The Case of J. C. Bach's Lucio Silla

The Case of J. C. Bach's Lucio SillaAuthor(s): Paul CorneilsonSource: The Journal of Musicology, Vol. 12, No. 2 (Spring, 1994), pp. 206-218Published by: University of California PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/763988Accessed: 30/01/2010 11:27

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The Case of J.C. Bach's Lucio Silla*

PAUL CORNEILSON

I n Possession, the recent novel by A. S. Byatt, a

young scholar stumbles on the draft of a letter written by the fictional

poet Randolph Henry Ash to an unidentified woman. Barely able to control his excitement, he removes the document (whether one calls it borrowing or stealing is another matter) from between the leaves of a book, where its author had apparently placed it, forgotten and until now unknown. This discovery leads him (and a colleague whom he enlists) on a quest to find more evidence; and once other documents (correspondence between Ash and another fictional poet, Christabel LaMotte) are discovered, they are able to reinterpret not

only other known documentary evidence (such as letters, journals, and newspaper reports), but also most of the major works of the two

poets.' Although the novel deals with "fictional" characters, historical events, and criticism, the premise of the enquiry is applicable to "non-fictional" research and writing.2 Genuine, historical discoveries seldom lead to such astonishing and enlightening revelations, but

* I want to acknowledge the Graduate School of the Uni- versity of North Carolina, which provided funds to support research on this project, and the staff of the Staatsarchiv, Dresden, for its kind assistance. I thank Eugene K. Wolf and Stanley Sadie, who commented on earlier drafts of this paper. Some of the material is drawn from my dissertation, "Opera at Mannheim, 1770-1778" (Ph.D. dissertation, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1992).

Volume XII * Number 2 * Spring 1994 The Journal of Musicology ? 1994 by the Regents of the University of California

Indeed, one of the most remarkable aspects of Possession (London, 1990) is the new body of Victorian-style literature invented/created by Byatt. It is a virtuosic display that simultaneously deconstructs both past and present, comparing and contrasting art, literature, philosophy, rhetoric, scholarship, ethics, and social behavior.

2The close relationship between fictional and historical modes of narrative is explored in a group of essays by Hayden White, Tropics of Discourse (Baltimore, 1978). See also Leo Treitler, "What Kind of Story is History?" in Music and the Historical Imagination (Cambridge, Mass., 1989), 157-75.

J.C. BACH'S LUCIO SILLA

each fragment of documentary evidence tests and either confirms or

challenges other documents.

John Christian Bach's second opera for Mannheim, Lucio Silla, (his first, Temistocle, was given in 1772), poses a problem of dating. The sources provide inconclusive evidence; the Italian libretto is not dated, the German translation is dated 1774, but the only surviving manuscript score is dated "1775-1776 Mannheim."3 (See Figure i.) The only documentary evidence cited by the Mannheim theater his- torian, Friedrich Walter, is an entry in a Tagebuch, which lists a single performance, for the name day of the electress, on 20 November 1776.4 This has puzzled subsequent biographers and historians of Bach's operas: why would Bach's specially commissioned opera seria have been given only once? Charles Sanford Terry follows Walter in

giving November 1776 as the date of the premiere, but Edward O. Downes and Ernest Warburton, using the date of the German libretto, argue that the opera must have been staged on the name day of the elector, 4 November 1774.5

An examination of the newly accessible Gesandtschaftsberichte ("diplomatic reports") of Count Andreas von Riaucour, Saxon am- bassador to the palatine court, reveals the somewhat surprising solu- 207 tion.6 But before giving the correct date, it is worth re-examining

3 Copies of the undated Italian libretto are located in the Stadtisches Reiss- Museum, Mannheim (Mh 89), and in the Library of Congress, Music Division, Wash- ington, D.C. (Schatz 529); the German version of the libretto is also in the Library of Congress, Music Division (Schatz 530); and the manuscript score is in the Hessische Landes- und Hochschulbibliothek, Darmstadt, Mus. ms. 6o (facsimile in The Collected Works of Johann Christian Bach, vol. 8 [New York, 1985]). This is probably the copy that Georg Joseph Vogler lent to Mozart while he was in Mannheim. See letter of 13 November 1777, quoted below.

4 Walter, Geschichte des Theaters und der Musik am kurpfdlzischen Hofe (Leipzig, 1898), 141, 339. The Tagebuch of the court secretary Hazard, formerly located in the Geheimes Hausarchiv, Munich, was destroyed during World War II.

