1.
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
Opera
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The performers from the Atlanta Opera sing the finale of
Lucia di Lammermoor. The
opera orchestra is visible in the lowered area in front of the stage.
Opera
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The
Palais Garnier of the
Paris Opéra, one of the world's most famous
opera houses.
Opera
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Claudio Monteverdi
Opera
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George Frideric Handel, 1733
2.
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
Giuseppe Verdi
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Giuseppe Verdi Portrait by
Giovanni Boldini, 1886
Giuseppe Verdi
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Verdi's childhood home at Le Roncole.
Giuseppe Verdi
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Antonio Barezzi, Verdi's patron and later father-in-law
Giuseppe Verdi
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Margherita Barezzi, Verdi's first wife.
3.
Anna Netrebko
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Anna Yuryevna Netrebko is a Russian operatic soprano. She now holds dual Russian and Austrian citizenship and currently resides in Vienna, Austria, Netrebko was born in Krasnodar, in a family of Kuban Cossack background. While a student at the Saint Petersburg conservatoire, Netrebko worked as a janitor at Saint Petersburgs Mariinsky Theatre, later, she auditioned for the Mariinsky Theatre, where conductor Valery Gergiev recognized her from her prior work in the theatre. He subsequently became her vocal mentor, under Gergievs guidance, Netrebko made her operatic stage debut at the Mariinsky at age 22, as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro. She went on to sing many prominent roles with the Kirov Opera, including Amina in La sonnambula, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor. In 1994, she sang the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte with the Riga Independent Opera Avangarda Akadēmija under conductor David Milnes, in 1995, at the age of 24, Netrebko made her American debut as Lyudmila in Glinkas Ruslan and Lyudmila at the San Francisco Opera. Following this successful performance, she became a frequent guest singer in San Francisco and she is known as an acclaimed interpreter of other Russian operatic roles, such as Natasha in Prokofievs War and Peace, Louisa in Betrothal in a Monastery and Marfa in The Tsars Bride. Netrebko has also made forays into bel canto and romantic roles such as Gilda in Rigoletto, Mimì in La bohème, Giulietta in Bellinis I Capuleti e i Montecchi. In 2002, Netrebko made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Natasha in the Met premiere of War, in the same year, she sang her first Donna Anna at the Salzburg Festivals production of Don Giovanni, conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt. She also performed at the Russian Childrens Welfare Societys major fund raiser and she returned to the Ball in 2003 and 2006 and is an honorary director of the charity. In 2003, Netrebko performed as Violetta in Verdis La traviata in Munich, the role in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Los Angeles Opera. Her second album, Sempre Libera, was released the following year, however, she cancelled three subsequent performances due to suffering a bronchial condition. This was the time she had cancelled her performances at the Royal Opera House. She sang Violettas famous aria, Sempre Libera, onscreen in 2004, on 30 May 2007, Netrebko made her Carnegie Hall debut with Dmitri Hvorostovsky and the Orchestra of St. Lukes. Originally scheduled for 2 March 2006, Netrebko postponed the recital because she did not feel artistically ready, Netrebko appeared at the Last Night of the Proms on 8 September of that year where she performed Ah. Non giunge from La sonnambula, Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiß and that same year, she announced that she would be an ambassador for SOS Childrens Village in Austria, and be a sponsor for the Tomilino village in Russia. In May 2008, she made a debut at the Paris Opera in I Capuleti e i Montecchi. She then sang the role in January and February 2009 at the Metropolitan Opera
Anna Netrebko
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Anna Netrebko at
Romy awards in 2013 (
Hofburg Palace in Vienna)
Anna Netrebko
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Netrebko as Leonora in
Alvis Hermanis 's production of
Il trovatore at the
Salzburg Festival 2014
Anna Netrebko
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Netrebko at the
Mariinsky Theatre after receiving the honorary title of
People's Artist of Russia in 2008
4.
Salzburg Festival
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The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, one highlight is the annual performance of the play Jedermann by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Since 1967, an annual Salzburg Easter Festival has also been held, Music festivals had been held in Salzburg at irregular intervals since 1877 held by the International Mozarteum Foundation, but were discontinued in 1910. Although a festival was planned for 1914, it was cancelled at the outbreak of World War I, the Salzburg Festival was officially inaugurated on 22 August 1920 with Reinhardts performance of Hofmannsthals Jedermann on the steps of Salzburg Cathedral, starring Alexander Moissi. The practice has become a tradition, and the play is now performed at Cathedral Square, since 1921 it has been accompanied by several performances of chamber music. The first operatic production came in 1922, with Mozarts Don Giovanni conducted by Richard Strauss, the singers were mainly drawn from the Wiener Staatsoper, including Richard Tauber in the part of Don Ottavio. At that time the festival had developed a large-scale program including live broadcasts by the Austrian RAVAG radio network. During the years from 1934 to 1937 famed conductors such as Arturo Toscanini, in 1936, the festival featured a performance by the Trapp Family Singers, whose story was later dramatized as the musical and film The Sound of Music. In 1937, Boyd Neel and his orchestra premiered Benjamin Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge at the Festival, the Festivals popularity suffered a major blow as a consequence of the Anschluss, the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938. Toscanini resigned in protest, artists of Jewish descent like Reinhardt and Georg Solti had to emigrate, nevertheless, the festival remained in operation until in 1944 it was cancelled by the order of Reich Minister Joseph Goebbels in reaction to the 20 July plot. At the end of World War II, the Salzburg Festival reopened in summer 1945 immediately after the Allied victory in Europe. The post-war festival slowly regained its prominence as an opera festival, especially for works by Mozart. In 1960 the Great Festival Hall opera house opened its doors, upon Karajans death in 1989, the festival was drastically modernized and expanded by director Gerard Mortier, who was succeeded by Peter Ruzicka in 2001. In 2006, the festival was led by intendant Jürgen Flimm and that year, Salzburg celebrated the 250th anniversary of Mozarts birth by staging all 22 of his operatic works, to great acclaim. All 22 were filmed and released on DVD in November 2006, the 2006 festival also saw the opening of the Haus für Mozart. Alexander Pereira succeeded Flimm, who departed in 2011 to become director of the Berlin State Opera, Pereiras objective for the festival was to present only new productions. The 2015 festival marked the first one for which Bechtolf was responsible for the artistic programming, budget cuts led to a retreat from Pereiras new productions only objective. The remaining four opera productions—Norma, Il trovatore, Iphigénie en Tauride, the Salzburg Whitsun Festival was established at the behest of Herbert von Karajan in 1973 as a brief concert series with the name Pfingstkonzerte
Salzburg Festival
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Brigitte Hobmeier in
Klaus Händl 's Meine Bienen. Eine Schneise, Salzburg Festival 2012
Salzburg Festival
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Felsenreitschule theatre
Salzburg Festival
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Plácido Domingo,
Francesco Meli,
Anna Netrebko and
Diana Haller in the new production of
Il trovatore at the 2014 festival
Salzburg Festival
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Great Festival Hall entrance at Herbert-von-Karajan-Platz in Salzburg, Austria
5.
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
Salvadore Cammarano
–
Salvadore Cammarano
6.
