he did not come with the troupe from Turin to Parma,
but instead left it temporarily, and was brought to Parma from Lyon along with
new members engaged in 1757. The document that details the new engage-
ments in 1757, which clarifies the arrival of a Caillot from Lyon, suggests as
much; moreover, his name is absent from the list of the 1756 troupe members.
The circumstances of Caillot’s involvement in Parma strengthen the Lyon con-
nections and speak to the high level of ability this performer must have pos-
sessed. None of the revisions made to the operas affected him significantly,
although his regular appearance testifies to his talent and high level of stature
in the troupe.
Haute-contre Joseph Guigues sang leading roles in all but one of the pub-
licly given operas: Zélindor, the sylph king himself, in Zélindor, roi des silphes,
Don Carlos in Les Incas du Pérou, Mercure in Castor et Pollux (a minor role),
and Titon in Titon et l’Aurora. In 1762 he was offered a contract in Vienna
but refused it, finding the fee to be unacceptable.66 The aria that replaced
Zélindor’s final chorus in Parma drew attention not only to the leading role
but to Guigues himself. Guigues would be showcased even more prominently
a month later, in Les Incas du Pérou, which was more heavily revised. The extra
arias and duet in the newly composed final scene of that work highlighted
the two lead singers, Guigues as the Spaniard Don Carlo (Zélindor’s sylph king
from a month earlier) and Marguerite Hédoux as Phani-Palla. Who composed
the new music required for the scene is unknown, but Mangot certainly could
have written it.67
Dessus Marguerite Hédoux performed the leading roles of Phani-Palla in Les
Incas du Pérou, L’Aurora in Titon et l’Aurora, and Télaïre in Castor et Pollux. She
received most of the new music in the revisions made to Les Incas, which signifi-
cantly highlighted her role in particular. A certain Mademoiselle Hédoux, per-
haps the same person, was active in Vienna in 1761 and in 1763/64.68 Favart
praised her voice and talent: “Nous avons une dame Eydoux [Hédoux] . . . elle
n’est ni jeune, ni jolie, j’en conviens, mais elle a la plus belle voix et beaucoup
de talent.”69 Hédoux must have been among the troupe’s most highly valued
female singers in Parma.
Mangot’s contact with singers in Lyon could have had a significant impact
on Castor et Pollux in particular. Haute-contre Jacques Le Noble had sung seven
roles in Lyon in 1749 and 1750 under Mangot’s direction, several of them lead-
ing ones, as table 1.7 demonstrates. Given Mangot’s strong familiarity with
his talents from their many Lyonnaise collaborations, it is hard to imagine Le
Noble’s Parma engagement coming about without Mangot’s intervention. Le
Noble joined the troupe in March 1758.70 His only role in Parma that can be
documented thus far is the demanding one of Castor. The revisions of Castor’s
ariette in the final scene, embedded in the final chorus, seem calculated to
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30 ❧ chapter one
Table 1.7. Jacques Le Noble’s roles in Lyon, 1749 and 1750

Character(s) Opera and date
Arione, Vertumne Les élémens, May 1749
Alcide Les fêtes de Polymnie, October 1749
Thésée Thésée, December 1749
Renaud Armide, March 1750
Iphis Omphale, March 1750
Hippolyte Hippolyte et Aricie, 1750
show off a strong and flexible voice. Traetta’s I tindaridi, his Italian reworking
of Castor et Pollux composed soon afterward, in 1760, seems designed to capital-
ize on the success of the French original; perhaps the success was due in part to
a star performance by Le Noble.
On other points the sources obscure a clear view of Jacques Le Noble’s iden-
tity. It is possible he was also an instrumentalist at Parma, and apparently died
in the city’s hospital in spring 1763 after a long illness.71 However, a certain Le
Noble (whose given name is unknown) composed a quartet used in a Viennese
opéra-comique in 1754.72 He sang in Vienna in 1756–57, again in 1758–59, and
finally in 1763–64, when he was active in opéra-comique (he sang in Gluck’s La
Rencontre imprévue on 7 January 1764).73 This Le Noble was evidently a bass
singer.74 It is difficult to believe these Le Nobles are one and the same (espe-
cially if the evidence of Jacques’s death is to be believed). Jacques Le Noble’s
connection with Vienna, then, remains a mystery. Yet clearly his Lyonnaise
experience prepared him well to perform the demanding lead role of Castor
in Parma’s Castor et Pollux.
With Zélindor, Les Incas, Titon, and Castor, Mangot and his collaborators
presented to Parma audiences an array of French operatic genres, creatively
adjusted but not significantly changed from their original forms. The next
adaptation to come, however, Anacreonte of 1759, represented a true generic
transformation, as we shall see. Given the same year as Ippolito ed Aricia, the
work represents a vital link between Parma’s French and Italian operas.
Mangot’s Anthology
Finally, a long-neglected musical source testifies further to Mangot’s intimate

knowledge of style and his championing of Rameau’s music. It is a volume that
Mangot prepared at the request of Padre Giovanni Battista Martini in Bologna,
likely for Martini’s use while compiling his Storia della musica (three volumes,
published in Bologna between 1757 and 1781, the third of which is dedicated to
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Table 1.8. Contents of “Mangot’s Anthology” (I-Bc, Ms. II. 260)
Work [spelling Text incipit [spelling

Composer as in volume] Type of piece as in volume]
1 Rameau Hippolite Monologue Aricie, Oú suis je?
2 Francœur Ismene Monologue Zephirs aimable
and Rebel fleurs
3 Rameau Zoroastre Monologue Cruels tirans
4 Rameau Castor Monologue Tristes apprets
5 Rameau Hippolite Monologue Aricie: Temple sacré
6 Rameau Castor Monologue Present des Dieux
7 Rameau Dardanus Monologue Lieux funestes
8 Rameau Castor Ariette Athlets Eclates,
eclates
9 Rameau Dardanus Ariette Quand l’acquilon
fougeux
10 Mondonville Le Carnaval du Ariette Amours le cieux
Parnasse
11 Rameau Pigmalion Ariette Regne amour
12 Francœur Ismene Ariette Amours plaisirs et
jeux
13 Francœur Ismene Ariette Vien vole amour
parle toi meme
14 Mondonville Titon Ariette Da dieu des coeurs
15 Rameau Dardanus Petite air L’amour le seul
gracieux amour
16 Rameau Castor Petite air Voici des Dieux
gracieux
17 Rameau Castor Petite air Que nos jeux
gracieux
18 Rameau Hippolite Petite air Plaisirs, doux
gracieux vanqueurs
19 Rameau Hippolite Petite air A l’Amour rendex/
gracieux rendons les armes
20 Francœur Ismene Chants parodies Vous qui voulez
charmer
(continued)
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Work [spelling Text incipit [spelling

Composer as in volume] Type of piece as in volume]
21 Francœur Ballet de la Paix Chants parodies Enfant de la paix
22 Rameau Les fetes de Chants parodies Au vain Plaisir
Polymnie
23 Rameau Castor Chants parodies Dans ce doux aziles
24 Rameau Les Fetes de Rondeau Ma Bergere
l’Hymen et de
l’Amour
25 Mondonville Les Fetes de Duos Psyche, Tisiphone,
Paphos contradictoires Juste Dieux
26 Rameau Hippolite Duos Ma furor va tout /
contradictoires Gardes vous de rien
27 Rameau Hippolite Duos C’est peu pour moy /
contradictoires Contente toy d’une
victime
28 Mondonville Titon Duo caracterisés L’Aurora & Titon:
Regne amour
29 Destouches Omphale Duo caracterisés Je sens triompher /
Je sens s’elever
30 Rameau Dardanus Duo caracterisés Manes plaintifs
31 Rameau Castor Chants melées Tendre amour, qu’il
avec choeur est doux
32 Rameau Hippolite Chants melées Dieux vangeurs
avec choeur lancez la tonnerre
(incl tonnerre)
33 Rameau Castor Chants melées Esprites soutiens
avec choeur
34 Francœur Ballet de la Paix Chants melées L’implacable dieu de
avec choeur la guerre
35 Rameau Zaïs Chants melées Aquilons rompez
avec choeur votre chaine
36 Rameau Dardanus Récitatif simple Je la vois, quells
transports
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Philippe de Bourbon’s successor, his son, Ferdinand). The volume Mangot

assembled consists of thirty-six excerpts from fourteen French operas, eight of
which are by Rameau. “Mangot’s Anthology,” as I term it, has long been cited
but never studied.75 A list of its contents appears in table 1.8.
My comparison of the excerpts’ musical texts with the corresponding ones
in scores and librettos printed for the Paris productions reveals that the pieces
match the printed scores produced closest to the time of the volume’s com-
pilation in 1760 and 1761, with a few exceptions. Mangot’s choices reflect his
time both in Lyon and in Parma, corresponding to some of the works with
which he was involved in each place. Mangot penned a cover letter declaring
that the ones he included represented the best of French style and explaining
the excerpts’ eight generic groupings, with illuminating descriptions of each:
the categories he singles out for Martini’s attention are (as he labels them)
“monologues,” “ariettes,” “petits airs gracieux,” “chants parodies,” “duos con-
tradictoires,” “duos caracterisés,” “chants mêlés avec le choeur,” and “recitatif
simple.”76 The letter reveals not only Mangot’s experience with both French
and Italian styles, but his awareness of the contemporary polemic over each
one’s merits.77 Not surprisingly, Mangot finds French opera more interesting
than Italian, citing its ensembles, choruses, dances linked to the subject, and
various types of airs; in short, he says, the French possess different genres of
music that exhibit a greater variety. In his view, the variety of its spectacle in
particular lends it a beauty that surpasses that of Italian opera. He states his
opinion most clearly in the letter’s conclusion:
Je crois notre opera francois, plus agreable en quelques points que L’italien,
et voici surquoy je me fonde; Dans un opera Italien on nentend que du
Rectatif ou des ariettes, quelques fois un Duo comme par miracle. L’opera
francois plus court de moitiée, est varié par des duos des trios des choeurs,
des danses qui sont liées au sujet, du recitatif, quelques Especes d’ariettes en
un mot differents genres de musique; Or La varieté dun spectacle; Est un
beauté; si Je me trompe / Errare humanum est.78
(I believe our French opera is more pleasing than Italian opera in some
respects, and here is what I mean: In an Italian opera one hears nothing
but recitative or some arias, sometimes a duet as if by some miracle. French
opera is shorter by half, is varied by duets, trios, choruses, dances linked to
the subject, recitative, some varieties of arias—in a word, different kinds of
music. The great variety of its spectacle is a beauty, if I am not mistaken—“To
err is human.”)
The rhetoric of such commentary strongly echoes that of Algarotti in

the Saggio sopra l’opera in musica, resembling it especially in the link forged
among variety, spectacle, and beauty. This link is particularly important for
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34 ❧ chapter one
understanding the Franco-Italian blend that characterizes Traetta’s operas as

it illuminates even more clearly a crucial component of Traetta’s milieu. By the
time Mangot wrote these lines to Martini in February 1761, Le feste d’Imeneo had
premiered six months earlier (September 1760) and the planning for Enea e
Lavinia of spring 1761 was likely under way. At that point the French troupe
had been absent for some two years (members of it departed the city at differ-
ent times). Mangot’s tone seems to convey a sense of nostalgia for the time of
its residency, especially in the fondness with which he describes the types of
music the performers sang.
A related, earlier letter provides a few more details on the French troupe’s
sojourn and further illuminates Mangot’s perspective.79 In this letter Mangot
responded to Martini’s request for some French musical excerpts, asking the
Bolognese master which works he already possessed in his library in order not
to duplicate any of them. In this letter Mangot gives a list of pieces he says were
performed in Parma, mentioning that sometimes only certain acts of them
were given. He omits a good many of the operas that were actually presented,
whether in full or in part. His list appears below, transcribed with his occa-
sional generic descriptions and in the order given in the document, followed
by a general statement of what they contain:
Castor et Pollux—tragedie de Rameau

Les talens liriques—Ballet de Rameau
Eglé—de La garde
Ismene—de Rebel et Francœur
Titone et l’Aurora—de Mondonville
Les festes greques et Romaines—de Blamon
Les Indes galantes—de Rameau
Les troqueurs opera bouffon et francois—de D’auvergne
Zaïde Ballet heroique—de Royer
Le triomphe de L’harmonie Ballet—de Grenet
Dans tout ces operas, il y a des morceaux de tous nos genres de musique;
c’est a dire du Serieux, du badin, du gratieux, du majestieux, du terrible, des
ariettes, & c.
(In all of our operas there are bits of all of our musical genres; that is to say,
the serious, the lighthearted, the graceful, the majestic, the terrifying, ariettes,
and so on.)
None of the troupe’s opéras-comiques appear in his list, and their omission
suggests an effort on Mangot’s part to downplay the presence of this reper-
tory to Martini; his declaration that the French operatic repertory chosen
for Parma represents “nothing but the best operas known today” suggests
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as much.80 Zélindor, the first opera given for the public, is also missing; per-
haps he considered this divertissement to be too light in subject matter and
thus not worthy of mention. He also omits some of the older works, L’Europe
galante and Issé (both from 1697), Les élémens (from 1721), and Les caractères
de l’Amour (1736), presumably to convey Parma’s repertory as thoroughly
modern and up-to-date (although he does include a work from 1723, Les fêtes
grecques et romaines). He includes all the works by Rameau known to have been
given except Zoroastre, possibly because it was evidently not among the most
popular with the court, receiving only a single performance. A surprising
omission is Vénus et Adonis of 1752; this work was among the more modern
of those given, and one by a prominent composer (Mondonville); moreover,
it was quite successful in Parma with at least eleven recorded performances.
Perhaps Mangot considered it too one-dimensional for the variety he wished
to present, which was a priority as shown in the comment that follows the
list. His list is short compared to the total number from which he drew in
assembling his anthology (ten operas compared to the fourteen), and, curi-
ously, only three in his list—Castor et Pollux, Ismène, and Titon et l’Aurora—
end up appearing in the volume as finalized. Whatever the reasons for his
choices may have been, Mangot’s anthology represents the most widely rang-
ing extant musical source closest to Parma’s French operas. The volume and
its related letters provide a rare glimpse of Mangot’s musical tastes, ones that
influenced the atmosphere in which he re-created some of Rameau’s most
important works and that form heretofore unacknowledged aspects of the
context from which Traetta’s operas emerged.
In seeking to understand a city’s musical life we traditionally turn to com-
posers, and, increasingly nowadays, to performers; we still focus less often on
other musicians involved in the creative process, however, in particular those
who reinvent works in new contexts, whether because of lack of evidence or
evaluative assumptions about originality. The array of sources documenting
Mangot and Delisle’s contributions to Parma’s musical theater allows us to
throw open a window on the French operas and ballets given there and the sty-
listic intermingling they portend—a window whose closure has long hindered
our understanding about eighteenth-century operatic reform. In so doing we
may begin to recover the lost world of Parma’s long tradition of adaptation,
in which Traetta’s experimental operas represent one color among many in a
broad palette of innovative Parmesan entertainments.
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Chapter Two
Behind the Scenes

Production and Management
at the Teatro Ducale
The Teatro Ducale’s well-organized system and the effective management of

its many overlapping areas of activity facilitated Parma’s complex entertain-
ment offerings starting in the watershed year of 1755. This year Guillaume
Du Tillot not only issued his public decree designed to reform audience
behavior but also restructured the theatrical administration and revised
the Teatro Ducale’s management procedures. The total costs of the French
troupe (lodging, in Colorno and Parma, maintenance, and stipends) and
those for all the scenery and costumes for all of the Teatro Ducale’s operas—
French and Italian—were now borne by the royal house,1 which oversaw
their design and production. Du Tillot limited the power of the impresarios
he contracted from this year forward. Those men were to engage the princi-
pal singers for the Italian operas and front the costs associated with the gam-
bling establishment, a prominent feature in Italy’s principal theaters and a
focal point of the Italian entertainment experience. The spectacular element
of opera at Parma, now institutionalized, became significantly enhanced. Du
Tillot’s quality control over components tied to visual display clearly illus-
trates his priorities.
Du Tillot’s decisive involvement in theatrical production was by no means
limited to a larger restructuring, but involved the day-to-day operations of
the theater as well. Perhaps no text sums up the immense logistical under-
taking of coordinating the French troupe quite as well as his thirty-article
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behind the scenes ❧ 37
decree in which he dictated the terms of the troupe’s behavior, attendance at

rehearsals and performances, and penalties for infractions.2 The document
was printed up in one hundred copies, as a manuscript emendation at the top
of the page shows. In addition to attempting large-scale crowd control, Du
Tillot personally signed off on enormous quantities of receipts, summaries
of expenses at various stages, and statements of arrangements; moreover, he
penned a heretofore unexplored statement of the theater’s production prac-
tices that is among the most revealing documents of its type currently extant.
His hands-on style of management was one of the keys to the administra-
tion’s ability to operate efficiently. This ability was particularly important for
Parma, since both the French entertainments and Traetta’s operas included
elements foreign to most Italian theaters, and that in other places led to sig-
nificant practical and logistical challenges.3 Given the paucity of information
available on production practice in the eighteenth-century opera theater,
the evidence from Parma is all the more vital for our understanding of how
theaters did what they did and why, and how the decisions made by those
involved in production influenced a theater’s works.
Du Tillot as Producer
Du Tillot’s manuscript statement on production practices describes the admin-

istration of the Teatro Ducale in great detail.4 It represents a lucid and com-
prehensive summary of its mechanism, enhancing our understanding of how
things were done in Parma but also expanding our knowledge of opera pro-
duction’s specifics more broadly. Especially given the dearth of extant sources
that testify to how Parma’s eighteenth-century productions looked onstage, the
document offers much to our understanding of the visual appeal offered by its
entertainments.
The statement yields a vivid image of the day-to-day running of the theater,
the identities of those in charge of different sectors of production, the tasks
associated with each area, and Du Tillot’s personal involvement with them
all. It seems to represent a sort of job manual providing guidelines for the
theater’s continued functioning. The people Du Tillot mentions in it appear
throughout the extant payment documents, confirming the statement’s link
to his tenure and the importance of their roles in production. It is undated,
but must have been drawn up sometime after 18 June 1759, when he was
promoted to prime minister, as suggested by the remark in the document’s
second sentence.
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Figure 2.1. Du Tillot’s statement on production, with transcription and translation,
undated. I-PAas, Carte Du Tillot, busta 88. Photograph: unnumbered page 1 of
4. Reproduced with the permission of the Archivio di Stato, Parma, Italy. This
and all other reproductions of documents held at I-PAas found in this book are
authorized by Prot. N. 1546/V. 9.3, 15 May 2018.
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Mr Du Tillot presidoit au Theatre et a sa Police entiere: nulle autorité ni

Politique, ni militair ne pourroit s’en meler que par sa permission, et sous ses
ordres. Le garde au Theatre devoit les executer meme au tems, ou n’étant
point revetu de la dignité du ministre il [n crossed out] étoit intendant gen.l
de la maison[.]
Le Sr. Pio Quazza etoit chargé de fair aller le service du Theatre, et des
spectacles, de Veiller a ce que tout fut fourni[,][crossed out: aussi] l’heure de
spectacle, les menuisiers l’illumination, les Loges des musiciens, les carosses,
le bois, les Payemens a tout ce qui concourroit aux Representations, orches-
tre, acteurs Tailleurs Perruquiers, masques, journaliers etoit de son ressort;
ainsi que le Produit, et la recette des representations il etoit reconnu par
l’officier, et l’on avoit ordre de donner main forte a sa recquisition[.]
Betti Tailleur du Theatre avoit a encor a sa garde le magazin, et le conser-
vation des habits. Les changemens les diminution les augmentations qui s’y
faisoient tous les ans engageoient a en former un nouvel inventaire qui etoit
toujours signé par l[es] Tailleurs[.]
Le Theatre quant a sa maneuvre avoit trois sortes d’ouvriers. Les
Decorateurs aux quels presidoient le Sr. Grassi le fils; les menuisiers qui
avoient a leur tete le Parmesamin [;] la Partie des machines conduitte par
Des Landes fils du machiniste mort au service de l’Infant[.]
Mr. Grassi le Pere par l’amour qu’il a pour le Theatre avoit l’œil general
sur ces trois parties. Il faisoit recueiller et conserver les Decorations[.]
Parmesamin avoit chef des menusieres avoit a sa garde, les bois[,] les chas-
sis; les Echaffauts, les bancs, les ustenscils[,] les cordages, et tout ce detail
immense de choses qui dependent de la menuiserie du Theatre[.]
Des Landes machiniste avoit a sa garde les cordages, les contrepoids les
nuages et tout ce qui a rapport aux machines[.]
Le magazin des habits gardé par Betti Le Tailleur etoit inspecté par le
Sr. Chepi, qui faisoit fournier les Etoffes, et tout ce qui etoit demandé par
le Tailleur, qui devoit tout faire Visiter et travailler sous les regards des per-
sonnes par lui commises a cet effet, et a qui on devoit produire tous les ans
L’Inventaire de ce qui existoit ainsi que les comptes qu’il presentoit a M. Du
Tillot qui en faisoit l’ordonnances[.]
Il y a un Plumassier qui est Serviteur pour l’entretien, la preparation et
la montur des Plumes. Il ressortoit encore [crossed out: a Sr.] l’inspection
du Sr. Chepi qui en avoit les Inventaires; il y en a considerablement [crossed
out: en nombre et en beauté] et cette partie est digne d’attention [.]
[crossed out: Quoique le Sr.]
Le sr. Dallai etoit custode des Theatres: mais il n[‘]exercoit cette function
assez mal, quelque fois avec infidelité et toujours avec avidité que pour le
Grand Theatre et le Theatrino di Corte[.]
Un Viellard [crossed out: attentif] nommé Girolamo est chargé de Veiller
pour le feu, mais il faudroit un custode qui repondit des portes, et des clés
du Theatre[.]
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40 ❧ chapter two
(Mr. Du Tillot presided over the theater and all its management: no authority
whether political or military, could involve itself in these matters except with
his permission and under his orders. The guard at the theater had to execute
them even at the time when he had not [yet] assumed the rank of minister,
[and] was intendant of the house. Mr. Pio Quazza was in charge of day-to-day
operations of the theater and performances, and of supervising everything
that was provided[:] the starting time of the performance, the carpenters,
the lighting, the musicians’ dressing rooms, the carriages, wood, payments
for everything for the performances, the orchestra [instrumentalists], actors,
costumers, wigmakers, the masks, the day [laborers] were under his purview,
as well as the profit and income from the performances[;] he was recognized
by the officer, and there were orders to bear a hand when he required it.
Betti the theater’s costumer, is still in charge of the storehouse, and main-
tenance of the costumes. The changes, eliminations, [and] additions that
he made every year required a new inventory that was always signed by the
costumers.
As for the technical management of the theater, there were three kinds
of workers: the decorators [scene designers and prop managers] over whom
Grassi the younger presided; the carpenters who were led by Parmesamin;
the stage machinery operators directed by Des Landes, the son of a machinist
who died in the service of the Infant.
Grassi, senior, out of his love for the theater, had general oversight over
these three sectors; he had the stage sets and props maintained.
Parmesamin, head of the carpenters, had oversight of the wood, the wing
flats, the scaffolding, seats, tools, ropes and the immense quantity of items
belonging to the carpentry department.
Des Landes the machinist had oversight of the ropes, counterweights, the
clouds, and everything concerning the stage machinery.
The costume warehouse, under Betti the costumer’s supervision, was
inspected by Chepi, who had the fabrics and everything the costumer
requested furnished for him, who had to have all the visitors and workers
supervised by people to whom he gave this task and for whom was produced
each year the inventory of what was present [in the warehouse] as well as the
accounts that he presented to Mr. Du Tillot, who had ordered them.
There is a feather designer who is assigned to the maintenance, prepa-
ration, and mounting of the feathers. He was again overseen by Mr. Chepi
who had the inventory list; there are many of them and this sector merits
attention.
Mr. Dallai was the manager of the theaters: but he did his job very poorly,
sometimes dishonestly and always greedily, for the big theater [the Teatro
Ducale] and the small court theater.
An old man named Girolamo is assigned to keep watch for fires, but there
should be someone to be in charge of the doors and keys to the theater.)
The absolute authority Du Tillot possessed is conveyed in the opening, with

its reference to power superseding that which is “political or military.” In the
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statement we learn the central staff members’ identities and jobs, and in one
case a bit about their personalities: Betti the costume designer and Chepi, who
oversaw the costume warehouse; two Grassis, father and son, involved in sets
and props; Parmesamin, the head carpenter; Des Landes the stage machinist;
Dallai the dishonest and greedy house manager; an unnamed feather designer;
and an old man named Girolamo, who kept watch in case of fire. Du Tillot’s
production statement, a type of source that is rare among others related to
Parma’s operas, offers a view not only of what went on backstage, but how the
mechanism actually worked.
Pio Quazza as Production Manager
The person who engineered the entire operation, overseeing the smallest
details of many elements as well as the larger whole into which they fit, was Pio
Quazza. No one surpassed Quazza in importance for the technical coordina-
tion of the French entertainments and Traetta’s operas. The evidence reveals
that he possessed sophisticated knowledge of theatrical production, that his
presence in Parma predated the French troupe’s arrival, that he knew both
French and Italian,5 and that he communicated often with Du Tillot, reporting
on matters ranging from the hiring of personnel, to descriptions of costumes,
to aspects of finances. He penned numerous letters, receipts, invoices, finan-
cial summaries, and other documents relating to production that span almost
a half century. He helped coordinate the French troupe and served as liai-
son between members of the theatrical staff in various sectors. Assuming the
modern-day role of production manager, after the return of traditional Italian
opera to the Teatro Ducale’s stage he became an impresario and then eventu-
ally the director of the royal theaters (“Ispettore dei RR Teatri”) in 1776. That
a single person enjoyed such a meteoric rise in position and influence, from
overseeing the Teatro Ducale’s day-to-day operations to serving as the general
manager of theaters under the royal house’s purview, is worthy of attention.
Such a progression seems unusual in the picture we currently have of eigh-
teenth-century operatic production. No such figure existed at Turin’s Teatro
Regio, for example, nor in the few other theatrical houses for which we have a
fairly well-developed sense of operatic production practices.6
Archival material affords a fairly detailed view of Quazza’s life and theatrical
involvement, which highlights even more clearly the complexity of Parma’s the-
atrical enterprise. When Quazza arrived in Parma is unknown, but evidence sug-
gests he was born in Colorno.7 His involvement with Parma’s court theater dates
at least from December 1752, when he penned and signed a detailed inventory
of improvements necessary for the renovation of Colorno’s court theater.8 Many
letters Quazza wrote to Du Tillot and signed are extant,9 and comparison of his
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42 ❧ chapter two
hand in them allows us to observe it in many other documents. The document

from 1752 specifies elements including components of scene designs, pieces of
practicable scenery, and items necessary for the instrumentalists.10 Familiarity
with objects stemming from multiple sectors of production such as these sug-
gests a sophisticated prior knowledge of technical theater as well as of its musical
components. His certain involvement with theater at Parma dates from carnival
1754, when he labeled a chart of the theatrical boxes with names of their occu-
pants.11 The French troupe arrived the following August 1755.
During the 1750s and 1760s Quazza worked with both the elder Grassi and
Chepy (given here in his name’s alternate spelling, also found in the docu-
ments) and received payments for services associated with the French troupe’s
residence. That he was a highly valued leader of the production team is certain
given his court appointment, which he possessed by 1757.12 Numerous letters
he wrote to Du Tillot testify to his conscientiousness in communicating about
all aspects of production. In the 1760s he traveled to Bologna to hire singers;13
he advised the administration on the refurbishment of costumes;14 and he cre-
ated numerous inventories, receipts, and contracts for personnel. In 1761 the
theater switched to a new funding model, one based on the statutes of Turin’s
Teatro Regio, which Parma had requested by February of the same year.15 At
the time the new model was instituted, Quazza was retained when several other
personnel members were dismissed, further attesting to his key role in Parma’s
theatrical enterprise. Quazza rose in power and influence through the 1760s and
1770s, corresponding with impresari through his personal secretary. Promoted
to “Ispettore dei RR Teatri” in 1776, he held a box in the theater near other
high-ranking officials during the 1770, and in 1787 moved from a rented prop-
erty to a residence owned by the royal house with his wife (twenty-seven years
his junior) and children, the last of which he fathered at the age of seventy.16
His seems to have worked up until shortly before his death: his hand appears
in theatrical documents through the 1790s, and he died in 1802 at the age of
ninety.17 No other person in Parma approached Pio Quazza’s level of authority
and influence over the operations of theatrical production and management.
When considering the massive undertaking that hosting the French troupe rep-
resented—together with the tasks of mounting the usual Italian operas in carni-
val season, spring, and fall—Quazza emerges as truly indispensable to Parma’s
theatrical life and its particular blend of French and Italian productions.
The Theatrical Account Books
Through Quazza’s letters to Du Tillot, the detailed description of production

Du Tillot authored, and many other sources pertaining to theatrical activity in
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Parma, we gain a clear view of the high degree of centralization and coordi-
nation that characterized the theatrical enterprise. Parma’s theatrical account
books reinforce this reality, revealing a wealth of information about not only
theatrical finances but the production process itself. These books corroborate
the complexity on which Du Tillot reported in his production statement. Their
construction and content clearly illuminate the multistep process of which
Parma’s theatrical production consisted and document the many logistical
challenges Parma’s personnel faced. The account books were produced annu-
ally starting in 1756, the year after Du Tillot’s revision of managerial practices.
It is certain that the first extant book was the first one produced; before 1756
theatrical expenses appeared in the royal house’s general account books and
not in separate volumes, and they disappear from the royal house books in
1756. Understanding the books’ organization is crucial to knowing how pro-
duction in Parma worked: they constitute the physical evidence of the com-
plexity of Du Tillot’s undertaking. They consist of large, unbound fascicles
that contain sub-fascicles, which in turn contain smaller sub-fascicles, which in
turn contain loose receipts. The largest books correspond to the years of the
troupe’s residence, when expenses were the most numerous and coordination
the most challenging. The structure of the account books’ cover pages (that
is, the covers of the largest fascicles) reveals that the creation of these specific
pages postdates the seasons they detail; the cover pages were not produced
concurrently with those seasons as one might expect but were actually after-
the-fact summaries. Their organization, in turn, sheds light on how the French
entertainments must have been viewed by those concerned with the finances
of those works.
Figure 2.2 presents the cover page for the 1756 account book and my tran-
scription. The Spanish text and endorsements by Spanish ministers of state on
these pages clarifies the link to the House of Bourbon’s financial administra-
tion. Each row carries a person’s name and represents a sub-fascicle compris-
ing a collection of expenses that total the amount in the right hand column.
The individuals overseeing different sectors of production were responsible
for the associated expenses. Each person bore the related costs, paying up
front to another person, who then paid the merchant, for example, until
such time that he received reimbursement from the royal house. The middle
column contains chronologically ordered dates on which each collection of
expenses was paid out. Two individuals named in Du Tillot’s production state-
ment appear on the master cover page: Grassi and Chepy. (“El mismo,” “the
same,” appearing many times, refers to the name in the row above.) The other
person appearing frequently on this page is Treillard. These men played key
roles in Du Tillot’s theatrical staff and worked with Pio Quazza to facilitate
operatic production.
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Figure 2.2. Cover page for 1756 account book. I-Paas, Comp. borb., fili correnti,
busta 931a and transcription. Reproduced with permission.
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1756
Cuentas Interesados Libramientos Importes
1: Franc.co Trelliard En 6 de Marzo 1942.4
2: el mismo [the same] En 24 de Abril 42472.11.8
3: J. Bapt.a Grassi En 5 de Mayo 95266.16.10
4: Joseph Chepi En 12 To [esto = the 27420.9.5
same; as above]
5: el mismo En 23 de Agosto 25525.10.2
6: Trelliard En 4 de Septiembre 103776.15.6
7: el mismo En 25 To 33942.2.4
8: el mismo En 29 de Octobre 54528.15
9: Navarro En 12 de Nov.re 1162.8
10: Trelliard En 19 To 29844.8.8
11: Grassi En 20 de Diz.re 6719.16
12: Claudio Escallonne En 30 To 1160.10
13: Luis Melley En 21 de Hen.o de 1757 1084.8
14 Trelliard En 4 de Feb.o 67357.6.4
15: Chepi En 4 de Marzo 1561.1
16: Fran.co Ramoneda En 18 de Abril 819
17: Grassi En 21 To 2442
18 el mismo En To 16630.19
19: Claudio Escallonne En 2 de Mayo 1032.5
20: Grassi En 25 de Sept.bre de 1759 112000
21 Claudio Escallonne En 26 de Feb.o de 1760 2822
Total 647511.7.8
Nota
Las partidas No. 20 y 21. de esta Carpeta, que non tienen cuenta adjunta que las acompane, con-
stan, respecto ala primera por la Cuenta No. 3. de esta misma carpeta, y respecto ala segunda, del
Estado general de las cuentas de Dr. Claudio Escallone de este mismo ano de 1756.
Detalle
Theatro: {Operas Musicales: 330793.4.4 } 717886.9
{Comedias Francesas: 387093.4.8 } [single bracket pointing
to 717886.9]
Nota
La diferencia de 70375.1.4 procede de la vaxa que se practico a Dr. J. Bapt Grassi en su
cuenta No. 3 por lo que cobro de los [illegible; rip in page]entos, Billetes de entrada, y otros
productos operas y Tuegos en el Carnaval de e[illegible; rip in page -- esto?] [mi?]isimo ano.
Butler.indd 45 12/11/2018 5:07:41 PM

