1.
Gioachino Rossini
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Gioachino Antonio Rossini was an Italian composer who wrote operas, as well as some sacred music, songs, chamber music and piano pieces. A precocious composer of operas, he made his debut at the age of eighteen. His best-known operas include the Italian comedies Il barbiere di Siviglia, Litaliana in Algeri and he also wrote a string of serious operas in Italian, including works such as Tancredi, Otello and Semiramide. The semi-serious opera La Gazza Ladra has one of Rossinis most celebrated overtures, after moving to Paris in 1824, he eventually started to write in French. His last opera, the epic Guillaume Tell, replete with its iconic overture, after composing thirty-nine significant operas in nineteen years Rossini retired from the theatre in 1829. Later, he was affected by physical and mental illnesses and for decades wrote relatively little apart from a setting of the Stabat Mater. A return to Paris from Italy in 1855 was followed by better health, during these, he presented salon music in the form of songs, piano pieces and small chamber ensembles that he called Sins of Old Age. He considered the last of these Sins to be the unusually scored Petite messe solennelle that he wrote in 1863, Rossini had been the most popular opera composer in history, and he was one of the most renowned public figures of his time. A rapid and prolific composer, he was quoted as joking, Give me the laundress bill, a tendency for inspired, song-like melodies is evident throughout his scores, earning him the nickname The Italian Mozart. Use of a build up of orchestral sound over a repeated phrase—commonly known as a Rossini crescendo—also prompted the nickname Signor Crescendo. Gioachino Antonio Rossini was born into a family of musicians in Pesaro and his father, Giuseppe, was a horn player and inspector of slaughterhouses. His mother, Anna, was a singer and a bakers daughter, Rossinis father was sympathetic to the French Revolution and welcomed Napoleons troops when they arrived in northern Italy. When Austria restored the old regime, Rossinis father was sent to prison in 1799, Rossinis mother took him to Bologna, making a living as leading singer at various theatres of the Romagna region. Her husband would ultimately join her in Bologna, during this time, Rossini was frequently left in the care of his aging grandmother, who had difficulty supervising the boy. He remained at Bologna in the care of a pork butcher while his father played the horn in the orchestras of the theatres at which his wife sang and these qualities made him a subject for ridicule in the eyes of the young Rossini. He was eventually taken from Prinetti and apprenticed to a blacksmith, in Angelo Tesei, he found a congenial music master, and learned to sight-read, play accompaniments on the piano and sing well enough to take solo parts in the church when he was ten years of age. Important products of this period are six sonate a quattro, or string sonatas, the original scores, dating from 1804 when the composer was twelve, were found in the Library of Congress in Washington D. C. In 1805, he appeared at the theatre of the Commune in Ferdinando Paers Camilla and he was also a capable horn player, treading in the footsteps of his father
Gioachino Rossini
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Gioachino Rossini c. 1850 (Lithography: F. Perrin)
Gioachino Rossini
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Portrait of Rossini as a young man
Gioachino Rossini
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Gioachino Rossini, c. 1815 (by
Vincenzo Camuccini)
Gioachino Rossini
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Isabella Colbran
2.
The Barber of Seville (play)
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The Barber of Seville or the Useless Precaution is a French play by Pierre Beaumarchais, with original music by Antoine-Laurent Baudron. It was initially conceived as an opera, and was rejected as such in 1772 by the Comédie-Italienne. The play as it is now known was written in 1773 and it is the first play in a trilogy of which the other constituents are The Marriage of Figaro and The Guilty Mother. Though the play was received at first, Beaumarchais worked some fast editing of the script. The plays title might be a pun on Tirso de Molinas earlier play El Burlador de Sevilla, mozart wrote a set of 12 variations, K.354, on one of Baudrons songs, Je suis Lindor. The story follows a traditional Commedia dellarte structure, with many characters based on famous stock characters. The plot involves a Spanish count, called simply The Count although Almaviva appears as an additional name, to ensure that she really loves him and not just his money, the Count disguises himself as a poor college student named Lindor, and attempts to woo her. His plans are foiled by Rosines guardian Doctor Bartholo, who keeps her locked up in his house and intends to marry her himself. The Counts luck changes, however, after a reunion with an ex-servant of his, Figaro. The story culminates in the marriage of the Count and Rosine, the Count, disguised as a poor university student, waits in hope of catching a glimpse of Rosine, whom he encountered in Madrid and has followed to Seville. To this point they have never spoken to each other, Figaro happens to come down the street, singing a song, he and the Count recognize each other. While the two men talk, Dr. Bartholo and Rosine come to a window of the house, Rosine pretends to drop a piece of sheet music from her window inadvertently. While the doctor is coming down the stairs to retrieve it, Rosine instructs the Count to pick up the sheet himself. He does, and finds a note from Rosine hidden inside it, Figaro advises the Count that Rosine is the ward of Dr. Bartholo, and adds that as he is the doctors barber and apothecary, he has frequent occasion to visit the house. He proposes a plan to smuggle the Count into the house by disguising him as a soldier in need of lodging. The two are interrupted when they overhear Dr. Bartholo making plans to secretly marry Rosine during the night, before he leaves to see his friend Bazile, afterwards, the Count sings to Rosine, introducing himself as a poor man named Lindor who is in love with her. From inside the house, Rosine sings a verse to the tune of Maître en droit, requiting his affections, Figaro and the Count go their separate ways, agreeing to meet again to put their plan in action. In Dr. Bartholos house, Rosine writes a note to Lindor, when Figaro drops in, she asks if he will deliver the note
The Barber of Seville (play)
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A scene from a 19th-century version of The Barber of Seville. Its origins in the
commedia dell'arte are shown in this picture which portrays Figaro dressed in the costume and mask of
Harlequin.