Teatro Apollo
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The Tor di Nona is a neighborhood in Romes rione Ponte. It lies in the heart of the historic center, between the Via dei Coronari and the Tiber River. The Torre dellAnnona was a stronghold of the Orsini family and from the early 15th century. When the New Prison was built in Via Giulia, Tor di Nona was rebuilt in 1667 as a theatre patronized by Queen Christina of Sweden, in January 1671 Romes first public theatre opened in the former jail. Filippo Acciaiuoli was the first director, the new pope Clement X worried about the influence of theatre on public morals. When Innocent XI became pope, things turned even worse, he made Christinas theatre into a storeroom for grain and he forbade women to perform with song or acting, and the wearing of decolleté dresses. Christina considered this sheer nonsense, and let women perform in her palace, there are many perhaps unexecuted drawings for it by Carlo Fontana, bound in an album which passed into the hands of Scottish architect Robert Adam, now at Sir John Soanes Museum, London. As the Teatro Apollo, the largest lyric theater of Rome and it remains a going concern, presenting works by Luigi Pirandello and contemporary theater. At the end of the 19th century the neighborhood was destroyed because of the construction of the Lungotevere. The whole north side of the street was pulled down, including buildings like the Teatro Apollo, another blow came in the 1910s with the construction of via Zanardelli, which cut the thousand years link with Via di Monte Brianzo. This accelerated the decay of the quarter, which in the 1940s became part of a development plan as part of the fascist demolition strategy in Rome, as in Borgo and Via Giulia, this work was halted by World War II. During the last years of World War II, the Roman mercato nero was located in the Tor di Nona quarter, from that time until the present, the centre of Rome has been protected against further destruction. Roma Sotterranea, Fountain of Tor di Nona Romes Historical Districts, Rione V Sir John Soanes Museum, Concise Catalogue of Drawings
Teatro Apollo
–
Houses in Tor di Nona
c. 1880, watercolour by
Ettore Roesler Franz
Teatro Apollo
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Memorial to the Teatro Apollo
7.
Italian language
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By most measures, Italian, together with Sardinian, is the closest to Latin of the Romance languages. Italian is a language in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City. Italian is spoken by minorities in places such as France, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Crimea and Tunisia and by large expatriate communities in the Americas. Many speakers are native bilinguals of both standardized Italian and other regional languages, Italian is the fourth most studied language in the world. Italian is a major European language, being one of the languages of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It is the third most widely spoken first language in the European Union with 65 million native speakers, including Italian speakers in non-EU European countries and on other continents, the total number of speakers is around 85 million. Italian is the working language of the Holy See, serving as the lingua franca in the Roman Catholic hierarchy as well as the official language of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Italian is known as the language of music because of its use in musical terminology and its influence is also widespread in the arts and in the luxury goods market. Italian has been reported as the fourth or fifth most frequently taught foreign language in the world, Italian was adopted by the state after the Unification of Italy, having previously been a literary language based on Tuscan as spoken mostly by the upper class of Florentine society. Its development was influenced by other Italian languages and to some minor extent. Its vowels are the second-closest to Latin after Sardinian, unlike most other Romance languages, Italian retains Latins contrast between short and long consonants. As in most Romance languages, stress is distinctive, however, Italian as a language used in Italy and some surrounding regions has a longer history. What would come to be thought of as Italian was first formalized in the early 14th century through the works of Tuscan writer Dante Alighieri, written in his native Florentine. Dante is still credited with standardizing the Italian language, and thus the dialect of Florence became the basis for what would become the language of Italy. Italian was also one of the recognised languages in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Italy has always had a dialect for each city, because the cities. Those dialects now have considerable variety, as Tuscan-derived Italian came to be used throughout Italy, features of local speech were naturally adopted, producing various versions of Regional Italian. Even in the case of Northern Italian languages, however, scholars are not to overstate the effects of outsiders on the natural indigenous developments of the languages
Italian language
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Dante Alighieri (above) and
Petrarch (below) were influential in establishing their
Tuscan dialect as the most prominent literary language in all of
Italy in the
Late Middle Ages
Italian language
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The geographic distribution of the Italian language in the world: large Italian-speaking communities are shown in green; light blue indicates areas where the Italian language was used officially during the Italian colonial period.
Italian language
Italian language
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Pietro Bembo was an influential figure in the development of the Italian language from the Tuscan dialect, as a literary medium, codifying the language for standard modern usage
8.
Troubadour
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A troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages. Since the word troubadour is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a trobairitz, the troubadour school or tradition began in the late 11th century in Occitania, but it subsequently spread into Italy and Spain. Under the influence of the troubadours, related movements sprang up throughout Europe, the Minnesang in Germany, trovadorismo in Galicia and Portugal, dante Alighieri in his De vulgari eloquentia defined the troubadour lyric as fictio rethorica musicaque poita, rhetorical, musical, and poetical fiction. The texts of troubadour songs deal mainly with themes of chivalry, most were metaphysical, intellectual, and formulaic. Many were humorous or vulgar satires, works can be grouped into three styles, the trobar leu, trobar ric, and trobar clus. The oldest mention of the word troubadour as trobadors is found in a 12th-century Occitan text by Cercamon. The English word troubadour is a rendition from a French word first recorded in 1575 in an historical context to mean langue doc poet at the court in the 12th and 13th century. The French word is borrowed itself from the Occitan word trobador and this recreated form is deduced from the Latin root tropus, meaning a trope and the various meanings of the Old Occitan related words. In turn, the Latin word derives ultimately from Greek τρόπος, meaning turn, B Intervocal Latin shifted regularly to in Occitan. The Latin suffix -ātor, -atōris explains the Occitan suffix, according to its declension and accentuation, Gallo-Romance *TROPĀTOR > Occitan trobaire, there is an alternative theory to explain the meaning of trobar as “to compose, to discuss, to invent. It has the support of some historians, specialists of literature, According to them, the Arabic word ṭaraba “song could partly be the etymon of the verb trobar. Another Arabic root had already been proposed before, Ḍ-R-B “strike and they entertain the possibility that the nearly homophonous Ḍ-R-B root may have contributed to the sense of the newly coined Romance verb trobar. In archaic and classical poetry, the word is only used in a mocking sense. Cercamon writes, Ist trobador, entre ver e mentir, Afollon drutz e molhers et espos, Peire dAlvernha also begins his famous mockery of contemporary authors cantarai daquest trobadors, after which he proceeds to explain why none of them is worth anything. When referring to themselves seriously, troubadours almost invariably use the word chantaire, the early study of the troubadours focused intensely on their origins. No academic consensus was achieved in the area. In his study, Lévi-Provençal is said to have found four Arabo-Hispanic verses nearly or completely recopied in Williams manuscript, trend admitted that the troubadours derived their sense of form and even the subject matter of their poetry from the Andalusian Muslims. Meg Bogin, American translator of the trobairitz, held this hypothesis, to such a strong and multi-faceted tradition of love literature and song nearby must be added the presence of the Toledo School of Translators starting in 1126
Troubadour
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The troubadour
Perdigon playing his fiddle.
Troubadour
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William IX of Aquitaine portrayed as a knight, who first composed poetry on returning from the
Crusade of 1101
Troubadour
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Trobadours, 14th century
Troubadour
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Late 16th-century Italian cursive on paper, recording a song of Perceval Doria
9.
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
Libretto
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Cover of a 1921 libretto for Giordano's
Andrea Chénier
Libretto
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The composer of
Cavalleria rusticana,
Pietro Mascagni, flanked by his librettists,
Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and
Guido Menasci.
Libretto
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Pages from an 1859 libretto for
Ernani, with the original Italian lyrics, English translation and musical notation for one of the arias.
Libretto
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Henry Purcell (1659–1695) whose operas were written to English libretti.
10.
Rigoletto
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Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi samuse by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had control over northern Italian theatres at the time and it is considered by many to be the first of the operatic masterpieces of Verdis middle-to-late career. Its tragic story revolves around the licentious Duke of Mantua, his court jester Rigoletto. The operas original title, La maledizione, refers to the placed on both the Duke and Rigoletto by a courtier whose daughter had been seduced by the Duke with Rigolettos encouragement. The curse comes to fruition when Gilda likewise falls in love with the Duke, Verdi was commissioned to write a new opera by the La Fenice opera house in Venice in 1850. By this time he was already a composer and had a degree of freedom in choosing the works he would prefer to set to music. He then asked Francesco Maria Piave to examine the play Kean by Alexandre Dumas, père, Verdi soon stumbled upon Victor Hugos five-act play Le roi samuse. He later explained that The subject is grand, immense, and there is a character that is one of the greatest creations that the theatre can boast of, in any country and in all history. It was a controversial subject, and Hugo himself had already had trouble with censorship in France. As Austria at that time controlled much of Northern Italy. Hugos play depicted a king as an immoral and cynical womanizer, from the beginning, Verdi was aware of the risks, as was Piave. In a letter which Verdi wrote to Piave, Use four legs, run through the town, correspondence between a prudent Piave and an already committed Verdi followed, but the two underestimated the power and the intentions of Austrians and remained at risk. Even the friendly Guglielmo Brenna, secretary of La Fenice, who had promised them that they would not have problems with the censors, was wrong, at the beginning of the summer of 1850, rumours started to spread that Austrian censorship was going to forbid the production. The censors considered the Hugo work to verge on lèse majesté, in August, Verdi and Piave prudently retired to Busseto, Verdis hometown, to continue the composition and prepare a defensive scheme. They wrote to the theatre, assuring them that the doubts about the morality of the work were not justified but since very little time was left. Verdi was completely against this solution and preferred instead to have direct negotiations with censors, arguing over each. At this point, Brenna, La Fenices secretary, showed the Austrians some letters and articles depicting the bad character but the value of the artist
Rigoletto
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Set design by Philippe Chaperon.
