1.
Berlin
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Berlin is the capital and the largest city of Germany as well as one of its constituent 16 states. With a population of approximately 3.5 million, Berlin is the second most populous city proper, due to its location in the European Plain, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Around one-third of the area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers. Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world, following German reunification in 1990, Berlin once again became the capital of all-Germany. Berlin is a city of culture, politics, media. Its economy is based on high-tech firms and the sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, research facilities, media corporations. Berlin serves as a hub for air and rail traffic and has a highly complex public transportation network. The metropolis is a popular tourist destination, significant industries also include IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, clean tech, biotechnology, construction and electronics. Modern Berlin is home to world renowned universities, orchestras, museums and its urban setting has made it a sought-after location for international film productions. The city is known for its festivals, diverse architecture, nightlife, contemporary arts. Since 2000 Berlin has seen the emergence of a cosmopolitan entrepreneurial scene, the name Berlin has its roots in the language of West Slavic inhabitants of the area of todays Berlin, and may be related to the Old Polabian stem berl-/birl-. All German place names ending on -ow, -itz and -in, since the Ber- at the beginning sounds like the German word Bär, a bear appears in the coat of arms of the city. It is therefore a canting arm, the first written records of towns in the area of present-day Berlin date from the late 12th century. Spandau is first mentioned in 1197 and Köpenick in 1209, although these areas did not join Berlin until 1920, the central part of Berlin can be traced back to two towns. Cölln on the Fischerinsel is first mentioned in a 1237 document,1237 is considered the founding date of the city. The two towns over time formed close economic and social ties, and profited from the right on the two important trade routes Via Imperii and from Bruges to Novgorod. In 1307, they formed an alliance with a common external policy, in 1415 Frederick I became the elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which he ruled until 1440. In 1443 Frederick II Irontooth started the construction of a new palace in the twin city Berlin-Cölln
2.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
3.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
4.
Heinrich Seeling
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Heinrich Seeling was a German architect. He was born the son of a bricklayer in the Thuringian town of Zeulenroda, after studies in Vienna and Italy, Seeling began his career working as an assistant in the studios of Hugo Licht, Hermann Ende and Wilhelm Böckmann in Berlin. In 1882/83 he unsuccessfully competed with Paul Wallot in an architectural contest to erect the new Reichstag building, nevertheless he soon acquired renown as an architect of numerous lavish theatre buildings throughout Germany, starting with the construction of the Stadttheater Halle in 1886. He also designed two Protestant churches and several residential and commercial buildings in Bromberg in the Prussian Province of Posen, since 1896 Seeling was a member of the Prussian Academy of Arts
5.
Fritz Bornemann
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Fritz Bornemann was a German architect. Bornemann studied architecture at the Technical University of Berlin, after graduating in 1936, he was Assistant Scenic Designer at the Berlin Municipal Opera and, starting in 1945, Construction Supervisor with the city of Berlin. Since 1950 he became an independent architect active in Berlin, the designs for the Amerika-Gedenkbibliothek, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Freie Volksbühne and the Museumszentrum Berlin-Dahlem were drawn up by him. He also designed the headquarters of the Commerzbank Berlin and he designed the German Pavilion for the 1970 World’s Fair in Osaka. Later there appeared, amongst others, the extension of the Rathaus of Berlin-Wedding, less well-known is his work in multimedia. He designed some exhibitions, amongst them Atom and Farmer Smith, the Osaka Pavilion was his crowning achievement in this field. Bornemann’s architecture was and is a subject of violent controversial opinions over the trends of the 1950s and 1960s. The critics speak of cold or austere architecture and belittle his buildings with expressions like elegance in exposed-aggregate concrete and his adherents see in his work a model for modern architecture, and especially for modern theatre architecture. For more than 16 years Fritz Bornemann was Chairman of the Bund Deutscher Architekten, der deutsche Beitrag auf der Expo70 in Osaka
6.
Opera
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Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. In traditional opera, singers do two types of singing, recitative, a style and arias, a more melodic style. Opera incorporates many of the elements of theatre, such as acting, scenery. The performance is given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble. Opera is a key part of the Western classical music tradition, in the 18th century, Italian opera continued to dominate most of Europe, attracting foreign composers such as George Frideric Handel. Opera seria was the most prestigious form of Italian opera, until Christoph Willibald Gluck reacted against its artificiality with his operas in the 1760s. The first third of the 19th century saw the point of the bel canto style, with Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti. It also saw the advent of Grand Opera typified by the works of Auber and Meyerbeer, the mid-to-late 19th century was a golden age of opera, led and dominated by Richard Wagner in Germany and Giuseppe Verdi in Italy. The popularity of opera continued through the era in Italy and contemporary French opera through to Giacomo Puccini. During the 19th century, parallel operatic traditions emerged in central and eastern Europe, the 20th century saw many experiments with modern styles, such as atonality and serialism, Neoclassicism, and Minimalism. With the rise of recording technology, singers such as Enrico Caruso, since the invention of radio and television, operas were also performed on these mediums. Beginning in 2006, a number of opera houses began to present live high-definition video transmissions of their performances in cinemas all over the world. In 2009, an opera company offered a download of a complete performance. The words of an opera are known as the libretto, some composers, notably Wagner, have written their own libretti, others have worked in close collaboration with their librettists, e. g. Mozart with Lorenzo Da Ponte. Vocal duets, trios and other ensembles often occur, and choruses are used to comment on the action, in some forms of opera, such as singspiel, opéra comique, operetta, and semi-opera, the recitative is mostly replaced by spoken dialogue. Melodic or semi-melodic passages occurring in the midst of, or instead of, the terminology of the various kinds of operatic voices is described in detail below. Over the 18th century, arias were accompanied by the orchestra. Subsequent composers have tended to follow Wagners example, though some, the changing role of the orchestra in opera is described in more detail below
7.
Charlottenburg
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Charlottenburg is an affluent locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Charlottenburg was an independent city to the west of Berlin until 1920 when it was incorporated into Groß-Berlin, in the course of Berlins 2001 administrative reform it was merged with the former borough of Wilmersdorf becoming a part of a new borough called Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Later, in 2004, the new districts were rearranged, dividing the former borough of Charlottenburg into the localities of Charlottenburg proper, Westend. Charlottenburg is located in Berlins inner city, west of the Großer Tiergarten park and its historic core, the former village green of Alt Lietzow, is situated on the southern shore of the Spree River running through the Berlin glacial valley. In the north and west, the Berlin Ringbahn and the Bundesautobahn 100 mark the border with the Charlottenburg-Nord, adjacent in the south is the territory of Wilmersdorf. Charlottenburg also borders on the district of Halensee in the southwest, as well as on Moabit, Hansaviertel and Tiergarten in the east, archaeological findings in the area date back to the Neolithic era. Although these names are of Slavic origin, the settlements are likely to have had a mixed Slavic, Lietzow is first documented in a 1239 deed. In 1315, Lietzow and Casow became the property of the Sankt Marien nunnery in nearby Spandau, as a result, the Lietzow farmstead probably was expanded to a village. In the course of the Protestant Reformation, Elector Joachim II Hector of Brandenburg confiscated the estates, while the Lietzow area has been populated continuously, Casow and Glienicke were abandoned. From old field names it is believed that Glienicke lay in the area of the present day streets Kantstraße, Fasanenstraße, Kurfürstendamm, the development of Lietzow is well documented. For more than four hundred years, members of the Berendt family were mayors, in 1695, Sophia Charlotte of Hanover received Lietzow from her husband, Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg, in exchange for her estates in Caputh and Langerwisch near Potsdam. Frederick had a residence built there for Sophie Charlotte by the architect Johann Arnold Nering between 1695 and 1699. After he had crowned himself Frederick I, King in Prussia, the Swedish master builder Johann Friedrich Eosander supervised this work. The king served as the mayor until the historic village of Lietzow was incorporated into Charlottenburg in 1720. Fredericks successor as king, Frederick William I of Prussia, rarely stayed at the palace, Frederick William even tried to revoke the towns privileges. With the coronation of his successor Frederick II inl 1740 the towns significance increased, between 1740 and 1747 Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff built the eastern New Wing as Fredericks residence. Later, Frederick II preferred the palace of Sanssouci, which he had designed himself. After the defeat of the Prussian army at Jena in 1806, napoleon took over the palace, while his troops made a camp nearby
8.
Opera house
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An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building. While some venues are constructed specifically for operas, other houses are part of larger performing arts centers. In contrast, there was no house in London when Henry Purcell was composing. Early United States opera houses served a variety of functions in towns and cities, hosting community dances, fairs, plays, with the rise of bourgeois and capitalist social forms in the 19th century, European culture moved away from its patronage system to a publicly supported system. In the 2000s, most opera and theatre companies raise funds from a combination of government and institutional grants, ticket sales, the Teatro San Carlo in Naples introduces the plant horseshoe, the oldest in the world, a model for the Italian theater. On this model were built following theaters of Italy and Europe, among others, the theater of the Palace of Caserta. Given the popularity of opera in 18th and 19th century Europe, opera houses are large, with generally more than 1,000 seats. Modern opera houses of the century such as New Yorks Metropolitan Opera. Many operas are better suited to being presented in smaller theatres, in a traditional opera house, the auditorium is U-shaped, with the length of the sides determining the audience capacity. Around this are tiers of balconies, and often, nearer to the stage, are boxes and this is especially true of Wagners Bayreuth Festspielhaus where the pit is almost completely covered. The size of an opera orchestra varies, but for some operas, oratorios and other works, it may be large, for some romantic period works. Similarly, an opera may have a large cast of characters, chorus, dancers, therefore, a major opera house will have extensive dressing room facilities. Opera houses often have on-premises set and costume building shops and facilities for storage of costumes, make-up, masks, and stage properties, major opera houses throughout the world often have highly mechanized stages, with large stage elevators permitting heavy sets to be changed rapidly. At the Metropolitan Opera, for instance, sets are changed during the action, as the audience watches. This occurs in the Mets productions of such as Aida. Much the same happened in the remodeling of Milans La Scala opera house between 2002 and 2004, since the 1990s, however, many opera houses have begun using a subtle form of sound reinforcement called acoustic enhancement. Often, operas are presented in their languages, which may be different from the first language of the audience. For example, a Wagnerian opera presented in London may be in German, therefore, since the 1980s modern opera houses have assisted the audience by providing translated supertitles, projections of the words above or near to the stage
9.
