Nicola Porpora and Miguel Cerejido

Nicola (Antonio) Porpora (or Niccolò Porpora) (17 August 1686 – 3 March 1768) was a Neapolitan composer of Baroque operas (see opera seria) and teacher of singing, whose most famous singing student was the castrato Farinelli. Other students included composers Matteo Capranica and Joseph Haydn.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Works 2.1 Vocal music 2.1.1 Operas 2.1.2 Oratorios 2.1.3 Cantatas 2.2 Instrumental music 3 Notes 4 References 5 External links

Biography

Porpora was born in Naples. He graduated from the music conservatory Poveri di Gesù Cristo of his native city, where the civic opera scene was dominated by Alessandro Scarlatti.

Porpora's first opera, Agrippina, was successfully performed at the Neapolitan court in 1708. His second, Berenice, was performed at Rome. In a long career, he followed these up by many further operas, supported as maestro di cappella in the households of aristocratic patrons, such as the commander of military forces at Naples, prince Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt, or of the Portuguese ambassador at Rome, for composing operas alone did not yet make a viable career. However, his enduring fame rests chiefly upon his unequalled power of teaching singing. At the Neapolitan Conservatorio di Sant'Onofrio and with the Poveri di Gesù Cristo he trained Farinelli, Caffarelli, Salimbeni, and other celebrated vocalists, during the period 1715 to 1721. In 1720 and 1721 he wrote two serenades to libretti by a gifted young poet, Metastasio, the beginning of a long, though interrupted, collaboration. In 1722 his operatic successes encouraged him to lay down his conservatory commitments.

After a rebuff from the court of Charles VI at Vienna in 1725, Porpora settled mostly in Venice, composing and teaching regularly in the schools of La Pietà and the Incurabili. In 1729 the anti-Handel clique invited him to London to set up an opera company as a rival to Handel's, without success, and in the 1733–1734 season, even the presence of his pupil, the great Farinelli, failed to save the dramatic company in Lincoln's Inn Fields (the "Opera of the Nobility") from bankruptcy.

An interval as Kapellmeister at the Dresden court of the Elector of Saxony from 1748 ended in strained relations with his rival in Venice and Rome, the hugely successful opera composer Johann Adolph Hasse and his wife, the prima donna Faustina, and resulted in Porpora's departure in 1752.

From Dresden he went to Vienna, where among other pupils he trained the young Marianne von Martinez, a future composer. As his accompanist and valet he hired the youthful Joseph Haydn, who was making his way in Vienna as a struggling freelancer. Haydn later remembered Porpora thus: "There was no lack of Asino, Coglione, Birbante , and pokes in the ribs, but I put up with it all, for I profited greatly from Porpora in singing, in composition, and in the Italian language." He also said that he had learned from the maestro "the true fundamentals of composition".

In 1753 Porpora spent three summer months, with Haydn in tow, at the spa town Mannersdorf am Leithagebirge. His function there was to continue the singing lessons of the mistress of the ambassador of Venice to the Austrian Empire, Pietro Correr.

Porpora returned in 1759 to Naples.

From this time Porpora's career was a series of misfortunes: his florid style was becoming old-fashioned, his last opera, Camilla, failed, his pension from Dresden stopped, and he became so poor that the expenses of his funeral were paid by a subscription concert. Yet at the moment of his death, Farinelli and Caffarelli were living in splendid retirement on fortunes largely based on the excellence of the old maestro's teaching.

A good linguist, who was admired for the idiomatic fluency of his recitatives, and a man of considerable literary culture, Porpora was also celebrated for his conversational wit. He was well-read in Latin and Italian literature, wrote poetry and spoke French, German and English.

