Anastasio Martín Ignacio Vicente Tadeo Francisco Pellegrin Martín y Soler[1] (2 May 1754 – 30 January or 10 February[2] 1806) was a Spanish composer ofopera andballet. Although relatively obscure now, in his own day he was compared favorably with his contemporary and admirer,Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as a composer ofopera buffa. In his time he was called "Martini lo spagnuolo" ("Martini the Spaniard"); in modern times, he has been called "the Valencian Mozart". He was known primarily for his melodious Italiancomic operas and his work withLorenzo Da Ponte in the late 18th century, as well as the melody fromUna cosa rara quoted in the dining scene of Mozart'sDon Giovanni.[1][2]
Martín y Soler was born inValencia. His father, Francisco Xavier Martín, was a tenor at the cathedral in town, where Vicente was a chorister there in his youth. Vicente moved toMadrid probably around 1775,[1] and studied music inBologna underGiovanni Battista Martini. His first opera wasIl tutore burlato (1775), to an Italian libretto adapted fromGiovanni Paisiello'sLa frascatana, which in turn was based on a play of the same title by Filippo Livigni. This was premiered in 1775 at the Teatro Real Coliseo inSan Lorenzo de El Escorial, north of Madrid. In 1776 or 1777 the composer had the libretto translated intoSpanish and put it intozarzuela form, adding spoken dialogue, asLa madrileña, o El tutor burlado. This was performed in Madrid during 1778, by which time Martín y Soler was back in Italy.
After 1776, he wrote Italian operas, both comic and serious, which were performed throughout Italy. In 1777, he travelled toNaples, where he composed for theTeatro di San Carlo. During this period, he worked with choreographerCharles le Picq to compose fourballets d’action:La Griselda (1779, derived from the libretto byApostolo Zeno),Il ratto delle Sabine (1780),La bella Arsene (1781), andTamas Kouli-Kan (1781, an interpretation of Vittorio Amedeo Cigna-Santi's libretto). He also worked with Zeno on anopera seria,Andromaca, in 1780. In addition, he composed twomezzocarattere ballets,La sposa persiana (1778) andIl barbiere di Siviglia (1781, based on the play byPierre Beaumarchais). In Naples, he also worked with court librettist Luigi Serio on the composition ofopere serie, producingIfigenia (1779) andIpermestra (1780). Around 1780, he was also appointed court composer forCharles IV of Spain.[1]
In 1785 he moved toVienna, where he enjoyed great success with three operas composed to texts byLorenzo Da Ponte, who was simultaneously collaborating with Mozart andAntonio Salieri, the rival of the former. These three comedies wereUna cosa rara (1786, based on the playLa luna de la sierra byLuis Vélez de Guevara);Il burbero di buon cuore (1786, based onCarlo Goldoni's French-language playLe bourru bienfaisant); andL'arbore di Diana (1787). He is credited with introducing, inUna cosa rara, thewaltz to Vienna; and a melody from the same work isquoted by Mozart in the banquet scene in Act 2 ofDon Giovanni (1787).[3] Soon, Martín y Soler was also composing highly successful operas forJoseph II's imperial theater.[1]
In 1788, Martín y Soler was invited to serve as composer and singing instructor atCatherine'sRussian court atSt. Petersburg, where he wrote threeRussian-language operas,The Unfortunate Hero Kosmetovich (1789, libretto written in part byCatherine the Great),Melomania (1790), andFedul and his Children (1791, withVasili Pashkevich). Moving to London for the 1795 season, he provided three moreItalian language operas:La capricciosa corretta (libretto again by Lorenzo Da Ponte, partly adapted fromShakespeare'sThe Taming of the Shrew);L'isola del piacere andLe nozze de' contadini spagnuoli. He returned to St. Petersburg and was appointed maestro di capella at theSmolny Institute (then called the Educational Society of Noble Maidens) in 1796.[4] After returning to St Petersburg, he wrote his last opera,La festa del villaggio (1798).
He also wrote a number of tragic ballets during his residence as Court Composer there, includingDidon abandonée (1792),Amour et Psyché (1793, based onPsyché byMolière,Corneille andPhilippe Quinault),Tancrède (1799) andLe retour de Poliorcète (1799). Shortly before his 1806 death in Saint Petersburg, he served as inspector for the Italian opera there.[1] He was still in his post when he died. His grave is located next to theSt. Alexander Nevsky Monastery, alongside those of composers such asTchaikovsky andGlinka.
