Home > Niccolò Jommelli

Jommelli was born in Aversa near Naples. He studied music in Naples with Francesco Feo at the Conservatorio de' poveri di Gesu' Cristo and Francesco Mancini and Leonardo Leo at the Conservatorio della pietà dei Turchini. His first opera, L'errore amoroso was produced in Naples in 1737 under a pseudonym, and was a great success. This and other early works such as Ricimero rè dei Goti (1740) made him famous througout Italy. He lived and worked first in Venice and then in Rome where he met Giovanni Battista Martini.

He subsequently visited Vienna before taking a post as kapellmeister to Duke Karl-Eugen of Württemburg in StuttgartStuttgart is the capital of Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany and has about 600,000 inhabitants June 2004 . Overview Stuttgart Germany, capital of Baden-Wurttemberg state (pop. 11 million, 36,000 square kilometers) and the Administrative District of Stuttgart (p in 1753. This period saw some of his greatest successes and the composition of what are regarded as some of his best works. Many were staged at the Duke's private theatres in the Palace of Ludwigsburg, outside Stuttgart. Mozart and his father passed through Ludwigsburg in 1763 and met the composer. Jommelli returned to Naples in 1768, by which time opera buffaOpera buffa (comic opera), also known as Commedia per musica (musical comedy), or Dramma giocoso per musica (musical dramatic comedy), is a form of opera. A sub- genre of lyric opera Opera buffa developed in Naples in Italy in the first half of 18th centu was more popular than Jommelli's opera seriaOpera seria is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and 'serious' style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1720s to ca 1770. The only popular rival to opera seria was opera buffa the 'comic' opera that took its cue from the, and his last works were not so well received. He suffered a stroke in 1771 which partially paralysed him, but continued to work until his death three years later. He died in Naples.

Jommelli wrote cantataCantata (Italian for a song or story set to music), a vocal composition accompanied by instruments and generally containing more than one movement. In the 16th century, when all serious music was vocal, the term had no reason to exist, but with the rise os, oratorioAn oratorio is a large musical composition for orchestra, vocal soloists and chorus. It differs from an opera in that it does not have either scenery, costumes or acting. Most oratorios from the common practice period to the present day have biblical thems and other sacred works, but by far the most important part of his output was his operas, particularly his opere serieOpera seria is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and 'serious' style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1720s to ca 1770. The only popular rival to opera seria was opera buffa the 'comic' opera that took its cue from the of which he composed around sixty examples, several with libretti by Metastasio. In his work, he tended to concentrate more on the story and drama of the opera than on flashy techinical displays by the singers, as was the norm in Italian opera at that time. He wrote more ensemble numbers and choruses, and, influenced by French opera composers such as Jean-Philippe Rameau, he introduced ballets into his work. He used the orchestra (particularly the wind instruments) in a much more prominent way to illustrate the goings-on of the story, and wrote passages for the orchestra alone rather than having it purely as support for the singers. From Johann Adolph Hasse, he learnt to write recitatives accompanied by the orchestra, rather than just by a harpsichord. His reforms are sometimes regarded as equal in importance to Christoph Willibald Gluck's.