Viotti was born at
Fontanetto Po in the
Kingdom of Sardinia (today in the
province of Vercelli,
Piedmont, Italy). For his musical talent, he was taken into the household of principe Alfonso dal Pozzo della Cisterna in
Turin, where he received a musical education that prepared him to be a pupil of
Gaetano Pugnani. He served at the Savoia court in Turin, 1773–80, then toured as a soloist, at first with Pugnani, before going to Paris alone, where he made his début at the
Concert Spirituel, 17 March 1782. He was an instant sensation and served for a time at
Versailles before founding a new opera house, the
Théâtre de Monsieur in 1788, under the patronage of
Louis-Stanislas-Xavier, comte de Provence, the king's brother, whose court title was Monsieur. There he mounted operas of his friend
Luigi Cherubini, among lesser lights. When the
French Revolution took a radical turn and, though his opera house was renamed the Théâtre Feydeau, former royal connections became a dangerous liability, he moved in 1792 to London, making his début at
Johann Peter Salomon's Hanover Square Concert, 7 February 1793. In London he went from success to success, as a featured violinist for Salomon's concert series, 1793–1794; as musical director of the new Opera Concerts in 1795; as a star in the benefit concerts for
Haydn, 1794 and 1795; as acting manager of Italian opera at the
King's Theatre, 1794–1795; and as leader and director of the orchestra, 1797. He was invited to perform in the houses of the London
bon ton, including for the Prince of Wales. Then, with Britain at war with Revolutionary France, he was ordered to leave the country, under suspicion of
Jacobin sympathies. Period papers hint at an intrigue in the favour of Viotti's rival,
Wilhelm Cramer, who had led the Opera House orchestra before Viotti took over. The
Morning Post and
Gazetteer in its issue of Friday, 9 March 1798, reported that "the Duke of L... and the Earl of C... have been particularly active in entreating his Majesty to order Viotti out of the kingdom". This may refer to
Francis Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds, and to
Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl of Chesterfield.
Pierre Rode, Viotti's favourite pupil, was expelled from England, too, and may have left the country some days previous to Viotti who awaited the outcome of his case, after several gentlemen and even
Princess Elizabeth spoke in his favour. But finally, Viotti left England with a packet ship on 8 March 1798. He lived on the estate of a rich English merchant, John Smith, in
Schenefeld (Pinneberg) near Hamburg from ca. March 1798 to ca. July 1799. Between March and May 1798 he gave private lessons to the 13-year-old virtuoso
Friedrich Wilhelm Pixis. After that, according to two papers issued in February 1800, he seems to have lived incognito on the estate of his English friends, William and
Margaret Chinnery, at Gillwell House, where he lived officially from 1801; according to another paper he was still in Schenefeld in April 1800. He gave up giving concerts to run a wine business, but used to play in private concerts. In July 1811, he became a naturalised British citizen, after his friend, the Duke of Cambridge, a younger brother of the Prince of Wales, had interceded on his behalf. In 1813, he was one of the founders of the
Philharmonic Society of London. Viotti didn't perform as a soloist anymore but as orchestra leader and chamber musician. After his wine business failed, he returned to Paris to work as director of the
Académie Royale de Musique, from 1819 to 1821. He returned to London in November 1823 together with Margaret Chinnery and died in her presence on 3 March 1824. ==Music==