1.
Andrea Maffei
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Andrea Maffei was an Italian poet, translator and librettist. He was born in Molina di Ledro, Trentino, a follower of Vincenzo Monti, he formed part of the 19th-century Italian classicist literary culture. Gaining laurea in jurisprudence, he moved for some years to Verona, then to Venice and finally to Milan and they separated by mutual consent on 15 June 1846. Key cultural figures from the rest of Europe also passed through the lounge of his house in Milan, including Liszt, in 1879 Andrea Maffei was made a senator of the Kingdom of Italy and participated in Italian political life. In the mid-19th century he lived at Riva del Garda, where he organised his rich art collection and where, in 1935. He died in Milan in 1885, in his translations he sought to adapt the authors original thought to that of the Italian literary public. Not only a translator, he was also a poet and Romanticist, for Giuseppe Verdi he wrote the famous libretto for I masnadieri, drawn from Schiller, and re-wrote some verses from Francesco Maria Piaves libretto for Macbeth. He was also a librettist for Pietro Mascagni, writing the texts for his Il Re a Napoli in Cremona, sources Letters to Andrea Maffei, by Mario Rapisardi Prometheus
2.
Friedrich Schiller
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Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, physician, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life, Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with the already famous and they frequently discussed issues concerning aesthetics, and Schiller encouraged Goethe to finish works he left as sketches. This relationship and these led to a period now referred to as Weimar Classicism. They also worked together on Xenien, a collection of satirical poems in which both Schiller and Goethe challenge opponents to their philosophical vision. Friedrich Schiller was born on 10 November 1759, in Marbach, Württemberg as the son of military doctor Johann Kaspar Schiller. Schiller grew up in a religious family and spent much of his youth studying the Bible. His father was away in the Seven Years War when Friedrich was born and he was named after king Frederick the Great, but he was called Fritz by nearly everyone. Kaspar Schiller was rarely home during the war, but he did manage to visit the family once in a while and his wife and children also visited him occasionally wherever he happened to be stationed. When the war ended in 1763, Schillers father became an officer and was stationed in Schwäbisch Gmünd. Due to the high cost of living—especially the rent—the family moved to nearby Lorch, although the family was happy in Lorch, Schillers father found his work unsatisfying. He sometimes took his son with him, in Lorch, Schiller received his primary education. The quality of the lessons was fairly bad, and Friedrich regularly cut class with his older sister, because his parents wanted Schiller to become a pastor, they had the pastor of the village instruct the boy in Latin and Greek. Pastor Moser was a teacher, and later Schiller named the cleric in his first play Die Räuber after him. As a boy, Schiller was excited by the idea of becoming a cleric and often put on black robes, in 1766, the family left Lorch for the Duke of Württembergs principal residence, Ludwigsburg. Schillers father had not been paid for three years, and the family had been living on their savings but could no longer afford to do so, so Kaspar Schiller took an assignment to the garrison in Ludwigsburg. There the Schiller boy came to the attention of Karl Eugen and he entered the Karlsschule Stuttgart, in 1773, where he eventually studied medicine. During most of his life, he suffered from illnesses that he tried to cure himself. While at the Karlsschule, Schiller read Rousseau and Goethe and discussed Classical ideals with his classmates, the plays critique of social corruption and its affirmation of proto-revolutionary republican ideals astounded its original audience
3.
The Robbers
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The Robbers is the first drama by German playwright Friedrich Schiller. The play was published in 1781 and premiered on 13 January 1782 in Mannheim, Germany and it was written towards the end of the German Sturm und Drang movement, and many critics, such as Peter Brooks, consider it very influential in the development of European melodrama. The play astounded its Mannheim audience and made Schiller an overnight sensation and it later became the basis for Verdis opera of the same name, I masnadieri. The plot revolves around the conflict between two brothers, Karl and Franz Moor. The charismatic but rebellious student Karl is deeply loved by his father, the younger brother, Franz, who appears as a cold, calculating villain, plots to wrest away Karls inheritance. As the play unfolds, both Franzs motives and Karls innocence and heroism are revealed to be complex, Schillers highly emotional language and his depiction of physical violence mark the play as a quintessential Sturm und Drang work. At the same time, the play utilizes a traditional five-act structure, the play uses alternating scenes to pit the brothers against each other, as one quests for money and power, while the other attempts to create a revolutionary anarchy in the Bohemian Forest. Schiller raises many disturbing issues in the play, for instance, he questions the dividing lines between personal liberty and the law and probes the psychology of power, the nature of masculinity and the essential differences between good and evil. He strongly criticizes both the hypocrisies of class and religion and the inequities of German society. He also conducts an inquiry into the nature of evil. Schiller was inspired by the play Julius of Tarent by Johann Anton Leisewitz, maximilian, Count von Moor is the beloved father of Karl and Franz. He is a person at heart, but also weak. He bears responsibility for the perversion of the Moor family, which has caused the values to become invalidated. The Moor family acts as an analogy of state, a political criticism of Schillers. The count as a father of the nation is particularly condemned, Karl Moor, his older son, is a self-confident idealist. He is good-looking and well liked by all and he holds feelings of deep love for Amalia. After his father, misled by brother Franz, curses Karl and banishes him from his home, Karl becomes a disgraceful criminal and his despair leads him to express and discover new goals and directions, and to realize his ideals and dreams of heroism. He does not shrink from breaking the law, for, as he says and he develops a close connection with his robbers, especially Roller and Schweizer, but he recognizes the unscrupulousness and dishonor of Spiegelberg and his other associates
4.
Her Majesty's Theatre
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Her Majestys Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, M. Synge, Noël Coward and J. B. Since the First World War, the stage has made the theatre suitable for large-scale musical productions. The theatre was established by architect and playwright John Vanbrugh, in 1705, legitimate drama unaccompanied by music was prohibited by law in all but the two London patent theatres, and so this theatre quickly became an opera house. Between 1711 and 1739, more than 25 operas by George Frideric Handel premiered here and it also hosted the Ballet of her Majestys Theatre in the mid-19th century, before returning to hosting the London premieres of such operas as Bizets Carmen and Wagners Ring Cycle. The name of the changes with the sex of the monarch. It first became the Kings Theatre in 1714 on the accession of George I and it was renamed Her Majestys Theatre in 1837. Most recently, the theatre was known as His Majestys Theatre from 1901 to 1952, the theatres capacity is 1,216 seats, and the building was Grade II* listed by English Heritage in 1970. Really Useful Theatres has owned the building since 2000, the land beneath it is on a long-term lease from the Crown Estate. In the new business, he hoped to improve the share of profits that would go to playwrights, —John Vanbrughs notice of subscription for the new theatre He was joined in the enterprise by his principal associate and manager William Congreve and an actors co-operative led by Thomas Betterton. The theatre provided the first alternative to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, built in 1663, the theatres site is the second oldest such site in London that remains in use. These three post-interregnum theatres defined the shape and use of modern theatres, the land for the theatre was held on a lease renewable in 1740 and was ultimately owned, as it is today, by the Crown Estate. Building was delayed by the necessity of acquiring the street frontage, colley Cibber described the audience fittings as lavish but the facilities for playing poor. This was the first Italian opera performed in London, the opera failed, and the season struggled on through May, with revivals of plays and operas. The first new play performed was The Conquest of Spain by Mary Pix, the theatre proved too large for actors voices to carry across the auditorium, and the first season was a failure. Congreve departed, Vanbrugh bought out his partners, and the actors reopened the Lincolns Inn Fields theatre in the summer. On 7 May 1707, experiencing mounting losses and running costs, after 1709, the theatre was devoted to Italian opera and was sometimes known informally as the Haymarket Opera House. Young George Frideric Handel produced his English début, Rinaldo, on 24 February 1711 at the theatre and this was the first Italian opera composed specifically for the London stage
5.
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
6.
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
7.
Libretto
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A libretto is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term libretto is also used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as the Mass, requiem and sacred cantata. Libretto, from Italian, is the diminutive of the word libro, sometimes other language equivalents are used for libretti in that language, livret for French works and Textbuch for German. A libretto is distinct from a synopsis or scenario of the plot, in that the libretto contains all the words and stage directions, while a synopsis summarizes the plot. The relationship of the librettist to the composer in the creation of a work has varied over the centuries, as have the sources. In the context of a modern English language musical theatre piece, Libretti for operas, oratorios and cantatas in the 17th and 18th centuries generally were written by someone other than the composer, often a well-known poet. Metastasio was one of the most highly regarded librettists in Europe and his libretti were set many times by many different composers. Another noted 18th-century librettist was Lorenzo Da Ponte, who wrote the libretti for three of Mozarts greatest operas, as well as for other composers. Eugène Scribe was one of the most prolific librettists of the 19th century, providing the words for works by Meyerbeer, Auber, Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini and Verdi. The French writers duo Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy wrote a number of opera and operetta libretti for the likes of Jacques Offenbach, Jules Massenet. Arrigo Boito, who wrote libretti for, among others, Giuseppe Verdi and Amilcare Ponchielli, the libretto is not always written before the music. Some composers wrote their own libretti, Richard Wagner is perhaps most famous in this regard, with his transformations of Germanic legends and events into epic subjects for his operas and music dramas. Hector Berlioz, too, wrote the libretti for two of his works, La Damnation de Faust and Les Troyens. Alban Berg adapted Georg Büchners play Woyzeck for the libretto of Wozzeck, sometimes the libretto is written in close collaboration with the composer, this can involve adaptation, as was the case with Rimsky-Korsakov and his librettist Belsky, or an entirely original work. In the case of musicals, the music, the lyrics, thus, a musical such as Fiddler on the Roof has a composer, a lyricist and the writer of the book. In rare cases, the composer writes everything except the dance arrangements - music, lyrics and libretto, Other matters in the process of developing a libretto parallel those of spoken dramas for stage or screen. A famous case of the latter is Wagners 1861 revision of the original 1845 Dresden version of his opera Tannhäuser for Paris, since the late 19th century some opera composers have written music to prose or free verse libretti. The libretto of a musical, on the hand, is almost always written in prose
8.