Besides some four dozen operas, there are oratorios, solo cantatas with keyboard accompaniment, motets and vocal serenades. Among his larger works, his 1720 opera Orlando, one mass, his Venetian Vespers, and the opera Arianna in Nasso (1733 according to HOASM) have been recorded. Works Vocal music Operas See List of operas by Porpora. Oratorios Davide e Bersabea (Rolli; London 1734) Gedeone (anon.; Vienna 1737) Il Verbo in carne (anon.; Dresden 1748) Cantatas Philip Mercier, 1733: Frederic, Prince of Wales with his younger sisters Anne, Caroline and Amelia 12 cantatas for solo voice and continuo dedicated to Frederic, Prince of Wales (London, 1735) I. D'amore il primo dardo II. Nel mio sonno almen (Il sogno) III. Tirsi chiamare a nome IV. Queste che miri O Nice V. Scrivo in te l'amato nome (Il nome) VI. Già la notte s'avvicina (La pesca) VII. Veggo la selva e il monte VIII. Or che una nube ingrata IX. Destatevi destatevi 0 pastori X. Oh se fosse il mio core XI. Oh Dio che non è vero XII. Dal pover mio core Instrumental music 6 Sinfonie da camera op.2 (London 1736) 12 Sonatas for violin and bass op.12 12 Triosonatas for 2 violins and bass (Vienna 1754) Sonatas for cello and Bass Concerto for cello and strings Notes ^ Griesinger, p. 12 ^ Griesinger, p. 12 ^ Griesinger, p. 12 ^ "Announcement of Availability of Recording of Porpora's Orlando". Records International. April 2006. Retrieved 2008-01-06.  ^ "Announcement of Release of Recording of Porpora Mass in D". Records International. November 2002. Retrieved 2008-01-06.  ^ Ballifh, Benjamin (2007-11-19). "Le Mag CD: Nicola Porpora: Vêpres Vénitiennes (Andrieu, 2007)" (in French). Classiquenews.com. Retrieved 2008-01-06.  ^ "Persistent Link to Catalogue Entry for a Recording of Arianna in Nasso". New York Public Library. Retrieved 2008-01-06.  ^ Complete works of Nicola Antonio Porpora ^ Kornemann, Matthias; Fischer, Axel (2009), Archive of the Berlin Sing-Akademie, Walter de Gruyter, pp. 268–269, ISBN 3598117981 

Miguel Cerejido and Nicola Porpora

Graduated of Drawing and Painting from the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes "San Alejandro" in 1980. He finished a Master Degree in Fine Arts at the Instituto Superior de Arte (I.S.A.) in 1985; he worked as a professor at the Instituto Superior de Diseño Industrial (ISDI), among other art schools in Cuba. He also worked as a specialist at the Centro de "Diseño Ambiental" (Interior Design) in Havana.

He was an active member of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) since 1995, and of Art Kollectif Media Foundation Inc. in Ottawa, Canada.

Presently he is a member of Arts Ottawa East organization, The Council for the Arts in Ottawa and The Ottawa Art Gallery.

His explorations in painting have always been dealing with the possible nexuses between music and painting as well as, in a very particular way, "Images" that this other artistic discipline produces in his subjectivity

This theme has been always present in his artistic endeavors from 1983 -while still a student at ISA-, encompassing all his career and evolving in many different forms, according to levels of perception in the artist's sensibility and to what is he focusing in his approach to the musical phenomenon.

Contents 1 Artist’s Statement 2 Exhibitions, Fairs and other events 2.1 Collective 2.2 Personal 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

Artist’s Statement

"The nexus between Music and Painting and ways of pictorially representing sound and silence, have been the main subjects of my work as an artist since 1980. This exploration has many facets from attempts at a pictorial representation of sound, to the creation of environments (maybe places or landscapes) that result from the sensations, feelings, states of mind and/or visions generated by Music. My work has gone through different stages from attempts to illustration of specific musical work to explorations of aspects of the musical structure itself. This is, of course, purely subjective.

The final phase of production in my work is distinguished by a return to painting, almost forgotten in my eagerness in use it as a medium instead of a purpose, and the utilization of all I’ve learned through the years about shaping a pictorial – not musical – art work, which held all the spiritual power of music, as an autonomous entity, without moving it away from it’s musical sources by means of referent codes, which, I hope, made possible the identification of the theme by the viewer.

The resolution of this process continues to evolve as I grow as an artist and a person. It remains my principal challenge."

