1.
White House
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The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States, located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D. C. It has been the residence of every U. S. president since John Adams in 1800, the term White House is often used to refer to actions of the president and his advisers, as in The White House announced that. The residence was designed by Irish-born architect James Hoban in the Neoclassical style, construction took place between 1792 and 1800 using Aquia Creek sandstone painted white. When Thomas Jefferson moved into the house in 1801, he added low colonnades on each wing that concealed stables and storage. In 1814, during the War of 1812, the mansion was set ablaze by the British Army in the Burning of Washington, destroying the interior, reconstruction began almost immediately, and President James Monroe moved into the partially reconstructed Executive Residence in October 1817. Exterior construction continued with the addition of the semi-circular South portico in 1824, because of crowding within the executive mansion itself, President Theodore Roosevelt had all work offices relocated to the newly constructed West Wing in 1901. Eight years later in 1909, President William Howard Taft expanded the West Wing and created the first Oval Office, in the main mansion, the third-floor attic was converted to living quarters in 1927 by augmenting the existing hip roof with long shed dormers. A newly constructed East Wing was used as an area for social events. East Wing alterations were completed in 1946, creating additional office space, by 1948, the houses load-bearing exterior walls and internal wood beams were found to be close to failure. Under Harry S. Truman, the rooms were completely dismantled. Once this work was completed, the rooms were rebuilt. The Executive Residence is made up of six stories—the Ground Floor, State Floor, Second Floor, the property is a National Heritage Site owned by the National Park Service and is part of the Presidents Park. In 2007, it was ranked second on the American Institute of Architects list of Americas Favorite Architecture, in May 1790, New York began construction of Government House for his official residence, but he never occupied it. The national capital moved to Philadelphia in December 1790, the July 1790 Residence Act named Philadelphia, Pennsylvania the temporary national capital for a 10-year period while the Federal City was under construction. The City of Philadelphia rented Robert Morriss city house at 190 High Street for Washingtons presidential residence, the first president occupied the Market Street mansion from November 1790 to March 1797, and altered it in ways that may have influenced the design of the White House. As part of an effort to have Philadelphia named the permanent national capital, Pennsylvania built a much grander presidential mansion several blocks away. President John Adams also occupied the Market Street mansion from March 1797 to May 1800, on Saturday, November 1,1800, he became the first president to occupy the White House. The Presidents House in Philadelphia became a hotel and was demolished in 1832, the Presidents House was a major feature of Pierre Charles LEnfants plan for the newly established federal city, Washington, D. C
2.
Kennedy Center Honors
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The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. The Honors have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in a gala celebrating the Honorees in the Kennedy Center Opera House. George Stevens, Jr. created the Kennedy Center Honours with the late Nick Vanoff and he was the producer and co-writer through the 2014 awards, after which he sold the production rights to the Kennedy Center. The Kennedy Center Honors started in 1977, after that years 10th-anniversary White House reception, Roger L. Stevens, the founding chairman of the Kennedy Center, asked George Stevens, Jr. the founding director of the AFI, to hold an event for the Center. George Stevens asked Isaac Stern to become involved, and then pitched the idea to the television network CBS, with the announcement of the first honors event and honorees, CBS vice president for specials Bernie Sofronski stated, George came to us with this. What turned us on is that this is the show of its kind. In Europe and most countries, they have ways of honoring their actors, england has its command performances for the queen. We see this as a national honoring of people who have contributed to society, were going to make an effort in terms of a real special. The first host was Leonard Bernstein in 1978, followed by Eric Sevareid in 1979, walter Cronkite hosted from 1981 to 2002 and Caroline Kennedy hosted from 2003 until 2012. Glenn Close was host in 2013 and Stephen Colbert has hosted since 2014, ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss of White Cherry Entertainment were selected as Executive Producers of the 38th annual Kennedy Center Honors after George Stevens, Jr. stepped down. This is one of the few shows that does not air live. The Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees selects the Honoree recipients based on excellence in music, dance, theater, opera, the invitation-only weekend-long ceremony includes the Chairmans Luncheon, State Department dinner, White House reception and the Honors gala performances and supper. Surrounded by the Honorees, the luncheon is held on Saturday at the Kennedy Center, on Sunday, there is an early-evening White House reception hosted by the President of the United States and the First Lady, followed by the Honors gala performance at the Kennedy Center and supper. For the 2015 gala performance, President Barack Obama did attend, bush did not attend in December 1989 and President Bill Clinton did not attend in 1994. There have been 200 recipients to date of the Kennedy Center Honors Awards during the Honors 39 years, the vast majority have been bestowed on individuals. Nathan Milstein, and Alwin Nikolais 1988 — Alvin Ailey, George Burns, Myrna Loy, Alexander Schneider, actress Katharine Hepburn declined the committees first offer, though she relented in 1990. Doris Day repeatedly turned down the honors because her fear of flying prevented her from attending the ceremony, when considering Irving Berlin for the 1987 awards because of criticism for overlooking him, the Center was informed that Berlin wanted to be honored only if he surpassed his 100th birthday. Also, he was in failing health, being confined to a following a series of strokes
3.