Benjamin Lumley
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Benjamin Lumley, opera manager and solicitor, was born Benjamin Levy, in 1811, the son of a Jewish merchant Louis Levy, and died 17 March 1875 in London. Lumleys father was a clothes-dealer who had made his fortune in Canada. The young Benjamin Levy was a pupil at King Edwards School, Lumley trained as a solicitor, and then studied for the Bar under Basil Montagu. In this capacity he gave advice to the financially troubled manager of what was then His Majesty’s Theatre, Pierre Laporte. Lumley had already written a standard handbook on Parliamentary Private Bills and was launched on a legal career. But his memoirs clearly indicate his pleasure in mixing in high society, the conductor at Her Majesty’s was Michael Costa. By their different natures – one a devotee of high musical standards, and indeed they were so for the first five years, one of the longer surviving partnerships of the age. The resulting financial success led the optimistic Lumley to purchase the lease of the theatre. One of the sensations of Lumleys management was the balletic Pas de Quatre, choreographed by Perrot and this divertissement, which featured as dancers Marie Taglioni, Carlotta Grisi, Cerrito and Grahn, may have been inspired by Lumley seeing four girls dancing outside the theatre. The Pas de Quatre became an institution and is frequently revived, first, Costa felt neglected by Lumley, who, wisely from an artistic point of view, was not keen to produce Costa’s own ballets and operas. Furthermore, Lumley refused to permit Costa to take up the appointment of chief conductor to the Royal Philharmonic Society, Lumley swiftly fought back, showing all his skills as an opportunist. He engaged the composer Michael Balfe to replace Costa, in 1847, despite legal threats from the Covent Garden management, he brought Jenny Lind over for her London debut, for which he had prepared with unprecedented levels of spin and publicity. Giuseppe Verdi had been engaged to write an opera for London, originally, it was intended to be Macbeth, but this was first given in Florence, so Verdi decided to produce I masnadieri for London. Verdi left Italy at the end of May 1847 with his work for London completed, except for the orchestration, the cast assembled for the premiere on 22 July 1847 was of the highest international standard. In particular, as the highlight of her first season in England, the great Swedish coloratura soprano Jenny Lind was engaged to create the role of Amalia, the operas heroine. After considerable persuasion Verdi agreed to conduct the premiere, which was a triumphant success, fortunately for Lumley, things had turned out well - and very profitably. Lumley had also extensively advertised Mendelssohn’s Tempest opera as forthcoming, Mendelssohn found the libretto by Eugene Scribe completely unacceptable and did not even begin to write the music for it. The death of Mendelssohn in 1847 however gave Lumley an escape from his fabrications, but the premiere of La Tempesta in 1850 was, at most, a succès d’éstime
9.
Ernani
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Ernani is an operatic dramma lirico in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Hernani by Victor Hugo. As musicologist Roger Parker notes, the composer intervened on several important points, Ernani was first performed on 9 March 1844 and it was immensely popular, and was revived countless times during its early years. It became Verdis most popular opera until it was superseded by Il trovatore after 1853, in 1904 it became the first opera to be recorded completely. Following the success of both Nabucco and I Lombardi, Verdi was approached by many companies wanting to commission him to write an opera for their houses. However, the composer was only willing to accept the terms which he proposed,12,000 Austrian lire to be paid after the first performance, in addition, he had the right to choose the singers from the assembled company for that season. Several subjects came to Verdis attention, for example, Byrons The Corsair was considered, However, both of these subjects were to become later Verdi operas, Il corsaro and I due Foscari. An unsolicited manuscript from the unknown Francesco Piave proposed an opera, Cromwell, based on Victor Hugos play, the idea for Hernani The Cromwell libretto arrived from Piave in pieces, and Verdi put it away until he had the complete version to work from. However, when the composer and La Fenices president met in Venice in late August and he continues, But oh, if only we could do Hernani instead that would be tremendous. I know that it would mean a great deal of trouble for the poet but my first task would be to try, all he would have to do would be to condense and tighten up, the action is already there ready made, and its all immensely good theatre. Tomorrow Ill write at length to Piave setting out all the scenes from Hernani which seem to me suitable, at this point he continues with suggestions for the poet. Setting the play as the opera, Ernani However, Piave was not at all pleased by this turn of events and felt that an opera based on Hernani could not be staged for reasons of censorship. For instance, the Kings first appearance in the play is from a cupboard where he has been hiding since some time after his arrival, thus he overhears much of the interaction between Elvira and Ernani before finally revealing himself. Verdi must have realized that no king would ever be allowed to hide in a cupboard, but the La Fenice directorate did approve the concept and the librettist was offered compensation, although he saved his Allan Cameron in reserve in case of mishap. For Budden, this marks a new outlook in Italian opera, because this would never have occurred to either Rossini or Donizetti, for whom plots were interchangeable. Although Verdi had agreed to try to accommodate the contralto Carolina Vietti when the opera was Allan Cameron, thus it became a comprimario role, one to be sung by a second-rung singer in the company. But, as Budden notes, Verdis difficulties with singers were not yet over, the season opened with I Lombardi in December 1843. It was a disaster, with singing from the tenor Domenico Conti. Two other operas early in the 1843/44 season were equally poorly received, Verdi then engaged a member of the chorus, the bass Antonio Selva who went on to a distinguished career
10.
Il corsaro
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Il corsaro is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, from a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on Lord Byrons poem The Corsair. The first performance was given at the Teatro Grande in Trieste on 25 October 1848, the composer expressed interest in Byrons poem The Corsair as early as 1844 when he was planning an opera for Venice, but a suitable baritone was not available. In 1845, the composer had contracted with the Milanese publisher, Francesco Lucca, however, Verdi had not lost sight of Corsaro at all, as is demonstrated in a letter to Piave. Impatient because of the delays, Piave had asked for his libretto to be returned to him in order that he might fulfill another commitment. Verdi was shocked, Give you back Il corsaro, that Corsaro which has fascinated me and which Ive thought about so much. The composer continues to explain details of the work on the music he has already done, Piave relented, and he moved ahead on Macbeth s libretto. 19th century Lucca decided on the Teatro Grande in Trieste as the location for the Spring 1848 premiere, Verdi did not attend the first performance. However, Verdis biographer Mary Jane Phillips-Matz feels that Lucca chose a good house, in addition, she quotes from a long letter which Verdi wrote to the soprano Marianna Barbieri-Nini, who had been his Lady Macbeth at the 1847 premiere of that opera. In the letter, Verdi said that he wanted to tell you a few things about your pieces, as it turned out, the opera was poorly received by both the press and the public in Trieste, an unusual occurrence for Verdi. Budden notes that it vanished from the repertoire after three performances and that the feeling would have been that Trieste deserves a better opera than this. Relatively few performances were given in Italy after the premiere, although it was staged in Milan and Turin in 1852, and in Modena, Novara, Venice, 20th century and beyond In modern times, the opera is very much a rarity. It was given its first performances in Britain in March 1966 and it was presented as part of a Verdi Festival by the San Diego Opera in 1982 with Rosalind Plowright and June Anderson, and in 2004 by the Sarasota Opera as part of its Verdi Cycle. In concert versions, it was given by the Liceu Barcelona, the Opera Orchestra of New York presented it in March 2004. The Washington Concert Opera in Washington, D. C. presented a version in March 2014 with a cast including Michael Fabiano as Corrado, Tamara Wilson as Gulnara. Place, A Greek island in the Aegean and the Turkish city of Corone, time, The early 1800s The Greek Island Scene 1, Corrados ship The island is controlled by the corsairs, or pirates. A chorus introduces Corrado, the corsair, who is in exile. He laments his present condition, Tutto parea sorridere / The world seemed to smile upon my early life, but he receives a letter containing military intelligence about the Turkish Pasha, Seid. It convinces him to set sail with his comrades, and he immediately starts rallying the troops, Sì, di Corsari il fulmine / Yes, Scene 2, Medoras home Medora is alone, and anxious for Corrados return
11.
Shakespeare
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William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the worlds pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called Englands national poet, and the Bard of Avon and his extant works, including collaborations, consist of approximately 38 plays,154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright, Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children, Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a career in London as an actor, writer. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, at age 49, Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories, which are regarded as some of the best work ever produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, in his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and it was prefaced with a poem by Ben Jonson, in which Shakespeare is hailed, presciently, as not of an age, but for all time. In the 20th and 21st centuries, his works have been adapted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship. His plays remain highly popular and are studied, performed. William Shakespeare was the son of John Shakespeare, an alderman and a successful glover originally from Snitterfield, and Mary Arden and he was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and baptised there on 26 April 1564. His actual date of birth unknown, but is traditionally observed on 23 April. This date, which can be traced back to an 18th-century scholars mistake, has proved appealing to biographers because Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616 and he was the third child of eight and the eldest surviving son. At the age of 18, Shakespeare married 26-year-old Anne Hathaway, the consistory court of the Diocese of Worcester issued a marriage licence on 27 November 1582. The next day, two of Hathaways neighbours posted bonds guaranteeing that no lawful claims impeded the marriage, twins, son Hamnet and daughter Judith, followed almost two years later and were baptised 2 February 1585. Hamnet died of unknown causes at the age of 11 and was buried 11 August 1596, after the birth of the twins, Shakespeare left few historical traces until he is mentioned as part of the London theatre scene in 1592. The exception is the appearance of his name in the bill of a law case before the Queens Bench court at Westminster dated Michaelmas Term 1588 and 9 October 1589
12.
Macbeth
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Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, it is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake. Of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign of James I and it was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book, and is his shortest tragedy. A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland, consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia, forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler. The bloodbath and consequent civil war swiftly take Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the realms of madness, the events of the tragedy are usually associated with the execution of Henry Garnet for complicity in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. In the backstage world of theatre, some believe that the play is cursed, over the course of many centuries, the play has attracted some of the most renowned actors to the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It has been adapted to film, television, opera, novels, comics, the play opens amidst thunder and lightning, and the Three Witches decide that their next meeting shall be with Macbeth. Macbeth, the Kings kinsman, is praised for his bravery, in the following scene, Macbeth and Banquo discuss the weather and their victory. As they wander onto a heath, the Three Witches enter, though Banquo challenges them first, they address Macbeth, hailing him as Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and that he shall be King hereafter. Macbeth appears to be stunned to silence, when Banquo asks of his own fortunes, the witches respond paradoxically, saying that he will be less than Macbeth, yet happier, less successful, yet more. He will father a line of kings though he himself will not be one, while the two men wonder at these pronouncements, the witches vanish, and another thane, Ross, arrives and informs Macbeth of his newly bestowed title, Thane of Cawdor. The first prophecy is fulfilled, and Macbeth, previously skeptical. King Duncan welcomes and praises Macbeth and Banquo, and declares that he spend the night at Macbeths castle at Inverness. Macbeth sends a message ahead to his wife, Lady Macbeth, Lady Macbeth suffers none of her husbands uncertainty and wishes him to murder Duncan in order to obtain kingship. When Macbeth arrives at Inverness, she overrides all of her husbands objections by challenging his manhood and he and Lady Macbeth plan to get Duncans two chamberlains drunk so that they will black out, the next morning they will blame the chamberlains for the murder. They will be defenseless as they remember nothing. While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him, despite his doubts and he is so shaken that Lady Macbeth has to take charge
13.