Staatsoper Unter den Linden
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The Berlin State Opera is a German opera company based in Berlin. Its permanent home is the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, commonly referred to as Lindenoper, in the central Mitte district, originally the Hofoper from 1742, it was named Königliches Opernhaus in 1844, and Staatsoper Unter den Linden in 1918. From 1949 to 1990 it housed the opera of East Germany. Since 2004, the State Opera company belongs to the Berlin Opera Foundation, like the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Komische Oper Berlin, the Berlin State Ballet, king Frederick II of Prussia shortly after his accession to the throne commissioned the original building on the site. Construction work began in July 1741 with what was designed by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff to be the first part of a Forum Fredericianum on present-day Bebelplatz. Although not entirely completed, the Court Opera was inaugurated with a performance of Carl Heinrich Grauns Cesare e Cleopatra on December 7,1742. This event marked the beginning of the successful, 250-year co-operation between the Staatsoper and the Staatskapelle Berlin, the orchestra, whose roots trace back to the 16th century. In 1821, the Berlin Opera—hosted at the Schauspielhaus Berlin—gave the premiere of Webers Der Freischütz, in 1842, Wilhelm Taubert instituted the tradition of regular symphonic concerts. In the same year, Giacomo Meyerbeer succeeded Gaspare Spontini as General Music Director, Felix Mendelssohn also conducted symphonic concerts for a year. On August 18,1843 the Linden Opera was destroyed by fire, in 1849, Otto Nicolais Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor was premiered at the Royal Opera House, conducted by the composer himself. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century and they included Felix von Weingartner, Karl Muck, Richard Strauss, and Leo Blech. After the collapse of the German Empire in 1918, the Opera was renamed Staatsoper unter den Linden, in the 1920s, Kurt Adler, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Erich Kleiber, Otto Klemperer, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Bruno Walter occupied the conductors post. In 1925, Alban Bergs Wozzeck, was given its premiere in a production conducted by Erich Kleiber in the composers presence, after having undergone an extensive renovation, the Linden Opera reopened on 28 April 1928 with a new production of Die Zauberflöte. The cast included Delia Reinhardt, Richard Tauber, Friedrich Schorr and Leo Schützendorf, in the same year, the famous Russian bass Feodor Chaliapin and Serge Diaghilevs Ballets Russes with conductor Ernest Ansermet were guest performers. In 1930 Erich Kleiber conducted the premiere of Darius Milhauds Christophe Colomb, however, in 1934, when symphonic pieces from Alban Bergs Lulu were performed by Kleiber, the National Socialists provoked a scandal and the conductor was forced into exile. After Hitlers Nazi takeover, members of Jewish origin were dismissed from the ensemble, many German musicians associated with the opera went into exile, including the conductors Kurt Adler, Otto Klemperer and Fritz Busch. During the Third Reich, Robert Heger, Herbert von Karajan,1938, Werner Egk conducted the first night of his opera Peer Gynt on November 24. Herbert von Karajan´s interpretation of Mozart´s Die Zauberflöte was performed on December 18, Karajan continued as Generalmusikdirektor, the principal musical director of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden between 1941 and 1945
10.
Komische Oper Berlin
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The Komische Oper Berlin is an opera company in Berlin, Germany, which specializes in German language productions of opera, operetta and musicals. The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, just a few steps from the famous Berlin street Unter den Linden. Since 2004 the Komische Oper Berlin, like the Berlin State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Berlin State Ballet, the theatre was built between 1891 and 1892 by architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer for a private society. It first opened on 24 September 1892 as Theater Unter den Linden with Adolf Ferrons operetta Daphne and Gaul, the theatre was primarily a vehicle for operetta, but was also used for various other events and balls. Around 800 people could be seated in the stalls, and the balconies and its directors went bankrupt in 1896 and the theatre was forced to close its doors. On 3 September 1898 the theatre was reopened as Metropol-Theater with Julius Freunds revue Paradies der Frauen and it then grew to become one of Berlins most famous and successful variety theatres. During the 1920s and early 1930s, it was leased by the brothers [Alfred, under their management, it saw the premieres of two operettas by Franz Lehár - Friederike in 1928 and Das Land des Lächelns in 1929, both starring Richard Tauber. However, due to a decline of variety and music hall entertainment the theatre was closed in 1933. In 1934 the theatre was nationalised and renamed Staatliches Operettentheater and it operated as part of the Nazi Kraft durch Freude entertainment and leisure programmes. During World War II, the auditorium was damaged by Allied bombing on 7 May 1944, the façade, entrance hall, and auditorium ceiling murals were destroyed by bombs on 9 March 1945. After the war, the theatre was in East Germany, being that the building was in the part of Berlin. Following repair works and provisional rebuilding, the theatre reopened on 23 December 1947, the 1950s saw various further alterations and extensions. The theatre was rebuilt in 1965/1966 by Architektenkollektiv Kunz Nierade, adding functional extensions. The theatre reopened again on 4 December 1966, with Mozarts Don Giovanni, the auditorium underwent further restoration in 1986, and the stage technology was further modernised by 1989. In 1947, Walter Felsenstein founded and led the resident opera company, götz Friedrich was an assistant to Felsenstein at the company. Joachim Herz became general director after Felsensteins death and served until 1981, subsequently, Harry Kupfer directed the company for 21 seasons, until 2002. The company specializes in German language productions of opera, operetta, in 2007 the company won, jointly with Oper Bremen, the Opera house of the year award by the German magazine Opernwelt. Since 2002, the chief director and Intendant has been Andreas Homoki
11.
Kingdom of Prussia
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It was the driving force behind the unification of Germany in 1871 and was the leading state of the German Empire until its dissolution in 1918. Although it took its name from the region called Prussia, it was based in the Margraviate of Brandenburg, the kings of Prussia were from the House of Hohenzollern. Prussia was a power from the time it became a kingdom, through its predecessor, Brandenburg-Prussia. Prussia continued its rise to power under the guidance of Frederick II, more known as Frederick the Great. After the might of Prussia was revealed it was considered as a power among the German states. Throughout the next hundred years Prussia went on to win many battles and it was because of its power that Prussia continuously tried to unify all the German states under its rule. Attempts at creation of a federation remained unsuccessful and the German Confederation collapsed in 1866 when war ensued between its two most powerful states, Prussia and Austria. The North German Confederation which lasted from 1867–1871, created a union between the Prussian-aligned states while Austria and most of Southern Germany remained independent. The North German Confederation was seen as more of an alliance of military strength in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War, the German Empire lasted from 1871–1918 with the successful unification of all the German states under Prussian hegemony. This was due to the defeat of Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, in 1871, Germany unified into a single country, minus Austria and Switzerland, with Prussia the dominant power. Prussia is considered the predecessor of the unified German Reich. The Kingdom left a significant cultural legacy, today notably promoted by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, in 1415 a Hohenzollern Burgrave came from the south to the March of Brandenburg and took control of the area as elector. In 1417 the Hohenzollern was made an elector of the Holy Roman Empire, after the Polish wars, the newly established Baltic towns of the German states including Prussia, suffered many economic setbacks. Many of the Prussian towns could not even afford to attend political meetings outside of Prussia, the towns were poverty stricken, with even the largest town, Danzig, having to borrow money from elsewhere to pay for trade. Poverty in these towns was partly caused by Prussias neighbors, who had established and developed such a monopoly on trading that these new towns simply could not compete and these issues led to feuds, wars, trade competition and invasions. However, the fall of these gave rise to the nobility, separated the east and the west. It was clear in 1440 how different Brandenburg was from the other German territories, not only did it face partition from within but also the threat of its neighbors. It prevented the issue of partition by enacting the Dispositio Achillea which instilled the principle of primogeniture to both the Brandenburg and Franconian territories, the second issue was solved through expansion
12.
Ludwig van Beethoven
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Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he one of the most famous. His best-known compositions include 9 symphonies,5 piano concertos,1 violin concerto,32 piano sonatas,16 string quartets, his great Mass the Missa solemnis, and one opera, Fidelio. At the age of 21 he moved to Vienna, where he began studying composition with Joseph Haydn and he lived in Vienna until his death. By his late 20s his hearing began to deteriorate, and by the last decade of his life he was almost completely deaf. In 1811 he gave up conducting and performing in public but continued to compose, many of his most admired works come from these last 15 years of his life. Beethoven was the grandson of Ludwig van Beethoven, a musician from the town of Mechelen in the Duchy of Brabant in the Flemish region of what is now Belgium, who at the age of twenty moved to Bonn. Ludwig was employed as a singer at the court of the Elector of Cologne, eventually rising to become, in 1761. The portrait he commissioned of himself towards the end of his life remained proudly displayed in his grandsons rooms as a talisman of his musical heritage. Ludwig had one son, Johann, who worked as a tenor in the musical establishment and gave keyboard. Johann married Maria Magdalena Keverich in 1767, she was the daughter of Johann Heinrich Keverich, Beethoven was born of this marriage in Bonn. There is no record of the date of his birth, however. Of the seven children born to Johann van Beethoven, only Ludwig, the second-born, caspar Anton Carl was born on 8 April 1774, and Nikolaus Johann, the youngest, was born on 2 October 1776. Beethovens first music teacher was his father and he later had other local teachers, the court organist Gilles van den Eeden, Tobias Friedrich Pfeiffer, and Franz Rovantini. Beethovens musical talent was obvious at a young age, some time after 1779, Beethoven began his studies with his most important teacher in Bonn, Christian Gottlob Neefe, who was appointed the Courts Organist in that year. Neefe taught Beethoven composition, and by March 1783 had helped him write his first published composition, Beethoven soon began working with Neefe as assistant organist, at first unpaid, and then as a paid employee of the court chapel conducted by the Kapellmeister Andrea Luchesi. His first three piano sonatas, named Kurfürst for their dedication to the Elector Maximilian Friedrich, were published in 1783, Maximilian Frederick noticed Beethovens talent early, and subsidised and encouraged the young mans musical studies. Maximilian Fredericks successor as the Elector of Bonn was Maximilian Francis, the youngest son of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, echoing changes made in Vienna by his brother Joseph, he introduced reforms based on Enlightenment philosophy, with increased support for education and the arts
13.