St. Louis
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St. Louis is an independent city and major U. S. port in the state of Missouri, built along the western bank of the Mississippi River, on the border with Illinois. Prior to European settlement, the area was a regional center of Native American Mississippian culture. The city of St. Louis was founded in 1764 by French fur traders Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau, in 1764, following Frances defeat in the Seven Years War, the area was ceded to Spain and retroceded back to France in 1800. In 1803, the United States acquired the territory as part of the Louisiana Purchase, during the 19th century, St. Louis developed as a major port on the Mississippi River. In the 1870 Census, St. Louis was ranked as the 4th-largest city in the United States and it separated from St. Louis County in 1877, becoming an independent city and limiting its own political boundaries. In 1904, it hosted the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and the Summer Olympics, the economy of metro St. Louis relies on service, manufacturing, trade, transportation of goods, and tourism. This city has become known for its growing medical, pharmaceutical. St. Louis has 2 professional sports teams, the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball, the city is commonly identified with the 630-foot tall Gateway Arch in Downtown St. Louis. The area that would become St. Louis was a center of the Native American Mississippian culture and their major regional center was at Cahokia Mounds, active from 900 AD to 1500 AD. Due to numerous major earthworks within St. Louis boundaries, the city was nicknamed as the Mound City and these mounds were mostly demolished during the citys development. Historic Native American tribes in the area included the Siouan-speaking Osage people, whose territory extended west, European exploration of the area was first recorded in 1673, when French explorers Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette traveled through the Mississippi River valley. Five years later, La Salle claimed the region for France as part of La Louisiane. The earliest European settlements in the area were built in Illinois Country on the east side of the Mississippi River during the 1690s and early 1700s at Cahokia, Kaskaskia, migrants from the French villages on the opposite side of the Mississippi River founded Ste. In early 1764, after France lost the 7 Years War, Pierre Laclède, the early French families built the citys economy on the fur trade with the Osage, as well as with more distant tribes along the Missouri River. The Chouteau brothers gained a monopoly from Spain on the fur trade with Santa Fe, French colonists used African slaves as domestic servants and workers in the city. In 1780 during the American Revolutionary War, St. Louis was attacked by British forces, mostly Native American allies, the founding of St. Louis began in 1763. Pierre Laclede led an expedition to set up a fur-trading post farther up the Mississippi River, before then, Laclede had been a very successful merchant. For this reason, he and his trading partner Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent were offered monopolies for six years of the fur trading in that area
4.
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
5.