46 ❧ chapter two
The Staff and Their Roles
The cover pages testify to a reality that is essential for understanding the
French entertainments and their relationship to the Teatro Ducale’s hybrid
nature and complicated identity: like other principal opera houses in Italian
cities of the day, the theater was both a court theater and public theater,
catering to a dual but closely related pair of communities.18 The account
books’ cover pages clarify that the link between Du Tillot’s theatrical and
nontheatrical administrative duties carried over to his staff: members of the
personnel performed roles in theatrical production similar to those they
performed for the royal house. The close knit institutional connection and
the associated familiarity with certain occupations and related tasks undoubt-
edly aided the smooth running of Parma’s theatrical mechanism. Moreover,
certain people performed the same general duties for the theater for about
a decade, resulting in a high level of continuity that must have facilitated
production as well. They formed a “production troupe” of sorts, presumably
enjoying a degree of familiarity similar to those experienced by members of
troupes composed of performers. The account books’ sub-fascicles confirm
and amplify the division of labor reported by Du Tillot in his production
statement.19 The detail with which these and other documents reflect the-
atrical practice reveals with great specificity who was responsible for what.
The names on the account lines for the 1756 book’s cover page shown above
are Francesco (François) Treillard, Joseph Chepi (Chepy), Francesco Grassi,
and Luis Melley. Annotations in the account book receipts clarify their roles,
which vary widely in type and scope of activity.
Treillard, a cabinet secretary in 1768, seems to have risen in the ranks
quite significantly: his first position was stable worker in the royal cavalry.20
The receipts within the account books’ fascicles reveal that he oversaw the
French troupe’s activities and everything concerning them at both Colorno
and Parma: he made payments to the members for their monthly stipends
and related expenses, to merchants for materials, to the costumer for items
for the supernumeraries, to copyists for music copying, and to Quazza for his
service. Chepi (Chepy) was head of the royal house’s wardrobe and jewelry;21
he oversaw costumes for both French and Italian entertainments. The fas-
cicles’ receipts indicate that he paid tailors for fabric, certain merchants for
costume-related items, and others for materials involving the theater’s renova-
tion, undertaken in 1760. Giambattista Grassi, a highly ranked official, served
as secretary of the royal house.22 His father, Francesco, was the royal architect.
The elder Grassi, “out of his love for the theater,” as Du Tillot put it in his pro-
duction statement, oversaw almost every component for the Italian operas at
the Teatro Ducale, paying for everything pertaining to the theater except cos-
tumes (with certain exceptions): scenery, lighting, stage machinery, technical
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personnel, music copying, orchestral musicians, instruments, supernumerar-

ies, and house rentals for the French troupe’s members. He occupied a private
box at the theater, a further testament to his rank. A humbler but nevertheless
important figure was Luis Melley, the royal baker. Large packets of receipts
indicate that he provided bread and other refreshments to the French troupe
daily throughout their residency. The efficient division of labor demonstrates
the foremost importance the royal house placed on entertainments, the com-
mitment it made to their continuation, and the close watch it kept on those
who oversaw its production.
Treillard, Grassi, and Chepy were assisted in the day to day tasks related to
their jobs by Quazza and Giovanni Jacobi (Jacobbi). Like Grassi, Jacobi was a
high-ranking official, holding the title of Scrittore nell’Ufficio dell’Intendenza
generale in 1749. Jacobi’s and Grassi’s theatrical boxes were adjacent to the
corona reale in 1754, a clear testament to their high-ranking positions.23 Jacobi
was active in theatrical production in 1755: delegated by Grassi to procure
singers and dancers for the Italian operas for carnival 1756, Jacobi called on
Giambattista Erasme, who must have been his agent in Bologna, for the task,
at least in part.24 In July 1755 Jacobi penned and signed a contract for a singer
for carnival 1756.25 In April 1756 Jacobi himself traveled to fulfill an unknown
task related to the theater, and in May of the same year Du Tillot sent him and
Mangot to nearby Reggio, presumably to procure singers as Jacobi had done on
other occasions. 26 Jacobi’s responsibilities increased the following year, when he
received his first account to oversee, one for the comic operas in carnival 1757.27
The active participation by court officials, then, in Parma’s theatrical activities,
must have exerted a strong impact on Parma’s court culture, increasing the sense
of ownership on the part of those involved with the entertainments’ creation.
Paying the Bills in Parma
Du Tillot, like any administrator overseeing budgets for expensive undertak-

ings, labored over cutting costs and doing more with less. After the first year
of the troupe’s tenure he proposed replacing some members with others and
showed how the restructuring would save money. He drafted budgets, pre-
sumably to present to the Bourbon sovereign, in which he estimated sums for
productions exhibiting different types of spectacle and other components.28
Annotations on the account books’ cover pages clarify the high degree of con-
cern over the expenses of the French entertainments. Another look at the
1756 cover page presented earlier clarifies this fact. At the bottom of the page
appears an annotation separating all costs into one of two categories: “come-
dias francesas” (French comedies, which refers to all the French troupe’s
entertainments) or “operas musicales” (musical works, or the Italian operas).
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Figure 2.3. Cover page for the “comedias francesas” subfascicle, 1756. I-PAas,
Comp. borb., fili correnti, busta 931a. Reproduced with permission.
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The covers of the first layer of sub-fascicles bear these labels; figure 2.3
shows the sub-fascicle cover for “comedias francesas” for 1756, with each row
of relevant expenses from the 1756 book’s cover page appearing in sequence
and totaled at the bottom. This structure is consistent from year to year, indi-
cating an ongoing interest in the specification of these expenses. Receipts pro-
vided documentation for the totals in each category. These pages were inserted
inside the sub-fascicles and similarly labeled in minute detail, sometimes down
to small fractions of Parmesan lire. Many receipts carry annotations dividing up
expenses into French or Italian ones; sometimes a third category, “sueldo” (sal-
ary), is present as well. The curious action of designating every single expense
as either French or Italian on the receipts sits rather uncomfortably alongside
the image we have of Parma as a center for stylistic mingling. Where the prac-
tical aspects of accounting were concerned, the distinction between features
representing different national styles was strictly maintained.
Other evidence shows that the account books were apparently assembled
later than the years whose expenses they report. The last two rows on the 1756
page, with dates of 1759 and 1760 (rendered in boldface type in my transcrip-
tion to highlight them), confirm that these pages were put together sometime
after 1756. In fact, the cover page for the “comedias francesas” sub-fascicle in
1756 must have been drawn up as late as ten years after the fact: at the bottom
of the page, a note indicates that the last of the accounting for 1756 occurred
in 1766—which was in fact the year of Philippe de Bourbon’s death.29 At some
point—perhaps in 1766 or soon after, when Ferdinand, Philippe’s brother,
succeeded him—the Bourbon accountants took great pains to determine the
costs of the Italian operas in comparison to the French entertainments.
For purposes of comparison with the cover page for 1756, figure 2.4
shows the 1757 book’s cover page. Taken together they show that the meticu-
lous accounting for the French troupe’s maintenance continued during the
years of its residence and that the practice of separating costs was an ongo-
ing concern. Perhaps these cover pages, and their corresponding receipts with
divided expenses, served as tools to guide new choices regarding expenditures.
Parma’s account books, then, can be considered texts that are at once prescrip-
tive and descriptive, representing reports on expenditures as well as directives
for future undertakings.
The theatrical account books both help and hinder a nuanced understand-
ing of Traetta’s operas. Although it is generally assumed that the expenses of
Traetta’s operas were exorbitant, ultimately leading to the “French plan’s”
abandonment,30 the account books demonstrate that this view is an exagger-
ated one, as we shall see. While the books make it possible to know the sum
total of the French troupe’s costs over time (one could simply calculate the
total of the “comedias francesas” lines in the sub-fascicles) it is far less simple to
assess the costs for a given opera or even a given year because only a portion of
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50 ❧ chapter two
Figure 2.4. Cover page from 1757 account book. I-PAas, Comp. borb., fili correnti,
busta 931b. Reproduced with permission.
a year’s expenses is listed in its book. For example, the cover page for 1759 (the
year of Ippolito ed Aricia’s performance), shown in figure 2.5, demonstrates this
fact. It reveals two important things that contrast with cover pages for previous
years. It shows that the accountants considered Traetta’s operas to be “operas
musicales,” grouping the costs for them together with the other conventional
Italian operas, regardless of their stylistic mixture. It also shows account payout
dates ranging from 1760 to 1761.
The summaries at the feet of the cover pages show that the total for the
French entertainments always exceeds that of the Italian operas. At least in
part, however, the French entertainment total is always significantly higher
because the Italian opera total sometimes lacks the fees for the solo singers:
these costs were borne by the impresarios and not the court, and full documen-
tation for them has not yet come to light.31 Fees paid to leading singers were
consistently among the highest of those that eighteenth-century theaters had
to sustain, and these costs would have raised the “operas italianas” expenses
considerably—likely the reason the court decided to follow the conventions of
the traditional impresarial system regarding them. Nevertheless, it seems that
the Italian operas’ profits were considered to offset the French entertainments’
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Figure 2.5. Cover page from 1759 account book and transcription. I-PAas, Comp.
borb., fili correnti, 932. Reproduced with permission.
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52 ❧ chapter two
expenses. Returning to the 1756 cover page’s annotations illustrates this pos-
sibility. Here the Italian operas’ costs and profits were both indicated clearly.
As shown in the 1756 cover page, the earnings from ticket sales, box rentals,
and gambling tables were deducted from Grassi’s portion of the Italian operas’
expenses. It appears that, at least in part, Parma’s Italian operas subsidized its
French ones.
The absence of some data connected with the Italian operas, then, makes it
impossible to know whether the French entertainments or the Italian operas
cost more to produce overall, in absolute terms. But in terms of the court’s
financial contribution during the years Traetta’s operas were given the differ-
ence is clear: the French troupe’s residency cost the court more than all four
of Traetta’s operas did combined. Over the six-year period that spanned the
troupe’s arrival and Traetta’s last opera, in 1761, the court spent about one and
two-thirds as much on the French troupe as they did on all the Italian operas—
that is, Traetta’s operas and the other Italian ones given between 1759 and
1761, taken together (or, almost double, to put it another way).
The account books and other materials relating to production in Parma
offer a wealth of insight into the French context out of which Traetta’s operas
grew. They reveal Du Tillot’s priorities: to build up the costume and scenery
warehouses; to renovate the theater to bring it in line with high-class ones; to
raise the profile of artistic production; and to produce the best French dance,
theater, and spectacle the Bourbon court was capable of offering. They help
us gain a clearer and more detailed view of the people involved in produc-
tion, which in turn heightens our awareness of the crucial link between a the-
ater and its sponsoring patron, in an era when sovereignty still dictated and
formed the conditions under which opera was produced and enjoyed by a pub-
lic composed of his subjects. In Parma, court officials at the opera house were
more than spectators watching from their theatrical boxes—they were active
participants in the entertainments’ production. Such involvement must have
increased these individuals’ sense of ownership of the works and investment in
their success. The affection Parma’s public had for its French entertainments
was to be felt in tangible ways later on, through specific performance-related
elements of Traetta’s first two reform operas in particular. It was a deep con-
nection that figured decisively in the complex of circumstances that at once
conditioned and reflected Parma’s unique theatrical culture.
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Chapter Three
The French Entertainments

Creation, Publicity, Propaganda
Parma’s full immersion in French music and theater set the stage for Traetta’s
operas. Starting in 1756 the troupe gave a broad range of the era’s popular
musical-theatrical genres—some two hundred works, including about twenty-
three operas and ballets by Jean-Philippe Rameau and other French compos-
ers. The adaptation process scholars have observed in Traetta’s operas actually
began with the French operas, as evidence connected with these four French
works given in Parma demonstrates.
Zélindor, roi des silphes / Zelindor, re de’ silfi

Divertissement/balletto; Rebel and Francœur / Moncrif (1745; 1751)
Autumn 1757
Les Incas du Pérou / Gl’Incà del Perù from Les Indes galantes
Opéra-ballet; Rameau / Fuzelier (1735)
18 December 1757
Castor et Pollux / Castore e Polluce

Tragédie lyrique; Rameau / Bernard (1737; 1754)
6 December 1758
Anacreonte
Balletto; Rameau / Bernard
Likely adapted from Anacréon, third entrée from the opéra-ballet Les surprises de
l’Amour (1748; 1757)
Carnival 1759
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54 ❧ chapter three
These French works illuminate Parma’s adaptation process particularly well.

Three of them include singing—the divertissement Zélindor, roi des silphes by
Francœur and Rebel, titled Zelindor, re de’ silfi in Parma; the entrée Les Incas du
Pérou from the opéra-ballet Les Indes galantes by Rameau, titled Gl’Incà del Perù
in Parma; the tragédie lyrique Castor et Pollux by Rameau, titled Castore e Polluce in
Parma—and one of them is entirely danced—the balletto Anacreonte, a newly cre-
ated work based on the entrée Anacréon from Rameau’s opéra-ballet Les surprises de
l’Amour. Extant sources document the Parmesan transformations of these works
the most thoroughly. Parma’s French entertainments—the sung ones performed
by the troupe’s French singers, in the original French—were given in private per-
formances for the court. Some of them were also presented to the public at the
city’s Teatro Ducale, although actually how many received public performances
may never be known for certain. Printed librettos for the four works above are
extant and have up to now never been examined. My comparison of the Parma
librettos for Zelindor, re de’ silfi, Gl’Incà del Perù, Castore e Polluce, and Anacreonte,
with librettos from the Paris revivals closest to the dates of the Parmesan pro-
ductions reveals significant alterations to the texts. A libretto survives for a fifth
work, Mondonville’s Titon et l’Aurora (1759) as well, although the text for Parma
is not significantly changed from the original. Musical sources stemming from
the Parmesan productions of the French operas are not extant, with the excep-
tion of the source for Castor et Pollux that I further discuss below.
Who composed the nonextant music for the altered portions is thus
unknown, though a complex of sources I have assembled suggests some
answers. As discussed in chapter 1, in 1760 Padre Martini asked Mangot for
samples of a few works that represented French musical style. Mangot pre-
pared a large volume of thirty-six manuscript excerpts from fourteen French
operas and sent it to him in Bologna. By comparing its contents to engraved
scores and printed librettos for French productions I determined that Mangot
drew upon all the most recent versions of the French works when he compiled
his anthology. The rich evidence for Castor et Pollux in Parma demonstrates
that Parma’s production represented the work’s most modern version, one
that postdated the last documented revival in Paris. Parma audiences might
have been the first in Europe to hear the new version, one with revisions that
evidently stemmed from Rameau himself.
Some of the alterations in the three sung works involve the same singers,
who must have commanded particular attention in Parma. Furthermore,
some of Parma’s performers were engaged later by Vienna, one of many links
between these two innovative cultural centers at midcentury. The newly recon-
structed French context for Traetta’s Parmesan operas demonstrates that
stylistic fusion was a continuous tradition in Parma, one with its own conven-
tions, and that Traetta’s works represent the Italianate variety of this tradition.
When seen in this light and repositioned in a broader, European context, they
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the french entertainments ❧ 55
demonstrate that operatic reform was a flexible concept, one that embraced a
mosaic of responses to the calls for change that transformed musical theater in
Enlightenment Europe.
Delisle choreographed the ballets and coordinated the troupe’s perfor-
mances of plays and the operas that represented the lighter side of Parma’s
repertory. Mangot, by contrast, decisively influenced its serious side, as we
saw earlier. Before reviewing the four works under discussion here, it bears
repeating that Mangot was an experienced and versatile musician when he
arrived in Parma in 1756. He had served in Lyon as opera director, orches-
tral conductor, oboist, composer, and singer; he had mounted productions
of many operas by Rameau and others for Lyon’s opera theater; and he had
sometimes sung bass roles in them. In Parma he oversaw the copying of parts
for the French works and led the orchestra. Given Mangot’s experience pro-
ducing his brother-in-law’s operas in Lyon, and his own knowledge of writing
for the voice, he could certainly have composed the music for the revised
portions of Parma’s French works.
Parma’s French Librettos
The five extant librettos for Parma’s French productions represent a small
though striking corpus of texts that raise intriguing questions. First, variations
in their content as a group prompt speculation about the publics for which
they were intended. In the case of the four operas (that is, Zelindor, re de’ silfi,
Gl’Incà del Perù, Castore e Polluce, and Titone e l’Aurora), how the poetry was pre-
sented seems to have varied according to genre and chronology. For the diver-
tissement and the act of an opéra-ballet (that is, Zelindor, re de’ silfi and Gl’Incà del
Perù), the librettos include only the Italian translation, while for works in the
loftier genres of tragédie lyrique and pastorale-héroïque (that is, Castore e Polluce and
Titone e l’Aurora), the French poetry and Italian translation are given side by
side. The presence or absence of composers’ names is curious as well: Rameau
and Mondonville are named in the librettos for Castore e Polluce and Titone e
l’Aurora, respectively, whereas in the librettos for Zelindor, re de’ silfi, Gl’Incà
del Perù, and Anacreonte, no composers are named (though in the preface to
Anacreonte, the poet of Les surprises de l’Amour, Pierre-Joseph Bernard, is men-
tioned, for reasons I explore further below). For the operas, then, identifi-
cation of a work’s composer coincided with the appearance of both French
and Italian texts in the librettos. It would seem that the librettos for Castore e
Polluce and Titone e l’Aurora in particular were directed toward a more sophis-
ticated sector of Parma’s public than were those for Zelindor, re de’ silfi and
Gl’Incà del Perù. The differences seem to represent a gesture toward catering
to the needs and desires of two different publics: one that knew French and
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could understand the relationship between the original poetry and its trans-
lation, and would thus recognize and appreciate the names of Rameau and
Mondonville, and another public that would have needed no more than the
Italian translation to follow the action and enjoy the spectacle. Chronology
seems relevant here as well: performances of the operas with Italian-only libret-
tos—Zelindor, re de’ silfi and Gl’Incà del Perù both of 1757—preceded those of
works whose librettos contained both French and Italian texts—Castore e Polluce
and Titone e l’Aurora, given in 1758 and 1759, respectively. Traetta’s first reform
opera, Ippolito ed Aricia, premiered a short while later in 1759—a work that like-
wise catered to Parma’s linguistically hybrid public.
Second, speculating as to who translated the French texts and where the
newly created additions came from testifies to the highly collaborative nature
of Parma’s creative process. Mangot and Frugoni likely worked together on
the more extensive revisions involving newly created texts; Mangot probably
wrote new French verses that Frugoni then translated. The combined efforts
of the creative personnel resulted in a repertory that was unique to cities
around Enlightenment Europe where French troupes were engaged: no other
city offered entertainment that varied as widely as Parma’s, ranging from spo-
ken drama to the era’s leading forms of musical theater: opéra-comique, tragédie
lyrique, pastorale-héroïque, opéra-ballet, and divertissement.
Parma’s Zelindor, re de’ silfi
Francœur and Rebel’s one-act divertissement Zélindor, roi des silphes was the
first French vocal work performed in Parma for which a printed libretto sur-
vives. According to the cover page (fig. 3.1) it opened during autumn 1757
but it apparently received at least four performances during November and
December.1 Translated as Zelindor, re de’ silfi, the work introduced the Parma
public to French airs, passages of récitatif, and choruses. Comparison with the
original French libretto of 1745 exhibits various alterations, the most signifi-
cant of which involves the opera’s final scene.
Zélindor, roi des silphes, original Libretto, p. 15.
Le Chœur.
Ah! Ah! Quel bien est plus doux!
Ah! Qu’il est digne de vous!
La Silfide.
Que votre empire
Doit vous charmer!
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Figure 3.1. Libretto for Zelindor, re de’ silfi (Parma, Autumn 1757), cover page.
US-CA, *IC7A100B750 v. 119 [no. 12]. Reproduced with permission from
Houghton Library, Harvard University.
Butler.indd 57 12/11/2018 5:08:05 PM

Le Chœur.
On n’y respire
Que pour aimer.
On danse
Chœur des Genies.

Que dans les airs nos chants harmonieux,
Que le feu, que la terre & l’onde,
Que tout rende hommage à des yeux
Le charme & la gloire du monde.
Fin du Ballet
Zelindor, re de’ silfi, Parma libretto, p. 23.
La Silfide.
L’Aria è il Regno, che t’attende,
Come nuovo suo splendor.
Il Coro.
Nel tuo Regno fortunato
Non respirarsi, che Amor.
Zelindor.
Del Dio dei Cori
Dolce è l’Impero.
Tesse di Fiori
Le sue Catene,
Per farle amar.
Troppo severo
Di Giove è il Regno,
Che fa sul Mondo
L’alto suo sdegno
Dal Ciel tonar.
Si danza.
Fine del Balletto.
As shown above, the opera in its original form concludes with a chorus.
A two-stanza aria and a dance replaced the chorus in Parma, considerably
expanding the end of the work. The aria was presumably set to music as a
da capo ariette, given its poetry’s structure and contemporary French conven-
tion. It highlighted the leading role of Zélindor, the king of the sylphs, and its
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singer, the haute-contre Jean-Joseph Guigues. Its text adds additional praise for
the power of love, the piece’s overall theme. Guigues’s extra aria suggests he
was a valued troupe member; in fact he would be showcased even more promi-
nently a month later, in Les Incas du Pérou, and offered a contract in Vienna
after the troupe’s departure.
Parma’s Gl’Incà del Perù
The revisions made to Les Incas du Pérou were significantly more extensive
than those for Zelindor, re de’ silfi. Gl’Incà del Perù, as it was titled in Parma (The
Peruvian Incas) was a single act from Les Indes galantes (The Amorous Indies).
First given in 1735, this opera had earned Rameau the greatest success of his
long career. The Indies of Les Indes galantes were understood to mean any non-
European locale, and the entrées are love stories that take place in North America,
Turkey, Persia, and Peru. In 1757 and 1758 the troupe performed three acts
from the work. Two of them were given in private performances for the court:
Les sauvages, “The Savages,” which featured images of native Americans brought
to Paris from the French colony of Louisiana, and L’acte turc, “the Turkish act,”
the common name for Le Turc généreux, about a pasha’s love for his French slave.
Gl’Incà del Perù was given at least five times; it received four performances in 1757
(on 9, 10, 12, and 13 April),2 and then was given for the public in a performance
of 18 December the same year, made accessible by the court poet’s Italian trans-
lation of the French libretto as shown here. Parma’s court and public could thus
count themselves as among Europe’s most fashionable audiences by offering this
entertainment in particular, one that reflected the era’s passion for exoticism.3
Sgavetti’s commentary from around the time of Gl’Incà’s performance
reveals much about local reception of this work and others (mostly uniden-
tified) that the troupe performed.4 His remarks are regularly peppered with
criticisms about how costly the French productions were, but also report that
crowds of people flocked to the theaters to see them when they could. We get
a strong sense from Sgavetti that the public in both Colorno and Parma were
wildly curious about the French troupe and its theater in general, both spoken
and sung, even though he is personally quite negative about it; on 19 October
1757, regarding the performances in Colorno, he says that he would not have
gone even if they had paid him to do so.5 The theater was frequently opened
to the public starting on 3 November 1757, when the French performers, with
the court, returned to Parma from Colorno.6 Sgavetti reports on 20 November,
regarding the French work (unnamed) that had been performed the previ-
ous evening, that the public had never before seen anything like it.7 On 4
December there was free admission with large crowds of locals in attendance.8
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Figure 3.2. Libretto for Les Incas du Pérou / Gl’Incà del Perù (Parma, 18 December
1757), cover page. US-Wc.
During November and early December 1757 in particular, it seems that a con-
certed effort was made to cultivate the public’s fascination with the French
troupe and its performances.
Sgavetti’s entry for 18 December 1757, the date on which Gl’Incà del Perù was
given (according to its printed libretto, elucidates the context for the altera-
tions made in Parma. These consist of a lengthy, rewritten final scene with new
choruses, dances, arias, and a duet. The modifications seem to speak directly
to both French and Italian audiences by highlighting aspects of both operatic
styles: they align the work more closely with Italian convention by showcasing
the soloists, and the additional dances and choruses enhance the French diver-
tissement-style scene, one that includes dialogue and dance. The work garnered
success with the court, as demonstrated by Conte Carlo Castone Della Torre di
Rezzonico’s glowing report of its performance:
La varietà, il decoro, l’incanto di quelle immaginose composizioni dovevano

allettare gli Spettatori italiani, che solamente bramavano udire nella pro-
pria lingua, e nella propria musica trasportata la grandezza di sì pomposo
Spettacolo, in cui le danze e i cori s’intrecciano, e dalla Poesia dalla Musica
dal Ballo un solo quadro mobile, ed animato si compone a diletto degli orec-
chi, degli occhi, e del cuore.9
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(The variety, the decor, the charm of those imaginative compositions must
have enticed the Italian attendees, who usually liked to hear conveyed in
their own language and music, the grandeur of such pomp-filled spectacle,
in which the dances and the choruses are intertwined, and from the poetry,
music, and dance one moving and lively picture is composed to the delight
of the ears, the eyes, and the heart.)
Les Incas concerns the rivalry of the Incan high priest Huascar and the
enlightened Spaniard Don Carlos as they pursue the love of the Incan princess,
Phani-Palla.10 The short work features no fewer than two volcanic eruptions; in
the second one, which concludes the action, Huascar is buried in molten lava.
The entrée’s new conclusion, with its additional divertissement, would have spo-
ken to Parma audiences on several levels.
Les Indes galantes, original libretto, p. 21.
Les Incas du Perou
Pha. & {Ah! mon cœur a bien mérité

Carl. Le sort qu’avec vous il partage.
Huas. {Faut-il que mon cœur irrité

Ne puisse être vangé d’un si cruel outrage?
Ils reprennent le Rondeau. Phani & Carlos

s’adressent l’un à l’autre les Paroles de ce Trio;
Huascar chante les siennes à part.
Les Indes galantes, continuation, p. 22.
Scene VIII.
Le Volcan se rallume, & le Tremblement de terre recommence.
Huascar:
La flâme se rallume encore . . .
Loin de l’éviter, je l’implore . . .
Abîmes embrâsez, j’ay trahy les Autels,
Excercez l’employ du Tonnerre;
Vangez les droits des Immortels;
Déchirez le sein de la Terre;
Sous mes pas chancelans,
Renversez, dispersez ces arrides Montagnes;
Lancez vos feux dans ces tristes Campagnes,
Tombez sur moy, Rochers brûlans.
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Le Volcan vomit des Rochers enflâmez qui

écrasent le criminel Huascar.
Fin de la premiere entrée
The original final scenes include a trio, shown above, which confirms the
mutual devotion of Phani and Don Carlos, and the defeat of the unhappy
Huascar. Huascar then sings a dramatic accompanied recitative as the volcano
erupts and covers him with flaming rocks (also shown above). This ending
appears in all revivals of the work in the decades after its 1735 premiere, and
those occurring after Parma’s production in 1757. There is no evidence that
Parma drew on any French version of the work for the revised finale.
Figure 3.3 presents the analogous part in the Italian translation. Huascar
simply exits after the trio. What follows is entirely new material, in which
the opera ends happily: Carlos quiets the volcano in his aria, and then the
Peruvians appear and sing an exultant chorus, followed by a dance.
The scene continues, as shown in figure 3.4, Phani-Palla singing a joyful aria,
which is followed by dialogue between Phani-Palla and Carlos that culminates
in a love duet. After a choral dialogue, the scene concludes with the entrance
of the Spaniards—a group that does not appear in the original—a final short
aria for Phani-Palla, and a large-scale production number with all groups of
dancers. These changes probably occurred for several reasons. The additions
increased the work’s length, expanding it so that it likely resembled more
closely the length of Zelindor, re de’ silfi (a modern performance of which lasts
about forty-eight minutes),11 possibly exceeding that length given its numer-
ous additional musical pieces. It therefore represented a more substantial
entertainment than it would have in its original form (a modern performance
of which lasts about thirty-eight minutes).12 Apart from the obvious opportu-
nity for increased spectacle afforded by the additional dances, the extra arias
highlight the two lead singers, haute-contre Joseph Guigues as the Spaniard Don
Carlo (Zelindor’s sylph king from a month earlier) and soprano Marguerite
Hédoux as Phani-Palla. Their roles are expanded, especially Phani’s, with her
three added solo pieces. Such additions were entirely consistent with the Italian
convention of showcasing an opera’s prima donna and primo uomo; they rein-
force the importance of these two new troupe members in particular, and the
pride Parma took in its French troupe. Also conventional is the new lieto fine,
which Italian audiences would have expected. The superiority of the Spaniards
as they celebrate their conquest—which could only have delighted the Spanish
members of the Bourbon court—is emphasized with the new group of dancers
in the additional divertissement. The audience members were invited to see the
Bourbon victors as enlightened and benevolent through mesmerizing dance
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1757), 20–21. US-Wc.
1757), 22–23. US-Wc.
Butler.indd 63 12/11/2018 5:08:22 PM

and stage spectacle. The same performer portraying both the sylph king and
the Spanish victor one month apart offered them a familiar face and voice,
serving to further reinforce the message of Bourbon sovereignty.
Finally, Sgavetti points us toward the reason that Parma would have favored
this work in particular and why its creative personnel made the changes it did.
On 18 December 1757, the night Gl’Incà was performed for the public, he
reports that the Spanish ambassador, the Marquis de Revilla, was visiting Parma
in honor of the Queen of Spain’s birthday.13 Gl’Incà was thus the theatrical
highlight of the festivities surrounding the visit of this honored guest from
Madrid, which included a public appearance of the entire court at a banquet
honoring the royal daughter and an evening at the theater. Displaying the maj-
esty and power of Bourbon Spain would thus have been a high priority on this
occasion in particular. The French troupe’s performing forces were fully on
display, and the altered version of Rameau’s work magnified the splendor and
grandeur of the event. This work, bringing together midcentury Parma’s three
different but interrelated publics—the French, the Spanish, and the Italian—
represented something highly unusual and, for the Bourbon enclave in north-
ern Italy, truly multicultural.
Parma’s Castor et Pollux / Castore e Polluce
Castor et Pollux far superseded all other French operas and ballets given in
Parma in the number of its performances.14 It was heard once in 1756, then
five times during 1758, and eleven times during carnival 1759. The libretto
printed for the performance on 6 December 1758 (see fig. 3.5) contained the
original French and the Italian translation. Mangot included by far many more
pieces from Castor in his anthology than from any other French work. Its popu-
larity in Parma must have led to its selection for Traetta and Frugoni to rework
as I tindaridi. Considered at the time to be Rameau’s crowning achievement
of tragédie lyrique, Castor et Pollux tells the story of the slain Castor, his beloved
Telaira, and his brother Pollux, who goes to retrieve Castor from the under-
world. The brothers take their place in the heavens in the climactic final scene.
In Parma, Castor’s concluding ariette was expanded, becoming more Italianate
in style and highlighting the star-caliber singer. The scene ends with a new cho-
rus that is not in the 1754 revision.
The significant variants between the French original and the Italian transla-
tion concern Castor’s ariette in the final scene, “Tendre amour,” and the scene’s
closing chorus (see fig. 3.6). Here comparison of a number of French music
and textual sources shed light on the piece and Parma’s production of the
opera. The aria “Tendre amour” appears in Mangot’s anthology in a version
whose text matches that of the 1758 Parma libretto.15 Its musical content is
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Figure 3.5. Libretto for Castor et Pollux / Castore e Polluce (Parma, 6 December
1758), cover page. US-Wc.
Figure 3.6. Libretto for Castor et Pollux / Castore e Polluce (Parma, 6 December
1758), 102–3. US-Wc.
Butler.indd 65 12/11/2018 5:08:26 PM

expanded from that found in the engraved score of 1754.16 It matches a later
version of the piece, which is found in a manuscript full score for Castor et Pollux
from 1757 that was presumably prepared for a French revival of the work.17 A
corresponding libretto was printed the same year in Paris, but without singers’
names.18 Despite the existence of a 1757 score and libretto, the performance
for which they were intended was apparently not executed, since no other evi-
dence confirms one. But this version, of the aria at least, somehow made its way
to Mangot in Parma. These sources represent the first known musical evidence
of a link between Parma and Paris, and between Rameau and a Parmesan pro-
duction of a work by him. Rameau is named on the 1757 score’s title page;
if the content of the 1757 score reflects his intervention, then the version of
“Tendre amour” sung in Parma contained revisions stemming from Rameau
himself. The presence in Parma of an ariette revised by Rameau lends support
to the possibility that Rameau could also have composed the aforementioned
missing music for the extended, added final scene in Parma’s production of
Gl’Incà del Perù. Alternatively, Mangot could also have written it. Until other
evidence emerges the identity of this excerpt’s composer remains a mystery.
Parma’s Castor: Jacques Le Noble

and His Ariette gracieuse
Jacques Le Noble performed the lead role of Castor. The key to his engage-
ment was undoubtedly his association with Mangot. As we saw earlier, Le Noble
had sung six leading haute-contre roles in Lyon under Mangot’s direction in
1749 and 1750, in operas by Rameau and others. Castor’s Ariette gracieuse, as it
is labeled in all sources, was added in the 1754 revision; it has been judged to
be one of the most purely beautiful pieces of its kind.19 The soloist is joined by
the chorus, and the piece concludes the work. The version in both Mangot’s
anthology and the 1757 score contains two lengthy passages interpolated at the
ends of principal sections that do not appear in the 1754 score. Given the cor-
relation between the piece in Mangot’s anthology and the 1758 Parma libretto,
it is likely that Jacques Le Noble performed this music and that the changes
reflect his voice and its capabilities.
Examples 3.1a and 3.1b present the first interpolated section and its context.
(3.1a shows the passage in the 1754 score where the insertion occurs in the later
sources. The measure where the insertion begins is marked with an asterisk. 3.1b
shows the insertion itself.)20 In this newly composed section, a florid, twelve-
measure passage comprises a repeat of the refrain of text, “Qu’il est doux de
porter tes chaines” (How sweet it is to bear your chains), with a lengthy melisma
on the final “chaines,” concluding the piece’s A section. It introduces a level of
virtuosity that in the original does not arrive until the B section (m. 71). The
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Example 3.1a. “Tendre amour,” Castor et Pollux 1754 Paris score, p. 158, mm. 28–34
À *œ Ñ œ œ. Ñ
# # œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ r
œ. œ œ. œ
& # ‰ œ œœ. œœ J
œ
œ
Ñ
# # j œ œ œ œ #œ Ñ
œ œ œ nœ œ . œ œ ˙ œ. œ œ œ œ œ
& # œ œ œ. œ. œœ
œ
tous fort
#
B ## ˙ . ∑ ∑ ∑
– nes
œ j œ. œ œ
? ### œ ˙. ˙ œ. œ
Ã ˙ œ
À # # ˙.
& # ∑ ‰
##
& # ˙ Œ ∑ ‰
# œ. Ñ jœ
B ## Œ œ œ
œ. J J œJ # œJ œ
J
Tout m'a dit dans les en - fers,
# œ. œ œ
Ã? # # ˙ Œ Œ J
6 6
first added passage provides the singer the chance to display at the outset of
the piece his skill at coloratura, and to demonstrate one of his high notes, a1,
in measure 31, which is sustained in measure 34, and touched on twice more
in the passage. This first interpolation is a third setting of the refrain, “Qu’il
est doux de porter tes chaines,” and prolongs the dominant harmony, which
ultimately lends a sense of finality to this section (occurring at m. 41) that is
lacking in the original.
The next alteration, shown in examples 3.2a and 3.2b, occurs toward the end
of the piece. (As in the previous example, 3.2a shows the passage in the 1754 score
where the insertion occurs in the later sources with an asterisk marking the spot
where it starts; 3.2b shows the insertion.) Here, a fourteen-measure passage in
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Example 3.1b. “Tendre amour,” in Mangot’s anthology (I-Bc, Ms. II. 260),
104v–105r, mm. 29–41
˙
À ### ‰ œ œ œ œ œ Œ ∑
&
### ‰ œ œ œ œ œ ˙
Œ ∑
&
### œ œ. Ñ
œ œ œ œ œ. œÑ œ
& œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
tres doux
### ˙
& œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ
B ### ∑ ‰ œ œ.
Ñ
œ œ œ œ œ.
J œÑ œ
J J
Qu'il est doux, qu'il est
#œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ
Ã? # # œ ˙
À ##
& # ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑
##
& # ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑
### œ œ j ˙ œ œ œ œ ˙. ˙ œ
&
œ œ ‰ J
Ñ
### œ. ˙
& œ œ œ ˙ œ œ ˙. œ
j œ œ œ œ ˙. œ
B ### œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
doux de por - ter tes chai - - - -
# ˙ œ.
Ã? # # œ ˙. ˙. ˙ œ
(continued)
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Example 3.1b—(concluded)
À ##
& # ∑ ∑ ∑
##
& # ∑ ∑ ∑
j
### œ ˙ ‰ ≈ œR
œ. œ œ œ. œ œ ˙.
&
Ñ
### r
≈ œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ. œ
& ˙ ‰ œœ˙ œ
œœœœœœœœ œœœœ œ Ñ
B ### œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ.
œœ
- - - - - - - -
# ˙.
Ã? # # œ ˙ ˙ œ. œ
œ œ œ œ
À ### œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ J ‰ Œ œ œ œ. œ. œ œ œ # œ
&
### œ œ œ. œ. œ œ œ # œ
& ∑ Œ Œ
## œ œ. œ œ œ œ. œ œ œ. œ. œ œ œ # œ
& #
## Ñ œ. œ œ œ # œ
& # œ œ. œ œ œ œ. œœ œ
Ñ
B ### j œ œ ˙ Œ Œ
˙ œ J œ
- - - nes tes chai - nes
# ˙. œ
Ã? # # ˙. ˙
forz
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Example 3.2a. “Tendre amour,” Castor et Pollux 1754 Paris score, p. 161, mm. 82–90
À ## Ñ * œ ˙
& # œ. œ œ œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ œ œœ œ
Ñ œ ˙
B ### œ . œ. œ œ œ œ œ œJ
œ œ œ œ J
chai - - - nes, qu'il est doux de por - ter tes
## Ñ œ
& # œ. œ œ. œ œ œ Œ Œ ∑ Œ œ
chai - - - nes. Qu'il est
# œ œ
Ã? # # œ . œ ˙œ
œ ˙ Œ ∑ Œ
chai - - - nes. Qu'il est
Ñ Ñ
À # # # œ œj œœ œ œ œ ˙ œ œœ œ œ œœ œ . œœ ˙ œ œ j˙.
œ œ œ œ . œ œœ œ ˙ .
& œ Jœ œ œ
J œ.
Ñ Ñ
Ñ œ œ. j ˙.
œ j
B ### œ œ œ œJ
J œ œR ˙ . œ œ. œ
J œ
R
chai - nes, de por - ter tes chai - - - nes.
## œ œj œ j Ñ
& # œ œ ˙ œ œ œ. œœ œ ˙ j
œ ˙.
doux de por - ter tes chai - - - nes.
œ œ œ j
? ### œ ˙ ˙ œœœœ ˙
Ã œ
œ ˙.
doux de por - ter tes chai - - - nes.
the choral section is added to the ariette’s conclusion. The upper line in the
texture is expanded and then answered by the other vocal parts. Le Noble gets
another moment of soloistic display, jumping the octave on A (m. 96) to begin
a descent that arrives suddenly, in measure 101, where he is joined by a soloist
in the chorus, introducing one more iteration of the refrain text. Le Noble’s
high range is on display here again, as he leaps to a sustained b1 this time (m.
103), instead of a1 as before. The interpolation ends with a choral response
(mm. 105–10).
These two passages, although brief in relation to the surrounding context
(the aria as it appears in Mangot’s anthology is 117 measures in length, and
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Example 3.2b. “Tendre amour,” in Mangot’s anthology (I-Bc, Ms. II. 260), 110v–
112 r, mm. 97–112
ÀB # # # œ œ œ œ #œ œ. #œ œ œ
J J J œ. #œ œ œ nœ. œ œ œ œ
œ
– nes, de por - ter tes chai - - - - -
##
& # œ Œ Œ ∑ ∑ ∑
– nes
jœ
B ### œ Œ Œ ∑ ∑ ∑
– nes
? ### Œ Œ ∑ ∑ ∑
œ
– nes
##
& # œ Œ Œ ∑ ∑ ∑
##
& # œ Œ Œ ∑ ∑ ∑
##
& # œ Œ ‰ j
œ ˙. ˙. ˙.
##
& # " " " "
#
Ã? # # ˙ Œ ∑ ∑ ∑
(continued)
Butler.indd 71 12/11/2018 5:09:26 PM

