Frederick the Great discussion post 11

[cahn]

In our last installment, our heroes found that Henri de Catt's memoirs, a major source for current biographers of Frederick the Great, are not to be trusted!!

rheinsberg

Comments

"Hot or not" in 1742

[selenak]

As a thank you, and just for you, here's the translation of this particular „Hot or not?“ report. It’s from „a son of the Duke Charles-Philippe de Luynes“, according to the editor. More about the editor in another comment.

„The King of Prussia is small, pretty plumb but not fat. He has the appearance of a wit, beautiful eyes, a full, vivacious face, pretty good teeth, thick, brown hair, and a noble nature. He has wit, and a somewhat superficial general education; he has neglected the sciences with which he appeared to occupy himself as a crown prince recently. (…) He asks vivid, witty questions that demand, even force concise answers. He is eager for knowledge about the customs of other countries, and asks thoroughly about them, especially the military habits which he investigates intensely; for he wants to test the uniforms, the armory, the manoeuvres, drills and habits of all troops. He has military talent, and knows it, so he doesn’t want to use that of others, nor listen to their advice.

He is polite and tries to say pleasant things, though at his core he is arrogant; the efforts others make are regarded as nothing by him. He himself shoulders hardships admirably, even the toughest life. He lives soberly. He can’t resist needling and maliciously mocking where he notices ridiculousness, but he doesn’t mind getting a reply, even a strong one, as long it is a good one.“

Re: "Hot or not" in 1742

[mildred_of_midgard]

Hee, thank you!

but he doesn’t mind getting a reply, even a strong one, as long it is a good one.

I should hope so, Fritz! If you can dish it out, you'd better be able to take it at least some of the time (I know you too well to think that's all the time).

In return, I give you "Hot or not" in 1728, a report from our very own Fritz on Augustus the Strong during the Dresden visit (cahn, that's the one that was so raunchy it got bowdlerized from Wilhelmine's memoirs). Recipient: Wilhelmine.

The King of Poland is of average height. He has very heavy eyebrows and a slight pug nose. He walks well, despite his lameness. He has esprit, is polite to everybody, and has considerable urbanity...is difficult to understand, particularly as he has lost so many teeth. Nevertheless his appearance is good and he is physically agile; he dances and does other things, just like a young man.

Re: "Hot or not" in 1742

[selenak]

Thank you as well! Considering that FW supposedly briefly toyed with the idea of marrying Wilhelmine to August, I'd imagine this being of double interest to the recipient!

Re: "Hot or not" in 1742

[mildred_of_midgard]

I'd forgotten about that, but you're right!

"Hot or not" reports, actually important in the 18C!

Somewhat relatedly, or at least being reminded of our first "hot or not" report, the Prussian ambassador on MT, this line from Blanning from the latest reading session was hilarious:

With a triumphalist gesture worthy of Louis XIV, Frederick's choice of opera to inaugurate his new theater [in 1742] was Graun's Cesare e Cleopatra, although it may be doubted whether he intended to follow the example of his Roman model to the extent of making love to his own vanquished empress, Maria Theresa.

Re: "Hot or not" in 1742

[selenak]

LOL. But Blanning, Caesar actually didn't "vanquish" Cleopatra. You're thinking of Augustus. Caesar was the one whom she used to get rid of her rival and brother and become the undisputed ruler of Egypt.

BTW, I'm unfamiliar with Graun's opera, but Händel's "Cesare in Egitto" ends with Cleopatra triumphantly getting crowned as Egypt's sole ruler and Caesar departing for Rome. Händel's opera is based on a libretto by Bussani which Wiki tells me was indeed used by lots of other opera composers at the time as well, which was common 18th century pratice. Whether or not Graun used it, I haven't looked up yet. Either way, though, an opera based on the Caesar and Cleopatra story is hardly a celebration of a male ruler winning over a female ruler.

Re: "Hot or not" in 1742

[mildred_of_midgard]

Indeed. I had a comment to that effect planned for my fuller write-up...okay, here goes: because he's definitely implying that Caesar militarily vanquished Cleopatra--although my first reading was not confusing Julius with Augustus, but Cleopatra with Pompey, since Fritz will also make comments about getting his Pharsalus against MT, and a defeated Pompey shows up in the story of Caesar and Cleopatra, but you may be right about Blanning thinking of Actium--but the humor about the love affair still works for me. Especially in the context of the MT/Fritz AU that follows us wherever we go.

I can't find a complete summary of the libretto, but this is what I've found so far: "Cesare e Cleopatra is loosely based on Corneille’s La mort de Poupee but, like Handel’s Giulio Cesare which had first been staged in London 18 years earlier, places emphasis on the love affair between Caesar and Cleopatra rather than on Pompey’s death at the hands of Cleopatra’s brother Ptolemy. Giovanni Bottarelli’s libretto would doubtless have appealed to Frederick who probably saw in Caesar’s military and political prowess an appealing image of himself."