Fidelio
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Fidelio, Op.72, is a German opera with spoken dialogue by Ludwig van Beethoven, his only opera. The German libretto was prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly. The following year, Stephan von Breuning helped shorten the work from three acts to two, after further work on the libretto by Georg Friedrich Treitschke, a final version performed at the Kärntnertortheater on 23 May 1814. By convention, both of the first two versions are referred to as Leonore, the opera tells how Leonore, disguised as a prison guard named Fidelio, rescues her husband Florestan from death in a political prison. Bouillys scenario fits Beethovens aesthetic and political outlook, a story of sacrifice, heroism. With its underlying struggle for liberty and justice mirroring contemporary political movements in Europe, the finale celebrates Leonores bravery with alternating contributions of soloists and chorus. The distant origin of Fidelio dates from 1803, when the librettist, the contract included free housing for Beethoven in the apartment complex that was part of Schikaneders large suburban theater, the Theater an der Wien. Beethoven was to set a new libretto by Schikaneder, entitled Vestas Feuer, however and he spent about a month composing music for it, then abandoned it when the libretto for Fidelio came to his attention. The time Beethoven spent on Vestas Feuer was not entirely wasted, welch’ ein Augenblick. and the duet O namenlose Freude for Leonora and Florestan, both originated as music for Vestas Feuer. The success of these performances was hindered by the fact that Vienna was under French military occupation, after this premiere, Beethoven was pressured by friends to revise and shorten the opera into just two acts, and he did so with the help of Stephan von Breuning. The composer also wrote a new overture, in this form the opera was first performed on 29 March and 10 April 1806, with greater success. Further performances were prevented by a dispute between Beethoven and the theatre management, in 1814 Beethoven revised his opera yet again, with additional work on the libretto by Georg Friedrich Treitschke. This version was first performed at the Kärntnertortheater on 23 May 1814, the 17-year-old Franz Schubert was in the audience, having sold his school books to obtain a ticket. The increasingly deaf Beethoven led the performance, assisted by Michael Umlauf, the role of Pizarro was taken by Johann Michael Vogl, who later became known for his collaborations with Schubert. This version of the opera was a success, and Fidelio has been part of the operatic repertory ever since. Beethoven cannot be said to have enjoyed the difficulties posed by writing and producing an opera, in a letter to Treitschke he said, I assure you, dear Treitschke, that this opera will win me a martyrs crown. You have by your co-operation saved what is best from the shipwreck, for all this I shall be eternally grateful to you. The full score was not published until 1826, and all three versions are known as Beethovens Opus 72, the first performance outside Vienna took place in Prague on 21 November 1814, with a revival in Vienna on 3 November 1822
14.
Ignatz Waghalter
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Ignatz Waghalter was a Polish-German composer and conductor. Waghalter was born into a poor but musically-accomplished Jewish family in Warsaw and his eldest brother, Henryk Waghalter, became a renowned cellist at the Warsaw Conservatory. Wladyslaw, the youngest Waghalter brother, became a noted violinist, Ignatz Waghalter made his way to Berlin at the age of 17 where he first studied with Philipp Scharwenka. Waghalter came to the attention of Joseph Joachim, the great violinist, with the support of Joachim, Waghalter was admitted into the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin, where he studied composition and conducting under the direction of Friedrich Gernsheim. Waghalter’s early chamber music revealed an intense melodic imagination that was to remain a characteristic of his compositional work. An early String Quartet in D Major, Opus 3, was praised by Joachim. Waghalter’s Sonata for Violin and Pianoforte in F Minor, Opus 5, received the prestigious Mendelssohn-Preis in 1902, in 1907 Waghalter secured a post as conductor at the Komische Oper in Berlin, assisting Arthur Nikisch, where his reputation grew rapidly. This was followed by a tenure at the Grillo-Theater, the Stadttheater in Essen. Waghalter’s appointment as conductor at the new Deutsche Opernhaus in Berlin established his position as a major figure in German music. The house was inaugurated under Waghalter’s direction on 7 November 1912 with a performance of Fidelio, Waghalter championed the music of Giacomo Puccini, whose operas had previously failed to win public acceptance in Germany. The first performance of Puccinis La Fanciulla del West in Germany was conducted by Waghalter in March 1913 at the Deutsche Opernhaus and its triumphant reception secured for Puccinis operas a permanent place in the repertoires of Germanys opera houses. Waghalter also conducted the German debut performances of Tosca and La Bohème, the fervent melodicism of these works marked Waghalter as among the most lyrical of German operatic composers in the pre-1933 era. Waghalter left the Deutsche Opernhaus in 1923, traveling to the United States, he succeeded Joseph Stransky as musical director of the New York State Symphony, a post that he held during the 1925 season. Deeply attached to the life of Berlin, Waghalter turned down an offer to remain at the State Symphony. He assumed the position of Generalmusikmeister of UFA, the largest film company in Germany. In this capacity, Waghalter composed the musical score for one of the most extraordinary German films of the Weimar era. This pathbreaking film, which premiered in Berlin in September 1925, Waghalters music was described by one critic as a sensation. Waghalter composed several operettas, and was active as a guest conductor, Waghalter was appointed musical director at the National Opera in Riga, Latvia, for the 1931-32 season
15.
Greater Berlin Act
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Berlin had been part of the Province of Brandenburg since 1815. On 1 April 1881, the city became Stadtkreis Berlin, a city district separate from Brandenburg, the Greater Berlin Act was passed by the Prussian parliament on 27 April 1920 and came into effect on 1 October of the same year. With this, the act was an important foundation for the rise of Berlin to a centre of Europe in the 1920s. Apart from minor changes, the city boundary defined in the law is still the same as today, since the reunification of Germany it is the border between the German states of Berlin and Brandenburg
16.
Adolf Hitler's rise to power
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Adolf Hitlers rise to power began in Germany in September 1919 when Hitler joined the political party known as the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei – DAP. The name was changed in 1920 to the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei – NSDAP and this political party was formed and developed during the post-World War I era. Hitlers rise can be considered to have ended in March 1933, President Paul von Hindenburg had already appointed Hitler as Chancellor on 30 January 1933 after a series of parliamentary elections and associated backroom intrigues. The Enabling Act—when used ruthlessly and with authority—virtually assured that Hitler could thereafter constitutionally exercise dictatorial power without legal objection, Adolf Hitler rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Being one of the best speakers of the party, he told the party members to either make him leader of the party or he would never return. He was aided in part by his willingness to use violence in advancing his political objectives, the Beer Hall Putsch in November 1923 and the later release of his book Mein Kampf introduced Hitler to a wider audience. Hitler became involved with the fledgling Nazi Party after the First World War and he decided on the tactic of pursuing power through legal means. After being granted permission from King Ludwig III of Bavaria, 25-year-old Austrian-born Hitler enlisted in a Bavarian regiment of the German army, for over four years, Germany was a principal actor in World War I, on the Western Front. Soon after the fighting on the front ended in November 1918, Hitler returned to Munich after the Armistice with no job, no real civilian job skills and he took part in national thinking courses under Captain Karl Mayr. In July 1919 Hitler was appointed Verbindungsmann of an Aufklärungskommando of the Reichswehr, the DAP had been formed by Anton Drexler, Karl Harrer and others, through amalgamation of other groups, on 5 January 1919 at a small gathering in Munich at the restaurant Fuerstenfelder Hof. While he studied the activities of the DAP, Hitler became impressed with Drexlers antisemitic, the audience member asserted that Bavaria should be wholly independent from Germany and should secede from Germany and unite with Austria to form a new South German nation. The volatile Hitler arose and scolded the unfortunate Professor Baumann, using his astonishing speaking skills, impressed with Hitlers oratory skills, Drexler invited him to join the DAP. Hitler accepted on 12 September 1919, in less than a week, Hitler received a postcard from Drexler stating he had officially been accepted as a DAP member and he should come to a committee meeting to discuss it. Hitler attended the meeting held at the run-down Alte Rosenbad beer-house. Later Hitler wrote that joining the fledgling party. was the most decisive resolve of my life, from here there was and could be no turning back. I registered as a member of the German Workers Party and received a membership card with the number 7. Normally, enlisted personnel were not allowed to join political parties. However, in case, Hitler had Captain Mayrs permission to join the DAP
17.