Example 3.2b—(continued)
Ñ
ÀB # # # œ
Ñ
œ. œ œ j œJ œ. œ œ
˙. œ
- - - - - - nes, qu’il est
Seule
## œ œ.
doux Ñ
& # ∑ ‰ J œ œ ˙.
qu’il est doux
B ### ∑ ∑ ∑
? ### ∑ ∑ ∑
œ œ œ œ œ j˙
### ∑ ‰ J œ
Œ
&
## œ œ œ œ œ
& # ∑ ‰ J œ œ. œ
J
##
& #
˙. ˙. œ œ ˙
##
& # " " "
#
Ã? # # ∑ ∑ ∑
(continued)
Butler.indd 72 12/11/2018 5:09:39 PM

ÀB ### œ œJ ˙ j
œ œ œ œ œ œJ ˙ œ. œ
J J J
J
doux, qu’il est doux de por - ter tes chai -
## j j . ‰ œJ ˙
Tous fort
& # œ œ œ œ
J ˙ œ ‰
J
de por - ter tes chai - nes, qu’il est
B ### ∑ ∑ ‰ œj ˙
qu’il est
? ### ∑ ∑ ‰ œJ ˙
qu’il es
Ñ
## œ ˙ œ. œ.
& # ‰ J œ œ œœ œ Œ Œ
Ñ
### œ ˙ œ. œ œ œ.
& œ œœ œ Œ Œ
## Ñ
& # œ œ ˙
œ œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
##
& # " " "
Ã? # #
# ∑ ∑ ‰ œJ ˙
(continued)
Butler.indd 73 12/11/2018 5:09:39 PM

ÀB # # # œ Œ Œ ∑ ∑
– nes.
Ñ
## œ œ œ r
& # œ ≈ œR œ .
J
œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ
doux, qu’il est doux de por - ter tes
# Ñ œ œ
B ## ˙ . œ œ œ
J
œ œ œ.
J
doux de por - ter tes chai - - -
Ñ
? # # # œJ œ n˙ œ œ œ œ œ. œ
J J
doux de por - doux, de por - ter tes
##
& # ∑ ∑ ∑
##
& # ∑ ∑ ∑
## œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœœ
r
& # œ. œ œ
##
& # " " "
Ñ
? ### œ œ n˙ œ œ œ œ œ. œ
Ã J
(continued)
Butler.indd 74 12/11/2018 5:09:50 PM

Example 3.2b—(concluded)
ÀB # # # ∑ Œ œ œ œ
œ œ
Qu’il est doux de por –
## Ñ
& # œ. œ œ. œ œ œ Œ Œ ∑
chai - - - - nes
# œ œ. œ j
œ ˙
B # # œJ J J Œ ∑
– nes tes chai - nes
? ### œ . œ ˙ ˙ Œ ∑
chai - - - - nes
## œ œ œ œ
& # ∑ Œ œ
## œ œ
& # ∑ Œ "
## Ñ
& # œ. œ œ œ œ. œ œ œ Œ Œ ∑
##
& # " œ Œ Œ ∑
Ñ
? ### œ . œ œ Œ ∑
Ã œ ˙
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Figure 3.7. Libretto for Anacreonte (Parma, 1759), cover page. US-NYp
Butler.indd 76 12/11/2018 5:10:01 PM

longer in the 1757 score, when it elides with the final choral section), tell us
quite a bit about Le Noble’s voice. The first interpolated passage suggests it was
an agile one with a wide range, capable of sustaining long coloratura phrases
sung at a slow tempo. The second reveals the high extreme of Le Noble’s
range. It also lends more weight to the end of the excerpt and the work,
enhancing the chorus’s already considerable role. These passages demonstrate
that French star singers, like their Italian counterparts, could also have their
music altered to highlight their abilities.
Castor et Pollux was performed more times at court than any other French
opera; Traetta’s reworking of it as I tindaridi perhaps represents a move to
capitalize on its evident success with Parma audiences. The alterations to the
musical text suggest that this important solo moment for the opera’s leading
character was revised to showcase him even more prominently.21 The choral
component of Traetta’s I tindaridi is one of the work’s outstanding features,
and the choruses of that work outnumber those of Ippolito ed Aricia. The
changes made to Castor et Pollux’s final scene, with the expansion of the chorus,
seem to foreshadow the choral emphasis to come in the second reform opera,
I tindaridi.
Parma’s Anacreonte
Zélindor, Les Incas, and Castor et Pollux all involve the addition or expansion of
at least one solo piece that highlights the roles of one or more leading sing-
ers in the Italian tradition. In featuring either a new or enhanced chorus or a
new dance in their concluding scenes, they maintain consistency with French
convention. Anacreonte, the next French work in Parma, in carnival 1759, was
an actual generic mixture, an adaptation of a model closer to the type that
Traetta’s operas represent. Anacreonte was one of two ballets offered during
carnival season based on entrées from opéras-ballets by Rameau. The other was
L’atto turco, undoubtedly a version of Le Turc généreux, also from Les Indes galan-
tes (no libretto or musical materials connected with L’atto turco have yet sur-
faced). Anacreonte is based not on Rameau’s ballet, Anacréon, but on the entrée
with the same title from his Les surprises de l’Amour of 1748, revised in 1757, with
poetry by Pierre-Joseph Bernard. Anacreonte represents a crucial link between
the French operas altered to fit Italian convention and Traetta’s Italian adapta-
tions of French operas.22 Figure 3.7 presents Parma libretto’s cover page.
Anacréon became the most successful portion of the piece in Parisian per-
formances of the revised Les surprises de l’Amour.23 In the story, the aging Greek
poet loves both his wine and his nymph Licoris. The Priestess of Bacchus,
angry at Anacreon’s divided loyalty, causes a storm and spirits away his beloved,
forcing him to choose: he cannot serve both Bacchus and Cupid. But Cupid
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Figure 3.8. Libretto for Anacreonte (Parma, 1759), beginning of scenario, xi.
US-NYp.
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intervenes and restoring Licoris to Anacreon, announces “L’amour est le

Dieu de la paix; Régne avec lui Bacchus” (Love is the god of peace; he reigns
together with Bacchus).24 The work’s theme of reconciliation derives from its
genesis: the original prologue had celebrated the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle,
concluded after the War of the Austrian Succession in 1748. This peace
had removed Parma from Habsburg control and given it to the Bourbons.
Anacréon, which substituted for the opera’s prologue, likewise deals with strug-
gle between two opposing forces, yet focuses on reconciliation rather than con-
flict. Anacréon, and its subsequent adaptation as Anacreonte, would have carried
a special significance for Parma. It represented not only the peace that had
established Bourbon rule but also the union, to come in 1760, the year after its
performance, of two powerful dynasties with the wedding of Princess Isabella
of Bourbon and Archduke Joseph of Austria. Although the ballet’s action does
not follow that of the entrée precisely, the theme of reconciliation is present; the
Parmesan court would certainly have perceived the reference to the peace that
had established Bourbon rule.
It is likewise tempting to read Castor and Pollux’s fraternal devotion as a sym-
bol of cultural rapprochement, and such a reading might explain the frequent
appearances of Castor et Pollux in different guises on Parma’s and Colorno’s
stages. Anacreonte and Castor et Pollux are linked in yet another way: the preface
in Anacreonte’s libretto references Bernard as the poet of both Castor et Pollux
and Les surprises de l’Amour.25 The mention of Bernard in Anacreonte’s libretto
reminded the public of a poet they already knew, and united these works even
more closely in the collective mind of that public. Such a recall demonstrates
the importance of these two French works in particular for those in Parma’s
audiences who were familiar with French opera and one of its important poets,
and likewise cognizant of the themes of these two works and their significance
for Parma’s recent history.
Anacreonte, scenario as in Parma libretto, translated
Scene 1: Licori enters onto the stage dancing and leading several young girls
holding flower garlands in their hands to ornament the bust of Anacreonte.
Scene 2: Anacreonte appears, observes, and shows his surprise. Carried

away by a jealous rage and no longer paying attention to anything, he inter-
rupts the action, leaving no time for Licori to explain what is happening. To
avenge himself he smashes the statue of Licori, and renouncing love, raises
an altar to Bacchus. Devotions, libations, and dances follow.
Scene 3: We see Licori, grief-stricken, contemplating her destroyed image and

the chaotic preparations. She expresses her desperation and tender feelings
to her companions, who attend her, and writes above the altar a dedication
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explaining her heartfelt sadness. [In the preface that precedes the scenario
it is clarified that this verse is: “La fida Giovinetta al Veglio infido” (From the
faithful young girl to the faithless old man).]
Scene 4: Anacreonte, lost in his thoughts, returns to his friends, who seek to
distract him with happy strains of harmony and dance.
Scene 5: Nightfall and a terrible storm have arrived. The horror of the storm
mounts and for a few moments interrupts the pleasures that pursued the
moody poet. In the middle of this stormy scene an unfortunate youth moans.
He is dragged forward. Anacreonte picks him up and seeing him so badly
stricken, guides him to the altar and warms him. Meanwhile the sinfonia and
dance continue, interrupted occasionally by lightning strikes. To attest to his
recovery, the youth joins the dancers. Anacreonte caresses and gazes upon
this graceful youth, and joins him in the dance. Nevertheless, he [Anacre-
onte] suspects something. He follows him [the youth], and ably loosens the
cords of his hat and a veil, which falls onto his back. He recognizes Amore
[Cupid] by his blindfold and quiver. He falls at his feet and worships him.
Scene 6: Amore, now recognized, presents Licori’s portrait, presenting even-

tually even Licori herself to Anacreonte. At the same moment he leads them
both to the altar, where they are united in a vow of eternal faithfulness.
Scene 7: The graces, merrymakers, and followers of Anacreonte and Licori form
couples and perform a very joyful contredanse, which concludes the ballet.
A scene-by-scene description in the libretto guided the audience through

the action. (Figure 3.8 presents the scenario’s first page; my translation of
the full text appears above.) Frugoni, Delisle, and Mangot probably col-
laborated on the Italian scenario, which contrasts markedly with Bernard’s
for Rameau in the character of Anacreonte. Whereas Bernard’s Anacréon is
introspective and lovelorn, Parma’s Anacreonte is a fiery, jealous lover, who
smashes Licori’s statue in a fit of rage. The Priestess of Bacchus from the
original is excised altogether. The lightning storm substitutes for the scene
in which she and her followers wreak havoc; Anacréon’s hallmark slumber,
which in the original occurs after the supernaturally caused chaos, is cut in
Parma. The complexity of Amour and Anacréon’s exchange in Bernard,
possible in dialogue but difficult to depict through gesture alone, is simpli-
fied in Parma. In the original, Anacréon longs for Licori and only gets her
back once he vows to renounce Bacchus and leave behind everything for her.
Parma invented the bit of stage action leading to Anacreonte’s recognition
of Amore by removing his disguise; in the original, this recognition occurs
through dialogue. This change and others must have created stage pictures
more visually striking than in the original, and enhanced opportunities for
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Table 3.1. My reconstruction of Anacreonte (Parma, 1759)
Anacréon excerpts and scenes 1757 score markings, meter, Action in Anacréon Scenes and action in Duration
(labels as in 1757 score)** key (page numbers and (Rameau/Bernard) Anacreonte (Parma, (based on
markings as in Bouissou printed scenario) modern
ed.)*** recording*)
Scene 1: “Ritournelle” 3; C maj. to G maj. (1) Scene 1: Licori enters :43
dancing, adorns bust of
Anacreonte
[Passepied] 3 Lycoris dances; intro [Continuation] :38

8 to 43; F maj. (9)
to Anacréon’s drinking
song
[marchlike; flutes; no label] “doux, fort”; 2; F maj. Entrance of the Menades Scene 2: Anacreonte :54
(13–14) (followers of Bacchus) enters, becomes jealous
Scene 2: “Combat entre les “vite”; “lent”; 2; Battle between the Anacreonte destroys 1:52
Bacchantes Licoris, et les G maj. (23–28) followers of Amour and Licori’s statue
Esclaves d’Anacréon” the Menades
Scene 3: “Someil” [sic] “lent” ; “doux” (31); “Pluie” Anacréon falls asleep Scene 3: Licori sadly 1:07
“pincé” 3; B mi. (31) after the battle; rain falls writes the verse above
the altar; scene 4:
Anacreonte is pensive
“Orage” “tous fort et vite” tremolos, The noise from the Scene 5: Storm; Amore 1:55
2; G mi. (31–39) storm awakens Anacréon; appears; Anacreonte
Amour appears to him rescues him
(continued)
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Scene 5: “Sarabande” 3; D mi. (54–55) Amour returns Lycoris to Amore recovers and 1:40
Anacréon dances
“Entrée de Jeux” “doux” 2 to 3; F maj. All enter Anacreonte recognizes 1:01
(55–57) Amore and adores him
Passepied 3 F maj. (57) [continuation] [continuation] :32
8;
Scene 6: “un peu gaï”; 2; B-flat Menades and followers Scene 6: Amore presents 2:59
“Entrée de les suivans de maj.–G mi. (64–67) of Amour are reconciled Licori to Anacreonte;
l’amour” they approach the altar
“Gigue” 2; G maj. (68–69) [continuation] [Continuation] :39
“Contredanse” “Vitte”; 2; G maj. (87–93) [continuation] Scene 7: joyful 1:11
contredanse celebrating
the union
*Durations based on Les surprises de l’Amour (audio recording).
**Anacréon (printed score, 1757).
***Les surprises de l’Amour (OOR critical edition edited by Bouissou).
Note: My reconstruction is based on excerpts from Rameau and Bernard’s Anacréon (from Les surprises de l’Amour; rev. 1757) and Parma scenario.
12/11/2018 5:10:11 PM
descriptive pantomime combined with dance: these include Anacreon’s jeal-

ous destruction of the statue, Licori’s expression of tenderness through the
verse she writes above the altar, and the lightning-filled storm.
The changes meant that Rameau’s music was repurposed as well, and table
3.1 illustrates how Mangot could have constructed Parma’s balletto. Here the
absence of a score leaves open many questions. Chief among these is whether
or not Mangot used only music from Rameau’s Anacréon, or some other
pieces.26 Although we may never know for certain, we can speculate on how
he might have worked with Rameau’s Anacréon, the most likely candidate for
the primary model given the subject matter and its aforementioned relevance
for Parma. Lending further support to the hypothesis that Anacréon furnished
the music for Anacreonte is the presence of allusions to a work that Italian
audiences would have known well: Antonio Vivaldi’s Le quattro stagioni (from
Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’invenzione, op. 8, 1725). Rameau referenced parts
of the concertos in the sommeil and the orage from Anacréon27—points in the
action when Anacreon falls asleep, and later, when the storm occurs—both
of which appear in Anacreonte’s plot. Assuming they caught the resemblances,
Italian audience members might have delighted in hearing bits of music by
the renowned Italian master, or at least ones that reflected Italian style more
generally, especially as they watched French dancers perform to music, most of
which, recalling Frugoni’s words, represented to them a “foreign taste.” Given
that the concertos of Le quattro stagioni were also well-known in France, Parma’s
French spectators likewise might have recognized the references.28 This sort
of reference to something familiar was to inform audiences’ experience of
Traetta’s first two reform operas in particular.
Moreover, the characters and moods of the danced episodes align fairly well
with the action in Parma’s scenes. Mangot could easily have pieced together
these danced excerpts including some that also combined with vocal ones, the
sung lines being taken by instruments. The ritournelle and quick passepied
accompany Licori’s entrance. Anacreonte enters in scene 2 and observes the
action during the short, marchlike passage, when the Menades had entered in
the original. The highly charged combat, the ballet figuré between Anacreon’s fol-
lowers and the Menades, with tremolos and disjunct rhythms, accompanies the
destruction of Licori’s statue. The excerpt probably included the sung portion
that follows, with the vocal lines taken by instruments. Anacréon’s sommeil,29
when he falls asleep exhausted after the battle in the original, accompanies
Licori as she sadly writes the verse above the altar in Parma’s scene 3; it might
have been repeated to give Anacreonte’s friends time to try to cheer him up
in scene 4. The dramatic tonnerre that awakened Anacréon (another excerpt
that included some singing) is the storm music accompanying Anacreonte’s
rescue of Amore in scene 5. The sarabande accompanies Amore’s recovery, the
entrée de jeux and passepied Anacreonte’s recognition of Amore. Licori enters
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at the entrée de les suivans de l’amour in scene 6; the gigue symbolizes their joy
after they pledge eternal faithfulness. Scene 7, the contredanse, concludes the
action. The dances assembled in this way yield a unified work with effective
tonal groupings, dramatic contrasts, and rich opportunities for spectacle. It
was but a short step to the next variety of adaptation, Traetta’s reworking of
Hippolyte et Aricie as Ippolito ed Aricia the same year, 1759.
With the last ballet Parma’s French troupe gave before departing, Mangot,
Delisle, and Frugoni were able to practice on a small scale what Traetta and
Frugoni—likely with Mangot’s involvement as well—would do on a much larger
one just a few months later with Ippolito ed Aricia. In just under two years, the
great variety of adaptations in Parma’s French operas ranged from those that
were minor (added arias and expansion of an existing one), to those that were
more extensive (an addition of a large scene complex with new dances, cho-
ruses, and solo pieces), and included a generic transformation. Mangot and
Frugoni were experienced and highly skilled in an array of types of adaptation
and generic intermingling that they would introduce to the incoming maestro
di cappella. Traetta entered into a solid tradition established by his collabora-
tors; altered versions of the originals were familiar, popular, and expected fare
for both the court and public. Traetta’s operas, with Italian music and text, and
with features that linked them firmly and in different ways to the French works
that inspired them, represented a new type of alteration—a variation on an
established and distinctly Parmesan theme.
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Chapter Four
Moving On
While Looking Back
Traetta’s First Parma Operas
On 5 June 1758 Du Tillot received the news from Bonnet in Paris that the troupe’s
residence would soon be coming to an end.1 A flurry of activity ensued, one that
represented a transition affecting the repertory in decisive ways. In the space of
some eleven months, an almost complete overhaul of personnel occurred: the
French singers, actors, some of the dancers, and Delisle left Parma; new danc-
ers, a new French choreographer, and new Italian singers arrived; and Traetta
came and composed Solimano (for carnival 1759) and Ippolito ed Aricia (premier-
ing 2 May 1759). Mangot represents the thread of consistency that runs through
this changeover; he is the single most influential source of continuity between
the French troupe’s departure and Traetta’s arrival, and between the French
entertainments and the Italian operas with French components. Important links
were forged during this period of transition: those between the French troupe’s
presence and Traetta’s first two reform operas, Ippolito ed Aricia and I tindaridi,
and those between the two works themselves. The troupe’s performances estab-
lished precedents that profoundly influenced Ippolito ed Aricia and I tindaridi not
only in certain aspects of shared personnel and in repertorial overlaps, as we
have seen, but in the way Parma’s audiences must have experienced these two
operas. Ippolito ed Aricia and I tindaridi have more in common with each other
than either does with any other of Traetta’s works for Parma; most obviously, they
are Italian adaptations of Rameau’s first two tragédies en musique (Hippolyte et Aricie
and Castor et Pollux), Parma gave them in the same performance season (spring,
and not carnival), they share the same Italian solo singers, the same dancers and
choristers, and they were linked in the minds of those who were concerned with
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86 ❧ chapter four
the revenue they generated, as newly explored evidence demonstrates. It makes

sense to view these two as a pair, of sorts. Yet they contrast greatly with each other
in one important way: while Parma’s audiences were well-acquainted with Castor
et Pollux, having experienced the troupe’s many performances of it, they had
never before met Hippolyte et Aricie. This reality led the two operas to serve dif-
ferent purposes, a fact revealed mostly starkly by the element that at once links
the works mostly closely and sets them apart from each other: their reuse of
Rameau’s music.
Scholars occupied with Traetta’s operas have long focused on principles
of adaptation, the operas’ textual relationships to their French models and
to other French literary sources being of primary concern. In this chapter I
explore what the French troupe’s departure could have meant to Traetta’s
Parma audiences, and how implications of it might be evident, perhaps even
audible, in Traetta’s works. The troupe’s presence—and subsequent absence—
seems to have exerted a formative influence on elements of the structure and
style of Ippolito ed Aricia and I tindaridi. The inclusion of Rameau’s music in
these operas could be attributed to a number of factors, not the least of which
was the court’s appreciation of the troupe’s dancers and their performances.
But more tangibly, certain revisions made to the French works gave Parma’s
creative team experience in precisely the kind of adaptation that Traetta’s first
two reform operas exhibit. Mangot’s prior activity in mounting productions of
Rameau’s works and his strength of influence in matters of the French enter-
tainments all point to him as the one person whose role in the integration of
Rameau’s music within Traetta’s operas seems the most revealing of all. The
French works’ alterations established precedents for at least two specific ele-
ments of the adaptation process that Traetta’s operas evince: the additions of
divertissements and the creations of instrumental versions from sung pieces.
Considering how Parma audiences might have experienced Traetta’s first two
reform operas—with memories of the recently departed French troupe and
the music it had performed no doubt fresh in their minds—makes it possible
to think in new ways about the works and their surroundings. Ippolito ed Aricia
was a way for the audience to hear an unfamiliar work by Rameau in abbrevi-
ated form—its most memorable parts, as a phrase in the publicity materials
read—while I tindaridi represented a nostalgic view of the recent past, a way for
the court to remember the opera by Rameau that it loved the best.
Carnival 1759: Solimano’s Chorus,

Athens Founded, and the Troupe’s Adieu
No carnival season in Parma represents the city’s eclectic spirit of stylistic
mixture better than that of 1759. The season marked a true turning point:
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moving on while looking back ❧ 87
it was the last carnival season to occur before the spring seasons became the
more prominent ones, it was by far the troupe’s most significant in terms of
their public appearances, and it was the first time Parma’s audiences experi-
enced Traetta’s music. Understanding how French and Italian aesthetics came
together during this season, in a way that differs from earlier ones during the
troupe’s tenure, helps set the stage for Ippolito ed Aricia’s premiere.
As we have seen, during this season French operas were given in public
performances at the Teatro Ducale alongside Italian ones, the latter featur-
ing entr’acte dances performed by the troupe’s dancers. Anacreonte, the adap-
tation of Rameau’s Anacréon as a ballet, contributed to the mix. The troupe’s
departure was imminent and some newly arrived dancers overlapped with
troupe members. Delisle choreographed the season’s balli, his influence still
resonating with audiences. Traetta composed his first Parma opera, Solimano,
for this season, a work that could have served as a sort of audition piece, his
engagement representing the chance for Du Tillot and others to determine
how the public reacted to his music; in fact Traetta did not gain the appoint-
ment of maestro di cappella until after Ippolito ed Aricia, suggesting that this
opera, too, represented a second stage of his trial period in Parma—a sort of
callback, perhaps.
Parma added a single chorus to the libretto for Solimano that Traetta
set.2 The multisectional choral text appears neither in Giovanni Ambrogio
Migliavacca’s original for Dresden, set by Hasse (1753), nor in the libretto’s
second version, set by David Perez for Lisbon (1757), which Traetta’s fol-
lows.3 Could Parma’s Solimano have been a chance for Du Tillot to determine
whether or not Traetta wrote effective choral music, a key element in the first
two reform operas? The lack of surviving music for the opera’s choral singers
leaves this question an open one (only a few arias from the work are extant).
Traetta might have benefited from the fact that some of the choral singers
for whom he wrote were already known to him, having recently sung his set-
ting of La Nitteti at nearby Reggio in 1757.4 Being familiar with their abilities
could have helped Traetta tailor his choral music to their strengths, as com-
posers did in creating arias for solo singers. Solimano’s Turkish setting and
characters might have afforded Parma the opportunity to reuse some cos-
tumes and perhaps even scenery, Rameau’s L’atto turco (Le Turc généreux from
Rameau’s Les Indes galantes, “the Turkish act,” as it was known in Parma),
appearing in the array of carnival offerings.5
Parma’s reputation as “the Athens of Italy” was one that it gained gradu-
ally throughout the century. Although exactly when the moniker emerged is
unknown, the connection could have been a literal one, stemming from the
archaeological research Philippe de Bourbon sponsored, which reached its
zenith later, during the 1770s.6 But the idea of Athens as the source of drama
at its purest, and a link to Parma, surfaces much earlier, at least as early as 1756,
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88 ❧ chapter four
in a comment Frugoni made to Algarotti on the corruptness of contemporary

drama, and in praise of the Saggio’s precepts: “You deserve to have been born
in Athens in its happy days.”7 Solimano’s second ballo, La fondazione d’Atene (The
Foundation of Athens), could have served to reinforce this link in the minds of
audiences, reminding them that Parma was to be considered an artistic center
of the highest order. It would appear, then, that one of Delisle’s final balli was
designed to promote an element of the Bourbons’ broader cultural agenda,
one seemingly far removed from the sphere of theatrical dance.
The last opera the troupe performed that was new to Parma audiences
was Titon et l’Aurora. As mentioned earlier, the libretto carries the date of
1759, although whether the opera was given in carnival of this year or later
in the spring is unknown. Given that it featured the French singers, its run
(however long) probably ended by 10 March 1759, since many other troupe
members left on this date.8 Mangot had received multiple copies of the
score and those for Castor et Pollux in shipments from Bonnet simultane-
ously from August through October 1758, so perhaps the work was given
privately for the court before its public performance of 1759.9 Mangot
thought well of this opera, including two pieces from it in his anthology
for Martini. Nothing at all is known about its reception; perhaps Titon et
l’Aurora’s greatest significance for Parma is the role it had played in the
querelle des bouffons, in which it came to represent the model of French style
in the famous debates over the relative merits of French and Italian music.
By presenting this work to the public, along with works by Rameau, Parma
demonstrated its awareness of the contemporary polemic. By the time the
troupe departed it had participated in a number of works that conveyed a
wide array of meanings to Parma audiences.
Dancers Old and New
The first two spring operas highlighted the element of the erstwhile troupe
that Parma was nevertheless still able to replicate: the choreographic one.
By the month of May Delisle and the French singers and actors had left the
city. Pietro Alovar (Pierre Alouard), replacing Delisle, choreographed and
served as lead male dancer for all four of Traetta’s reform operas. Some of the
troupe’s dancers stayed on, the leading ones among them being Marc’Antonio
Missoli, Giustina Campioni, and Constanza Tinti. Missoli had choreographed
Solimano’s first ballet, and was named in that libretto as one of the troupe’s
leading dancers. These three dancers performed in both Anacreonte (under
Delisle) and Ippolito ed Aricia (under Alovar), providing stability to the core
group of lead dancers in the midst of change. The lead dancer Mimì Favier
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was an outstanding new arrival; Ippolito ed Aricia represented her first Parmesan
appearance. The presence of newcomers Alovar and Favier, with the continua-
tion of Campioni, Tinti, and Missoli into May 1759, demonstrated that Parma’s
ability to produce French entertainment of the highest quality was neverthe-
less still intact. Certain structural elements of Traetta’s first operas that involve
dance within the scenes attest most strongly to this concern. Although the solo
dancers changed gradually over the years of Traetta’s tenure in Parma (Tinti
left before I tindaridi, and Missoli before Enea e Lavinia), the presence of Alovar
and Favier in all four of Traetta’s reform works must have served to unify these
operas in the minds of the audience.
These two additions to Parma’s creative personnel enjoyed reputations as
among the era’s leading dancers, within Italy and beyond its borders. The
French choreographer and dancer Pierre Alouard had been employed by
numerous Italian cities, including Milan and Turin, before coming to Parma.
His name appears in contemporary sources in a wide variety of spellings, such
as Allouar, Aloardi, Alonard, Alovar, Aleardi, Alnardi, Loard, Louair, and
Lovar.10 Alouard’s activity postdating his Parma sojourn has been noted for
extending “beyond the scope of pure divertissement, also incorporating nar-
rative elements and ever more extended pantomimic sequences.”11 Favier’s
talents were cited in a review published in August 1761 that linked Parma’s
dances with those of Paris, comparing the dancer to Lani:
C’est un éloge mince des ballets de Parme, car ils rappellent ceux de Paris.
Mademoiselle Favier, premiere Danseuse de cette Cour d’Italie, approche
de la precision, de l’élégance & de la noblesse de Mademoiselle Lani. . . .
La cadence de ses mouvemens me repésentoit l’ondulation d’une mer tran-
quille; peu de sauts, point de bonds, de la majesté, de la grace, sans quoi le
talens ne sont rien.
(This is a slender eulogy of the ballets of Parma, because they recall those of
Paris. Mlle [Mimi] Favier, premier dancer of this Italian court, approaches
in precision, elegance, and nobility Mlle Lani. . . . The cadence of her move-
ments represented to me the undulation of a tranquil sea; few leaps, no
jumps, partaking of majesty, of grace without which talents are nothing.)12
Alouard and Favier were both singled out for praise in a letter of two months
later that same year, being mentioned as among the best dancers active at
that time by a Florentine who recommended artists to the Neapolitan the-
ater’s impresarios; the writer cites Alouard for his portrayal of serious charac-
ters and Favier for her celebrity.13 The engagement of these two artists was a
coup for Du Tillot, and plenty of space to display them was made in Traetta’s
reform operas.
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90 ❧ chapter four
“Les endroits les plus admirés”: Ippolito ed Aricia
Having received more scholarly attention than any other Parma opera, Ippolito
ed Aricia has emerged as the emblematic Parmesan reform work, the one that
has come to represent Parma in the minds of opera scholars.14 It is also the
only Parma reform opera ever to have enjoyed a modern recording, therefore
likely reaching a broader contemporary public than other Parma operas.15 In
comparison to Traetta’s other works, much is known about its genesis, although
it is useful to bear in mind that the related commentary emanated from two
main streams: from Frugoni in his letters to Algarotti, on the one hand, and
thus representing the former’s point of view, and from Du Tillot’s mechanisms
for promoting the opera to a European public, on the other hand. Our view
of the work has consequently taken shape largely under the influence of this
combined perspective and its related critiques, obscuring other features of it
that might help us understand it differently.
Scholars have tended to focus on the elements of Ippolito ed Aricia that most
intrigued—and bothered—its creators: components Frugoni adopted from
Pellegrin’s original libretto and from Racine’s Phèdre; the glowing terms in
which contemporaneous correspondence and reviews described the work and
its performance; and its problematic status as a reform opera given its empha-
sis on solo arias and the high degree to which it showcases the leading sing-
ers. Some have mentioned the 1757 Paris revival of Hippolyte et Aricie, although
no connections between this production and Parma have yet been established.
However, in a review published the year of Ippolito ed Aricia’s premiere, one
evidently directed toward an international audience, the opera purports to
offer to the public “les endroits les plus admirés” (the best loved passages) of
Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie.16 The message seems clear, especially when con-
sidering that Ippolito ed Aricia followed on the heels of Hippolyte et Aricie’s 1757
Parisian revival: if you want to hear what is most appreciated in Paris, come to
Parma. The opera that was characterized as one of the “best advertised events
of the decade” represented a sort of “greatest hits” version of Rameau’s first
tragédie.17 Almost all the “best loved passages” from Hippolyte et Aricie consist of
music that highlighted Parma’s dancers.
The use of Rameau’s music in Ippolito ed Aricia was evidently so well-known at
the time that Traetta felt it necessary to defend himself against accusations of
theft. Replying to a critic in a strongly worded letter, Traetta claimed never to
have seen Rameau’s score.18 Stylistic resemblances observed subsequently have
led certain scholars to reject Traetta’s claim,19 but what if he had nothing to
do with the admired passages of Rameau’s music being inserted into his score?
Mangot could easily have accomplished this task.20 Apart from his thorough
knowledge of Rameau’s works in general, Mangot knew Hippolyte et Aricie spe-
cifically very well; in 1750 he had mounted a production of it in Lyon (and with
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Table 4.1: Dances and descriptive music from Hippolyte et Aricie used in Ippolito
ed Aricia
Italian title or French Act and scene in Tempo
title in brackets Ippolito ed Aricia indication Key Meter
Danza di Sacerdotesse 1, 3 Grazioso G major ¢
[Marche]
[premier air] 1, 3 Grazioso G minor ¢
[deuxième air] 1, 3 Un poco allegro G minor 6
8
Tonerre 1, 4 Presto G major 2
4
Danza di deità 2, 3 Grave F major ¢
infernali [premier air
infernal]
Danza della deità 2, 3 Prestissimo F major 3
4
infernali
Danza di Marinai e 3, 9 [no tempo G major ¢
Marinaie [Marche] indication]
[Premier air des 3, 9 Larghetto G minor ¢
matelots]
[Deuxième air des 3, 9 Allegro G major ¢
matelots]
Tambourin [premier 3, 9 Presto G major ¢
rigodon]
[Deuxième rigodon] 3, 9 Presto G minor ¢
Danza di Cacciatori e 4, 6 Andante G major 6
8
Cacciatrici [Premier
air]
Danza [deuxième air] 4, 6 [no tempo D major ¢
indication]
Danza Musette 5, ultima [no tempo A major 3
4
[Marche] indication]
Ciacona 5, ultima [no tempo A minor 3
4
indication]
Prima gavotte 5, ultima [no tempo A major 2 [/4]
indication]
Seconda gavotta 5, ultima [no tempo A minor 2 [/4]
indication]
Note: Loomis (“Tommaso Traetta’s Operas,” 367–68) provides a table listing all the Rameau
dances that appear in the Parma reform operas. Cyr had identified some of these (“Rameau
e Traetta,” 180, 181), although Loomis’s table includes some that are omitted in Cyr’s list.
Since he was occupied with dances only, he did not include the tonnerre. I draw on Loomis
and Cyr in the data presented here and in table 4.3 (Dances from Castor et Pollux used in I
tindaridi). I have also corrected several errors, indicated groups of dances, added the tonnerre,
and made other small changes.
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92 ❧ chapter four
a certain Le Noble as Hippolyte, possibly the same singer who had portrayed
Castor in Parma—perhaps yet another link between the troupe’s repertory
and Traetta’s operas). Mangot would include seven excerpts of Hippolyte et
Aricie in the anthology he prepared for Martini (as many as were drawn from
Castor et Pollux, pieces from these two works far outnumbering those oth-
ers represented in the volume), demonstrating his high esteem for it. That
Mangot himself might even have suggested Hippolyte et Aricie to Du Tillot as a
good choice of an opera to be adapted is not beyond the realm of possibility.
Mangot was someone whom Du Tillot respected and whose input on musical
matters he valued highly, as demonstrated most clearly by Du Tillot’s sup-
port of Mangot in the power struggle between the musician and Delisle. That
Mangot might have had influence on this level is entirely consistent with the
documented evidence of his intervention in other ways concerning Parma’s
musical theater.
The excerpts from Hippolyte et Aricie that appear in Ippolito ed Aricia have
been identified by other scholars and may be summarized briefly here. They
are given in table 4.1. Parma took over all the divertissements from the origi-
nal and added two more, one of which employs an instrumental version of a
sung air by Rameau. Hippolyte et Aricie’s striking tonnerre concludes Ippolito ed
Aricia’s act 1, scene 4.21 The other dance music in the added divertissements has
not been identified; the dances might be newly composed or preexisting ones
drawn from other works. Instrumental versions of sung pieces, all by Traetta,
appear in the opera, all of them providing extra opportunity for dance. In
order of appearance these arrangements are: the passage designated “Danza
sacerdotessa sola” in act 1, scene 3, an arrangement the aria “Fuggi amor,”
which it follows; the sinfonia announcing Proserpina’s arrival in act 2, scene 6,
which prefigures the following chorus, “Sparve l’empio mortal”; and the dance
derived from Traetta’s canzonetta “Nettun sull’onde” in act 3, scene 9, which
follows the sung piece of the same title.22
Precedent for at least one, and probably two, of the principles on which
these alterations were based had already been established during the troupe’s
residence: Gl’Incà del Perù featured an added divertissement, while Anacreonte
could very well have featured instrumental arrangements of sung pieces,
as we have seen. Mangot could easily have created both the insertions and
arrangements. An overview of these components and the dancers related
to them, given in table 4.2, affords a view of the overall structure and the
emphasis it places on the leading dancers:
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Table 4.2. Rameau’s music in Ippolito ed Aricia and other components of its
divertissements
Components Dancers
Act 1, scene 3: Danza di sacerdotesse:
[Marche]
Campioni
“Danza sacerdotessa sola,” an instrumental version of a sung
featured
piece (Traetta’s chorus “Fuggi amor”)
[Premier Air]
[Deuxieme Air] (Rameau)
Act 1, scene 4, end: Rameau’s tonnerre
Act 1, end: the first of two added divertissements: “danza dei Missoli and Tinti
Fauni, e delle Driadi” featured
Composer unknown
Allegro
Largo staccato
Primo rondò grazioso
Secondo rondo
A capo al primo rondò
Act 2, scene 3: Danza di deità infernali (Rameau): Alovar featured
premiere air infernal
deuxieme air
Act 2, end: the second of two added divertissements: sinfonia Favier featured
announcing arrival of Proserpina, act 2, scene 6—an
instrumental version of a sung piece*
Danza:
Staccato
Adagio grazioso
Andantino
Piano sempre; da capo al maggiore
Act 3, scene 9 (end): Danza di Marinai e Marinaie Favier, L’Houlier,
(Rameau): Tinti, and
[Marche] ends “segue la canzonetta” Campioni
Canzonetta: “Nettun sull’onde” featured
“Danza; andante” = dance derived from Traetta’s canzonetta
[Premier Air des Matelots]
[Deuxieme Air des Matelots]
Tambourin [Premier Rigodon]
[Deuxieme Rigodon] ends da capo il maggiore
(continued)
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Components Dancers
Act 4, scene 6 (end): Danza di Cacciatori e Cacciatrici Alovar and Favier
[Premier Air] featured
Danza [Deuxieme Air] (Rameau)
Act 5, ult: Danza Musette [Marche] All the principals
“si replica la danza di dietro, poi segue” featured
Ciacona
Prima Gavotta
Seconda Gavotta
(Rameau)
*Loomis, “Tommaso Traetta’s Operas,” 371. The title of this sung piece is not given but com-
parison of the surrounding music reveals its relationship to the following chorus, “Sparve
l’empio mortal,” Garland repr., 138–41.
Dances and Dancers as in the Parma Libretto for Ippolito ed Aricia, I-Vqs
(Parma: Monti, 1759), xv–xvi
Attori Danzanti.
Atto Primo.
Sacerdotesse di Diana.
Signora Giustina Campioni
Sig. Fiorenza Delisle Signora Lucia Lolli.
Signore Signore
Teresa Vismara. Antonia Desfontaine.
Maria Conti de Sales. Francesca Delisle.
Rosa Minarelli. Angela Ricci.
Secondo Divertimento dell’Atto Primo.