Miguel Cerejido Exhibitions, Fairs and other events Collective Miguel Cerejido, "Stage 2" 2005 Miguel Cerejido, "Requiem" 1998 1979- Itinerant Exhibition in Europe. 1984- 1st Biennial of Havana. "L" Gallery, Havana. 1985- School of Arts and Literature. University of Havana. 1987- Professor’s Salon. Superior Institute of Industrial Design, Havana. 1989- "INTERART" Fair. Poland. 1990- "La Acacia" Gallery inauguration. Havana. 1991- "70 years of Cuban Painting" "Siqueiros" Polyforum. 1992- Auction at the centre Cuban studies. New York. 1993- Fair of Seville. Spain 1997- Exhibition of Contemporary Cuban Art. Madrid, Spain. 1998- "Gallery Terra". Wuppertal. Germany. 1998- XXV Anniversary of the Latin-American Commission of Civil Aviation. Mexico. 1999- "Con un poco de Amor". Visual Arts and Design Provincial Center. Havana. 2000- Design and decoration works for the "Catholic Immigration Centre". Ottawa. Canada. 2001- Design and decoration works with the stage designer Simon Clark, for the "Tulip Festival" at David Cation & Mark Masters' studio. Ottawa. Canada. 2003- Multimedia Fundraiser Art Auction in support of Ottawa Outaouais Social Forum celebrated at Babylon Night Club, Ottawa. 2003- Becomes a Board Member of Art Kollectif Media Foundation Inc. and participates in the preparation of Studio One Grand Finale's Celebration working on promotional graphics and organizing the silent art auction, among other activities. 2005- First Annual Mayor's Art Festival. Ottawa City Hall. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 2005- Christmas Sale at the Glebe Community Centre. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 2006- "Plein Air Canada" group exhibition at Art Rental and Sales at The Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG). 2006- "Can You Take the Heat?" group exhibition at Art Rental and Sales at The Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG). 2006- Nomad Gallery's "Earth Tribe" group exhibition at The Electric Gallery. 2006- "NOVUS" group exhibition at Art Rental and Sales at The Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG). 2006- "PREVIEW". Group show of diverse artists, from Ottawa, Toronto, Nanaimo and Surrey at the Parkdale Gallery's Grand Opening exhibition (December 7 6 to 9pm). November 15, 2006 to January 15, 2007. 2007- "New Canadians". Parkdale Gallery. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 2007- "SUMMER SALON". Art Rental and Sales. The Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG). Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 2009- "Art of Giving" / Expo Colectiva. Patrick John Mills Contemporary Fine Art Gallery. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Personal Miguel Cerejido's Design for the Black Sheep Stage. Ottawa Bluesfest 2004 1984- Center for the research and development of Cuban Music. Havana. Cuba. 1985- "From Music to Canvas". Cuban Found of Cultural Wealth Gallery. (FIB) Havana. Cuba. 1986- "Arte Universal" Gallery. Trinidad, Cuba. 1986- Wifredo Lam Gallery. Havana. Cuba 1986- Instituto superior de diseño industrial's Gallery. Havana. Cuba. 1991- "Do’s". "La Acacia", and "La Habana" Galleries. Havana. Cuba 1995- "Time, Music, Painting; Frédéric Chopin" Embassy of Poland. Havana. Cuba. 1999- III International Fair Cubadisco 99 . Pabexpo. Havana. Cuba 1999- " Ad Lib". Hotel National de Cuba. Gallery. Havana. Cuba. 2000- "Ad Lib". Visual Arts Centre, Orléans, Ontario, Canada. 2000- " Cerejido's Selected Works". "Au café 4 Jeudis". Hull. Quebec. Canada. 2004- Complete design and creation of The Black Sheep Stage set for the Cisco Systems Ottawa Bluesfest 2004. Ottawa. Canada. 2005- "Paths: Music and Magic". Cumberland Gallery. Orléans, Ontario, Canada. 2005- "Selected paintings by Miguel Cerejido". The Dovercourt Gallery. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. See also List of Cuban painters List of Cuban artists
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