Joseph Goebbels
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Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. He advocated progressively harsher discrimination, including the extermination of the Jews in the Holocaust, Goebbels, who aspired to be an author, obtained a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Heidelberg in 1921. He joined the Nazi Party in 1924, and worked with Gregor Strasser in their northern branch and he was appointed as Gauleiter for Berlin in 1926, where he began to take an interest in the use of propaganda to promote the party and its programme. After the Nazi Seizure of Power in 1933, Goebbels Propaganda Ministry quickly gained and exerted controlling supervision over the media, arts. He was particularly adept at using the new media of radio. Topics for party propaganda included antisemitism, attacks on the Christian churches, as the war drew to a close and Nazi Germany faced defeat, Magda Goebbels and the Goebbels children joined him in Berlin. They moved into the underground Vorbunker, part of Hitlers underground bunker complex, Hitler committed suicide on 30 April. In accordance with Hitlers will, Goebbels succeeded him as Chancellor of Germany, the following day, Goebbels and his wife committed suicide, after poisoning their six children with cyanide. Paul Joseph Goebbels was born on 29 October 1897 in Rheydt, both of his parents were Catholics with modest family backgrounds. His father Fritz was a clerk, his mother Katharina was ethnically Dutch. Goebbels had five siblings, Konrad, Hans, Maria, Elisabeth, and Maria, in 1932, Goebbels published a pamphlet of his family tree to refute the rumors that his grandmother was of Jewish ancestry. During childhood, Goebbels suffered from ill health, which included a bout of inflammation of the lungs. He had a right foot that turned inwards, due to a congenital deformity. It was thicker and shorter than his left foot and he underwent a failed operation to correct it just prior to starting grammar school. Goebbels wore a metal brace and special shoe because of his shortened leg and he was rejected for military service in World War I due to his deformity. Goebbels was educated at a Christian Gymnasium, where he completed his Abitur in 1917 and he was the top student of his class and was given the traditional honor to speak at the awards ceremony. His parents initially hoped that he would become a Catholic priest and he studied literature and history at the universities of Bonn, Würzburg, Freiburg, and Munich, aided by a scholarship from the Albertus Magnus Society. By this time Goebbels had begun to distance himself from the church, historians, including Richard J. Evans and Roger Manvell, speculate that Goebbels lifelong pursuit of women may have been in compensation for his physical disabilities
18.
Berlin State Opera
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The Berlin State Opera is a German opera company based in Berlin. Its permanent home is the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, commonly referred to as Lindenoper, in the central Mitte district, originally the Hofoper from 1742, it was named Königliches Opernhaus in 1844, and Staatsoper Unter den Linden in 1918. From 1949 to 1990 it housed the opera of East Germany. Since 2004, the State Opera company belongs to the Berlin Opera Foundation, like the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Komische Oper Berlin, the Berlin State Ballet, king Frederick II of Prussia shortly after his accession to the throne commissioned the original building on the site. Construction work began in July 1741 with what was designed by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff to be the first part of a Forum Fredericianum on present-day Bebelplatz. Although not entirely completed, the Court Opera was inaugurated with a performance of Carl Heinrich Grauns Cesare e Cleopatra on December 7,1742. This event marked the beginning of the successful, 250-year co-operation between the Staatsoper and the Staatskapelle Berlin, the orchestra, whose roots trace back to the 16th century. In 1821, the Berlin Opera—hosted at the Schauspielhaus Berlin—gave the premiere of Webers Der Freischütz, in 1842, Wilhelm Taubert instituted the tradition of regular symphonic concerts. In the same year, Giacomo Meyerbeer succeeded Gaspare Spontini as General Music Director, Felix Mendelssohn also conducted symphonic concerts for a year. On August 18,1843 the Linden Opera was destroyed by fire, in 1849, Otto Nicolais Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor was premiered at the Royal Opera House, conducted by the composer himself. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century and they included Felix von Weingartner, Karl Muck, Richard Strauss, and Leo Blech. After the collapse of the German Empire in 1918, the Opera was renamed Staatsoper unter den Linden, in the 1920s, Kurt Adler, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Erich Kleiber, Otto Klemperer, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Bruno Walter occupied the conductors post. In 1925, Alban Bergs Wozzeck, was given its premiere in a production conducted by Erich Kleiber in the composers presence, after having undergone an extensive renovation, the Linden Opera reopened on 28 April 1928 with a new production of Die Zauberflöte. The cast included Delia Reinhardt, Richard Tauber, Friedrich Schorr and Leo Schützendorf, in the same year, the famous Russian bass Feodor Chaliapin and Serge Diaghilevs Ballets Russes with conductor Ernest Ansermet were guest performers. In 1930 Erich Kleiber conducted the premiere of Darius Milhauds Christophe Colomb, however, in 1934, when symphonic pieces from Alban Bergs Lulu were performed by Kleiber, the National Socialists provoked a scandal and the conductor was forced into exile. After Hitlers Nazi takeover, members of Jewish origin were dismissed from the ensemble, many German musicians associated with the opera went into exile, including the conductors Kurt Adler, Otto Klemperer and Fritz Busch. During the Third Reich, Robert Heger, Herbert von Karajan,1938, Werner Egk conducted the first night of his opera Peer Gynt on November 24. Herbert von Karajan´s interpretation of Mozart´s Die Zauberflöte was performed on December 18, Karajan continued as Generalmusikdirektor, the principal musical director of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden between 1941 and 1945
19.
Mitte (locality)
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Mitte is a central locality of Berlin in the homonymous district of Mitte. Until 2001 it was itself an autonomous district and it comprises the historic centre of Alt-Berlin around the churches of St. Nicholas and St. For these reasons Mitte is considered the heart of Berlin, the history of Mitte corresponds to the history of the entire city until the early 20th century, and with the Greater Berlin Act in 1920 it became the first district of the city. It was among the areas of the city most heavily damaged in World War II and this ended on 1 January 1961, when western Staaken was incorporated into then East German Falkensee, which had already been under its de facto administration since 1 June 1952. Between 1961 and 1990 Mitte, one of the most important boroughs of East Berlin, one of the most important border crossings was Checkpoint Charlie, near Kreuzberg. Situated in central Berlin and mostly in its old town, it is traversed by the river Spree and it borders the localities of Tiergarten, Moabit, Wedding, Gesundbrunnen, Prenzlauer Berg, Friedrichshain, and Kreuzberg
20.
Free State of Prussia
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The Free State of Prussia was a German state formed after the abolition of the Kingdom of Prussia in the aftermath of the First World War. It was the state of the German Reich during the time of the Weimar Republic, comprising almost 5⁄8 of its territory. Free state is another German term for republic that was coined in contrast to the Latin word, the democratic Free State of Prussia was rendered incapacitated when it was taken over by the Preußenschlag of 1932–33 and Otto Braun was forced from office. His government went to court over this ouster, but in 1933 the Nazi regime seized control of the Prussian government, from 1933, the Free State was deprived of parliamentary democracy and ruled exclusively under the leadership of the National Socialist German Workers Party. Initially, Prussia was administered by high-ranking Nazi Hermann Göring who was appointed Minister-President of Prussia, after the end of World War II Otto Braun approached US officials to reinstate the legal Prussian government. They and the other Allied Occupation forces, who had occupied all of Germany, were opposed to the idea, except for its overseas colonies, Alsace-Lorraine and the Bavarian portion of the Saargebiet, all German territorial losses as a result of World War I were Prussian losses. As specified in the Treaty of Versailles, the kingdom lost territory to Belgium, Denmark. The Saargebiet was administered by the League of Nations until 1935, the Rhine Province became a demilitarised zone. The bulk of Prussias losses were to Poland, including most of the provinces of Posen and West Prussia, Danzig was placed under the administration of the League of Nations as the Free City of Danzig. These losses separated East Prussia from the rest of the country, in particular, it was thought that the French would seek to annex the Rhineland. Both the Reich and Prussian governments in Berlin were dominated by traditionalist sentiment, essentially, apart from its territorial losses and having its government placed on a democratic footing, Prussia continued unchanged. It remained by far the largest state of the Reich, with more territory, during the 500 years of Hohenzollern rule, Prussia had been synonymous with authoritarianism. In contrast, Prussia was a bulwark of democracy during the Weimar Republic, the restrictive Prussian three-class franchise was abolished shortly after Kaiser William II abdicated. Power now passed from the Junker landowners and great industrialists to Red Berlin, Prussia now became a stronghold of the left. From 1919 to 1932, Prussia was governed by a coalition of the Social Democrats, Catholic Centre, unlike in other states of the German Reich, majority rule by democratic parties in Prussia was never endangered. Otto Braun, a Social Democrat from East Prussia, served as Prussian minister-president almost continuously from 1920 to 1932. A capable leader, he implemented several trend-setting reforms together with his minister of the interior, Carl Severing, for instance, a Prussian minister-president could be forced out of office only if there was a positive majority for a potential successor. This concept, known as the vote of no confidence, was carried over into the Basic Law of the FRG
21.
Carl Ebert
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Carl Anton Charles Ebert, was an actor, stage director and arts administrator. Eberts early career was as an actor, training under Max Reinhardt, during that decade he was also appointed to administrative posts, both theatrical and academic. In 1929 he directed opera for the first time, and during the 1930s established a reputation as a director in Germany. A strong opponent of Nazism, he left Germany in 1933, together with John Christie and the conductor Fritz Busch, Ebert created the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 1934. Ebert remained its director until 1959, though productions were suspended during the Second World War. In the 1930s and 1940s Ebert helped establish a national conservatory in Turkey, in his later years Ebert held administrative posts in Los Angeles and Berlin, and was a guest director at opera houses and festivals in Europe. Ebert was born in Berlin, the son of a Polish father, Count Anton Potulicky, who was a government official in Berlin, and an Irish-American mother, Mary Collins, a music student. To keep it secret from her family that she had a child, Mary Collins persuaded a fellow-student, Eileen Lawless. He was given the name of Charles Lawless and his father rented rooms in the house of Wilhelm and Maria Ebert in Berlin. He persuaded the couple to take charge of his son, when the boy was seven years old the Eberts legally adopted him as their son. He was known as Charles Ebert from then until the First World War when he took a German form of his first name, Ebert was educated in Berlin at the Friedrich Werdersche Oberrealschule Berlin. From 1905 he trained for two years to be a banker, but in 1907 he gained a place at Max Reinhardts School of Dramatic Art in Berlin. While still a student Ebert played several parts in Rheinhardts productions at the Deutsches Theater. While a member of Reinhardts resident company at the Deutsches Theatre and they had a daughter, who became a leading German actress and died in 1946, and a son, Peter, who became a stage director and theatre administrator. In 1914 Ebert was called up for service, but after a year he was released at the instigation of the Schauspielhaus, Frankfurt. In the next seven years he played roles for the Frankfurt company. In 1923 he and his wife divorced, the following year she married the conductor Hans Oppenheim, and Ebert married Gertrude Eck. All four remained on close terms with one another, Eberts second marriage lasted for the rest of his life, he and Gertrude had two daughters and one son
22.
