Composers Datebook®

Auber starts a riot

Composers Datebook - Aug. 25, 2024
DOWNLOAD

Synopsis

Many operatic works have been described as “revolutionary,” but on today’s date in 1830, a performance of an opera helped to spark a real, take-to-the-streets kind of revolution.

The opera in question was by the French composer Daniel Auber, and entitled La Muette di Portici, or The Mute Girl of Portici. The opera’s story concerns a 17th century uprising by some patriots in Naples against their Spanish rulers ends with an erupting Italian volcano.

On today’s date in 1830 it was being staged at the Theatre La Monnaie in Brussels, a country then under the control of the Dutch. The opera’s story of evil occupiers and patriotic rebels must have touched a raw nerve in many in the Belgian audience.

Upon hearing the line in the opera, “a slave knows no danger, as death is better than living in chains,” some in the audience began a demonstration against the hated Dutch authorities. The demonstration grew more and more heated, and then, just like the volcano in Auber’s opera, erupted out of the theater and into the streets. Symbols of Dutch authority were attacked, a new provisional government was formed, and by November that same year Belgium had declared its independence.

Music Played in Today's Program

Daniel Auber (1782-1871): La Muette de Portici; soloists; Monte Carlo Philharmonic; Thomas Fulton, conductor; EMI 49248

On This Day

Births

  • 1880 - Austrian operetta composer Robert Stoltz, in Graz

  • 1902 - German-born American composer Stefan Wolpe, in Berlin

  • 1918 - American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, in Lawrence, Massachusetts

Deaths

  • 1742 - Portuguese composer José Antonio Carlos de Seixas, 38, in Lisbon

  • 1774 - Italian opera composer Niccolò Jommelli, 59, in Naples

Premieres

  • 1830 - Auber: opera, La Muette de Portici (aka Masaniello), in Brussels, igniting political riots leading to expulsion of Dutch and the Belgian Revolution of 1830

  • 1948 - Henze: Symphony No. 1 at Bad Pyrmont

  • 1978 - Rorem: Sunday Morning at Saratoga Springs, New York, by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy

Others

  • 1830 - Auber: opera, La Muette de Portici (aka Masaniello), in Brussels, igniting political riots leading to expulsion of Dutch and the Belgian Revolution of 1830

  • 1870 - Richard Wagner marries Cosima Liszt von Bulow

  • 1959 - On his 41st birthday, Leonard Bernstein conducts a tour performance by the New York Philharmonic in Moscow. The program includes Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Ives’ The Unanswered Question.

Love the music?

Donate by phone
1-800-562-8440

Show your support by making a gift to YourClassical.

Each day, we’re here for you with thoughtful streams that set the tone for your day – not to mention the stories and programs that inspire you to new discovery and help you explore the music you love.

YourClassical is available for free, because we are listener-supported public media. Take a moment to make your gift today.

More Ways to Give

Your Donation

$5/month
$10/month
$15/month
$20/month
$

Latest Composers Datebook® Episodes

VIEW ALL EPISODES

Latest Composers Datebook® Episodes

YourClassical

Carter's 'Boston Concerto'

Elliott Carter (1908-2012): ‘Boston Concerto’; BBC Symphony; Oliver Knussen, conductor; Bridge 9184

2:00
Get Composers Datebook in your inbox
YourClassical

Beethoven's First

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Symphony No. 1; Concertgebouw Orchestra; Bernard Haitink, conductor; Philips 442 073

2:00
YourClassical

The truth about Alkan

Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888): ‘Bombardo-Carillon’; Caroline Clemmow and Anthony Goldstone, pedal-piano; Symposium 1062

2:00
YourClassical

Dvorak's 'Rusalka'

Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904): ‘O Silver Moon,’ from ‘Rusalka’; Renée Fleming, soprano; London Symphony; Sir Georg Solti, conductor; London 455 760

2:00
YourClassical

Symphonies by Strauss

Richard Strauss (1864-1949): Symphony No. 1; Bavarian Radio Symphony; Karl Anton Rickenbacker, conductor; Koch/Schwann 365 322

2:00
YourClassical

Sheng's 'Silent Temple'

Bright Sheng (b. 1955): String Quartet No. 4 (‘Silent Temple’); Shanghai Quartet; BIS 1138

2:00
YourClassical

Beethoven in Vienna

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): ‘The Creatures of Prometheus’; Orpheus Chamber Orchestra; DG 453 713

2:00
YourClassical

Haydn in Vienna

Franz Josef Haydn (1732-1808): ‘The Creation’; English Baroque Soloists; John Eliot Gardiner, conductor; Archiv 449 217

2:00
YourClassical

Glass in Rome

Philip Glass (b. 1937): ‘Rome Section,’ from ‘The Civil Wars’; Giuseppe Sabbatini, tenor; American Composers Orchestra; Dennis Russell Davies, conductor; Nonesuch 79487

2:00
VIEW ALL EPISODES

About Composers Datebook®

Host John Birge presents a daily snapshot of composers past and present, with timely information, intriguing musical events and appropriate, accessible music related to each.

He has been hosting, producing and performing classical music for more than 25 years. Since 1997, he has been hosting on Minnesota Public Radio's Classical Music Service. He played French horn for the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra and performed with them on their centennial tour of Europe in 1995. He was trained at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music and Interlochen Arts Academy.

About Composers Datebook®
YourClassical Radio
0:00
0:00