3.
Teatro Argentina
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The Teatro Argentina is an opera house and theatre located in Largo di Torre Argentina, a square in Rome, Italy. One of the oldest theatres in Rome, it was constructed in 1731 and it is built over part of the curia section of the Theatre of Pompey. This curia was the location of the assassination of Julius Caesar, the house was commissioned by the Sforza-Cesarini family and designed by the architect Gerolamo Theodoli with the auditorium laid out in the traditional horseshoe shape. Duke Francesco Sforza-Cesarini, who ran the Argentina Theatre from 1807 to 1815, was a fanatic who continued until his death to run up debts. From 1919 to 1944, more musical offerings than dramatic ones were presented, although the theatre premiered works by Luigi Pirandello, Henrik Ibsen, as well, a series of operas was presented in the winter of 1944-45 in honor of the American and British troops. In 1994, the became the home of the Teatro Stabile company of Rome. It offers a variety of programmes, some being large-scale productions, the inside of the theatre is constructed of wood with six levels of boxes characterizing the design, and has been restored many times. It seats 696 people, including 344 in the stalls and with 40 boxes on five levels seating an additional 352, in the novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas the Teatro Argentina was the setting for an important scene during a performance of Parisina by Gaetano Donizetti. List of theatres and opera houses in Rome Notes Sources Plantamura, Carol, Teatro Argentina, in The Opera Lovers Guide to Europe
Teatro Argentina
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Plan and longitudinal section of the Teatro Argentina (from Diderot's
Encyclopédie, 1772)
Teatro Argentina
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The Teatro Argentina (
Panini, 1747,
Musée du Louvre)
4.
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
5.
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.
6.
Pierre Beaumarchais
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Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais was a French polymath. At various times in his life, he was a watchmaker, inventor, playwright, musician, diplomat, spy, publisher, horticulturist, arms dealer, satirist, financier, and revolutionary. Born a provincial watchmakers son, Beaumarchais rose in French society and became influential in the court of Louis XV as an inventor, an early French supporter of American independence, Beaumarchais lobbied the French government on behalf of the American rebels during the American War of Independence. Beaumarchais oversaw covert aid from the French and Spanish governments to supply arms and he later struggled to recover money he had personally invested in the scheme. Beaumarchais was also a participant in the stages of the French Revolution. He is probably best known, however, for his theatrical works, Beaumarchais was born Pierre-Augustin Caron in the Rue Saint-Denis, Paris on 24 January 1732. He was the boy among the six surviving children of André-Charles Caron. The family had previously been Huguenots, but had converted to Roman Catholicism in the wake of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, the family was comfortably middle-class and Beaumarchais had a peaceful and happy childhood. As the only son, he was spoiled by his parents and he took an interest in music and played several instruments. Though born a Catholic, Beaumarchais retained a sympathy for Protestants, from the age of ten, Beaumarchais had some schooling at a country school where he learned some Latin. Two years later, Beaumarchais left school at twelve to work as an apprentice under his father and he may have used his own experiences during these years as the inspiration for the character of Cherubin when he wrote the Marriage of Figaro. He generally neglected his work, and at one point was evicted by his father, at the time, pocket watches were commonly unreliable for timekeeping and were worn more as fashion accessories. In response to this, Beaumarchais spent nearly a year researching improvements, in July 1753, at the age of twenty one, he invented an escapement for watches that allowed them to be made substantially more accurate and compact. The first man to take an interest in this new invention was Jean-André Lepaute, if there was a clock chiming in the wealthy homes of Paris, you can bet Lepaute built it himself. Lepaute had been a mentor to Beaumarchais after discovering the talent in a chance encounter. He encouraged him as he worked on the new invention, earned his trust and you can imagine Beaumarchais’ surprise when he read in the September issue of Le Mercure de France that M. Lepaute had just invented the most wonderful mechanism for a more portable clock. “C’est normal, ” said his father, “C’est comme ca. ”It’s normal for the class to step on those beneath them. Well, Beaumarchais did not want any of that life and he wrote a strongly worded letter to that same newspaper defending the invention as his own and urging the Royal Academy of Sciences to see the proof for themselves
Pierre Beaumarchais
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Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais
Pierre Beaumarchais
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Louis XV, by
Maurice Quentin de La Tour, (1748)
Pierre Beaumarchais
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The original title page of The Marriage of Figaro
Pierre Beaumarchais
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Statue of Beaumarchais by Louis Clausade (1895), in the
4th arrondissement of Paris
