1.
Lorenzo Ferrero
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Lorenzo Ferrero is a contemporary Italian composer, librettist, author, and book editor. His musical idiom is characterized by eclecticism, stylistic versatility, and his most popular compositions include the operas Marilyn, La figlia del mago, Salvatore Giuliano, Charlotte Corday, La Conquista, and Risorgimento. In 1986 he participated in the Prix Italia with his work La fuga di Foscolo and his music is published by Casa Ricordi, Milan. As an active manager of art events, he has served as director of the Festival Puccini in Torre del Lago, Unione Musicale in Turin, Arena di Verona Festival. In 1999 he co-founded and coordinated the Festa della Musica, a showcase of classical, jazz and world music held in Milan, in 2007 Lorenzo Ferrero was appointed to the board of directors and elected vice-president of SIAE, the Italian Authors and Publishers Association. In 2008 he translated, edited and published Lo studio dellorchestrazione, the Italian edition of Samuel Adlers The Study of Orchestration, Lorenzo Ferrero has been professor of composition at Milan Conservatory since 1980. His teaching appointments also include positions at St. Marys College of Maryland and LUISS Business School, a division of LUISS Guido Carli University of Rome. With a group of six other Italian composers he wrote the Requiem per le vittime della mafia, the requiem was first performed in the Palermo Cathedral on 27 March 1993. Furthermore, he wrote the music for the Sestriere Alpine World Ski Championships opening ceremony of 1997 including the anthem, incidental music for stage productions. British musicologist David Osmond-Smith described his style as a synthesis of classical traditions. Prima variazione, for organ and orchestra Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No.2 Fantasy Suite No, Ferrero, Lorenzo, ed. Lo studio dellorchestrazione. Ostali, Piero, ed. Il Piccolo Marat, Storia e rivoluzione nel melodramma verista, atti del terzo convegno di studi su Pietro Mascagni. Harpner, S, ed. Über Musiktheater, Eine Festschrift, Il suono e lanima, Il paesaggio invisibile del melodramma. La musica sacra nelle chiese cristiane, Donati, P, and Pacetti, E, eds. Lo studio di fonologia della Rai di Milano nello sviluppo della nuova musica in Italia, Rome, RAI Teche, Milano, Scuole civiche di Milano, Fondazione di partecipazione, Accademia internazionale della musica, Istituto di ricerca musicale, Rome, RAI-ERI. Maurizi, P, ed. Quattordici interviste sul «nuovo teatro musicale» in Italia, galileo e il segreto dei Maya. The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, un bel dì vedremo, Il festival di Giacomo Puccini. ISBN 978-88-6800-040-0 Anon. Lorenzo Ferrero Marilyn—Anmerkungen zur Oper, in Neuland, Ansätze zur Musik der Gegenwart, edited by Herbert Henck Vol.3, pp 142–146
2.
Marilyn (opera)
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Marilyn, subtitled Scenes from the 50s in two acts, is an opera by Lorenzo Ferrero set to a bilingual libretto by Floriana Bossi and the composer. The music is a mixture of styles and the theme itself suggest an Italian version of post-modernism, neo-tonal materials, already adumbrating the synthesis of 19th-century opera and postwar popular music typical of his later works, are mixed with modernist orchestral textures. The opera was first performed at the Teatro dellOpera di Roma on 23 February 1980 and that production was revived on 31 October 1995 at the Finnish National Theatre. A division of the stage into two compartments is required, one space for Marilyn and one space where all the other actions take place. Time, The second half of the 20th century, in Central Park a band intones the American national anthem and starts marching together with a group of majorettes. In her own space, Marilyn thinks of her unhappy childhood, in Korea, standing amongst the casualties, General MacArthur is reinvigorating his troops and recounting his speech to Congress in favour of the war. Marilyn reflects on her life and complains about being considered as just a sex symbol, various characters suspected of belonging to the American Communist Party appear before the House Committee on Un-American Activities for interrogation. Marilyn calls Doctor Johnson on the phone and talks about her fears of going insane, her feelings of loneliness, emptiness. In the background books are being burned, including those by Wilhelm Reich, the psychiatrist, on the brink of madness, is taken off to prison. In an imaginary duet with Marilyn, he rants about being persecuted like Christ whilst she speaks about her distress, a group of poets of the Beat Generation gather around Allen Ginsberg in the smoky atmosphere of an underground cellar where Bebop music is played. They talk of Marilyns death and look towards the East for hope in the guise of Buddha, Marilyn has supper with Yves Montand and gives him one of her poems. Left alone, she sings a hymn to the night, a silent pacifist demonstration files past and is broken up by the police. Marilyn phones her analyst again, then receives the visit of a person who slaps her. Timothy Leary lectures on the effects of LSD, Mescaline and Psilocybin, the police puts an end to the general delirium by carrying everyone away. Marilyn, in a state, under the influence of alcohol and barbiturates. The threatening shadows of two figures appear on the background. The marching majorettes step indifferently over Marilyns corpse to the sound of the American anthem whilst the crowd is celebrating The American Way of Life, notes Sources Anon. Lorenzo Ferrero Marilyn—Anmerkungen zur Oper. In Neuland, Ansätze zur Musik der Gegenwart, edited by Herbert Henck Vol.3, bergisch Gladbach, Neuland Musikverlag Herbert Henck
3.
La figlia del mago
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La figlia del mago is a childrens opera in two acts by Lorenzo Ferrero set to an Italian-language libretto by Marco Ravasini. It was completed in 1981 and subtitled giocodramma melodioso, a wordplay on melodramma giocoso, the libretto, inspired by Mario Lavagettos book Quei più modesti romanzi, il libretto nel melodramma di Verdi, is written in an imaginary language which emphasises the element of play. The music is a sequence of closed numbers which spoof the most common operatic conventions, the aim of the opera is to show children how Italian opera functions. Alongside professional singers, children take mime roles, the premiere directed by Caterina Mattea and conducted by Jan Latham Koenig took place in Montepulciano, at the Cantiere Internazionale dArte on 31 July 1981. Act 1 On a dark, stormy night a ship makes an attempt to land. Prince Tenor returns from a place with his fiancée, Princess Soprano. Tenor’s father, King Baritone, utterly rejects the princess because she is both a foreigner and the offspring of a sorcerer, soprano’s father, King Bass, arrives accompanied by his pet sea monster and tries to persuade his daughter to come back home. As she refuses, he uses his powers to make the animals attack Baritones court. During the ensuing battle, Tenor runs to the defence of his father, in spite of this demonstration of his worth he is still denied permission to marry Soprano. Act 2 In his bedroom, King Baritone is having a restless night, King Bass sea monster enters and is about to attack him when, once again, Tenor rushes in and puts the monster to flight. Waking up, King Baritone catches Tenor with the sword in his hand and he condemns Tenor and Soprano to death and throws them into prison. There is general rejoicing as preparations are made for the wedding ceremony, everyone, including the two fantastic animals and the sea monster, joins in. The La Scala Encyclopedia of the Opera, il teatro musicale italiano oggi, La generazione della post-avanguardia. ISBN 88-7063-115-X Moliterno, Gino, ed. Encyclopaedia of Contemporary Italian Culture, Opera 92, Annuario dellopera lirica in Italia. The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, ISBN 0-19-522186-9 Catalogue entry at Casa Ricordi
4.
Salvatore Giuliano (opera)
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The work was commissioned by the Teatro dellOpera di Roma and premiered there on 25 January 1986. Set in Sicily, the story is based on the life of the historical figure Salvatore Giuliano. Place, Western Sicily, Montelepre and surrounding mountains Time, The second half of the 1940s In an empty village at dawn a shot is heard and there is a glimpse of a man running. When the village awakes a representative of EVIS, the Volunteer Army for the Independence of Sicily, arrives to address the inhabitants, in his speech, the man incites the villagers to endorse EVIS fight for independence. After pledging his support to the cause, Giuliano remains alone with his lieutenant and they are discussing how to liberate Giulianos mother from prison when, unexpectedly, she returns to him escorted by a Mafioso. Giuliano realizes that he has contracted a debt with the Mafia, in his mountain stronghold, Giuliano relates his life story to Maria, a Swedish journalist who came to interview him. He recalls that he became a bandit by chance, due to poverty and he confesses that he hopes for a pardon and emigration to America. The interview is interrupted by the Mafioso who returned to claim his dues and he asks Giuliano to attack the communists Labour Day parade at Portella della Ginestra in exchange for Mafia protection and help with his request for amnesty. Appalled by this crime the Mafioso meets Colonel Luca and, while the police are carrying away the corpses, Pisciotta is summoned to the Colonel, who succeeds in convincing him to betray Giuliano, in exchange for his own life. In a desperate attempt, Pisciotta tries to persuade Giuliano to escape. In the empty village, as in the beginning, the shadows of two men appear on the background, one shoots and the other falls, the village lights go out and the voice of a woman is heard calling, Giuliano. The orchestral Intermezzo depicting the Portella della Ginestra massacre and Giulianos aria Poi andrò in America were arranged as excerpts for concert performance, the aria was first performed at the Palm Beach Opera in February,1992. The La Scala Encyclopedia of the Opera, ISBN 88-7779-008-3 Gelli, Piero, ed. Dizionario dellOpera 2008 entries, Lorenzo Ferrero, Salvatore Giuliano. Padova, Franco Muzzio & C editore SpA, the New Grove Dictionary of Opera. ISBN 0-19-522186-9 Casa Ricordi catalogue Salvatore Giuliano on YouTube
5.