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
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Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England. Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been held annually since 1934, except in 1941–45 during World War II and 1993 when the theatre was being rebuilt, for a 1994 reopening. Gus Christie, son of Sir George Christie and grandson of festival founder John Christie, since the companys inception, Glyndebourne has been particularly celebrated for its productions of Mozart operas. Recordings of Glyndebournes past historic Mozart productions have been reissued, while Mozart operas have continued to be the mainstay of its repertory, the company has expanded it with productions of Janáček and Handel operas. The primary resident orchestra for the Glyndebourne Festival is the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the festivals associate orchestra is the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. In January 2014, Robin Ticciati became the music director of the company. David Pickard has been director of the festival, since 2001. In November 2015, the announced the appointment of Sebastian F. Schwarz as its general director. Its first placement of advertisements was in 2003, the festival has planned to incorporate power by wind turbine, as part of its green initiatives. Many Glyndebourne attendees come from London, and the event is regarded as part of the English summer season, performances start in the afternoon, enabling Londoners to leave town after lunch, and finish in time for them to catch the last train back. A long interval allows opera-goers the opportunity for picnic dinners on the lawns or in one of the restaurants in the grounds. Annually in London, the company presents a performance at The Proms. In 2003, the Glyndebourne Touring Opera administrative duties were absorbed back into the main Glyndebourne Festival Opera administration, unlike Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Glyndebourne On Tour does receive some subsidy, from the Arts Council England. The schedule involves three weeks of performances at Glyndebourne, and then one week in each of the six cities, the music directors of Glyndebourne Touring Opera and Glyndebourne on Tour are separate from the Glyndebourne Festival Opera music directors. Glyndebourne Festival Opera has also toured internationally, including the Adelaide Festival in 2006 with its production of Flight by Jonathan Dove, Glyndebourne is constituted as a registered charity called Glyndebourne Productions Limited, which is a company limited by guarantee. It has a wholly owned subsidiary, Glyndebourne Enterprises Limited, which carries out merchandising, production hire and media development activities, a related charity called the Glyndebourne Arts Trust carries out fund-raising activities. Glyndebourne Association America allows residents of the United States to make tax efficient donations to Glyndebourne, Glyndebourne has an annual budget of a little over £20 million, as of 2010. The Festival is the major opera season in the United Kingdom which is not state subsidised
23.
Max von Schillings
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Max von Schillings was a German conductor, composer and theatre director. He was chief conductor at the Berlin State Opera from 1919 to 1925, Schillings opera Mona Lisa was internationally successful and was performed at the Metropolitan Opera. The composer married Barbara Kemp, the soprano who sang the title role, before Mona Lisa, Schillings had already written three operas, Ingwelde, Der Pfeifertag and Der Moloch. Born in Düren, Max von Schillings was brother to the photographer Carl Georg Schillings and he received his first musical training in violin, piano and theory at the same time as his formal education in Bonn. His teachers were Caspar Joseph Brambach and Otto von Königslow, Schillings later studied jurisprudence, philosophy, literature and art history at the University of Munich. On October 1,1892, he married his cousin Caroline Josefa Peill in Römlinghoven and they were divorced in 1923, and on June 11,1923, he married the opera singer Barbara Kemp in Berlin-Charlottenburg. Max Schillings was given a professorship by the Royal Bavarian Ministry of the Interior on February 16,1903, in October 1911, he was named an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy by the Philosophy Faculty at the University of Heidelberg. He was awarded the Ehrenkreuz by the Order of the Württemberg Crown, with this honor, he was allowed to use the name Max von Schillings. In Düren, the street between Goethestraße and Aachener Straße was renamed Schillingsstraße, as early as the 1890s, he was given a position as an assistant at the Bayreuth Festival, later he was engaged as a conductor and music teacher in Munich. Between 1908 and 1918 he was the Intendant at the Königlichen Hoftheater in Stuttgart, from 1918 to 1925, he succeeded Richard Strauss as intendant of the State Opera in Berlin, whilst concurrently being the musical director of the summer-time Zoppot Forest Opera. In the second half of this decade, he undertook concert tours took him through Europe. Having returned to Germany, he took over the job of President of the Prussian Academy of the Arts in 1932, from March 1933 until his death, Schillings was also the artistic director of the Städtische Oper Berlin. He died in 1933 from an embolism in Berlin. His ashes were entombed at Frankfurt-am-Main and his composition work includes several operas, melodramas, choral works, chamber music pieces, violin and piano concertos, symphonic poems and works for stage. His most important work is undoubtedly his opera Mona Lisa, which one of the most-performed operas in Germany until his death. He stands beside Engelbert Humperdinck and Richard Strauss as one of the composers who re-established the music form of melodrama at the start of the 20th century, Schillings was renowned as a music educator - one of his more famous students was Wilhelm Furtwängler. He was the dedicatee of Sea Drift by Frederick Delius, Max von Schillings was an opponent of the Weimar Republic and a declared anti-Semite. Max von Schillings, Komponist und Dirigent, Zum 100, april 1968, J. Geuenich + K. Strahn, Düren 1968 Max von Schillings, Der Kampf eines deutschen Künstlers, Wilhelm Raup, Hanseatische Verlaganstalt Hamburg,1935
24.
Fritz Stiedry
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Fritz Stiedry was an Austrian conductor and composer. Fritz Stiedry was born in Vienna in 1883, while still a law student at the University of Vienna, Stiedrys talent for music was noticed by Gustav Mahler, who appointed him his assistant at the Vienna Court Opera in 1907. This was followed by other assistant posts, leading to chief conductorships at the operas of Kassel, in 1932 he conducted the world premiere of Kurt Weills opera Die Bürgschaft. Stiedry left Germany when Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933 and he was involved in rehearsals for the premiere of Shostakovichs Fourth Symphony until the premiere was canceled for reasons, in all probability political, that remain controversial. From 1945 onwards he returned to opera, conducting the Lyric Opera of Chicago and he died in Zürich, Switzerland in 1968, aged 84. He recorded Haydns symphonies nos.67,80,99 and 102 and his live recording from the Metropolitan Opera of Giuseppe Verdis La forza del destino has been transferred to CD. Der gerettete Alkibiades, opera chamber music Holmes, John L. Conductors on record, handbuch österreichischer Autorinnen und Autoren jüdischer Herkunft 18. K. G. Saur,2002, ISBN 3-598-11545-8, p.1328, the new Grove dictionary of music and musicians, Macmillan,1980. Great Jews in Music, J. D. Publishers,1986, the New Grove Dictionary of American Music. Index to record reviews 1984–1987, G. K, dictionnaire des interpretes et de linterpretation musicale au XX siecle, Robert Laffont,1989
25.
Bombing of Berlin in World War II
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Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany, was subject to 363 air raids during the Second World War. It was also attacked by aircraft of the Red Air Force, British bombers dropped 45,517 tons of bombs, the Americans dropped 23,000 tons. As the bombings continued more and more people moved out, by May 1945,1.7 million people had fled. When the Second World War began in 1939, the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, the United Kingdom had a policy of using aerial bombing only against military targets and against infrastructure such as ports and railways of direct military importance. The first RAF raid on the interior of Germany took place on the night of 10 –11 May, although killing German civilians was never an explicit policy, it was obvious that area bombing must lead to large-scale civilian casualties. With the technology available at the time, the bombing of military targets was possible only by daylight. Before 1941, Berlin, at 950 kilometres from London, was at the range attainable by the British bombers then available to the Allied forces. It could be bombed only at night in summer when the days were longer and it has been argued that this action may actually have saved Britain from defeat. During 1940 there were raids on Berlin, all of which did little damage. The raids grew more frequent in 1941, but were ineffective in hitting important targets. The head of the Air Staff of the RAF, Sir Charles Portal, justified these raids by saying that to get four million people out of bed, the Soviet Union started a bombing campaign on Berlin on 8 August 1941 that extended into early September. Navy bombers, operating from the Moonzund Archipelago conducted 8 raids to Berlin with 3-12 aircraft in each raid, Army bombers, operating from near Leningrad, executed several small raids to Berlin. In total in 1941,33 Soviet aircraft dropped 36,000 kilograms of bombs on Berlin, combat and operational losses for the Soviets tallied 17 aircraft destroyed and 70 crewmen killed. On 7 November 1941, Sir Richard Peirse, head of RAF Bomber Command, launched a raid on Berlin. More than 20 were shot down or crashed, and again little damage was done and this failure led to the dismissal of Peirse and his replacement by Sir Arthur Travers Harris, who believed in both the efficacy and necessity of area bombing. Harris said, The Nazis entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to everyone else. At Rotterdam, London, Warsaw, and half a hundred other places and they sowed the wind, and now they are going to reap the whirlwind. At the same time, new bombers with longer ranges were coming into service, particularly the Avro Lancaster, during most of 1942, however, Bomber Commands priority was attacking Germanys U-boat ports as part of Britains effort to win the Battle of the Atlantic
26.
Admiralspalast
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The Admiralspalast, the Admiral Palace, is a theatre in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany, located on Friedrichstraße No.101. Opened in 1910, it is one of the few preserved variety venues of the pre-World War II era in the city. As a place of amusement the Admiralspalast originally included a skating rink, a bath, bowling alleys, a café. After World War I it turned to a theatre, starting with the show Drunter und drüber by Walter Kollo. As the building suffered damage from World War II bombing. The performance of revues and operettas were continued under the name of Metropol-Theater until its disestablishment in 1997, the GDR Union of Journalists had its offices inside the Admiralspalast. On August 11th,2006 it reopened with The Threepenny Opera, directed by Klaus Maria Brandauer
27.