7.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. Born in Salzburg, he showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood, already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. At 17, Mozart was engaged as a musician at the Salzburg court, while visiting Vienna in 1781, he was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He chose to stay in the capital, where he achieved fame, during his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem, which was largely unfinished at the time of his death. The circumstances of his death have been much mythologized. He was survived by his wife Constanze and two sons and he composed more than 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral music. He is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers, Ludwig van Beethoven composed his own early works in the shadow of Mozart, and Joseph Haydn wrote, posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on 27 January 1756 to Leopold Mozart and Anna Maria, née Pertl and this was the capital of the Archbishopric of Salzburg, an ecclesiastic principality in what is now Austria, then part of the Holy Roman Empire. He was the youngest of seven children, five of whom died in infancy and his elder sister was Maria Anna Mozart, nicknamed Nannerl. Mozart was baptized the day after his birth, at St. Ruperts Cathedral in Salzburg, the baptismal record gives his name in Latinized form, as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart. He generally called himself Wolfgang Amadè Mozart as an adult, Leopold Mozart, a native of Augsburg, Germany, was a minor composer and an experienced teacher. In 1743, he was appointed as fourth violinist in the establishment of Count Leopold Anton von Firmian. Four years later, he married Anna Maria in Salzburg, Leopold became the orchestras deputy Kapellmeister in 1763. During the year of his sons birth, Leopold published a textbook, Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule. When Nannerl was 7, she began lessons with her father. Years later, after her brothers death, she reminisced, He often spent much time at the clavier, picking out thirds, which he was ever striking, and his pleasure showed that it sounded good. In the fourth year of his age his father, for a game as it were, began to teach him a few minuets and he could play it faultlessly and with the greatest delicacy, and keeping exactly in time. At the age of five, he was composing little pieces
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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Mozart c. 1780, detail from portrait by
Johann Nepomuk della Croce
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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Anonymous portrait of the child Mozart, possibly by
Pietro Antonio Lorenzoni; painted in 1763 on commission from Leopold Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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Mozart's birthplace at Getreidegasse 9, Salzburg
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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The Mozart family on tour: Leopold, Wolfgang, and Nannerl. Watercolor by
Carmontelle, ca. 1763
8.
The Marriage of Figaro
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The Marriage of Figaro, K.492, is an opera buffa in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 1 May 1786, the operas libretto is based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro, which was first performed in 1784. It tells how the servants Figaro and Susanna succeed in getting married, foiling the efforts of their philandering employer Count Almaviva to seduce Susanna, the opera is a cornerstone of the repertoire and appears consistently among the top ten in the Operabase list of most frequently performed operas. Beaumarchaiss earlier play The Barber of Seville had already made a transition to opera in a version by Paisiello. Mozarts librettist managed to get approval for an operatic version which eventually achieved great success. The opera was the first of three collaborations between Mozart and Da Ponte, their collaborations were Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte. In particular, Da Ponte replaced Figaros climactic speech against inherited nobility with an angry aria against unfaithful wives. Contrary to the myth, the libretto was approved by the Emperor before any music was written by Mozart. The Imperial Italian opera company paid Mozart 450 florins for the work, Da Ponte was paid 200 florins. Figaro premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 1 May 1786, Mozart himself directed the first two performances, conducting seated at the keyboard, the custom of the day. Later performances were conducted by Joseph Weigl, the first production was given eight further performances, all in 1786. The applause of the audience on the first night resulted in five numbers being encored and you will therefore cause some posters to this effect to be printed. The requested posters were printed up and posted in the Burgtheater in time for the performance on 24 May. The newspaper Wiener Realzeitung carried a review of the opera in its issue of 11 July 1786, did not really know on the first day where it stood. Apart from that, it is true that the first performance was none of the best, but now, after several performances, one would be subscribing either to the cabal or to tastelessness if one were to maintain that Herr Mozarts music is anything but a masterpiece of art. It contains so many beauties, and such a wealth of ideas, as can be only from the source of innate genius. – Mozart directed the orchestra, playing his fortepiano, the joy which this causes is so far removed from all sensuality that one cannot speak of it. Where could words be found that are worthy to describe such joy, Joseph Haydn appreciated the opera greatly, writing to a friend that he heard it in his dreams
The Marriage of Figaro
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Early 19th-century engraving depicting Count Almaviva and Susanna in act 3
The Marriage of Figaro
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Act 1: Cherubino hides behind Susanna's chair as the Count arrives.