Felice Varesi
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Felice Varesi was a French-born Italian baritone with an illustrious singing career that began in the 1830s and extended into the 1860s. He is best remembered today for his association with several famous operas composed by Giuseppe Verdi. By 1841 he was singing at La Scala, Milan, and from 1842 to 1847 he was in demand in Vienna, here he created the role of Antonio in Donizettis Linda di Chamounix as well as appearing in other works by the same composer. In 1844 he sang the role of Don Carlo in Ernani at Padua, his initial Verdi opera, in 1847, in Florence, he was the first Macbeth in Verdis opera of that name. Then, in 1851 at La Fenice, Venice, he created Verdis Rigoletto and he came to London in 1864 to perform Rigoletto – probably his best known role – at Her Majestys Theatre. Varesi was admired for his intelligence, musicianship and acting ability as well for the quality of his voice. He set the scene for a generation of great Verdi baritones that included Francesco Graziani, Leone Giraldoni and Antonio Cotogni. He was married to the operatic soprano Cecilia Boccabadatti Gazzudo and their daughter, Elena, also sang as a soprano, opening a singing school in Chicago following her retirement from the stage. Forbes, Elizabeth, Varesi, Felice in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, harold Rosenthal and John Warrack, Varesi, Felice in The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera ISBN 0-19-311321-X
14.
Jenny Lind
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Johanna Maria Lind, better known as Jenny Lind, was a Swedish opera singer, often known as the Swedish Nightingale. She was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music from 1840, Lind became famous after her performance in Der Freischütz in Sweden in 1838. Within a few years, she had suffered damage. She was in demand in opera roles throughout Sweden and northern Europe during the 1840s. After two acclaimed seasons in London, she announced her retirement from opera at the age of 29, in 1850, Lind went to America at the invitation of the showman P. T. Barnum. She gave 93 large-scale concerts for him and then continued to tour under her own management and she earned more than $350,000 from these concerts, donating the proceeds to charities, principally the endowment of free schools in Sweden. With her new husband, Otto Goldschmidt, she returned to Europe in 1852 where she had three children and gave occasional concerts over the two decades, settling in England in 1855. From 1882, for years, she was a professor of singing at the Royal College of Music in London. Born in Klara, in central Stockholm, Lind was the daughter of Niclas Jonas Lind, a bookkeeper, and Anne-Marie Fellborg. Linds mother had divorced her first husband for adultery but, for religious reasons, Linds parents married when she was fourteen. Linds mother ran a day school for girls out of her home, when Lind was about nine years old, her singing was overheard by the maid of Mademoiselle Lundberg, the principal dancer at the Royal Swedish Opera. Lind began to sing onstage when she was ten and she had a vocal crisis at the age of 12 and had to stop singing for a time, but recovered. Her first great role was Agathe in Webers Der Freischütz in 1838 at the Royal Swedish Opera, at age 20 she was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and court singer to the King of Sweden and Norway. Her voice became seriously damaged by overuse and untrained singing technique, so damaged was her voice that he insisted that she should not sing at all for three months, to allow her vocal cords to recover, before he started to teach her a secure vocal technique. After Lind had been with García for a year, the composer Giacomo Meyerbeer, an early and faithful admirer of her talent, arranged an audition for her at the Opéra in Paris, but she was rejected. The biographer Francis Rogers concludes that Lind strongly resented the rebuff, Lind returned to the Royal Swedish Opera, greatly improved as a singer by Garcías training. She toured Denmark where, in 1843, Hans Christian Andersen met, although the two became good friends, she did not reciprocate his romantic feelings. She is believed to have inspired three of his tales, Beneath the Pillar, The Angel and The Nightingale
15.
Italo Gardoni
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Italo Gardoni was a leading operatic tenore di grazia singer from Italy who enjoyed a major international career during the middle decades of the 19th century. Along with Giovanni Mario, Gaetano Fraschini, Enrico Tamberlik and Antonio Giuglini and his voice was not large but it was exceptionally pure toned and sweet, lacking any disruptive vibrato. He sang legato passages with impressive smoothness but he could also dispatch florid music with flair, born in Parma, Gardoni studied with Antonio De Cesari. He made his debut as Roberto Devereux in Viadana in 1840, Gardoni knew and worked with Balfe, who composed items particularly for him. Gardoni continued to sing in Paris throughout his career, in 1847 he went to London, where he performed regularly until 1874. His histrionic powers were faultless, except that he lacked the force to portray bursts of passion, there followed La sonnambula with Mme Castellan, and I puritani and Lelisir damore, and he rapidly became a great favourite. On 22 July 1847 he created the role in Verdis I masnadieri opposite Lind, Lablache and Filippo Coletti. At the salon of Henry Greville he was associated with Mario, Grisi, Pinsuti, in the 1848 season he was Lumleys leading tenor. Il barbiere di Siviglia with Sophie Cruvelli and Belletti was followed by the London premiere of Verdis Attila, with Cruvelli, Velletti and he sang Gennaro to Cruvellis Lucrezia Borgia. But Gardoni was cast as Edgardo, and Reeves severed his engagements, there was a cry of Sims Reeves from the gallery as Gardoni sang Edgardos first cavatina on the opening night. The situation probably arose through Lind expressing a preference for Gardoni as her partner, Gardoni now sang Roberto for Lind, but was thought not up to the part. But at her performance at Her Majestys, in Robert le diable on 10 May 1849. After a winter season in St Petersburg, in 1850 he reappeared with Parodi and Frezzolini in a revival of I Capuleti e i Montecchi, and pleased his audience by disproving a false report of his death. Gardoni and the star contralto Marietta Alboni were the soloists, in the presence of Queen Isabella II. 1851 renewed Gardonis Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia, a novelty première, Giulio Alarys Le tre nozze, with Henriette Sontag and Lablache, preceded the more significant Lenfant prodigue of Auber with Sontag, Massol and Coletti. He was with Cruvelli again for a performance of Balfes opera I quattro figli. When Reeves and Cruvelli sang Fidelio in 1851, Gardoni led the hand-picked soloists forming the chorus of prisoners on the first night. He continued to sing for Lumley through his crisis months of early 1852, and gave a Norma with Cruvelli and Lablache, Gardoni himself appeared in Rossinis opera Il conte Ory with Constance Nantier-Didiée and Angiolina Bosio, an exquisite combination of voices
16.
Emanuele Muzio
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Donnino Emanuele Muzio was an Italian composer, conductor and vocal teacher. He was a friend and the only student of Giuseppe Verdi. In April 1844, Verdi took on Muzio, eight years his junior, as a pupil and he had known him since about 1828 as a protégé of his own supporter, Antonio Barezzi. Muzio, who in fact was Verdis only pupil, became indispensable to the composer and he reported to Barezzi that Verdi has a breadth of spirit, of generosity, a wisdom. The relationship was to grow stronger, and Muzio remained a lifelong friend, in November 1846, Muzio wrote of Verdi, If you could see us, I seem more like a friend, rather than his pupil. We are always together at dinner, in the cafes, when we play cards. All in all, he doesnt go anywhere without me at his side, in the house we have a big table and he was chosen by Verdi as one of the executors of his will, but predeceased the composer in 1890. Muzio was conductor of the Italian Opera in Brussels in 1852 as well as conducting in London, in 1875, he settled in Paris as a vocal teacher. His students include Carlotta Patti and Clara Louise Kellogg, lallievo di Verdi, Emanuele Muzio by Gaspare Nello Vetro Free scores by Emanuele Muzio at the International Music Score Library Project
17.
Eduard Magnus
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Eduard Magnus was a German painter. Magnus was born in Berlin, the son of Johann Matthias Magnus. He studied simultaneously at the Prussian Academy of Arts, Bauakademie, and University of Berlin, becoming educated in medicine, architecture and he took to painting, as a student of Jakob Schlesinger, exhibiting for the first time in 1826 with promising results. He later traveled to Paris and Italy, returning to Germany in 1829 and he went to Italy again in 1831, and traveled through Paris and England before returning again in 1835. In 1837 he became a member of the Academy of Art, from 1850 to 1853 he traveled to France and Spain. He died in 1872 in Berlin and he was for a time the preeminent portrait painter in Berlin. Eduard Magnus was the brother of the physicist and chemist Heinrich Gustav Magnus. In Italy, Magnus produced two pictures, entitled The Return of the Palikaren, and The Benediction of the Grandson, which won him considerable renown. Amongst his productions in the school, most of which have been engraved by Mandel, Trossin. He also painted portraits, amongst others, of Jenny Lind, Henriette Sontag, Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Magnus gained high reputation as a portrait-painter, his productions in this department being marked by strong individuality and powerful colouring. The Golden Age, is also a work, distinguished by great natural simplicity. It was one of the most attractive works exhibited at the Prussian Academy of Arts in 1839 and it was purchased by the Art-Union Society of that city, and at the distribution of prizes fell to the lot of the Baron Werther, Minister of Foreign Affairs. It was afterwards engraved by Edward Mandel for the Society, who distributed it among their subscribers in 1843, ueber Einrichtung und Beleuchtung von Räumen zur Aufstellung von Gemälden und Sculpturen Die Polychromie vom künstlerischen Standpunkte. Ripley, George, Dana, Charles A. eds
18.