Rigoletto
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Francesco Maria Piave, the librettist of Rigoletto
Rigoletto
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La Fenice 's poster for the world premiere of Rigoletto
Rigoletto
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Felice Varesi, the first Rigoletto
11.
Venice
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Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated across a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and these are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, the lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a World Heritage Site. In 2014,264,579 people resided in Comune di Venezia, together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, with a total population of 2.6 million. PATREVE is a metropolitan area without any degree of autonomy. The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC, the city was historically the capital of the Republic of Venice. Venice has been known as the La Dominante, Serenissima, Queen of the Adriatic, City of Water, City of Masks, City of Bridges, The Floating City, and City of Canals. The City State of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial center which gradually emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century and this made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. It is also known for its several important artistic movements, especially the Renaissance period, Venice has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi. Venice has been ranked the most beautiful city in the world as of 2016, the name Venetia, however, derives from the Roman name for the people known as the Veneti, and called by the Greeks Eneti. The meaning of the word is uncertain, although there are other Indo-European tribes with similar-sounding names, such as the Celtic Veneti, Baltic Veneti, and the Slavic Wends. Linguists suggest that the name is based on an Indo-European root *wen, so that *wenetoi would mean beloved, lovable, a connection with the Latin word venetus, meaning the color sea-blue, is also possible. The alternative obsolete form is Vinegia, some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae lacunae, the traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo on the islet of Rialto — said to have taken place at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421. Beginning as early as AD166 to 168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the center in the area. The Roman defences were again overthrown in the early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the Lagoon, the traditional first doge of Venice, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, was actually Exarch Paul, and his successor, Marcello Tegalliano, was Pauls magister militum. In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over the controversy at the urging of Pope Gregory II
Venice
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A collage of Venice: at the top left is the
Piazza San Marco, followed by a view of the city, then the
Grand Canal, and (smaller) the interior of
La Fenice and, finally, the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore
Venice
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UNESCO World Heritage Site
Venice
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Photography of Venice at dusk
Venice
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The Grand Canal seen from the bridge at
Ponte di Rialto
12.
Giuseppina Strepponi
–
Clelia Maria Josepha Strepponi was a nineteenth-century Italian operatic soprano of great renown and the second wife of composer Giuseppe Verdi. She is often credited with having contributed to Verdis first successes, starring in a number of his early operas, donizetti wrote the title role of his opera Adelia specifically for Strepponi. Strepponi was born in the city of Lodi in the Lombard region of Italy. Her first lessons in music were with her father who focused mainly on teaching her to play the piano, Strepponi made her professional opera début in December 1834 as Adria in Luigi Riccis Chiara di Rosembergh at the Teatro Orfeo. She had her first major success during the spring at the Theatro Grande in Trieste singing the title role in Rossinis Matilde di Shabran. This success quickly led to engagements at major opera houses throughout Italy. Although she was talented, she never sang outside Italy after 1835. Strepponi became a celebrity among opera singers during the late 1830s, in 1836 she sang the roles of Ninetta in Rossinis La gazza ladra, Elvira in Bellinis I puritani, and the title role in Rossinis La Cenerentola at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. In Spring 1837, she went under contract with Alessandro Lanari of Florence, then known as the king of impresarios, however, within a very short time, she found herself pregnant and had to sing through three pregnancies during the time with Lanari. That same year she reprised the role of Elvira and portrayed the roles of Elena in Donizettis Marino Faliero and the title role in Donizettis Lucia di Lammermoor at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. In 1838 she sang the roles in Donizettis Maria di Rudenz, Bellinis Beatrice di Tenda. Strepponis performance was considered one of the strongest aspects of this production, however, the record of constant performances over several years has invited speculation about what that might have done to the quality of her voice in later years. Returning to Milan for rehearsals of Nabucco, she claimed that illness would prevent future performances in Vienna, the doctors conclusions would allow her to do that, but it took her more than a year to recover. Strepponi continued to remain a popular singer during the early 1840s. She notably sang the role in Donizettis Adelia in 1841 at the Teatro Apollo in Rome. This was followed by an acclaimed portrayal as Abigaille in the world premiere of Verdis Nabucco at La Scala in 1842. Also in 1843, she sang the roles of Elisabetta in Donizettis Roberto Devereux, other notable roles for Strepponi during the early 1840s included the title role in Bellinis Norma, the Marchesa del Poggio in Verdis Un giorno di regno, and the title role in Giovanni Pacinis Saffo. Her voice never recovered and she appeared only sporadically in operas until her retirement in February 1846
Giuseppina Strepponi
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Painting by Karoly Gyurkovich, c. 1860s.
Giuseppina Strepponi
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Giuseppina Strepponi (c. 1845) (
Museo Teatrale alla Scala)
Giuseppina Strepponi
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Baritone Giorgio Ronconi
Giuseppina Strepponi
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Tenor Napoleone Moriani
13.
Busseto
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Busseto is a comune in the province of Parma, in Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy with a population of about 7,100. Its history has very ancient roots which date back to the 10th century, the first written sources the name Busseto were in the form of Buxetum, which dates from the early twelfth century. It is believed that the name derives from buxus or, in another form. The Rocca, the fortress was built in the time of Adalberto Pallavicini, founder of the family, in the first half of the thirteenth century, it was completely rebuilt and surrounded by a moat and a drawbridge linking it to the square. In time, however, it was destroyed and rebuilt several times and then lost the drawbridge, in 1857 it was again rebuilt almost entirely in the neo-Gothic style by architect Pier Luigi Montecchini. The present-day Rocca has preserved the original keep and the main tower, la Rocca, within which lies the Teatro Verdi, it is now the Municipal Palace, the seat of the municipality of Busseto. Opera composer Giuseppe Verdi was born in the village of Le Roncole in 1813. Other figures from the world of opera are associated with the town, until his death, retired tenor Carlo Bergonzi owned the hotel I due Foscari, which also hosts the Accademia Verdiana. Bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni grew up there from the age of four after his family moved to Busseto in 1979 and it was in that town where, he noted, you feel Verdis spirit all over the place. And where his love of opera began, italian journalist Giovannino Guareschi also lived in Le Roncole, and his Mondo Piccolo is set there. In the town and the area many sites associated with the life of Verdi can be visited. These include, The nearby village of Le Roncole was Verdis birthplace on 10 October 1813, the house has been a national monument since 1901. Close by the square is the home of Antonio Barezzi. He became both Verdis patron and his father-in-law, in the upstairs lounge, the young Verdi gave his first public performance in 1830 and continued to frequent the house until the death of his benefactor. The first portrait of Verdi and an oil depicting Antonio Barezzi is on display in the house, Verdis letters are also on display. The Casa Barezzi is the headquarters of the Friends of Verdi, since 2001, there has been a permanent exhibition of objects and documents related to Verdi and his relationship to the Barezzi family. These are where Verdi played the organ and this is the house which Verdi bought in 1845. He lived there with Giuseppina Strepponi, not yet his wife, Verdi composed Luisa Miller, Stiffelio and Rigoletto while living there
Busseto
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The Rocca Pallavicino in Busseto
Busseto
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Statue of Giuseppe Verdi in Busseto on 200th anniversary of his birth, 10 October 2013
Busseto
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Teatro Verdi interior
Busseto
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Verdi's house at Sant'Agata
14.