The Marriage of Figaro
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Libretto 1786
The Marriage of Figaro
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Biography
9.
The Marriage of Figaro (play)
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The Marriage of Figaro is a comedy in five acts, written in 1778 by Pierre Beaumarchais. This play is the second in the Figaro trilogy, preceded by The Barber of Seville, in the first play, The Barber, the story begins with a simple love triangle in which a Spanish count has fallen in love with a girl called Rosine. He disguises himself to ensure that she love him back for his character. But this is all foiled when Rosines guardian, Doctor Bartholo, the Count runs into an ex-servant of his, Figaro, and pressures him into setting up a meeting between the Count and Rosine. He succeeds and the lovers are married to end the first part of the trilogy, the Marriage was written as a sequel to The Barber. In his preface to the play, Beaumarchais says that Louis François, the plays denunciation of aristocratic privilege has been characterised as foreshadowing the French Revolution. The revolutionary leader Georges Danton said that the killed off the nobility, in exile. The play formed the basis for an opera with a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte and music by Mozart, also called The Marriage of Figaro. In 1799, another based on the same play, La pazza giornata, ovvero Il matrimonio di Figaro, was produced in Venice with libretto by Gaetano Rossi. The Marriage of Figaro picks up three years following the end of The Barber of Seville as Figaro is engaged to be married to Suzanne, both characters are among the Counts staff in his dwelling. In the three years since Figaro helped forge the marriage of the Count and Rosine, the Count has already grown bored with his marriage and is taking notice of Suzanne. The Count looks to re-engage the act of primae noctis, in which he would consummate the marriage with the prior to Figaros honeymoon. The scholar and translator John Wood writes that the play was completed in more or less its existing form by 1778. It was accepted for production by the management of the Comédie Française in 1781, the censors still refused to license the play for public performance, but the king personally authorised its production. The author gave his share of the profits to charity, in France the play has held its place in the repertory, and leading companies have played it in the original language to audiences in Europe and America. In 1960 a Comédie Française production was filmed, under the direction of Jean Mayer, in the twentieth century the play continued to be staged in translation by foreign companies. In 1927 Constantin Stanislavski staged the work at the Moscow Art Theatre, in 1974 the British National Theatre company presented a version by John Wells, Beaumarchais comedy was adapted into One Mad Day. A screwball comedy in Three Acts by William James Royce, the play premiered at the Norton Clapp Theatre on 24 October 2008
The Marriage of Figaro (play)
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Title page from the first edition of The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro (play)
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Advertisement for the first English production, which opened in December 1784
The Marriage of Figaro (play)
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Costume design for Figaro (1807 production)
The Marriage of Figaro (play)
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1785 print showing the Count discovering Chérubin in Suzanne's bedroom
10.
Giovanni Paisiello
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Giovanni Paisiello was an Italian composer of the Classical era. Paisiello was born in Taranto and educated by the Jesuits there and he became known for his beautiful singing voice and in 1754 was sent to the Conservatorio di S. Onofrio at Naples, where he studied under Francesco Durante, and eventually became assistant master. In 1772 Paisiello began to write music, and composed a requiem for Gennara di Borbone. In the same year he married Cecilia Pallini, and the marriage was a happy one, when, in 1816, Gioachino Rossini set a revised version of the libretto to music, under the title of Almaviva ossia la inutil precauzione the fans of Paisiello stormed the stage. Paisiello left Russia in 1784, and, after producing Il Re Teodoro at Vienna, entered the service of Ferdinand IV of Naples, the power of the Bonaparte family was tottering to its fall, and Paisiellos fortunes fell with it. The death of his wife in 1815 tried him severely and his health failed rapidly, and constitutional jealousy of the popularity of others was a source of worry and vexation. Paisiello is known to have composed 94 operas, which are known for their beautiful melodies. Perhaps the best-known tune he wrote is Nel cor più non mi sento from La Molinara. Paisiello also wrote a great deal of music, including eight masses, as well as fifty-one instrumental compositions. He also composed the Inno al Re, the anthem of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Manuscript scores of many of his operas were presented to the library of the British Museum by Domenico Dragonetti, the Concise Grove Dictionary of Music notes that Paisiello was one of the most successful and influential opera composers of his time. Most of his over 80 operas are comic and use a simple, direct and spirited style, latterly with sharper characterization, more colorful scoring and his serious operas have less than the conventional amount of virtuoso vocal writing, those for Russia are the closest to Glucks reform approach. Paisiello was primarily an opera composer and his instrumental works are therefore imbued with a similar vocally conceived melodic line, granted they may be lacking in the sophisticated counterpoint and motivic work of Haydn and Mozarts music. This characterization, however, does not do justice to the extreme drama, essentially he had mastered all the techniques which made for good opera, and this made his works widely popular and admired throughout Europe. Parma, Loca del Cairo Edizioni Musicali,2006 and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Paisiello, Giovanni. A Dictionary of Music and Musicians, free scores by Giovanni Paisiello at the International Music Score Library Project Robinson, Michael F. Paisiello, Giovanni. Free scores by Giovanni Paisiello in the Choral Public Domain Library
Giovanni Paisiello
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Paisiello at the clavichord, by
Marie Louise Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1791. The score is
Nina, o sia La pazza per amore.
