Disegni del nuovo teatro de quattro cavalieri eretto in Pavia l'anno MDCCLXXIII opera del Cav. Antonio Galli Bibiena

THE TEATRO FRASCHINI IN PAVIA

Folio (412x287 mm). Engraved architectural title page by Giovanni Ramis after Paolo Mescoli, dedicaton leaf to the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, [1] leaf of text, and [3] double-page plates engraved by Giovanni Ramis after Paolo Mescoli and Antonio Martorini, showing the plan, the façade and a section of the theater. Contemporary colored wrappers (spine repaired, worn and faded). A very good copy printed on thick paper.

Extremely rare first edition, probably printed after 24 May 1773, date indicated in the text for the inauguration of the theater. Begun in 1771 by the famous architect Antonio Galli Bibiena, son of Ferdinando, and completed two years later, the Teatro dei Quattro Cavalieri, now known as Teatro Fraschini, is one of the most important monuments in the city of Pavia and the last of a series of theatres built by Bibiena in Italy, including the Comunale in Bologna, the Teatro Rossini in Lugo di Romagna and the Teatro Scientifico in Mantua. The façade of the building on Strada Nuova shows the affirmation of the neoclassical style, while the interior, with its symmetrical division of the rectangular plan, destined to the stage on one side and the audience on the other, was designed so that the protagonist would be exactly in the centre of the hall. The theatre was inaugurated in 1773 with J. Mjsliweczek's Il Demetrio in the presence of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, to whom the opera is dedicated. The four knights who financed its construction, Count Francesco Gambarana Beccaria, Marquis Pio Bellisomi, Marquis Luigi Bellingeri Provera and Count Giuseppe de Giorgi Vistarino, wanted to oppose the monopoly of theatrical performances held by G. Omodei, owner of the only theatre in Pavia until then.

“The Teatro dei Quattro Cavalieri, now known as the Fraschini, is destined to play a fundamental role in the corpus that will be critically defined around the name of Antonio, at least as important as that of the Comunale in Bologna (1756-1763) and the Scientifico in Mantua (1767-1769). In fact, it is reasonable to assume, and a reading of the monument confirms this, that in the Pavia project the previous experiences in Bologna and Mantua led to a rethinking and to new, albeit partial, acquisitions in the formulation of the theatrical organism. The main source for the commission, the original icnography of the building and the timing of its realisation is the folio publication entitled Disegni del nuovo teatro de quattro cavalieri eretto in Pavia l'anno MDCCLXXIII opera del Cav. Antonio Galli Bibiena, published by the coowners patrician cavalieri at an unspecified date, but probably on the occasion of the theatre's inauguration, and dedicated to Archduke Ferdinand of Austria. In the introduction to the three plates - plan, section and prospectus of the theatre - that make up the volume, it is stated that ‘ebbe principio il nuovo Teatro nella Regia Città di Pavia l'anno 1771, coll'essersi sul fine del mese di luglio formata una società di quattro Cavalieri Patricj, e Decurioni della città stessa cioè: il Conte Francesco Gambarana Beccaria, il Marchese Pio Bellisomi..., il Marchese Luigi Bellingeri Provera..., ed il Conte Giuseppe de Giorgi di Vistarino' (‘The new theatre in the royal city of Pavia began in 1771 with the formation, at the end of July, of a company of four patrician knights and decurions of the city itself, namely: Count Francesco Gambarana Beccaria, Marquis Pio Bellisomi..., Marquis Luigi Bellingeri Provera... and Count Giuseppe de Giorgi di Vistarino'). It is clear that this was a private company that brought together some of the leading representatives of the local ruling class for an initiative in the public interest, in line with the enlightened directives of the central power. The nature of the company and its private funding were very much in line with 18^th-century practice, which was full of similar examples; we need only think of the Comunale in Bologna, the Filarmonico in Verona, the Aliberti in Rome. In this particular case, the construction of a theatre was intended to avoid a precarious situation. Confined to the salons of patrician houses in the 17^th century, the theatrical life of the city found an opening at the beginning of the 18^th century with the construction of a theatre open to the public. It was a poorly equipped hall owned by the Homodei family, who ran it according to dubious criteria inspired by a misunderstood caste pride. The intention of the four knights was therefore to provide the city with a stable structure more suited to its needs […] The choice of the architect was probably determined by two factors: Bibiena's fame as a theatre engineer, apparently untainted by the controversy that had surrounded the Bolognese commission, and his qualification as Architect of the Imperial Court of Vienna, a particularly prestigious title in a city of strict Austrian observance. In October 1777, the demolition of the existing houses in the chosen area began and the foundations of the building were laid. The inauguration took place on 24 May 1773 with the opera ‘Il Demetrio', text by Pietro Metastasio, music by Giuseppe Mjsliweczek, scene changes by Antonio Bibiena himself. According to the first local historians, the architect personally supervised the work […] Following the principles laid down by the architect during the controversy over the construction of the Comunale in Bologna, the Teatro di Pavia was also built entirely in brick and stone, materials that contemporary theorists had a very negative view of, considering them to be unacoustic par excellence. In the Teatro dei Quattro Cavalieri, Antonio Bibiena used other means to ensure the success of the acoustics. The ceiling, the structure of which was later rebuilt, and the pit under the stalls probably played a prominent role in this undertaking. Antonio Galli Bibiena's role in 18^th-century theatre architecture was gradually defined. The bell-shaped plan, typical of the entire Bibiena tradition, became here the object of geometric formulation and was concretized in stable wall structures” (cf. L. Giordano, Il teatro dei quattro cavalieri e la presenza di Antonio Galli Bibiena a Pavia, in: “Bollettino d'arte”, 60, series 5., fasc. 1-2, Jan.-Jun. 1975, pp. 88-93).

Antonio Luigi, one of the sons of the famous architect Ferdinando Galli Bibiena, was born in Parma in 1697. After his early studies in Bologna, he began his career as an architect, set designer and painter with his father. His most active period was in Vienna, where he was employed annually as a set designer for court shows. Around 1740 he accepted the invitation and protection of Imre Esterházy, Bishop of Veszprém and later Archbishop of Esztergom, who employed him in Bratislava in both civil and religious works. After the death of Cardinal Esterházy (1745), he returned to Vienna, where he was appointed “First Imperial Architect” in 1748. He permanently returned to Italy in 1751. The experience he had gained in over 30 years at the Viennese court and his exceptional skills as a theatre architect won him a prominent position in Italy, where he first worked on the reconstruction of the Teatro dei Rinnovati in Siena (1751-53), then on the reconstruction of the small theatres in Colle di Val d'Elsa and Pistoia (1754-55), and finally on the scenography and decoration of the Teatro della Pergola in Florence (1755). He returned to Bologna in 1756 to complete the new public theatre, inaugurated on 14 May 1763. He then designed stage sets for theatres in Milan (1751-53), Parma (1753, 1761, 1763), Reggio Emilia (1759) and Bologna. He was also responsible for the design of the Teatro di Lugo, the Teatro Scientifico in Mantua (1767-69) and the Teatro dei Quattro Cavalieri in Pavia (1771-77). His late activity was divided between Emilia and Lombardy. Antonio Luigi died in Milan on 28 January 1774 (cf. A. Coccioli Matroviti, Galli Bibiena, in: “Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani”, vol. 51, Rome, 1998, s.v.).

Italian Union Catalogue, IT\ICCU\PUVE\004090; Cicognara, 752.

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