Francesco Maria Piave
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Francesco Maria Piave was an Italian opera librettist who was born in Murano in the lagoon of Venice, during the brief Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. Piaves career spanned over twenty years working with many of the significant composers of his day, including Giovanni Pacini, Saverio Mercadante, Federico Ricci, and even one for Michael Balfe. He is most well known as Giuseppe Verdis librettist, for whom he was to write 10 librettos, the most well-known being those for Rigoletto and La traviata. But Piave was not only a librettist, he was a journalist and translator in addition to being the resident poet, later, Verdi was helpful in securing him the same position at La Scala in Milan. His expertise as a manager and his tact as a negotiator served Verdi very well. Verdi helped to support his wife and daughter, proposing that an album of pieces by famous composers be compiled, the composer paid for his funeral when he died nine years later in Milan aged 65 and arranged for his burial at the Monumental Cemetery. The composer completely dominates and enslaves the librettist, who becomes more than an instrument in his hands. Notes Sources Baldini, Gabriele, The Story of Giuseppe Verdi, Cambridge, et al, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-29712-5 Black, John, Piave, Francesco Maria in Stanley Sadie, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Vol. Three, ISBN 0-333-73432-7 ISBN 1-56159-228-5 Budden, Julian, Verdi. ISBN0028646169 ISBN9780028646169 Kimball, David, in Holden, Amanda, The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York, ISBN 0-140-29312-4 OGrady, Deidre, Piave, Boito, Pirandello, From Romantic Realism to Modernism. ISBN 978-0-7734-7703-2 ISBN 0-7734-7703-9 Phillips-Matz, Mary Jane, Verdi, A Biography, London & New York, ISBN 0-19-313204-4 Werfel, Franz and Stefan, Paul, Verdi, The Man and His Letters, New York, Vienna House. ISBN 0-8443-0088-8 Works by or about Francesco Maria Piave at Internet Archive
Francesco Maria Piave
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Francesco Maria Piave
Francesco Maria Piave
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Piave's grave at the
Monumental Cemetery of Milan
Francesco Maria Piave
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Caricature of Piave as "a theatrical jack-of-all-trades", after 1861
15.
Oberto (opera)
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Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio is an opera in two acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on an existing libretto by Antonio Piazza probably called Rocester. It was Verdis first opera, written over a period of four years, the La Scala production enjoyed a fair success and the theatres impresario, Bartolomeo Merelli, commissioned two further operas from the young composer. During his student days in Milan, Verdi began the process of making connections to the world of music in city which were to stand him in good stead. 1836 saw his involvement in an April concert celebrating Emperor Ferdinands birthday, by then it had been given the title of Rocester and the young composer expressed hopes of a production in Parma. However, Parma was not interested in new works and so approaches were made to Milan. How much of Rocester remained visible in Oberto is discussed by Roger Parker, who does suggest that in this shape-shifting tendency, Merelli then offered to put on Oberto during the 1839 season and, after its premiere, Oberto was given a respectable 13 additional performances. It appeared in Turin and Milan in 1840, the latter in the autumn after the failure of Verdis second opera, Un giorno di regno, again, it was seen in Naples and Genoa, and in Barcelona in 1842. The opera was staged in Parma on 6 September 1913, the British premiere did not take place until 8 April 1965, and then only in a concert version at St Pancras Town Hall. It was not given a staged production until 17 February 1982 at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London, Opera North presented the opera during their 1994–5 season with John Tomlinson both directing and performing the title-role. The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, gave a performance in June 1997 with Denyce Graves as Cuniza. Three opera companies, which plan to present all of Verdis operas, have given this opera recently, companies which intend to present all of the composers works have included Oberto in their schedules in recent years. In 2010 the Berliner Operngruppe under Felix Krieger presented the work in a performance in Berlin. In its celebration of the Verdi bicentennial, it was staged by La Scala in April/May 2013, Oberto has lost and has retreated to Mantua. Meanwhile, his daughter Leonora has been seduced and abandoned by Riccardo, Count of Salinguerra, Leonora makes her way to Bassano on Riccardos wedding day, intent on confronting him. Scene 1, The countryside near Bassano Riccardo is welcomed by a chorus as he is about to enter Ezzelinos palace and he sings of his joy at being close to Cuniza. Leonora arrives swearing to avenge Riccardos desertion and she sings of the love which she had and she leaves to go towards the village. Her father, Oberto, arrives, pleased to be back in his home country, when Leonora returns, each is aware of the others presence and father and daughter are reunited. They express amazement at having found each other again, but, Obertos initial anger at Leonoras actions quickly turns to fatherly affection as the pair makes plans to disrupt the wedding
Oberto (opera)
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The town and citadel of Bassano where the opera is set
Oberto (opera)
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Bass Ignazio Marini was the first Oberto
Oberto (opera)
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Lorenzo Salvi was the first Riccardo
Oberto (opera)
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Mary Shaw Postans sang the first Cuniza
16.
La Fenice
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Teatro La Fenice is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre, however, the third fire was the result of arson. It destroyed the house in 1996 leaving only the exterior walls, in 1774, the Teatro San Benedetto, which had been Venices leading opera house for more than forty years, burned to the ground. By 1789, with interest from a number of opera lovers who wanted a spectacular new house. The house would face on one side a campo, or small plaza, however, the process was not without controversy especially in regard to the aesthetics of the building. Some thirty responses were received and, as Romanelli accounts, Selvas was designated as the design to be constructed, the actual award for best design went to his chief rival, Pietro Bianchi. However, Selvas design and finished opera house appears to have been of high quality, construction began in June 1790, and by May 1792 the theatre was completed. It was named La Fenice, in reference to the survival, first of the fire. La Fenice was inaugurated on 16 May 1792, with an opera by Giovanni Paisiello entitled I giuochi dAgrigento set to a libretto by Alessandro Pepoli. But no sooner had the house been rebuilt than a legal dispute broke out between the company managing it and the owners, the Venier family. The issue was decided in favor of the Veniers, at the beginning of the 19th century, La Fenice acquired a European reputation. Rossini mounted two major productions there, Tancredi in 1813 and Semiramide in 1823, two of Bellinis operas were given their premieres there, I Capuleti e i Montecchi in March 1830 and Beatrice di Tenda in March 1833. Donizetti, fresh from his triumphs at La Scala in Milan and at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, returned to Venice in 1836 with his Belisario, in December 1836, disaster struck again when the theatre was destroyed by fire. However, it was rebuilt with a design provided by the architect-engineer team of the brothers, Tommaso. The interior displays a late-Empire luxury of gilt decorations, plushy extravagance, La Fenice once again rose from its ashes to open its doors on the evening of 26 December 1837. Giuseppe Verdis association with La Fenice began in 1844, with the performance of Ernani during the carnival season. Over the next 13 years, the premieres of Attila, Rigoletto, La traviata, during the First World War, La Fenice was closed, but it reopened to become the scene of much activity, attracting many of the worlds greatest singers and conductors. On 29 January 1996, La Fenice was completely destroyed by fire, only its acoustics were preserved, since Lamberto Tronchin, an Italian acoustician, had measured the acoustics two months earlier
La Fenice
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Emblem hanging in the entrance to the opera house
La Fenice
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Facade of La Fenice in 2007
La Fenice
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Interior of first theatre, 1829
La Fenice
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Interior of La Fenice in 1837
17.