Also...is this a sign that 1742 Fritz has come around to the virtues of romance in art? I seem to remember you saying he changed his mind on that when corresponding with Voltaire.

Re: "Hot or not" in 1742

[selenak]

Yes, though he writes this to Voltaire in 1759. (In the 1730s, he'd been been a romance in art anti in his correspondance with him.) Apropos Racine's play about Titus and Berenice, his favourite. Note that something Caesar & Cleopatra as well as Titus & Berenice have in common is Roman ruler & foreign Queen (resented by Romans), but as opposed to Antony & Cleopatra not in a way where the Roman is presented as losing all for love. (Never mind history, I'm just talking tropes here.) Titus and Berenike give each other up for duty and rulership. Caesar doesn't give up Cleopatra per se but he leaves again for his life in Rome. All very Aeneas and Dido, and of course we had Fritz quoting Dido to Voltaire in his indignant 1743 letter, as spotted by you, casting himself as Dido. So I think it's not out of the question the whole love across the border, duty vs romance set up resonated with him.

Re: Pharsalus - he used that comparison to Mitchell as well, for one of the 1757 battles - "my Pharsalus against the House of Austria". (Err. Six more years to go, Fritz.) There's certainly a high degree of fascination with Caesar in general, see also ranting to Wilhelmine in his sour Grapes letters to Italy of how Caesar would despise today's Italians (before admitting he's the Galley slave scorning the free).

But the thing is - if an opera is supposed to celebrate Fritz the conquering hero over a powerful woman, well, you know what's right there? Alcina. Ahem. Also, it's not like Fritz was subtle with his allegories otherise. Even the starry-eyed editor mentions he - of course just as an ironic jest - had the field preacher preach about St. Paul's "Women be silent" after Mollwitz. So picking an opera in which the most famous (at this point) Queen of the ancient world - "non humilis mulier", as even Horace, otherwise writing Augustan Propaganda, put it - plays a positive role and ends up with more, not less power, is actually downright layered for what might or might not be going on in his subconscious.

(BTW, also had a look at some more of the many political letters to Heinrich, and when Heinrich after the Joseph meeting speculates that maybe a new relationship with the Austrians could be a thing Fritz is all "then the Queen-Empress" (not the Queen of Hungary!) "would have to give up the habit of hating me which she has kept for thirty years" first. Fritz pretending to be baffled at MT having anything against him is Fritzian, but what slays me is when his biographers - or editors like even Mitchell's - follow suit.)

(Not to mention that Fritz writing to Heinrich, of all the people, how anyone could have a grudge against poor him is hilarious for other reasons.)

Re: "Hot or not" in 1742

[mildred_of_midgard]

Yes, though he writes this to Voltaire in 1759.

Thanks for the date! Yeah, I wonder if Voltaire had changed Fritz mind as early as 1742. He doesn't say in 1759 that the change is recent, or does he?

Mind you, Fritz is perfectly capable of liking things even when he objects to all or part of the content, such as when he wrote Heinrich that the St. Augustine (opera?) he attended had beautiful music, and that was all that mattered (and then proceeded to bitch about Augustine).

So I think it's not out of the question the whole love across the border, duty vs romance set up resonated with him.

That is fascinating.

if an opera is supposed to celebrate Fritz the conquering hero over a powerful woman, well, you know what's right there? Alcina

Ahahaha, but then Voltaire will cast Fritz as Alcina. :P

"non humilis mulier", as even Horace, otherwise writing Augustan Propaganda, put it

Okay, so you know much more about the Romans than I do, but in the one semester on Horace and Catullus I had as an undergrad (and I can't claim to have looked at Horace since then), the professor used phrases like "non humilis mulier triumpho," and Horace's use of Latin freedom of word order to juxtapose "mulier" and "triumpho" despite their not being syntactically or semantically linked, to argue that Horace was undermining his Augustan propaganda left and right. The same professor also argued in the Aeneid course that Vergil was undermining *his* propaganda left and right too, and that these guys were massively ambivalent at best about the Augustan program (and many of the Roman poets were outright opposed and thus didn't write propaganda in the first place). Any thoughts?

plays a positive role and ends up with more, not less power, is actually downright layered for what might or might not be going on in his subconscious.

Possible. It's also quite possible he was just thinking at the level of "Caesar = me, YEAAHH!" At this early date, I know he'd been caught off guard by MT's willingness and ability to resist at all, but they haven't been through three wars yet. Honest question: how much of his grudging respect has formed at this date, based on quotes?

Fritz pretending to be baffled at MT having anything against him is Fritzian, but what slays me is when his biographers - or editors like even Mitchell's - follow suit.)

Hahaha, yes.

(Not to mention that Fritz writing to Heinrich, of all the people, how anyone could have a grudge against poor him is hilarious for other reasons.)

You said it.