Coloratura
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The word Coloratura is originally from Italian, literally meaning coloring, and derives from the Latin word colorare. It is also now used to refer to passages of such music, operatic roles in which such music plays a prominent part. In these early texts the term is dealt with briefly and always with reference to Italian usage, the term coloratura is most commonly applied to the elaborate and florid figuration or ornamentation in classical and romantic vocal music. In the modern musicological sense the term is used to refer to florid music from all periods of music history. Despite its derivation from Latin colorare, the term coloratura does not apply to the practice of coloring the voice, the term is not restricted to describing any one range of voice. All female and male voice types may achieve mastery of coloratura technique, there are coloratura parts for all voice types in different musical genres. Nevertheless, the coloratura, when used without further qualification. A coloratura soprano has the ability to produce notes above high C. Examples of coloratura music for different voice ranges include, Mozarts Allelujah may be arranged for and sung by a properly trained contralto, the piece was written for soprano castrato. The aria Every valley shall be exalted from Handels Messiah is an example of a piece for tenor. Each singer of a role in Rossinis operas must have a secure coloratura technique. Osmin, a character in Mozarts The Abduction from the Seraglio, is a role for a bass. A modern example is I am the wife of Mao Tse-tung, sung by the part of Jiang Qing in the John Adams opera Nixon in China. Glitter And Be Gay from Leonard Bernsteins comic operetta, Candide Agitata da due venti a coloratura mezzo-soprano aria, medieval coloration Apel, Willi, ed. Harvard Dictionary of Music, second edition. Cambridge, Massachusetts, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, randel, Don Michael, ed. Apel, Willi, ed. Cambridge, Massachusetts, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, the New Grove Dictionary of Opera
19.
Queen Victoria
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Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she adopted the title of Empress of India. Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, both the Duke of Kent and King George III died in 1820, and Victoria was raised under close supervision by her German-born mother Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She inherited the throne aged 18, after her fathers three brothers had all died, leaving no surviving legitimate children. The United Kingdom was already a constitutional monarchy, in which the sovereign held relatively little direct political power. Privately, Victoria attempted to influence government policy and ministerial appointments, publicly, Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. Their nine children married into royal and noble families across the continent, tying them together, after Alberts death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances. As a result of her seclusion, republicanism temporarily gained strength and her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were times of public celebration. Her reign of 63 years and seven months is known as the Victorian era and it was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. She was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover and her son and successor, Edward VII, belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the line of his father. Victorias father was Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, until 1817, Edwards niece, Princess Charlotte of Wales, was the only legitimate grandchild of George III. Her death in 1817 precipitated a crisis that brought pressure on the Duke of Kent. In 1818 he married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, a widowed German princess with two children—Carl and Feodora —by her first marriage to the Prince of Leiningen and her brother Leopold was Princess Charlottes widower. The Duke and Duchess of Kents only child, Victoria, was born at 4.15 a. m. on 24 May 1819 at Kensington Palace in London. Victoria was christened privately by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Manners-Sutton, on 24 June 1819 in the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace and she was baptised Alexandrina, after one of her godparents, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, and Victoria, after her mother. Additional names proposed by her parents—Georgina, Charlotte, and Augusta—were dropped on the instructions of the Dukes eldest brother, George, the Duke of Clarence and the Duke of Kent married on the same day in 1818, but both of Clarences daughters died as infants. Victorias father died in January 1820, when Victoria was less than a year old, a week later her grandfather died and was succeeded by his eldest son, George IV. The Duke of York died in 1827, when George IV died in 1830, he was succeeded by his next surviving brother, William IV, and Victoria became heir presumptive
20.
Albert, Prince Consort
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Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was the husband of Queen Victoria. He was born in the Saxon duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld to a family connected to many of Europes ruling monarchs, at the age of 20, he married his first cousin, Queen Victoria, they had nine children. He was heavily involved with the organisation of the Great Exhibition of 1851, the Queen came to depend more and more on his support and guidance. Albert died at the young age of 42, plunging the Queen into deep mourning for the rest of her life. Upon Queen Victorias death in 1901, their eldest son succeeded as Edward VII, Albert was born at Schloss Rosenau, near Coburg, Germany, the second son of Ernest III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and his first wife, Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. Alberts future wife, Victoria, was earlier in the same year with the assistance of the same midwife. Albert was baptised into the Lutheran Evangelical Church on 19 September 1819 in the Marble Hall at Schloss Rosenau with water taken from the local river, in 1825, Alberts great-uncle, Frederick IV, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, died. His death led to a realignment of Saxon duchies the following year and Alberts father became the first reigning duke of Saxe-Coburg, Albert and his elder brother, Ernest, spent their youth in a close companionship marred by their parents turbulent marriage and eventual separation and divorce. After their mother was exiled from court in 1824, she married her lover, Alexander von Hanstein, Count of Polzig and she presumably never saw her children again, and died of cancer at the age of 30 in 1831. The brothers were educated privately at home by Christoph Florschütz and later studied in Brussels, like many other German princes, Albert attended the University of Bonn, where he studied law, political economics, philosophy and the history of art. He played music and excelled at sport, especially fencing and riding and his tutors at Bonn included the philosopher Fichte and the poet Schlegel. By 1836, the idea of marriage between Albert and his cousin, Victoria, had arisen in the mind of their ambitious uncle Leopold, at this time, Victoria was the heiress presumptive to the British throne. Her father, Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent, the son of King George III, had died when she was a baby. Her mother the Duchess of Kent, was the sister of both Alberts father—the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha—and King Leopold. Leopold arranged for his sister, Victorias mother, to invite the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, William IV, however, disapproved of any match with the Coburgs, and instead favoured the suit of Prince Alexander, second son of the Prince of Orange. Victoria was well aware of the matrimonial plans and critically appraised a parade of eligible princes. Alexander, on the hand, she described as very plain. Victoria wrote to her uncle Leopold to thank him for the prospect of great happiness you have contributed to give me and he possesses every quality that could be desired to render me perfectly happy
21.
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
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His defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 put him in the top rank of Britains military heroes. Wellesley was born in Dublin, belonging to the Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland and he was commissioned as an ensign in the British Army in 1787, serving in Ireland as aide-de-camp to two successive Lords Lieutenant of Ireland. He was also elected as a Member of Parliament in the Irish House of Commons and he was a colonel by 1796, and saw action in the Netherlands and in India, where he fought in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War at the Battle of Seringapatam. He was appointed governor of Seringapatam and Mysore in 1799 and, as a newly appointed major-general, following Napoleons exile in 1814, he served as the ambassador to France and was granted a dukedom. During the Hundred Days in 1815, he commanded the army which defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. Wellesleys battle record is exemplary, he participated in some 60 battles during the course of his military career. Wellington is famous for his defensive style of warfare, resulting in several victories against numerically superior forces while minimising his own losses. He is regarded as one of the greatest defensive commanders of all time, after ending his active military career, Wellington returned to politics. He was twice British prime minister as part of the Tory party, from 1828 to 1830 and he oversaw the passage of the Catholic Relief Act 1829, but opposed the Reform Act 1832. He continued as one of the figures in the House of Lords until his retirement. As such, he belonged to the Protestant Ascendancy and his biographers mostly follow the contemporary newspaper evidence in saying that he was born 1 May 1769, the day that he was baptised. He was most likely born at his parents townhouse,24 Upper Merrion Street, Dublin, but his mother Anne, Countess of Mornington, recalled in 1815 that he had been born at 6 Merrion Street, Dublin. He spent most of his childhood at his familys two homes, the first a house in Dublin and the second Dangan Castle,3 miles north of Summerhill on the Trim Road in County Meath. In 1781, Arthurs father died and his eldest brother Richard inherited his fathers earldom and he went to the diocesan school in Trim when at Dangan, Mr Whytes Academy when in Dublin, and Browns School in Chelsea when in London. He then enrolled at Eton, where he studied from 1781 to 1784, moreover, Eton had no playing fields at the time. In 1785, a lack of success at Eton, combined with a shortage of funds due to his fathers death, forced the young Wellesley. Until his early twenties, Arthur showed little sign of distinction and his mother grew concerned at his idleness, stating. A year later, Arthur enrolled in the French Royal Academy of Equitation in Angers, where he progressed significantly, becoming a good horseman and learning French, upon returning to England in late 1786, he astonished his mother with his improvement
22.
Henry Chorley
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Henry Fothergill Chorley was an English literary, art and music critic, writer and editor. He was also an author of novels, drama, poetry, Chorley was a prolific and important music and literary critic and music gossip columnist of the mid-nineteenth century and wrote extensively about music in London and in Europe. His opera libretti and works of fiction were far less successful and he is perhaps best remembered today for his lyrics to The Long Day Closes, a part song set by Arthur Sullivan in 1868. Chorley was born in Blackley Hurst, near Billinge, Lancashire, Chorley was the youngest of four children of Quaker parents, John Chorley, an iron worker and lock maker, and Jane Chorley, née Wilkinson. Chorleys father died, leaving his mother alone with young children, Jane Chorley moved her family to Liverpool to help take care of her half-brother, Dr Rutter, when he became ill. Chorley was educated by tutors in Liverpool and then the school of the Royal Institution. He began working in offices, hoping to become a musician. However, Chorley soon took to musical and literary criticism and he began to write for the Athenaeum in 1830 and remained its music and literature critic until 1868. While there, he reviewed approximately 2,500 books and wrote reviews and musical gossip columns discussing composers and performers in Britain, in this position, he had much influence. He had strongly conservative views and was a persistent opponent of innovation, in 1850 and 1851, Chorley edited the Ladies Companion, which covered fashion and domestic womens issues. In the Athenaeum and elsewhere, Chorley often criticised the music of Schumann, in addition to criticism for journals, Chorley wrote voluminously on literature and art. He expanded the German section of book and published it 1854 as Modern German Music. His masterpiece was Thirty Years Musical Recollections, which covers, year-by-year, in the work, he blames the autocratic manager of Her Majestys Theatre, Benjamin Lumley, for a decline in the quality of performances there. On the other hand, he praises the efforts of Giulia Grisi, Mario and Michael Costa, together with a group of journalists, for successfully creating the Royal Italian Opera at Covent Garden in 1847. He also wrote the well-received Memorials of Mrs. Hemans, Handel Studies, Chorley also wrote, with far less success, novels, stories, drama and verse, and various librettos. His works of fiction included Sketches of a Seaport Town, a collection of stories, essays, the next year, he wrote Conti the Discarded. His plays, Old Love and New Fortune and Duchess Eleanour and he wrote two novels, Roccabella and A Prodigy, a Tale of Music. Chorley wrote the English libretto for Gounods Faust, for its first presentation in London in 1863, during rehearsals, it was found that the lines were unsingable
23.
