French rule of Sicily and Naples: *gives Verdi another opera subject with one bloody uprising, Les Vespres Siciliennes
zdenka told me that this opera was originally based on the Duke of Alba (and Flanders) which I find hilarious :D
And a beautiful opera it is, too, I have pictures. More to the point, him building it shows local savvy, because the Neapolitans were justly proud of their musicians and opera skills. Naples was THE top training place for singers in the 18th century. Remember those 400 boys per annum getting castrated in the hopes they might become opera superstars? In Naples, they find out whether they do. All the famous Castrati of the 18th century - Farinelli, Caffarelli, Salimenbeni - were trained there. And because it wasn't part of church territory, women could sing there, too - as they couldn't in Rome or Bologna, for example - which means many of the famous female sopranos at least spend some years there, too. If you wanted to endear yourself to your Neapolitan subjects, then sponsoring a new opera house was definitely one way to do it.
Re: Footnotes
And a beautiful opera it is, too, I have pictures. More to the point, him building it shows local savvy, because the Neapolitans were justly proud of their musicians and opera skills. Naples was THE top training place for singers in the 18th century. Remember those 400 boys per annum getting castrated in the hopes they might become opera superstars? In Naples, they find out whether they do. All the famous Castrati of the 18th century - Farinelli, Caffarelli, Salimenbeni - were trained there. And because it wasn't part of church territory, women could sing there, too - as they couldn't in Rome or Bologna, for example - which means many of the famous female sopranos at least spend some years there, too. If you wanted to endear yourself to your Neapolitan subjects, then sponsoring a new opera house was definitely one way to do it.
This is really cool!