West Berlin
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West Berlin was an enclave which comprised the western part of the city of Berlin during the Cold War. It was formally controlled by the Western Allies and formed a de facto part of West Germany, and was entirely surrounded by the Soviet-controlled East Berlin and East Germany. West Berlin had great significance during the Cold War, as it was widely considered by westerners as an island of freedom. A wealthy city, West Berlin was noted for its liberal and cosmopolitan character. With about two million inhabitants, West Berlin had the biggest population of any city in Cold War Germany and it was 100 miles east of the Inner German border and only accessible by land from West Germany by narrow rail and highway corridors. It consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors established in 1945 and was de facto part of West Germany and it had a special and unique legal status because its administration was formally conducted by the Western Allies. East Berlin, de jure occupied and administered by the Soviet Union, was the de facto capital of East Germany, the Berlin Wall, built in 1961, physically divided West Berlin from its East German surroundings until it fell in 1989. The Potsdam Agreement established the framework for the occupation of Germany in the wake of World War II. The territory of Germany, as it existed in 1937, would be reduced by most of Eastern Germany thus creating the former territories of Germany. The remaining territory would be divided into four zones, each administered by one of the allied countries, according to the agreement, the occupation of Berlin would end only as a result of a quadripartite agreement. The Western Allies were guaranteed three air corridors to their sectors of Berlin, and the Soviets also informally allowed road, at first, this arrangement was intended to be only a temporary administrative structure, with all parties declaring that Germany and Berlin would soon be reunited. However, as the relations between the allies and the Soviet Union soured and the Cold War began, the joint administration of Germany. Soon, Soviet-occupied Berlin and western-occupied Berlin had separate city administrations, in 1948, the Soviets tried to force the Western Allies out of Berlin by imposing a land blockade on the western sectors—the Berlin Blockade. The West responded by using its air corridors for supplying their part of the city with food, in May 1949, the Soviets lifted the blockade, and West Berlin as a separate city with its own jurisdiction was maintained. Following the Berlin Blockade, normal contacts between East and West Berlin resumed, however, in cases this proved only temporary. In 1952, the East German government began sealing its borders, as a direct result the electrical grids were separated and phone lines were cut. However, the culmination of the schism did not occur until 1961 with the construction of the Berlin Wall. From the legal theory followed by the Western Allies, the occupation of most of Germany ended in 1949 with the declaration of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic
28.
Theater des Westens
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The Theater des Westens is one of the most famous theatres for musicals and operettas in Berlin, Germany, located at Kantstraße 10–12 in Charlottenburg. It was founded in 1895 for plays, the present house was opened in 1896 and dedicated to opera and operetta. Enrico Caruso made his debut in Berlin here, and the Ballets Russes appeared with Anna Pavlova, in the 1930s it was run as the Volkstheater Berlin. After World War II it served as the opera house of Berlin. In 1961 it became the first theatre in Germany to show musicals, since then it has become the German equivalent of Broadway extravaganzas, putting on plays and musical comedies. The theatre was founded in 1895, the construction of the present building began in 1896, designed by Bernhard Sehring. It was opened on 1 October 1896 with a fairy tale, from 1898 the house was used for opera, from 1908 for operetta. Enrico Carusos first appearance in Berlin was in 1905 in Theater des Westens, in 1910, Diaghilevs Ballets Russes performed Le Carnaval on Schumanns music in a choreography by Mikhail Fokine. Anna Pavlova appeared with the Ballets Russes in 1914, from 1922, the house was again used as an opera house, called Große Volksoper, under the direction of conductor Leo Blech. Short lived, the closed in 1924. The theatre then showed a program, under frequently changing management. The dancer Mary Wigman and her company were a success in 1926. Hans Lüppschütz took over, presenting traditional works including Die Fledermaus and he engaged prominent actors, such as Fritzi Massary in Eine Frau von Format, Max Adalbert in Das Ekel and Josephine Baker in Bitte Einsteigen. From 1921, the theatre in the basement Wilde Bühne was directed by Trude Hesterberg. It was closed in 1928, but reopened in 1931 by Friedrich Hollaender as Tingel-Tangel-Theater, performers included Marlene Dietrich, Curt Bois, Bertolt Brecht, Erich Mühsam and Theo Lingen. In Nazi Germany, the theatre was reopened on 23 December 1934 as the Volksoper with Albert Lortzings Der Waffenschmied and it presented as part of Kraft durch Freude leichte Muse, directed by Karl Jöken and his wife Edith Schollwer. Examples include performances such as Alles für Eva, Junger Wein, Lockende Flamme and it had to be closed after an air raid in 1944. After World War II the building served as Berlins opera house called Städtische Oper, on 4 September 1945 it was opened by a performance of Beethovens Fidelio
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Don Giovanni
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Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It is based on the legends of Don Juan, a fictional libertine and it was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the National Theater, now called the Estates Theatre, on 29 October 1787. Da Pontes libretto was billed as a dramma giocoso, a designation of its time that denotes a mixing of serious. Mozart entered the work into his catalogue as an opera buffa, although sometimes classified as comic, it blends comedy, melodrama and supernatural elements. A staple of the operatic repertoire, Don Giovanni for the five seasons 2011/12 through 2015/16 was ninth on the Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide. It has also proved a fruitful subject for writers and philosophers, the opera was commissioned as a result of the overwhelming success of Mozarts trip to Prague in January and February 1787. The subject matter may have chosen in consideration of the long history of Don Juan operas in Prague. For Bertati, the setting was Villena, Spain, whereas Da Pontes libretto only specifies a city in Spain, the score was completed on 28 or 29 October 1787 after Da Ponte was recalled to Vienna to work on another opera. Reports about the completion of the overture conflict, some say it was completed the day before the premiere. More likely it was completed the day before, in light of the fact that Mozart recorded the completion of the opera on 28 October. The score calls for double woodwinds, two horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, basso continuo for the recitatives, and the string section. The composer also specified occasional special musical effects, in act 2, Giovanni is seen to play the mandolin, accompanied by pizzicato strings. In the same act, two of the Commendatores interventions are accompanied by a chorale of oboes, clarinets, bassoons. The instrumentation and vocal writing are very reminiscent of Mozarts treatment of the voice of Neptune in Idomeneo, the opera was first performed on 29 October 1787 in Prague under its full title of Il Dissoluto Punito ossia il Don Giovanni – Dramma giocoso in due atti. The work was received, as was often true of Mozarts work in Prague. The Prager Oberpostamtzeitung reported, Connoisseurs and musicians say that Prague has never heard the like, the Provincialnachrichten of Vienna reported, Herr Mozart conducted in person and was welcomed joyously and jubilantly by the numerous gathering. Mozart also supervised the Vienna premiere of the work, which place on 7 May 1788. These cuts are very seldom performed in theatres or recordings, the operas final ensemble was generally omitted until the early 20th century, a tradition that apparently began very early on
30.
Bruno Walter
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Bruno Walter was a German-born conductor, pianist and composer. Born in Berlin, he left Germany in 1933 to escape the Third Reich and he studied composition at Stern with Robert Radecke, and remained active as a composer until about 1910. But it was hearing a concert in 1889 by the Berlin Philharmonic led by Hans von Bülow, he wrote, now I knew what I was meant for. No musical activity but that of a conductor could any longer be considered by me. He made his conducting début at the Cologne Opera with Albert Lortzings Der Waffenschmied in 1894, later that year he left for the Hamburg Opera to work as a chorus director. There he first met and worked with Gustav Mahler, whom he revered, in 1896, he was appointed Kapellmeister of the Stadttheater in Breslau, on the strength of a recommendation from Mahler to the theaters director, Theodor Löwe. These biographers add that Walter wrote to his parents that he found that having to change his name was terrible, in 1897, Walter became Chief Conductor at the municipal opera in Pressburg. He found the provincial and depressing, and in 1898 took the position of Chief Conductor of the Riga Opera. While there, he converted to Christianity, probably Roman Catholicism, in 1899 Walter was appointed music director of the Temeswar, Austria-Hungary Opera, the current Banatul Philharmonic of Timișoara. While in Berlin he also conducted the premiere of Der arme Heinrich by Hans Pfitzner, in 1901, Walter accepted Mahlers invitation to be his assistant at the Court Opera in Vienna. Walter led Verdis Aida at his debut, in 1907 he was elected by the Vienna Philharmonic to conduct its Nicolai Concert. In 1910, he helped Mahler select and coach solo singers for the premiere of Mahlers Symphony No.8, when Mahler died on May 18,1911, Walter was at his deathbed. On June 6, he wrote to his sister that he was to conduct the premiere of Mahlers Das Lied von der Erde, he did so in Munich on November 20,1911, in the first half of an all-Mahler concert. On June 26,1912 he led the Vienna Philharmonic in the premiere of Mahlers Symphony No.9. Although Walter became an Austrian citizen in 1911, he left Vienna in 1913 to become the Royal Bavarian Music Director, while there, argue Erik Ryding and Rebecca Pechefsky, Walters contribution to the history of Wagner performance more significant than many realize. The Bayreuth Festival was suspended after 1914. and resumed only in 1924, Walter was the citys music director for most of this period, and he presided over most of the Wagnerian repertoire. In January 1914, Walter conducted his first concert in Moscow, during the First World War he remained actively involved in conducting, giving premieres to Erich Wolfgang Korngolds Violanta and Der Ring des Polykrates as well as Hans Pfitzners Palestrina. In 1920, he conducted the premiere of Walter Braunfels Die Vögel, in Munich, Walter was a good friend of Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli
31.