Salvadore Cammarano
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Salvadore Cammarano was a prolific Italian librettist and playwright perhaps best known for writing the text of Lucia di Lammermoor for Gaetano Donizetti. For Verdi he wrote Alzira, La battaglia di Legnano and Luisa Miller, Cammarano also started work on libretto for a proposed adaptation of William Shakespeares play King Lear, named Re Lear, but he died before completing it, a detailed scenario survives. His father, Giuseppe, was a painter and set-designer and his son, Michele, was also a painter. Warrack, John and Ewan West, The Oxford Dictionary of Opera, Oxford University Press,1992 ISBN 0-19-869164-5 Opera at Stanford University
24.
Alzira (opera)
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Alzira is an opera in a prologue and two acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvatore Cammarano, based on the play Alzire, ou les Américains by Voltaire. The first performance was at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples, the contemporary reviews were mixed, and the first run of the opera received only four further performances. One of the attractions of the arrangement to Verdi was to have the services of the man who was now - following Felice Romanis virtual retirement - the principal librettist in Italy. This was Salvatore Cammarano, the Naples house poet who had responsible for some of Donizettis successes. Using the publisher Giovanni Ricordi as a kind of agent Verdis terms were laid out and these included being able to receive one-third more than his fee for I Lombardi and, more importantly, having a finished libretto from Cammarano in his possession four months before the production. Verdi had received a synopsis of the opera from Cammarano, the subject of which was not his, but, as Budden notes, Verdi adopted a somewhat passive attitude, impressed as he was at being able to work with this librettist. Its not necessary for me to tell you to keep it short and you know the theatre better than I do. It is quite clear that Verdis characteristic requirement for brevity appeared this early on in his career, as far as the libretto went, it was acceptable to Verdi, he was even highly delighted with it. In the Spring of 1845 Verdis health forced a postponement until at least following August, in a letter of 30 July, he expresses optimism that the opera will be well received but notes that if it were to fail, that wouldnt upset me unduly. 19th century The opening performance received a note of approval in Naples Gazzetta Musicale. It was staged in Ferrara as part of the Spring 1847 carnivale season, 20th century and beyond Prior to 1940, the opera was not performed very often, however, there was a 1938 concert performance in Berlin with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. Other recordings show that there has been a flow of presentations, many only in concert form. Postwar stagings include those given by the Rome Opera in February 1967, according to Budden this proved that the score is genuinely alive and he concludes by noting that it is not downright bad and that no Verdi opera is totally negligible. It was not until January 1968 that it was first given in the US and its UK premiere took place on 10 February 1970 at the Collegiate Theatre in London. Also, in the 1970s, the Orchestra and Chorus of RAI in Turin under Maurizio Rinaldi gave a performance which was broadcast. Periodically, between January and June 2010, it was presented by the Theater St Gallen in Switzerland, in London in June 2013, the Chelsea Opera Group presented a concert version of the opera, with Majella Cullagh in the title role. Place, Peru Time, 16th century Peruvian Indians drag the Spanish governor, Alvaro, suddenly Zamoro, an Inca, appears and asks them to release the man, they do so. Zamoro tells the Indians that he had captured and tortured by Gusmano
25.
Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
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The Teatro dellOpera di Roma is an opera house in Rome, Italy. Originally opened in November 1880 as the 2,212 seat Costanzi Theatre, it has several changes of name as well modifications. The Teatro dellOpera was originally known as the Teatro Costanzi after the contractor who built it and it was financed by Costanzi, who commissioned the Milanese architect Achille Sfondrini, a specialist in the building and renovation of theatres. Designing the theatre, Sfondrini paid particular attention to the acoustics, conceiving the interior structure as a resonance chamber, as is evident from the horseshoe shape in particular. With a seating capacity of 2,212, the house had three tiers of boxes, an amphitheatre and two galleries, surmounted by a dome adorned with splendid frescoes by Annibale Brugnoli. Costanzi was obliged to manage the theater himself, under his direction, and despite financial problems, the opera house held many world premieres of operas, including Cavalleria rusticana by Pietro Mascagni on 17 May 1890. For a brief period the theatre was managed by Costanzis son, Enrico, who gained renown by organizing another great premiere, in 1907 the Teatro Costanzi was purchased by the impresario Walter Mocchi on behalf of the Società Teatrale Internazionale e Nazionale. In 1912 Mocchis wife, Emma Carelli, became the director of the new Impresa Costanzi, as the theatre was later known. During the fourteen years of her tenure, major works which had not been performed before in Rome were staged, in November 1926 the Costanzi was bought by the Rome City Council and its name changed to Teatro Reale dellOpera. A partial rebuilding ensued, led by architect Marcello Piacentini and lasting fifteen months, the house re-opened on 27 February 1928 with the opera Nerone by Arrigo Boito. Chief among several major changes was the entrance, from the street formerly known as Via del Teatro to the opposite side. In addition, the amphitheatre inside the theatre was replaced by a tier of boxes. The interior was embellished by new stuccowork, decorations, and furnishings, including a magnificent chandelier measuring six meters in diameter, the theaters legendary acoustics still bear comparison with any other auditorium in the world. The seating capacity is about 1,600, the house was retrofitted with air-conditioning subsequent to a restoration, which provided improvements to the interior. The stucco work was restored, the great proscenium arch strengthened. The post-war period saw celebrated productions, including Mozarts Le nozze di Figaro in 1964 and Verdis Don Carlos in 1965, from 2001 to 2010, the music director and chief conductor of the company was Gianluigi Gelmetti. Later, Muti assumed a similar to that of music director. Notable productions under Muti have included Glucks Iphigénie en Aulide, Verdis Nabucco, Simon Boccanegra, the name Teatro Costanzi remains officially in use, to refer to the main auditorium
26.
Boris Christoff
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Boris Christoff was a Bulgarian opera singer, widely considered one of the greatest basses of the 20th century. Born in Plovdiv, Christoff demonstrated early his talent and sang as a boy at the choir of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. In the late 1930s he graduated in law and started a career as a magistrate and he continued singing in his spare time in the Gusla Chorus in Sofia, achieving an enormous success as the chorus soloist in 1940. After several guest appearances and recitals in Austria in 1944 and 1945 and he made his operatic debut as Colline in La bohème at Reggio Calabria on 12 March 1946. The role was filled by the young Italian basso, Cesare Siepi. After the restrictions were loosened, Christoff made a debut in the United States in 1956 at the San Francisco Opera. He refused any further invitations to the Metropolitan and never appeared there, after a brief absence from the scene due to brain tumour surgery in 1964, Christoff resumed his career in 1965, though at a much slower pace. In 1967 he was allowed to return to Bulgaria for the first time since 1945, in the 1970s Christoff on-stage performances were all but frequent. He brought his career to an end with a concert at the Accademia di Bulgaria in Rome on 22 June 1986. He died in Rome in 1993 and his body was returned to Bulgaria, Christoff had an excellent voice with a distinctive dark tone. Although it was not as large as some other bass voices, he had no trouble making an impact in big auditoria and he sang mostly in Verdi and the Russian repertoire, and was also a refined performer of vocal chamber music. Christoff made studio recordings of eight operas and numerous live recordings and he initiated the tradition of making studio recordings of Boris Godunov with the same basso singing three roles. While he was a performer on stage, Christoff had difficult off-stage relations with fellow singers and producers. Herbert von Karajan tried to make him sing the role in Don Giovanni which would have been inappropriate for his range. He was the brother-in-law of the Italian baritone Tito Gobbi, the following list contains just a few. His complete songs by Mussorgsky are available, produced by EMI and he recorded the Verdi Requiem 3 times, once under Tullio Serafin in Rome 1959, once with Herbert von Karajan and once with Bruno Bartoletti. Two recordings of Boris Godunov are available with Christoff singing three roles, Boris, Pimen, and Father Varlaam, lugano Recital 1976 Sonning Award Boris Christoff at the Internet Movie Database Borischristoff. dir. bg Discography of opera recordings http, //www. boris-christoff. Warren Perry Photo Collection, University of Buffalo Digital Collections, State University of New York at Buffalo
27.
Gianni Raimondi
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Gianni Raimondi was an Italian lyric tenor, particularly associated with the Italian repertory. Born in Bologna, Raimondi studied at the Music Conservatory of his city with Antonio Melandri. He made his debut in 1947 in Rigoletto at the Teatro Consorziale in Budrio. The following year he made his debut at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, after singing throughout Italy, he made guest appearances in Nice, Marseille, Monte-Carlo, Paris, and London. His La Scala début occurred in 1956, as Alfredo in La Traviata, again opposite Callas and he took part in another famous Visconti-Callas production, as Percy in Donizettis Anna Bolena, in 1957. Later he participated in many important revivals at La Scala, including two Rossini works, Mosè in Egitto in 1958, and Semiramide, opposite Joan Sutherland, in 1957 Raimondi made his debut at the Vienna State Opera where he continued to perform until 1977. There he sang Alfredo, the Duke, Cavaradossi, Pinkerton, in 1963 he was Rodolfo to Mirella Frenis Mimí in Franco Zeffirellis legendary production of La bohème, with Herbert von Karajan conducting. His American debut was at the San Francisco Opera in 1957, he appeared at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. He made his Metropolitan Opera début on 29 September 1965 as Rodolfo in La bohème, opposite another débutante, other roles at the Met included Edgardo, Faust in the Gounod opera, and some Puccini, once more, Cavaradossi and Pinkerton. He also appeared in some of Verdis less frequently performed such as I masnadieri, I Vespri Siciliani. Raimondi made disappointingly few studio recordings, given the length of his career, even recorded versions of his live performances are not as frequent as they could and should have been. The most famous of his surviving recorded interpretations is probably La Traviata, opposite Renata Scotto and he also appeared in a film version of La bohème with Freni, and conducted by Karajan. Among his live performances, his Lamico Fritz with Freni, Rolando Panerai, Gianni Raimondi was married to the Italian soprano Gianna Dal Sommo and in retirement spent much of his time at his seaside villa in Riccione. He died at his home in Pianoro near Bologna at the age of 85, roland Mancini and Jean-Jacques Rouveroux, Guide de l’opéra, Les indispensables de la musique. ISBN 2-213-59567-4 The Times, Gianni Raimondi, tenor who appeared with Callas. History of the Tenor - Sound Clips and Narration
28.