5 Terry, Johann Christian Bach, 2d ed. (London, 1967), 130; Downes, "The Operas of J. C. Bach as a Reflection of the Dominant Trends in Opera Seria, 1750-1780," 3 vols. (Ph.D. dissertation, Harvard University, 1958), 2: 388-90o; Warburton, "Lucio Silla-by Mozart and J. C. Bach," The Musical Times CXXVI (1985), 726; and idem, Introduction to Lucio Silla, in The Collected Works of J. C. Bach, vol. 8, vi.

6 Between 1748 and 1778, Riaucour made frequent reports to the Dresden court. His letters confirm (and often supplement) performance information given on title pages of librettos printed at Mannheim. The original documents, Des Legations-Rath von Riaucour Abschickung an den Chur-Pfalzischen Hof und dessen daselbst gefiihrte Negociation betr., survive in Dresden, Staatsarchiv (formerly the Sachsisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; hereafter D-Dsa), Geheimes Kabinett, Loc. 2622-2628, Bde. 1-31, 1748-1778. This material is quite extensive, filling thirty-one large volumes with an average of five hundred pages each. Walter examined this material before 1907 but did not, to my knowledge, publish any excerpts on musical performances. For a summary of the material, see Walter, "Riaucours Gesandschaftsberichte als Quelle zur Geschichte des Kurfursten Karl Theodors," Mannheimer Geschichtsbldtter VIII (1907), 213-15. In June 1989, I examined his transcriptions, located in the Walter Nachlass, Werkpapiere Nr.

THE JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY

FIGURE 1. Title page of Lucio Silla. Courtesy of the Hessische Landes- und Hochschulbibliothek, Darmstadt. Repro- duced by permission.

208

Bach's connections to Mannheim in order to view this new piece of evidence in context. Ultimately, this "problem" of dating Bach's Lucio Silla raises still larger questions about the nature of historical fact and interpretation.

Before receiving his commission to write Temistocle for the electoral court, Bach had already met several Mannheim musicians. One important contact was Anton Raaff, who had come to Mannheim after a successful career in Vienna, Lisbon, Naples and Florence. The most famous tenor of his generation, Raaff had sung the title roles in Bach's Catone in Utica (1761) and Alessandro nell'Indie (1762).7 Not

44, in the Stadtarchiv, Mannheim. Barbel Pelker prepared a chronology of theatrical and musical events at Mannheim, based in part on Riaucour's reports, "Theaterauf- fuhrungen und musikalische Akademien am Hof Carl Theodors in Mannheim: eine Chronik der Jahre 1742-1777," in Die Mannheimer Hofkapelle im Zeitalter Carl Theodors, ed. Ludwig Finscher (Mannheim, 1992), 219-60. All translations are my own, unless otherwise stated.

7 For a summary of his career, see Pierluigi Petrobelli, "The Italian Years of Anton Raaff," Mozart Jahrbuch 1973-74, 233-73. Bach's aria, "Non so d'onde viene," remained one of Raaff's favorites. He sang it at the Concert Spirituel in April 1778,


surprisingly, Raaff made his debut at Mannheim in one of his best roles, in Piccinni's Catone in Utica (1770).8 A more recent friendship had been formed with the flautist Johann Baptist Wendling, who spent the spring of 1772 in London and performed in the Bach-Abel concert series. Wendling would have been familiar with Bach's ar-

rangement in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, and he also played a flute

obbligato in Bach's setting of Endimione.9 Either Raaff or Wendling might have intervened on Bach's behalf; perhaps both did. Another

possibility, as Carl Junker suggests, is that the elector himself, Carl Theodor, had grown tired of the "one-sided tastes" at his court.1o

Bach must have received his commission before Charles Burney visited the court in August 1772. Burney mentions that "the great theatre, the ensuing winter, was to be opened with an opera by Mr. J. Bach, who was daily expected here from London, when I was in Mannheim."'l Normally, a composer heard the singers who were to

sing in the first production before he wrote their arias; Bach arrived at court on 12 September, almost two months before the premiere of Temistocle.l2 During his time in Mannheim, Bach lodged with the Wendlings.l3 Bach wrote the part of Aspasia for Dorothea Wendling

209

which Mozart describes in a letter to his father; Mozart: Briefe und Aufzeichnungen (hereafter MBA), collected and annotated by Wilhelm A. Bauer and Otto Erich Deutsch, 7 vols. (Kassel, 1962-75), 2: 377-78. In February 1778 Mozart set this text for Aloysia Weber (K.294); MBA, 2: 304-5.