Fauni, e Driadi.
Sig. Marc’Antonio Missoli. Signora Costanza Tinti.
Signori Signore
Giuseppe Bianchi. Maria Conti de Sales.
Antonio Campioni. Lucia Lolli.
Francesco Delisle. Antonia Desfontaine.
Giuseppe Ganier. Margherita Ganier.
Innocenzio Gambuzzi. Rosa Minarelli.
Luigi Blache. Teresa Vismara.
(continued)
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(continued)
Atto Secondo.
Deità Infernali.
Sig. Pietro Alovar
Signori Signori
Giambattista Bourgeois. Giuseppe Bianchi.
Giuseppe Ganier. Innocenzio Gambuzzi.
Francesco Delisle. Luigi Blache.
Antonio Campioni. Gaspero Bianchi.
Secondo Divertimento del Secondo Atto.

Proserpina. . . . La Signora Mimi Favier.
Deità seguaci di Proserpina.
Signore
Teresa Vismara. Lucia Lolli.
Antonia Desfontaine. Rosa Minarelli.
Fiorenza Delisle. Maria Conti de Sales.
Angela Ricci. Maria Anna Ricci.
Atto Terzo.
Marinaj, e Marinaje.
Signora Mimi Favier. Sig. Luigi l’Houlier. Sig. Costanza Tinti.
Signora Giustina Campioni.
Signori Signore
{ Giambattista Bourgeois. Teresa Vismara. }
{ Giuseppe Bianchi. Maria Conti de Sales. }
Signori Signore
Innocenzio Gambuzzi. Lucia Lolli.
Antonio Campioni. Rosa Minarelli.
Vincenzio Tinti. Angela Ricci.
Atto Quarto.
Cacciatori, e Cacciatrici.
Sig. Pietro Alovar. Signora Mimi Favier.
Signori Signore
Giambattista Bourgeois. Teresa Vismara.
Giuseppe Bianchi. Maria Conti de Sales.
Innocenzio Gambuzzi. Lucia Lolli.
(continued)
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96 ❧ chapter four
(concluded)
Giuseppe Ganier. Margherita Ganier.

Luigi Blache. Rosa Minarelli.
Gaspero Bianchi. Angela Ricci.
Atto Quinto.
Pastori, ed Abitanti delle Selve d’Aricia
Principali Abitanti.
Signori Signore
Pietro Alovar. Mimi Favier.
Marc’Antonio Missoli. Costanza Tinti.
E Tutti li sudetti in Corpo.
Inventore, e Direttore delle Danze

Il Sig. Pietro Alovar Torinese.
Inventore degli Abiti
Il Sig. Giovanni Betti Parmigiano
al Servigio di S. A. R.
Considering the aforementioned structure together with the dancers’ names

as they appear in the libretto’s opening pages gives some idea of how these per-
formers were highlighted. Ippolito ed Aricia’s first four divertissements introduced
the leading dancers in succession, as shown in these pages (see above). This sort
of gradual reveal would have heightened the audience’s sense of anticipation;
it might also have evoked memories of the troupe’s dancers who had by then
left Parma, similar to the reminiscences of the anonymous reviewer who mused
about Lani’s talents in assessing those of Favier. In order to provide the requisite
number of opportunities for the introduction of each new leading dancer, two
divertissements were added to Ippolito ed Aricia, to the ends of the first two acts.
Thus, by the end of act 2, all the principal dancers had been featured with
solo dances in an order that was evidently calculated to show off first the famil-
iar ones and then the newcomers. The audience saw, in sequence, reappearing
troupe members Campioni (act 1, scene 3, the “danza sacerdotessa sola,” during
the instrumental arrangement of “Fuggi, amor”),23 and then Missoli and Tinti
together (act 1, end, during the first of the opera’s two added divertissements,
the “danza dei Fauni, e delle Driadi”).24 Then the new choreographer Alovar
appeared (act 2, scene 3, during the “danza di deità infernali”),25 and finally, the
new star dancer, Mimì Favier, made her debut (act 2, end, during the second of
the two added divertissements). Favier was the only member of the company to
portray a named character, the underworld goddess Proserpina, which served
to highlight her even more distinctly. In contrast to the other lead dancers, she
received a separate instrumental episode emphasizing her arrival: the sinfonia
that precedes the chorus, “Sparve l’empio mortal.” Her entrance music, which
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adds oboe and horns to the string ensemble, consists of a fanfare-like introduc-
tion to the chorus, prefiguring its main material.26 Favier would be singled out
again the following spring in I tindaridi, where she played the frightening spirit
Tisifone (again, the only dancer in this work to interpret a named character),
receiving a solo dance here as well.27 Her appearance in the underworld diver-
tissements of both operas suggests that she gave effective performances in these
particular scenes of high drama. Her characters in Ippolito ed Aricia and I tindaridi
likely served to link these works in audiences’ minds, resembling the situation
we saw in chapter 3, when Zelindor, re de’ silfi and Gl’Incà del Perù could also have
been perceived as related through Joseph Guigues’s performance as the sylph
king and the Spaniard victor in rapid succession.
The divertissements added to acts 1 and 2 of Ippolito ed Aricia are similar in
structure and length, each consisting of four dances, the last of which ends
with a da capo, lending a balance and consistency to the overall structure. The
divertissement concluding act 3 is structured in much the same way, although
it is longer, providing solo moments for all the lead dancers but Alovar. The
“Danza di Marinari e Marinaje,” preceding Traetta’s canzonetta “Nettun
sull’onde,” likely introduced the figurants. Then, presuming the lead danc-
ers’ appearances in this divertissement corresponded to their order as given in
the libretto, Favier performed to the instrumental arrangement of Traetta’s
canzonetta (inserted before Rameau’s dances began, labeled simply “danza”),
L’Houlier to Rameau’s “premier air des matelots” (labeled “Larghetto”), Tinti
to the “deuxieme air des matelots” (labeled “Allegro”), and Campioni to the
tambourin (labeled with the dance’s genre).28 Presumably the company joined
together on the da capo concluding the divertissement.
Ippolito ed Aricia’s added divertissements expand on the second of the two basic
divertissement types that appear in Rameau’s original.29 The first of these types,
the “danza di deità infernali” in act 2, scene 3, is a “restrained and dramatically
cogent divertissement on the Lullian model,”30 consisting of two airs contrasting
in affect, the first an entrée grave. By contrast, the divertissement concluding act 5
is lengthier, more varied, representing “a diffuse, and drawn out, spectacular
one, where dance is featured for its own sake.”31 The divertissements added to
the ends of acts 1 and 2, with their numerous sections and contrasting dance
types, correspond to the latter category. They showcase the principals while
also providing ample opportunity for the figurants to be seen.
In much the same way that conventional opera seria had long highlighted
the solo Italian singer, Parma’s first reform opera highlighted the solo French
dancer, emphasizing divertissements that featured multisectional structures and
the gradual presentation of solo performers who were new to Parma. In rein-
venting Rameau’s first tragédie, retaining all its dances and adding new ones,
Ippolito ed Aricia at once introduced Parma audiences to an unfamiliar work by
a now familiar composer, while providing an element of French spectacle they
had long since come to appreciate.32 Hippolyte et Aricie won approval gradually
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98 ❧ chapter four
during the course of the eighteenth century, only later on gaining the repu-
tation that it enjoys today as one of Rameau’s finest achievements;33 perhaps
it was helped along in this regard in part by Parma’s creative, internationally
publicized re-creation, which showcased its memorable moments. With the
ability to produce French opera in Parma now a thing of the past, such a re-cre-
ation might have been seen by Parma’s court and the city’s other French resi-
dents as a reassuring substitute, the next best thing in the wake of the troupe’s
departure.
Table 4.3. Dances from Castor et Pollux used in I tindaridi
Original key
Italian title or Act and as in Castor et
French title in scene in I Pollux (1754)
brackets tindaridi Tempo Key if different Meter
Ballo [Air tres 1, 10 [no tempo A major G major 2
4
pointé] indication]
Minuetto 3, 6 [no tempo G major E major 3 [/4]

indication]
[Premier gavotte] 3, 6 Allegro E major 2 [/4]
Ballo [Air] 4, 5 Grazioso G major 3 [/4]

Paspie [Premier 4, 5 [no tempo D major E major 3
8
Passepied] indication]
[Deuxième 4, 5 [no tempo D minor E minor 3
8
Passepied] indication]
Remembering Castor: I tindaridi
Parma’s familiarity with Castor et Pollux might have affected the use of Rameau’s
dances in I tindaridi, although in an entirely different way. While in Ippolito
ed Aricia the emphasis seems to have been placed on re-creating Rameau’s
original divertissements and expanding upon them, in I tindaridi not only are
the number of dances drawn from the original reduced, but they are manipu-
lated differently: four of the six occur in new keys and two appear in different
points in the drama.34 The audience had no need for introduction to admired
excerpts in the case of I tindaridi, although they might have hoped to be able
to remember bits of what they had already seen and heard. That I tindaridi
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represents a much greater departure from its model than does Ippolito ed Aricia
has long been acknowledged; given that Parma’s troupe had performed Castor
et Pollux many times by 1760 (including just a few months prior to I tindaridi’s
premiere), the expectation that I tindaridi would therefore provide a more
thorough reworking of the source material was likely much greater than it was
for Ippolito ed Aricia.
Parma’s 1758 public performance of Castor et Pollux, for which the libretto
was printed, likely retained all the dances from the 1754 version, as a com-
parison of librettos demonstrates. The 1754 libretto from Paris and the Parma
libretto are essentially identical in content, including the stage directions that
signal the start of a dance.35 The dances from Castor et Pollux taken over into I
tindaridi appear fairly far apart in the drama. The first to be heard in I tindaridi,
the “air trés pointé,” is the very first of Castor et Pollux’s dances, occurring in act
1, scene 5; it was shifted to the end of I tindaridi’s first act.36 The next one to
occur in I tindaridi is the minuet, in act 3, scene 6 (the act’s conclusion), which
belonged to the second divertissement in Castor et Pollux’s act 4.37 The premier
gavotte that follows was drawn from Castor et Pollux’s second divertissement of act
3.38 One wonders if this displacement might have been perceived by listeners
familiar with Rameau’s original as a sort of game of hide-and-seek; guessing
what the next familiar excerpt might be, and anticipating where it might occur,
would have added another layer to audiences’ delight in a work they knew well.
This sort of procedure recalls Rameau’s referencing of Vivaldi’s Le quattro sta-
gioni in his Anacréon, mentioned in chapter 3, in which Rameau was perhaps
“toying” with his audience as well.39
The highest concentration of Rameau’s dances in I tindaridi (also those
that appear in the order of the original, in contrast to those just mentioned)
occurs in act 4, scene 5, when Castor appears in the Elysian Fields just before
Pollux comes to retrieve him. There are three dances by Rameau at this spot
(the air preceding the chorus of happy spirits, and the first and second passep-
ieds) and they appear in the second of the act’s two divertissements. The “danze
dell’ombre felici” (dances of the happy spirits) as labeled in the libretto, repre-
sent the first time Alovar appears onstage in I tindaridi. Here he is paired with
Santina Zanuzzi, a newly arrived dancer who debuted in this work (though ear-
lier in it, during act 2’s second divertissement). Alovar’s first appearance coin-
ciding with the moment in the opera that contains the greatest number of
Rameau’s dances in succession seems significant, as if it were meant to encour-
age some sort of association between the choreographer and Rameau’s music
in particular. The dances by Rameau included at this spot in the opera, the
brief air (labeled “grazioso”) and the first and second passepieds, frame the
divertissement as a whole. The dances contrast in style, and would have allowed
Alovar to show off his versatility, the choreography perhaps including a broad
range of movements and expressions.40
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100 ❧ chapter four
Rameau’s dances used in I tindaridi served as references to the original—as

a sort of aide-mémoire—rather than as a summary re-creation of it as in Ippolito
ed Aricia. While it is impossible to know why certain dances from Castor et Pollux
were included and not others, perhaps the ones selected for I tindaridi repre-
sent Parma’s own small collection of “most admired passages” from Rameau’s
chef d’oeuvre.
Number Crunching
However well I tindaridi helped the court and Parma’s other French residents
remember their beloved Castor et Pollux, it also needed to appeal to the pub-
lic. New evidence of reception can be gleaned from a heretofore unexplored
set of printed income statements for each night of I tindaridi’s run, which
comprised thirty-one performances given between 14 May and 30 June 1760.
Figure 4.1 presents one of them, from the first performance (“prima recita,”
14 May). The sheets enable us to do important things to understand Parma’s
entertainments in a more highly nuanced way. First, since they report the dates
on which I tindaridi’s performances occurred, and associated attendance fig-
ures, the income statements allow us to construct a performance calendar and
to view related attendance patterns, affording a detailed view of production
that is impossible to achieve for any other Parma opera. Second, they furnish
information that allows us to compare the reception of I tindaridi and Ippolito
ed Aricia based on income. Admittedly, one must always exercise caution when
using such evidence: since unknown factors might have influenced attendance
at any time, earnings on a given night cannot in themselves be taken to indi-
cate relative failure or success. In context, however, such data can be useful in
establishing preliminary observations that aid us in understanding a city’s com-
plex relationships with its entertainments, particularly in Parma’s case.
As the calendar (table 4.4) and attendance records (table 4.5) show, I tindaridi
opened on a Wednesday night. With the exception of Fridays when the theater
was evidently always dark, performances normally took place over two or three
nights in succession, with one or two nights off in between (as shown by the dates
in boldface type in the calendar in table 4.4, which denote nights when perfor-
mances did not occur). Viewing the tally of nightly attendance figures, drawn
from the income sheets, demonstrates that attendance was higher on certain
nights than on others. Not surprisingly, opening night brought a high number
of attendees, 382 of them, but not nearly as many as the closing night total, by far
the highest, at 578. But as the data show, Sunday nights were the most popular
ones, with Mondays a close second. The calendar shows that I tindaridi was always
given on Sundays, and on most Mondays. Why might these particular nights of
the week have been the favored ones? A possible answer lies in a crucial element
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Figure 4.1. Income sheet for I tindaridi, 14 May 1760, opening night. I-PAas, Comp.
borb., fili correnti, 933. Reproduced with permission.
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Table 4.4. I tindaridi performance calendar, May–June 1760
Sun. Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Sat.
May 14 opening 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31
1 June 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 closing
Table 4.5. Nightly totals for the performances with highest attendance
Parma
Date residents Nonresidents Total
Wednesday, 14 May (opening night) 346 36 382
Monday, 26 May 316 57 373
Sunday, 1 June 369 49 418
Sunday, 8 June 324 63 387
Monday, 16 June 385 54 439
Sunday, 22 June 292 29 321
Sunday, 29 June (penultimate 371 42 413
performance)
Monday, 30 June (closing night) 530 48 578
Note: Totals are drawn from I tindaridi income sheets, 14 May–30 June 1760, I-PAas, Comp.
borb., fili correnti, 933.
Table 4.6. I tindaridi and Ippolito ed Aricia nightly earnings (lire)

Total intake for
Performance Total Ippolito ed Aricia
Performance date Night of intake for on same night
number (for I tindaridi) the week I tindaridi of its run*
1 14 May 1760 Wed. 2,659 2,039
2 15 Thurs. 1,507 595
3 17 Sat. 423 337
4 18 Sun. 2,290 501
5 19 Mon. 808 1142
6 21 Wed. 494 1,969
(continued)
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Total intake for

Performance Total Ippolito ed Aricia
Performance date Night of intake for on same night
number (for I tindaridi) the week I tindaridi of its run*
7 22 Thurs. 350 1,673
8 25 Sun. 1,613 [None recorded]
9 26 Mon. 2,294 [None recorded]
10 27 Tues. 1,739 1,721
11 29 Thurs. 1,025 [Illegible]
12 31 Sat. 1,062 1,818
13 1 June Sun. 2,470 2,907
14 2 Mon. 1,185 1,699
15 4 Wed. 723 2,985
16 5 Thurs. 1,340 1,118
17 8 Sun. 2,729 2,580
18 9 Mon. 1,360 3,149
19 11 Wed. 1,361 3,772
20 12 Thurs. 1,388 3,844
21 14 Sat. 566 1,170
22 15 Sun. 1,456 1,840
23 16 Mon. 2,459 1,650
24 18 Wed. 635 1,650
25 19 Thurs. 377 1,530
26 22 Sun. 1,812 2,559
27 24 Tues. 1,532 2,431
28 25 Wed. 571 2,359
29 28 Sat. 1,138 2,932
30 29 Sun. 2,278 2,283
31 30 Mon. 3,106 1,475
Totals 44,750 [preliminary total:
55,683; without
totals for three
nights as above, and
see below]
*As given on printed statements of intakes for I tindaridi; however, for Ippolito ed Aricia, not
on the respective date or day of week (opened a week earlier, 9 May 1759, a Wednesday;
length of run is unknown).
Note: From I tindaridi income sheets, 14 May–30 June 1760, I-PAas, Comp. borb., fili correnti,
933.
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Figure 4.2. Poster prohibiting the loan of theatrical boxes to visitors at
performances of Ippolito ed Aricia, 1759. I-PAas, Comp. borb., fili correnti, 932.
Reproduced with permission.
Butler.indd 104 12/11/2018 5:10:52 PM

of the statements’ contents: the number of visitors each performance attracted.

I tindaridi might have been conceived in part for the benefit of the court’s collec-
tive memory, although its appeal to visitors was evidently an equally high priority.
Visitors to Parma apparently paid more to see the Teatro Ducale’s operas
than did the city’s residents. As the income sheets show, entrance fees were
separated into those for local attendees—viglietti entrata Parma (Parma resi-
dent tickets), which cost four lire each—and those for attendees from outside
Parma—a forastiero (foreigner, or visitor), who paid nine lire to enter the the-
ater. A seat cost extra (these are marked detti del sedere, the aforementioned
ones, seated), and it cost more for visitors to be seated than for residents: vis-
itors paid four lire more for a seat, but locals only paid one lira extra. Not
surprisingly, residents always outnumbered visitors, and usually by a large per-
centage as table 4.5 clarifies. It was therefore necessary for as much revenue as
possible to be generated from every visitor; not surprisingly, this, too, was an
element Du Tillot sought to manage, and as early as the previous spring sea-
son, by means of posters (printed up in many copies) prohibiting the loan of
boxes to visitors coming to see Ippolito ed Aricia, as shown in figure 4.2.
The singling out of forastiero on the tindaridi income statements suggests
that a relationship existed between Parma’s spring operas and a simultaneously
occurring event that brought travelers to the area: the spring trade fair held in
Piacenza, the duchy’s other major city and the location of another suburban
residence of the court. While carnival was the main theatrical season for most
Italian cities, those that sponsored spring fairs, such as nearby Reggio, had suc-
cessful opera seasons then as well. In fact, the link between a spring opera in
Piacenza and its trade fair can be documented as early as 1751: an impresario’s
contract from that year lays out the terms for an opera to be given in Piacenza
during the fair.41 Parma’s spring operas might have been deliberately planned
for this season in order to capitalize on the extra commercial traffic generated
by the Piacenza trade fair.
Every bit of income generated by I tindaridi’s performances appears on its
sheets, with each person who entered the auditorium and occupied a space
being accounted for: income is totaled according to seating (or standing)
area: piano—the theater’s ground floor (piano, referring to the pian terreno,
where one could either sit or stand, as mentioned above) and each of its
three tiers—primo, secondo, and terzo ordine. Librettos were sold (for three lire
each) and their numbers were also tracked (in the category libri). Perhaps
at least in part in order to demonstrate the high amount of revenue that
visitors generated, the income figures were further analyzed, producing the
ristretto dell’entrata (entrance fee summary), which concluded a document
that summarized total income, shown in figure 4.3. This summary divided
fees paid by subscription box holders (by tier) and subscription entrance
fees into separate categories, and shows that nightly earnings—in contrast to
Butler.indd 105 12/11/2018 5:10:53 PM

Figure 4.3. “Entrata dell’Opera intitolata I Tindaridi.” End of document, “Ristretto
dell’entrata,” I-PAas, Comp. borb., fili correnti, 933. Reproduced with permission.
Butler.indd 106 12/11/2018 5:10:53 PM

those generated by regular attendees—were by far more lucrative. One-time

admissions and libretto sales, taken together, produced more income than
did subscription sales.
Looking back at the income statement presented earlier (fig. 4.1), one
observes a manuscript annotation appearing at its foot referring to “1.ma recita
dell’anno scorso” (the first performance of last year). These additions reveal
what was likely the primary reason for the detailed scrutiny of I tindaridi’s
finances, and establishes the link between Traetta’s first two reform operas that
demonstrates most clearly the practical purpose these works could have served
in the wake of the French troupe’s departure. The annotations indicate that
the administration compared the revenue generated on each night of I tindari-
di’s run to each night of the previous spring opera’s run—that is, for Ippolito
ed Aricia’s. Although income sheets for Ippolito ed Aricia do not survive, these
marks allow us to construct a view of the combined data similar to what the
theater’s administration must also have possessed.
As the comparison in table 4.6 clarifies, Ippolito ed Aricia generated signifi-
cantly more revenue than did I tindaridi: it brought in at least 11,000 lire more,
in total, for thirty-one performances. Exactly how much more income Ippolito
ed Aricia generated is impossible to know, since three of I tindaridi’s sheets lack
the previous opera’s nightly intake figure, and since the number of perfor-
mances comprising Ippolito’s run is unknown. On the face of it, Ippolito ed Aricia
seems to have turned a greater profit than did I tindaridi; however, I tindaridi’s
being a remake, as it were, would have resulted in it requiring fewer new items
for its scenic effects and costumes. I tindaridi could actually have been more
profitable, therefore, than Ippolito ed Aricia, since much of Castor’s stage mate-
rial could have been recycled for its production. Ippolito ed Aricia’s higher total
yield implies that this opera was more successful with the public than I tin-
daridi; perhaps familiarity with Castor et Pollux actually influenced attendance
negatively, despite what might have been planned.
Curious contrasts in the two operas’ attendance patterns make it possible
to speculate further on the works’ respective receptions, however. After a slow
start, Ippolito’s attendance numbers increase significantly starting after the
fourth performance. The consistently high level of total income toward the
middle and end of Ippolito’s run (assuming the runs were similar in length,
which, again, is unknown) does suggest that the public grew increasingly fas-
cinated with the opera, and that Du Tillot’s related publicity efforts eventually
paid off. Attendance at I tindaridi’s performances, by contrast, fluctuated with
specific days of the week. Could I tindaridi’s audience numbers have been more
closely linked to the spring trade fairs’ schedules than those of Ippolito ed Aricia,
perhaps relying even more heavily on the fairs’ busiest days for the largest audi-
ences? Until evidence of the fairs’ calendars comes to light, this question, too,
must remain an open one, though a certain relative link does seem likely.
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108 ❧ chapter four
The tindaridi income sheets demonstrate the administration’s concern over

whether or not the first two reform operas were profitable. But were the admin-
istration’s efforts actually born of concern over whether or not their innova-
tions were succeeding with the public? Frugoni’s musings suggest as much, and
certainly an affirmative answer aligns with the traditional view that, in the end,
the reform operas were just too expensive to maintain. Scholars have always
looked to the reform operas’ expense to explain the plan’s abandonment, as
we have seen.42 But bearing in mind that the French troupe’s residence cost
the court more than all four of the reform operas did combined, perhaps the
concern stemmed less from the desire to introduce innovation and have it
succeed than from the need to recoup some of the losses caused by the now-
departed troupe’s exorbitant costs.
In fact, the possibility that Ippolito ed Aricia and I tindaridi were created
deliberately in order to generate income, at least in part, deserves consider-
ation. By 1759 the thought of blending French dances and Italian opera was
by no means new in Parma; Algarotti had suggested it to Frugoni in a letter
of 1752.43 Yet by the time those ideas had borne fruit, evidence demonstrates
that attempts to attract large audiences and to extract the maximum income
possible from their members were effected in many different ways, as we have
seen: the print publicity appearing in multiple periodicals with international
circulation; the reuse of Rameau’s music and the highlighting of the dancers
who performed it; the schedule coinciding with the fair season (not only did
the season bring in travelers, but it provided space for the new operas to flour-
ish without them having to compete with other entertainments for audiences’
attention, as would have been the case during carnival season); the targeting of
high-paying nonresidents (preventing them from occupying residents’ boxes
and increasing their admission fees); and, in perhaps the most effective way of
all to increase revenue, the engagement of the most celebrated prima donna
in all of midcentury Europe: the soprano Caterina Gabrielli. Considering that
the reuse of Rameau’s music could have been designed, even in part, to offer
tokens of what was best about French style to those who remembered and
missed Parma’s troupe, there was no better way to engage those who desired
the best in Italian entertainment than to hire this star-caliber performer.
The choreographic side of the first two reform operas suggests that the link
between them and Parma’s French troupe was an important one that exerted
a decisive influence on the works’ shape and content. The troupe’s repertory
set the precedent for certain features of the adaptation process seen in these
two works, and created an environment in which Rameau’s music was not just
appreciated but in which it came to be considered essential, something to be
preserved, as everything around it seemed to be changing. The use of Rameau’s
music in these first two operas, and its visual foregrounding by means of the
accompanying performances of Parma’s star dancers, reinforced important
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contemporary links among nature, sovereignty, and the French court.44 Such
links served to signify even more strongly Bourbon preeminence and its pro-
jection in Parma and abroad. During the first years of Traetta’s tenure, the
troupe’s gradual withdrawal from Parma, the advent of a new stylistic blend,
and soon to come, the merging of two of Europe’s most powerful dynasties,
Rameau’s music within these works must have represented to Parma audiences
an element of stability, one that was pleasant and perhaps even reassuring—a
safe harbor within an otherwise volatile atmosphere of profound transition.
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Chapter Five
The End of the