Renato Bruson
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Renato Bruson is an Italian operatic baritone. Bruson is widely considered one of the most important Verdi baritones of the late 20th and he was born in Granze near Padua, Italy. Brusons passion for music matured in the choir when he was a child. He began his studies at the conservatory of Padua where he was awarded a scholarship that allowed him to attend the courses in the face of economic problems. He did not receive support from his family, who considered him a good-for-nothing. In his own words, They thought that I only wanted to study music because I had no desire to work, however, he could continue his studies with the help of the administration of the conservatory and the support of friends. Bruson made his debut as the Conte di Luna in Il trovatore at the Teatro Lirico Sperimentale in Spoleto in 1960. The following year he was Riccardo in I puritani at the Teatro dellOpera di Roma in Rome and his first Metropolitan Opera appearance was as Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor in 1969. In 1970 he started his collaboration with conductor Riccardo Muti in Un ballo in maschera in Florence and he debuted at the Vienna State Opera in 1978 with Macbeth, with such a success that the prestigious Austrian theatre awarded him with the important title of Kammersänger. In the 1980s he turned to the 18th century with Mozarts Don Giovanni and he is considered by some critics the finest Rigoletto since Tito Gobbi. They appreciate his elegant and expressive phrasing, velvety tone, musical intelligence and he excels in long, lyrical lines. He is also appreciated for not disdaining smaller roles and for not assuming a divo attitude, Bruson once described himself in the following terms, I am self critic enough to understand what I can get at. He can be seen on commercial DVD in the role of Macbeth in a performance from the Deutsche Oper with Mara Zampieri, carlo Maria Giulini, I believe Renato Bruson now is the Falstaff. He has the wit, the intelligence, the dignity and, of course, giuseppe Sinopoli, Only the baritone Renato Bruson has a similar ability [to Mirella Freni) to make expression and word coincide, he explores it with all the semantic charge it contains. And this is not the result of an activity but is a privileged instinct. Music critic Christian Springer wrote of Bruson, Bruson was the quintessential Verdi baritone in the half of the last century. A Verdi baritone not as it was understood in the 1950s and 1960s, Tita Tegano – Renato Bruson,40 anni di Recitar cantando – Pantheon,2001, ISBN 88-7434-012-5 Tita Tegano – Renato Bruson, Linterprete e i personaggi – Azzali Editore,1998 Discography Biography
29.
Ilva Ligabue
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Ilva Ligabue was an Italian operatic soprano, best known for the role of Alice Ford in Falstaff, which she recorded twice, under Georg Solti and Leonard Bernstein. Ilva Ligabue studied at the Milan Conservatory in the class of Campogalliani and she also appeared in Buenos Aires, Chicago and New York City. A sensitive and intelligent singer and an actress, other notable roles included Amelia in Un ballo in maschera. Ligabue was married to the Italian baritone Paolo Pedani, dictionnaire des interprètes, Alain Pâris, Robert Laffont, Paris,1989. ISBN 2-221-06660-X Opera News, Obituaries, October 1998
30.
Opera Orchestra of New York
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The Opera Orchestra of New York specializes in the performance of opera in concert form. It is particularly known for its work in presenting rarely performed repertory, among the numerous American premieres it has presented are Puccini’s Edgar, Boito’s Nerone, and Smetana’s Libuše. Since then it has gone on to present more than ninety different operas there, in the past, tickets came with a complete libretto of the opera being performed. However, the 2007/2008 season introduced surtitles for the first time, financial difficulties in early 2007 threatened to close the company or severely curtail its 2007/2008 season to one opera. However, these were overcome, and the 2007/2008 season of three operas opened as planned on 13 December 2007 with Verdis I due Foscari, an additional Gala concert celebrating Eve Quelers 100th performance conducting the Orchestra at Carnegie Hall was presented in March 2008. In 1978, The Opera Orchestra of New York instituted a Young Artists Program to train, participants sing small roles in the Carnegie Hall performances and understudy the principal ones. Notable past participants in the program include Renée Fleming, Vivica Genaux, world premiere recording, recorded live at Carnegie Hall. World premiere recording, recorded live at Carnegie Hall, world premiere recording, recorded live at Carnegie Hall. CBS/Sony Notes Sources Anne Midgette, The Wisdom of Eve, Opera News, accessed via subscription 20 December 2007. Bernard Holland, Into the Woods but Leaving Hidden Meanings Behind, daniel J. Wakin, Opera Orchestra of New York Says It May Reduce Concerts Next Season, New York Times,17 February 2007. Jay Nordlinger, A Stage for Operas Overlooked, The New York Sun,17 December 2007, Opera Orchestra of New Yorks official web site Eve Quelers Official web site
31.
Cristina Deutekom
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Cristina Deutekom, also known as Christine Deutekom and Christina Deutekom, was a Dutch coloratura soprano opera singer. She sang with all the tenors of her time, including Carlo Bergonzi, José Carreras, Franco Corelli, Plácido Domingo, Nicolai Gedda, Alfredo Kraus, Luciano Pavarotti. Deutekom was born in 1931 in Amsterdam as Stientje Engel, in 1963 she made her debut with the Netherlands Opera as Queen of the Night in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. After some lesser roles with the company, she contemplated giving up singing altogether, since her career did not seem to progress. Story has it that Schwarzkopf opened the door and asked, “Child, “I do not think much of any impresario, that does not recognize such talent”, she said and introduced her to her own manager, Rudi Rothenberg. She then went on to conquer the major houses in succession with the ‘Queen of the Night’. In 1968 she took to the Metropolitan Opera, New York and was acclaimed by the New York Times to be “the greatest Queen of the Night of our time”, in 1974 she opened the Met season as Elena in I vespri siciliani alongside Plácido Domingo. Besides the Queen of the Night, her Mozart roles included Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte and she sang the great bel canto roles, specifically in Rossinis Armida, in Bellinis Norma and I puritani, and in Donizettis Lucia di Lammermoor. She went on to the great dramatic Verdi roles including Abigaile in Nabucco, Lady Macbeth, Leonora in Il trovatore, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera, other roles which were captured in commercial recordings include Giselda in I Lombardi and Odabella in Attila. Finally, she sang the roles in Cherubinis Medea and Puccinis Turandot. Deutekom decided to end her career on the last day of 1986. She turned to giving master classes internationally, as of 2001, she was a guest teacher at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, but after suffering a stroke in 2004, she retired from public life. She died on 7 August 2014 after a fall in her home and she married Jaap Deutekom, a boxer, in 1952 and they had a daughter, Irma Deutekom, in 1955. Media related to Cristina Deutekom at Wikimedia Commons Discography Interview with Cristina Deutekom by Bruce Duffie, October 15,1986
32.
La Scala
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La Scala is an opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was known as the Nuovo Regio Ducale Teatro alla Scala. The premiere performance was Antonio Salieris Europa riconosciuta, most of Italys greatest operatic artists, and many of the finest singers from around the world, have appeared at La Scala during the past 200 years. The theatre is regarded as one of the opera and ballet theatres in the world and is home to the La Scala Theatre Chorus, La Scala Theatre Ballet. The theatre also has a school, known as the La Scala Theatre Academy. La Scalas season traditionally opens on 7 December, Saint Ambroses Day, all performances must end before midnight, and long operas start earlier in the evening when necessary. La Scala also hosts the Accademia dArti e Mestieri dello Spettacolo and its goal is to train a new generation of young musicians, technical staff, and dancers. A fire destroyed the theatre, the Teatro Regio Ducale, on 25 February 1776. The neoclassical architect Giuseppe Piermarini produced a design but it was rejected by Count Firmian. A second plan was accepted in 1776 by Empress Maria Theresa, the new theatre was built on the former location of the church of Santa Maria alla Scala, from which the theatre gets its name. The church was deconsecrated and demolished, and over a period of two years the theatre was completed by Pietro Marliani, Pietro Nosetti and Antonio and Giuseppe Fe. The theatre had a total of 3,000 or so seats organized into 678 pit-stalls and its stage is one of the largest in Italy. Building expenses were covered by the sale of palchi, which were decorated by their owners. La Scala soon became the preeminent meeting place for noble and wealthy Milanese people, in the tradition of the times, the platea had no chairs and spectators watched the shows standing up. The orchestra was in sight, as the golfo mistico had not yet been built. Above the boxes, La Scala has a gallery—called the loggione—where the less wealthy can watch the performances, the gallery is typically crowded with the most critical opera aficionados, known as the loggionisti, who can be ecstatic or merciless towards singers perceived successes or failures. As with most of the theatres at that time, La Scala was also a casino, conditions in the auditorium, too, could be frustrating for the opera lover, as Mary Shelley discovered in September 1840, At the Opera they were giving Otto Nicolais Templario. La Scala was originally illuminated with 84 oil lamps mounted on the palcoscenico, to prevent the risks of fire, several rooms were filled with hundreds of water buckets
33.