Kurt Adler
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Kurt Adler was an Austrian classical chorus master, music conductor, author and pianist. He was best known as the master and lead conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1943 to 1973. He conducted in Austria, Germany, Russia, Czechoslovakia, Ukraine, United States, Canada, Mexico, Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, Kurt Adler was born in Jindřichův Hradec/Neuhaus, Bohemia, Bohemia during the Austro-Hungarian Empire to a bourgeois Jewish family. He was the child of Siegfried Adler, a textile factory owner. His entire musical education was in Vienna, Austria, in 1925, he graduated from the classical Akademisches Gymnasium, Vienna. In 1927, he earned a degree of Musicology from the University of Vienna, corresponding to Master of Arts, english, German, Czech, Russian, French, Italian, Spanish, Latin, Greek, Romanian, Hebrew. 1927–29 Assistant Conductor, Berlin State Opera, First opera conducted, Peer Gynt Grief. 1929–32 Conductor, Prague German Opera Theater, 1932–33 Conductor, Berlin Municipal Opera House. 1933–38 Conducting Symphony Concerts and Opera all over Europe,1933 Conductor of orchestra concerts, Vienna Grosser Musikvereinssaal. 1933 Founder of the Unio Opera Company, Vienna, 1933–35 First Conductor, Kiev, National Opera House of Ukraine. 1935–37 Founder, Musical Director, and first conductor of the Symphonic Orchestra Stalingrad, Conducting Concerts and concertizing as pianist all over U. S. and Canada. 1938–39 Pianist, three tours of the United States. 1939–41 Musical Director, Friendship House, New York City,1943 Assistant Conductor to Leopold Stokowski, Metropolitan Opera, New York City. 1943–73 Chorus Master, Conductor, Metropolitan Opera, New York City, 1944–47 Musical Director, Opera Nacional and Opera de Mexico, Mexico City. 1952 Musical Director, Central City Opera Festival, Central City,1954 Musical Director of Opera performances at Greek Theatre, Hollywood, California. Conductor of numerous broadcasts and Television performances of operatic and symphonic music, 1929–32 Organizer and Conductor of the Students Orchestra of the German Academy of Music, Prague, Czechoslovakia. 1934–35 Conductor, orchestra of the Kiev Conservatory of Music, Kiev, 1935–37 Professor of the Opera class at the Conservatory of Music, Stalingrad 1938–41 Teacher of piano, theory, classes in chamber music, coach, New York City. Asked, What do you consider your outstanding achievement, response, Having escaped Hitler, having founded and directed the first Symphonic Orchestra Stalingrad
32.
Lorin Maazel
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Lorin Varencove Maazel was an American conductor, violinist and composer. S. Maazel was well-regarded in baton technique and possessed a photographic memory for scores, described as mercurial and forbidding in rehearsal, he mellowed in old age. His father, Lincoln Maazel, was a singer, teacher of voice and piano, and an actor and his grandfather Isaac was a violinist in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for twenty years. Both Lincoln and Marie gave interviews for the Oral History Collection at the University of Pittsburgh, Lincolns in 1994, Maazel was a child prodigy, taking his first conducting lesson at age seven with Vladimir Bakaleinikov and making his debut at age eight. At the age of eleven, he guest-conducted the NBC Symphony Orchestra on the radio, at twelve he toured the United States of America to conduct major orchestras. He made his debut at the age of fifteen. He attended the Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School at the University of Pittsburgh as a child, followed by Peabody High School, Maazel studied briefly with Pierre Monteux in 1945. In the early 1950s, Maazel toured as the conductor with the Gershwin Concert Orchestra, the orchestra consisted of 25 members and a noted array of soloists. The orchestra was organized in cooperation with Ira Gershwin, to give the public a comprehensive Gershwin program, the list of soloists included George Gershwins friend, Jesús Maria Sanromá, Carolyn Long and Theodor Uppman. In 1960, Maazel became the first American to conduct at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus and he was chief conductor of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1965 to 1971 and the Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin from 1964 to 1975. In 1972, Maazel began his tenure as director at the Cleveland Orchestra. Maazels emotional, rich interpretation of music greatly differed from Szells characteristic crisp, a notable achievement during this time was the first complete recording of George Gershwins Porgy and Bess, using an all-African American cast. Maazel held the post until 1982 and he never returned to the Cleveland Orchestra after his departure, although a scheduled engagement in 2006 did not occur because of illness. In 1977, he became director of the Orchestre National de France in Paris. From 1982 to 1984, Maazel served at the Vienna State Opera as general manager, in 1980, he succeeded Willi Boskovsky as conductor at the Vienna New Years Concert and he led this televised annual event each year, until 1986. He returned to it four times, in 1994,1996,1999 and 2005, from 1984 to 1988, Maazel was the music consultant to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and its music director from 1988 to 1996. From 1993 until 2002, he was conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich. He claimed that his decision was because he was concerned for the orchestras well-being and this engagement led to his appointment in January 2001 as the orchestras next music director, starting in 2002, succeeding Kurt Masur
33.
Gerd Albrecht
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Gerd Albrecht was a German conductor. Albrecht was born in Essen, the son of the musicologist Hans Albrecht and he studied music in Kiel and in Hamburg, where his teachers included Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg. He was a winner at the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors at age 22. His first post was as a repetiteur at the Stuttgart State Opera, later, he became Senior Kapellmeister at the Staatstheater Mainz, and Generalmusikdirektor in Lübeck. He also held posts at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and his work in contemporary opera included conducting Aribert Reimanns Lear in both its world premiere and its United States premiere, as well as making the first commercial recording of the opera. His other commercial recordings include Robert Schumanns Genoveva and Manfred, Albrecht died at age 78 on 2 February 2014 in Berlin. The orchestra had played a part in protesting the Soviet domination of their country, the musicians selection of Albrecht effectively meant the replacing of Czech conductor Jiří Bělohlávek, who then in 1992 resigned from his position early. Consequently, by the time that he took up the post, Albrecht proved effective in improving the Czech Philharmonics finances and at raising its international profile with foreign tours. He is also acknowledged to have been a success. However, a series of political conflicts led to his early resignation, in 1994, the Czech Philharmonic was invited to perform at the Vatican in a concert celebrating reconciliation between Roman Catholics and Jews. Albrecht vetoed the engagement, ostensibly because the orchestra was too busy, Czech president Václav Havel became involved, telling Albrecht that his actions were damaging the orchestra. He also claimed that his phone was bugged, Havel retaliated in the media with his own claims. Albrecht resigned from this post a month later asserting that his authority had been undermined. With the Czech Philharmonic, Albrecht conducted the first commercial recording of Dvořáks opera Dimitrij, from 2000-2004, he was principal conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, with which he made commercial recordings for such labels as Chandos. In 2003, he caused controversy when he spoke from the podium at one concert to protest the US invasion of Iraq and he later apologized for the incident. In Japan, he served as conductor of Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra from 1998 to 2007
34.
Benno Ohnesorg
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Benno Ohnesorg was a German university student killed by a policeman during a demonstration in West Berlin. It was the first political demonstration in which Ohnesorg had ever taken part, the protest turned violent after provocations by the Shahs agents and police overreactions. Demonstrators were then dispersed into the side streets, in the courtyard of Krumme Strasse 66, Ohnesorg was then shot by plain-clothes police officer Karl-Heinz Kurras. Ohnesorg died before he could be treated at a hospital, at that time, Kurras was cleared of all charges in two separate trials. Ohnesorg was a student of Romance and German studies and he was married and his wife was pregnant with their first child. The surviving Stasi archives contain no evidence that Kurras was acting under their orders when he shot Ohnesorg, newly examined film and photographic evidence also implicate fellow officers and superiors, demonstrating that the police covered up the truth in subsequent investigations and trials. Additionally, medical staff who carried out the autopsy on Ohnesorg were ordered to falsify their report, however, the new information is unlikely to be sufficient for the case to be reopened. His death served as a point for the left wing. After student activist Rudi Dutschke called for action in response for the killing. A monument next to the Deutsche Oper Berlin, which was designed by Austrian sculptor Alfred Hrdlicka, in December 2008, municipal authorities inaugurated an official memorial panel on the sidewalk in front of the house where Ohnesorg was shot. The panel is in German and English, in Ohnesorgs hometown of Hanover, a bridge over the Ihme river is named after him. The introduction of the 2008 film Der Baader Meinhof Komplex shows Ohnesorgs death, the Norwegian folk band Ohnesorg is named after Benno Ohnesorg. German student movement Daniel Cohn-Bendit Photograph of Benno Ohnesorgs death The Truth about the Gunshot that Changed Germany Official memorial panel erected by Berlin, in German and English
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German student movement
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The German student movement was a protest movement that took place during the late 1960s in West Germany. It was largely a reaction against the perceived authoritarianism and hypocrisy of the German government and other Western governments, a wave of protests—some violent—swept West Germany, fueled by violent over-reaction by the police and encouraged by contemporary protest movements across the world. Following more than a century of conservatism among German students, the German student movement also marked a significant major shift to the left and radicalisation of student activism. In 1966, for the first time in fifteen years, the German economy went into recession, with the forming of the CDU/CSU/SPD coalition government under Kurt Georg Kiesinger the voice of the opposition within the Bundestag was seriously weakened. Dealing with Germanys and their parents National Socialist past, stopping the war in Vietnam and improving the conditions in the Third World. Reducing the influence of the press on the masses and its abuse of the freedom of press. Stopping the planned German emergency legislation from being passed, the first goal was the source of all the others and thus the most important in their minds. To summarize, the students rejected traditional, parliamentary decision making-processes, social injustice and they felt the need to overcome and change these things. To the students, the German chapter of Fascism was not yet closed, many former National Socialists were still working for the government or at the universities and the newly formed right-wing National Democratic Party of Germany was attracting more and more voters. In addition to that, the students had to deal with the fact that they were identified as Germans, the students did not want to be held responsible for their parents’ deeds. To support its new policies the government wanted to change the universities, producing graduates faster by introducing a time limit on courses. The students, however, did not want to adjust to the needs of the economy, rather, they wanted to adjust the universities to their own principles. They wanted more rights in the running of universities, better-equipped workplaces, the university boards did not react to the students protest and introduced the time limit for studying. The events at the Free University of Berlin are representative of the events at all universities in Germany, through their increasing interest in politics the students quickly engaged in discussions concerning the war in Vietnam. They formed the opinion that the United States had no right to fight in Vietnam, not only because of the victims, the government, however, supported the USA in the Vietnam War, and provided humanitarian and economic support to South Vietnam. For this reason, university boards put a ban on activities by students at the universities. They explained this act by saying that science should always be neutral, the students wanted to be able to act politically, not only because of the war in Vietnam, but to protest against the conditions in the Third World as students and not only as individuals. The students were strongly opposed to the German Emergency Acts which were due to be passed, among other things, they would allow the government to restrict freedom of movement and to limit privacy and confidentiality of telecommunications correspondence
36.
