Anton Raaff (6 May 1714 – 28 May 1797) was a German

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

from Gelsdorf near Bonn.

Career

Raaff studied at the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

school in Bonn where the Elector of Bavaria, Clement Augustus, heard him singing and paid for him to train professionally. Raaff was brought to the capital, Munich, where he was engaged on an annual salary of 2000

thaler A thaler or taler ( ; , previously spelled ) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter o ...

s. From Munich he was sent to Bologna to study the Italian style so he would be able to perform in the prevailing ''

opera seria ''Opera seria'' (; plural: ''opere serie''; usually called ''dramma per musica'' or ''melodramma serio'') is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to abou ...

'' style. In 1738 he was sent to Vienna to sing at the wedding ceremonies for Empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

, after which he was sent on a long period of overseas travel, during which time his fame grew. From 1752 to 1755 he was in Lisbon, and from 1755 to 1759 in Madrid, where he sang with

Farinelli Farinelli (; 24 January 1705 – 16 September 1782) was the stage name of Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi (), a celebrated Italian castrato singer of the 18th century and one of the greatest singers in the history of opera. Farinelli ...

. He worked in Naples from 1759 to 1769, after which he returned to Germany. Raaff sang the title role in the premiere of Mozart's 1781 opera ''

Idomeneo (Italian for ''Idomeneus, King of Crete, or, Ilia and Idamante''; usually referred to simply as ''Idomeneo'', Köchel catalogue, K. 366) is an Italian-language opera seria by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Vares ...

''; this was his last stage role. He spent his remaining years teaching and died in Munich in 1797. In the opinion of Schubart, his was the most beautiful male voice of all time, and his diction perfect in several languages.

Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart (24 March 1739 – 10 October 1791) was a German poet, organist, composer, and journalist. He was repeatedly punished for his social-critical writing and spent ten years in severe conditions in jail. Life Born ...

, ''Ideen zu einer Aesthetik der Tonkunst'', Vienna, 1806. When Elector Charles Theodore asked him to return home, he said he was not sure the Elector would be happy with him any more; indeed, his talents had begun to wane and Schubart noticed that Raaff's

vibrato Vibrato (Italian language, Italian, from past participle of "wikt:vibrare, vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch (music), pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. ...

had become extremely marked.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raaff, Anton 1714 births 1797 deaths People from Ahrweiler (district) German operatic tenors People from the Duchy of Bavaria Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's singers 18th-century German composers 18th-century German male opera singers