11.
The Barber of Seville (Paisiello)
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Il barbiere di Siviglia, ovvero La precauzione inutile is a comic opera by Giovanni Paisiello from a libretto by Giuseppe Petrosellini, even though his name is not identified on the scores title page. The opera was first performed on 26 September 1782 at the Imperial Court and it was adapted from the play Le Barbier de Séville of Pierre Beaumarchais. The plots of the Paisiello and the Rossini versions very closely resemble each other, petrosellinis libretto puts a greater emphasis on the love story and less on the comic qualities. Several musical adaptations of Il barbiere di Siviglia predated the version by Paisiello, although it is missing only the closing ritornello, the incomplete orchestration suggests it was never used. The opera proved to be Paisiellos biggest success, even after the 1816 premiere of Gioachino Rossinis own version of The Barber of Seville, Paisiellos version continued to be more popular by comparison. With time, however, that situation changed, as Rossinis version gained in popularity, Paisiellos diminished in parallel, to the point where it fell from the repertoire. Paisiellos version did receive revival in later years, including Paris, Turin, Berlin, notes Sources Holden, Amanda, The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York, Penguin Putnam,2001. ISBN 0-14-029312-4 Lazarevich, Gordana, Barbiere di Siviglia, Il, in Sadie, Stanley, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, New York, Grove,1997, I, pp. 309-311
The Barber of Seville (Paisiello)
–
Il Barbieri di Siviglia, with Mari Eriksmoen and
Pietro Spagnoli,
Theater an der Wien 2015
12.
Nicolas Isouard
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Nicolas Isouard was a French composer. Isouard studied in Rabat or Mdina with Francesco Azopardi, in Palermo with Giuseppe Amendola, from 1795 he was organist at St. John de Gerusalemme in Valletta at the Conventual Church of the Order of Saint John, San Giovanni di Malta. He moved to Paris, where he worked as a free composer, the pair worked together on several operas, including Le petit page ou La prison détat and Flaminius à Corinthe. Isouard adopted the pseudonym Nicolò and found success in the field of opéra comique with Michel-Ange. He composed regularly for the Théâtre de lOpéra-Comique, writing some thirty works for them and he composed masses, motets, cantatas, romances, and duos, along with over 45 operas. Isouard had two daughters, Sophie-Nicole, a composer of romances, and Annette-Julie, and pianist and composer and his brother Joseph had a career as a singer and opera director before being named inspector of historic monuments in Rouen. Nicolas Isouard was buried in Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, a bust of the composer was placed on one of the facades of both the Théâtre de lOpéra-Comique and the Palais Garnier, and one of the main squares in Paris was given his name. Casaciello, perseguitato da un Mago,1793, Malta Lavviso a Maritati, Opera, Florence June1794 Artaserse, re di Persia, Opera seria, richard Divall is currently preparing a publication of a monograph and Complete Thematic Catalogue, and en edition of the opera Cendrillon. Free scores by Nicolas Isouard at the International Music Score Library Project
Nicolas Isouard
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Nicolas Isouard.
13.
