Francesco Araja |

Francesco Araja

Representative of the Neapolitan opera school. From 1729 his operas were performed in various cities of Italy. In 1735 Araya at the head of the Italian. opera troupe came to St. Petersburg (lived until 1738). Araya’s opera The Power of Love and Hate (La Forza dell’amore e dell’odio, 1734) is the first opera staged in Russia (1736, front theater, St. Petersburg). She was followed by “The Pretend Nin, or Recognized Semiramide” (“La Finto Nino o la Semiramide riconosciuta”, 1737) and “Artaxerxes” (1738). In 1744 A. again came to Russia. For Petersburg. adv. scenes were written by him (in Libr. Italian. poet D. Bonecchi, who served at the Russian court) of the opera Seleucus (1744), Scipio (1745), Mithridates (1747), Bellerophon (1750), “Eudoxia crowned” (“Eudossia incoronata”, 1751), allegorical. the pastoral “Refuge of the World” (“L’asilo della pace”, 1748), the action of which takes place in Russian. countryside. A. wrote music for the first Rus. opera libre. A. P. Sumarokov “Cephal and Prokris” (1755, opera performed by Russian artists). Stylistically, this opera does not deviate from tradition. Italian stamps. opera series. Araya’s last opera staged in Russia is Alexander in India (1755). In 1759 he returned to his homeland; visited Russia again in 1762. Araya’s compositions included oratorios, cantatas, sonatas, and capriccios for clavichembalo, and others.

Literature: Findeizen N., Essays on the history of music in Russia, vol. II, M.-L., 1929; Gozenpud A., Musical theater in Russia. From the origins to Glinka, L., 1959; Keldysh Yu., Russian music of the 1985th century, M., 1; Mooser R.-A., Annales de la musique et des musiciens en Russie au XVIII siècle, v. 1948, Gen., 121, p. 31-XNUMX.

Yu.V. Keldysh