End of Reform
The Wedding, the French Ambassador’s
Opera, Traetta’s Departure
When did reform end in Parma? Scholars disagree; for some, it occurred
with Traetta’s third reform opera, Le feste d’Imeneo, the opéra-ballet given for
the wedding of Princess Isabella of Parma to Archduke Joseph II of Austria in
September 1760.1 For others, Enea e Lavinia of the following spring (1761),
the fourth opera modeled on a tragédie lyrique, brings the reform efforts to a
close.2 The problem of marking the end of the era lies, in part, in the dis-
similarity of Traetta’s last two works for Parma. But while these pieces exhibit
discontinuity in relation to each other, they also reflect a certain degree of con-
sistency in relation to the prior adaptations. Du Tillot declared the period of
innovation to have definitively concluded in 1762: “Le projet de nos opéras sur
un nouveau plan est abandonné.” The end of the end, as it might be termed,
encompassed the eventful period between I tindaridi and Du Tillot’s letter to
Algarotti, with whom he had shared similar aspirations for the fusion of French
and Italian operatic styles.
Le feste d’Imeneo premiered in September 1760, just three months after I
tindaridi’s closure. The short gestation period of Traetta’s third reform opera
meant that things happened fast. Perhaps the most important practical change
that occurred was the renovation of the Teatro Ducale during summer 1760
in preparation for the wedding festivities. The French architect Jean-Antoine
Morand was summoned from Lyon (as Mangot had been before him) to direct
and oversee the renovations. He enlarged the auditorium and transformed
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the end of the end of reform ❧ 111
the stage machinery,3 raising the theater’s level of technical sophistication to

match the high degree of aesthetic refinement to which Du Tillot had long
aspired. Although the details of the renovation are unknown, Parma’s new
theatrical machines now allowed for descents from the heavens and into the
underworld and for the undulation of the waves from the sea.4 Specific fea-
tures of the wedding opera’s stage spectacle seem calculated to show off the
new capabilities of Parma’s theater to delight and astound the spectators. Le
feste d’Imeneo is nothing short of a tour de force of visual display.5
Parma’s Wedding Opera: Le feste d’Imeneo
The work represents a new genre, the opéra-ballet, which had been seen occa-
sionally during the French troupe’s tenure, but never before in an Italianate
version. Le feste d’Imeneo, Frugoni’s last libretto for Parma, comprises three
short acts and a prologue, each consisting of its own self-contained action
with all of them loosely related to the overall theme of love, in the manner of
the genre: the prologue is titled “Il trionfo di Amore,” and the acts are “Atto
d’Iride,” “Atto di Saffo,” and “Atto di Eglé.” Le feste d’Imeneo is an adaptation
of no fewer than three generically similar works: Les fêtes d’Hébé, ou Les tal-
ents lyriques (an opéra-ballet with music by Rameau set to poetry by Gautier de
Montdorge, 1739), Les fêtes d’Hymen et de l’Amour, ou Les dieux d’Egypte (another
opéra-ballet with music by Rameau set to poetry by Louis de Cahusac, 1747), and
Le ballet des sens (a ballet-héroïque—a type of opéra-ballet on a classical or exotic
subject—with music by Jean-Joseph Mouret set to poetry by Pierre-Charles
Roy, 1732). Le ballet des sens (The Ballet of the Senses, titled in the printed
score from Paris as Le triomphe des sens),6 consists of a prologue and five acts
representing the senses (“L’odorat,” “Le toucher,” “La vue,” “L’ouïe,” and “Le
gout”; or, smell, touch, sight, hearing, and taste). The third of these senses—
sight—would be particularly important for Parma. This work was given in Lyon
in 1739. Mangot was there in that year but had not yet become director of
opera; he could have remembered and suggested the work when the sources
for Parma’s wedding opera were assembled. Mangot certainly knew the music
of Mouret, having produced two of his operas in Lyon, as we saw in chapter 1:
Les amours de Ragonde (1749), in which he sang the title role, and the entrée La
Provençale from Les fêtes de Thalie (1750). Rameau’s Les fêtes d’Hébé was done in
Lyon in 1740 and again in 1749;7 Mangot oversaw the latter of the two revivals,
singing two roles in the production.
Although no direct evidence of Mangot’s collaboration in Le feste d’Imeneo
has yet come to light, he must have been involved in the production, and here
it is useful to recall his correspondence with Padre Martini in Bologna in 1760.
Mangot had written to Padre Martini that events surrounding the wedding
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112 ❧ chapter five
caused his delay in sending the collection of excerpts Martini had requested.
It is certain that Mangot had copies of both Rameau works with him in Parma.
Since one of the pieces in Mangot’s anthology is drawn from Les fêtes d’Hymen
et de l’Amour (the rondeau “Ma bergère”), it is reasonable to think that he might
have had a role in this work’s adaptation as part of Le feste d’Imeneo. As the
correspondence reveals, Mangot would have included excerpts from Les fêtes
d’Hébé in what he sent to Martini, if not for the fact that Martini already had the
piece in his library.
The “Iride” Act: Adieu, chère princess
Scholars have consistently noted the anomaly that Le feste d’Imeneo represents
within Parma’s operatic reform tradition both for its generic designation as
an opéra-ballet and for the reason it exists at all. Since the work is an occasional
one, it has been seen as standing outside the reform efforts.8 Yet the same
themes appear in its historiography as for the reform-inspired opere serie: how
reformist is the piece? How greatly reworked is the model? What is the nature
of the adaptation? Le feste d’Imeneo has been judged as a true re-creation, one
more thoroughly reconceived than Ippolito ed Aricia and I tindaridi.9 The man-
ner in which Frugoni created the first of its acts, the “Iride” act, however, has
also been likened to the same process he used in Ippolito ed Aricia and I tin-
daridi; this is also the only act of the three that he calls an “imitation” in his
preface to the libretto.10 It is worth reviewing the end of this act since this por-
tion of the work links it to the earlier reform operas in an unmistakable and
ingenious manner.
Frugoni drew his first act, the “Iride” act, from the third entrée of Mouret and
Roy’s libretto for Le ballet des sens, the “Acte de la vue,” (the “Sight” act); the
other acts in Le feste d’Imeneo are all drawn from the librettos for the Rameau
works. Were it not for the fact that Frugoni openly acknowledged his process
of imitation in the “Iride” act, he might have been criticized for the “theft,” as
it was called by one contemporary reviewer.11 The “Iride” act went beyond the
others in Le feste d’Imeneo in the special meaning it carried for Parma audiences.
It represented an homage to the young, lovely, talented, and expertly educated
Princess Isabella, who was revered in Parma as the protector (protettrice) of
painting, poetry, and dance.12 It is perhaps not surprising that Frugoni selected
the allegory of the sense of sight from among those in Roy and Mouret’s work
to honor the beloved princess. The spectators’ focus was directed, by means of
the title as well as the act’s spectacular content, toward the visual element, with
sight personified by the character of Iride, the follower of Juno who creates
rainbows in the heavens. Iride entered by descending on a rainbow in Parma,
the clouds parting as she arrived.13 An even more elaborate machine appeared
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from above toward the act’s end: it contained a lavish royal pavilion, with fly-
ing cupids encircling it, who, after its descent, pulled back its curtains to reveal
three thrones on which the other characters, Amore, Iride, and Zeffiro, sit
to observe the dancing and choral singing.14 The vertical traffic of deities on
two occasions, then, kept the spectators’ eyes consistently engaged during the
short act.
The use of Rameau’s music adds even more emphasis to this portion of Le
feste d’Imeneo, on a number of levels: it enhances the significance of the “Iride”
act within the work as a whole, the prominence of sight as the queen of all the
senses, the link between the act and Princess Isabella, and the link between
this opera and Ippolito ed Aricia and I tindaridi. With two opéras-ballets by Rameau
serving as sources for Le feste d’Imeneo, one might expect Rameau’s music
to appear often throughout the acts. Yet the only act in which any piece by
Rameau appears is this one, as if a strong association between the French mas-
ter’s music—perhaps even this dance in particular—and the princess herself
was meant to be perceived by the audience. What is more, the piece is from
Les fêtes d’Hébé, as if the opera’s creators sought to tie the single entrée in Le feste
d’Imeneo modeled on a work by a different composer (Mouret) to Rameau him-
self. The dance, “l’air gracieux pour Zéphire et les graces,”15 comes from scene
5 of Les fêtes d’Hébé ’s prologue.16 Les fêtes d’Hébé, one of the composer’s most
successful operas, was revived in Paris in 1747–48 and 1756–57. Mangot knew
the music well, since he had overseen a production of the opera in Lyon in
1749; perhaps he suggested this piece’s addition to Le feste d’Imeneo, just has he
could also have done for the many other pieces by Rameau that were incorpo-
rated into Traetta’s earlier operas. By 1760 he could have done this numerous
times; perhaps it was even expected of him by then, encompassing an unoffi-
cial but essential part of his duties at the reform operas’ advent.
The piece’s placement in Le feste d’Imeneo is significant as well. It is the first
dance of the act’s second divertissement.17 This second divertissement, which
closes the act, does not appear in Rameau’s original work. Frugoni added it
when he adapted the libretto, giving the act in Parma not one, but two diver-
tissements. He was familiar with this particular feature of the adaptation process,
having already done the very same thing in Ippolito ed Aricia.18 The divertisse-
ment, labeled “Ballo” in the Parma score, opens with Rameau’s piece, labeled
“tendrement”; like Rameau’s dances in the earlier Parma operas, it is not
identified. It is identical to Rameau’s original in scoring and key but omits the
repeats of each of the dance’s two sections. It is followed by a series of other
dances, which contrast in key, meter, scoring, and affect. The libretto for the
“Iride” act clearly indicates which solo dancer was highlighted in this secondo
divertimento: the star ballerina Mimì Favier, lauded in Parma earlier for her
performances in both Ippolito ed Aricia and I tindaridi. In the libretto’s cast list
Favier’s name appears first, labeled a solo; other solo dancers’ names follow,
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Example 5.1. Rameau, “L’air gracieux pour Zéphire et les graces” from Les fêtes
d’Hébé; “Ballo / Tendrement” in Parma score for Le feste d’Imeneo (A-Wn 17863),
109v–110r
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œ œœ
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Tendrement
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Œ ˙.
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& Œ Œ Œ Œ
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J
Ã&
À # œ œ œ œ œ œ œJ œ œ œ œ œ œ œJ œ œ œ œ. œ Ÿ̇.
& ‰ ‰ Œ ‰ ‰ Œ J
œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙.
?# ∑ œ‰ Œ ∑ J‰Œ
Ã J
Butler.indd 114 12/11/2018 5:11:14 PM

two of them labeled a due, then a group of four labeled a quattro. Assuming
the order of dances in the score corresponds to the order of the solo danc-
ers’ names in the libretto, Favier danced to the first piece in the divertissement,
Rameau’s “air gracieux pour Zéphire et les graces.”
With the cherished granddaughter of Louis XV soon to be made archduch-
ess, and to be in residence at the Habsburg court, the association between
Isabella and France—and the reminder, through her, of Bourbon power—
could not have been missed by those who witnessed the festivities. Hearing
Rameau’s music, in the very act that honored Isabella, while watching one of
Europe’s most celebrated ballerinas dance to it, must have transformed this
particular moment into something beyond a celebration of the wedding—it
represented a celebration of Bourbon sovereignty, and a fond adieu to Parma’s
beloved princess.
Overlapping Celebrations
The wedding was celebrated in both Parma and Vienna. The many points of
contact between the occasional festivities in each place merit further atten-
tion, furnishing sufficient material for a large study of their own.19 The the-
aters exchanged some of their leading theatrical personnel: Caterina Gabrielli
went from Parma to Vienna while Gaetano Guadagni and the dancer François
Dupré reversed course,20 going from Vienna to Parma, to name a few of the
main exchanges. Isabella was the dedicatee of Le feste d’Imeneo’s Viennese coun-
terpart, Alcide al bivio (Hercules at the Crossroads), a festa teatrale on poetry by
Metastasio with music by Johann Adolf Hasse.21 The librettos for the two main
wedding operas, Le feste d’Imeneo and Alcide al bivio, were brought together pub-
licly as prestigious literary texts two years after the wedding, appearing in the
first two volumes of Ottaviano Diodati’s twelve-volume collection of contempo-
rary dramas, Biblioteca teatrale italiana (1762–65).22 Both cities also produced
smaller-scale works as part of the festivities. The serenata Tetide, with poetry by
Giovanni Ambrogio Migliavacca and music by Gluck, was given in Vienna as
the second opera. A libretto for Il trionfo d’Imeneo, a two-act drama with parts for
two choruses and five soloists, was published in Parma in conjunction with the
wedding.23 The libretto’s poet, Giuseppe Pezzana (1735–1802), is named on
the title page, where he is designated as “pastor arcade di Roma.”24 Although
no evidence of a musical setting or a performance has yet come to light, the
work might have been presented (perhaps recited) at either the court theater
at Colorno or the Teatro Sanvitale.25
Vienna continued to maintain interest in Traetta’s music after the wedding.
A condensed version of I tindaridi was apparently prepared for performance
there, but no evidence of a production survives.26 The composer was engaged
for a new opera at the Burgtheater early the next year, Armida.27 Its source was
Butler.indd 115 12/11/2018 5:11:20 PM

Philippe Quinault’s libretto for Jean-Baptiste Lully’s Armide, another promi-

nent French model. Plans had been made for an adaptation of Quinault’s
Armide in Parma during spring 1761; Frugoni had invited Algarotti to come
to Parma for it the previous December.28 Migliavacca, Armida’s librettist in
Vienna, had also penned Solimano, which Traetta had set in 1759 as his first
opera for Parma. Armida, an azione teatrale with four dances, two choruses, and
a number of spectacular effects integrated into the action, was given in Vienna
in Isabella’s honor, premiering on 3 January 1761, her nineteenth birthday.29
An aria from Armida was to reappear shortly thereafter, back in Parma, as a
fixed part of Enea e Lavinia’s musical text, placed there “by request” (although
by whose request is unknown). The shared aria represents a small but impor-
tant part of the numerous new connections between the musical worlds of the
most prolific centers of French culture outside France in the 1760s.
Although the wedding productions brought Parma and Vienna closer
together in terms of key personnel and in presentation of French-style specta-
cle generally (with a shared emphasis on French dance), the profiles of the two
theatrical institutions remained distinct: Parma’s spring season Italian adapta-
tions of French tragédies lyrique—a variety of French entertainment that, apart
from Armida, Vienna did not favor—remained the focal point of the Teatro
Ducale’s offerings, if only for one last season.
The French Ambassador’s Opera: Enea e Lavinia
In spring 1761 Parma gave Enea e Lavinia, set by Traetta to a libretto by Jacopo
Antonio Sanvitale, the third full-length opera based on a French tragédie lyrique
during the spring performance season. But this was not a reworking of a
Rameau opera, nor was the libretto revised by Frugoni. It apparently contains
no music by Rameau. It therefore represents both a departure from the norm,
in these ways, and an effort to maintain continuity, in others: like Ippolito ed
Aricia and I tindaridi before it, Enea e Lavinia also occupied the spring season,
it features the same troupe of dancers who performed in the earlier spring
operas, and the same choral singers (though fewer of them), and perhaps its
clearest marker of continuity was its prima donna: it represented the return to
Parma, after her Viennese sojourn for the wedding, of the duchy’s renowned
prima virtuosa di camera, Caterina Gabrielli.
A Prima Donna’s Signature Aria: “Respiri omai contento”
The aria that had migrated from Armida to Enea e Lavinia, “Respiri omai con-
tento,” in Enea e Lavinia’s act 3, scene 2, was one of Gabrielli’s.30 The request
for its inclusion in the Parma opera could well have come from her, or perhaps
Butler.indd 116 12/11/2018 5:11:40 PM

from an unknown audience member in Vienna who admired it there and

wanted to hear it again in Parma. It is worth underscoring that the sort of sit-
uation this aria represents is rare in opera of the period. At the spot in the
libretto for Enea e Lavinia where the aria appears, we read a printed comment
at the foot of the page, linked to the aria by means of an asterisk: “La musica
di quest’Aria cantata altrove si è rimessa in questo Dramma a richiesta, ed è
dello stesso Autore” (The music for this aria, [previously] sung elsewhere, was
reinserted in this drama by request, and is by the same author).31 Although
the “suitcase aria” convention, by which arias were inserted in performances of
operas other than those for which they were originally composed, was a long-
standing part of opera seria tradition, an aria from one opera integrated into
the fixed musical text of another work, and announced as such in the printed
libretto, was highly uncommon.
Some of this aria’s sources shed new light on its transformation as it trav-
eled from Vienna to Parma, and reveal its importance as a signature aria
for Gabrielli.32 Viennese audiences heard Gabrielli sing the aria in Armida’s
scene 11, titled in Vienna “Respira già contento.” The A section’s full text
in the Vienna score is: “Respira già contento [/] libero il cor già sento. [/]
Sento l’antica pace [/] già ritornarmi in sen.” At least one copy of the libretto
printed for the Viennese production gives a different text for the aria, how-
ever, so “Respira già contento” could represent a second version of the piece
that was intended for this scene in Armida.33 In the Vienna score, an alternate
text was copied lightly above the A section’s vocal line in this score (the B sec-
tion is unaltered). 34 The addition’s full text is: “Respira [sic] omai contento,
placido il cor in seno e il ciel seconda appieno quanto bramai timor.” The page
on which it begins is shown in figure 5.1. This alternate text matches that of
Parma’s libretto in its first line, although its continuation differs from Parma’s:
the A section text in the Parma libretto and score is: “Respiri omai contento /
per te l’amor, ch’io sento. / Deh fa,’ l’antica pace / lieta tornarmi in sen.”35
The same hand (as yet unidentified) made other changes to the Vienna score’s
A section as well. There are dynamic and articulation markings; small letters,
“a” through “h” in sequence, which appear to be rehearsal letters; “Fine” at the
end of the section at the top of both treble and bass staves at the A section’s
conclusion; and alterations to the bass line in a few spots. These markings sug-
gest that the score was used in performance, or, perhaps they point to the exis-
tence of another source used in performance that furnished these data, which
was then later copied into the Vienna score.36 What the additions made to the
Vienna score might mean is as yet open to question. It is possible, though, that
they reflect alterations made to the aria when performed in Vienna’s Armida,
at least at some point, likely in preparation for its inclusion in Enea e Lavinia
given the similarity to the text in the Parma libretto. The musical texts for the
arias in the Parma and Vienna scores are identical; the arias are in the same
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Figure 5.1. “Respira già contento,” score for Armida (Vienna, 1761). A-Wn 17861,
68 r and v, with alternate text added. Reproduced with permission from the
Musiksammlung der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek.
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Example 5.2a. “Respiri già contento,” aria from Armida inserted in Enea e Lavinia,
Vienna score, 69v–70r, mm. 38–50
& œ. œ. œ. œ.
! ! ! !
& œ!. œ!. œ!. # œ!.
œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ J ≈ œR œ . œ œ œJ œ œ # œ œ œ œ
B ### J J J J
già ri - tor - nar - - - - - - -
? # # # !œ . œ.
!
œ.
!
œ.
!
œ œ œ
& œ.
!
œ!. œ!. œ œ œ
œ œ #œ
& œ!. œ!. œœ œ œ œ œ
B
œ j j j j
J œ
t
œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œJ œ œt œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ
œœ œ œœ œ œ
œ œ
B ### ≈R œ J ≈ œœ œ
R J
J
- - - - - - - -
? ### œ . œ. #œ. œ. œ.
! ! ! ! !
Butler.indd 119 12/11/2018 5:11:53 PM

Example 5.2b. “Respiri già contento,” aria from Armida inserted in Enea e Lavinia,
Vienna score, 72r–73v, mm. 86–100
œ. œ. œ. œ. œ.
& ! ! ! ! !
& œœ œ œ. œ!. œ!. œ!.
œ œ œ . œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œJ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
B ### J . J
già ri - tor - nar - - - - - - -
œ œ œ œ. œ. œ.
? ### œ œ œ ! !
&
œ. œ. œ. œ. œ.
! ! ! ! !
& œ!. œ!. œ!. œ. œ.

!
!
B
œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
B ## # J
- - - - - - - -
? # # # !œ . œ.
! œ!. œ!. œ!.
Butler.indd 120 12/11/2018 5:11:53 PM

key of A major and the same 83 meter, and the only significant variants concern
the barring of certain pitches within beats (which seem to correspond to the
differences in the sung texts). However, the aria in the Parma score contains
none of the performance-related annotations made to the Vienna score. The
alternate text and related markings in the Vienna score, therefore, perhaps
represent yet a third version of this evidently popular piece, one related to
both the Parma and Vienna versions.37
The aria is a tour de force of the virtuosity for which Gabrielli was known.
A lengthy dal segno aria (at 136 measures long) in 83 meter marked “allegro”
and scored for strings, it includes two long passages of coloratura. They differ
from each other in ways that demonstrate contrasting elements of Gabrielli’s
vocal flexibility. The first (ex. 5.2a) occurs just thirty-nine measures into the
piece, during the A2 section, and on its first phrase, ascends to the highest
pitch in the piece, c3 (“high C”). It includes three ascending runs consisting
of figures that descend by step in sequence. The second (ex. 5.2b) consists
in general of more frequent changes of direction and more repetition, with
series of ascending and descending figures that demonstrate agility rather than
the high end of Gabrielli’s range as in the previous section. The charming,
dancelike piece, with its lilting tune and exciting bravura passages likely made
a strong effect on audiences in both cities. It resembles pieces Traetta wrote
for her in the Parma operas, though it does not compare to some of them in
its technical demands, length, or in extreme of range.38 It does, however, serve
to reinforce the point that a close connection existed between this composer
and singer, one nurtured by frequency of collaboration and physical proximity.
Gabrielli and Traetta’s Parma years provided the two artists with a fertile cre-
ative environment, a sort of laboratory in which they seemed to have worked
out a strong formula for their mutual future success.
This aria was only one of Gabrielli’s pieces from Enea e Lavinia that was to
have a life outside Parma’s production of the work. In yet another unconven-
tional example of a migrating musical number, a second piece from Enea e
Lavinia involving Gabrielli reappeared in a different opera by Traetta in which
she also created the prima donna role. Enea e Lavinia’s act 2 duet, “Vanne, mio
caro, addio,” would be used in Traetta’s setting of Didone abbandonata for Naples
in 1764, with Gabrielli as Didone39—a suitcase duet, as it were.40 Gabrielli’s suc-
cessful career included prima donna roles in ten operas composed by Traetta;
the replication of multiple pieces written for her in multiple operas certainly
testifies to her power and influence over her own operatic music in general,
and her preference for Traetta’s music in particular, as scholars have long
noted. It also suggests that these pieces and Gabrielli’s performance of them
were apparently one and the same in the minds of audiences. These pieces
garnered attention of wide geographical reach, and they show that a singer of
Gabrielli’s caliber could build a repertory of specific items whose inclusion in a
Butler.indd 121 12/11/2018 5:12:05 PM

newly composed work was planned in advance, rather than on the spot after a
singer’s arrival in a city. As such they stretch our understanding of the insertion
aria convention, and provide tangible musical evidence of Gabrielli’s status as
the century’s leading prima donna.
Jacopo Antonio Sanvitale in Parma and Venice
Sanvitale revised Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle’s Enée et Lavinie, which had

been set by Pascale Collasse for the Académie Royale de Musique in 1690.
François Auguste Paradis de Moncrif revised the libretto for a new setting by
composer Antoine Dauvergne in 1758. Enea e Lavinia is viewed as a sign of
retrenchment and a return to conventional Italian style in Parma, in its typical
three-act structure and dramaturgical components, its emphasis on solo sing-
ing, and its smaller number of choruses (only four) compared to the earlier
reform operas.41 Of all the works given at Parma around this time, it carries per-
haps the greatest weight in the critiques of Parma’s failure to achieve operatic
reform. A year after its premiere, Du Tillot would write to Francesco Algarotti
that his plan to develop a new kind of opera had been abandoned. But consid-
ered in the context of Parma’s musical theater as a whole—in its wide variety of
French, French-influenced, and French-inspired adaptations—Enea e Lavinia
can also be viewed as yet another manifestation of French emphasis in Parma,
one of a different kind from that evinced by Ippolito ed Aricia, I tindaridi, and Le
feste d’Imeneo.
A key to understanding the work lies in its librettist, his background, his
theatrical activity, and role as a statesman. Count Jacopo Antonio Sanvitale
(1699–1780) was a prominent member of the Parma nobility, an erudite
and sophisticated man of letters with a long-standing interest in theater. The
Sanvitale family had long been one of Parma’s leading patrons of the arts.
Jacopo Antonio must have gained knowledge of a wide range of dramatic
genres through his family’s history of involvement in dramatic productions
given at the Teatro Sanvitale in Parma as well as at the small theater at the fam-
ily residence at nearby Fontanellato.42 He was vicecustode of the Arcadian chap-
ter in Parma, which he founded in 1741, through his connections with Frugoni
and using the latter’s influence and contacts in literary circles.43 The chapter’s
first recitation of a dramatic work was in Sanvitale’s own palazzo in Parma on 9
April of that year, as reported by Angelo Pezzana (father of Giuseppe Pezzana,
the aforementioned poet of Il trionfo d’Imeneo).44 Sanvitale authored a num-
ber of opera librettos, literary and historical works, poems, and translations of
French dramas, which span his entire career.45
Jacopo Antonio traveled extensively. During the 1730s he had spent time in
Vienna, and was in Venice during the early 1740s. When the Bourbons arrived
Butler.indd 122 12/11/2018 5:12:05 PM

in Parma, he had traveled to Genoa to accompany Louise Élisabeth during

the remainder of her voyage to the city, in 1749. Attesting to his high-ranking
position in the Parma court, he was chosen to serve as the duke’s ambassador
to the Court of Louis XV, residing in France from 1751 to 1759.46 Sanvitale was
one of Phillip’s most highly valued advisers, keeping the duke informed on
musical activities in the French capital.47 While in France, Sanvitale could have
seen the premiere of Dauvergne’s Enée et Lavinie in 1758, which might have led
to the choice of it as the model for his libretto.
Sanvitale’s role at Parma changed dramatically in 1761, an auspicious year
for him. Having served the Bourbon court as a diplomat abroad, in this year he
gained control of all theatrical entertainment, and his first major libretto was
set to music just a month later: he replaced Du Tillot as director of theaters on
9 April 1761, with Enea e Lavinia’s premiere occurring on 1 May. From 1761
through the 1770s he revised preexisting librettos and wrote new ones. He pro-
duced an Italian translation of Racine’s Andromaque (as Andromaca), in 1776,
four years before his death. Although much is known of Jacopo Antonio’s biog-
raphy,48 his involvement with opera in Venice, and its connection to Parma,
has heretofore escaped notice. He was in Venice at least by 1743,49 and pub-
lished a literary work there in 1746.50 Sanvitale’s link with Venetian opera mer-
its a closer look, especially since it seems to have resonated in certain elements
of Parmesan operatic style.
Sanvitale’s name appears in connection with several Venetian operatic
sources. He was the dedicatee of the libretto for Ambleto, set by Giuseppe
Carcani for Venice’s Teatro Sant’Angelo in carnival 1742.51 An unsigned,
undated, manuscript financial summary in an unknown hand survives in Du
Tillot’s correspondence in Parma.52 It actually furnishes an even closer link
between Sanvitale and Venetian operatic production than does the libretto for
Ambleto. The document relates to a different Venetian theater, the Teatro San
Giovanni Grisostomo, for this same year. It contains sums representing total
profits and losses for three operas given at the Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo
and the equivalent of the losses in Parmesan lire.
Le tre opere, che furono fatte nell’Autunno, e Carnevale dell’anno 1742,

nel Teatro di Sr. Gio. Grisostomo di Venezia costorno di quella moneta L.
192461.11 / Introito = 131930.13 / Perdita = L 60513.18 / Le sud.e sessanta
mila cinquecento tredici lire, e dieciotto soldi di Venezia, sono a moneta di
Parma: L 121027.16.53
(The three operas given in autumn, and carnival 1742 at the Teatro San
Giovanni Grisostomo in Venice cost [a total of] 192,461.11 lire. Entrance
fees: 131,930.13 [lire]. Losses: 60,513.18 lire. The aforementioned sixty mil-
lion five hundred thirteen lire and eighteen Venetian soldi are equivalent to
121,027.16 Parmesan lire.)
Butler.indd 123 12/11/2018 5:12:09 PM

The operas to which the numbers refer are not named in the document,
but knowing their performance season permits easy identification. Two of
them are important for Parma. The first of these is Merope, with poetry by
Apostolo Zeno (adapted from Bartolomeo Vitturi) and music by Niccolò
Jommelli.54 Sanvitale apparently contributed an aria to this work, further
strengthening his link to the document.55 The second is Statira, with poetry
by Francesco Silvani (adapted from Carlo Goldoni) and music by Nicola
Porpora.56 Unconventional features in both librettos suggest further possible
links with Parma. Both operas feature added choruses: the librettos exhibit
stanzas of choral texts that do not appear in their original versions. In act
1, scene 2 of Merope, dances appear twice, between two choral stanzas, in a
manner reminiscent of a French divertissement (the indication “ballo” appears
between the stanzas). Statira’s choruses (in act 2, scene 10) are multisectional
(a one-stanza chorus appears mid-scene, in act 3, scene 14). The addition of
choruses and dances, especially those interpolated into the action in this way,
was unusual at this time, as Italian theaters generally lacked the resources to
present these components.57
Since Sanvitale had contributed an aria to Merope, he could have had
other contact with that production as well, or at least with the alteration of
its text; perhaps he even witnessed—or actually effected—the insertion of
these French-inspired components into the preexisting dramatic fabric. The
meaning of the link between these operas in Venice in 1742, and those later in
Parma, if there is one, is open to question, especially since the Venetian operas
predate Du Tillot’s arrival in Parma by six years. It seems significant, however,
that Du Tillot took interest in the financial circumstances of these operas in
particular, ones that had featured on a small scale in Venice the same sort of
stylistic innovation he was to present some twenty years later on a much larger
one in Parma—especially since these operas apparently resulted in a signifi-
cant financial loss.58 (The Venetian theater gave a serenata sung by four of the
soloists on the last night of carnival 1742, perhaps to try to compensate for the
season’s losses, or as a benefit concert.)59
Could the financial summary of the San Giovanni Grisostomo’s operas
from 1742 have come from Sanvitale? Since he was involved in at least one of
these operas (Merope), he might have known about the loss. Perhaps Du Tillot
used this information as a resource in his planning when he began to produce
opera in Parma, his first experience with an Italian public theater. Sanvitale
might have represented a key resource for Du Tillot in this regard. If the docu-
ment did stem from Sanvitale, perhaps it had an even more direct effect on the
later stages of Parma’s reform: the knowledge of the financial loss could have
played a role in his own omission of the traditionally costly elements from Enea
e Lavinia when he adapted the French original later on.
Butler.indd 124 12/11/2018 5:12:12 PM

Sanvitale worked for the Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo again four years
later, revising Matteo Noris’s libretto for Tito Manlio, which was set to music by
Jommelli in 1746.60 Although no printed component of the libretto indicates
Sanvitale’s involvement, a manuscript addition made on one copy reveals it:
an annotation on the cover reads, in part, “Il sgr. Co. Sanvitali ne ha variato
i recitativi.”61 Sanvitale’s possible knowledge of Venetian theatrical finances,
and certain involvement in revision of Venetian theatrical poetry, then, merit
further exploration. Both activities were ones that would inform his experi-
ence in Parma years later, when he wrote the libretto for Traetta’s final reform
opera and took over the management of Parma’s theaters. As a theatrical poet
steeped in classical Arcadian tradition, it follows that Sanvitale’s adaptation of
a French libretto would fall along conventional dramaturgical lines. Yet he was
no stranger to stylistic innovation, becoming familiar with it prior to Parma’s
first reform opera, as the evidence from Venice suggests.
French Connections: Turin’s Teatro Regio
Parma looked to a different Italian theater for a new organizational model

when Sanvitale was put in charge of administration: Turin’s Teatro Regio. The
theatrical lives of these two cities intertwined in various ways during the 1750s
and 1760s, not surprisingly given the close political ties each city shared with
France. Delisle’s troupe had come through Turin on their way to Parma (as
had Mangot, traveling from Lyon), and Traetta had composed Enea nel Lazio
for Turin in carnival season 1760 (between the spring operas Ippolito ed Aricia
and I tindaridi), which had featured two leading singers from Parma, Caterina
Gabrielli and Filippo Elisi.62 Turin’s Teatro Regio was one of Italy’s largest, most
lavish, and most prestigious theaters at midcentury; it, too, presented a series
of French-inspired works of its own, although logistical and financial circum-
stances influenced its inclusion of French-style choruses, and dances appeared
only (with rare exceptions) between the acts in the conventional manner.63
The Teatro Regio’s administration was a variant of the “collective impresar-
ial group,” a model that a number of Italian theaters tried out during the eigh-
teenth century.64 In Turin, a group of noblemen selected by the sovereign, the
Nobile Società dei Cavalieri, controlled all elements of operatic production,
making the decisions that would normally come under an impresario’s pur-
view.65 They drew up a budget annually and each member contributed a certain
sum toward the expenses of production, which was then supplemented by the
sovereign. Turin’s organizational model attracted Parma’s attention: Sanvitale
was evidently called upon to acquire a copy of the Teatro Regio’s administra-
tive statutes sometime before 2 February 1761: twenty days later, a request was
entered into the records of the Società dei Cavalieri’s meetings, specifying that
Butler.indd 125 12/11/2018 5:12:16 PM

the Parma court had charged the French ambassador to procure a copy of the
statutes.66 A copy was produced, and a few months later, Parma drew up a simi-
lar document, dated 6 April 1761, that resembles Turin’s but reflects the needs
of the Teatro Ducale.67 On that date the Nobile Società dei Cavalieri di Parma
started functioning under Sanvitale’s direction. That Parma sought to model
itself after Turin’s Teatro Regio demonstrates its continued efforts to be seen as
a high-quality theater with international visibility. The shift to a different orga-
nizational structure, one with individuals contributing toward a common bud-
get for production, paralleled the return to less experimental forms of Italian
opera in Parma. Further attesting to contact between the two cities’ theatrical
activities is a manuscript copy, made in 1765, of two original Turinese librettos
preserved in the Sanvitale family’s archival collection.68 One of these is Enea nel
Lazio, set by Traetta for Turin in 1760, an innovative work with entr’acte dances
linked to the opera’s plot, and which featured Parma’s leading singers.69 Its
appearance in Parma serves as yet another link between the two cities’ French-
inspired activities.
Traetta Departs
After Philippe de Bourbon’s death, the new sovereign, Don Ferdinando, dis-
missed Traetta in 1764, along with many other court musicians. Giuseppe Colla
became maestro di musica in 1766 and Mangot stayed on until the end of his
life, in 1791.70 Parma maintained its interest in French-style stage spectacle
through to the end of the century; it resurfaced periodically in works such as Le
feste d’Apollo (1769), with music by Gluck, given in celebration of the wedding
of Ferdinando and Archduchess Maria Amalia, and Giuseppe Sarti’s dramma
serio Alessandro e Timoteo (1782).71 Le feste d’Imeneo and Enea e Lavinia, then,
rather than being viewed as anomalies among Traetta’s four reform operas,
might rather be seen as ushering in a new era of theatrical entertainment in
Parma, one marked by alternatives to the adaptations of Ramellian tragédies
lyrique that had drawn so much attention in 1759 and 1760.72 Adopting a wide
view of Parmesan musical theater reveals Traetta’s last two operas for Parma to
represent future directions, ones that saw the broadening of the possibilities
for French model adaptation.
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Conclusion
Reform Revisited
Parma has long been recognized as a city where Italian and French oper-
atic traditions encountered each other, a fruitful comingling that nourished
Traetta’s reform operas for the city’s Teatro Ducale. As the foregoing discus-
sion demonstrates, the works represented many things. They symbolized the
merging of two powerful dynasties, the Habsburgs and Bourbons, represent-
ing a cultural transfer with wide-reaching political and social implications,
as well as musical and theatrical ones. They also represented adaptation:
Traetta’s operas are the culmination, and not the inception, of a process of
adaptation that can only be fully understood by appreciating how that process
worked in the French entertainments that preceded them in Parma. Taken
together, the French works and Traetta’s Italian, French-inspired operas,
show how malleable, variable, and creative the adaptation process could
be. Parma’s mid-eighteenth-century theater demonstrated this reality more
clearly and prominently than any other contemporary opera theater in all of
Europe was able to do, even others where French influence was strong and
where there was interest in and support for presenting French and French-
inspired cultural products. The adaptation process began not with Traetta’s
famous Ippolito ed Aricia, but much earlier, with the very first French work
the troupe gave for the public, soon after the performers arrived in Parma:
Zelindor, re’ dei silfi, with its additional aria that showcased Parma’s new, lead-
ing haute-contre. With Gl’Incà del Perù, the adaptation grew into something
much more significant, as the short entrée from Rameau’s Les Indes galantes
became extended, encompassing new pieces and ensembles, and concluding
with an added divertissement that showcased different performers, dancers as
Spanish soldiers, in an addition and expansion of the work that unmistak-
ably represented Spanish Bourbon power. Castore e Polluce represents a more
subtle but no less important type of adaptation, as Castor’s final aria became
longer, more expressive, and weightier, developing into a full-blown choral
number that again showcased the strength of Parma’s new performing forces.
Anacreonte revealed to Parma audiences how one genre could be transformed
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128 ❧ conclusion
into another, an acte from an opéra-ballet becoming a balletto, presenting more

opportunities to highlight the French troupe’s expert dancers.
What else do Traetta’s operas signify? They certainly represent innovation,
with their synthesis of Italian and French components. Considering them
in relation to Francesco Algarotti’s link to Parma, and his link to the philos-
ophes and their transformative influence on Enlightenment-era culture that
I mentioned in this study’s introduction, raises the stakes for the particular
variety of synthesis they represent. They can be understood as part of wide-
ranging changes affecting how people viewed themselves in relation to the
world around them, representing a coming together of disparate elements that
reflected an ever-expanding Europe. On a local, more practical level, they show
us important things about the economics of theatrical production—an opera
theater’s business, managerial structure, conventional practices, and logistical
issues, and what those all of those things meant for its producers.1 They dem-
onstrate how important a figure Jacques-Simon Mangot was in Parma, in the
many ways this music director’s influence and intervention behind the scenes
shaped the environment in which Traetta’s operas came to be. They remind
us of the need to look beyond the composer and librettist, and even beyond
the performer, and to ensure that our view extends to other, key members of
a theater’s creative personnel, whose impact in certain circumstances might
be no less important than those who occupied more highly visible roles. They
remind us how important theatrical institutions were to their communities and
how the mechanism of persistence worked in the volatility of the eighteenth-
century world.2
Most important, in their variety and their responses to the needs of the com-
plex circumstances that formed them, Traetta’s innovative operas for Parma,
and the French entertainments before them, show that operatic reform needs
to be understood as something as flexible as Parma’s adaptation process itself is
revealed to be. Perhaps the most problematic element of the concept of oper-
atic reform, among the others I articulated in the introduction to this study, is
its being something synonymous with improvement.3 This association leads to
a comparative relationship that in turn yields assessments that are bound to be
unsatisfactory or questions that are simply unanswerable. Do Traetta’s operas
represent improvements in dramatic unity or in other elements deemed insuf-
ficient by those who complained of opera seria’s array of problems? Do they rep-
resent improvements over the originals on which they are based, or over others
in their genres? Can we think in terms of degrees of reform, or should we?
Although the very concept itself is problematic, it is also one with which we are
bound to grapple if we want to try to understand some of the most enigmatic
and compelling works of mid-eighteenth-century opera. As I stated earlier, in
my view Traetta’s operas represent operatic reform in the features they share
with others that resemble them, despite the numerous problems inherent in
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reform revisited ❧ 129
the very concept itself. But adopting a more flexible view of reform allows us
to make other, more productive, connections: Arguably, for instance, Parma’s
French entertainments represent operatic reform as well and as thoroughly
as do Traetta’s operas; they were born of the same spirit of stylistic blending
and generic intermingling and inspired by the same local circumstances and
priorities. Such an assessment can, in turn, help us understand these works as
reinterpretations for new audiences.
The works done in Parma—Traetta’s operas and the French entertainments
before them—call on us to expand our list of possible ways of considering
reform. They force us to revisit old questions about compositional intent: put
simply, does the creative team behind a new work or a revised one have to
intend that a work be an act of reform in order for it to be one? If there is no
evidence that a composer intended an opera to reform anything, can it still be
called reform? Perhaps a productive way to consider the full picture of what
happened in Parma is in terms of reform by association—the works and their
adaptations are yet another “vision of reform” of which there were many at
midcentury, spanning all genres of humanistic discourse, and ranging from
those that confronted moral issues, to those that wrangled with aesthetic ones,
to those that addressed purely structural concerns.4 Some of these were made
explicit by their commentators and creators, and some were not. In short, try-
ing to understand reform helps us understand how we create history—it speaks
on a basic level to how we seek to comprehend and describe cultural processes
and their development in a historical context.
Viewing the whole of Parma’s musical theater demonstrates how limiting
our categories can be if we let them, and how important it is to reexamine
them within a context as broad and deep as it is possible to achieve. Our
very understanding of genre, and how we construct it, is called into ques-
tion when we can examine the particulars of certain exemplars of one. Our
understanding of trends that shaped the ways people thought and created
can change when we examine new representatives of those trends. The fore-
going study reminds us anew to examine our subject in every possible light
in order to fully understand it. Constructing a nuanced image of musical the-
ater in Parma, in all its aspects, allows us to get beyond the old questions of
whether or not opera was reformed there, whether or not Traetta’s operas
should be called reform operas,5 and how these works measure up to others
like them. Such questions have hindered an appreciation of how illustrative
Traetta’s works truly are of the rich, variegated, and unique set of circum-
stances that played a role in their creation.
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Butler.indd 130 12/11/2018 5:12:30 PM
Appendix
General Chronology
18 October 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, ending War of Austrian