Villa Verdi
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Villa Verdi is the house that composer Giuseppe Verdi owned from 1848 to the end of his life in 1901. After buying the estate on which he began to build his house in 1848 and, after stops and starts. Originally, the house was occupied by his parents, but, after the death of his mother, Verdi and Giuseppina Strepponi, the opera singer with whom he lived prior to their 1859 marriage, moved into the Villa in 1851. Verdi extended the house on the property by adding two wings with terraces to the front, plus greenhouses, a chapel, and garages for coaches in the rear. Also, much of both Strepponis and Verdis time was taken up with expansion of the parkland surrounding the house. After Strepponis death in 1897, Verdi spent less time there and he personally oversaw the management of the estate and ran a profitable farming business. Today, the Villa is owned by descendants of Verdis little cousin, Maria Filomena Verdi and this is the Carrara-Verdi family, and they live year-round in parts of the Villa. Visitors are allowed to view five rooms located on the floor of the south wing which were occupied by the composer. Other upstairs rooms were used by servants and guests, the rooms include Strepponis own room with its original canopy bed. The final room, the Grand Hotel et de Milan room, contains the furniture from Room 157 of the Hotel de Milan which is located close to La Scala, the room also contains the shirt which Verdi was wearing at his death, plus a deathmask. Visitors are also able to see Verdis coaches and tour the park containing over 100 varieties of tree, associazione Amici di Verdi, Con Verdi nella sua terra, Busetto. Maestrelli, Maurizio, Guida alla Villa e al Parco, publication of Villa Verdi, Mordacci, Alessandra, An Itinerary of the History and Art in the Places of Verdi, Busseto, Busseto Tourist Office. Villa Verdi, the Visit and Villa Verdi, The Park, the Villa, Villa Verdi official website Busseto Tourist Office website
Villa Verdi
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Verdi's house at Sant'Agata
Villa Verdi
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Villa Verdi as it looked from 1859—1865
Villa Verdi
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View of the setting of the Villa Verdi in an 1870 painting
18.
I Lombardi
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Its first performance was given at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on 11 February 1843. Verdi dedicated the score to Maria Luigia, the Habsburg Duchess of Parma, in 1847, the opera was significantly revised to become Verdis first grand opera for performances in French at the Salle Le Peletier of the Paris Opera under the title of Jérusalem. Julian Buddens analysis of the operas origins notes, In 1843 any subject where Italians were shown united against an enemy was dangerous. However, given Verdis refusal to any changes to the music. 19th century While the premiere performance was a success, critical reactions were less enthusiastic. However, one noted, If created this young mans reputation. Even in the late 1880s, well after Jérusalem had been given and this was the first of Verdis operas to be heard in the United States, at Palmos Opera House, on 3 March 1847 in New York. 20th century and beyond I Lombardi was presented in 1930 at La Scala in Milan as the opening production. The cast included Matteo Manuguerra, Cristina Deutekom, Juan Pons, carlo Bergonzi and Paul Plishka, along with Cristina Deutekom appeared in the San Diego Operas short-lived summer Verdi Festival in June 1979 and it is claimed that this was a West Coast premiere. Over the years, New York audiences have seen the opera presented first by New York City Opera in 1982, I Lombardi was presented at the Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo in late 2001 with Dimitra Theodossiou in the cast. The Teatro Regio di Parma produced it in January 2009, also as part of a complete Verdi cycle, the Parma performance is preserved on a DVD. Sarasota Operas Verdi Cycle featured the opera during its 2011 season, in March 2013 the UCOpera company gave four performances of I Lombardi in the Bloomsbury Theatre in London. And on 7 April a concert performance was given by the Opera Orchestra of New York with Angela Meade, hamburg State Opera presented a production by David Alden as part of a mini-festival of three Verdi operas in October/November 2013. Pagano, who threatened the life of his brother, has returned from exile. A throng gathers in front of the church of SantAmbrogio to celebrate, Viclinda, now Arvinos wife, and their daughter Giselda are on hand to witness the reconciliation. A crusade to the Holy Land is announced and Arvino is to lead it, Pagano secretly vents his enduring frustration to Pirro, Arvinos squire, he still desires Viclinda. As nuns sing in the background, Pirro and a gang of cut-throats agree to help Pagano take Viclinda for himself, scene 2, The Folco palace Viclinda and Giselda are concerned about Pagano and his supposed reformation. Arvino asks them to watch his father, Lord Folco
I Lombardi
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"The departure of the Lombards for the Crusade"
I Lombardi
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Title page of an 1843 libretto of I Lombardi
I Lombardi
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Carlo Guasco, the original Oronte
I Lombardi
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Erminia Frezzolini, the original Giselda
19.
Jerusalem
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Jerusalem is a city located on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is considered a city in the three major Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, the part of Jerusalem called the City of David was settled in the 4th millennium BCE. In 1538, walls were built around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent, today those walls define the Old City, which has been traditionally divided into four quarters—known since the early 19th century as the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters. The Old City became a World Heritage Site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger, Modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond the Old Citys boundaries. These foundational events, straddling the dawn of the 1st millennium BCE, the sobriquet of holy city was probably attached to Jerusalem in post-exilic times. The holiness of Jerusalem in Christianity, conserved in the Septuagint which Christians adopted as their own authority, was reinforced by the New Testament account of Jesuss crucifixion there, in Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city, after Mecca and Medina. As a result, despite having an area of only 0, outside the Old City stands the Garden Tomb. Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, West Jerusalem was among the captured and later annexed by Israel while East Jerusalem, including the Old City, was captured. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed it into Jerusalem, one of Israels Basic Laws, the 1980 Jerusalem Law, refers to Jerusalem as the countrys undivided capital. All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset, the residences of the Prime Minister and President, the international community does not recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital, and the city hosts no foreign embassies. Jerusalem is also home to some non-governmental Israeli institutions of importance, such as the Hebrew University. In 2011, Jerusalem had a population of 801,000, of which Jews comprised 497,000, Muslims 281,000, a city called Rušalim in the Execration texts of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt is widely, but not universally, identified as Jerusalem. Jerusalem is called Urušalim in the Amarna letters of Abdi-Heba, the name Jerusalem is variously etymologized to mean foundation of the god Shalem, the god Shalem was thus the original tutelary deity of the Bronze Age city. The form Yerushalem or Yerushalayim first appears in the Bible, in the Book of Joshua, according to a Midrash, the name is a combination of Yhwh Yireh and the town Shalem. The earliest extra-biblical Hebrew writing of the word Jerusalem is dated to the sixth or seventh century BCE and was discovered in Khirbet Beit Lei near Beit Guvrin in 1961. The inscription states, I am Yahweh thy God, I will accept the cities of Judah and I will redeem Jerusalem, or as other scholars suggest, the mountains of Judah belong to him, to the God of Jerusalem
Jerusalem
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From upper left: Jerusalem skyline viewed from Givat ha'Arba,
Mamilla, the
Old City and the
Dome of the Rock, a
souq in the
Old City, the
Knesset, the
Western Wall, the
Tower of David and the
Ottoman Old City walls
Jerusalem
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Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (Yerushalayim)
Arabic: القُدس (al-Quds)
Aramaic: יְרוּשְׁלֶם (Yərushəlem)
Jerusalem
Jerusalem
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Stepped Stone Structure in
Ophel /
City of David, the oldest part of Jerusalem
20.
Alexandre Dumas, fils
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Dumas, fils was the son of Alexandre Dumas, père, also a well-known playwright and author of classics such as The Three Musketeers. Dumas, fils was admitted to the Académie française in 1874, Dumas was born in Paris, France, the illegitimate child of Marie-Laure-Catherine Labay, a dressmaker, and novelist Alexandre Dumas. In 1831 his father recognized him and ensured that the young Dumas received the best education possible at the Institution Goubaux. At that time, the law allowed the elder Dumas to take the child away from his mother and her agony inspired the younger Dumas to write about tragic female characters. At boarding schools, he was taunted by his classmates because of his family situation. These issues profoundly influenced his thoughts, behaviour, and writing, in 1844, Dumas moved to Saint-Germain-en-Laye to live with his father. There he met Marie Duplessis, a courtesan who would be the inspiration for the character Marguerite Gauthier in his romantic novel La Dame aux camélias. Adapted into a play, it was titled Camille in English and became the basis for Verdis 1853 opera, La Traviata, Duplessis undergoing yet another name change, this time to Violetta Valéry. Although he admitted that he had done the adaptation because he needed the money, he had success with the play. He was not only more renowned than his father during his lifetime, after this, he virtually abandoned writing novels. On 31 December 1864, in Moscow, Dumas married Nadezhda von Knorring, daughter of Johan Reinhold von Knorring, after Nadezhdas death, Dumas married Henriette Régnier de La Brière in June 1895, without issue. In 1874, he was admitted to the Académie française and in 1894 he was awarded the Légion dhonneur, Dumas died at Marly-le-Roi, Yvelines, on 27 November 1895, and was interred in the Montmartre Cemetery in Paris. His grave is, perhaps coincidentally, only some 100 metres away from that of Marie Duplessis, aventures de quatre femmes et d’un perroquet Césarine La Dame aux camélias. Texte online ), with an illustrated by Albert Besnard English titled as Camellias Le Docteur Servan Antonine Le Roman d’une femme Les Quatre Restaurations. Vivier LAmi des femmes Le Supplice dune femme coll, emile de Girardin Héloïse Paranquet coll. Durentin Les Idées de Madame Aubray Le Filleul de Pompignac coll, francois Une Visite de noces La Princesse Georges La Femme de Claude Monsieur Alphonse LÉtrangère Les Danicheff coll. de Corvin La Comtesse Romani coll. Gustave Fould La Princesse de Bagdad Denise Francillon La Route de Thèbes Illegitimacy in fiction Legitimacy Maurois, the Titans, a three-generation biography of the Dumas. New York, Harper & Brothers Publishers, a Critical Edition of the Manuscripts of La Route de Thebes by Alexandre Dumas fils
Alexandre Dumas, fils
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Alexandre Dumas (fils) in his later years
Alexandre Dumas, fils
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Alexandre Dumas (fils), in his youth
Alexandre Dumas, fils
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Bust of Alexander Dumas Fils, by the sculptor
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux,
Orsay Museum
Alexandre Dumas, fils
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Tomb,
Montmartre Cemetery
21.