Francesco Morlacchi
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Francesco Morlacchi was an Italian composer of more than twenty operas. During the many years he spent as the royal Royal Kapellmeister in Dresden, born in Perugia, Morlacchi composed from a very young age, first studying with his uncle Giovanni Mazzetti and later with Luigi Caruso. He later studied at Loreto with Zingarelli, finally, he ended up in Bologna at the school of Stanislao Mattei where he met Gioacchino Rossini. Morlacchis first operatic works were written in 1807, and were a farce and his first truly effective theatre work was the opera seria Corradino, and lead to commissions from opera houses in Rome and Milan. In 1810 he was brought to Dresden by contralto Marietta Marcolini, while in Dresden, he had to work to establish himself in the eyes of critics. By this time, German opera was established, and Morlacchi. In 1815 Morlacchi set Il barbiere di Siviglia with a libretto of Giuseppe Petrosellini, one of Morlacchis most successful works was Tebaldo e Isolina. Giovanni Battista Velluti premiered the work, and made the role his own, the opera was performed in 40 cities over the next ten years, largely thanks to Vellutis skillful performance. The architect Gottlob Friedrich Thormeyer painted his portrait in 1829, oratorio - La passione di Gesù Cristo 1812, one of the last settings of Metastasios libretto of 1730. Although sometimes credited with it, Francesco Morlacchi did not compose The Swiss Shepherd, the Swiss Shepherd was instead written by Italian flautist Pietro Morlacchi. Francesco Morlacchi, Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy, grovemusic. com
Francesco Morlacchi
–
Francesco Morlacchi on a stipple engraving by
Luigi Rados.
14.
New York Philharmonic
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It is one of the leading American orchestras popularly referred to as the Big Five. The Philharmonics home is David Geffen Hall, known as Avery Fisher Hall until September 2015, founded in 1842, the orchestra is one of the oldest musical institutions in the United States and the oldest of the Big Five orchestras. Its record-setting 14, 000th concert was given in December 2004, the New York Philharmonic was founded in 1842 by the American conductor Ureli Corelli Hill, with the aid of the Irish composer William Vincent Wallace. The orchestra was called the Philharmonic Society of New York. It was the third Philharmonic on American soil since 1799, and had as its intended purpose, the first concert of the Philharmonic Society took place on December 7,1842 in the Apollo Rooms on lower Broadway before an audience of 600. The concert opened with Beethovens Symphony No, the musicians operated as a cooperative society, deciding by a majority vote such issues as who would become a member, which music would be performed and who among them would conduct. At the end of the season, the players would divide any proceeds among themselves, after only a dozen public performances and barely four years old, the Philharmonic organized a concert to raise funds to build a new music hall. The centerpiece was the American premiere of Beethovens Symphony No,9, to take place at Castle Garden on the southern tip of Manhattan. About 400 instrumental and vocal performers gathered for this premiere, which was conducted by George Loder, the chorals were translated into what would be the first English performance anywhere in the world. However, with the expensive US$2.00 ticket price and a war rally uptown, the audience was kept away. Although judged by some as an odd work with all those singers kept at bay until the end, during the Philharmonics first seven seasons, seven musicians alternated the conducting duties. In addition to Hill, Timm and Étienne, these were William Alpers, George Loder, Louis Wiegers and this changed in 1849 when Theodore Eisfeld was installed as sole conductor for the season. Eisfeld, later along with Carl Bergmann, would be the conductor until 1865 and that year Eisfeld returned to Europe, and Bergmann continued to conduct the Society until his death in 1876. Leopold Damrosch, Franz Liszts former concertmaster at Weimar, served as conductor of the Philharmonic for the 1876/77 season, but failing to win support from the Philharmonics public, he left to create the rival Symphony Society of New York in 1878. Upon his death in 1885, his 23-year-old son Walter took over, Carnegie Hall would remain the orchestras home until 1962. The Philharmonic in 1877 was in financial condition, caused by the paltry income from five concerts in the 1876/77 season that brought in an average of only $168 per concert. At first the Philharmonics suggestion offended Thomas because he was unwilling to disband his own orchestra, because of the desperate financial circumstances, the Philharmonic offered Theodore Thomas the conductorship without conditions, and he began conducting the orchestra in the autumn of 1877. He left in 1891 to found the Chicago Symphony, taking thirteen Philharmonic musicians with him, another celebrated conductor, Anton Seidl, followed Thomas on the Philharmonic podium, serving until 1898
New York Philharmonic
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Ureli Corelli Hill, founder
New York Philharmonic
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New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
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The New York Philharmonic Club, a chamber ensemble of Philharmonic musicians, clowning for their public-relations photograph in the 1880s. New York Philharmonic Archives
New York Philharmonic
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Arturo Toscanini (standing in the center, sporting a bow tie and cap) with the orchestra aboard the S.S de Grasse, embarking on their European tour, 1930. New York Philharmonic Archives
15.
Arturo Toscanini
–
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.
16.
