13.09.2013 Views

Opera on the Move in the Nordic Countries during the Long 19th ...

Opera on the Move in the Nordic Countries during the Long 19th ...

Opera on the Move in the Nordic Countries during the Long 19th ...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

54 Marianne Tråvén<br />

Picc<strong>in</strong>i left very little material <strong>in</strong> Stockholm and no s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g manual. As<br />

a s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g master, he depended <strong>on</strong> his fa<strong>the</strong>r and <strong>the</strong> teach<strong>in</strong>gs of <strong>the</strong> Neapolitan<br />

school. His teach<strong>in</strong>g methods are best portrayed <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> solfeggio by<br />

Le<strong>on</strong>ardo Leo and Nicola Porpora, and <strong>the</strong> manuals by Tenducci and Corri,<br />

am<strong>on</strong>g o<strong>the</strong>rs.<br />

In 1809, Carl Magnus Craelius, a s<strong>in</strong>ger at <strong>the</strong> opera s<strong>in</strong>ce 1795, was<br />

hired as <strong>the</strong> sec<strong>on</strong>d s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g master and appo<strong>in</strong>ted first s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g master <strong>in</strong><br />

1812. Prior to his appo<strong>in</strong>tment he was given support from <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>atre to go<br />

to Germany and Italy to perfect his own voice and hire s<strong>in</strong>gers. Just whom<br />

he studied with is not known. He went to Berl<strong>in</strong> (1802) and Naples (1803)<br />

and also gave c<strong>on</strong>certs <strong>in</strong> Berl<strong>in</strong> and Leipzig (1809) (Norl<strong>in</strong>d 1931, pp. 61–<br />

64). Craelius was also appo<strong>in</strong>ted s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g master at <strong>the</strong> Academy of Music<br />

between 1814 and 1815, when he absc<strong>on</strong>ded with two m<strong>on</strong>ths’ pay (KTA<br />

1771–1813, 6/4 1812). He was re<strong>in</strong>stated <strong>in</strong> 1816 and worked <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> capacity<br />

of s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g master until 1831. Craelius specialised <strong>in</strong> Italian coloratura arias<br />

and had a volatile, flexible tenor voice. As a s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g master, Craelius tra<strong>in</strong>ed<br />

some of <strong>the</strong> f<strong>in</strong>est s<strong>in</strong>gers of <strong>the</strong> day: Anna Sofia Sevel<strong>in</strong>, Krist<strong>in</strong>a Casagli<br />

and Jenny L<strong>in</strong>d (Norl<strong>in</strong>d 1931, pp. 63–64). Unfortunately, n<strong>on</strong>e of his didactic<br />

material has survived.<br />

In 1812 <strong>the</strong> German s<strong>in</strong>ger Carl August Stieler was appo<strong>in</strong>ted sec<strong>on</strong>d<br />

s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g master at <strong>the</strong> opera, where he had been a s<strong>in</strong>ger s<strong>in</strong>ce 1802. 6 He<br />

was also Cantor <strong>in</strong> St Jacob’s parish from 1809 and choirmaster at <strong>the</strong> Academy<br />

of Music from 1814, where he became a member <strong>in</strong> 1818. In 1816 he<br />

received <strong>the</strong> post of s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g teacher for <strong>the</strong> higher levels at <strong>the</strong> Academy,<br />

a positi<strong>on</strong> he held until his death <strong>in</strong> 1822. Stieler had studied s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g with<br />

Johann Adam Hiller at <strong>the</strong> Thomas School <strong>in</strong> Leipzig <strong>in</strong> 1792–1799. He had<br />

a deep and lustrous bass voice that suited dramatic roles such as Sarastro<br />

<strong>in</strong> Mozart’s Magic Flute. Stieler published a vocal manual called Lärobok i<br />

de första grunderna för musik och sång <strong>in</strong> 1820, used <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> sec<strong>on</strong>dary and<br />

grammar schools and discussed below (Theophrosyne 1823, pp. 112–113).<br />

In 1831 <strong>the</strong> opera management hired Isak Albert Berg as sole s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g<br />

master, a positi<strong>on</strong> he held from 1831to 1850, and aga<strong>in</strong> from 1862 to1870.<br />

Berg had studied with Craelius <strong>in</strong> Stockholm and with Giuseppe Sib<strong>on</strong>i <strong>in</strong><br />

Copenhagen (Ahnfeldt 1887, p. 31). In 1827 Berg went to Germany, Austria<br />

and Italy, where he made his debut <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> stage of La Fenice <strong>in</strong> 1828 <strong>in</strong> an<br />

opera by Pietro Generalis, Il Voto di Jephte. Am<strong>on</strong>g his students were Jen-<br />

6 Here, <strong>the</strong> an<strong>on</strong>ymous author of Theophrosyne differs from Dahlgren who claims that<br />

he became sec<strong>on</strong>d s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g master <strong>in</strong> 1812. (Theophrosyne 1823, pp. 108–111)

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!