8 Piccinni evidently wrote the opera in Naples for Raaff, who took the score with him to Germany; see Reinhard Strohm, Die italienische Oper im 18. Jahrhunderts (Wilhelmshaven, 1979), 339-40. Furthermore, some of the textual changes in arias in Bach's setting were incorporated in Piccinni's; for further discussion, see Corneilson, "Opera at Mannheim," 176-79.

9 See Terry, 123; 127-28. 10 "Wenn J. Bach zur Schopfung einer Oper nach Mannheim gerufen wird, so

macht dies in meinen Augen dem Kurftirsten, der, des zu einseitigen Geschmacks mutide ist, mehr Ehre, als Bachen selbst. Denn jener, wurde, wenn er den Endimion gehort hatte, diesseit des Meers, den Schopfer seiner Freuden gefunden haben"; Junker, Zwanzig Komponisten, eine skizze (Bern, 1776), 15. The date of performance of Endimione is also a problem (cf. fn. 21, below). Although no documentary evidence exists, Richard Maunder, Introduction to Endimione, The Collected Works of J. C. Bach, vol. 14, vii, speculates that Wendling may have brought a copy of Endimione back to Mannheim and arranged a performance of the serenata during the summer of 1772.

11 Burney, Present State of Music in Germany, the Netherlands, and United Provinces, 2 vols. (London, 1773), 1: 92.

12 On that day Riaucour reports from Schwetzingen that "Le fameux Maitre de Chapelle, Bach, est arrive ici, et y fera quelque Sejour, etant charge de la composition du nouvel opera qu'on doit donner a la St. Charles" (D-Dsa, Geheimes Kabinett, Loc. 2627, Bd. XXV).

13 According to Karl August von Hardenberg, "Bach wanted to marry the young daughter, Augusta Wendling, but the elector spoiled his right. The father [Johann Baptist] was upset." ("Bach hat die junge Auguste Wendling heyrathen wollen, der Churfurst hat ihm aber das Gericht versalzen. Le Pere en est au desespoir"; transcribed by Karl Obser, "Aufzeichnungen des Staatskanzlers Fiirsten von Hardenberg uiber


and that of Rossane for her sister-in-law, Elisabeth Wendling. The

original cast also featured Anton Raaff in the title role, Giovanni Battista Zonca (bass) as Serse, Silvio Giorgetti (soprano castrato) as Lisimaco, Francesco Roncaglia (soprano castrato) as Neocle, and Vin- cenzo Mucciolo (alto castrato) as Sebaste. The court poet, Mattia Ve- razi, revised Metastasio's dramma per musica "at the command of the

composer," according to the published libretto, and added new aria texts and created extended finales for acts 1 and 2.14

On 3 November 1772, Riaucour writes that "The spectacles and other entertainments that have been scheduled to be given and especially the magnificent opera, Temistocle, with music by the famous Bach, chapel master of the Queen of England, have attracted to this court many visitors, who tomorrow will have the honor to pay their

respects to the elector on his name day."'5 On 5 November Karl

August von Hardenberg went to the palace at about four o'clock in the afternoon to join the procession to the Hoftheater. According to

Hardenberg, everyone agreed that Bach's work, especially the third act, was a masterpiece, and that "all the arias that [Dorothea] Wend-

ling sang were especially good. She sang very beautifully.... Elisa- 210 beth Wendling [was] not as good as [she was] in rehearsal." The

ballets, Roger dans l'isle d'Alcine and Medee et Jason, written by Etienne

Lauchery, were "beautiful, especially the last one." Carl Joseph Toe- schi wrote the music for the first, and Christian Cannabich the second. The decorations, by Lorenzo Quaglio, were "well painted and very beautiful, but they blended poorly.... The opera lasted five hours, and over six hundred people had to be turned away."l6

seinen Aufenthalt am Oberrhein im Jahre 1772," Zeitschriftfiir die Geschichte des Ober- reins, Neue Folge XXII [1907], 145-67.) Maria Anna Mozart refers to this in a letter of 20 November 1777: "Sie [the Wendlings] haben eine einzige tochter die sehr sch6n ist, und die Bach in England hat wollen heurathen"; MBA, 2: 136.

14 "La poesia e del signor [Giovanni Battista] DE GAMERA, per ordine di S.A.S.E. adattata al comodo del compositor della musica, medianti diversi cambiamenti fatti nell'atto secondo dal VERAZI, segretario intimo, e poeta della corte."