Charlotte Corday (opera)
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The fundamental theme of the opera is the individual terrorist action committed by anyone who believes that he or she is eliminating an evil by eliminating a person, in most cases the wrong person. The premiere directed by Mario Martone and conducted by Roberto Abbado took place at the Teatro dellOpera di Roma on 21 February 1989, place, Paris Time, July 13,1793 Act 1 Charlotte Corday arrives in Paris at dawn. In a square she meets Camille, her friend, now a deputy to the National Convention. He is disappointed, defeated, and fears for his life, amongst the crowd is Gaston, who tells Charlotte that he is the bodyguard and faithful friend of Marat. Their conversation is interrupted by a commotion which arises around a bakery, in play, a group of children act out the events of the Revolution. The square slowly empties out, except for a child who is left behind by his playmates, Charlotte releases and comforts him, thereby building up courage herself, then she buys a long-bladed knife and a shawl from a pedlar. Marat arrives surrounded by a crowd which, at the same time, notices his fatigue. Charlotte attracts his attention for a moment, then he continues on to the hall of the Convention and she does not know how to take advantage of the situation to kill him. Marat, received by the deputies with a mixture of hostility and respect, Act 2 On the Champ de Mars parade ground the decorations for the Bastille Day celebration are destroyed by a storm. An aggressive, raving drunk wanders around, Charlotte meets Camille again and finds him more dispirited than ever. He admits to her his total, profound political disillusionment, she, on the contrary and they are pestered by the drunk who accuses Camille of being a traitor, whereupon a patrol appears and arrests him. Charlotte delivers an attack against the Revolutions abuses of power, Gaston arrives and justifies the arrest but Marat frees Camille, after Charlotte vouches for him. Gaston is amazed as much as Marat himself by this unexpected clemency and he feels ill again and wants to be taken home. Act 3 Marat is in the bathtub to which his debilitating skin condition confines him and he who wanted to cure the world is beaten by his own illness. Marats housekeeper asks her to back an other time but he demands that she be let in. Charlotte has brought a list of enemies of the Revolution for him to examine and he reads his own name at the top and asks for an explanation. They start an argument about power, loneliness, truth, and death, at the instant in which the blade descends upon him Marat understands the meaning of the look in Charlottes eyes and dies without knowing her name. The orchestral Intermezzo was arranged as excerpt for concert performance, the La Scala Encyclopedia of the Opera
6.
Risorgimento! (opera)
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Risorgimento. is an opera in one act by Lorenzo Ferrero set to an Italian-language libretto by Dario Oliveri, based on a scenario by the composer. It was completed in 2010 and first performed at the Teatro Comunale Modena on 26 March 2011, the characters of the opera – says the composer – engage in a debate not just about the Risorgimento but also about the opera itself and its chances of success. They are, at least in part, the same as the interpreters of that first Nabucco staged at La Scala on 9 March 1842, in a room inside the theatre the répétiteur is rehearsing with Giovannina Bellinzaghi Fenenas prayer from the fourth act of the opera Nabucco. The singer is expressing her doubts about the subject and about the value of the work. During the dialogue enters impresario Bartolomeo Merelli, who defends the composer and he evokes the genesis of Nabucco and reveals his preoccupation with the Austrian censorship. The rehearsal pianist and the singer leave, alone on the stage, Merelli is reflecting on the young Verdi and on the fact that his companion, Giuseppina Strepponi, seems attracted to him. The pianist returns and waits with Merelli for the arrival of Strepponi, the impresario talks about his intention to stage at La Scala Pacinis opera Saffo. When the singer finally arrives, he asks her to work on Saffos aria and her song turns into a dream in which she confesses that she feels a strange attraction for Verdi and his music. Merelli and the pianist return and are joined by Luigi Barbiano, Conte di Belgioioso, an excited political discussion follows between the Maestro sostituto and the count, who ends up by being offended and walks off, slamming the door. The pianist regrets letting himself get carried away and restarts rehearsing with Bellinzaghi, Fenenas prayer, too, dissolves itself in a dream, which anticipates the triumphal debut of the opera and re-elaborates various images of the Risorgimento. At the end of the dream, Giuseppe Verdi appears, aged, in his monologue he interweaves the nostalgia for the past with his preoccupation for the uncertain future. Annuario EDT-CIDIM dellopera lirica in Italia, ISBN 978-88-6040-795-5 Rai 3 documentary, part 1 on YouTube, part 2 on YouTube Risorgimento. Recording of the premiere in Bologna, April 5,2011 on YouTube Background, Casa Ricordi Casa Ricordi catalogue
7.
Alessandro Baricco
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Alessandro Baricco is a popular Italian writer, director and performer. His novels have been translated into a number of languages. He currently lives in Rome with his wife and two sons and he subsequently worked as musical critic for La Repubblica and La Stampa, and hosted talk shows on Rai Tre. Baricco debuted as a novelist with Castelli di rabbia in 1991, in 1993 he co-founded a creative writing school in Turin, naming it Scuola Holden after J. D. Salingers Holden Caulfield. The Scuola Holden hosts a variety of courses on narrative techniques including screenwriting, journalism, videogames, novels, in the following years his fame grew enormously throughout Europe, with his works topping the Italian and French best-seller lists. Larger recognition followed the adaptation of his theatrical monologue Novecento into the movie The Legend of 1900 and he has also worked with the French band Air, releasing City Reading, a mix of the bands music with Bariccos reading of his novel City. He has directed the film Lezione 21 on Beethovens Ninth Symphony, Castelli di rabbia, Rizzoli 1991, Tascabili Bompiani 1994, Lands of Glass, Penguin 1992. Awarded with Prix Médicis étranger – France Oceano Mare, Rizzoli 1993, Ocean Sea, awarded with Palazzo al Bosco — Italy Novecento. Un monologo, Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore, Milan,1994, Novecento, seta, Rizzoli 1996, Silk, ISBN 978-0-307-27797-8,1996. Senza sangue, Rizzoli 2002, Without Blood ISBN 1-4000-3478-7,2002, Totem, a literary and musical happening staged in various locations throughout Italy with varying structure and contents. In 2001 Rizzoli published the video of Totem recorded in Milan in 1997, davila Roa, staged only once by director Luca Ronconi. Reportedly a huge fiasco, it was never published in written form, cronache dal Grande Show, Feltrinelli 1995 Barnum 2. Altre cronache del Grande Show, Feltrinelli 1998 Next, piccolo libro sulla globalizzazione e il mondo che verrà, Feltrinelli 2002 Il nuovo Barnum, Feltrinelli 2016 Il genio in fuga. Prix Médicis étranger — France Selezione Campiello — Italy Viareggio – Italy Palazzo al Bosco – Italy Alessandro Baricco at the Berlin International Literature Festival 2002/03
8.
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
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The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was one of the most significant events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Many of those on the Cortés expedition of 1519 had never seen combat before, in fact, Cortés had never commanded men in battle before. However, there was a generation of Spaniards who participated in expeditions in the Caribbean and Tierra Firme, learning strategy. The Spanish conquest of Mexico had antecedents with established practices, in their advance, the allies were tricked and ambushed several times by the people they encountered. When Cortés left Tenochtitlan to return to the coast and deal with the expedition of Pánfilo de Narváez, Alvarado allowed a significant Aztec feast to be celebrated in Tenochtitlan and on the pattern of the earlier massacre in Cholula, closed off the square and massacred the celebrating Aztec noblemen. The biography of Cortés by Francisco López de Gómara contains a description of the massacre, the Alvarado massacre at the Main Temple of Tenochtitlan precipitated rebellion by the population of the city. When the captured emperor Motecuhzoma II, now seen as a puppet of the invading Spaniards, attempted to calm the outraged populace. Cortés had returned to Tenochtitlan and his men fled the city during the Noche Triste in June,1520. The Spanish, Tlaxcalans and reinforcements returned a year later on August 13,1521 to a civilization that had wiped out by famine. This made it easier to conquer the remaining Aztecs, the fall of the Aztec Empire was the key event in the formation of the Spanish overseas empire, with New Spain, which later became Mexico, a major component. The Spanish conquerors could and did write accounts that narrated the conquest from the first landfalls in Mexico to the victory over the Mexica in Tenochtitlan on August 13,1521. Indigenous accounts are from particular native viewpoints and as the events had a impact on their polity. All accounts of the conquest, Spanish and indigenous alike, have biases, in general, Spanish accounts do not credit their indigenous allies support. Individual conquerors accounts exaggerate that individuals contribution to the conquest, downplaying other conquerors, indigenous allies accounts stress their loyalty to the Spanish and their particular aid as being key to the Spanish victory. Their accounts are similar to Spanish conquerors accounts contained in petitions for rewards and these were almost immediately published in Spain and later in other parts of Europe. Interestingly, Cortéss right-hand man, Pedro de Alvarado did not write at any length about his actions in the New World, two letters to Cortés about Alvarados campaigns in Guatemala are published in The Conquistadors. Rather than it being a petition for rewards for services, as many Spanish accounts were, the account was used by eighteenth-century Jesuit Francisco Javier Clavijero in his descriptions of the history of Mexico. On the indigenous side, the allies of Cortés, particularly the Tlaxcalans, wrote extensively about their services to the Spanish Crown in the conquest, the most important of these are the pictorial Lienzo de Tlaxcala and the Historia de Tlaxcala by Diego Muñoz Camargo
9.
