Cherubini in Wien. Concerto Stella Matutina The march from Les deux journées as anti-Napoleonic exhortation in Empress Marie Therese’s Vienna 1802–1805

A great enthusiasm for French opera characterised Vienna’s theatre programmes during the lull between Austria’s revolutionary wars, from early 1801 (the Peace of Lunéville) to the first French occupation in the autumn of 1805. In particular, the royal imperial Hoftheater and Emanuel Schikaneder’s newly opened Theater an der Wien vied to outdo each other. Not only were the French works translated and scenically adapted; their orchestration was also tailored to suit a specific Viennese orchestral style and even their musical substance was often revised. The most famous French composer of the time, highly respected by the Viennese arrangers, was Luigi Cherubini (1760 – 1842). Born in Florence, he settled in Paris at the end of the 1780’s and later became director of the conservatory there. No fewer than five of his operas were played during the 1802/03 season in Vienna.