15 "Les spectacles et autres amusemens que l'on se propose de donner et surtout le magnifique opera de Themistocles, dont la Musique est du fameux Bach, Maitre de Chapelle de la Reine d'Angleterre, ont attire a cette cour beaucoup d'etrangers, qui auront demain l'honneur, de presenter leurs hommages a Msgr. l'Electeur Palatin a l'occasion de son jour de nom" (D-Dsa, Geheimes Kabinett, Loc. 2627, Bd. XXV).

i6 "Man versammelte sich bei der Churfurstin und gieng nachher mit den Herrschaften in die Oper Themistocles von Metastasio, Composition von Bach aus London und nach dem Urtheil der Kenner vortrefflich, insonderheit der 3te Act ein Meisterstiick.... Er hat bei Wendlings logirt, und daher sind auch alle Arien, welche [Dorothea] Wendling sang, vorziiglich gut. Sie sang sehr sch6n und machte die Haupt- rolle der Aspasia. Elisabeth Wendling nicht so gut als in der R6eptition. Les Decora- tions etaint bien peintes et fort belles, mais elles alloient mal.... Die Ballets: Roger dans l'Isle d'Alcine und Jason et Medee sind schbn, insonderheit das letztere. Die Music vom ersten ist vom altern Toeschi.... Sie dauerte 5 Stunden. Fremde waren ungemein


On 7 November 1772 Riaucour also recorded his impressions of the premiere:

Thursday [5 November] they performed the new opera, Temistocle, which won general approbation for the excellence of the music as well as for the beauty [and] richness of the decorations. The ballets, entitled Roger [dans l'isle Alcine] and Medee et Jason, contributed very much to enhance the beauty of the spectacle, which was attended by a large number of visitors of all ranks. Yesterday [6 November] there was an academy of music, during which the famous Bach played the clavier and was admired by everyone.l7

Although Bach returned to London by January 1773 for the

opening of the concert season, his opera was given throughout the

following carnival season. If all the performances listed on the "Re-

glement du Carnaval Pour l'Annee 1773" [see Figure 2] took place as

scheduled, Temistocle would have been given on 17 January, 7 Febru-

ary, and 22 February 1773. In fact, Riaucour attended the final performance before Lent.l8 Bach's opera was revived the following year

viele da.-Viel Prinzen incognito. Der Margraf von Baden cum illa et filiis, der Erb- 211 prinz von Hanau und Sie, Prinz Friedrich von Hessen, der Ftirst von Nassau-Weilburg mit seiner Gemahlin etc. Ueber 600 Personen sind wieder weggewiesen worden"; Ob- ser, "Aufzeichnungen," 165-66.

17 "Jeudi on repr6senta le nouvel op6ra de Themistocles, qui a ef l'approbation generale, tant pour la bont6 de la musique, que pour la beaute et pour la richesse des decorations. Les Ballets intitules Roger, et Medee et Jason, ont beaucoup contribue a augmenter la beaute de ce Spectacle, qui a attire ici un concours prodigieux d'6trangers de toute Condition. Hier il y eft Academie de musique, pendant laquelle le fameux Bach se fit entendre sur le Clavecin, et fut admire de tout le monde" (D-Dsa, Geheimes Kabinett, Loc. 2627, Bd. XXV). From at least 1769, it was usual practice at Mannheim for an opera buffa, as well as an opera seria, to be given in conjunction with the name days of the elector (4 November) and the electress (19 November). The gala days began on 4 November with a service at the court chapel, followed by a banquet. On the second day (i.e., 5 November) there was a performance of an opera seria; on the third, a musical "academy" or concert in the Rittersaal; on the fourth, a comic opera; and on the fifth, a spoken drama. See the descriptions by Maria Anna Mozart in her letter of 8 November 1777; MBA, 2: 108-9.

i8 "On donna hier la derniere representation de l'op6ra Themistocles, outre une foule d'etrangers, que ce spectacle avoit attires, Msgr. Le Prince h6r6ditaire de Darm- stadt y assista aussi avec deux Princes ses freres, qui ffirent places aupres de S. A. S. Eles et Msgr. Le Prince Charles [de Deux Ponts]; mais le Prince Guillaume de Birckenfeld n'y parft point, feignant d'etre malade, et croyant ne pas devoir ceder en rang aux dits Princes" (D-Dsa, Geheimes Kabinett, Loc. 2627, Bd. XXVI; report of 23 February 1773). Bach's Temistocle, the principal "Opera," would have alternated in the repertory with various comic "Operette," including Salieri's La fiera di Venezia, Sacchini's La con- tadina in corte, and Galuppi's Ilfilosofo di campagna. With a few minor adjustments, the schedule of events in the "Reglement" of 1773 matches almost exactly that of Etrennes Palatines pour l'annee 1769: during carnival an opera seria was performed on Sunday evenings, masked balls were given on Mondays and Thursdays, comic operas on Wednesdays, and musical academies on Fridays; original text transcribed and trans- lated in Corneilson, "Opera at Mannheim," 395-98.