Florentine Codex
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The Florentine Codex is a 16th-century ethnographic research study in Mesoamerica by the Spanish Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún. Sahagún originally titled it, La Historia Universal de las Cosas de Nueva España, after a translation mistake, it was given the name Historia general de las Cosas de Nueva España. The best-preserved manuscript is commonly referred to as The Florentine Codex, as it is held in the Laurentian Library of Florence, Italy. In partnership with Nahua men who were formerly his students at the Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco, Sahagún conducted research, organized evidence, wrote and he worked on this project from 1545 up until his death in 1590. The work consists of 2,400 pages organized into twelve books and it documents the culture, religious cosmology and ritual practices, society, economics, and natural history of the Aztec people. It has been described as “one of the most remarkable accounts of a non-Western culture ever composed. ”The Americans Charles E. Dibble and Arthur J. O. Anderson were the first to translate the Codex from Nahuatl to English, in a project that took 30 years to complete. In 2012 high-resolution scans of all volumes of The Florentine Codex, in Nahuatl and Spanish, the three bound volumes of the Florentine Codex are found in the Biblioteca Medicea-Laurenziana, Palat. 218-220 in Florence, Italy, with the title Florentine Codex chosen by its English translators, Anderson and Charles Dibble, following in the tradition of nineteenth-century Mexican scholars Francisco del Paso y Troncoso and Joaquín García Icazbalceta. The manuscript became part of the collection of the library in Florence at some point after its creation in the sixteenth century. It was not until the eighteenth century that scholars become aware of it. The work became more known in the nineteenth century, with a description published by P. Fr. The Spanish Royal Academy of History learned of work and, at the 5th meeting of the International Congress of Americanists. In 1888 German scholar Eduard Seler presented a description of the illustrations at the 7th meeting of the International Congress of Americanists, Mexican scholar Francisco del Paso y Troncoso received permission in 1893 from the Italian government to copy the alphabetic text and the illustrations. The three-volume manuscript of the Florentine Codex has been analyzed and compared to earlier drafts found in Madrid. The Tolosa Manuscript was known in the 1860s and studied by José Fernando Ramírez The Tolosa Manuscript has been source for all published editions in Spanish of the Historia General. The English translation of the complete Nahuatl text of all volumes of the Florentine Codex was a decades-long work of Arthur J. O. Anderson and Charles Dibble, a contribution to the scholarship on Mesoamerican ethno-history. In 1979 the Mexican government published a full-color, three-volume facsimile of the Florentine Codex in an edition of 2,000
10.
Lope de Vega
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Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio was a Spanish playwright, poet, novelist and marine. He was one of the key figures in the Spanish Golden Century of Baroque literature, nicknamed The Phoenix of Wits and Prodigy of Nature by Miguel de Cervantes, Lope de Vega renewed the Spanish theatre at a time when it was starting to become a mass cultural phenomenon. He defined its key characteristics, and along with Calderón de la Barca and Tirso de Molina, because of the insight, depth and ease of his plays, he is regarded as one of the greatest dramatists in Western literature, his plays still being produced worldwide. He was also one of the best lyric poets in the Spanish language, some 3,000 sonnets,3 novels,4 novellas,9 epic poems, and about 500 plays are attributed to him. Although he has criticised for putting quantity ahead of quality. Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio was born in Madrid to a family of undistinguished origins and his father, Félix de Vega, was an embroiderer. Little is known of his mother, Francisca Fernández Flórez and he later added the distinguished name of Carpio from one of his in-laws. After a brief stay in Valladolid, his father moved to Madrid in 1561, however, Lope de Vega would later affirm that his father arrived in Madrid through a love affair from which his future mother was to rescue him. Thus the writer became the fruit of reconciliation and owed his existence to the same jealousies he would later analyze so much in his dramatic works. The first indications of young Lopes genius became apparent in his earliest years and his friend and biographer Pérez de Montalbán stated that at the age of five he was already reading Spanish and Latin, and by his tenth birthday he was translating Latin verse. His great talent bore him to the school of poet and musician Vicente Espinel in Madrid, in his fourteenth year he continued his studies in the Colegio Imperial, a Jesuit school in Madrid, from which he absconded to take part in a military expedition in Portugal. Following that escapade, he had the fortune of being taken into the protection of the Bishop of Ávila. Following graduation Lope had planned to follow in his patrons footsteps and join the priesthood, thus he failed to attain a bachelors degree and made what living he could as a secretary to aristocrats or by writing plays. Following this he returned to Madrid and began his career as a playwright in earnest and he also began a love affair with Elena Osorio, who was separated from her husband, actor Cristóbal Calderón, and was the daughter of a leading theater director. He went into exile undaunted, taking him the 16-year-old Isabel de Alderete y Urbina, known in his poems by the anagram Belisa. The two married under pressure from her family on 10 May 1588. Just a few later, on the 29th of May, Lope signed up for another tour of duty with the Spanish Navy, this was the summer of 1588. It is likely that his enlistment was the condition required by Isabels family, eager to be rid of such an ill presentable son-in-law
11.
Heinrich Heine
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Christian Johann Heinrich Heine was a German poet, journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his lyric poetry. Heines later verse and prose are distinguished by their satirical wit and he is considered part of the Young Germany movement. His radical political views led to many of his works being banned by German authorities, Heine spent the last 25 years of his life as an expatriate in Paris. Heine was born at Düsseldorf in what was then the Duchy of Berg and he was called Harry in childhood but became known as Heinrich after his conversion to Lutheranism in 1825. Heines father, Samson Heine, was a textile merchant and his mother Peira, née van Geldern, was the daughter of a physician. Heinrich was the eldest of four children, Heine was also a third cousin once removed of philosopher and economist Karl Marx, also born to a German Jewish family in the Rhineland, with whom he became a frequent correspondent in later life. Düsseldorf was then a town with a population of around 16,000. The French Revolution and subsequent Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars involving Germany complicated Düsseldorfs political history during Heines childhood and it had been the capital of the Duchy of Jülich-Berg, but was under French occupation at the time of his birth. It then went to the Elector of Bavaria before being ceded to Napoleon in 1806 and it was first ruled by Joachim Murat, then by Napoleon himself. Upon Napoleons downfall in 1815 it became part of Prussia, thus Heines formative years were spent under French influence. The adult Heine would always be devoted to the French for introduction of the Napoleonic Code and he glossed over the negative aspects of French rule in Berg, heavy taxation, conscription, and economic depression brought about by the Continental Blockade. Heines parents were not particularly devout, as a young child they sent him to a Jewish school where he learned a smattering of Hebrew, but thereafter he attended Catholic schools. Here he learned French, which would be his second language - although he spoke it with a German accent. He also acquired a love for Rhineland folklore. In 1814 Heine went to a school in Düsseldorf where he learned to read English. The most successful member of the Heine family was his uncle Salomon Heine, in 1816 Heine moved to Hamburg to become an apprentice at Heckscher & Co, his uncles bank, but displayed little aptitude for business. He learned to hate Hamburg with its ethos, but it would become one of the poles of his life alongside Paris
12.