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
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Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, known as Mohammad Reza Shah, was the Shah of Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979. Mohammad Reza Shah took the title Shāhanshāh on 26 October 1967 and he was the second and last monarch of the House of Pahlavi of the Iranian monarchy. Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi held several titles, including that of Āryāmehr. His dream of the Great Civilization in Iran led to an industrial and military expansion as well as economic. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi came to power during World War II after an Anglo-Soviet invasion forced the abdication of his father, various additional controversial policies were enacted, including the banning of the communist Tudeh Party, and a general suppression of political dissent by Irans intelligence agency, SAVAK. According to official statistics, Iran had as many as 2,200 political prisoners in 1978, by 1979, political unrest had transformed into a revolution which, on 17 January, forced him to leave Iran. Soon thereafter, the Iranian monarchy was abolished, and Iran was declared an Islamic republic led by Ruhollah Khomeini. Facing likely execution should he return to Iran, he died in exile in Egypt, whose President, due to his status as the last de facto Shah of Iran, he is often known as simply the Shah. Born in Tehran to Reza Pahlavi and his wife, Tadj ol-Molouk, Mohammad Reza was the eldest son of the first Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty, Reza Shah. He was born with a sister, Ashraf Pahlavi. However, Shams, Mohammad Reza, Ashraf, Ali Reza, nevertheless, Reza Shah was always convinced that his sudden quirk of good fortune had commenced in 1919 with the birth of his son who was dubbed khoshghadam. Mohammad Reza described his father in his book Mission for My Country as one of the most frightening men he had ever known, depicting Reza Khan as a dominating man with a violent temper. Reza Khan often impressed on his son his belief that history was made by men such as himself. From women, and apparently from women alone that the future Shah received whatever psychological nourishment he was able to get as a child, traditionally, male children were considered more preferable than females, and as a boy, Mohammed Reza was often spoiled by his mother and sisters. Mohammed Reza was very close to his twin sister Ashraf as she noted, It was this twinship, no matter how I would reach out in the years to come-sometimes even desperately-to find an identity and a purpose of my own, I would remain inextricably tied to my brother. Always, the center of my existence was, and is, in 1973, Mohammad Reza told the Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci, A king who does not need to account to anyone for what he says and does is unavoidably doomed to loneliness. However, I am not entirely alone, because a force others cant perceive accompanies me, I have lived with God besides me since I was 5 years old. Since, that is, God sent me those visions, in his 1961 book Mission for My Country, Mohammad Reza wrote, From the time I was six or seven, I have felt that perhaps there is a supreme being, who is guiding me
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The Magic Flute
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The Magic Flute, K.620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on 30 September 1791 at Schikaneders theatre, the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna, separately, then together, Tamino and Pamina undergo severe trials of initiation, which end in triumph, with the Queen and her cohorts vanquished. The earthy Papageno, who accompanies Tamino on his quest, fails the trials completely but is rewarded anyway with the hand of his female companion Papagena. The opera was the culmination of a period of increasing involvement by Mozart with Schikaneders theatrical troupe, Mozart was a close friend of one of the singer-composers of the troupe, tenor Benedikt Schack, and had contributed to the compositions of the troupe, which were often collaboratively written. Mozarts participation increased with his contributions to the 1790 collaborative opera Der Stein der Weisen, like The Magic Flute, Der Stein der Weisen was a fairy-tale opera and can be considered a kind of precursor, it employed much the same cast in similar roles. The libretto for The Magic Flute, written by Schikaneder, is thought by scholars to be based on many sources, especially for the role of Papageno, the libretto draws on the Hanswurst tradition of the Viennese popular theatre. Many scholars also acknowledge an influence of Freemasonry, for detailed discussion of sources see Branscombe, as well as Libretto of The Magic Flute. In composing the opera, Mozart evidently kept in mind the skills of the intended for the premiere. Thus, the lines for Papageno—sung by Schikaneder himself—and Monostatos are often stated first in the strings so the singer can find his pitch. In contrast, Mozarts sister-in-law Josepha Hofer, who premiered the role of the Queen of the Night, evidently needed little such help, in ensembles, Mozart skillfully combined voices of different ability levels. The vocal ranges of two of the singers for whom Mozart tailored his music have posed challenges for many singers who have since recreated their roles. Both arias of the Queen of the Night, O zittre nicht, mein lieber Sohn and Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen require high F6, rare in opera. At the low end, the part of Sarastro, premiered by Franz Xaver Gerl, the opera was premiered in Vienna on 30 September 1791 at the suburban Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden. Mozart conducted the orchestra, Schikaneder himself played Papageno, while the role of the Queen of the Night was sung by Mozarts sister-in-law Josepha Hofer, as Mozarts letters show, he was very pleased to have achieved such a success. Solomon continues, Mozarts delight is reflected in his last three letters, written to Constanze, who with her sister Sophie was spending the week of October in Baden. I have this moment returned from the opera, which was as full as ever, he wrote on 7 October, but what always gives me the most pleasure is the silent approval. You can see how this opera is becoming more and more esteemed, … He went to hear his opera almost every night, taking along relatives
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Giuseppe Verdi
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Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian opera composer. Verdi was born near Busseto to a family of moderate means. Verdi came to dominate the Italian opera scene after the era of Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini, whose works influenced him. In his early operas Verdi demonstrated a sympathy with the Risorgimento movement which sought the unification of Italy and he also participated briefly as an elected politician. He surprised the world by returning, after his success with the opera Aida. The baptismal register, prepared on 11 October 1813, lists his parents Carlo, additionally, it lists Verdi as being born yesterday, but since days were often considered to begin at sunset, this could have meant either 9 or 10 October. Verdi himself, following his mother, always celebrated his birthday on 9 October, Verdi had a younger sister, Giuseppa, who died aged 17 in 1833. From the age of four, Verdi was given lessons in Latin and Italian by the village schoolmaster, Baistrocchi. After learning to play the organ, he showed so much interest in music that his parents provided him with a spinet. Verdis gift for music was apparent by 1820–21 when he began his association with the local church, serving in the choir, acting as an altar boy for a while. After Baistrocchis death, Verdi, at the age of eight, Carlo Verdi was energetic in furthering his sons education. something which Verdi tended to hide in later life. He picture emerges of youthful precocity eagerly nurtured by a father and of a sustained, sophisticated. Verdi returned to Busseto regularly to play the organ on Sundays, at age 11, Verdi received schooling in Italian, Latin, the humanities, and rhetoric. By the time he was 12, he began lessons with Ferdinando Provesi, maestro di cappella at San Bartolomeo, director of the music school. This information comes from the Autobiographical Sketch which Verdi dictated to the publisher Giulio Ricordi late in life, in 1879, written, understandably, with the benefit of hindsight, it is not always reliable when dealing with issues more contentious than those of his childhood. The other director of the Philharmonic Society was Antonio Barezzi, a grocer and distiller. The young Verdi did not immediately become involved with the Philharmonic, by June 1827, he had graduated with honours from the Ginnasio and was able to focus solely on music under Provesi. By 1829–30, Verdi had established himself as a leader of the Philharmonic, none of us could rival him reported the secretary of the organisation, Giuseppe Demaldè
39.
Aida
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Aida is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in Egypt, it was commissioned by and first performed at Cairos Khedivial Opera House on 24 December 1871, ghislanzonis scheme follows a scenario often attributed to the French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, but Verdi biographer Mary Jane Phillips-Matz argues that the source is actually Temistocle Solera. Aida eventually premiered in Cairo in late 1871, contrary to popular belief, the opera was not written to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, for which Verdi had been invited to write an inaugural hymn, but had declined. The plot bears striking, though similarities to Metastasios libretto La Nitteti. Verdi originally chose to write an orchestral prelude instead of a full overture for the opera. He then composed an overture of the variety to replace the original prelude. However, in the end he decided not to have the overture performed because of its—his own words—pretentious insipidity and this overture, never used today, was given a rare broadcast performance by Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra on 30 March 1940, but was never commercially issued. Aida met with acclaim when it finally opened in Cairo on 24 December 1871. He therefore considered the Italian premiere, held at La Scala, Milan on 8 February 1872, Verdi had also written the role of Aida for the voice of Teresa Stolz, who sang it for the first time at the Milan premiere. Verdi had asked her fiancé, Angelo Mariani, to conduct the Cairo premiere, the Milan Amneris, Maria Waldmann, was his favourite in the role and she repeated it a number of times at his request. Aida was received with enthusiasm at its Milan premiere. With Polish translation Aida was performed for the first time 9 June 1877, france,22 April 1876, Théâtre-Lyrique Italien, Salle Ventadour, Paris, with almost the same cast as the Milan premiere, but with Édouard de Reszke making his debut as the King. Rio de Janeiro,30 June 1886, Theatro Lyrico Fluminense, Arturo Toscanini, at the time a 19-year-old cellist who was assistant chorus master, was persuaded to take up the baton for the performance. Toscanini conducted the opera from memory, with great success. This would be the start of a promising career, laibach, Austrian Empire,1 October 1898, conducted by Hilarion Benišek A complete concert version of the opera was given in New York City in 1949. Conducted by Toscanini with Herva Nelli as Aida and Richard Tucker as Radamès, due to the length of the opera, it was divided into two telecasts, preserved on kinescopes, and later released on video by RCA and Testament. The audio portion of the broadcast, including some remakes in June 1954, was released on LP, La Scala mounted a lavish new production of Aida designed by Franco Zeffirelli for the opening night of its 2006/2007 season. The production starred Violeta Urmana in the role and Roberto Alagna as Radamès