Succession
9 March 1749 Philippe de Bourbon and Du Tillot arrive in Parma
1752–54 La querelle des bouffons in Paris
February 1754 Carlo Innocenzo Frugoni becomes revisore di spettacoli in
Parma
1754 Letter of 12 November from Delisle in Nantes
confirming that the plan to bring the troupe to Parma
was already in place by this date
1755 Du Tillot’s decree on theatrical behavior
1755 Algarotti’s Saggio sopra l’opera in musica published
May–August 1755 Delisle’s troupe in Turin (Teatro Carignano)
August 1755– Delisle’s troupe in residence in Parma
November 1758
1756 Mangot arrives in Parma (late April or early May)
1757 Du Tillot dismisses some troupe members and hires new
ones
Autumn 1757 Zélindor, roi des silphes / Zelindor, re de’ silfi (Rebel and
Francœur)
18 December 1757 Les Incas du Pérou / Gl’Incà del Perù (Rameau)
6 December 1758 Castor et Pollux / Castore e Polluce (Rameau)
Carnival 1759 Anacreonte (likely based on Anacréon from Rameau’s Les
surprises de l’Amour); Solimano (Traetta)
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132 ❧ appendix
By 10 March 1759 all French troupe members have departed from Parma
28 March 1759 Gabrielli arrives in Parma from Vienna (under contract
there since 1755)
April 1759 Louise Élisabeth de Bourbon is notified that the
marriage of Isabella and Joseph had been decided in
Vienna
1 May 1759 Traetta is appointed maestro di cappella. Holds post until
1 April 1766
May–July 1759 Ippolito ed Aricia in Parma. The opera opened on 2 May;
the length of the run is unknown although the season
ended on 3 July
3 July 1759 Gabrielli named virtuosa da camera at Parma
29 July 1759 Vienna makes request to Paris for Isabella to marry
Joseph (after the marriage had been decided upon in
Vienna, end April; see above)
6 December 1759 Louise Élisabeth de Bourbon dies (suppression of
entertainments in Parma)
Carnival 1759 Enea nel Lazio (Traetta) at Turin’s Teatro Regio with
(January 1760) Gabrielli as prima donna
14 May–30 June 1760 I tindaridi in Parma
8 June 1760 Gabrielli promoted to prima virtuosa da camera at Parma
Summer 1760 Parma’s Teatro Ducale renovated
September 1760 Le feste d’Imeneo in Parma (Traetta); given for wedding
of Princess Isabella of Parma to Joseph II of Austria.
Gabrielli sings in Vienna in wedding operas
3 January 1761 Traetta’s Armida in Vienna with Gabrielli as prima
donna; birthday of Archduchess Isabella of Parma
Sometime before Parma writes to Nobile Società dei Cavalieri at Turin’s
22 February 1761 Teatro Regio for copy of organizational statutes
6 April 1761 Nobile Società dei Cavalieri di Parma starts functioning
under direction of Jacopo Antonio Sanvitale
1 May–29 June 1761 Enea e Lavinia in Parma (Traetta); Gabrielli sings prima
donna role; returned to Parma from Vienna 8 April
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appendix ❧ 133
1762 Du Tillot to Algarotti: “Le projet de nos opéras sur un

nouveau plan est abandonné”
3 July 1763 Sanvitale named Direttore generale dei reali teatri e spettacoli
27 November 1763 Isabella of Parma dies in Vienna
31 March 1766 Philippe de Bourbon dies; Don Ferdinando succeeds
him
1 April 1764 Musicians dismissed, including Traetta
1766 Another troupe of French performers in Parma,
including Quazza, is directed by Mangot
24 August 1769 Le Feste d’Apollo (Christoph Gluck, in celebration of
the royal marriage of Maria Amalia, daughter of Maria
Theresa of Austria, to Ferdinand IV of Bourbon);
gardens of Colorno and theater redone by Petitot
August 1769 Musical entertainments given in the royal gardens
during wedding festivities. Music by Antonio Rugarli;
cantatas by Giuseppe Colla, maestro di cappella, Licida e
Mopso and Eco e Narciso
1771 Du Tillot departs Parma
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Butler.indd 134 12/11/2018 5:12:37 PM
Notes
Introduction
1. Bauman, North German Opera, 1.
2. For example, “Reform Opera,” section comprising ch. 15–18, Heartz, From
Garrick to Gluck; “Gluck, (6) Italian ‘Reform’ Operas,” NGO 2: 456–59, and
other studies.
3. For example, Cumming, “Gluck’s Iphigenia Operas,” 221; Loomis, “Tommaso
Traetta’s Operas,” 2.
4. The seminal study on operatic reform is Heartz, “Traetta in Parma.”
5. Algarotti, Saggio, ed. Bini. The Saggio was translated into several languages and
was reissued in the original Italian in 1765.
6. Brown, Gluck and the French Theatre, 9.
7. Their third collaboration was Paride ed Elena (1770).
8. The Alceste libretto’s preface is widely reprinted in translation; see Fubini,
Music and Culture, 364–66. On the devaluing of Gluck’s role in eighteenth-cen-
tury operatic reform, see Brown, Gluck and the French Theatre, 22–23.
9. For Parma, the seminal study on the topic is Bédarida, Parme et la France (here-
after cited in Italian translation as Parma e la francia). The recent, multivolume
series Storia di Parma (currently consisting of eight volumes with more in prog-
ress) includes numerous essays treating facets of Parma’s French influence and
others relevant to my study. This ambitious and authoritative large-scale proj-
ect stands to transform our view of Parma’s significance within European his-
tory. Some of the most relevant essays for my inquiry (drawn from vols. 1, 5, 9,
and 10) are cited in the following chapters; a useful overview of the historical
aspects of the French context is one from the first volume of the series, Bertini,
“Una città di corte.”
10. Notable studies are Corneilson, “Opera at Mannheim”; McClymonds, Niccolò
Jommelli, “Mattia Verazi,” and “Opera Reform in Italy”; Forment, “Frederick’s
Athens”; Butler, Operatic Reform.
11. French involvement in its history predates the rule of the Farnese dynasty
(1545–1732), which preceded that of the Bourbons.
12. G. Ferrari, “La compagnia,” 45.
13. A useful overview of French developments that affected theatrical and cham-
ber music during the years under discussion here is offered by P. Russo,
“Musica a corte,” 161–68.
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136 ❧ notes to pp. 3–5
14. P. Russo, ed., I due mondi di Duni. In this volume, see especially P. Russo, “Duni
a Parma,” and Charlton, “Duni’s ‘Le retour.’” See also P. Russo, “Musica a
corte,” 161.
15. Brown, Gluck and the French Theatre.
16. Heartz, “Traetta in Vienna”; Marchi, Parma e Vienna.
17. Vetro, Il teatro ducale, 212–14. The Parmesan chronicler Sgavetti, in an entry
in his diary of 3 May refers to the performance of “ieri sera” (last night); the
season ended on 3 July. Caterina Gabrielli, the prima donna, was absent from
the city for a short period during this time, singing in nearby Reggio.
18. Cyr, “Rameau e Traetta.”
19. Bloch, “Tommaso Traetta’s Reform.” The titles of a number of studies that
question the existence of reform signal their skepticism by the presence of the
mere word in scare quotes. Martinotti, “Traetta”; Minardi, “La presenza del
ballo”; M. Russo, Tommaso Traetta: I libretti della ‘riforma’ (hereafter I libretti).
20. Stanford University’s “Mapping the Republic of Letters” seeks to further our
understanding of Algarotti’s significance: http://republicofletters.stanford.
edu/casestudies/algarotti.html.
21. Heartz, “Traetta in Parma,” 277.
22. For example, the Parisian salons sponsored by Baron d’Holbach, which
included Diderot, Grimm, and visitors such as David Hume, started being held
in the early 1750s. Given Algarotti’s connections, it is entirely possible that
he came in contact with the d’Holbach circle and the radical ideas discussed
there (though he was mostly in Berlin during that time). And of course many
of the leading philosophes aligned themselves with the partisans of Italian music
during the querelle des bouffons, among them Grimm, d’Holbach, Rousseau,
d’Alembert, and Diderot. On this topic, see Furbank, Diderot, 104–7, among
other studies. Algarotti and the philosophes, d’Holbach especially, agreed on the
potential of La serva padrona’s natural expressive power; see Allanbrook, The
Secular Commedia, 8–11. On the importance of d’Holbach’s circle, see Blom, A
Wicked Company.
23. Heartz, in “Traetta in Parma,” 277–80, recounts the exchanges among
Algarotti, Frugoni, and Du Tillot.
24. Ibid., 279.
25. Ibid. “Algarotti continues by asserting his supervisory role at Parma: ‘Since
I published several years ago many thoughts on the subject, it was hoped I
would oversee the plan they proposed to follow. The Infante Dr. Filipe [sic]
had me invited, and I spent several days at the court of Parma.’”; “Algarotti
continued to be treated as an oracle at Parma,” and “began to propagandize”
Ippolito ed Aricia’s premiere (ibid.).
26. Grimm, Correspondance littéraire, 6:34–35, quoted in Heartz, “Orfeo ed Euridice,”
316–17. Grimm’s essay of 15 July 1764 brings together Algarotti, Traetta’s
operas for Parma, and Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice; Grimm references Algarotti’s
Saggio, stating that the synthesis of French and Italian opera styles for which
Algarotti advocated in it had been tried, without success, in Parma.
27. McClymonds, “Opera Reform in Italy.”
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notes to pp. 5–10 ❧ 137
28. Bianconi, “Perché la storia dell’opera italiana?” 30, cited (without page num-
ber) in Minardi, “A Parma,” 80.
29. Massera, “L’incontro Traetta-Frugoni?”; Martinotti, “Traetta.”
30. Heartz, “Traetta in Parma”; Feldman, Opera and Sovereignty, ch. 3 (97–140);
Gallico, “I tindaridi”; P. Russo, “Un catalogo della musica”; P. Russo, “Enée et
Lavinie”; P. Russo, “Musica a corte”; Minardi, “‘Le projet est abandonné’”; Cyr,
“Rameau e Traetta”; Loomis, “Tommaso Traetta’s Operas”; M. Russo, I libretti;
Vetro, Il teatro ducale.
31. G. Ferrari, “La compagnia.”
32. Chegai, L’esilio, 92, cited by Feldman, Opera and Sovereignty, 137.
33. Weiss, L’opera italiana nel ‘700, 158–70, in prefacing his discussion of Parma,
confronts these issues and offers a useful summary of views on midcentury
operatic reform, among them, Donald Jay Grout’s classic formulation of the
problem: “Certain writers in the past have tended to [claim that] Gluck, practi-
cally singlehanded, redeemed [Italian opera] through his so-called reforms—
the very word carrying with it an aura of moral uplift, implying that something
bad was replaced by something better. This point of view [is] a relic of the
evolutionary philosophy of history” (A Short History of Opera, 215).
34. This view aligns with Weiss’s assessment of Algarotti’s Saggio as reflecting the
aesthetic of a European elite, rather than an Italian one. Weiss, L’opera italiana
nel ‘700, 161.
35. According to Mozart, [an aria should] “fit a singer as perfectly as a well-made
suit of clothes” (1778). Anderson, The Letters of Mozart, 497.
Chapter One
1. For a recent study of Louise Élisabeth’s profound influence on French culture
and politics in Parma as well as a broad overview of its French artistic products
of various types see Malinverni, “Una duchessa francese a Parma.”
2. Malinverni, “Un miroir de France en Italie.”
3. For a study of life at Colorno, see Cirani, Musica e spettacolo a Colorno.
4. On Du Tillot, see Maddalena, “Il governo del ministro Du Tillot”; Maddalena,
Le regole del principe; Fedi, “L’Età dei Borbone.”
5. Biondi, La francia a Parma.
6. On Philippe de Bourbon’s contributions to Parma’s political and artistic life
as well as critical reception, see Malinverni, “Don Filippo”; see 70–71 for refer-
ence to opera and its role in the sovereign’s court. On Frugoni, Sanvitale, and
the flourishing of literary activity during the era under discussion, see Fedi
and Necchi, “Il primo Settecento,” and Fedi, “L’Età dei Borbone.” Further
on the “Athens of Italy,” and Parma during the Du Tillot years representing a
“philosophical and intellectual laboratory” for the working out of the complex
politics between France and Spain, and a “window” through which this process
could be viewed, see Maddalena, “Il governo del ministro Du Tillot,” 128 (ref-
erencing Venturi, La chiesa e la reppublica).
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138 ❧ notes to pp. 10–13
7. P. Ferrari, Ducato di Modena e Reggio.

8. Valsecchi, Il riformismo borbonico, 160. Bédarida, Parma e la Francia, 1:99–100.
Cited by M. Russo, I libretti, xxxi.
9. Marchi, Parma e Vienna, 132, referencing Louise Élisabeth’s 1749 memoria,
“Observations sur les motifs et les conséquences du mariage de Madame,
fille de l’enfant don Philippe, avec l’Archiduc, fils de l’imperatrice, reine
d’Hongrie.” Here Marchi corrects Masnovo (La corte di don Filippo, 165), who
had claimed that the idea of the union originated in Vienna.
10. Bédarida, A l’apogée de la puissance bourbonienne, 157.
11. The correspondence is explored in Heartz, “Traetta in Parma,” Minardi, “‘Le
projet est abandonné,’” and Loomis, “Tommaso Traetta’s Operas.”
12. Letter from Algarotti to Sagramoso dated 30 January 1759, quoted in
Calcaterra, Storia della poesia frugoniana, 324n (Loomis, “Tommaso Traetta’s
Operas,” 31).
13. Quoted in Loomis, “Tommaso Traetta’s Operas,” 13.
15. Petrolini, “Il dialetto parmigiano,” 168; “una vera e propria colonia fran-
cese.” Intermarriage between French men and Parmigian women resulted in
Parma’s “linguistic hybridity” (“l’ibridazione linguistica italo-francese,” 168).
Population estimates vary. Abbé Jérôme Richard, visiting the city in 1761,
thought it amounted to 45,000 (Richard, Description historique, 2:40–41, cited by
Bédarida, Parma e la francia, 2:515–16), but P. L. Spaggiari gives the total from
the 1765 census as 31,921 (P. L. Spaggiari, “Famiglia, casa,” 163–236; all cited
in Petrolini, “Il dialetto parmigiano,” n46, 169). Richard reported that almost
all the French men married Parmesan women or arranged for their sons to
reside with local families (Description historique, 2:40–41, quoted in Bédarida,
Parma e la francia, 516: “Quasi tutti i Francesi hanno sposato delle Parmigiane,
o hanno sistemato i loro figli nelle famiglie del paese.”).
16. Pugolotti, Diario (ms, n.p.). Entry for 1 July 1749, text preceding verse: Furono
posti i Francesi nell’Appalto dell’Acquavite, Tabacco, e Sale. Questi posero
i Burlandotti, che cominciarono a far visite. Fu attaccata una Carta ai 4 uscj
della Salina che diceva . . .
17. Sgavetti, “Cronaca,” 13 vols. (1746–71), held at I-PAas (Ms. 27). Sgavetti’s com-
mentary has been transcribed and edited in several unpublished tesi di laurea
(copies held at I-PAas) and part of it has been published; see Mazzali, La nave
delle chiarle.
18. The document (found in I-PAas, Teatri, busta 1) is reproduced and explored
in Feldman, Opera and Sovereignty, 111.
19. G. Ferrari, Meccarelli, and Melloni, “L’organizzazione teatrale parmense.”
20. G. Ferrari, “La compagnia,” 45, citing Benassi, 1915.
21. Ibid.
22. Vetro, Il teatro ducale, 151.
23. “The artists to be selected for Parma should not be chosen according to
the requirements of the Parisian theaters, but to those of Lyon, Bordeaux,
Marseilles, or Strasbourg, which could be placed on the same level as Parma’s.”
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notes to pp. 13–17 ❧ 139
Bédarida, “Jacques-Simon Mangot a Parme,” 72, citing a letter from Du Tillot

to Bonnet, 22 November 1755, I-PAas, “Carteggio borbonico carton 41.”
24. Biondi, La Francia a Parma, 12, 174.
25. Bédarida suggests Mangot recommended Morand to the court. “Jacques-
Simon Mangot a Parme,” 73.
26. G. Ferrari, “La compagnia.” This extensive study of the troupe’s repertory is
fundamental for our knowledge of its activities. Yet it contains misidentifica-
tions and lacunae that I have tried to correct and address based on a study of a
broader array of sources.
27. Butler, Operatic Reform.
28. Bouquet-Boyer, “Role du Théatre Carignan.”
29. These arrangements are explored in G. Ferrari, “La compagnia,” and
Bouquet-Boyer, “Role du Théatre Carignan.” Connections between the Duke
d’Aiguillon and opera at Parma deserve further study. The music library of the
Aiguillon dukes in Agen, France, preserves many manuscripts of eighteenth-
century French operatic works, which might hold keys to a better understand-
ing of Parma’s operatic repertory. See Maillard, La bibliothèque musicale.
30. I-PAas, Teatri busta 1, “Projet pour l’année 1757 pour l’amellioration de la
Comedie francoise au service de S. A. R.” Although it appears Du Tillot made
changes in order to reduce costs (the balance for 1757 is 2,400 lire less than
in 1756), several of the new members’ names are missing. Consequently, the
document does not present an accurate picture of the troupe’s total costs.
31. I-PAas, Comp. borb., fili correnti, 931b, “Etat des sommes Remboursées aux
sujets du Spectacle de son Altesse Royale pour les dépenses qu’ils ont faittes
dans leurs voyages pour venir joindre la troupe,” 8 July 1757.
32. G. Ferrari, “La compagnia,” 169. The size of the troupe is impossible to know
with certainty, however, given the imprecise listing of many names in the archi-
val sources and librettos (first names are often lacking and spellings are not
uniform).
33. On these dancers, see Winter, The Pre-Romantic Ballet, 34, 93, 97, 142, 162.
34. On La zingara, see Charlton, Opera in the Age of Rousseau, 256–77 (esp. 256n15
for related bibliography) and on La bohémienne, see 293.
35. The operas and ballets in both places were open to the public, although
whether or not the plays always were as well is unclear.
36. List of French plays, operas, and ballets performed by the troupe from August
1755 through November 1757 (unsigned, undated). I-PAas, Teatri, busta 1,
hereafter referred to as “French repertory list.”
37. A different manuscript list of performances from 5 November 1757 to 8
December 1758, compiled at a later date, furnishes another important source
for repertory titles and performance dates (it is also incomplete, however):
“Spectacle francois à Parme tra Colorno. En 1757 a 1758,” I-PAas, Carte
Moreau de Saint-Méry, bb. 24–26.
38. Frugoni to Anna Malaspina della Bastia at Versailles, 14 April 1759: “Non ho
voluto che poche cose introdurre, perché non bisogna tutto d’un colpo intro-
durre un gusto straniero” (I only wanted to introduce a few things because
there is no need to introduce a foreign taste all at once). Heartz, “Traetta in
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140 ❧ notes to pp. 17–25
Parma,” 280, citing A. Equini, Frugoni, 2:100–101. See also Minardi, “‘Le projet
est abandonné,’” 30n17.
39. Butler, “Producing the Operatic Chorus.”
40. These totals drawn from G. Ferrari, “La compagnia,” 196. Phèdre et Hippolyte of
Pradon, and Phèdre of Racine. The titles of the French works in Parma’s archi-
val materials are often only partial, or are abbreviations, or are alternate ways
of referring to a work (L’acte du feu, for example, for Le feu from Les élémens, as
in my repertory table). It is possible that “Phèdre” was a short form of Phèdre et
Hippolyte.
41. Data drawn from G. Ferrari, “La compagnia,” 189 (with correction of 10
December to 8 December, “Spectacle francois”); Vetro, Il teatro ducale, 200,
204–5, 209.
42. Dates given here are drawn from documents in I-PAas (aforementioned French
repertory list and “Spectacle francois à Parme tra Colorno. En 1757 a 1758,”
Carte Moreau de Saint-Méry, bb. 24–26) and G. Ferrari, “La compagnia.”
43. Even at court theaters where French influence was strong and where French-
inspired Italian opera was produced, French operatic vocal music was rare
to nonexistent. Some of Rameau’s operatic music was also given in Dresden
(Zoroastre) and apparently also in Naples, according to DeCroix, in L’ami des
arts; see Cyr, “Rameau e Traetta,” De Croix quoted on 173: “On a souvent
exécuté des morceaux tirés des Opéras de Rameau sur les théâtres de Parme,
de Naples.” Places that sponsored French-inspired Italian opera, other than
Vienna, include Mannheim (later, Munich), Stuttgart, Ludwigsburg, and
Berlin, as mentioned earlier.
44. The arrival of an haute-contre in Vienna occasioned performances of ariettes; see
Brown, Gluck and the French Theatre, 399–402.
45. P. Russo, “Musica a corte” (Mangot is discussed on 163 and 168).
46. I-PAas, Teatri busta 1, letter from Mangot to Du Tillot, Vienna, 24 June 1762.
47. Vallas, ‘Jacques-Simon Mangot”; Bédarida, ‘Jacques-Simon Mangot a Parme’;
Vallas, Un siècle de musique.
48. Vallas, Un siècle de musique, 246.
49. On Traetta’s use of Rameau’s music, see Cyr, “Rameau e Traetta,” 173–82;
Heartz, “Traetta in Parma,” 271–92; Loomis, “Tommaso Traetta’s Operas.”
50. The printed libretto (copy held at F-LYm) bears his name on its cover page; he
performed the role of Mars. The music is not extant.
51. He might have come to Parma as early as 1754, leading a French troupe of his
own, although no evidence documents any related activities. P. Russo, “Duni a
Parma,” 103. As Russo states, the reference by Gozzi to Mangot’s presence in
Parma in this year (Gozzi, “Storia di Parma,” II, 311) might be incorrect.
52. I-PAas, Cart. borb. francia, busta 48 (1756–57), letter to Du Tillot from Mauro
in Lyon, 23 April 1756. The letter states that Mangot was to depart Lyon on
26 April: “J’ay recu la Lettre que vous m’avez fait l’honneur on m’ecrire le 10.
[??] j’ay remis celle y incluse a Mr. Mangot a qui j’ay encore payé 200. Il partira
le 26 dit” (I received the letter that you paid me the honor of writing to me on
the 10th. I gave the one which was enclosed to Mr. Mangot to whom I had paid
another 200. He will depart on the 26th). A letter of reply from Colorno dated
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notes to pp. 25–29 ❧ 141
30 April confirms the date of departure and a payment of 200 livres. Related
letters in this busta provide other details about his journey; he and his family
traveled by way of Turin.
53. Copy of Mangot’s appointment letter, 13 March 1756. I-PAas, Carte Moreau de
Saint-Méry, busta 26, “Teatri.” Also cited in P. Russo, “Musica a corte,” 163.
54. Receipt for music copying done in Lyon by order of Mangot, March 1756
(signed by Mangot 5 September 1756 in Colorno). I-PAas, Comp. borb. fili cor-
renti, busta 931a (1756). On this point, see P. Russo, “Duni a Parma,” 108.
55. Entry for Mangot’s appointment as director of Chamber Music, 22 January
1757. I-PAas, Decreti e rescritti, vol. 6 (1756–57), p. 12. Refers to the previous 1
May [1756], when he began receiving a stipend.
56. Receipt for travel expenses to Reggio, Jean Jacobi and Mangot, 18 May 1756.
I-PAas, Comp. borb., fili correnti, busta 931b (1756). Jacobi frequently traveled
to Reggio to recruit performers; although not clarified in the documents, this
was likely the reason for their journey.
57. Receipt for music copying signed by Mangot, 20 July 1756. I-PAas, Comp.
borb., fili correnti, busta 931a (1756).
58. French repertory list, I-PAas, Teatri, busta 1.
59. Contract for a bass singer, signed by Mangot, 25 December 1756. I-PAas,
Teatri, busta 1. This contract is one of several to singers with this date and with
Mangot’s signature.
60. Letter from Delisle to Du Tillot, 13 April 1758. I-PAas, Teatri, busta 1; cited (as
located in “Teatri, L. 33,” now erroneous) in Bouissou, ‘À la cour de Parme,”
228–43 (letter quoted on 233).
61. Castor et Pollux enjoyed a long tradition in Parma; it was given at least seven-
teen times between 1756 and 1759. Information on productions prior to 1759
beyond dates of performance is not extant. The comments here pertain to
that of 1759.
62. Charlton, Opera in the Age of Rousseau, 312.
63. “Second kings, wise men, and noble fathers.” I-Tac, Carte sciolte 6197, letter
from Delisle to Turin’s theatrical administration, 9 August 1754. Raisonneur sig-
nifies a fixed character type in French comedy, like soubrette or premier amoureux.
64. “Plays the roles of confidant and lovers in opéra-comique, good musician and
having a small voice, young, and a very nice figure.” I-Tac, Carte sciolte 6197,
letter to Turin’s theatrical administration (unsigned, undated; likely by
D’Aiguillon).
65. G. Ferrari also mentions only these performances. “La compagnia,” 201.
67. Duni overlapped with Mangot, remaining in Parma until late 1756 or early
1757 (P. Russo, “Duni a Parma,” 115). As he was another composer and mem-
ber of the production staff with significant involvement with French operas
there, the possibility of his intervention cannot be ruled out, especially since
we do not know when preparation of the adapted portions began. However,
Mangot’s much closer links with the French opera repertory render him the
more convincing one of the two musicians to have composed the new music
necessary for the adaptations.
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142 ❧ notes to pp. 29–41
68. Brown, Gluck and the French Theatre, 69, 76 (for 1761), 79 (for 1763/64).
69. “We have a woman, Eydoux . . . she is not young, nor pretty, I admit, but she
has the most beautiful voice and lots of talent.” Favart, Mémoires, 2:264–65,
cited in Brown, Gluck and the French Theatre, 399.
70. I-PAas, Carte Moreau de Saint-Méry, “Spectacle francois,” page titled “Mars
Avril et May 1758 appointements d’acteurs.” He earned the high fee of 800 lire
per month, the same as Guigues.
71. Bédarida, Parma e la francia, 2:453.
72. Brown, Gluck and the French Theatre, 202, 481.
73. Ibid., 73, 74, 79, 421, 484. It is certain he was temporarily absent from Vienna
in early January 1758 (215n, and 211).
74. Ibid., 80.
75. Cyr, “Rameau e Traetta,” 174; P. Russo, “Musica a corte,” 164. The source
can be consulted at http://www.bibliotecamusica.it/cmbm/scripts/gaspari/
scheda.asp?id=9724/.
76. I-Bc, H. 78.62, 4 February 1761, letter from Mangot to Martini.
77. Mangot and Martini corresponded frequently and other letters are held at
I-Bc. The correspondence is discussed in Jacobi and Weiss, “Rameau and Padre
Martini.” The letter I discuss here is the only one of those extant that pro-
vides any commentary on Parma’s French music; it is mentioned only briefly in
Jacobi and Weiss’s study.
78. I-Bc, H. 78.62, 4 February 1761, letter from Mangot to Martini.
79. I-Bc, H. 78.59, 10 September 1760, letter from Mangot to Martini.
80. “Nous n’avons point chanté autre chose que les operas les meilleurs qui sont
aujourdhui connu.”
Chapter Two
1. G. Ferrari, Mecarelli, and Melloni, “L’organizzazione teatrale parmense.”
2. I-PAas, Du Tillot’s decree on behavior required by the French troupe. I-PAas,
Comp. borb., fili correnti, busta 931b, undated, printed. “Ordre, qui doit etre
observé au Spectacle de S. A. R.”
3. Butler, “Gluck’s Alceste in Bologna.”
4. I-PAas, Carte Du Tillot, busta 88. Unsigned, undated. I have identified Du
Tillot’s handwriting on the basis of other documents that he penned and
signed. This document matches all others that bear his hand.
5. I-PAas, Comp. borb., fili correnti, busta 932, 31 August 1759, “Etat de depense
regardant le spectacle pour Compte de la Cour, causé e dans le Mois de Juillet,”
written and signed by Pio Quazza. Other documents in this busta and else-
where include comments in French, in his hand and bearing his signature. He
wrote to Du Tillot in French on numerous occasions (letter of 28 September
1762 in I-PAas, Teatri busta 1 is one example).
6. For the eighteenth century, these theaters, in fact, are few. Chief among them
are Vienna’s Burgtheater, Naples’s Teatro San Carlo, and Turin’s Teatro Regio.
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notes to pp. 41–46 ❧ 143
See Brown, Gluck and the French Theatre; DelDonna, “Production Practices”;
Butler, Operatic Reform.
7. “Quazza, Pio,” in Vetro, Dizionario. Vetro reports that in a document from 1749
(in I-PAas, Comp. borb., busta 699) that clarifies Quazza’s role as magazziniere
(warehouse worker), he is identified as “da Colorno.”
8. I-PAas, Feudi e Comunità, busta 29: “Nota del Bisognevole, che manca per
renderer proveduto il Reggio Teatro di Colorno, conforme a quello che vi
si ritrova secondo l’Inventario prodotto.” Signed by Pio Quazza, Colorno 16
Xbre 1752. To my knowlege this is the earliest extant document pertaining
to the theater that bears his signature. The document cited by Vetro above
could link him to the theater, if as magazziniere he worked in the theatrical
warehouse, but details are unavailable.
9. A series of fifteen letters from Quazza to Du Tillot spanning May 1762 to June
1763 can be found in I-PAas, Teatri, busta 1, for example.
10. “Il compimento della Deliziosa conforme alli due Archi che vi sono in quattro
pezzi vecchi”; “un Trono per le Rappresentazioni serie”; “sedile per il cembalo;
sedile per il suonatore di Violoncello.”
11. I-PAas, Teatri, busta 1, Distribuzione dei palchi del carnevale 1754. The labels
are in Quazza’s hand.
12. I-PAas, Carte Moreau de Saint-Méry, buste 24–26, “Spectacle francois a Parme
e a Colorno En 1757 et 1758,” cover page: “Pio Quazza etoit un Directeur pour
le prince ayant 3 mille livres d’appointemens pour an.”
14. I-PAas, Comp. borb. fili correnti, busta 931a, Conto ristretto del Scenario
dell’Opera della prossima scaduta primavera del cor.te anno 1760. “Per
rinovare gli Abiti delle comparse come dall’Avviso del Srg. Pio Quazza.”
15. Butler, Operatic Reform, 14. The request from Parma appears in the Turin
documents twice. I-Tac, Ordinati, vol. 5, 88 (2 February 1761) and 91–96 (22
February 1761). See also Bouquet, Il teatro di corte, 163–64, where the date of
Parma’s request is not given, and 463–65, in which a copy of the statutes sent
to Parma is transcribed. Theatrical administrations of Lucca and Naples also
requested copies of Turin’s statutes.
16. I-PAas, Teatri, busta 1, Piano de palchi, 1779; Censimento per la città,
Descrizione di tutta la popolazione della città di Parma, 1765, parte seconda,
613; Stati delle anime, 1787; Censimenti parrocchiali, 1787, Zona Santo
Spirito, Case reali.
17. Giambattista Crespi succeeded him as Ispettore dei Teatri in 1798. I-PAas,
Ruoli, vol. 41; Indice dei morti del vescovado di Parma, L’atto di morte della
parrochia di Santo Spirito, 1784–1806, 17 Gennaio 1802, confirms the date of
his death.
18. Butler, “Italian Opera in the Eighteenth Century.”
19. The summary of responsibilities here is drawn from the content of the theatri-
cal account books from 1756 to 1759, I-PAas, Comp. farn. e borb, fili correnti,
busta 931a (1756) through 933 (1760–66) and from ledgers documenting
court appointments (Ruoli di provvigionati) as specified below.
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144 ❧ notes to pp. 46–59
20. I-PAas, Ruoli di provvigionati, 33 [1761], 228: “Sig. Treillard, Tenente di