Nahuatl
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Nahuatl, known historically as Aztec, is a language or group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by an estimated 1.5 million Nahua peoples, all Nahuan languages are indigenous to Mesoamerica. Nahuatl has been spoken in central Mexico since at least the seventh century CE and it was the language of the Aztecs who dominated what is now central Mexico during the Late Postclassic period of Mesoamerican history. This early literary language based on the Tenochtitlan variety has been labeled Classical Nahuatl, today, Nahuan languages are spoken in scattered communities, mostly in rural areas throughout central Mexico and along the coastline. There are considerable differences among varieties, and some are mutually unintelligible, Huasteca Nahuatl, with over one million speakers, is the most-spoken variety. They have all been subject to varying degrees of influence from Spanish, No modern Nahuan languages are identical to Classical Nahuatl, but those spoken in and around the Valley of Mexico are generally more closely related to it than those on the periphery. Nahuan languages exhibit a complex morphology characterized by polysynthesis and agglutination, through a very long period of coexistence with the other indigenous Mesoamerican languages, they have absorbed many influences, coming to form part of the Mesoamerican language area. Many words from Nahuatl have been borrowed into Spanish, and since diffused into hundreds of other languages, most of these loanwords denote things indigenous to central Mexico which the Spanish heard mentioned for the first time by their Nahuatl names. English words of Nahuatl origin include avocado, chayote, chili, chocolate, atlatl, coyote, peyote, axolotl, as a language label, the term Nahuatl encompasses a group of closely related languages or divergent dialects within the Nahuan branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. The Mexican Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas recognize 30 different individual varieties within the language group labeled Nahuatl, the Ethnologue recognizes 28 varieties with separate ISO codes. Sometimes the label also is used to include the Pipil language of El Salvador, within Mexico the question of whether to consider individual varieties to be languages or dialects of a single language is highly political. This article focuses on describing the history of the group. For details on individual varieties or subgroups, see the individual articles, in the past, the branch of Uto-Aztecan to which Nahuatl belongs has been called Aztecan. From the 1990s onward, the alternative designation Nahuan has been used as a replacement especially in Spanish-language publications. The Nahuan branch of Uto-Aztecan is widely accepted as having two divisions, General Aztec and Pochutec, General Aztec encompasses the Nahuatl and Pipil languages. Pochutec is a scantily attested language, which became extinct in the 20th century, other researchers have argued that Pochutec should be considered a divergent variant of the western periphery. Nahuatl denotes at least Classical Nahuatl together with related languages spoken in Mexico. The inclusion of Pipil into the group is debated, current subclassification of Nahuatl rests on research by Canger, Canger and Lastra de Suárez
13.
National Theatre (Prague)
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The National Theatre in Prague is known as the alma mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art. Today the National Theatre consists of three ensembles, opera, ballet and drama. They alternate in their performances in the building of the National Theatre, in the Theatre of the Estates. All three artistic ensembles select their repertoire both from classical heritage, and modern authors, the cornerstone of the National Theatre was laid on 16 May 1868, but the idea of building a theatre dates back to the autumn of 1844 at the gatherings of patriots in Prague. Simultaneously with the realization of this minimal programme asserted by F. L, rieger and the Provincial Committee, the young progressive advocates of the original ambitious concept of the building launched an offensive. He then came out on top in an open competition. On 16 May 1868, the stone was laid. In 1875 the new building reached its height and in 1877 the theatre was roofed over. As of 1873 there was a competition for the interior decoration of the building. On the one hand, the themes were in the spirit of the Neo-Renaissance concept of a classic building and they provided the fundamental ideology guiding artistic expression, which today is described as the art of the generation of the National Theatre. The National Theatre was opened for the first time on 11 June 1881, bedřich Smetanas opera Libuše was given its world premiere, conducted by Adolf Čech. Another 11 performances were presented after that, then the theatre was closed down to enable the completion of the finishing touches. While this work was under way a fire out on 12 August 1881, which destroyed the copper dome, the auditorium. The fire was seen as a catastrophe and was met with a mighty wave of determination to take up a new collection. This national enthusiasm, however, did not correspond to the battles that flared up following the catastrophe. Architect Josef Zítek was no longer in the running, and his pupil architect Josef Schulz was summoned to work on the reconstruction. He was the one to assert the expansion of the edifice to include the block of flats belonging to Dr. Polák that was situated behind the building of the Provisional Theatre. He made this building a part of the National Theatre and simultaneously changed somewhat the area of the auditorium to improve visibility
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Voice type
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Other considerations are physical characteristics, speech level, scientific testing, and vocal register. A singers voice type is identified by a known as voice classification, by which the human voice is evaluated. The discipline of voice classification developed within European classical music and is not generally applicable to other forms of singing, voice classification is often used within opera to associate possible roles with potential voices. Voice classification is a tool for singers, composers, venues, while useful, voice classification systems have been used too rigidly, i. e. a house assigning a singer to a specific type and only casting him or her in roles they consider belonging to this category. A singer will choose a repertoire that suits his or her instrument, many different voice types are used in vocal pedagogy in a variety of voice classification systems. Most of these types, however, are grouped into seven major categories that are, for the most part. Women are typically divided into three groups, soprano, mezzo-soprano, and alto, men are usually divided into four groups, countertenor, tenor, baritone, and bass. Some women fall into the tenor or baritone groups, while men identified as countertenors can be grouped as contralto, mezzo-soprano, when considering the pre-pubescent voice, an eighth term, treble, is applied. Within each of these categories, subcategories identify specific vocal qualities such as coloratura facility. The vocal range of classical performance covers about five octaves, from a low G1 to a high G6, any individuals voice can perform over a range of one and a half to more than two octaves. Vocal ranges are grouped into overlapping types that each span two octaves. Many singers fall between groups and can perform some parts in either type, soprano range, The soprano is the highest singing voice. The typical soprano voice lies between C4 and C6, the low extreme for sopranos is roughly A3. Most soprano roles do not extend above C6 although there are several standard soprano roles that call for D6, at the highest extreme, some coloratura soprano roles may reach to F6. Soprano tessitura, The tessitura of the soprano voice lies higher than all the other voices except the sopranino, in particular, the coloratura soprano has the highest tessitura of all the soprano subtypes. Soprano subtypes, As with all types, sopranos are often divided into different subcategories based on range, vocal color or timbre, the weight of voice. Sopranos are often broken down into five subcategories, coloratura soprano, soubrette, lyric soprano, spinto soprano, two types of soprano especially dear to the French are the Dugazon and the Falcon, which are intermediate voice types between the soprano and the mezzo soprano. A Dugazon is a darker-colored soubrette, a Falcon a darker-colored soprano drammatico
15.
Moctezuma II
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During his reign the Aztec Empire reached its greatest size. Through warfare, Moctezuma expanded the territory as far south as Xoconosco in Chiapas and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and he changed the previous meritocratic system of social hierarchy and widened the divide between pipiltin and macehualtin by prohibiting commoners from working in the royal palaces. The portrayal of Moctezuma in history has mostly been colored by his role as ruler of a defeated nation, the biases of some historical sources make it difficult to understand his actions during the Spanish invasion. Moctezuma had many wives and concubines but only two women were his Queens – Tlapalizquixochtzin and Teotlalco and he was also a King Consort of Ecatepec because Tlapalizquixochtzin was Queen of that city. His many children included Princess Isabel Moctezuma — and sons Chimalpopoca, the Nahuatl pronunciation of his name is. It is a compound of a noun meaning lord and a meaning to frown in anger. The Aztecs did not use numbers, they were given retroactively by historians to more easily distinguish him from the first Moctezuma. The Aztec chronicles called him Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin, while the first was called Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina or Huehuemotecuhzoma, the descriptions of the life of Moctezuma are full of contradictions, and thus nothing is known for certain about his personality and rule. He did not wear his hair long but just over his ears and his face was rather long and cheerful, he had fine eyes, and in his appearance and manner could express geniality or, when necessary, a serious composure. He was very neat and clean, and took a bath every afternoon and he had many women as his mistresses, the daughters of chieftains, but two legitimate wives who were Caciques in their own right, and only some of his servants knew of it. He was quite free from sodomy, the clothes he wore one day he did not wear again till three or four days later. He had a guard of two hundred chieftains lodged in rooms beside his own, only some of whom were permitted to speak to him. It was stated that he had reigned for seventeen years, and was the best king they ever had in Mexico, I have spoken of the sorrow we all felt when we saw that Montezuma was dead. We even blamed the Mercederian friar for not having persuaded him to become a Christian, Moctezuma in particular is depicted unfavorably as a weak-willed, superstitious, and indulgent ruler. Historian James Lockhart suggests that the people needed to have a scapegoat for the Aztec defeat, unlike Bernal Díaz, who was recording his memories many years after the fact, Cortés wrote his Cartas de relación to justify his actions to the Spanish Crown. His prose is characterized by descriptions and explanations, along with frequent personal addresses to the King. They came in two columns, pressed very close to the walls of the street, which is wide and beautiful. Mutezuma came down the middle of street with two chiefs, one on his right hand and the other on his left