The Lady of the Camellias
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La Dame aux Camélias is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils, first published in 1848, and subsequently adapted for the stage. La Dame aux Camélias premiered at the Théâtre du Vaudeville in Paris, the play was an instant success, and Giuseppe Verdi immediately set about putting the story to music. His work became the 1853 opera La Traviata, with the female protagonist, Marguerite Gautier, in the English-speaking world, La Dame aux Camélias became known as Camille and 16 versions have been performed at Broadway theatres alone. The title character is Marguerite Gautier, who is based on Marie Duplessis, Marguerite is nicknamed la dame aux camélias because she wears a red camellia when shes menstruating and unavailable for making love and a white camelia when she is available to her lovers. Armand falls in love with Marguerite and ultimately becomes her lover and he convinces her to leave her life as a courtesan and to live with him in the countryside. Up until Marguerites death, Armand believes that she him for another man. Marguerites death is described as an unending agony, during which Marguerite, abandoned by everyone, the story is narrated after Marguerites death by two male narrators, Armand and an unnamed frame narrator. Some scholars believe that Marguerites illness and Duplessiss publicized cause of death, the novel is also marked by the description of Parisian life during the 19th century and the fragile world of the courtesan. Since its debut as a play, numerous editions have been performed at theatres around the world, bernhardt quickly became associated with the role after starring in Camellias in Paris, London, and several Broadway revivals, plus the 1911 film. Dancer/Impresario Ida Rubinstein successfully recreated Bernhardts interpretation of the role onstage in the mid-1920s and it is also the inspiration for the 2008 musical Marguerite, which places the story in 1944 German-occupied France. In addition to inspiring La Traviata, La Dame aux Camélias has been adapted for approximately twenty different motion pictures in numerous countries, there have been at least eight adaptations of La Dame aux Camélias entitled Camille. In addition to the Camille films, the story has been the adapted into numerous other versions, Kameliadamen. Kameliadamen was a 1907 Danish silent film directed by Viggo Larsen and starring Oda Alstrup, Larsen, Gustave Lund, La Dame aux Camélias, a 1911 French language silent film, directed by André Calmettes and Henri Pouctal. La Signora delle Camelie, a 1915 Italian language silent film and it was directed by Baldassarre Negroni. It stars Hesperia, Alberto Collo and Ida Carloni Talli, La Signora delle Camelie, a 1915 Italian language silent film. It was directed by Gustavo Serena and it stars Francesca Bertini and Serena. Camille, a 1915 English language silent film that stars Clara Kimball Young, Camille, an English language silent film starring Theda Bara. Arme Violetta, a German language silent film starring Pola Negri, Camille, an English language silent film starring Alla Nazimova and Rudolph Valentino, directed by Ray C
The Lady of the Camellias
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Poster for a performance of the theatrical version, with
Sarah Bernhardt (1896)
The Lady of the Camellias
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Illustration by
Albert Lynch
The Lady of the Camellias
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Marie Duplessis
The Lady of the Camellias
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Eleonora Duse as Marguerite Gautier in 1896
22.
Salle Ventadour
–
When the Théâtre-Italien company went out of business in 1878, the theatre was converted to offices. The Opéra-Comique first performed at the Salle Ventadour on 20 April 1829, the opening night audience was a distinguished one and found the new theatre luxurious and comfortable. After 22 March 1832 the Opéra-Comique left the Salle Ventadour and moved to the Salle de la Bourse, the Salle Ventadour was reopened on 10 June 1834 as the Théâtre Nautique — nautique since some of the main attractions were works performed in a basin of water on the stage. The programs included the ballet-pantomime Les ondines, which was based on Fouqués novella Undine, about a water sprite who marries a knight in order to save her soul, and used music from E. T. A. These were interspersed with choruses by Carl Maria von Weber and others, the entracte was the overture to Webers opera Oberon. The reviews were not good, and the size of the audience decreased over time and he called the concoction La derniére heure dun condamné, and it used music by Cesare Pugni. The new piece was a pantomime, since Smithsons French was far from perfect, unfortunately, this new performance was not as favorably received. But apparently her performances were not enough to rescue the enterprise, the Salle Ventadour was used for a brief time by the Théâtre-Italien after the destruction of the companys previous home, the Salle Favart, by fire on 15 January 1838. Only one opera new to Paris was presented, Gaetano Donizettis Parisina, the company moved to the Odéon for three years before returning to the Salle Ventadour in 1841. Their aim was to bring together in one theatre the elitist, the new company opened on 8 November 1838 with the premiere of Hugos drama Ruy Blas with Frédérick Lemaître in the title role. Two new plays by Dumas were also presented, Bathilde and Lalchimiste, jolys venture was short-lived however, closing on 16 May 1841. After the Théâtre de la Renaissance closed in 1841 the theater was expanded to a capacity of 1,294 and was used by the Théâtre-Italien company from 2 October 1841 to 28 June 1878. Among the important singers appearing in Verdis operas were Giorgio Ronconi, Adelaide Borghi-Mamo, verdi is reported to have referred to the Salle Ventadour as his favorite opera house in Paris. Besides opera, the Salle Ventadour was also used for concerts. Giaocchino Rossinis Stabat Mater received its premiere there on 7 January 1842, Richard Wagner conducted three concerts devoted to his own music, including extracts from The Flying Dutchman, Tannhäuser, Tristan und Isolde, and Lohengrin, on 25 January,1 and 8 February 1860. Verdi conducted the Paris premiere of his Requiem on 30 May 1876, the name Théâtre de la Renaissance was revived for the use of Carvalhos venture, in order to distinguish it from the Théâtre-Italien. Carvalho had overextended himself, however, and soon went bankrupt, the Théâtre-Italien also shared the theater with the Paris Opéra from 19 January to December 1874. Companies sharing the theatre usually performed on alternate nights, the libretto follows Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet more closely than that of the opera by Gounod, but Richard dIvrys opera suffered in comparison
Salle Ventadour
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The Salle Ventadour as an opera house in the mid 19th century.
Salle Ventadour
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A performance by the Théâtre-Italien at the Salle Ventadour (ca. 1843).
23.