FIGURE 2. Reglement du Carnaval Pour l'Annee 1773. Courtesy of the Staatsarchiv, Dresden. Reproduced by permission.

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for the name day celebration of the elector on 5 November 1773, and two days later Salieri's La fiera di Venezia was performed.9l Temistocle was repeated for the name day of the electress on 20 November, along

19 "Hier on representa l'op6ra de Themistocles, aujourd'hui il y a Academie de musique, et demain on donnera l'operette intitulee La foire de Venise" (D-Dsa, Ge- heimes Kabinett, Loc. 2627, Bd. XXVI).

212


with the comic opera L'incognita perseguitata.20 After the premiere of Temistocle, two other dramatic works by Bach were performed at the electoral court. Although the evidence is inconclusive, the serenata Endimione was probably given at Mannheim in February 1774, and possibly also in July 1773 at Oggersheim, the summer residence of the electress.2l In August 1774 Bach's "azione teatrale" Amor vinvitore was performed at Schwetzingen in the presence of Gluck.22

Bach apparently did not return to Mannheim, but he did receive a second commission for an opera. Riaucour refers to this work for the first time in his report of 22 October 1774:

The chapel master of the Queen of England, J. C.] Bach, had been commissioned to compose an opera which was to have been performed on the name day of the elector, but by a combination of circumstances a part of this opera was lost and as it is the fault of Count Haslang, minister palatine at London, they have cen- sured him. They will attempt to substitute an operetta with a grand ballet.23

The comic opera La secchia rapita, by Salieri, was given instead.24 After the premiere of Bach's new opera was cancelled, Carl Theodor made 213

20 "Hier il y eut grand Galla a la occasion du jour de nom de Made L'Electrice ... Aujourd'hui on donne l'Op6ra de Themistocles, demain l'Operette intitulee L'incognita perseguitata, apres demain il y aura Academie de musique" (D-Dsa, Geheimes Kabinett, Loc. 2627, Bd. XXVI).

21 Walter, Geschichte, and Terry, 129-30, give the date of the Mannheim performance as February 1774, based on the handwritten notation in a copy of the libretto (in the Reiss-Museum, Mannheim, T 222): "Februar 1774[.] Vorher Oggersheim 1770." Since Bach's Endimione did not have its premiere until April 1772 in London, the curious remark "earlier [in] Oggersheim 1770" probably refers to another work. No other supporting evidence for a performance at Oggersheim in 1770 has yet been found. But Riaucour mentions a performance several months earlier, on 20 July 1773: "On fait des preparatifs a Oggersheim, pour celebrer en grand Gala samedi prochain, son jour de nom. On y representera L'Endimione, de la composition du celebre Jomelli" (D-Dsa, Geheimes Kabinett, Loc. 2627, Bd. XXVI). Riaucour's attribution of this work to Jommelli is incorrect, but only partially so. Bach's serenata was presented at the palatine court in a revised version: after Endimione's aria in Act 2, Verazi added an extra scene with music by Jommelli, as the printed libretto makes clear ("Nella seconda parte dalla scena V. sino al Coro fu aggiunto al soggetto principale un nuovo episodio. Le parole di questo son del Verazi, e la musica dell'insigne Jommelli").

22 Johann Christian von Mannlich describes the performance in his memoirs, Rokoko und Revolution: Lebenserinnerungen, new ed. Friedrich Matthaesius (Stuttgart, 1966), 187-88.

23 "Le Maitre de Chapelle de la Reine d'Angleterre, Bach, avoit ete charge de la Composition de l'Opera qui devoit etre donne a l'occasion du jour de leur nom, mais par un Concours de circonstances une partie de cet Opera se trouve egaree et comme c'est la faute du Comte de Haslang, Ministre Palatin a Londes, on lui en a fait de vives reproches. On tachera d'y suppleer par des Operettes accompagnees de grand Ballets" (D-Dsa, Geheimes Kabinett, Loc. 2627, Bd. XXVII).