African Americans
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African Americans are an ethnic group of Americans with total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. The term may also be used to only those individuals who are descended from enslaved Africans. As a compound adjective the term is usually hyphenated as African-American, Black and African Americans constitute the third largest racial and ethnic group in the United States. Most African Americans are of West and Central African descent and are descendants of enslaved peoples within the boundaries of the present United States. On average, African Americans are of 73. 2–80. 9% West African, 18–24% European, according to US Census Bureau data, African immigrants generally do not self-identify as African American. The overwhelming majority of African immigrants identify instead with their own respective ethnicities, immigrants from some Caribbean, Central American and South American nations and their descendants may or may not also self-identify with the term. After the founding of the United States, black people continued to be enslaved, believed to be inferior to white people, they were treated as second-class citizens. The Naturalization Act of 1790 limited U. S. citizenship to whites only, in 2008, Barack Obama became the first African American to be elected President of the United States. The first African slaves arrived via Santo Domingo to the San Miguel de Gualdape colony, the ill-fated colony was almost immediately disrupted by a fight over leadership, during which the slaves revolted and fled the colony to seek refuge among local Native Americans. De Ayllón and many of the colonists died shortly afterwards of an epidemic, the settlers and the slaves who had not escaped returned to Haiti, whence they had come. The first recorded Africans in British North America were 20 and odd negroes who came to Jamestown, as English settlers died from harsh conditions, more and more Africans were brought to work as laborers. Typically, young men or women would sign a contract of indenture in exchange for transportation to the New World, the landowner received 50 acres of land from the state for each servant purchased from a ships captain. An indentured servant would work for years without wages. The status of indentured servants in early Virginia and Maryland was similar to slavery, servants could be bought, sold, or leased and they could be physically beaten for disobedience or running away. Africans could legally raise crops and cattle to purchase their freedom and they raised families, married other Africans and sometimes intermarried with Native Americans or English settlers. By the 1640s and 1650s, several African families owned farms around Jamestown and some became wealthy by colonial standards and purchased indentured servants of their own. In 1640, the Virginia General Court recorded the earliest documentation of slavery when they sentenced John Punch. One of Dutch African arrivals, Anthony Johnson, would own one of the first black slaves, John Casor
6.
Marian Anderson
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Marian Anderson was an American contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century. Music critic Alan Blyth said, Her voice was a rich, most of her singing career was spent performing in concert and recital in major music venues and with famous orchestras throughout the United States and Europe between 1925 and 1965. Although offered roles with many important European opera companies, Anderson declined and she preferred to perform in concert and recital only. She did, however, perform opera arias within her concerts and she made many recordings that reflected her broad performance repertoire of everything from concert literature to lieder to opera to traditional American songs and spirituals. Between 1940 and 1965 the German-American pianist Franz Rupp was her permanent accompanist, Anderson became an important figure in the struggle for black artists to overcome racial prejudice in the United States during the mid-twentieth century. In 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution refused permission for Anderson to sing to an audience in Constitution Hall. The incident placed Anderson into the spotlight of the community on a level unusual for a classical musician. She sang before a crowd of more than 75,000 people and her performance as Ulrica in Giuseppe Verdis Un ballo in maschera at the Met was the only time she sang an opera role on stage. She participated in the civil movement in the 1960s, singing at the March on Washington for Jobs. Marian Anderson was born on February 27,1897, in Philadelphia, the daughter of John Berkley Anderson and her father sold ice and coal at the Reading Terminal in downtown Philadelphia and eventually opened a small liquor business as well. Prior to her marriage, Andersons mother had attended the Virginia Seminary. As she did not obtain a degree, Annie Anderson was unable to teach in Philadelphia under a law that was applied only to black teachers and she therefore earned an income caring for small children. Marian was the eldest of the three Anderson children and her two sisters, Alice and Ethel, also became singers. Ethel married James DePreist and their son, James Anderson DePreist was a noted conductor. Andersons parents were both devout Christians and the family was active in the Union Baptist Church in South Philadelphia. Marians aunt Mary, her fathers sister, was active in the churchs musical life and, noticing her nieces talent. In that role she got to perform solos and duets, often with her aunt Mary, Marian was also taken by her aunt to concerts at local churches, the YMCA, benefit concerts, and other community music events throughout the city. Anderson credited her aunts influence as the reason she pursued a singing career, beginning as young as six, her aunt arranged for Marian to sing for local functions where she was often paid 25 or 50 cents for singing a few songs
7.
Leontyne Price
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Mary Violet Leontyne Price is an American soprano. Born and raised in Laurel, Mississippi, she rose to acclaim in the 1950s and 1960s. Time magazine called her voice Rich, supple and shining, it was in its capable of effortlessly soaring from a smoky mezzo to the pure soprano gold of a perfectly spun high C. A lirico spinto soprano, she was considered well suited to the roles of Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini. After her retirement from the stage in 1985, she continued to appear in recitals. In October 2008, she was one of the recipients of the first Opera Honors given by the National Endowment for the Arts, Leontyne Price was born in Laurel, Mississippi. Her father James worked in a mill and her mother Katie was a midwife who sang in the church choir. They had waited 13 years for a child, and Leontyne became the focus of intense pride, given a toy piano at the age of three, she began piano lessons with a local teacher. When she was in kindergarten, her parents traded in the family phonograph as the payment on an upright piano. At 14, she was taken on a trip to hear Marian Anderson sing in Jackson. Meanwhile, she visited the home of Alexander and Elizabeth Chisholm. Mrs. Chisholm encouraged the early piano playing. During World War II, Price worked as a maid in the Chisholms household where she was allowed to play the piano. Mrs. Chisholm noticed her singing voice and accompanied her in several early recitals. Aiming for a career, Price enrolled in the music education program at the all-black Wilberforce College in Wilberforce. Her success in the club led to solo assignments. She sang in the choir with another singer, Betty Allen. With the help of the Chisholms and the famous bass Paul Robeson and she won a scholarship and was admitted to the studio of Florence Page Kimball, who would remain her principal teacher and advisor throughout the 1960s
8.