Lodovico Graziani
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Lodovico Graziani was an Italian operatic tenor. According to John Warrack and Ewan West, writing in The Oxford Dictionary of Opera, His voice was clear and vibrant and he is now mainly remembered for having created the role of Alfredo Germont in the world premiere of Giuseppe Verdis La traviata in 1853. Graziani was born in Fermo, Italy, into a musical family, lodovico studied with Cellini and made his debut in 1845 in Bologna in Carlo Cambiaggios Don Procopio. In 1846 he was heard at the Regio Teatro degli Avvalorati in Livorno as Elvino in Vincenzo Bellinis La sonnambula and he made his debut at La Scala on 14 August 1847 in the title role of Gaetano Donizettis Dom Sébastien. In 1851, at the Théâtre-Italiens Salle Ventadour in Paris, Graziani sang Gennaro in Donizettis Lucrezia Borgia with Marianna Barbieri-Nini in the title role, in his second season there, on 6 March 1853, he created the role of Alfredo in Verdis La traviata. Graziani had not been well — one performance was cancelled because of his indisposition, later in his career, in other Verdi roles, Graziani was more successful. Graziani returned to the Théâtre-Italien for the 1854–1855 season to sing Manrico in Verdis Il trovatore, the performances, which introduced the opera to Paris beginning on 23 December 1854, were successful. Graziani returned to La Scala in 1855 in Giuseppe Apollonis Lebreo, other Verdi roles at La Scala included the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto and Enrico in Giovanna de Guzman. Lodovico Grazianis three brothers who became professional singers were, Giuseppe, a bass, Francesco, a baritone, from Il Trovatore to La Forza del destino. Meyerbeer, Giacomo, Letellier, Robert Ignatius, editor, the Diaries of Giacomo Meyerbeer,3. Madison, New Jersey, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, the New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Sadie, Stanley, editor, John Tyrell, executive editor, the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition. Chicago, The University of Chicago Press
Lodovico Graziani
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Lodovico Graziani circa 1845
24.
Adelaide Borghi-Mamo
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Adelaide Borghi-Mamo was an Italian operatic mezzo-soprano who had an active international career from the 1840s through the 1880s. She was married to tenor Michele Mamo and their daughter, soprano Erminia Borghi-Mamo, the following year she joined the roster of singers at the Teatro Vittorio Emanuele in Messina. She was soon invited to make guest appearances with major opera houses throughout Italy, in 1851 Borghi-Mamo portrayed the role of Morna in the world premiere of Giovanni Pacinis Malvina di Scozia at the Teatro di San Carlo. She returned there in 1853 to create the role of Olimpia in the premiere of Saverio Mercadantes Statira and she was also heard at that house that year as Azucena in Giuseppe Verdis Il trovatore and in the title role in Gaetano Bragas Alina. On 23 August 1853 she performed in the premiere of Lauro Rossis Lalchimista at the Teatro del Fondo in Naples. She was also heard in Vienna in 1853, in 1854 she sang in another premiere at the Teatro di San Carlo, the role of Tremacoldo in Errico Petrellas Marco Visconti. In 1857 Borghi-Mamo sang the role of Azucena in the French premiere of Il trovatore at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris, in 1856 she made her debut at the Paris Opera as Leonor de Guzmán in Gaetano Donizettis La favorite. In 1860 Borghi-Mamo performed in London for the first time as Azucena, in November 1860 she performed at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna as Fidès in that theatres first presentation of Giacomo Meyerbeers Le prophète. In 1861 she sang in the premiere of Achille Peris Lespiazione at La Scala and she returned to that house on 26 December 1862 to sing the role of Giulia Raselli in the world premiere of Achille Peris Rienzi. In 1861–1862 she was committed to the Teatro Regio di Torino where she was heard as Desdemona in Rossinis Otello, Federica in Verdis Luisa Miller, Fidès. In 1870 she sang the role in Pacinis Saffo at La Fenice. She returned to the Théâtre-Italien in Paris in 1876 to perform Preziosilla in Verdis La forza del destino, in 1879 she appeared at the Teatro Real in Madrid as Beatrice in the world premiere of Emilio Usiglios Le donne curiose. She remained active on the stage up into the 1880s and she died in Bologna in 1901 at the age of 75
Adelaide Borghi-Mamo
–
Adelaide Borghi-Mamo
25.
Academy of Music (New York City)
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The Academy of Music was a New York City opera house, located on the northeast corner of East 14th Street and Irving Place in Manhattan. The 4, 000-seat hall opened on October 2,1854, the review in The New York Times declared it to be an acoustical triumph, but In every other aspect. The Academys opera season became the center of life for New Yorks elite. The Academy of Music has been described as the first successful dedicated opera house in the United States, by May 1853, the interior has been dismantled and the furnishings sold off, with the shell of the building sold to the Mercantile Library Association. The stages proscenium opening was 48 feet, with an additional 35 feet in the wings, the height of the proscenium opening was 30 feet. Its first opera season was from October through December 1854, the Max Maretzek Italian Opera Company was engaged by US actor James Henry Hackett. The company performed Bellinis Norma for the inauguration of the theatre with Giulia Grisi in the title role, Maretzeks company performed an annual season at the Academy through 1878. His company was not the group active at the opera house as the theater during this time. Musicologist George Whitney Martin writes, New Yorks Academy of Music, from 1854 to 1883 the citys leading house for opera, because it was primarily a real estate venture run by a board of investors seeking the highest rent possible. The Academy hosted several American premieres, including Rigoletto, Il trovatore, La traviata, Aida, Lohengrin, Die Walkure, in 1860 it was the site of a reception for the Prince of Wales. These balls were covered by the press, which did little to dim the enthusiasm or ribald behavior of the participants, one reporter wrote that women were thrown in the air and then sexually assaulted amid the jeers and laughter of the other drunken wretches on the floor. Not a whisper of shame in the crowd and these spectacles grew in size over the following decades, in 1876, one such ball was attended by over 4000 people. Still, it was the season that made the Academy the mainstay of social life for New Yorks uppertens. This emblem of social prominence was passed down generation to generation. The Metropolitans new opera house at Broadway and 39th Street, twice the size of the Academy and it contained three tiers of elegant boxes to display the wealth of the citys new economic leaders. The new opera house was an instant success with New York society and music lovers alike, in 1888 the Academy began to offer vaudeville. From January 28 to March 1901, a revival of Clyde Fitchs play Barbara Frietchie appeared there, the venue was rented by labor organizations in the early 1900s and used to stage rallies. In 1926 it was demolished, along with its neighbor Tammany Hall, on the south side of 14th Street across from the site of the opera house, a movie theatre opened in 1927 which took the name the Academy of Music
Academy of Music (New York City)
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Academy of Music, New York, c.1909
Academy of Music (New York City)
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Hanukkah celebration by the
Young Men's Hebrew Association at the Academy of Music, December 16, 1880
26.
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
Royal Opera House
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The Royal Opera House, Bow Street frontage with
Plazzotta 's statue, Young Dancer, in the foreground
Royal Opera House
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"Rich's Glory": John Rich takes over (seemingly invades) his new Covent Garden Theatre. (A caricature by
William Hogarth)
Royal Opera House
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A satirical drawing from 1811 of the "Pigeon Holes" that flanked the upper gallery at Covent Garden
Royal Opera House
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A picture of the first theatre drawn shortly before it burned down in 1808
27.
Enrico Tamberlick
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Enrico Tamberlik was an Italian tenor who sang to great acclaim at Europe and Americas leading opera venues. He excelled in the roles of the Italian and French repertories and was renowned for his powerful declamation and clarion high notes. Born in Rome, some claim that Tamberlik might have been of Romanian descent. Nonetheless, his training was entirely Italian. He studied first in Naples with Zirilli and Borgna, then in Bologna with Guglielmi and he appeared, too, in Madrid and Barcelona. In 1850, Tamberlik debuted at the Royal Opera House in Londons Covent Garden and he was to appear regularly at Covent Garden until 1870, enjoying star billing each time. Tamberlik sang often at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg from 1850 until 1863 and he made his initial guest appearance at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris in 1858, returning there many times until 1877. Tamberlik portrayed Alfredo in La traviata to the Violetta of Sofia Vera Lorini for the opening of the original Teatro Colón opera house in Buenos Aires in 1857 and he also appeared in North America, singing at the Academy of Music in New York City during the 1873-74 season. He last singing engagements in London were at Her Majestys Theatre in 1877 and he toured Spain again in 1881 and retired from the operatic stage shortly afterwards. Tamberliks death occurred in Paris, three days before his 69th birthday, other notable roles of his included Otello, Pollione, Arturo, Ernani, Robert le diable, Faust, Don Ottavio, Florestan, Max, Poliuto and Cellini. The heroic tenor Francesco Tamagno was regarded as being Tamberliks foremost successor, grove Music Online, entry by Elizabeth Forbes, July 2008. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera, second edition, edited by Harold Rosenthal and John Warrack, Oxford University Press, the Great Singers, revised edition, by Henry Pleasants, Macmillan Publishing, London,1983
Enrico Tamberlick
–
Photograph by
André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri
Enrico Tamberlick
–
Enrico Tamberlik.