24 On 5 November 1774 Riaucour states, "Aujourd'hui on donne nouvelle operette intitulee la secchia rapita" (D-Dsa, Geheimes Kabinett, Loc. 2627, Bd. XXVI).


his first trip to Rome in November and returned in early March

1775.25 Coincidentally, Bach was also invited to write an opera for

Naples, which was to premiere during November 1774. Bach was unable to comply with a new opera, and instead his arrangement of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice saw its first Italian production.26

One year later, on 5 November 1775, Lucio Silla was performed for the first time. The cast was virtually the same as that for Temistocle: Raaff (Lucio Silla), Dorothea Wendling (Giunia), Roncaglia (Cecilio), Elisabeth Wendling (Celia), G.B. Zonca (Lucio Cinna), and Pietro Paolo Carnoli (Aufidio). The two ballets, Acis et Galatee and Achilles, reconnu par Ulisse, dans l'isle de Scyros, were written by Lauchery with music by Toeschi and Cannabich, respectively. Riaucour describes the

long-anticipated premiere:

The spectacle presented, Lucio Silla, was of the most grand magnificence as much for the decorations as for the costumes of the actors and of the ballets, and the music composed by the celebrated Bach was strongly applauded; but we saw how much the elector and electress suffered from having to take part in this entertainment, ex-

pecting at any moment to receive the news of the death of the duke 214 [Christian IV of Zweibriicken]. When they had returned to their

apartments, they were given the notices that had arrived during the spectacle, which brought news that the prince had died the same day at two o'clock in the morning. They announced a period of mourn-

ing for six weeks, and the academy which should have been given yesterday, and the opera Alceste today, were cancelled.27

The 'but' seems to be particularly significant, and the untimely death of the Duke of Zweibriicken provides a possible explanation for the lackluster reception of the opera. Nevertheless, on 21 November 1775 Riaucour mentioned a second performance of Lucio Silla; the German

25 Theodor Hanlein, "Carl Theodors erster Aufenthalt in Rom 1774/75," Mann- heimer Geschichtsblitter XXXIV (1933), 17-26; 41-58. Carl Theodor spent a few days at Munich on his way back to Mannheim; there he heard of the success of Mozart's Lafinta giardiniera. He referred to this work when he met Mozart two years later at Mannheim; see MBA, 2: 110o.

26 The documents are cited by H. C. Robbins Landon in corrigenda to Terry, xlvi. 27 "Le spectacle repr6sentant Lucio Sylla, etoit de la plus grande magnificence,

tant pour les decorations que pour les habits des acteurs, et des Ballets, et la musique de la Composition du celebre Bach a ete fort applaudie; mais on voyait, combien L. A. S. Eles. souffroient, d'etre obligees de prendre part a ce divertissement, s'attendant a tout moment a recevoir la nouvelle de la mort du Duc. Lorsqu'elles furent rentrees dans leur appartement, on leur fit part des lettres qui etoient arrivees pendant le spectacle, lesquelles portoient, que ce Prince 6toit d6eced la meme jour a 2. heures du matin. On annonca sur le champ un deuil de six semaines, et l'Academie qu'il devoit y avoir hier, et l'Opera d'Alceste aujourd'hui, furent contremandes" (D-Dsa, Geheimes Kabinett, Loc. 2627, Bd. XXVII).


opera by Christoph Martin Wieland and Anton Schweitzer, Alceste, successfully performed at Schwetzingen on 13 and 20 August 1775, was also revived in conjunction with the festivities for the name day of the electress.28 Although no further performances are mentioned

specifically by Riaucour, it is likely that Lucio Silla continued to be

performed throughout Carnival 1776. And, as Walter had already discovered, it was revived the following November.

Riaucour's reports establish the date of the first performance of Bach's Lucio Silla. The dates on the Darmstadt manuscript score are correct: the opera was performed in "1775-1776." The reports also confirm that Bach had completed the work and that the premiere was

planned for November 1774. This evidence also makes it possible to confirm the date of Bach's six Quintets for Flute, Oboe, Violin, Viola, and Bass (Opus 11), which are dedicated to Carl Theodor. The text of the dedication refers to his initial success at Mannheim:

The gracious Approbation of Your Serene Highness to my endeav- ors at Mannheim, gave me the most unbounded satisfaction; there, Music and the fine Arts, foster'd by your protection, and directed by your elegant Taste and superior Judgement, flourish with an unri- 215 val'd Lustre: the repetition of Your Serene Highness Commands affords me the highest gratification and I humbly offer this small Tribute of Public acknowledgement for the mark of distinction with which you have again honoured Your Serene Highnesses most re- spectful, most Devoted and most obediant humble Servant, John Christian Bach.