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Tenor
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Tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is one of the highest of the male voice types. The tenors vocal range lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, and A4, the A above middle C, in solo work, this range extends up to C5, or tenor high C. The low extreme for tenors is roughly A♭2, at the highest extreme, some tenors can sing up to two Fs above middle C. The tenor voice type is divided into the leggero tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor. The name tenor derives from the Latin word tenere, which means to hold, in medieval and Renaissance polyphony between about 1250 and 1500, the tenor was the structurally fundamental voice, vocal or instrumental. All other voices were normally calculated in relation to the tenor, until the late 16th century introduction of the contratenor singers, the tenor was usually the highest voice, assuming the role of providing a foundation. It was also in the 18th century that tenor came to signify the male voice that sang such parts, thus, for earlier repertoire, a line marked tenor indicated the parts role, and not the required voice type. Indeed, even as late as the century, partbooks labelled tenor might contain parts for a range of voice types. The vocal range of the tenor is one of the highest of the voice types. Within opera, the lowest note in the tenor repertoire is probably A♭2 in Rossinis rarely performed La donna del lago in the role of Rodrigo di Dhu. Within more frequently performed repertoire, Mime and Herod both call for an A2, a few tenor roles in the standard repertoire call for a tenor C. Some of the few top Cs in the operatic repertoire are either optional or interpolated by tradition. However, the highest demanded note in the standard operatic repertoire is D5. Some operatic roles for tenors require a darker timbre and fewer high notes, in the leggero repertoire, the highest note is F5, therefore, very few tenors can, given the raising of concert pitch since its composition, have this role in their repertoire without transposition. Within the tenor voice type category are seven generally recognized subcategories, leggero tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor, Mozart tenor, Also known as the tenore di grazia, the leggero tenor is essentially the male equivalent of a lyric coloratura. This voice is light, agile, and capable of executing difficult passages of fioritura, the typical leggero tenor possesses a range spanning from approximately C3 to E♭5, with a few being able to sing up to F5 or higher in full voice. In some cases, the chest register of the leggero tenor may extend below C3, voices of this type are utilized frequently in the operas of Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini and in music dating from the Baroque period. Leggero tenor roles in operas, The lyric tenor is a warm voice with a bright, full timbre that is strong but not heavy
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Baritone
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A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice types. It is the most common male voice, the baritone voice type is generally divided into the baryton-Martin baritone, lyric baritone, Kavalierbariton, Verdi baritone, dramatic baritone, baryton-noble baritone, and the bass-baritone. The first use of the term baritone emerged as baritonans, late in the 15th century, at this early stage it was frequently used as the lowest of the voices, but in 17th-century Italy the term was all-encompassing and used to describe the average male choral voice. Baritones took roughly the range as it is today at the beginning of the 18th century. Indeed, many works of the 18th century have roles marked as bass that in reality are low baritone roles. Examples of this are to be found, for instance, in the operas, the greatest and most enduring parts for baritones in 18th-century operatic music were composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. They include Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Papageno in The Magic Flute and these included the likes of Filippo Galli, Giovanni Inchindi, and Henri-Bernard Dabadie. The basse-taille and the bass were commonly confused because their roles were sometimes sung by singers of either actual voice part. The bel canto style of vocalism which arose in Italy in the early 19th century supplanted the castrato-dominated opera seria of the previous century and it led to the baritone being viewed as a separate voice category from the bass. More often than not, however, baritones found themselves portraying villains, the principal composers of bel canto opera are considered to be, Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti, Vincenzo Bellini, Giacomo Meyerbeer, and the young Giuseppe Verdi. Figaro in Il barbiere is often called the first true baritone role, however, Donizetti and Verdi in their vocal writing went on to emphasize the top fifth of the baritone voice, rather than its lower notes—thus generating a more brilliant sound. The major international baritone of the first half of the 19th century was the Italian Antonio Tamburini and he was a famous Don Giovanni in Mozarts eponymous opera as well as being a Bellini and Donizetti specialist. Commentators praised his voice for its beauty, flexibility and smooth tonal emission, Tamburinis range, however, was probably closer to that of a bass-baritone than to that of a modern Verdi baritone. His French equivalent was Henri-Bernard Dabadie, who was a mainstay of the Paris Opera between 1819 and 1836 and the creator of several major Rossinian baritone roles, including Guillaume Tell. Dabadie sang in Italy, too, where he originated the role of Belcore in Lelisir damore in 1832, the most important of Tamburinis Italianate successors were all Verdians. In France, Paul Barroilhet succeeded Dabadie as the Paris operas best known baritone, like Dabadie, he also sang in Italy and created an important Donizetti role, in his case, Alphonse in La favorite. Antonio Pini-Corsi was the standout Italian buffo baritone in the period between about 1880 and World War I, reveling in comic roles by Rossini, Donizetti and Paer. In 1893, he created the part of Ford in Verdis last opera, notable among their contemporaries were the cultured and technically adroit French baritones Jean Lassalle, Victor Maurel, Paul Lhérie, and Maurice Renaud
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Bass (voice type)
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A bass is a type of classical male singing voice and has the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C. Its tessitura, or comfortable range, is defined by the outermost lines of the bass clef. Categories of bass voices vary according to style and classification system. Italians favour subdividing basses into the basso cantante, basso buffo, the American system identifies the bass-baritone, comic bass, lyric bass, and dramatic bass. The German fach system offers further distinctions, Spielbaß, Schwerer Spielbaß, Charakterbaß, rare is the performer who embodies a single fach without also touching repertoire from another category. Cultural influence and individual variation create a variation in range. Many British composers such as Benjamin Britten have written parts for bass that center far higher than the bass tessitura as implied by the clef, the Harvard Dictionary of Music defines the range as being from the E below low C to middle C. The bass has the lowest vocal range of all voice types, the low extreme for basses is generally C2. However, several extreme bass singers, referred to as basso profondos, within opera, the lowest note in the standard bass repertoire is D2, sung by the character Osmin in Mozarts Die Entführung aus dem Serail, but few roles fall below F2. The high extreme, a few roles in the standard repertoire call for a high F♯ or G. In the operatic repertoire, the highest notes are a G♯4 and, in the aria Fra lombre e glorrori in Handels serenata Aci. Basso cantante is a higher, more lyrical voice and it is produced using a more Italianate vocal production, and possesses a faster vibrato, than its closest Germanic/Anglo-Saxon equivalent, the bass-baritone. Hoher Bass or high bass or often a dramatic bass-baritone, jugendlicher Bass denotes the role of a young man sung by a bass, regardless of the age of the singer. They are usually the blustering antagonist of the hero/heroine or the fool in bel canto operas. English equivalent, dramatic bass Basso profondo is the lowest bass voice type, steane in Voices, Singers & Critics, the basso profondo voice derives from a method of tone-production that eliminates the more Italian quick vibrato. In its place is a kind of tonal solidity, a front, which may nevertheless prove susceptible to the other kind of vibrato. Dramatic basso profondo is a basso profondo voice
19.