Classical music
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Classical music is art music produced or rooted in the traditions of Western music, including both liturgical and secular music. The central norms of this tradition became codified between 1550 and 1900, which is known as the common-practice period, Western staff notation is used by composers to indicate to the performer the pitches, tempo, meter and rhythms for a piece of music. This can leave less room for such as improvisation and ad libitum ornamentation. The term classical music did not appear until the early 19th century, the earliest reference to classical music recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from about 1836. This score typically determines details of rhythm, pitch, and, the written quality of the music has enabled a high level of complexity within them, J. S. The use of written notation also preserves a record of the works, Musical notation enables 2000s-era performers to sing a choral work from the 1300s Renaissance era or a 1700s Baroque concerto with many of the features of the music being reproduced. That said, the score does not provide complete and exact instructions on how to perform a historical work, even if the tempo is written with an Italian instruction, we do not know exactly how fast the piece should be played. Bach was particularly noted for his complex improvisations, during the Classical era, the composer-performer Mozart was noted for his ability to improvise melodies in different styles. During the Classical era, some virtuoso soloists would improvise the cadenza sections of a concerto, during the Romantic era, Beethoven would improvise at the piano. The instruments currently used in most classical music were largely invented before the mid-19th century and they consist of the instruments found in an orchestra or in a concert band, together with several other solo instruments. The symphony orchestra is the most widely known medium for music and includes members of the string, woodwind, brass. The concert band consists of members of the woodwind, brass and it generally has a larger variety and number of woodwind and brass instruments than the orchestra but does not have a string section. However, many bands use a double bass. Many of the used to perform medieval music still exist. Medieval instruments included the flute, the recorder and plucked string instruments like the lute. As well, early versions of the organ, fiddle, Medieval instruments in Europe had most commonly been used singly, often self accompanied with a drone note, or occasionally in parts. From at least as early as the 13th century through the 15th century there was a division of instruments into haut, during the earlier medieval period, the vocal music from the liturgical genre, predominantly Gregorian chant, was monophonic, using a single, unaccompanied vocal melody line. Polyphonic vocal genres, which used multiple independent vocal melodies, began to develop during the medieval era, becoming prevalent by the later 13th
9.
Don Carlos
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The opera is usually performed in Italian. The operas story is based on conflicts in the life of Carlos and it was commissioned and produced by the Théâtre Impérial de lOpéra and given its premiere at the Salle Le Peletier on 11 March 1867. When performed in one of its several Italian versions, the opera is generally called Don Carlo, the first Italian version given in Italy was in Bologna in March 1867. Revised again by Verdi, it was given in Naples in November/December 1872, finally, two other versions were prepared, the first was seen in Milan in January 1884. That is now known as the Milan version, while the second—also sanctioned by the composer—became the Modena version and was presented in city in December 1886. It restored the Fontainebleau first act to the Milan four-act version, over the following twenty years, cuts and additions were made to the opera, resulting in a number of versions being available to directors and conductors. No other Verdi opera exists in so many versions, at its full length, it contains close to four hours of music and is Verdis longest opera. Pre-première cuts and first published edition Verdi made a number of cuts in 1866, after finishing the opera but before composing the ballet, simply because the work was becoming too long. After the ballet had been composed, it emerged during the 1867 rehearsal period that, without further cuts, the opera, as first published at the time of the première, consisted of Verdis original conception, minus all of the above-named cuts, but including the ballet. After the première and before leaving Paris, Verdi authorised the Opéra authorities to end Act 4, after