The "repetition of Your ... Commands" and "mark of distinction with which you have again honoured [me]" probably refers to Bach's second operatic commission, which he probably received during the summer of 1774.29

28 "Hier [21 November 1775] on donna la seconde representation de l'opera de [Lucio] Silla. Aujourd'hui il y a Academie de musique, et demain les spectacles finiront par la representation de l'Opera allemand, Alceste" (D-Dsa, Geheimes Kabinett, Loc. 2627, Bd. XXVII).

29 Ernest Warburton, "Bach, Johann Christian," The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1980), 1: 871, finds that "There is no dis- cernible Mannheim influence on these pieces, whose scoring is unique for their time." But given the idiomatic, characteristic writing for the individual instruments, these quintets were almost certainly intended for the Mannheim musicians, whom Bach would have known well: J. B. Wendling (flute), Friedrich Ramm (oboe), Franz Anton Wendling (violin), and Innocenz Danzi (cello). Three of Bach's flute quartets (op. 8, nos. 2, 5, and 6), probably written for J. B. Wendling, were published in Mannheim by Johann Michael Gotz in 1773. See the catalogue by Hans Schneider, Der Musikverlager Johann Michael Gitz (1740-1810), 2 vols. (Tutzing, 1989).


That would be the end of the story, but these documents also pose another problem. When Mozart visited Mannheim for four months in

1777-78, he had the chance to examine Bach's score. In early No- vember, soon after his arrival, he borrowed a copy of Lucio Silla from

Georg Joseph Vogler, and described the encounter to his father:

Bach has written two operas here, the first of which [Temistocle] pleased better than the second, Lucio Silla. Since I had written this

particular opera for Milan, I wanted to see it. I learned from Holzbauer that Vogler had a copy. I asked him for it. 'Delighted, [he said,] tomorrow I will send it to you. But you will not see much of any value.' When he saw me a few days later, he said to me in an entirely mocking way: 'Now, have you found anything beautiful? Have you learned anything from it? One aria is very fine. What is the text?' he asked some one standing next to him. 'What sort of aria?' [asked his

companion.] 'Why, of course, that hideous aria by Bach, that morose

piece-yes, "Pupille amate," which he certainly wrote in a state of intoxication.' I thought I should have to take him by the hair; but I

pretended that I hadn't heard him, said nothing and walked away. He has had his day with the elector.30

216 From his depictions of Vogler in other letters, it is clear that Mozart disliked the enterprising vice-Kapellmeister. But the severity of Vo-

gler's obviously condescending tone (as reported in Mozart's letter) is not consistent with Vogler's own appraisal of Bach. In a different

context, Vogler calls Bach "one of the greatest composers, a man of whom Germany may be proud," and detects in his music a blend of Italian, German, French, and English styles not to be found in the music of any other composer.3l

30 "Bach hat hier 2 opern geschrieben, wofon die erste besser gefallen als die 2.te. die 2.te war Lucio Silla; weil ich nun die nehmliche zu Mayland geschrieben habe, so wollte ich sie sehen. ich wuste vom holzbauer daB sie vogler hat. ich begehrte sie von ihm. vom herzen gern, Morgen werde ich sie ihnen gleich schicken. sie werden aber nicht viell gescheiites sehen. etliche tag darauf, als er mich sah, sagte er zu mir ganz spottisch. Nu, haben sie was schons gesehen, haben sie was daraus gelernt?-eine aria ist gar schon-wie heist der text, fragte er einen der neben ihm stund-was fiirein aria?-Nu, die abscheiiliche aria vom Bach, die Sauerey-ja, Pupille amate. die hat er gewis in Puntsch rausch geschrieben. ich habe geglaubt, ich miiste ihn beym schopf nehmen; ich that aber als wen ich es nicht gehort hatte, sagte nichts und gieng wek. er hat beym Churftirsten auch schon ausgedient"; MBA, 2: 120.

31 "Ueberhaupt concentrirt sich in den Tonstiicken des Hrn. Bachs noch eine Mischung von italianischen Geschmake, worin die Hauptklange sehr einfach sind; von deutschen, der mit unerwarteten Wendungen iiberrascht; vom franz6sischen, wo die weiche Tonart herrscht; und vom englischen, der bisweilen ganz kalte, abkiihlende Gesange vorbringt: eine Mischung, die vorher niemal vernommen wurde"; Vogler, Betrachtungen der Mannheimer Tonschule, i: 63-66. In this essay, Vogler discusses Bach's cantata, La tempesta, to a text by Pietro Metastasio. For a brief summary of Vogler's analysis, see Floyd K. Grave and Margaret G. Grave, In Praise of Harmony: The Teachings of Abbe Georg Joseph Vogler (Lincoln, Neb., 1988), 183-85.