Riccardo Chailly
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Riccardo Chailly, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI is an Italian conductor. He started his career as a conductor and gradually extended his repertoire to encompass symphonic music. Chailly was born in Milan into a family of Romagnol. He studied composition with his father, Luciano Chailly and his sister is harpist Cecilia Chailly. Chailly studied at the conservatories in Perugia and Milan. He later studied conducting with Franco Ferrara, in his youth, Chailly also played the drums in a rhythm-and-blues band. At age 20, Chailly became assistant conductor to Claudio Abbado at La Scala, from 1982 to 1988, Chailly was chief conductor of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and from 1983 to 1986 principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. From 1986 to 1993, he led the Teatro Comunale of Bologna, Chailly made his debut with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam in 1985. Among notable projects, Chailly led the 1995 Mahler Festival that celebrated the 100th anniversary of Mahlers first concert at the Concertgebouw. One report stated that Chailly decided in 2002 to leave the RCO when, at his last contract negotiations, in 1986, Chailly conducted the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig for the first time, at the Salzburg Festival, after Herbert von Karajan had introduced Chailly to the orchestra. His next guest-conducting appearance with the Leipzig orchestra was in 2001, in August 2005, he officially became the chief conductor of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and general music director of Oper Leipzig. His initial Leipzig contract was to run through to 2010, in May 2008, he extended his contract with the Gewandhausorchester to 2015. However, he resigned as GMD of the Oper Leipzig. In June 2013, the Gewandhausorchester and Chailly agreed on an extension of his contract through 2020. His projects in Leipzig have included an international Mahler festival in May 2011, Chailly became the first music director of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi in 1999, and held the post until 2005. He now has the title of Conductor Laureate with La Verdi, in December 2013, La Scala announced the appointment of Chailly as its next music director, effective 1 January 2017 through 31 December 2022. Chailly is scheduled to take the title of conductor of La Scala as of 1 January 2015. In August 2015, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra announced the appointment of Chailly as its music director, effective with the 2016 Lucerne Festival
34.
Sydney Opera House
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The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney, Australia. It is one of the 20th centurys most famous and distinctive buildings, designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, the building was formally opened on 20 October 1973 after a gestation beginning with Utzons 1957 selection as winner of an international design competition. The government of New South Wales, led by the premier, Joseph Cahill, performances are presented by numerous performing artists, including four resident companies, Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet, the Sydney Theatre Company and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. As one of the most popular attractions in Australia, more than eight million people visit the site annually. The building is managed by the Sydney Opera House Trust, an agency of the New South Wales State Government, on 28 June 2007, the Sydney Opera House became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The building covers 1.8 hectares of land and is 183 m long and 120 m wide at its widest point and it is supported on 588 concrete piers sunk as much as 25 m below sea level. Although the roof structures are referred to as shells, they are precast concrete panels supported by precast concrete ribs. Though the shells appear uniformly white from a distance, they feature a subtle chevron pattern composed of 1,056,006 tiles in two colours, glossy white and matte cream. The tiles were manufactured by the Swedish company Höganäs AB which generally produced stoneware tiles for the paper-mill industry. Apart from the tile of the shells and the curtain walls of the foyer spaces. Significant interior surface treatments also include off-form concrete, Australian white birch plywood supplied from Wauchope in northern New South Wales, of the two larger spaces, the Concert Hall is in the western group of shells, the Joan Sutherland Theatre in the eastern group. The scale of the shells was chosen to reflect the internal requirements, with low entrance spaces. The smaller venues are within the podium, beneath the Concert Hall, a smaller group of shells set to the western side of the Monumental Steps houses the Bennelong Restaurant. The podium is surrounded by substantial open spaces, and the large stone-paved forecourt area with the adjacent monumental steps is regularly used as a performance space. The Sydney Opera House includes a number of venues, Concert Hall, With 2,679 seats. It contains the Sydney Opera House Grand Organ, the largest mechanical action organ in the world. Joan Sutherland Theatre, A proscenium theatre with 1,507 seats, until 16 October 2012 it was known as the Opera Theatre. Drama Theatre, A proscenium theatre with 544 seats, used by the Sydney Theatre Company and other dance, Playhouse, An end-stage theatre with 398 seats
35.
Richard Bonynge
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Richard Alan Bonynge AC, CBE is an Australian conductor and pianist. He is the widower of Australian dramatic coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland, Bonynge conducted virtually all of Sutherlands operatic performances from 1962 until her retirement in 1990. He gave up his scholarship, continuing his private piano studies. One of these was Joan Sutherland, whom he had accompanied in Australia and they married in 1954 and became a duo, performing operatic recitals until 1962. His debut as a conductor took place in 1963 in Vancouver. The same year, also in Vancouver, he conducted Norma for the first time, starring Sutherland and he also conducted the English Chamber Orchestra in many recordings. By doing some research and reading up on Massenet and Italian bel canto composers and this filled Bonynge with curiosity, even more because Esclarmonde had sunk into almost total oblivion and had hardly been performed at all since the end of the 19th century. He obtained a vocal score of it in Paris. Although Sutherland was initially skeptical about Esclarmonde, Bonynge became an enthusiast of the work, the San Francisco Opera and the Metropolitan Opera premieres of Esclarmonde took place in 1974 and 1976 respectively. In 1977 he was the founding Music Director of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, Bonynge made his Metropolitan Opera debut on 12 December 1966, and his last performance there was on 6 April 1991. Most of those performances he conducted there between 1966 and 1987 were with Sutherland singing, from the 1960s until the early 1970s, his speciality was music of 18th and early 19th century, mostly in bel canto repertoire of Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti. Bonynge then gradually added also middle Verdi, Offenbach, then also Massenet, commencing in 2007, he has conducted a series of performances in a few opera houses around the U. S. and now is mostly involved with the Opera Australia company. He lives in Les Avants, Switzerland and also maintains a home in Sydney and his recordings also include some works with no operatic associations, such as the Harp Concerto in E-flat by Reinhold Glière, with harpist Osian Ellis. Richard Bonynge was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his services to music in 1977, in 1983, he was made Officer of the Order of Australia, and in 1989 a Commandeur de lOrdre des Arts et des Lettres. In 2009, Bonynge was awarded the Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award, presenting the couple, Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge. Index page to the Dame Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge ephemera collection – held in the National Library of Australia Colbert Artists Management Inc
36.
Joan Sutherland
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One of the most remarkable female opera singers of the 20th century, she was dubbed La Stupenda by a La Fenice audience in 1960 after a performance of the title role in Handels Alcina. Her friend Luciano Pavarotti once called Sutherland the Voice of the Century, Sutherland was the first Australian to win a Grammy Award, for Best Classical Performance – Vocal Soloist in 1962. Joan Sutherland was born to Scottish parents in Sydney, Australia, as a child, she listened to and imitated her mothers singing exercises. Her mother, a mezzo-soprano, had voice lessons but never considered making a career as a professional singer. Sutherland was 18 years old when she began studying voice with John. She made her debut in Sydney, as Dido in Purcells Dido and Aeneas. In 1951, she made her debut in Eugene Goossenss Judith. In 1951, after winning Australias most important competition, the Sun Aria in 1949 and she then went to London to further her studies at the Opera School of the Royal College of Music with Clive Carey. Being an admirer of Kirsten Flagstad in her career, she trained to be a Wagnerian dramatic soprano. In December 1952, she sang her first leading role at the Royal Opera House, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera. Other roles included Agathe in Der Freischütz, the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, Desdemona in Otello, Gilda in Rigoletto, Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Sutherland married Australian conductor and pianist Richard Bonynge on 16 October 1954. Their son, Adam, was born in 1956, Bonynge gradually convinced her that Wagner might not be her Fach, and that since she could produce high notes and coloratura with great ease, she should perhaps explore the bel canto repertoire. She eventually settled in this Fach, spending most of her career singing dramatic coloratura soprano, the following year she sang Donna Anna in Don Giovanni in Vancouver. In 1958, at the Royal Opera House, after singing Let the bright Seraphim from Handels oratorio Samson, in 1959, Sutherland was invited to sing Lucia di Lammermoor at the Royal Opera House in a production conducted by Tullio Serafin and staged by Franco Zeffirelli. The role of Edgardo was sung by her fellow Australian Kenneth Neate and it was a breakthrough for Sutherlands career, and, upon the completion of the famous Mad Scene, she had become a star. The album, a collection consisting mainly of arias, displays her seemingly effortless coloratura ability, high notes and opulent tones. The album was added to the National Film and Sound Archives Sounds of Australia registry in 2011, by the beginning of the 1960s, Sutherland had already established a reputation as a diva with a voice out of the ordinary. She sang Lucia to great acclaim in Paris in 1960 and, in 1961, at La Scala, in 1960, she sang a superb Alcina at La Fenice, Venice, where she was nicknamed La Stupenda
37.
Palermo
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Palermo is a city of Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence, Palermo is located in the northwest of the island of Sicily, right by the Gulf of Palermo in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The city was founded in 734 BC by the Phoenicians as Ziz, Palermo then became a possession of Carthage, before becoming part of the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire and eventually part of the Byzantine Empire, for over a thousand years. The Greeks named the city Panormus meaning complete port, from 831 to 1072 the city was under Arab rule during the Emirate of Sicily when the city first became a capital. The Arabs shifted the Greek name into Balarme, the root for Palermos present-day name, eventually Sicily would be united with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies until the Italian unification of 1860. The population of Palermo urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 855,285, in the central area, the city has a population of around 676,000 people. The inhabitants are known as Palermitani or, poetically, panormiti, the languages spoken by its inhabitants are the Italian language, Sicilian language and the Palermitano dialect. Palermo is Sicilys cultural, economic and touristic capital and it is a city rich in history, culture, art, music and food. Palermo is the main Sicilian industrial and commercial center, the industrial sectors include tourism, services, commerce. Palermo currently has an airport, and a significant underground economy. In fact, for cultural, artistic and economic reasons, Palermo was one of the largest cities in the Mediterranean and is now among the top tourist destinations in both Italy and Europe. It is the seat of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Arab-Norman Palermo. The city is going through careful redevelopment, preparing to become one of the major cities of the Euro-Mediterranean area. Roman Catholicism is highly important in Palermitano culture, the Patron Saint of Palermo is Santa Rosalia whose Feast Day is celebrated on 15 July. The area attracts significant numbers of each year and is widely known for its colourful fruit, vegetable and fish markets at the heart of Palermo, known as Vucciria, Ballarò. Palermo lies in a basin, formed by the Papireto, Kemonia, the basin was named the Conca dOro by the Arabs in the 9th century. The city is surrounded by a range which is named after the city itself. These mountains face the Tyrrhenian Sea, Palermo is home to a natural port and offers excellent views to the sea, especially from Monte Pellegrino
38.
The 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
39.