Aureliano in Palmira
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Aureliano in Palmira is an operatic dramma serio in two acts written by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto in which the librettist was credited only by the initials G. F. R. The libretto has generally attributed to Giuseppe Felice Romani. It has been suggested that the name may have resulted from a confusion of Romani with Luigi Romanelli. The Act 1 duet between Zenobia and Arsace, Se tu mami, o mia regina, was admired by Stendhal. Other music from opera, particularly the overture, was later reused by Rossini in Elisabetta, regina dInghilterra. It premiered at La Scala in Milan on 26 December 1813, 19th century Aureliano in Palmira was Rossinis second commission from La Scala. It opened the theatres Carnival season with the famed castrato, Giovanni Battista Velluti as Arsace and it was the only role that Rossini wrote for the castrato voice. Rossini had originally written the role of Aureliano for Giovanni David, however, throat problems during rehearsals led David to withdraw from the production, and Luigi Mari took his place. The popular soprano, Lorenza Correa, sang the role of Queen Zenobia, the orchestra at the premiere was conducted by Alessandro Rolla, with the staging directed by Alessandro Sanquirico. There was also criticism of the three principal singers, nevertheless, it had a run of 14 performances at La Scala that season and was performed sporadically in various Italian theatres between 1814 and 1831. It was also performed in London in 1826, again with Velluti as Arsace, the opera then fell more or less into obscurity. There was another revival in 1996 at the Rossini in Wildbad Festival conducted by Francesco Corti, with Donald George as Aureliano, Angelo Manzotti as Arsace. It was performed again in 2011 in Martina Franca and was given a new production at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro in August 2014, the Pesaro production, directed by Mario Martone, was the first performance of the critical edition of the opera. Place, in and around the city of Palmyra Time, 271-272 A. D, Queen Zenobia, her lover Arsace, and the priests offer sacrifices in the Temple of Isis and pray for their deliverance from the approaching Roman army. General Oraspe enters to the strains of music and announces that Aurelianos Roman army is at the gates of Palmyra. Arsace pledges his Persian troops to defend the city, after a dramatic battle scene on the plains outside the city, the Persians are defeated. The Roman soldiers celebrate their victory, Aureliano arrives and addresses Arsace, now a prisoner. He responds to the Emperor with dignity and affirms his love for Zenobia, inside Palmyras walls, Zenobia has hidden the kingdoms treasures in the vaults beneath the palace
Aureliano in Palmira
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Gioachino Rossini
Aureliano in Palmira
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Lorenza Corrèa, who created the role of Zenobia
Aureliano in Palmira
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Stage setting from Act 1 in the original production at La Scala by
Alessandro Sanquirico
17.
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
Bass (voice type)
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Bass voice range (E2–E4) indicated in sheet music (left) and on piano keyboard in green with dot marking middle C (C4).
18.
Covent Garden Theatre
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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
Covent Garden Theatre
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The Royal Opera House, Bow Street frontage with
Plazzotta 's statue, Young Dancer, in the foreground
Covent Garden Theatre
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"Rich's Glory": John Rich takes over (seemingly invades) his new Covent Garden Theatre. (A caricature by
William Hogarth)
Covent Garden Theatre
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A satirical drawing from 1811 of the "Pigeon Holes" that flanked the upper gallery at Covent Garden
Covent Garden Theatre
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A picture of the first theatre drawn shortly before it burned down in 1808
19.
John Fawcett (actor)
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John Fawcett was an English actor and playwright. He was the son of an actor of the same name, at the age of eighteen he ran away from school and appeared at Margate as Courtall in The Belles Stratagem, afterwards he joined Tate Wilkinsons company and turned from tragedy to low comedy parts. In 1791, he appeared at Covent Garden, and in 1794 at the Haymarket and he retired from the stage in 1830. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
John Fawcett (actor)
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Portrait of John Fawcett by
Thomas Lawrence, 1828
20.