Pedro de Alvarado
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Pedro de Alvarado y Contreras was a Spanish conquistador and governor of Guatemala. He participated in the conquest of Cuba, in Juan de Grijalvas exploration of the coasts of the Yucatán Peninsula and the Gulf of Mexico and he is considered the conquistador of much of Central America, including Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Historiography portrays that indigenous people, both Nahuatl-speakers and speakers of languages, called him Tonatiuh, meaning sun in the Nahuatl language. Yet he was also called Red Sun in Nahuatl, which allows a variety of interpretations, whether this epithet refers to Alvarados red hair, some esoteric quality attributed to him, or both, is disputed. Pedro de Alvarado was flamboyant and charismatic, and was both a brilliant military commander and a cruel, hardened man and his hair and beard were blond, which earned him the name of Tonatiuh from the Aztecs, the name of one of their sun gods. He was handsome, and presented an appearance, but was volatile. He was ruthless in his dealings with the peoples he set out to conquer. Historians judge that his greed drove him to excessive cruelty, and he was a poor governor of territories he had conquered, and restlessly sought out new adventures. His tactical brutality, such as the massacre in the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan and he was also accused of cruelty against fellow Spaniards. Alvarado was little suited to govern, when he held governing positions and his letters show no interest in civil matters, and he only discussed exploration and war. Alvarado stubbornly resisted attempts by the Spanish Crown to establish ordered taxation in Guatemala, american historian William H. Prescott described Alvarados character in the following terms, Alvarado was a cavalier of high family, gallant and chivalrous, and warm personal friend. He had talents for action, was possessed of firmness and intrepidity, while his frank, but, underneath this showy exterior, the future conqueror of Guatemala concealed a heart rash, rapacious, and cruel. He was altogether destitute of that moderation, which, in the position he occupied, was a quality of more worth than all the rest. Spanish chronicler Antonio de Remesal commented that Alvarado desired more to be feared than loved by his subjects, in his easy recourse to violence, Alvarado was a product of his time, and Alvarado was not the only conquistador to have resorted to such actions. Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro carried out deeds of similar cruelty, Pedro de Alvarado was born in 1485 in the town of Badajoz, Extremadura. His father was Gómez de Alvarado, and his mother was Leonor de Contreras, Pedro de Alvarado had a twin sister, Sarra, and four full-blood brothers, Jorge, Gonzalo, Gómez, and Juan. Pedro had a half brother, also named Juan, referred to in contemporary sources as Juan el Bastardo. Very little is known of Pedro de Alvarados early life before his arrival in the Americas, during the conquest of the Americas, tales of his youthful exploits in Spain became popular legends, but their veracity is doubtful
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La Malinche
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She was one of 20 women slaves given to the Spaniards by the natives of Tabasco in 1519. Later, she became a mistress to Cortés and gave birth to his first son, Martín, the historical figure of Marina has been intermixed with Aztec legends. In Mexico today, La Malinche remains iconically potent and she is understood in various and often conflicting aspects as the embodiment of treachery, the quintessential victim, or simply as symbolic mother of the new Mexican people. The term malinchista refers to a disloyal countryperson, especially in Mexico, La Malinche was born sometime between 1496 and 1501, in the region between the Aztec-ruled Valley of Mexico and the Maya states of the Yucatán Peninsula. She was named Malinalli after the Goddess of Grass, and later Tenepal meaning one who speaks with liveliness, in her youth, her father Cacique of Paynala died, and her mother remarried another Cacique and bore a son. Now a stepchild, the girl was given to people from Xicalango. Bernal Díaz del Castillo claims Malinallis family faked her death by telling the townspeople that a deceased child of a slave was Malinalli. The Xicalango gave the child to the Tobascans, Malinalli was introduced to the Spanish in April 1519, when she was among 20 slave women given by the Chontal Maya of Potonchán after the Spaniards defeated them in battle. At this time, she was probably in her teens or early 20s. Bernal Díaz del Castillo remarked on her beauty and graciousness, she was the one of the slaves whose name he remembered. Cortés singled her out as a gift for Alonso Hernandez Puertocarrero, according to Díaz, she spoke to emissaries from Moctezuma in their native tongue Nahuatl and pointed to Cortés as the chief Spaniard to speak for them. Cortés had located a Spanish priest, Gerónimo de Aguilar, who had spent several years in captivity among the Maya peoples in Yucatán following a shipwreck, thus, he had learned some Mayan, but he did not speak Nahuatl. Cortés used Marina for translating between the Nahuatl language and the Chontal Maya language, then Aguilar could interpret from Mayan to Spanish until Marina learned Spanish and could be the sole interpreter. She accompanied Cortés so closely that Aztec codices always show her picture drawn alongside of Cortés, the natives of Tlaxcala, who formed an alliance with Cortés against Moctezuma, called both Marina and Cortés by the same name, Malintzin. According to surviving records, Marina learned of a plan by natives of Cholula to cooperate with the Aztecs to destroy the small Spanish army and she alerted Cortés to the danger and even pretended to be cooperating with her native informants while Cortés foiled their plot to trap his men. Cortés turned the tables on them and slaughtered many Cholulans, in this manner, she is often considered as a traitor by many and her name is not revered among many locals. Historians such as Prescott generally lost track of Marina after her journey to Central America, some contemporary scholars have estimated that she died less than a decade after the conquest of Mexico-Tenochtitlan at some point in 1529. Historian Sir Hugh Thomas in his book Conquest reports the date of her death as 1551, deduced from letters he discovered in Spain alluding to her as alive in 1550
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Tenochtitlan
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Mexico-Tenochtitlan, commonly known as Tenochtitlan was a Mexica located on an island in Lake Texcoco, in the Valley of Mexico. Founded on June 20,1325, it became the capital of the expanding Aztec Empire in the 15th century, at its peak it was the largest city in the Pre-Columbian Americas. It subsequently became a cabecera of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, today the ruins of Tenochtitlan are located in Mexico Citys downtown. Tenochtitlan was one of two Nahua āltēpetl on the island, the other being Tlatelolco, traditionally, the name Tenochtitlan was thought to come from Nahuatl tetl and nōchtli and is often thought to mean, Among the prickly pears rocks. However, one attestation in the late 16th-century manuscript known as the Bancroft dialogues suggest the second vowel was short, Tenochtitlan covered an estimated 8 to 13.5 km2, situated on the western side of the shallow Lake Texcoco. At the time of Spanish conquests, Mexico City comprised both Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco, the city was connected to the mainland by causeways leading to the north, south, and west. The causeways were interrupted by bridges that allowed canoes and other traffic to pass freely. The bridges could be pulled away, if necessary, to defend the city, the city was interlaced with a series of canals, so that all sections of the city could be visited either on foot or via canoe. Lake Texcoco was the largest of five interconnected lakes, since it formed in an endorheic basin, Lake Texcoco was brackish. During the reign of Moctezuma I, the levee of Nezahualcoyotl was constructed, estimated to be 12 to 16 km in length, the levee was completed circa 1453. The levee kept fresh spring-fed water in the waters around Tenochtitlan and kept the brackish waters beyond the dike, two double aqueducts, each more than 4 km long and made of terracotta, provided the city with fresh water from the springs at Chapultepec. This was intended mainly for cleaning and washing, for drinking, water from mountain springs was preferred. Most of the population liked to bathe twice a day, Moctezuma was said to take four baths a day. According to the context of Aztec culture in literature, the soap that they most likely used was the root of a plant called copalxocotl, and to clean their clothes they used the root of metl. Also, the classes and pregnant women washed themselves in a temazcalli, similar to a sauna bath. This was also popular in other Mesoamerican cultures, and some of our soldiers even asked whether the things that we saw were not a dream. I do not know how to describe it, seeing things as we did that had never heard of or seen before. The city was divided into four zones, or campan, each campan was divided into 20 districts, there were three main streets that crossed the city, each leading to one of the three causeways to the mainland of Tepeyac, Ixtapalpa, and Tlacopan
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Gulf of Mexico
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The Gulf of Mexico is an ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. The U. S. states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas border the Gulf on the north, Atlantic and Pacific coasts, or sometimes the south coast, in juxtaposition to the Great Lakes region being the north coast. One of the seven main areas is the Gulf of Mexico basin. The Gulf of Mexico formed approximately 300 million years ago as a result of plate tectonics, the Gulfs basin is roughly oval and is approximately 810 nautical miles wide and floored by sedimentary rocks and recent sediments. It is connected to part of the Atlantic Ocean through the Florida Straits between the U. S. and Cuba, and with the Caribbean Sea via the Yucatan Channel between Mexico and Cuba, with the narrow connection to the Atlantic, the Gulf experiences very small tidal ranges. The size of the Gulf basin is approximately 1.6 million km2, almost half of the basin is shallow continental shelf waters. The basin contains a volume of roughly 2,500 quadrillion liters, the consensus among geologists who have studied the geology of the Gulf of Mexico, is that prior to the Late Triassic, the Gulf of Mexico did not exist. It was created by the collision of plates that formed Pangea. As interpreted by Roy Van Arsdale and Randel T. Cox, geologists and other Earth scientists agree in general that the present Gulf of Mexico basin originated in Late Triassic time as the result of rifting within Pangea. The rifting was associated with zones of weakness within Pangea, including sutures where the Laurentia, South American, first, there was a Late Triassic-Early Jurassic phase of rifting during which rift valleys formed and filled with continental red beds. Second, as rifting progressed through Early and Middle Jurassic time and it was at this time that tectonics first created a connection to the Pacific Ocean across central Mexico and later eastward to the Atlantic Ocean. This flooded the basin created by rifting and crustal thinning to create the Gulf of Mexico. While the Gulf of Mexico was a basin, the subsiding transitional crust was blanketed by the widespread deposition of Louann Salt. Initially, during the Late Jurassic, continued rifting widened the Gulf of Mexico and progressed to the point that sea-floor spreading, at this point, sufficient circulation with the Atlantic Ocean was established that the deposition of Louann Salt ceased. During the Late Jurassic through Early Cretaceous, the occupied by the Gulf of Mexico experienced a period of cooling. The subsidence was the result of a combination of stretching, cooling. Initially, the combination of stretching and cooling caused about 5–7 km of tectonic subsidence of the central thin transitional
23.