his departure, further cuts were apparently made during the remaining performances. It was common practice at the time for most theatres to perform operas in Italian, and an Italian translation of Don Carlos was prepared in the autumn of 1866 by Achille de Lauzières. However, the Italian translation was first performed not in Italy but in London at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 4 June 1867, where it was produced and conducted by Michael Costa. Additionally, the duet between Philip and the Inquisitor was shortened by four lines, and Elisabeths aria in Act 5 consisted only of part of the middle section, the production was initially considered a success, and Verdi sent a congratulatory note to Costa. Later when he learned of the alterations, Verdi was greatly irritated, for the Rome premiere on 9 February 1868 at the Teatro Apollo, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Papal censor changed the Inquisitor into a Gran Cancelliere and the Monk/Emperor into a Solitario. This version of the opera was first performed in Milan at La Scala on 25 March 1868, and prestige productions in most other Italian opera houses followed, the length was a particular problem, and subsequent performances were generally heavily cut. The first production in Naples in 1871 was indisputably a failure, following the unsuccessful performance in Naples in 1871, Verdi was persuaded to visit the city for further performances in November / December 1872, and he made two more modifications to the score. These were additions to the scene for Posa and the King in Act 2 and this is the only portion of the entire opera that was ever composed by Verdi to an Italian rather than a French text. In addition, there were cuts to the duet between Carlos and Elisabeth in Act 5, by April 1882, he was in Paris where he was ready to make changes
10.
Salzburg
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Salzburg is the fourth-largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg. Salzburgs Old Town is internationally renowned for its architecture and is one of the best-preserved city centers north of the Alps. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, the city has three universities and a large population of students. Tourists also visit Salzburg to tour the historic center and the scenic Alpine surroundings, Salzburg was the birthplace of 18th-century composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In the mid‑20th century, the city was the setting for the musical play, traces of human settlements have been found in the area, dating to the Neolithic Age. The first settlements in Salzburg continuous with the present were apparently by the Celts around the 5th century BC, around 15 BC the Roman Empire merged the settlements into one city. At this time, the city was called Juvavum and was awarded the status of a Roman municipium in 45 AD, Juvavum developed into an important town of the Roman province of Noricum. After the Norican frontiers collapse, Juvavum declined so sharply that by the late 7th century it became a ruin. The Life of Saint Rupert credits the 8th-century saint with the citys rebirth, when Theodo of Bavaria asked Rupert to become bishop c. 700, Rupert reconnoitered the river for the site of his basilica, Rupert chose Juvavum, ordained priests, and annexed the manor Piding. He traveled to evangelise among pagans, the name Salzburg means Salt Castle. The name derives from the barges carrying salt on the Salzach River, the Festung Hohensalzburg, the citys fortress, was built in 1077 by Archbishop Gebhard, who made it his residence. It was greatly expanded during the following centuries, independence from Bavaria was secured in the late 14th century. Salzburg was the seat of the Archbishopric of Salzburg, a prince-bishopric of the Holy Roman Empire, as the reformation movement gained steam, riots broke out among peasants in the areas in and around Salzburg. The city was occupied during the German Peasants War, and the archbishop had to flee to the safety of the fortress It was besieged for three months in 1525. It was in the 17th century that Italian architects rebuilt the city center as it is today along with many palaces,21,475 citizens refused to recant their beliefs and were expelled from Salzburg. Most of them accepted an offer by King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia, the rest settled in other Protestant states in Europe and the British colonies in America. In 1772–1803, under archbishop Hieronymus Graf von Colloredo, Salzburg was a centre of late Illuminism, in 1803, the archbishopric was secularised by Emperor Napoleon, he transferred the territory to Ferdinando III of Tuscany, former Grand Duke of Tuscany, as the Electorate of Salzburg
11.