Although he says that he was indignant about Vogler's comments, Mozart might have agreed with him to a certain extent. Bach's setting of "Pupille amate," which shares the same key (A major) as Mozart's, lacks the simple charm of Mozart's aria.32 Given the competitive nature of this analysis, in which one composer (Vogler) challenges the work of another (Bach) in the presence of an assumed colleague (Mozart), it is difficult to judge either Vogler's or Mozart's true

thoughts about the music. Of course the situation is even more com-

plex since Vogler and Mozart were rivals, both for a position at Mann- heim and as teachers of Aloysia Weber.33 Is Mozart putting words in

Vogler's mouth to avoid voicing his own negative opinions about music by a composer whom he admired? More likely, Mozart tells this

story (probably accurately) both to express his antipathy for Vogler and to imply the superiority of his own opera over Bach's.

At any rate, it seems likely that Mozart exaggerated the lack of success of Bach's Lucio Silla. The newly recovered evidence suggests that Lucio Silla was actually performed as often as Temistocle. Or rather, almost, but not quite. Certainly the inauguration of the Nationaltheater, along with the revival of serious German opera at Mannheim, had a negative impact on the reception of Bach's second 217 Italian opera. Vogler, a strong advocate of German opera, probably did use his influence to encourage the elector to commission serious

operas in German rather than Italian. After the premiere of Holz- bauer's Giinther von Schwarzburg, on 5 January 1777, no other Italian

opere serie were performed at the electoral court theater in Mannheim; indeed, Bach's Lucio Silla was the last one commissioned before the elector moved his court to Munich in 1778.34

Had it not been for Riaucour's reports, the rest of the documen-

tary evidence regarding the date of Bach's Lucio Silla would be inconclusive. This new information fills in several gaps and forces us to

32 The two settings are briefly discussed in Warburton, "Lucio Silla," 729. 33 Needless to say, Vogler won on both accounts. He was appointed vice-

Kapellmeister on 25 October 1776, a year before Mozart's visit; see electoral decree in Karlsruhe, Badisches Generallandesarchiv, GLA 77/1656. According to Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart, Ideen zu einer Aesthetik der Tonkunst (Vienna, 1806), 135-36, Vogler is given credit for being Aloysia's singing teacher, though Mozart certainly coached her in Mannheim and in letters from Paris.

34 According to a hand-written note in the printed libretto of II finto spettro (in Mannheim, Reiss-Museum, Mh 1789), "26 November 1776 ein einzig mal, und die allerletzte Vorstellung auf dem grossen Operntheatre, welches in der Belagerung von 1795 in asche gelegt wurde, von denen italienischen Opern. im carneval 1777 wurde Ginther von Schwarzburg aufgefiihrt, und die letzte Vorstellung war Ginther mit dem ballet cortes und telaire den 20 November 1777." Mozart attended performances of Giinther von Schwarzburg during his visit to Mannheim; the death of Elector Maxi- milian III Joseph in Munich, on 30 December 1777, forced the cancellation of carnival season events, including the premiere of Schweitzer's Rosamunde.


reconsider the rest of the material. It reminds us that historical facts, taken in isolation, are always incomplete: every piece of evidence is limited, and often biased, representing one perspective of events. As new documents are recovered (or discovered), each fact must be tested against the others. The more pieces of the puzzle we have, the more strands in the "web of culture" we are able to consider, the thicker our description and the more complete our historical picture becomes.35 Interpretation, what cultural historians do for the most

part, requires sorting and organizing, and also imagining and invent-

ing possible (and hopefully ever more probable) narratives. In Pos- session, Byatt demonstrates in a strikingly creative way that each document presents one perspective of the truth and that making connections has the potential to offer a new interpretation of the facts. No matter how complete our story is, there is always the possibility that additional information could reveal an entirely different conclusion.

Madison, Wisconsin

218 35 This concept is borrowed from the cultural anthropologist Clifford Geertz in

The Interpretation of Cultures (New York, 1973), 3-30; for its applications to historical musicology, see Gary Tomlinson, "The Web of Culture: A Context for Musicology," 19th Century Music VII (1984), 350-62.

The Case of J. C. Bach's Lucio Silla

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Transcript of The Case of J. C. Bach's Lucio Silla