Love and virtue in the Lobkowitz house theatre : Ferdinando Paër's L'amor conjugale

• Published in: Musicologica Brunensia no. 1; pp. 73 - 94
• Main Author: Libin, Kathryn L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Czech
• Published: 2023
• ISSN: 1212-0391; 2336-436X
• DOI: 10.5817/MB2023-1-5

The Lobkowicz Library and Archives preserve important materials that illuminate the musical sphere of Franz Joseph Maximilian, 7th Prince Lobkowitz (1772–1816). Though his patronage of Beethoven has been widely recognized and well documented, Lobkowitz's cultivation of opera productions in house theatres within his Bohemian and Vienna palaces, and his support of opera composers and singers, form a fascinating and little known part of his musical activity. This essay examines one particular opera, Leonora, ossia l'Amor conjugale, by Ferdinando Paër, which received a series of performances in the Lobkowitz house theatre in Vienna during the spring of 1806. A valuable trove of production documents, including account records from stage designer Lorenzo Sacchetti, costumer Lucas Piazza, and Lobkowitz Kapellmeister Anton Wranitzky, allows us to reconstruct the narrative of this opera's earliest performances in Vienna, and its connections to another opera based on the same libretto, Beethoven's Leonore (later Fidelio), presented during precisely the same period. Surviving manuscripts that include the opera's score and original performing parts, as well as Lobkowitz family letters, also contribute vital information.