Cavalleria. 1 Gennaio 1761”; 34 [1768], 24: “Treillard Sr. Ten. Fran.co Segret.o
di Gabinetto. 9 maggio 1768.”
21. “Capo della Guardarobba generale, e Guardagioje.” Comp. borb., fili correnti,
busta 1195; Ruoli di provvigionati, 41, 42.
22. Lista de la familia que actualmente ve halla al servizio de S. A. R. 28 March
1750. I-PAas, Comp. borb., fili correnti, busta 1195. “Primer ofizial Italiano
[segretario]—Juan Bapt.sta Grassi—1 Septembre 1749.”
23. Giovanni Giacobbi, 27 May 1749, I-PAas, Ruoli di provvigionati, busta 32,
106; Esazione de Palchi di questo Reggio Ducal Teatro fatta per il Carnevale
dell’Anno Corente 1754, I-PAas, Teatri, busta 1.
24. Receipt signed by Erasme (in the amount of zecchini venti Romani) for hav-
ing procuring singers and dancers for carnival 1756 at the request of Giovanni
Jacobi. I-PAas, Comp. borb., fili correnti, busta 931b (1757), Bologna 20
January 1756. (The dancers he procured must have rounded out the company
of the French troupe.)
25. I-PAas, Comp. borb., fili correnti, busta 931b (1757), 29 July 1755, contract for
Teresa Scotti for carnival 1756, written and signed by Giovanni Jacobi.
26. I-PAas, Comp. borb., fili correnti, busta 931a (1756), receipt to Giovanni Jacobi
for travel expenses, 13 April 1756, for 912.12, “a compte l’opera,” and list of
expenses for travel with Mangot to Reggio, 18 May 1756 (“Note de ce que j’ay
depenti [?] en allant a Reggio avec Mr. Mangot par ordre de Mr. Intendant
General le 18 May 1756”).
27. I-PAas, Comp. borb., fili correnti, busta 931b (1757).
28. I-PAas, Teatri, busta 1, unsigned, undated statement in Du Tillot’s hand regard-
ing costs of different types of spectacles.
29. The note at the foot of the page reads: “La ultima partida de esta carpeta con-
sta por el Estado general de las Cuentas de Dr. Claudio Escallonne de este
mismo ano de 1766.” In this note, 1756 is corrected to 1766.
30. Heartz, “Traetta in Parma.”
31. For instance, a document in I-PAas, Comp. borb., fili correnti, busta 931b
from 1756 shows payments to solo singers, but no extant documents reporting
expenses for 1759 do the same.
Chapter Three
1. G. Ferrari, “La compagnia,” 199, reports that Zelindor was given on 19 and 24
November, and 6 and 8 December 1757.
2. G. Ferrari, “La compagnia,” 193.
3. Locke, Music and the Exotic, 235–38; Locke, Musical Exoticism, 97–105, on
Les Indes galantes. On exoticism in eighteenth-century opera, see also Ward,
Pagodas in Play.
4. In the following discussion I benefited greatly from the unpublished tesi di
laurea by Clelia Risi (held at I-PAas, hereafter Risi, Sgavetti’s Cronaca), which
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notes to pp. 59–64 ❧ 145
offers an annotated transcription of Sgavetti’s commentary from the manu-

script “Cronaca” 1757–58 (held at I-PAas). I consulted Sgavetti’s volume
together with Risi and have retained the orthography of the original. I cite
Risi here, together with locations of references in Sgavetti as well as quotations
from the original, for the helpful annotations Risi’s work provides on Sgavetti’s
sometimes inscrutable vernacular Italian.
5. Risi, Sgavetti’s Cronaca, 220 (19 October 1757, 104r): “qui [at Colorno for the
French entertainments] anno un concorso incredibile, volevano che ci andasi
anch’io, ma non mi muoveria se mi pagasero.”
6. Risi, Sgavetti’s Cronaca, 229 (3 November 1757, 108r): “questa sera incominci-
ano le Comedie Francesi, acciò sia sempre aperto il teatro così possa Il Diavolo
far gente.”
7. Risi, Sgavetti’s Cronaca, 237 (20 November 1757, 112v). “Il popolo che era ieri
sera al Teatro alla Tragedia Francese, per far corte al Real Padrone, e Figli,
chi vi era dicono non anno mai veduto il Simile.” Sgavetti refers to the French
troupe’s productions as both “tragedie” and “commedie” although we cannot
infer a strict separation of genres in his commentary on the basis of his usage
of these terms. He seems to mingle them indistinguishably in his remarks.
8. Risi, Sgavetti’s Cronaca, 245–46 (4 December 1757, 116v). “Madama Isabella
. . . si è portata al Teatro alla Tragedia Francese, concorrendovi molto popolo,
perché non si paga.”
9. Rezzonico, Memorie storiche et letterarie . . . , Opere poetiche I, xliii. (n.p.). Quoted
in Minardi, “‘Le projet est abandonné,’” 34. On Rezzonico, see Fedi, “L’Età
dei Borbone,” 236, 242–47.
10. Although no designs for Parma’s production survive, illustrations by Louis-
René Boquet help us imagine how Parma’s Phani-Palla and the female dancers
might have been costumed. Image of Mlle Dubois as Phany-Palla viewable at
http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb423849173/.
11. Zélindor, roi des silphes, Opera Lafayette, cond. Ryan Brown, Naxos DDD
8.660224 (2009).
12. Les Indes galantes, Les Arts Florissants, cond. William Christie, Harmonia
Mundi, HMC 901367.69 (1991).
13. Risi, Sgavetti’s Cronaca, 253 (18 December 1757, 120r). “Sua Ecc. Il Sig.
Inviato Revilia, pel’Compleanos, di Sua Maestà la Regina di Spagna trata
grosso numero di Cavalieri, e Damme, ed’Ufizialità, La Real Corte tutta in son-
tuosa falla, pranzando con la Real Figlia in Publico, e questa sera v’è Tragedia
Francese in Teatro.” The identity of the sovereign referenced here is unclear.
The birthday of the Queen of Spain, Elisabetta Farnese, was 25 October 1692;
presumably this is the queen to whom Sgavetti refers, her birthday being hon-
ored a few months after the fact. (The birthday of Maria Luisa of Parma, the
youngest daughter of Philippe de Bourbon and Louise Élisabeth, who would
become Queen of Spain much later, was 9 December 1751, closer to the date
of the visit, although since her connection with Spain came later in her life
she is an unlikely candidate here; the birthday of Louise Élisabeth, known also
as the Infanta of Spain, was 14 August 1727, which also seems far removed
in terms of chronology to be the occasion celebrated.) On the Marchese de
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146 ❧ notes to pp. 64–83
Revilla, in connection with political events in Parma during the 1770s, see
Bédarida, Parma e la francia, 1:72, 74, 142, 168.
14. The revised version of Castor et Pollux (1754) received a total of 191 perfor-
mances in France to 1785, most of them after the composer’s death; Charlton,
Opera in the Age of Rousseau, 83. On the opera, see also 84–85 and on the “vir-
tuoso ariette” into the context of which “Tendre amour” discussed below can be
inserted, see 181–86.
15. Parma libretto, 102.
16. The 1754 score is at F-Pn, cons [x.857. Bouissou, Denécheau, and Herlin,
Catalogue Thématique, 244, give the sources for this aria.
17. The 1757 score is at F-Po, A-139 (c). The score’s cover page carries the date of
1753. A note added to the final page by the copyist (Regrate or Regrafe) clari-
fies the date as 1757. I thank Graham Sadler for suggesting this possibility for
the reason for the score’s existence to me.
18. The 1757 libretto is at F-Po, LIV 18 [1485. The 1757 libretto and score cor-
respond in content but for a few, minor changes in certain lines of text. The
libretto lacking singers’ names resembles one prepared for a similarly planned
but unexecuted performance of Zoroastre. Again I am grateful to Graham
Sadler for pointing this out to me.
19. Sadler, “Castor et Pollux,” NGO 1:765.
20. The measures are unnumbered in the sources for these examples. In exam-
ple 3.1a, I assigned measure numbers beginning from the first measure of
the piece, p. 156, first measure, third system (at label “Ariette gracieuse”). In
example 3.1b, I assigned measure numbers beginning from the first measure
of the piece, on page 102r. The piece concludes on 112v.
21. French opera singers of the previous generation—singers in Lully’s Parisian
troupe—influenced their roles as well, specific features of their ability to por-
tray character being highlighted in those roles’ composition. See Banducci,
“Acteurs and Actrices as Muses.” The adaptation of the role of Castor for Le
Noble thus represents continuity within a distinguished French tradition.
22. A similar generic crossover occurred in Vienna shortly thereafter: Gasparo
Angiolini’s 1762 Citera assediate, was created from the score and plot (with
some changes) of Gluck’s 1759 opéra-comique Cythère assiégée. I thank Bruce
Brown for pointing out this parallel to me.
23. Sadler, “Les surprises de l’Amour,” NGO 4:606.
24. Ibid., 21.
25. Anacreonte, note 1, p. viii: “Le sorprese dell’Amore, in un Atto, di M.r Bernard,
Autore altresì della Poesia di Castore, e Polluce” (Le sorprese dell’Amore in a one
act, by Mr. Bernard, also the author of the poetry of Castore e Polluce).
26. I thank Rebecca Harris-Warrick for suggesting this possibility to me.
27. Sadler, “A Group of Borrowings,” in press. I am sincerely grateful to the author
for sharing his forthcoming article with me.
28. Talbot, “‘Le plus habile compositeur,’” in press (cited in Sadler, “A Group of
Borrowings,” in press.).
29. The sommeil’s beginning resembles the opening of the second movement
of L’autunno, the third concerto of Le quattro stagioni, which Vivaldi labeled
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notes to pp. 85–90 ❧ 147
“Ubriachi dormenti” (sleeping inebriates), further strengthening the link to

Anacréon and thus to Parma’s Anacreonte. The sommeil concludes with “raindrop
pizzicatos” that resemble a passage in L’inverno, the last concerto, which antici-
pates the storm and would also have worked well at this spot in Anacreonte.
The orage is linked with the second concerto, L’estate. On the associations men-
tioned here between Rameau’s Anacréon and Vivaldi’s concertos, see Sadler, “A
Group of Borrowings,” in press.
Chapter Four
1. I-PAas, Cart. borb. francia, busta 48, letter from Bonnet from Paris to Du
Tillot, 5 June 1758. Bonnet refers to an earlier letter, which Du Tillot said he
had not received, in which Bonnet had proposed two new female singers for
the troupe, a proposal that he says was now meaningless since,“j’entend dire
ce verifie que la commedie ne durera pas encore Longtems” (I can verify that
the troupe will not last much longer).
2. The chorus appears in act 2, scene 9 (Parma libretto, 49–50); the music is not
extant.
3. Loomis, “Tommaso Traetta’s Operas,” 18–19.
5. The opera Soliman referenced earlier, performed by the troupe in 1757, might
also have played a role.
6. Ferrero, “Le ricerche archeologiche,” 65–72.
7. Algarotti, Opere, 13:62–63, letter dated 23 March 1756, which concludes, “Voi
meritavate di nascere in Atene ne’ suoi giorni felici.” Quoted and translated in
Loomis, “Tommaso Traetta’s Operas,” 21.
8. Vetro, Il teatro ducale, 209, citing Sgavetti.
9. I-PAas, Cart. borb. francia, busta 48, letters from Bonnet 29 August to 12
September 1758, explaining the shipment of scores for Titon et l’Aurora and
Castor et Pollux “in two or three shipments.”
10. Bongiovanni, “Gennaro Magri,” 34; Hansell, “Theatrical Ballet,” 202.
11. Bongiovanni, “Gennaro Magri,” 34.
12. Journal étranger, August 1761, pp. 121–22. Quoted in Loomis, “Tommaso
Traetta’s Operas,” 364, whose translation I have adapted.
13. Bongiovanni, “Gennaro Magri,” 37, citing Croce, I teatri di Napoli, 750: letter
from Florentine prior Viviani, 11 October 1761, “In carattere serio M. Pietro
Alnardi . . . per le donne la celebre Mimì . . .” Archivio di Stato, Naples, politi-
cal office, secretariat of the royal house, papers of the administration of the
theaters (1743–92), fasc. 13.
14. Feldman devotes a chapter to Ippolito ed Aricia, viewing aspects of its music and
drama from contemporary and modern perspectives (Opera and Sovereignty, ch.
3, 97–140).
15. Traetta, Ippolito ed Aricia (sound recording).
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148 ❧ notes to pp. 90–97
16. L’Année littéraire, 1759, vol. 4, pp. 115–17. The focus of the author’s comment is
Traetta, who is described as “un jeune Napolitain . . . qui a sçû mêler aux beau-
tés qu’il a tirées de son proper genie, les endroits le plus admirés de l’Opéra
de M. Rameau” (A young Neapolitan . . . who is able to blend beauties drawn
from his own genius with the most admired passages of Rameau’s opera).
Quoted and cited in Loomis, “Tommaso Traetta’s Operas,” 75.
18. Journal des Journaux (Mannheim, 1760), 1:701ff, quoted in Riedlbauer, Die
Opern, 24. “Pour ce qui regarde l’Opéra d’Hyppolite & d’Aricie je proteste sur
mon honneur que je n’ai pas meme vu sa Musique” (As for the opera Hippolyte
et Aricie I protest on my honor I have never seen his music). A lengthier excerpt
from the letter is quoted and cited by Loomis, “Tommaso Traetta’s Operas,”
19–20.
19. Cyr (“Rameau e Traetta,” 181) demonstrated that Traetta’s style reflects
Rameau’s influence, a view adopted by Loomis.
20. Loomis, “Tommaso Traetta’s Operas,” 20, mentions the possibility that “a sub-
ordinate [might] have overseen the incorporation of dances by Rameau into
the Parma operas.”
21. Garland reprint of Berlin score for Ippolito ed Aricia (hereafter “Garland repr.”),
63–64.
22. Garland repr. 44–45, 136–37, 233–34. Loomis states that the danced arrange-
ment of “Nettun sull’onde” appears in act 3, scene 6, although it actually
appears in scene 9 (“Tommaso Traetta’s Operas,” 371).
23. Garland repr., 44–45.
24. Ibid., 95–98.
25. Ibid., 110, 116–17.
26. Ibid., 136–37.
27. Parma libretto for I tindaridi, xiv, “Atto Quarto. / Primo Divertimento. / Danze
di deità infernali. / Eseguite per tutti i suddetti Signori in Corpo. / Danza di
Tisifone una delle furie. / La Signora Mimì Favier, / E tutti i suddetti Signori
in Corpo.”
28. These dances in this sequence appear in the Garland reprint on 229, 233–34,
234, 235, and 235–36.
29. Harris Warrick, “Ballet, Pantomime, and the Sung Word.”
30. Ibid., 33–36.
31. Ibid., 33. The types are discussed with examples on 33–37.
32. Emphasis on spectacle is a recurring theme in the literature on the Parma
operas, although because of the lack of surviving iconography connected with
the productions, few studies attempt to re-create or even describe it. In her
analysis of Ippolito ed Aricia, Feldman offers a welcome commentary on how
some of this opera’s spectacle might have appeared to audiences as well as
color plates consisting of imaginative reconstructions. The lead female danc-
ers could have been costumed in a manner similar to Feldman’s choral dancer
in Plate 4 (opposite p. 117). On the ends of acts 1 and 5, including an overview
of the danced and sung components as well as visual spectacle and some of the
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notes to pp. 98–108 ❧ 149
elements of its costumes for the singers, see 132 (on act 1) and 129–30, esp.
note 63 (on act 5).
33. Sadler, “Hippolyte et Aricie,” NGO.
34. Loomis, “Tommaso Traetta’s Operas,” 368.
35. Apart from minor variants in spelling, some minor cuts in the recitative text
(act 2, scene 4) and one difference in the numbering of scenes (in the 1754
act 4, scene 3 begins at the emergence of the monsters from the cavern, while
no scene break occurs in this spot in the 1758 Parma libretto), the content of
the librettos is equivalent.
36. Score for I tindaridi, A-Wn 17859 (hereafter “Vienna score”). In three vols.
(vol. 1, act 1; vol. 2, acts 2 and 3; vol 3, acts 4 and 5.) Act 1 divertissement,
132v–138v. The dances in the first divertissement are numbered; divertissement
labeled “Ballo” in score. Rameau’s air trés pointé from Castor et Pollux labeled
“I.”
37. As established in chapter 3, Mangot worked from the 1754 revision of Castor et
Pollux to mount Parma’s productions of this work. The minuet had migrated
and changed keys from the 1737 original to the 1754 revision; in 1737 it
appeared in D major in the Prologue, while in 1754 it appeared in E major in
act 4’s second divertissement (Loomis, “Tommaso Traetta’s Operas,” 370). I tin-
daridi represents a third migration and key change for this well-traveled dance.
38. Vienna score, vol. 2, minuet and gavotte, 111r–114r. “Fine dell’Atto Terzo,”
116r. The Vienna score reflects revisions of act 2, scene 6. The end of act 2 in
the score consists almost entirely of dances; much of the solo vocal text in the
libretto does not appear in this score.
39. Sadler acknowledges Michael Talbot’s suggestion to him in this regard (“A
Group of Borrowings,” in press).
40. This divertissement consists of a number of other dances (Vienna score, vol.
3, 44v–55v.). The dance labeled “ballo,” Rameau’s air with the marking of
“grazioso,” follows the “canzonetta d’un ombra felice” (which is preceded by a
minuet). The libretto’s second “coro di ombre felici” and Castor’s preceding
recitiative were apparently cut. The divertissement thus consists of a short dance
scored for violins and horns and labeled “ballo”; the libretto’s first “coro di
ombre felici” (“Ombra amabile”); a “ballo” in triple meter; a minuet; the can-
zonetta (“Amor qui regna”); and several dances, commencing with Rameau’s
“grazioso” (labeled “ballo”) played by strings; a longer dance in 2/4 to which
oboes and horns are added; and the two passepieds (labeled “paspien”), which
are followed by a spirit’s short recitative announcing the group’s departure.
41. I-PAas, Teatri, busta 1, “Copia del Progetto in Tempo della Fiera in Piacenza di
quest’anno 1751.”
42. “What was attempted in Parma imposed a financial burden more appropriate
to a kingdom than to a tiny duchy, which is one reason Du Tillot had to give up
this theatrical innovation a few years after so auspicious a beginning.” Heartz,
“Traetta in Parma,” 290. Heartz is referring here specifically to the French-
inspired Italian operas.
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150 ❧ notes to pp. 108–112
43. Algarotti, Opere, 9:226–32, letter dated 15 October 1752, quoted in Minardi,
“‘Le projet est abandonné,’” 27; cited by Loomis, “Tommaso Traetta’s Operas,”
22.
44. Feldman, Opera and Sovereignty, 135.
Chapter Five
1. Minardi, “‘Le projet est abandonné,’” 31; M. Russo, I libretti, xx, follows
Minardi.
2. This view, which equates Traetta’s four operas for Parma on French models
with reform, reflects most of the other scholarship on the issue.
3. Bédarida, “Jacques-Simon a Parme,” 3–8: “ingrandì la sala, trasformò tutte le
machine e adattò le scene alle necessità delle opere a ‘grand spectacle,’ con-
formemente ai gusti del Du Tillot.” Cited by Cirani, Musica e spettacolo a Colorno,
55.
4. Frugoni explained this in verse, in his Epistola, one of the texts commemorat-
ing the wedding. See Loomis, “Tommaso Traetta’s Operas,” 122, who notes
that these effects had already been features of Ippolito ed Aricia and I tindaridi;
perhaps they were done on a smaller scale in these operas, or not as well, since
Frugoni says in the same Epistola (xiii–xiv) that the whole stage was renovated
both above and below, implying a thorough restructuring.
5. P. Russo discusses the opera in “Un catalogo della musica,” and includes a
table detailing the libretto’s descriptions of the machines and the effects
they achieved (275–82). Also on this work, see Hortschansky, “Feste teatrali a
Parma.”
6. The printed score (1732) carries the title Le triomphe des sens, while the printed
libretto (1732) is titled Le ballet des sens.
7. Printed librettos for the Lyonnaise productions in both years are extant.
8. See, for example, Mecarelli, Le feste d’Apollo, 45 (cited by M. Russo, I libretti,
xxxiii).
9. P. Russo, “Un catalogo della musica,” 260: The libretto for the work is “un vero
rifacimento che dagli esemplari d’oltralpe prende solo lo spunto iniziale per
poi riconcepirlo profondamente” (A true re-creation that takes only the initial
impetus from the models from beyond the Alps and then thoroughly recon-
ceptualizes it).
10. Loomis, “Tommaso Traetta’s Operas,” 140, observes the similarity in the adap-
tation process among the “Iride” act, Ippolito ed Aricia, and I tindaridi, though
limits his discussion to textual issues.
11. Frugoni’s libretto and its relation to Roy’s act drew commentary in the
Journal étranger, November 1760, 182, “Qu’on n’imagine pas que ce soit un
reproche que nous voulons faire à l’Auteur; lui-même avoue son larcin, dans
l’Avertissement qui est à la tête de cet Ouvrage” (We must not imagine that we
should reproach this author; he himself admits to his theft in the preface that
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notes to pp. 112–115 ❧ 151
opens the work) and L’Année littéraire, 1760, 6:351. Cited in Loomis, “Tommaso
Traetta’s Operas,” 139, 140.
12. Russo, “Un catalogo della musica,” 261, citing Minardi, “La presenza del
ballo,” 117.
13. Le feste d’Imeneo, 22: “Lieta sinfonia, mentre Iride discende sopra l’arco da
lei descritto, rompendosi intorno ad esso in leggiadre guise le nubi al suo
apparire.”
14. Le feste d’Imeneo, 31: “Lieta sinfonia, mentre al cenno d’Amore fra lucide nubi
discende un pomposo padiglione, con Amoretti intorno volanti, dai quali ven-
gono alzate l’ali del detto padiglione che chiuso viene a posarsi sulla scena. Si
veggono in esso tre nobli seggi, sopra i quali vanno a collocarsi Amore, Iride, e
Zeffiro mentre si canta, e si danza dai Cori.”
15. In foregrounding this act in their wedding opera, Parma contributed a new
work to a well-established tradition of Zephyr and Flora pieces, one to which
their earlier production of Rebel and Francœur’s Zélindor, roi des silphes also
belonged; Brown, “Zéphire et Flore.”
16. The presence of this piece in Le feste d’Imeneo, first noted by Mary Cyr (“Rameau
e Traetta,” 181), is the only music by Rameau that has thus far been identified
in the work. Cyr does not give its placement in the action of Les fêtes d’Hébé,
although Loomis reports that it appears in the prologue without mentioning
a scene number (Loomis, “Tommaso Traetta’s Operas,” 142). According to
Minardi, it is found in “scena quinta della prima entrée” (“scene five of the
first entrée”). Minardi, “La presenza del ballo,” 118; cited by P. Russo as in I, 5,
“Un catalogo della musica,” 265n19.). The opera’s first entrée is “La Poësie” and
there is no evidence that the air for Zéphire occurs there; perhaps Minardi
meant to indicate the prologue as the opera’s “prima entrée.” I am relying on
the Paris libretto and score from 1739 (there was a revision, dated ca. 1744,
which I have not been able to consult, Bouissou/Herlin, Catalogue théma-
tique, 3:498–500). Although the 1739 score does not indicate a scene change
between scenes 4 and 5, scene 5 in the libretto (13) opens with “Zephire [sic],
après avoir voltigé autour des Graces . . .” indicating a dance, which appears in
the appropriate spot in the 1739 score, where it is labeled with its title (26–27),
and occurs between the ariette that ends scene 4, “Vole, Zéphire,” and the petit
air that opens scene 5, “Volons sur les bords de la Seine.” The 1749 libretto
from Lyon (reflecting the production Mangot directed) corresponds to the
1739 Parisian sources in the placement of the dance, in the prologue’s scene 5
(12).
17. Score in A-Wn 17863. 3 vols; p. 109v.
18. Loomis, “Tommaso Traetta’s Operas” (141) noted these added divertissements’
similarity in placement.
19. Brown, Gluck and the French Theatre, 264–66; Heartz, “Traetta in Vienna,” 293–
312; Heartz, Music in European Capitals, 242; and other studies.
21. On Alcide al bivio and its political function, see Mellace, “Musica e politica,”
124–27, including the citation of related literature on 124.
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152 ❧ notes to pp. 115–121
22. Le feste d’Imeneo and Alcide al bivio appear in volumes 1 and 2, respectively (both
issued in 1762).
23. Il Trionfo d’Imeneo . . . (Parma: Filippo Carmignani, n.d.). On the little that is
known of this work, see Vetro, Il teatro ducale, 226–27.
24. On Giuseppe Pezzana, see Fedi, “L’Età dei Borbone,” 236–37.
25. Vetro (Il teatro ducale, 226) conjectures the piece might have been performed
at one of these venues.
26. The acts were reduced from five to three as demonstrated by a score from 1760
that M. Russo claims represents a Viennese production, held at the “Biblioteca
di Stato di Vienna” (presumably the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek; M.
Russo, I libretti, xlvi; lv); however, no libretto is extant and the work is absent
from the Burgtheater chronology in Brown, Gluck and the French Theatre,
487–93.
27. On Armida, see Heartz, “Traetta in Vienna,” 296–308.
28. Algarotti, Opere, (1794), 13:128–29, letter XXXII, 16 December 1760.
29. Score in A-Wn, 17861, 3 vols. (Hereafter, “Vienna score.”) The Vienna score is
titled “Armida, opera seria di Traetta, 1761.”
30. Loomis, “Tommaso Traetta’s Operas,” 167, 178; M. Russo, I libretti, lviii–lix, cit-
ing Riedlbauer, Die Opern, 389.
31. Parma libretto for Enea e Lavinia, 52.
32. On signature arias see Poriss, Changing the Score; Williams Brown, “On the
Road”; and Butler, “From Guadagni’s Suitcase.”
33. M. Russo explains (I libretti, lix) that he compared the incipits of the arias in
Riedlbauer’s thematic catalog, and that the aria from Armida, “Respiri [sic]
già contento,” is found in Armida’s scene 11 (incipits found in Riedlbauer, Die
Opern, 343 and 389, Vienna and Parma, respectively). The libretto’s scene 11
(US-Wc copy) contains no aria with that text; the aria for Armida in that scene
begins with the line, “Torna sereno.”
34. Vienna score for Armida, part 2, 67v–75 r.
35. P-La, 46-VII-4a6 (hereafter the Parma score), vol. 3, 10r–15v. The P-La copy
is omitted in Riedlbauer’s list of sources for Enea e Lavinia (Riedlbauer, Die
Opern, 382).
36. Neither of the pieces preceding or following this aria in the Vienna score
includes annotations of the type described here.
37. Riedlbauer cites a score in I-Tn for Enea e Lavinia (382) and his incipit for
the aria (389) is in D major (not A major), marked Allegretto (not Allegro).
Perhaps the aria was transposed at a certain point, and if so, this source repre-
sents a fourth version of the piece.
38. The top pitch in her first aria in Ippolito ed Aricia, for example, “Prendi amor,”
is also c3, and this earlier aria is more ornate and lies higher in range than
“Respira omai contento.” On the Parma operas’ arias, see Loomis, “Tommaso
Traetta’s Operas,” ch. 7 (240–302). On Gabrielli’s arias in Ippolito ed Aricia,
especially the aria di bravura “Va dove Amor ti chiama,” which exceeds oth-
ers for her in the work in complexity, length, scoring, and other features, see
Feldman, Opera and Sovereignty, 124–29.
39. Loomis, “Tommaso Traetta’s Operas,” 190.
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notes to pp. 121–123 ❧ 153
40. These two operas deal with different plot elements of Virgil’s Aeneid and thus
share the character of Aeneas. Gabrielli sang with different primi uomini por-
traying Enea in these productions, Gaetano Guadagni in Parma, and Antonio
Priori in Naples (Priori had sung with Gabrielli in Vienna, singing Artemidoro
in Armida).
41. On this work, see P. Russo, “Enée et Lavinie.”
42. A number of manuscript and printed dramatic works survive in the Sanvitale
family archive (at I-PAas) attesting to a lively interest in spoken and musical
theater spanning multiple generations.
43. M. Russo summarizes Sanvitale’s relationship with Frugoni and his influence on
Parma’s political, literary, and artistic life; see I libretti, xxi–xxv. On Sanvitale, see
also Fedi and Necchi, “Il primo Settecento,” and Fedi, “L’Età dei Borbone.”
44. Pezzana, Memorie, 178. Bédarida, Parma e la Francia, 1:193. Fedi, “L’Età dei
Borbone,” 225.
45. According to Pezzana, Sanvitale translated Castor et Pollux and it was his transla-
tion that appears in the printed libretto and was performed for the court on
6 December 1758. See Pezzana, Memorie, 184, Castore e Polluce, item XI in the
inventory of Sanvitale’s works, including the date of the court performance,
in reference to which Pezzana states, “Non è indicato il nome del traduttore,
ma fu realmente Jacopo-Antonio” (The name of the translator is not given but
it was actually Jacopo Antonio). This claim was adopted by Bédarida (Parma e
la francia 2:435, although he mistakenly gives the date as 6 September), and
repeated by M. Russo (I libretti, XLII). See also Fedi, “L’Età dei Borbone,”
225n10. It seems to be erroneous, however, since in a letter to Michele Enrico
Sagramoso of 19 December 1758, Frugoni claimed he had translated Castor et
Pollux together with Titon et l’Aurora: “I due poemi franzesi per musica da me
tradotti sono Polluce e Castore, Titone e l’Aurora. L’infante è mostrato piacere che
siano tradotti in versi italiani che uguaglino i franzesi” (The two French libret-
tos I translated are Polluce e Castore, Titone e l’Aurora. The sovereign was pleased
that that they were translated into Italian verses that matched the French).
Chesi, Michele Enrico Sagramoso, 167–68, and Minardi, “‘Le projet est aban-
donné,’” 34. I thank Paolo Russo for making me aware of Chesi’s study.
46. Pezzana, Memorie, 178.
47. Malinverni, “Don Filippo,” 70.
48. Lasagni, Dizionario biografico, 4:315; Janelli, Dizionario biografico, 385–86; Pigorini
Beri, Cenni biografici.
49. M. Russo, I libretti, XXIII, citing Calcaterra, Storia della poesia frugoniana, 132.
50. Poema parabolico diviso in morale, politico, e fisico (Venice, 1746).
51. His name is printed on the libretto’s title page. Selfridge-Field, A New
Chronology, 475. The opera opened 26 December 1741.
52. I-PAas, Carte Du Tillot, busta 88.
53. It is unclear which autumn opera is intended here (autumn 1741, before
carnival 1742, or autumn 1742, after carnival). However, since the singers in
autumn 1741, in Giuseppe Arena’s setting of Tigrane, are the same as those
employed in carnival 1742, clearly the note refers to the opera given in autumn
1741, preceding the carnival season.
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154 ❧ notes to pp. 124–126
54. Selfridge-Field, A New Chronology, 474–75.