Mexico City
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Mexico City, or City of Mexico, is the capital and most populous city of Mexico. As an alpha global city, Mexico City is one of the most important financial centers in the Americas and it is located in the Valley of Mexico, a large valley in the high plateaus at the center of Mexico, at an altitude of 2,240 metres. The city consists of sixteen municipalities, the 2009 estimated population for the city proper was approximately 8.84 million people, with a land area of 1,485 square kilometres. The Greater Mexico City has a domestic product of US$411 billion in 2011. The city was responsible for generating 15. 8% of Mexicos Gross Domestic Product, as a stand-alone country, in 2013, Mexico City would be the fifth-largest economy in Latin America—five times as large as Costa Ricas and about the same size as Perus. Mexico’s capital is both the oldest capital city in the Americas and one of two founded by Amerindians, the other being Quito. In 1524, the municipality of Mexico City was established, known as México Tenochtitlán, Mexico City served as the political, administrative and financial center of a major part of the Spanish colonial empire. After independence from Spain was achieved, the district was created in 1824. Ever since, the left-wing Party of the Democratic Revolution has controlled both of them, in recent years, the local government has passed a wave of liberal policies, such as abortion on request, a limited form of euthanasia, no-fault divorce, and same-sex marriage. On January 29,2016, it ceased to be called the Federal District and is now in transition to become the countrys 32nd federal entity, giving it a level of autonomy comparable to that of a state. Because of a clause in the Mexican Constitution, however, as the seat of the powers of the federation, it can never become a state, the city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan was founded by the Mexica people in 1325. According to legend, the Mexicas principal god, Huitzilopochtli indicated the site where they were to build their home by presenting an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak. Between 1325 and 1521, Tenochtitlan grew in size and strength, eventually dominating the other city-states around Lake Texcoco, when the Spaniards arrived, the Aztec Empire had reached much of Mesoamerica, touching both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. After landing in Veracruz, Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés advanced upon Tenochtitlan with the aid of many of the native peoples. Cortés put Moctezuma under house arrest, hoping to rule through him, the Aztecs thought the Spaniards were permanently gone, and they elected a new king, Cuitláhuac, but he soon died, the next king was Cuauhtémoc. Cortés began a siege of Tenochtitlan in May 1521, for three months, the city suffered from the lack of food and water as well as the spread of smallpox brought by the Europeans. Cortés and his allies landed their forces in the south of the island, the Spaniards practically razed Tenochtitlan during the final siege of the conquest. Cortés first settled in Coyoacán, but decided to rebuild the Aztec site to erase all traces of the old order and he did not establish a territory under his own personal rule, but remained loyal to the Spanish crown
24.
Valley of Mexico
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The Valley of Mexico is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with the present-day Distrito Federal and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico was a centre for several civilizations, including Teotihuacan, the Toltec. The ancient Aztec term Anahuac and the phrase Basin of Mexico are both used at times to refer to the Valley of Mexico, the Basin of Mexico became a well known site that epitomized the scene of early Classic Mesoamerican cultural development as well. The Valley of Mexico is located in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, the valley contains most of the Mexico City Metropolitan Area, as well as parts of the State of Mexico, Hidalgo, Tlaxcala and Puebla. The Valley of Mexico can be subdivided into four basins, but the largest and this section of the valley in particular is colloquially referred to as the Valley of Mexico. The valley has an altitude of 2,200 meters above sea level and is surrounded by mountains. It is a valley with no natural outlet for water to flow. Within this vulnerable watershed all the fishes were extinct by the end of the 20th century. Hydrologically, the valley has three features, the first feature is the lakebeds of five now-extinct lakes, which are located in the southernmost and largest of the four sub-basins. The other two features are piedmont, and the mountainsides that collect the precipitation that eventually flows to the lake area and these last two are found in all four of the sub-basins of the valley. Today, the Valley drains through a series of canals to the Tula River, and eventually the Pánuco River. Seismic activity is frequent here, and the valley is considered an earthquake prone zone, the valley has been inhabited for at least 12,000 years, attracting humans with its mild climate, abundant game and ability to support large-scale agriculture. Civilizations that have arisen in this include the Teotihuacan the Toltec Empire. When the Spaniards arrived in the Valley of Mexico, it had one of the highest population concentrations in the world with one million people. After the Conquest, the Spaniards rebuilt the largest and most dominant city here, Tenochtitlan, although violence and disease significantly lowered the population of the valley after the Conquest, by 1900 it was again over one million people. The 20th and 21st centuries have seen an explosion of population in the valley along with the growth of industry, since 1900, the population has doubled every fifteen years. Today, around 21 million people live in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area which extends throughout almost all of the valley into the states of Mexico, the growth of a major urban, industrial centre in an enclosed basin has created significant air and water quality issues for the valley. Wind patterns and thermal inversions trap contaminants in the valley, over-extraction of ground water has caused new flooding problems for the city as it sinks below the historic lake floor
25.
Massacre in the Great Temple
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The Massacre in the Great Temple of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan was an episode in the Spanish conquest of Mexico that happened on May 22,1520, of the Julian Calendar. During his absence, Moctezuma asked deputy governor Pedro de Alvarado for permission to celebrate Toxcatl, but after the festivities had started, Alvarado interrupted the celebration, killing almost everyone present at the festival, men, women, and children alike. The few who managed to escape the massacre climbing over the walls proceeded to inform the community of the treacherous Spaniards atrocity, while differing so on Alvarados specific motive, both accounts are in basic agreement that the celebrants were unarmed and that the massacre was without warning and unprovoked. They came into the patio, armed for battle and they came to close the exits, the steps, the entrances, The Gate of the Eagle in the smallest palace, The Gate of the Canestalk and the Gate of the Snake of Mirrors. And when they had closed them, no one could get out anywhere, once they had done this, they entered the Sacred Patio to kill people. They came on foot, carrying swords and wooden and metal shields, immediately, they surrounded those who danced, then rushed to the place where the drums were played. They attacked the man who was drumming and cut off both his arms, then they cut off his head that it flew off, falling far away. At that moment, they attacked all the people, stabbing them, spearing them. They struck some from behind, who fell instantly to the ground with their entrails hanging out and they cut off the heads of some and smashed the heads of others into little pieces. They struck others in the shoulders and tore their arms from their bodies and they struck some in the thighs and some in the calves. They slashed others in the abdomen and their entrails fell to the earth, there were some who even ran in vain, but their bowels spilled as they ran, they seemed to get their feet entangled with their own entrails. Eager to flee, they found nowhere to go, some tried to escape, but the Spaniards murdered them at the gates while they laughed. Others climbed the walls, but they could not save themselves, others entered the communal house, where they were safe for a while. Others lay down among the victims and pretended to be dead, but if they stood up again they would see them and kill them. The blood of the warriors ran like water as they ran, forming pools, and the Spaniards walked everywhere, searching the communal houses to kill those who were hiding. They ran everywhere, they searched every place, when outside, shouting began, Captains, Mexicas, come here quickly. Come here with all arms, spears, and shields, oh Mexica captains, have been annihilated. Then a roar was heard, screams, people wailed, as they beat their palms against their lips, quickly the captains assembled, as if planned in advance, and carried their spears and shields
26.
Turin
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Turin is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region and was the first capital city of Italy. The city is located mainly on the bank of the Po River, in front of Susa Valley and surrounded by the western Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 892,649 while the population of the area is estimated by Eurostat to be 1.7 million inhabitants. The Turin metropolitan area is estimated by the OECD to have a population of 2.2 million, in 1997 a part of the historical center of Torino was inscribed in the World Heritage List under the name Residences of the Royal House of Savoy. Turin is well known for its Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neo-classical, many of Turins public squares, castles, gardens and elegant palazzi such as Palazzo Madama, were built between the 16th and 18th centuries. This was after the capital of the Duchy of Savoy was moved to Turin from Chambery as part of the urban expansion, the city used to be a major European political center. Turin was Italys first capital city in 1861 and home to the House of Savoy, from 1563, it was the capital of the Duchy of Savoy, then of the Kingdom of Sardinia ruled by the Royal House of Savoy and finally the first capital of the unified Italy. Turin is sometimes called the cradle of Italian liberty for having been the birthplace and home of notable politicians and people who contributed to the Risorgimento, such as Cavour. The city currently hosts some of Italys best universities, colleges, academies, lycea and gymnasia, such as the University of Turin, founded in the 15th century, in addition, the city is home to museums such as the Museo Egizio and the Mole Antonelliana. Turins attractions make it one of the worlds top 250 tourist destinations, Turin is ranked third in Italy, after Milan and Rome, for economic strength. With a GDP of $58 billion, Turin is the worlds 78th richest city by purchasing power, as of 2010, the city has been ranked by GaWC as a Gamma World city. Turin is also home to much of the Italian automotive industry, the Taurini were an ancient Celto-Ligurian Alpine people, who occupied the upper valley of the Po River, in the center of modern Piedmont. In 218 BC, they were attacked by Hannibal as he was allied with their long-standing enemies, the Taurini chief town was captured by Hannibals forces after a three-day siege. As a people they are mentioned in history. It is believed that a Roman colony was established in 27 BC under the name of Castra Taurinorum, both Livy and Strabo mention the Taurinis country as including one of the passes of the Alps, which points to a wider use of the name in earlier times. In the 1st century BC, the Romans created a military camp, the typical Roman street grid can still be seen in the modern city, especially in the neighborhood known as the Quadrilatero Romano. Via Garibaldi traces the path of the Roman citys decumanus which began at the Porta Decumani. The Porta Palatina, on the side of the current city centre, is still preserved in a park near the Cathedral
27.