28.
Pauline Viardot
–
Pauline Viardot was a leading nineteenth-century French mezzo-soprano, pedagogue, and composer of Spanish descent. Born Michelle Ferdinande Pauline García, her name appears in various forms, when it is not simply Pauline Viardot, it most commonly appears in association with her maiden name García or the unaccented form, Garcia. This name sometimes precedes Viardot and sometimes follows it, sometimes the words are hyphenated, sometimes they are not. She achieved initial fame as Pauline García, the accent was dropped at some point, after her marriage, she referred to herself simply as Mme Viardot. She came from a family and took up music at a young age. She began performing as teenager and had a long and illustrious career as a star performer and her three daughters also pursued careers in music performances. Michelle Ferdinande Pauline García was born in Paris to the Garcías and her godparents were Ferdinando Paer and Princess Pauline Galitsin, who provided her with her middle names. She was 13 years younger than her sister, diva Maria Malibran. As a small girl, she travelled with her family to London, New York and Mexico. By the age of six she was fluent in Spanish, French, English and Italian, later in her career, she sang Russian arias so well that she was taken for a native speaker. After her fathers death in 1832, her mother, soprano Joaquina Sitchez, took over her singing lessons and she had wanted to become a professional concert pianist. She had taken lessons with the young Franz Liszt and counterpoint and harmony classes with Anton Reicha, the teacher of Liszt and Hector Berlioz. It was with the greatest regret that she abandoned her strong vocation for the piano, Liszt, Ignaz Moscheles, Adolphe Adam, Camille Saint-Saëns and others have left accounts of her excellent piano playing. After Malibrans death in 1836, aged 28, Pauline became a professional singer, however, her professional debut as a musician was as a pianist, accompanying her brother-in-law, the violinist Charles Auguste de Bériot. In 1837, 16-year-old Pauline García gave her first concert performance in Brussels and in 1839 and this proved to be the surprise of the season. Despite her flaws, she had an exquisite technique combined with a degree of passion. At the age of 17, she met and was courted by Alfred de Musset, some sources say he asked for Paulines hand in marriage, but she declined. However, she remained on good terms with him for many years and her friend George Sand had a role in discouraging her from accepting de Mussets proposal, directing her instead to Louis Viardot
Pauline Viardot
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Pauline Viardot
Pauline Viardot
Pauline Viardot
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Viardot as Valentina and
Alboni as Urbano in Act 1 of Meyerbeer's
Gli Ugonotti Royal Italian Opera (Covent Garden) (1848) (
lithograph by
John Brandard)
Pauline Viardot
–
Salon of Mme Viardot
29.
Francesco Graziani
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Francesco Ciccio Graziani is an Italian football manager and former football player who played as a forward. He later spent two seasons with Udinese, before ending his career with Australian club APIA Leichhardt in 1988. At international level, he won the 1982 FIFA World Cup with the Italian national team, with 23 official goals, he is the ninth-highest all-time scorer for the Italian national team. He is the father of Gabriele, who was also a professional footballer, Graziani was born in Subiaco, in the province of Rome. A prolific and physical striker, he started his career in Bettini Quadraro before moving to Arezzo. In total, Graziani scored 122 goals in 289 games for Torino and he won the Scudetto in 1975–76. During the next season, Graziani emerged as the top-scorer in Serie A with a tally of 21 goals and he formed, in those years, the famous Gemelli del gol with strike partner Paolo Pulici, who were supported by Claudio Sala. He helped Torino reach the Coppa Italia final in 1980, but was one of the Torino players to miss his penalty in the resulting shoot-out defeat to Roma at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Graziani left Torino when, with his teammate Pecci, he transferred to Fiorentina for two seasons in 1981, missing the title by a point in the 1981–82 season. After two seasons with Udinese and an appearance in the Australian National Soccer League with APIA Leichhardt. He totalled 353 appearances, with 130 goals, in the Italian Serie A. He made his debut on 19 April 1975, in a 0–0 home draw in Rome against Poland. Graziani appeared in all of Italys matches as the nation went on to win the tournament for the time in their history. His final official appearance for Italy came on 29 May 1983 and he returned to the national team for the 25th anniversary of the 1982 FIFA World Cup Final on 27 July 2007 in Stuttgart, scoring twice, with the final score of 4–4. With 23 goals in 64 caps between 1975 and 1983, he is ranked as the ninth-highest all-time scorer for his national team, despite his ability, he was also known for his temperamental character, which led to several conflicts with his managers throughout his career. In the 2001–02 season, Graziani, who was the director of Catania in Serie C1, was successively appointed as manager. He then resigned as coach after the ninth match of the next season. From 2004 to 2006, he coached Cervia, an team of Emilia-Romagna from Eccellenza league which was subject of an Italian reality show
Francesco Graziani
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Graziani at Torino in 1976–77
Francesco Graziani
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Graziani at
Fiorentina in the early 1980s
Francesco Graziani
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Graziani playing for
Roma in 1984, with the Neapolitan
Bertoni
Francesco Graziani
–
Graziani playing for
Italy in 1977
30.
Arturo Toscanini
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Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and of the 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for detail and sonority. He was at times the music director of La Scala in Milan, the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Toscanini was born in Parma, Emilia-Romagna, and won a scholarship to the music conservatory. Living conditions at the conservatory were harsh, for example, his diet consisted almost completely of fish. When he became successful, he never ate anything that came from the sea and he joined the orchestra of an opera company, with which he toured South America in 1886. Carlo Superti and Aristide Venturi tried unsuccessfully to finish the work, in desperation, the singers suggested the name of their assistant Chorus Master, who knew the whole opera from memory. The public was taken by surprise, at first by the youth and sheer aplomb of this unknown conductor, for the rest of that season, Toscanini conducted eighteen operas, all with absolute success. Thus began his career as a conductor, at age 19, upon returning to Italy, Toscanini set out on a dual path for some time. He continued to conduct, his first appearance in Italy being at the Teatro Carignano in Turin, on November 4,1886, in the world premiere of the revised version of Alfredo Catalanis Edmea. This was the beginning of Toscaninis lifelong friendship and championing of Catalani, however, he also returned to his chair in the cello section, and participated as cellist in the world premiere of Verdis Otello under the composers supervision. The composer was impressed when Toscanini consulted him personally about Verdis Te Deum. Verdi said that he had left it out for fear that certain interpreters would have exaggerated the marking, gradually, Toscaninis reputation as an operatic conductor of unusual authority and skill supplanted his cello career. In the following decade, he consolidated his career in Italy, entrusted with the premieres of Puccinis La bohème. In 1896, Toscanini conducted his first symphonic concert and he exhibited a considerable capacity for hard work, conducting 43 concerts in Turin in 1898. By 1898, Toscanini was Principal Conductor at La Scala, where he remained until 1908, returning as Music Director and he brought the La Scala Orchestra to the United States on a concert tour in 1920/21, during which he made his first recordings. Outside Europe, Toscanini conducted at the Metropolitan Opera in New York as well as the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and he toured Europe with the New York Philharmonic in 1930. At each performance, he and the orchestra were acclaimed by critics, Toscanini was the first non-German conductor to appear at Bayreuth, and the New York Philharmonic was the first non-German orchestra to play there
Arturo Toscanini
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Toscanini's family tomb at the
Monumental Cemetery of Milan in 2015
Arturo Toscanini
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Toscanini in 1908.
Arturo Toscanini
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Arturo Toscanini poses on a ship's deck.
Arturo Toscanini
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Toscanini lifts his hat for the camera on a ship's deck.