Dmitri Hvorostovsky
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Dmitri Aleksandrovich Hvorostovsky PAR, is a Russian operatic baritone. Hvorostovsky was born a child in Krasnoyarsk in Siberia. He studied at the Krasnoyarsk School of Arts under Yekaterina Yofel and made his debut at Krasnoyarsk Opera House and he went on to win First Prize at both the Russian Glinka Competition in 1987 and the Toulouse Singing Competition in 1988. Hvorostovsky came to prominence in 1989 when he won the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition. His performance included Handels Ombra mai fu and Per me giunto. O Carlo ascolta from Verdis Don Carlos and his international concert recitals began immediately. His operatic debut in the West was at the Nice Opera in Tchaikovskys The Queen of Spades, in Italy he debuted at La Fenice as Eugene Onegin, a success that sealed his reputation, and made his American operatic debut with the Lyric Opera of Chicago in La traviata. He has since sung at every major opera house, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, the Berlin State Opera, La Scala. He is especially renowned for his portrayal of the character in Tchaikovskys Eugene Onegin. In 2002, Hvorostovsky performed at the Russian Childrens Welfare Societys major fund raiser and he is an Honorary Director of the charity. A tall man with a head of prematurely silver hair. He was cast in People magazines 50 most beautiful people, a rare occurrence for a classical musician and his high, medium-weight voice has the typical liquid timbre of Russian baritones. A recital programme of new arrangements of songs from the World War II era, was given in the spring of 2003 in front of an audience of 6,000 at the Kremlin Palace in Moscow, and seen on Russian Television by over 90 million viewers. The same programme was performed with the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra for survivors of the Siege of Leningrad on 16 January 2004, in recent years Hvorostovskys stage repertoire has almost entirely consisted of Verdi operas such as Un ballo in maschera, La traviata and Simon Boccanegra. In 2009 he appeared in Il trovatore in a David McVicar production at the Metropolitan Opera with Sondra Radvanovsky, in June 2015 Hvorostovsky announced that he had been diagnosed with a brain tumor and canceled all his performances through August. Family representatives say that he will be treated at Londons cancer hospital Royal Marsden, in spite of his illness Hvorostovky returned to the stage at the Metropolitan Opera in September as Count di Luna in Il trovatore for a run of three performances opposite Anna Netrebko. He received strong reviews from critics and audiences for his performance. Hvorostovsky has made many CD recordings, first with Valery Gergiev for Philips and then with Constantine Orbelian for Delos, Hvorostovskys interest in Russian light classical and traditional song has led to several recordings including, I Met You, My Love 2002 Where Are You My Brothers. 2003 Hvorostovsky. com, official website including details of audio and video recordings Upcoming performances Dmitri Hvorostovsky Virtual Archive Dmitri Hvorostovsky at the Forbes
40.
Bilbao
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Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the province of Biscay and in the Basque Country as a whole. Bilbao is the tenth largest city in Spain, with a population of 345,141 As of 2015, Bilbao is also the main urban area in what is defined as the Greater Basque region. Bilbao is situated in the part of Spain, some 16 kilometres south of the Bay of Biscay, where the economic social development is located. Its main urban core is surrounded by two mountain ranges with an average elevation of 400 metres. This was due to its port activity based on the export of iron extracted from the Biscayan quarries, at the same time an extraordinary population explosion prompted the annexation of several adjacent municipalities. The official name of the town is Bilbao, as known in most languages of the world, there is no consensus among historians about the origin of the name. Generally accepted accounts state that prior to the 12th century the independent rulers of the territory, the symbols of their patrimony are the tower and church used in the shield of Bilbao to this day. One possible origin was suggested by the engineer Evaristo de Churruca and he said that it was a Basque custom to name a place after its location. For Bilbao this would be the result of the union of the Basque words for river and cove, the historian José Tussel Gómez argues that it is just a natural evolution of the Spanish words bello vado, beautiful river crossing. On the other hand, according to the writer Esteban Calle Iturrino, the first, where the present Casco Viejo is located, would be called billa, which means stacking in Basque, after the configuration of the buildings. The second, on the bank, where now Bilbao La Vieja is located, would be called vaho. From the union of these two derives the name Bilbao, which was written as Bilvao and Biluao, as documented in its municipal charter. An -ao ending is present in nearby Sestao and Ugao. Titles Bilbao holds the historic category of borough, with the titles of «Very noble and very loyal and it was the Catholic Monarchs who awarded the title «Noble borough» on 20 September 1475. Philip III of Spain, via a letter in 1603 awarded the borough the titles of «Very noble, after the Siege of Bilbao, during the First Carlist War, on 25 December 1836, the title of «Unbeaten» was added. Remains of an ancient settlement were found on the top of Mount Malmasín, burial sites were also found on Mounts Avril and Artxanda, dated 6,000 years old. Some authors identify the old settlement of Bilbao as Amanun Portus, cited by Pliny the Elder, or with Flaviobriga, ancient walls, which date from around the 11th century, have been discovered below the Church of San Antón. On 21 June 1511, Queen Joanna of Castile ordered the creation of the Consulate of Bilbao and this would become the most influential institution of the borough for centuries, and would claim jurisdiction over the estuary, improving its infrastructure
41.
Sarasota Opera
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Sarasota Opera is a professional opera company in Sarasota, Florida, USA, which was founded as the Asolo Opera Guild and, until 1974, presented a visiting companys productions. Between 1974 and 1979, it set about mounting its own productions in the venue until, in 1979, it acquired the Edwards Theatre. The house underwent a renovation in 2008, creating a 1. The repertoire includes standard works as well as lesser known operas, for the most part, the Fall operas have been popular favourites, but in 2012, it presented Daron Hagens world premiere opera, Little Nemo in Slumberland. In recent years, the Verdi Cycle operas have included I due Foscari, Giovanna dArco, I Lombardi, in 2009, the company staged performances of the composers Don Carlo in the four-act version of 1884 in French. At the time, this was the largest opera ever presented by the company, the first grand opera which Verdi wrote for Paris, Jérusalem, was given in French in 2014, while his first comedy, Un giorno di regno, appeared in 2013. Don Carlos, in the original, 5-act, Paris version in French was performed in 2015, the season will also include Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini and Lamore dei tre re by Italo Montemezzi. The Masterworks Revival Series, The series includes presentations of neglected works of artistic merit, operas presented in this series have included Alfredo Catalanis La Wally, Carl Nielsens Maskarade, Engelbert Humperdincks Königskinder, Stanisław Moniuszkos Halka, and Mascagnis Lamico Fritz. The company also runs an Apprentice Program and a Studio Artists Program, both programs provide young singers with additional training and performance opportunities in the chorus or other small roles in the companys productions. Robert Wards opera, The Crucible based on the play by Arthur Miller, served as the production of this new series. The 2012 Festival Season featured Samuel Barbers Vanessa and, in 2013, Youth Opera The SarasotaYouth Opera program, begun in 1984, is the most comprehensive training program designed for young people ages 8 to 18 currently in the United States. The program admits all who apply, regardless of skill level, in 2010, the Sarasota Youth Opera presented the opera The Black Spider by Judith Weir. Sarasota Opera presented the premiere of Little Nemo in Slumberland. On November 12,2016, the Sarasota Youth Opera will perform The Secret World of Og also by the Canadian composer Dean Burry based on the childrens novel by Pierre Berton. The theater had been built in 1926 by an important early resident of Sarasota, Arthur Britton Edwards, the guild members renovated the building beginning in 1982. The next year the A. B. Edwards Theatre was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the name was changed to the Sarasota Opera House a few years later. From 2007 until the opening of the new season on 1 March 2008, seating has been expanded to 1,119. Notes Sarasota Opera Home Page Verdi Cycle Website
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Teatro Regio (Parma)
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The Teatro Regio di Parma, originally constructed as the Nuovo Teatro Ducale, is an opera house and opera company in Parma, Italy. Also well known in Parma was the conductor Arturo Toscanini, was there in 1867. As has been noted by Lee Marshall, while not as known as La Scala in Milan or La Fenice in Venice. Initially Rossini had been invited to compose a work for the inauguration of the house, however, that inaugural season saw three Rossini operas staged, including Moïse et Pharaon, Semiramide, and Il barbiere di Siviglia. Today, the company stages about four operas each season from mid January to April and, since 2003, however, the Nuovo replaced another existing small and narrow Ducal Theatre dating from 1688, which had been located in the Palazzo di Riserva. After a performance of Rossinis Zelmira in 1828, it was closed, the newly built Nuovo Ducale was located on the site of the former Monastery of St. Alexander and it was located next to the Ducal Palace. Construction began in 1821 during the reign of Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma who, as Napoleon Is divorced second wife and she settled in Parma, ruling from 1816 to 1847, and under her patronage and financial support, secured the services of the architect Nicola Bettoli. Marie Louise oversaw the construction, assuring that the interior decoration reflected the sobriety of neoclassicism, in 1849 restoration was called for and then, four years later under the Bourbon Duke Carlo III, more opulent decoration took place. In addition, gas lighting in the house was installed, by 1907 the stage lighting was electrified, and that of the rest of house took place during the centennial of Verdis birth in 1913. The architecture of the Nuovo The façade of the theatre was built in the neoclassical style, the foyer is, as Martini describes it, a large square upheld by four pairs of imposing mottled marble Ionic columns on an attic base. The entire room is based on the square and on symmetry and it is decorated with a marble floor. After the 1853 restoration, which overall has been described as neobaroque, the chandelier, which was built in Paris and taken to Parma in 1854 when the theatre was adapted for gas, is 4.5 metres in height and weighs 1100 kg. Renaming the theatre After the reign of Duchess Marie Louise, the theatre was renamed, with the unification of Italy in 1861, the house took its present name, the Teatro Regio. His operas have had a place in the Regios programming after 17 April 1843. The 2001 centennial of the death resulted in a year-long celebration beginning with the Requiem. The bicententario year of 2013 prompted special celebrations which included concerts by the La Scala Orchestra, under Riccardo Chailly, providing insights into working with the Teatro and with Verdis music were singers Carlo Bergonzi, Mirella Freni, and Raina Kabaivanska as well as conductor Bruno Bartoletti. A concert by the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini on 10 October was something of a highlight of the celebrations and it included a concert version of act 2 of Aida. Other complete operas given during the month included I masnadieri, Falstaff, Festival Verdi In addition to its regular season, from the 1990s the company began to mount a Festival Verdi