Symphonic poem
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Poema is an American acoustic singer-songwriter duo from Albuquerque, New Mexico. The group, was signed with Tooth & Nail Records and has released two EPs and a full-length album with them. Elle and Shealeen Puckett, sisters born and raised in the American Southwest, the female duo has been playing music ever since they can remember. At ten and twelve, the equal and opposites would walk to the gas station to play Elvis covers for anyone filling up that day until they made enough money to buy candy. They were surrounded by music their lives, starting with their parents being in bands to playing music since pre-adolescence. The sisters never planned to be professional musicians until a positive reception following a benefit show in 2008 in their hometown of Albuquerque. After pondering shortly after the show, the sisters formed Poema, won a Battle of the Bands competition, in 2009, Poema signed to Tooth & Nail Records. At the time, Elle and Shealeen Puckett were 17 and 19, the record deal came as a result of a personal call from Brandon Ebel, founder and president of Tooth & Nail Records. The call followed a play from a representative whose attention had been caught by one of Poemas performances. Aaron Sprinkle worked with Poema on several projects, in 2014, they announced their separation from Tooth & Nail Records to become an independent band. In 2010, Poema was featured on every date of the Warped Tour in the Girlz Garage, Elle Puckett – lead vocals, guitar Shealeen Puckett – backing vocals, keys Official website
28.
Naxos Records
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Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, the company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong. Naxos is the largest independent classical label in the world and one of the two largest-selling classical labels and it is also one of the largest distributors of independent classical record labels in the world. Since 2009 the company has distributed blu-ray discs, streaming web radio, the company originally was known for its budget pricing of discs, with simpler artwork and design than most other labels. In the 1980s, Naxos primarily recorded central and eastern European symphony orchestras, often with lesser-known conductors to minimize recording costs, in more recent years, Naxos has taken advantage of the expiring copyrights of other companies studio recordings by selling disks remastered from gramophone records. Legal restrictions prevented some of these recordings being sold in the United States, Naxos has also recorded the music of contemporary composers, including Leonardo Balada, Bechara El-Khoury, Laurent Petitgirard and Alla Pavlova. The label has also branched out into jazz, world music, Naxos Spoken Word Library contains non-music products, such as audiobooks and radio dramas. The company produces Super Audio CDs, DVD-Audio and Blu-ray discs, in 2003 it began a paid subscription service for listening on the Internet that offers its complete catalogue and the Naxos Music Library. In 2015 it launched a download and streaming service, ClassicsOnline HD•LL. Like many independent labels, Naxos Records created its own network as an alternative to pre-existing networks. Naxos was so successful that other independent labels began to seek distribution through its network as well, Naxos Global Logistics, based in Poing, near Munich, was founded in 2008 to expand the services offered to its distributed labels, including manufacturing, marketing, and licensing. In 2005 Naxos won the “Label of the Year Award” at Classic FM/Gramophone awards
29.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
30.
YouTube
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YouTube is an American video-sharing website headquartered in San Bruno, California. The service was created by three former PayPal employees—Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim—in February 2005, Google bought the site in November 2006 for US$1.65 billion, YouTube now operates as one of Googles subsidiaries. Unregistered users can watch videos on the site, while registered users are permitted to upload an unlimited number of videos. Videos deemed potentially offensive are available only to registered users affirming themselves to be at least 18 years old, YouTube earns advertising revenue from Google AdSense, a program which targets ads according to site content and audience. YouTube was founded by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim, Hurley had studied design at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Chen and Karim studied computer science together at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Karim could not easily find video clips of either event online, Hurley and Chen said that the original idea for YouTube was a video version of an online dating service, and had been influenced by the website Hot or Not. YouTube began as a venture capital-funded technology startup, primarily from an $11.5 million investment by Sequoia Capital between November 2005 and April 2006, YouTubes early headquarters were situated above a pizzeria and Japanese restaurant in San Mateo, California. The domain name www. youtube. com was activated on February 14,2005, the first YouTube video, titled Me at the zoo, shows co-founder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo. The video was uploaded on April 23,2005, and can still be viewed on the site, YouTube offered the public a beta test of the site in May 2005. The first video to reach one million views was a Nike advertisement featuring Ronaldinho in November 2005. Following a $3.5 million investment from Sequoia Capital in November, the site grew rapidly, and in July 2006 the company announced that more than 65,000 new videos were being uploaded every day, and that the site was receiving 100 million video views per day. The site has 800 million unique users a month and it is estimated that in 2007 YouTube consumed as much bandwidth as the entire Internet in 2000. The choice of the name www. youtube. com led to problems for a similarly named website, the sites owner, Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment, filed a lawsuit against YouTube in November 2006 after being regularly overloaded by people looking for YouTube. Universal Tube has since changed the name of its website to www. utubeonline. com, in October 2006, Google Inc. announced that it had acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in Google stock, and the deal was finalized on November 13,2006. In March 2010, YouTube began free streaming of certain content, according to YouTube, this was the first worldwide free online broadcast of a major sporting event. On March 31,2010, the YouTube website launched a new design, with the aim of simplifying the interface, Google product manager Shiva Rajaraman commented, We really felt like we needed to step back and remove the clutter. In May 2010, YouTube videos were watched more than two times per day. This increased to three billion in May 2011, and four billion in January 2012, in February 2017, one billion hours of YouTube was watched every day
31.
Franca Florio, regina di Palermo
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Franca Florio, regina di Palermo is a full-length narrative ballet in two acts, with music by Lorenzo Ferrero and scenario, choreography and staging by Luciano Cannito. A commission by the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, the work premiered there on 22 November 2007 with Carla Fracci in the title role and her past is explored chronologically, by means of extensive flashbacks of events. The Florios story, replete with worldly success but also with events, is in part the metaphor of the failure of the industrial development in Sicily at the beginning of the twentieth century. The ballet employs a large corps de ballet and the lead, solo, the Florio family, Franca Florio, Ignazio Florio, Jr, Giovanna Florio, their daughter, the mother of Ignazio. The Florios guests, Wilhelm II, German Emperor, Empress Augusta Victoria, King Edward VII of England, Queen Alexandra, Russian prince, other characters, Vera Arrivabene, Giovanni Boldini, Colombina, the mother, father, and the cousins of Franca. Foreign aristocrats, priest, personal assistants, butler, servants, fishermen, children, croupiers, I Florio, Storia di una dinastia imprenditoriale siciliana. ISBN 978-8845261794 Teatro Massimo website Casa Ricordi presentation Casa Ricordi catalogue Franca Florio excerpt on YouTube, Act II, Scene 2 Franca Florio excerpt on YouTube, Act II, Scene 10
32.
La rondine
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La rondine is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on a libretto by Alfred Maria Willner and Heinz Reichert. It was first performed at the Grand Théâtre de Monte Carlo in Monte Carlo on 27 March 1917, in autumn 1913, the directors of Viennas Carltheater commissioned Puccini to compose a Viennese operetta. After confirming that it could take the form of an opera with no spoken dialogue in the style of Der Rosenkavalier, only more entertaining and more organic. The work proceeded for two years, sometimes intensely, sometimes with difficulty, and in spring 1916 the opera was finished. A feature of the music is Puccinis use of dance rhythms, such as the tango. At the premiere in Monte Carlo in 1917 the initial reception by the public, however, despite the artistic value of the score, La rondine has been one of Puccinis less successful works, In box office terms, was the poor cousin to the other great hits. At the end of this version, Magda is left alone with Lisette, the third version was not heard until 1994 in Turin. Moreover, a fire at Casa Sonzogno archives caused by Allied bombing during the war destroyed parts of the score which had to be restored based on the surviving vocal-piano arrangements. As part of a 1958 celebration marking the centenary of Puccinis birth, the revival was well-received, with audiences and critics deeming it a success. 2012 Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos, Portuguese Symphony Orchestra, marta Domingos production of La rondine in Bonn in 1995 used the third version, but added to the tragedy by having Magda commit suicide by drowning in the final bars of the opera. This version of the opera has since been staged by the Washington National Opera, on 31 December 2008, again with Gheorghiu as Magda, the Met in New York gave the companys first staging in 70 years. The matinée performance on 10 January 2009 was broadcast in HD to movie theaters and this opera also was performed by Des Moines Metro Opera in July 2012, starring Joyce El-Khoury. Place, Paris and the French Riviera, Magdas salon, Paris At a cocktail party hosted by the courtesan Magda, the poet Prunier expounds his theories on love. Magdas friends Yvette, Bianca and Suzy playfully mock him, while Lisette, Magdas maid, Prunier takes offence and Magda orders Lisette to leave. Prunier maintains that no one is immune to love and sings the first verse of his latest song about Doretta. He does not know how to finish the song, so Magda takes over and provides the second verse, Magdas guests are charmed by her performance and her long-term protector Rambaldo gives her a pearl necklace. Lisette enters to announce the arrival of a young man – the son of an old friend of Rambaldo. Lisette is ordered by Rambaldo to bring in the guest, suddenly nostalgic, Magda recalls her life as a young working girl and happy evenings spent dancing at Bulliers, where she first experienced love