55. Selfridge-Field, A New Chronology, 474n58 reads: “One aria was by the count
Giacomo San Vitale.”
56. Selfridge-Field, A New Chronology, 476.
57. Butler, “Gluck’s Alceste in Bologna.” Since the music for these productions is
not extant, there is no way to know for certain whether or not the choruses
and dances were actually performed; it is possible they were omitted from
performance.
58. Selfridge-Field, A New Chronology, 474–76, provides information on these pro-
ductions including some data related to their individual finances. For Tigrane,
“The overall attendance was mediocre”; for Merope, the opera was “a stellar
financial success”; and for Statira, “The work was not well received.”
59. The work was Andrea Bernasconi’s Endimione. Selfridge-Field, A New Chronology,
626.
60. Selfridge-Field, A New Chronology, 503.
61. “Signor Conte Sanvitale modified the recitatives . . .” The annotation also gives
the name of the composer (“Jommella”) and states that several arias were set
by various authors, including the Venetian Antonio Zanetti. Copy held at I-Mb.
62. Louise Élisabeth died on 6 December 1759. The consequent suppression of
entertainments in Parma made it possible for Turin’s Teatro Regio to engage
Gabrielli and Elisi for the season and Traetta for its first of two carnival operas.
63. Butler, Operatic Reform.
64. Piperno, “Impresariato collettivo”; Piperno, “Opera Production to 1780,”
31–43.
65. Bouquet, Il teatro di corte.
66. I-Tac, Ordinati, 5:91–96, 22 February 1761, “Esendosi dal Sigr. Conte di
Laoriano fatto lettura della memoria in somma di ragguaglio che è stato pre-
gato di Fare per dare un idea della Società alla Corte di Parma, che aveva incar-
icato il sigr. Ambasciatore di Francia di procurargliela.” Bouquet, Il teatro di
corte, 163–64; copy of document sent to Parma appears as Bouquet’s Appendix
VI, 463–65. An earlier reference to this request in the Ordinati, overlooked by
Bouquet, is dated 2 February (5:88). Butler, Operatic Reform, 14. Requests for
copies of Turin’s statutes also arrived from Lucca (1761) and Naples (1777);
Bouquet, Il teatro di corte, 163–64, 387.
67. I-PAas, Palatina, Mss. Casapini, 7/23.
68. A leather-bound, manuscript copy made in 1765 of libretti for Turin’s Enea nel
Lazio and Andromeda (1760 and 1755; both with poetry by Vittorio Amedeo
Cigna-Santi, the Teatro Regio’s house poet) survive in the Sanvitale family
archive at I-PAas, further testifying to a Parma-Turin theatrical link (Archivio
Sanvitale, busta 877). According to a manuscript note in the volume penned
by the nineteenth-century archivist Amadeo Ronchini, the Turinese libret-
tos might have been intended for use at the Sanvitale family’s theater at
Fontanellato.
69. Butler, Operatic Reform, ch. 3 (83–95); Rossetto Casel, “Enea nel Lazio.”
70. Traetta was dismissed on 1 April 1764, after his salary had been cut. P. Russo,
“Musica a corte,” 166, 168.
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notes to pp. 126–129 ❧ 155
71. On Le feste d’Apollo, see Mecarelli, Le feste d’Apollo and De Pasquale and Godi,
Il ducato in scena; on Alessandro e Timoteo, a work that according to P. Russo
“resembles more a court spectacle (a festa di corte) than a reform opera,” see
his “Musica a corte,” 173, and Lippmann, “Giuseppe Sarti.”
72. One might view the developments in Parma as related to those that occurred
in France after the querelle des bouffons, when older music was adapted to accom-
modate rapidly changing tastes. On this issue, see Weber, “La musique ancienne,”
esp. 81–82; Weber, “Le savant et le general,” a revised version of “Learned and
General Musical Taste in Eighteenth-Century France.” See also Charlton, ch.
3, “The Opéra: Cycles versus changes,” in Opera in the Age of Rousseau.
Conclusion
1. A notable study adopting a similar view is Glixon and Glixon, Inventing the
Business of Opera.
2. The Teatro Ducale bears a resemblance to the Paris Opéra, as explored in
Victoria Johnson’s Backstage at the Revolution.
3. [Author unattributed], “Reform,” NGO, 3:1265. “A term much used in the lit-
erature of opera in respect of changes in methods of writing operas which are
supposed to represent improvement. . . . It has been used at many stages of
the history of opera . . . above all [being associated with] the changes, identi-
fied especially with the Metastasian tradition or its abuse, as seen in the operas
of Calzabigi and Gluck of the 1760s . . . but also present in the work of many
other composers, notably Jommelli and Traetta.”
4. David Charlton, “Visions of reform,” ch. 8 of Opera in the Age of Rousseau
(209–32).
5. Perhaps the most recent descriptor used for Traetta’s operas is Charlton’s
“reforming,” in reference to Ippolito ed Aricia and I tindaridi, in Opera in the Age
of Rousseau, 214 (the adjective is used elsewhere to describe other works that
advance style change in different contexts; see 58, 94). The continuous unfold-
ing and dynamism suggested by the term is one that fits Parma perfectly.
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Butler.indd 156 12/11/2018 5:13:47 PM
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Audio Recordings
Les Indes galantes, Les Arts Florissants, cond. William Christie. Harmonia Mundi,
HMC 901367.69 (1991).
Ippolito ed Aricia, digital live recording, Bratislava Chamber Choir, Orchestra Inter-
nazionale d’Italia, David Golub, cond. Dynamic CDS257/1–4 (January 2000).
Les surprises de l’Amour, by Les Nouveaux Caractères, dir. Sébastien d’Hérin. Glossa,
GCD922701 (2013).
Zélindor, roi des silphes, Opera Lafayette, cond. Ryan Brown, Naxos DDD 8.660224
(2009).
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Butler.indd 170 12/11/2018 5:14:29 PM
Index
Page numbers in italics indicate an illustration or musical example; page numbers
including a t indicate a table.
Académie de Beaux Arts (Lyon), 23 French version, 80, 83; as generic

Académie Royale de Musique (Lyon), mixture, 77, 127–28; libretto for
23 Parma, 54, 76, 78; musical materials,
acte turc, L’ (Rameau). See under Indes 22–23, 92; premiere of, 22; recon-
galantes, Les (Rameau) struction of, 81–82t; scenario for,
Aeneid (Virgil), 153n40 79–80
Aix-la-Chapelle, Treaty of, 8, 79 Andromaque (Racine), 123
Alceste (Gluck), 2 Andromeda (Cocchi), 154n68
Alcide al bivio (Hasse and Metastasio), Angiolini, Gasparo: Citera assediate,
115, 152n22 146n22
Alessandro e Timoteo (Sarti), 126 Arena, Giuseppe: Tigrane, 153n53
Algarotti, Francesco: correspondence Armida (Traetta), 115–16; “Respira già
with Du Tillot, 1, 3, 110, 122–23; contento,” 116, 117, 118, 119–20,
correspondence with Frugoni, 10, 152n33
17, 88, 90, 108, 116; in Parma, 5; phi- Armide (Lully), 116
losophes and, 5, 6, 128, 136n22; Saggio Aubry, Pierre, 14
sopra l’opera in musica, 2, 5, 33–34,
88, 136n29, 137n34 ballet des sens, Le (Mouret), 23,
Alouard, Pierre (Pietro Alovar), 88, 89, 150–51n11
93–94t, 94–96t, 99 ballets: French troupe’s repertory, 14,
Alovar, Pietro. See Alouard, Pierre 16t, 17, 53, 77–84, 128. See also spe-
Ambleto (Carcani), 123 cific works
amours de Ragonde, Les (Mangot), 111 ballets-héroïques: French troupe’s reper-
Anacréon (entrée from Rameau’s Les tory, 14, 15t, 19, 21, 22; of Mangot,
surprises de l’Amour), 18, 22–23, 53, 23; of Mouret, 111
54 146–47n29; occasion for, 77, Bauman, Thomas, 1, 5
79; references to Vivaldi in, 83, 99, Baurans, N., 17
146–47n29 Bédarida, Henri, 139n25
Anacréon (Rameau ballet), 77 Berlin, 2, 5, 140n43
Anacreonte (ballet adapted from Rame- Bernard, Pierre-Joseph, 53, 55, 77, 79,
au’s entrée), 18, 30, 53–55, 77–84, 80
87; dancers for, 88; differences from Betti (costume designer), 40, 41
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172 ❧ index
Biblioteca teatrale italiana (Diodati), 115 Citera assediate (Angiolini), 146n22

bohémienne, La (Favart’s revision of Cocchi, Gioacchino: Andromeda, 155n5
Capua), 17, 19 Colla, Giuseppe, 126
Bologna, 42 Collasse, Pascale: Enée et Lavinie, 4, 122
Bonnet, Claude, 10, 85, 88, 147n1 Collin de Blamont, François: Les carac-
Boquet, Louis-René, 145n10 tères de l’Amour, 35
Bordeaux, 138n23 Colorno, 12, 14, 17, 18, 59, 79
Bourbon rule in Parma, 2–3, 8–11, 79, Comédie-Italienne (Paris), 28
122–23; cultural agenda, 3, 9–10, Corneille, Pierre, 14
87–88, 109, 127; propaganda for, Crespi, Giambattista, 143n17
62, 64, 79, 112–13, 115, 127; Teatro Cyr, Mary, 6, 91n, 151n16
Ducale’s costs borne by, 10, 12, 36, Cythère assiégée (Gluck), 146n22
52. See also Ferdinand de Bourbon;
Philippe de Bourbon d’Aiguillon, Duke, 14, 28, 139n29
Burgtheater (Vienna), 54, 115, 142n6 d’Alembert, Jean Le Rond, 136n22
Dallai (house manager), 40, 41
Cahusac, Louis de, 111 Dancourt, Louis Hurtaut, 14
Caillot, Joseph, 14, 28–29 Dauvergne, Antoine: Enée et Lavinie, 4,
Calzabigi, Ranieri de’, 2 122, 123
Campioni, Giustina, 14, 88, 89, 93t, Delisle, Jean-Philippe: as choreogra-
94–96t pher, 55, 87, 88; collaborations of,
Campra, André: L’Europe galante, 18, 35 80, 84; correspondence of, 14, 27; as
Capua, Rinaldo di, 17 director of Parma’s French troupe,
caractères de l’Amour, Les (Collin de 8, 12–14, 15–16t, 17–18, 35, 125;
Blamont), 35 Mangot and, 27
Carcani, Giuseppe: Ambleto, 123 Des Landes (stage machinist), 40, 41
Castor et Pollux (Rameau): excerpts in Destouches, André Cardinal: Les élé-
Mangot’s anthology, 35, 92; libretto mens, Le feu from, 27, 35
for Parma, 54, 55–56, 65; as model d’Holbach, Baron, 136n22
for Traetta’s I tindaridi, 4, 6, 64, 77, Diario (Pugolotti), 11
85, 98–100, 108; Parma adaptation Diderot, Denis, 136n22
(as Castore e Polluce), 18, 19t, 22, Didone abbandonata (Traetta), 121
27–30, 53–55, 64, 66–67, 70, 77, Diodati, Ottaviano: Biblioteca teatrale
79, 88, 99, 127, 141n61, 149n37, italiana, 115
153n45; revisions by Rameau, 54, divertissements, 2; French troupe’s reper-
66, 146n14; “Tendre amour,” 66–67, tory, 14, 16t, 21, 35, 53–54, 55, 56,
67–75, 70 57, 58–59. See also specific works
Castore e Polluce. See Castor et Pollux Dresden, 140n43
(Rameau) Du Tillot, Guillaume-Léon: as admin-
Chambéry, 12 istrator for Bourbon dynasty in
Charles de Bourbon, 8 Parma, 3, 8, 9–10, 87, 90, 92, 105,
Charlton, David, 155n5 107, 139n30, 149n42; correspon-
Chepi, Joseph (also Chepy; costume dence of, 6; correspondence with
warehouse inspector), 40, 41, 42, 43, Algarotti, 1, 3, 5, 110, 122–23; corre-
46, 47 spondence with Bonnet, 85, 147n1;
Cigna-Santi, Vittorio Amedeo, 154n68 correspondence with Delisle, 27;
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index ❧ 173
correspondence with Mangot, 23; Farnese, Elisabetta, 8

correspondence with Quazza, 41–42, Favart, Charles Simon: on Hédoux, 29;
143n9; dancers hired by, 88–89, parodies of, 14; revision of Capua’s La
90; decree on theatrical behavior, zingara, 17
12, 36–37; dismissal from post, 5; Favier, Mimì, 14, 88–89, 94t, 94–96t,
French troupe hired by, 3, 12–14, 113
17, 36; in Lyon, 13; management Feldman, Martha, 5, 147n14,
of Teatro Ducale, 36–37, 38, 39–43, 148–49n32
46–47, 52; opera reform project Ferdinand de Bourbon, 9, 33, 49, 126
abandoned by, 3, 110–11, 149n42; feste d’Apollo, Le (Gluck), 126
previous positions of, 12–13; pri- feste d’Imeneo, Le (Traetta and Frugoni),
orities of, 52; as producer, 37, 38, 4, 110–15, 152n22; borrowings from
39–41, 142n4; Sanvitale as replace- Rameau, 23, 151n16; context for,
ment for, 123; social and political 126; generic conventions of, 6, 18;
reforms of, 5 “Iride” act, 23, 112–13, 115, 150n10;
Duni, Egidio, 3, 141n67 occasion commemorated by, 4, 9,
Dupré, François, 115 110; as opéra-ballet, 111, 112–13; pre-
miere of, 34, 110; sources for, 111
Eglé (La Garde), 26 feste di Tersicore, Le (poems), 17
élémens, Les, Le feu from (Lalande and fêtes de Thalie, Les (Mangot), 111
Destouches), 27, 35 fêtes d’Hébé, Les (Rameau): as model for
Elisabetta, Queen of Spain, 145n13 Traetta’s Le feste d’Imeneo, 4, 23, 111,
Elisi, Filippo, 125, 154n62 113, 114, 115, 151n16
Enea e Lavinia (Traetta and Sanvitale), fêtes d’Hymen et de l’Amour, Les
4, 110, 125, 126; composition of, (Rameau), 111, 112
34; context for, 126; cost savings Francœur, François: Ismène, 35; Zélindor,
for, 124; French model for, 6, 122; roi des silphes, 27–30, 35, 53–55, 56,
Parma premiere of, 116; “Respiri 57, 58–59, 151n15
omai content” (aria shared with Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, 5
Armida), 116–17, 119–20, 121–22, French opera: components of, 2; libret-
152n33, 152n38; “Vanne, mio tos for Parma performances, 54,
caro, addio,” 121; viewed as sign of 55–56, 57, 60, 63; performed in
retrenchment, 122 Parma, 27–30, 53–84; premieres at
Enea nel Lazio (Traetta), 125, 126, Parma court, 26t, 26–27; star singers’
154n68 influence on roles, 146n21. See also
Enée et Lavinie (Collasse and Le Bovier specific works
de Fontenelle): as model for Traet- French troupe in Parma, 12–30, 53–84;
ta’s Enea e Lavinia, 4, 6, 122 arrival of, 13, 42; artists selected
Enée et Lavinie (Dauvergne and Mon- for, 138n23; chronology of per-
crif), 4, 122, 123 formances, 19, 20–21t; continuity
Epistola (Frugoni), 150n4 between French entertainments and
Erasme, Giambattista, 47 Italian operas, 17, 128–29; costs of,
Europe galante, L’ (Campra), 18, 35 10, 12, 36, 49–50, 52; dancers, 17;
exoticism, 59, 111 departure of, 34, 85, 86, 88, 109;
Du Tillot’s hiring of, 3; personnel
Farnace (Perez), 18 changes, 14; reception of, 59–60, 64,
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174 ❧ index
French troupe in Parma—(cont’d) Habsburg dynasty, 2, 4, 8, 115, 127

77; repertory of, 3, 14, 15–16t, 17, Hasse, Johann Adolph: Alcide al bivio,
19, 20–21t, 53; repertory schedule, 115; Solimano, 87
26–27; singers, 28–30; sojourn of, Heartz, Daniel, 5
13–14; solo singers, 28–30, 54–55, Hédoux, Marguerite, 14, 28, 29, 62,
59, 62, 66–67, 70, 77; spoken plays 142n69
performed by, 14, 17, 18, 19 Hippolyte et Aricie (Rameau): excerpts
French vs. Italian style, debates over, appearing in Traetta’s Ippolito ed
33–34, 88, 136n22, 136n26, 155n72 Aricia, 90, 91t, 92, 93–94t; Lyon
Frugoni, Carlo Innocenzo: collabora- performances, 23, 90, 92; as model
tions of, 56, 80, 83, 84; correspon- for Traetta’s Ippolito ed Aricia, 10, 17,
dence of, 6; correspondence with 84, 85, 108; Paris revival of 1757, 90;
Algarotti, 5, 10, 17, 88, 90, 108, Racine’s influence on, 18; reception
116; Epistola, 150n4; libretto for Le of, 97, 98
feste d’Imeneo, 4, 112–13; libretto for Hume, David, 136n22
Ippolito ed Aricia, 4; libretto for I tin-
daridi, 4, 64, 77; libretto translations Idomeneo (Mozart), 2
of, 153n45; Sanvitale and, 122 Incà del Perù, Gl’ (Rameau). See under
Fuzelier, Louis, 53 Indes galantes, Les (Rameau)
Indes galantes, Les (Rameau): Les Incas
Gabrielli, Caterina, 108, 115, 116–17, du Pérou (Gl’Incà del Perù), 18, 23,
121–22, 125, 136n17, 152n38, 27–30, 53–55, 59–62, 63, 64, 92,
153n40, 154n62 97, 127; Lyon performances of acts
Gallico, Claudio, 5–6 from, 23; Parma performances of
Gautier de Montdorge, Antoine, 111 acts from, 18, 22, 53–55, 59–62, 63,
Girolamo (fire warden), 40, 41 64; Les sauvages (Lacte des sauvages),
Gluck, Christoph: Alceste, 2; Cythère 18, 59; Le Turc généreux (L’acte turc),
assiégée, 146n22; Le feste d’Apollo, 126; 18, 59, 77, 87
Orfeo ed Euridice, 2; Paride ed Elena, intermèdes: French troupe’s repertory, 14
135n7; La Rencontre imprévue, 30; Ippolito ed Aricia (Traetta and Frugoni),
Tetide, 115 4, 90–98; Algarotti’s advice to Fru-
Godard, Mr., 14 goni, 17; choruses in, 77; common-
Goldoni, Carlo, 124 alities with I tindaridi, 85–86, 107,
Grassi, Francesco, 46–47 113, 150n10; costs of, 107; dancers
Grassi, Giambattista, 46 in, 88, 90, 92, 93–94t, 94–96t, 108;
Grassi, the elder (oversight), 40, 41, 42, divertissements, 92, 93–94t, 96–97;
43, 52 French troupe’s influence on, 85;
Grassi, the younger (set supervisor), genesis and context of, 5; libretto of,
40, 41 90; Louise Élisabeth’s influence on,
Grenet, François-Lupien, 23 10–11; nightly earnings, 102–3t, 105,
Grimm, Friedrich Melchior, 107; possible reason for creation,
136n22 108; precursors for, 13, 18; premiere
Grout, Donald Jay, 137n33 of, 5, 10, 22, 56, 85; “Prendi amor,”
Guadagni, Gaetano, 115, 153n40 152n38; prohibition on loan of the-
Guigues, Jean-Joseph, 14, 28, 29, 59, atrical boxes for performances of,
62, 97 104, 105; reception of, 10–11, 100,
Butler.indd 174 12/11/2018 5:14:37 PM

index ❧ 175
107–8; as reform opera, 90; rework- Mangot, Jacques-Simon: aesthetic

ings from Rameau, 17, 23, 84, 85, preference for French opera, 33;
90, 91t, 92, 93–94t, 108; sovereignty anthology prepared for Martini,
and, 5 30, 31–32t, 33–35, 54, 64, 68–69,
Isabella, Princess: feste d’Imeneo’s hom- 71–75, 88, 92, 112; arrival in Parma,
age to, 112–13, 115; wedding of, 4, 13, 19, 25–26; collaborations of, 80,
9, 10, 18, 79, 110, 115–16 84; as composer, 23, 55, 66, 141n67,
Issé (Destouches), 35 149n37; as conductor, 23, 25; as
Italy, public theaters in, 2, 36–37. See continuity figure for Teatro Ducale,
also specific theaters and cities 85, 86, 126; correspondence with
Du Tillot, 23; correspondence with
Jacobi, Giovanni, 25–26, 47, 144n24 Martini, 111–12, 142n77; Delisle
Jommelli, Niccolò: Merope, 124; Tito and, 27; as director of Parma’s court
Manlio, 125 music, 8, 21, 88; French troupe and,
Joseph II, Archduke of Austria: wed- 14, 21–23, 55–56; importance of,
ding of, 4, 9, 10, 18, 79, 110, 115–16 14, 128; involvement with Traetta’s
Journal encyclopédique, 10 Ippolito ed Aricia, 90, 92; in Lyon,
Journal étranger, 150–51n11 111, 113; musical taste of, 34–35;
as musician, 22–23, 25–27, 55; as
La Garde, Pierre de: Eglé, 26 Rameau’s brother-in-law, 23, 55; as
Lalande, Michel Richard de: Les élé- singer, 23, 111; Traetta and, 22
mens, Le feu from, 27, 35 Mannheim, 2, 140n43
Lani, Mlle, 89, 96 Margery, Anne-Marie, 14
Lavoy, Mlle, 14 Maria Amalia, Archduchess of Austria,
Le Bovier de Fontenelle, Bernard: Enée 9, 126
et Lavinie, 4, 122 Maria Luisa, Princess, 145n13
Le Noble, Jacques, 14, 28, 29–30, Maria Theresa, Holy Roman Empress, 9
146n21; ariette gracieuse for, 66–67, Marseilles, 138n23
67–75, 70; roles in Lyon, 30t, 92 Martini, Giovanni Battista: correspon-
L’Houlier, Luigi, 93t, 95t, 97 dence with Mangot, 111–12, 142n77;
Loomis, George, 6, 91n, 150n10, Mangot’s anthology prepared for,
151n16 30, 31–32t, 33–35, 54, 64, 68–69,
Louise Élisabeth: birthday of, 145n13; 71–75, 88, 92, 112
cultural aspirations of, 8–9; death of, Mauro, Jean-Baptiste, 10, 13
154n62; Ippolito ed Aricia and, 10–11; Melley, Luis, 46, 47
Sanvitale and, 123 Mercier, Mlle, 14
Louis XV, King of France, 8, 115, 123 Mercure de France, 10
Ludwigsburg, 2, 140n43 Merope (Jommelli and Zeno), 124
Lully, Jean-Baptiste: Armide, 116 Metastasio, Pietro: Alcide al bivio, 115
Lyon, 110, 111, 113; Le Noble’s roles Migliavacca, Giovanni Ambrogio: Soli-
in, 30t; operas performed under mano, 87, 116; Tetide, 115
Mangot’s direction, 23, 24–25t, 25, Milan, 12
90, 92; Parma’s cultural life influ- Minardi, Gian Paolo, 6, 151n16
enced by, 12–13, 14; performers Missoli, Marc’Antonio, 88, 89, 93t,
in Parma from, 13–14, 28, 29–30, 94–96t
138n23 Modena, 9, 11
Butler.indd 175 12/11/2018 5:14:40 PM

176 ❧ index
Molière, 14 Bourbon rule in, 2–3, 8–11, 79,

Moncrif, François Auguste Paradis de, 122–23; carnival season in, 12, 15t,
53; Enée et Lavinie, 122 16t, 17, 22, 47, 85, 86–88; as center
Mondonville, Jean-Joseph de: Titon et for French opera, 3, 6–7, 26t, 53–84;
l’Aurore, 28, 29, 35, 54, 88; Titone e French culture in, 2, 3, 9–11, 19–30,
l’Aurora, 18, 27–30, 35, 55–56; Vénus 52, 109, 126, 127–28; French tax col-
et Adonis, 35 lectors in, 11–12; generic overlaps
Morand, Jean-Antoine, 13, 110–11 in, 17–18; history of, 8–11, 135n9;
Mouret, Jean-Joseph: Le ballet des sens, intermarriage between French men
23, 111, 112; operas of, 24–25t, 111 and Parmigian women, 138n15;
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus: Idomeneo, links with Paris, 66; mourning
2; on writing arias, 137n35 period in, 154n62; Sanvitale in,
Munich, 2, 140n43 122–23; spectacle’s importance in
operas, 12, 33, 148–49n32; Vienna’s
Nantes, 13–14 ties with, 3–4, 9, 10–11
Naples, 8, 117, 140n43 Parmesamin (head carpenter), 40,
Ninette à la cour (Favart parodie), 19 41
Nitteti, La (Traetta), 87 parodies en vaudevilles: French troupe’s
Nobile Società dei Cavalieri di Parma, repertory, 14, 16t, 19
126 pastorales-héroïques: French troupe’s rep-
Nobile Società dei Cavalieri (Turin), ertory, 14, 15t, 18, 19, 22, 55, 56
125–26 Pellegrin, Simon-Joseph, 18, 90
Noris, Matteo: Tito Manlio, 125 Perez, David: Farnace, 18; Solimano,
North German opera, 1 87
Pergolesi, Giovanni Battista: La serva
opéras-ballets: elements of, 18; French padrona, 17, 136n22
troupe’s repertory, 14, 15t, 17, 56; Petitot, Ennemond Alexandre, 13
genre of, 17–18; of Traetta, 4, 111, Pezzana, Angelo, 122, 153n45
112–13, 114, 115 Pezzana, Giuseppe: Il trionfo d’Imeneo,
operas bouffon/intermèdes: French 115, 122
troupe’s repertory, 16t, 17 Phèdre (Racine), 18, 19t
opéras-comiques: exclusion from Man- Phèdre et Hippolyte (Pradon), 18, 19t
got’s anthology, 34; French troupe’s Phillip V, King of Spain, 8
repertory, 14, 17, 19; Parma perfor- Philippe de Bourbon: archaeological
mances, 3, 56 research sponsored by, 87; death
opere serie: carnival season perfor- of, 49, 126; Du Tillot and, 12–13;
mances, 17, 18; critiques of, 2, 128; in Parma, 3; political aspirations of,
“suitcase” aria convention in, 117; 8, 9, 11; Sanvitale and, 123. See also
Traetta and, 4–5 Bourbon rule in Parma
Orfeo ed Euridice (Gluck), 2 philosophes, 5, 128, 136n22
Piacenza, 105
Paride ed Elena (Gluck), 135n7 Porpora, Nicola: Statira, 124
Parma: Algarotti in, 5; Arcadian chap- Pradon, Jacques: Phèdre et Hippolyte, 18,
ter in, 122; as “Athens of Italy,” 10, 19t
87–88; audience for theater in, Priori, Antonio, 153n40
11–12, 36–37, 52, 55–56, 83, 85; Pugolotti, Andrea: Diario, 11
Butler.indd 176 12/11/2018 5:14:44 PM

index ❧ 177
quattro stagioni, Le (Vivaldi), 83, 99, Roy, Pierre-Charles, 111, 112,

146–47n29 150–51n11
Quazza, Pio, 40, 41–42, 43, 47, 142n5, Royer, Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace: Zaïde,
143n9 reine de Grenade, 27
querelle des bouffons, 88, 136n22, 155n72 Russo, Marco, 6, 152n26, 152n33,
Quinault, Philippe: Armide, 116 153n43
Russo, Paolo, 6, 150n5, 150n9
Racine, Jean, 14; Andromaque, 123; Phè-
dre, 18, 19t Sadler, Graham, 149n39
Rameau, Jean-Philippe: Anacréon (entrée Saggio sopra l’opera in musica (Algarotti),
from Les surprises de l’Amour), 18, 2, 5, 33–34, 88, 136n26, 137n34
22–23, 53, 54, 146–47n29; Castor Sagramoso, Michele Enrico, 153n45
et Pollux, 4, 6, 18, 19t, 22, 53, 54, Salamone, Costanza Tinti, 14
55–56, 64–77, 85, 98–100, 141n61, Sanvitale, Jacopo Antonio: libretto for
146n14; Les fêtes d’Hébé, 4, 111, 113, Enea e Lavinia, 4, 116, 122, 125; in
114, 115, 151n16; Les fêtes d’Hymen Parma, 122–23; possible translation
et de l’Amour, 111, 112; Hippolyte et of Castor et Pollux, 153n45; in Venice,
Aricie, 10, 17, 18, 23, 85, 90, 91t, 92, 123–25
93–94t, 97, 98; Les Indes galantes, 18, Sarti, Giuseppe: Alessandro e Timoteo,
22, 23, 27–30, 53–55, 59–62, 63, 64, 126
87; Parma performances of works by, sauvages, Les (Rameau). See under Indes
3, 22–23; Traetta influenced by, 4, 6, galantes, Les (Rameau)
17; Zoroastre, 35, 140n43 serva padrona, La (Pergolesi), 136n22;
Rebel, François: Ismène, 35; Zélindor, roi French revision of, 17
des silphes, 27–30, 35, 53–55, 56, 57, servante maîtresse, La (Baurans’s revision
58–59, 151n15 of Pergolesi), 14, 17, 19
reform opera: anachronism of label, Sgavetti, Antonio, 12, 59–60, 64,
1; as conceptual framework, 7; end 136n17, 145n4, 145n7
of in Parma, 110, 122; flexibility of Silvani, Francesco: Statira, 124
concept, 54–55, 128–29; as genre Solimano (Hasse), 87
problem, 1–7, 129; of Gluck, 2; as Solimano (Perez), 87
integration of French and Italian Solimano (Traetta), 18, 85, 86–88,
elements, 2, 6, 34, 136n26; tradi- 116, 147n5; ballo La fondazione
tional narrative of, 2–3; Traetta and, d’Atene, 88
4–5, 7, 108–9, 127–29; in Venice, Spaggiari, P. L., 138n15
124. See also specific composers and Statira (Porpora and Silvani), 124
works Storia della musica (Martini), 30, 33–34
Rencontre imprévue, La (Gluck), 30 Storia di Parma (multivolume series),
Revilla, Marquis de, 64 135n9
Rezzonico, Conte Carlo Castone Della Strasbourg, 138n23
Torre di, 60–61 Stuttgart, 2, 140n43
Richard, Jéróme, 138n15 “suitcase” aria convention, 116–17,
Riedlbauer, Jörg, 152n33, 152n37 121–22
Risi, Clelia, 144–45n4
Ronchini, Amadeo, 154n68 Talbot, Michael, 149n39
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 136n22 Teatro Carignano (Turin), 13–14
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178 ❧ index
Teatro Ducale (Parma): administra- 108, 149n40; French troupe’s influ-

tive structure changed by Du Tillot, ence on, 85; income sheets and
12, 36, 43; administrative structure reception of, 100, 101, 102–3t; Le
changed by Sanvitale, 126; audience Noble in, 30; nightly earnings,
demographics, 11–12, 55–56; as both 102–3t, 105, 106, 107; performance
court and public theater, 46; closure calendar, 102t; possible reason for
during mourning period, 154n62; creation, 108; precursors for, 18
dancers after French troupe’s depar- Tinti, Constanza, 88, 89, 93t, 94–96t,
ture, 88–89, 90, 92, 93–94t, 94–96t, 96, 97
108–9, 113, 115; entrance fees for Tito Manlio (Jommelli and Noris),
residents vs. visitors, 105; French 125
opera performances, 27–30, 54, Titon et l’Aurore (Mondonville), 18;
116; French troupe’s performances, excerpts in Mangot’s anthology,
3, 12–14, 15–16t, 17–18, 53–84; 35; Parma adaptation (as Titone
gambling establishment of, 36, 52; e l’Aurora), 27–30, 54, 55–56, 88,
income statements for Traetta’s 153n45
works, 100, 101, 102–3t, 105, 106, Titone e l’Aurora. See Titon et l’Aurore
107–8; Mangot as continuity figure (Mondonville)
for, 85, 86; Mangot’s work at, 22–23, Traetta, Tommaso: audition for Parma
25–27; personnel overhaul, 85, 87, post, 87; departure from Parma, 126,
88–89; production and manage- 154n70; Gabrielli and, 121; Mangot
ment at, 36–52, 128; renovation of, and, 22; La Nitteti, 87; operas writ-
13, 110–11; resemblance to Paris ten for Parma, 3–5, 7, 34, 49–50,
Opéra, 155n2; sale of librettos, 105; 54–55, 56, 85–126, 127–28; operas
separation of costs between French written for Vienna, 4, 115–16, 117;
and Italian productions, 47, 48, opera written for Naples, 117; opera
49–50, 52; staff roles, 46–47; theatri- written for Turin, 125, 126, 154n62,
cal account books, 42–43, 44, 45, 46, 154n68; Rameau’s influence on, 4,
47, 48, 49–50, 50–51, 52; Traetta’s 6, 17, 64, 70, 84. See also specific works
operas for, 3, 4, 17, 49–50, 85–126 tragédies en musique: of Collasse, 4;
Teatro Regio (Turin), 14, 41, 42, 142n6, Parma French troupe’s repertory,
154n62; administration of, 125–26 14, 15–16t, 17, 19, 21, 22, 55, 56; of
Teatro San Carlo (Naples), 142n6 Rameau, 4; of Traetta, 116–22
Teatro San Giovanni Grisotomo (Ven- Treillard, François, 43, 46, 47
ice), 123–25 triomphe de l’harmonie, Le (Grenet), 23
Teatro Sant’Angelo (Venice), 123 triomphe de Vénus, Le (Mangot), 23
Teatro Sanvitale (Parma), 122 trionfo d’Imeneo, Il (Pezzana), 115, 122,
Tetide (Gluck and Migliavacca), 115 152n23
Tigrane (Arena), 153n53 Turin, opera in, 2, 13–14, 28–29, 41, 42,
tindaridi, I (Traetta and Frugoni), 4, 125–26, 154n62
64, 98–100; choruses compared
with Rameau’s Castor et Pollux, 5, Venice, opera in, 123–25
77; commonalities with Ippolito ed Vénus et Adonis (Mondonville), 35
Aricia, 85–86, 107, 113, 150n10; costs Vetro, Gaspare Nello, 6, 152n25
of, 107; dancers in, 97, 108; dances Vienna: French theater in, 22, 54; Par-
from Castor et Pollux in, 98t, 98–100, ma’s ties with, 3–4, 9, 10–11; reform
Butler.indd 178 12/11/2018 5:14:51 PM

index ❧ 179
operas in, 2; Traetta’s works for, 4, Zelindor, re de’ silfi. See Zélindor, roi des sil-
115–16, 117 phes (Francœur and Rebel)
Vitturi, Bartolomeo, 124 Zélindor, roi des silphes (Francœur and
Vivaldi, Antonio: Le quattro stagioni, 83, Rebel): exclusion from Mangot’s
99, 146–47n29 anthology, 35; length of, 62; libretto
Voltaire, 5, 6, 14 for Parma, 54, 55–56, 56, 57, 58;
Parma adaptation (as Zelindor, re de’
War of the Austrian Succession, 3, 79 silfi), 27–30, 53–55, 56, 57, 58–59,
Weiss, Piero, 137n33 97, 127, 151n15
Zeno, Apostolo: Merope, 124
Zaïde, reine de Grenade (Royer), 27 zingara, La (Capua): French revision
Zanetti, Antonio, 154n62 of, 17
Zanuzzi, Santini, 99 Zoroastre (Rameau), 35, 140n43
Butler.indd 179 12/11/2018 5:14:54 PM

Butler.indd 180 12/11/2018 5:14:58 PM
F
re nc h a n d i ta l ian vari et i e s of opera have intermingled and
Musical Theater
Butler
informed one another from the genre’s first decades onward. Yet we still
have only a hazy view of why and how those intersections occurred and
in Eighteenth-
what they meant to a given opera’s creators and audiences.
Margaret Butler’s Musical Theater in Eighteenth-Century Parma: Enter-
tainment, Sovereignty, Reform tackles these issues, examining performance,
Musical Theater in Eighteenth-Century Parma

spectatorship, and politics in the Bourbon-controlled, northern Italian city of
Century Sovereignty,
Parma in the mid-eighteenth century.
Reconstructing the French context for Tommaso Traetta’s Italian operas
that consciously set out to fuse French and Italian elements, Butler explores
Traetta’s operas and recreations in Parma of operas and ballets by Jean-
Entertainment,
Philippe Rameau and other French composers. She shows that Parma’s brand
Parma Reform
of entertainment is one in which Traetta’s operas occupy points along a con-
tinuum representing a long and rich tradition of adaptation and generic play.
Such a reading calls into question the very notion of operatic reform, showing
the need for a more flexible conception of a volatile moment in opera’s history.
The book elucidates the complicated circumstances in which entertainments
were created that spoke not only to Parma’s multicultural audiences but also to
an increasingly cosmopolitan Europe. Margaret R. Butler
“Musical Theater in Eighteenth-Century Parma brings a huge amount
of new information and insight to the field. This book stands out
most favorably in comparison to the recent literature because it treats
all aspects involved in the phenomenon of musical theater: spoken
theater and operatic theater are seen as points on a single continuum,
embedded in the general currents of intellectual and economic politics
in Parma, a small duchy with cosmopolitan ambitions.”
— L O R E N Z O B IA N C O N I , U N I V E R SI T Y O F B O L O G NA
M A RG A R ET R . BU T L E R is associate professor of musicology at the

University of Florida.
Cover image: Ennemond Alexandre Petitot (1727–1801), attr. “Design for a Stage Curtain: The Interior of an
Elaborate Temple Dedicated to Illustrious Men.” (Inscription by later hand, in lower verso in graphite: “Petitot /
Tempio della Gloria eretto alli Uomini Illustri, per servire di Sipario a Pavia.”) Undated (1780s?), pen and gray ink
with gray and gray-brown wash on laid paper, 37 x 39.8 cm. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2014.53.1.
eastman studies in music
668 Mt. Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620-2731, USA

PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK
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Entertainment, Sovereignty, Reform

Butler.indd iii 12/11/2018 5:04:54 PM

Copyright © 2019 by Margaret R. Butler

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation, no

First published 2019

University of Rochester Press

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Butler, Margaret Ruth, 1966– author.

Printed in the United States of America.

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Butler.indd v 12/11/2018 5:05:47 PM

List of Abbreviations xiii

Notes to the Reader xv

Introduction: The Genre Problem: Reform as Continuum and Brand 1

1 The Genesis of Parma’s Projet 8

2 Behind the Scenes: Production and Management at the

3 The French Entertainments: Creation, Publicity, Propaganda 53

4 Moving On While Looking Back: Traetta’s First Parma Operas 85

5 The End of the End of Reform: The Wedding, the French

Conclusion: Reform Revisited 127

Appendix: General Chronology 131

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Support from the University of Florida, including the Rothman Summer

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A-Wn Austria, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Musiksammlung,

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US-NYp United States, Public Library at Lincoln Center, Library and

NGO New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Edited by Stanley Sadie. 4 vols.

Primary Sources and Their Abbreviations When Used

I-Bc, Letters of Padre Martini

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Butler.indd xv 12/11/2018 5:05:53 PM

“Le projet de nos opéras sur un nouveau plan est abandonné.”

In 1985, Thomas Bauman described North German opera in the eighteenth

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and productions of Italian operas with French-inspired elements in both cit-

May–July 1759: Ippolito ed Aricia (Libretto by Parma court poet Carlo

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earliest critiques of operatic reform at Parma, leading some scholars to ques-

Butler.indd 5 12/11/2018 5:06:02 PM

Gallico compared the choruses of I tindaridi to those of Rameau’s Castor et

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institutional documents reflecting theatrical production practices—and have

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The Genesis of Parma’s Projet