Franz von Suppé
Composer Franz von Suppé -- in full, Francesco Ezechiele Ermenegildo, Cavaliere Suppé-Demelli -- was the leading light of Austrian operetta in the middle and late nineteenth century, enjoying a success that rivaled that of Frenchman Jacques Offenbach. Suppé's pedigree perhaps hinted at his promise as a composer of stage works: He was a distant relative to Italian opera luminary Gaetano Donizetti, who took an active hand in Suppé's education when the budding composer's talent became evident.
Suppé was born in Spalato, Dalmatia (now Split, Croatia); his parents, who discouraged his musical career, were Austrians of Belgian extraction. Though he demonstrated compositional aptitude at a young age -- by the age of 13 he had written a Mass -- Suppé studied law in Italy. After his father's death, however, he returned to Austria with his mother and made several return visits to Italy, probably resulting from his contact with Donizetti. Steeped in the music of Rossini and Verdi, he brought a lifetime's reserve of Italianate melody to Vienna.
In 1841 Suppé produced a singspiel, Jung Lustig (Young and Merry), which launched his career as a composer of operetta and light concert music. In 1846 he wrote his most familiar work, Dichter und Bauer (Poet and Peasant), an overture to a now-forgotten stage play; though an agreeable concert staple today, it attracted little attention at the time of its composition. Suppé enjoyed his first flush of real success with The Country Girl (1847), which cemented his reputation in such locales as Vienna, Baden, and Pressburg (Bratislava). His popularity remained steady for decades; in the course of his career he produced a copious quantity of lively, attractive music, emerging in the process as the virtual godfather of Viennese operetta.
That most characteristic phase of Suppé's career began with Das Pensionat (The Boarding School), a work designed to provide a Viennese counterpart to the phenomenally successful French operettas of Jacques Offenbach. Offenbach's works had invaded Viennese theaters, but Suppé countered their influence with such works as Gervinus, Flotte Bursche (Jolly Lad), and Fatinitza, each of which was performed more than 100 times. His fame resulted in an invitation to visit the seemingly inhospitable climes of Wagner's first Bayreuth festival in 1876.
Aside from Poet and Peasant, Suppé's most enduring works include the Light Cavalry Overture (1866) and the operetta Boccaccio (1879), widely regarded as the composer's finest effort. His other music includes a Requiem, masses, symphonies, and various choral and vocal works.
© TiVo
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Discography
9 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Von Suppé: Light Cavalry and Other Overtures
Classical - Released by YOYO USA, Inc. on 29 Dec 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Deluxe Classics: Love 3
Classical - Released by Piros Comercial Digital on 2 Jan 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Famous Overtures 5
Philharmonic Wind Orchestra, Marc Reift
Classical - Released by Marcophon on 16 Oct 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Suppé: Famous Overtures
Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera, Walter Goehr
Opera - Released by Sunday Club Records on 6 Jun 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Von Suppé: Overture "Light Cavalry"
Herbert von Karajan, The Philharmonia Orchestra
Classical - Released by Sunday Club Records on 8 Apr 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Suppé: Poet and Peasant Overture
Michael Freedman, The London Metropolis Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Sunday Club Records on 30 Sep 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Suppé - Light Cavalry Overture
The Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Joseph Leo Gruber
Classical - Released by Violet Hill Records on 11 Jun 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Suppé - Poet and Peasant Overture
The New Symphony Orchestra Of London, Alexander Gibson, Raymond Clark
Classical - Released by Violet Hill Records on 8 Jun 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Suppé: Light Cavalry Overture
Michael Freedman, The London Metropolis Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Sunday Club Records on 30 Sep 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo