Andrea Salvadori

Life and career

Salvadori was born in Florence in 1591. Like his fellow poet Gabriello Chiabrera, he was educated by the Jesuits at the Collegio Romano in Rome with financial support from Cosimo II de' Medici. Described by the 19th century Italian philologist Francesco Trucchi as "gifted in the sciences, very erudite and well-versed in Latin and Greek", Salvadori was a member of both the Accademia Fiorentina and the Accademia della Crusca by 1608. He began working for the Medici family in 1613 when he collaborated with four other poets to write verses for a mock battle performed in honour of the visiting Duke of Urbino. In 1616 he was given a permanent position as the principal court poet. In that capacity he provided the texts and libretti for numerous musical spectacles and court entertainments both sacred and secular, many of them marking royal occasions.

One of the distinguishing features of Salvadori's opera libretti was his extensive use of the chorus not only to conclude each act but also to link scenes within an act or to frame the singers' solo pieces. He was a pioneer in the sacred opera genre (azione sacra) for which he wrote La regina Sant'Orsola (The Queen Saint Ursula) in 1624 and Istoria di Iudit (The story of Judith) in 1626. According to musicologist Kelley Harness, La istoria di Iudit was the basis for Martin Opitz's libretto for Judith (1635) and may well have influenced Giulio Rospigliosi's later libretti on religious subjects. Rospogliosi had attended the performance of La istoria di Iudit marking Cardinal Francesco Barberini's visit to the Medici court. A notable example of Salvadori's secular operas was La Flora which was performed as part of the celebrations for the marriage of Margherita de' Medici and Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma in 1628.

The composers of La Flora, Marco da Gagliano and Jacopo Peri, had previously worked with him on other operas as had the singer and composer Francesca Caccini. According to the Florentine chronicler Andrea Cavalcanti, Salvadori and Caccini fell out when she began publicly ridiculing him for casting whatever female singer he was pursuing at the time. In reply, he wrote the misogynistic poem "Donne musiche parlano dall'Inferno" (Women musicians speak from Hell) which was probably performed at the court's Epiphany celebrations in 1621. Their feud continued over the casting of the 1625 revival of La regina Sant'Orsola and culminated in 1627 during the preparations for the wedding of Margherita de' Medici and Odoardo Farnese. The opera Salvadori had originally planned for the festivities was his Iole ed Ercole (Iole and Hercules) for which Jacopo Peri had composed the music. Caccini took her revenge by convincing Margherita and her mother, Grand Duchess Maria Maddalena, that the subject of the opera might be interpreted as reflecting Margherita's desire to control her new husband. Salvadori thus had to write a new libretto at relatively short notice—La Flora, based on the tale of Chloris and Zephyrus. Shortly thereafter, Caccini left the Medici court.

Although the overwhelming majority of Salvadori's theatrical works were performed in Florence for the Medici, at least two of them were performed elsewhere. His set of intermedi, Olimpia abbandonata da Bireno (Olimpia abandoned by Bireno), was performed in Parma in 1622 for the Farnese court, and his equestrian ballet La selva d'Armida (Armida's forest) was performed in Vienna in 1631 to celebrate the marriage of Maria Anna of Spain and Ferdinand III of Austria. Salvadori also had connections with the Gonzaga court in Mantua. As early as 1608 he had spent some time there and had written an ode to Francesco Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua during his stay. The Duke's sister, Eleonora had asked for a copy of his opera Lo sposalizio di Medoro e Angelica (The marriage of Medoro and Angelica) which had been performed in Florence in 1619, with a view to having it performed at Mantua. Her marriage to the Holy Roman emperor intervened and before she could receive a copy. However, Salvadori and his composer, Marco da Gagliano, sent a revised version of the work to Ferdinando Gonzaga in 1622. In the end, it was not performed, but the libretto was published in 1623 with the support of Ferdinando and was dedicated to him. According to Kirkendale, Salvadori received another invitation to the court in 1623 after Ferdinando and his wife Caterina de' Medici were sent copies of his sacred poetry.

In 1628 Salvadori married Emilia Rigogli, who belonged to a prominent Florentine family. (Her brother was the poet Benedetto Rigogli). The marriage produced three sons, Francesco (1630), Jacopo (1631), and Emilio (1633). Francesco became a priest and served as Cardinal Girolamo Farnese's copyist. He was also a poet and writer in his own right and published several works, including a collection of poetry and a treatise on Seneca, Il filosofo cortigiano. Four months after Emilia's death in December 1633, Salvadori married the painter Alessandra Furini, a sister of Francesco Furini. Andrea Salvadori died in August 1634 at the age of 43 and was buried in the Chiesa dei Santi Simone e Giuda in Florence where a marble plaque with his portrait was erected by his sons.

Works

Le Poesie del Sig. Andrea Salvadori, curated by Salvadori's son Francesco and published in 1668, included all the works published during his lifetime, as well as several previously unpublished poems. It has a dedication and preface by Francesco Salvadori with quoted descriptions of his father's character and poetic style by Gian Vittorio Rossi and Cardinal Pallavicino. The following is a list of Salvadori's principal works.

The Medici court at the time of Salvadori was marked by the quantity and variety of its theatrical entertainments. The grandest of these were the feste (festivals) to celebrate great court occasions which incorporated instrumental music, solo and choral singing, dancing, and drama. Invariably involving lavish spectacle, they were often accompanied by public pageants and masquerades. The festa di ballo was centered on a ballet, the festa d'armi on mock battles, and the festa a cavallo on displays of horsemanship, including elaborately choreographed equestrian ballets. Smaller scale stage works included intermedi, cantatas, and sung narrative poems to accompany tournaments. These were often performed as part of a veglia (late evening entertainment). Unless otherwise indicated all of the performances below took place in Florence.