Salieri, Antonio, 1750-1825, Italian composer and conductor. He received his first training in Italy, going afterward (1766) to Vienna, where he remained as conductor of the opera and later (1788-1824) as court conductor. He was a friend of Haydn, and he taught Beethoven, Schubert, and Liszt. Mozart, however, distrusted him and believed that Salieri tried to poison him. Though Mozart's claim was never substantiated, an opera by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Mozart et Salieri (1898) and a play by Peter Shaffer, Amadeus (1979; filmed 1984) have depicted Salieri as treacherously jealous of Mozart's genius. The most successful of his 43 operas were Les Danaïdes (1784) and Tarare (1787). He also wrote instrumental pieces and church music.

(born Aug. 18, 1750, Legnago, Republic of Venice—died May 7, 1825, Vienna, Austria) Italian composer. He moved to Vienna in 1766 with the imperial court composer Florian Gassmann (1729–74), and he remained there most of his career. On Gassmann's death, Salieri became composer and conductor of the Italian opera at the imperial court, and later court kapellmeister (1788). Vienna's most popular opera composer for much of the last quarter of the 18th century, he had many important students, including Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, and Franz Liszt. In addition to his more than 40 operas, he wrote much other secular and sacred music. Though he and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart were rivals, there is no basis to the story that he poisoned Mozart, and it is unlikely that he claimed to have done so.

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(born Aug. 18, 1750, Legnago, Republic of Venice—died May 7, 1825, Vienna, Austria) Italian composer. He moved to Vienna in 1766 with the imperial court composer Florian Gassmann (1729–74), and he remained there most of his career. On Gassmann's death, Salieri became composer and conductor of the Italian opera at the imperial court, and later court kapellmeister (1788). Vienna's most popular opera composer for much of the last quarter of the 18th century, he had many important students, including Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, and Franz Liszt. In addition to his more than 40 operas, he wrote much other secular and sacred music. Though he and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart were rivals, there is no basis to the story that he poisoned Mozart, and it is unlikely that he claimed to have done so.

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Armida is an opera by Antonio Salieri in three acts, set to a libretto by Marco Coltellini. The plot is based on the epic poem by Torquato Tasso, and Lully, Traetta, and Handel had already composed operas based on the situations that Tasso originally developed. The plot of all of these, and Salieri's work, is based on the relationship between Armida and the Crusader Rinaldo.

Salieri's opera was first performed in Vienna on the 2nd June 1771, and his composition was much influenced by the aesthetics of Christoph Willibald Gluck, who attempted to reform opera seria by tying the drama more closely to the music. Salieri's overture follows the principles set out by Gluck in the preface to Alceste. Other Gluckian influences display themselves in the frequent interplay of soloist and chorus, and the heavy use of chorus overall.

Roles

Cast	Voice type	Premiere, June 2, 1771 (Conductor: - )
Armida	soprano
Ismene	soprano
Rinaldo	soprano castrato	Giuseppe Millico
Ubaldo	tenor

Discography

The Overture has been recorded by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava) conducted by Michael Dittrich, on Naxos Records.

References

• John A. Rice: "Armida", Grove Music Online ed L. Macy (accessed 12 May 2007), grovemusic.com, subscription access.