Turandot
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Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, completed by Franco Alfano, and set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Though Puccinis first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schillers 1801 adaptation of the play, the original story is based on Turan-Dokht from the epic Haft Peykar, work of 12th-century Persian poet Nizami. The operas story is set in China and involves Prince Calaf, to obtain permission to marry her, a suitor has to solve three riddles, any wrong answer results in death. Calaf passes the test, but Turandot still refuses to marry him and he offers her a way out, if she is able to learn his name before dawn the next day, then at daybreak he will die. The opera was unfinished at the time of Puccinis death in 1924, the first performance was held at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on 25 April 1926 and conducted by Arturo Toscanini. This performance included only Puccinis music and not Alfanos additions, the first performance of the opera as completed by Alfano was the following night,26 April, although it is disputed whether this was conducted by Toscanini again or by Ettore Panizza. Turandot is a Persian word and name that means the daughter of Turan, Turan being a region of Central Asia, in Persian, the fairy tale is known as Turandokht, with dokht being a contraction of dokhtar, the kh and t are both pronounced. According to Puccini scholar Patrick Vincent Casali, the t is silent in the operas and title characters name. Soprano Rosa Raisa, who created the role, says that Puccini never pronounced the final t. Eva Turner, a prominent Turandot, did not pronounce the final t, Casali also maintains that the musical setting of many of Calafs utterances of the name makes sounding the final t all but impossible. On the other hand, Simonetta Puccini, the granddaughter and keeper of the Villa Puccini. Italo Marchini questioned her about this in 2002, ms. Puccini said that in Italian the name would be Turandotta. In the Venetian dialect of Carlo Gozzi the final syllables are dropped and words end in a consonant, ergo Turandott. In 1710, while writing the first biography of Genghis Khan, One of his longest and best stories derived from the history of Mongol princess Khutulun. In his adaptation, however, she bore the title Turandot, meaning Turkish Daughter, instead of challenging her suitors in wrestling, Pétis de La Croix had her confront them with three riddles. In his more dramatic version, instead of wagering mere horses, fifty years later, the popular Italian playwright Carlo Gozzi made her story into a drama of a tigerish woman of unrelenting pride. – Jack Weatherford The story of Turandot was taken from a Persian collection of stories called The Book of One Thousand, the story of Turandokht is one of the best known from de la Croixs translation. The plot respects the classical unities of time, space and action, Puccini first began working on Turandot in March 1920 after meeting with librettists Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni
12.
Royal Opera House
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The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is referred to as simply Covent Garden. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, originally called the Theatre Royal, it served primarily as a playhouse for the first hundred years of its history. In 1734, the first ballet was presented, a year later, Handels first season of operas began. Many of his operas and oratorios were written for Covent Garden and had their premieres there. The current building is the theatre on the site following disastrous fires in 1808 and 1856. The façade, foyer, and auditorium date from 1858, the main auditorium seats 2,256 people, making it the third largest in London, and consists of four tiers of boxes and balconies and the amphitheatre gallery. The proscenium is 12.20 m wide and 14.80 m high, the main auditorium is a Grade I listed building. The letters patent remained in the possession of the patentees heirs until the 19th century, in 1728, John Rich, actor-manager of the Dukes Company at Lincolns Inn Fields Theatre, commissioned The Beggars Opera from John Gay. In addition, a Royal Charter had created a fruit and vegetable market in the area, at its opening on 7 December 1732, Rich was carried by his actors in processional triumph into the theatre for its opening production of William Congreves The Way of the World. Despite the frequent interchangeability between the Covent Garden and Drury Lane companies, competition was intense, often presenting the plays at the same time. Rich introduced pantomime to the repertoire, himself performing and a tradition of seasonal pantomime continued at the modern theatre, in 1734, Covent Garden presented its first ballet, Pygmalion. Marie Sallé discarded tradition and her corset and danced in diaphanous robes, george Frideric Handel was named musical director of the company, at Lincolns Inn Fields, in 1719, but his first season of opera, at Covent Garden, was not presented until 1734. His first opera was Il pastor fido followed by Ariodante, the première of Alcina, there was a royal performance of Messiah in 1743, which was a success and began a tradition of Lenten oratorio performances. From 1735 until his death in 1759 he gave regular seasons there and he bequeathed his organ to John Rich, and it was placed in a prominent position on the stage, but was among many valuable items lost in a fire that destroyed the theatre on 20 September 1808. In 1792 the architect Henry Holland rebuilt the auditorium, within the shell of the building but deeper and wider than the old auditorium. Rebuilding began in December 1808, and the second Theatre Royal, the Old Price Riots lasted over two months, and the management was finally forced to accede to the audiences demands. During this time, entertainments were varied, opera and ballet were presented, kemble engaged a variety of acts, including the child performer Master Betty, the great clown Joseph Grimaldi made his name at Covent Garden