Daniel Terry
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Daniel Terry was an English actor and playwright, known also as a close associate of Sir Walter Scott. He was born in Bath about 1780, and was educated at the Bath grammar school and subsequently at a school at Wingfield, Wiltshire. During five years he was then a pupil of Samuel Wyatt, having first played at Bath Heartwell in the Prize, Terry left Wyatt to join the company at Sheffield under the management of William Macready the Elder. His first appearance was as Tressel in Richard III and was followed by parts, Thomas Cromwell in Henry VIII. Towards the close of 1805 he joined Stephen Kemble in the north of England, on 12 December he was Antigonus in The Winters Tale, on 8 January 1810 Prospero, and on the 29th Argyle in Joanna Baillies Family Legend. He was Lord Ogleby in the Clandestine Marriage,18 November 1810 in Edinburgh, in this part Terry made his first appearance in London at the Haymarket,20 May 1812. He created some characters in lesser plays, including Count Salerno in Eyres Look at Home,15 August 1812. He was announced to reopen,14 November, the Edinburgh theatre as Lord Ogleby, but was ill and did not appear until the 23rd, and on the 24th he played Shylock. He was on 23 December the first Lord Archibald in Caledonia, or the Thistle and the Rose. ’ On 12 March 1816 Guy Mannering and this appears to have been the first of Terrys adaptations from Scott. At the Haymarket he was seen as Periwinkle in A Bold Stroke for a Wife, illness seems to have prevented his playing Oldbuck, which was assigned to John Liston. On 17 May he was the first Dentatus in Sheridan Knowless Virginius, at the Haymarket during the summer seasons Terry played a great round of comic characters. Among many original parts in pieces by James Kenney, J, among his original rôles were Zamet in Massaniello,17 February 1825, and Mephistopheles in Dr. Faustus,16 May. In 1825, in association with his friend Frederick Henry Yates, he became manager of the Adelphi, opening,10 October, on the 31st was produced Edward Fitzballs adaptation, The Pilot, in which Terry was the Pilot. He also appeared in other parts, but he shortly left management because of outside troubles. Scott consulted Terry on literary questions, especially on plays, and seems to have trusted him with the Doom of Devorgoil, Terry was almost as well known in Edinburgh as in London, and Scott thought highly of his acting. Terrys idolatry of Scott led him to both his manner and his calligraphy. He also took off Scott’s speech, so as almost to pass for a Scotsman, Scott lent him money for his theatrical speculations, and gave him advice. Terrys architectural knowledge was of use to Scott, who consulted him while building Abbotsford, Terrys financial affairs became so involved that he was obliged to retire from management, and he suffered a breakdown
Daniel Terry
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Daniel Terry, portrait by
Henry William Pickersgill, about 1813.
Daniel Terry
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Daniel Terry in the role of Leon from
Rule a Wife and Have a Wife.
21.
Park Theatre (Manhattan)
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The Park Theatre, originally known as the New Theatre, was a playhouse in New York City, located at 21,23, and 25 Park Row, about 200 feet east of Ann Street and backing Theatre Alley. The location, at the end of the city, overlooked the park that would soon house City Hall. French architect Marc Isambard Brunel collaborated with fellow émigré Joseph-François Mangin, construction costs mounted to precipitous levels, and changes were made in the design, the resulting theatre had a rather plain exterior. The doors opened in January 1798, in its early years, the Park enjoyed little to no competition in New York City. Nevertheless, it made a profit for its owners or managers. Under the management of Stephen Price and Edmund Simpson in the 1810s and 1820s, Price and Simpson initiated a star system by importing English talent and providing the theatre a veneer of upper-class respectability. Rivals such as the Chatham Garden and Bowery theatres appeared in the 1820s, blackface acts and melodrama squeezed Italian opera and English drama out of their preferential positions. Nevertheless, the maintained its upscale image until it burned down in 1848. In the late 18th century, New Yorks only playhouse was the decaying, tired of attending such an establishment, a group of wealthy New Yorkers began planning the construction of a new playhouse in 1795. Investors bought 113 shares at $375 each to cover the estimated $42,375 cost, to plan the structure, the owners hired celebrated architect Marc Isambard Brunel, a Frenchman who had fled to New York to avoid the Reign of Terror and was currently the citys engineer. Part way through construction, however, the project ran out of money, the owners sold more shares for what would eventually mount to a construction cost of more than $130,000. As a cost-saving measure, Brunels exterior design for the building was not implemented, the resulting three-story structure measured 80 feet wide by 165 feet deep and was made of plain dressed stone. The overall effect was an air of austerity, the interiors, on the other hand, were quite lavish. The building followed the traditional European style of placing a gallery over three tiers of boxes, which overlooked the U-shaped pit. The section of Manhattan where the theatre stood was not stylish, the New Theatre, as it was called, was neighbor to Bridewell Prison, a tent citys worth of squatters, and the local poorhouse. Lewis Hallam, Jr. and John Hodgkinson, both members of the John Street Theatre company, obtained the buildings lease. They hired remnants of the Colonial Old American Company to form the nucleus of the theatres in-house troupe and thus give the establishment the sheen of tradition, meanwhile, the men quarreled, and construction continued languorously. The theatre finally held its first performance on 29 January 1798, the gross was an impressive $1,232, and, according to theatre historian T. Allston Brown, hundreds of potential patrons had to be turned away
Park Theatre (Manhattan)
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The theatre and surrounding neighborhood c. 1830.
Park Theatre (Manhattan)
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Architectural rendering of the Park Theatre. The design had to be abandoned during construction due to budget constraints.
Park Theatre (Manhattan)
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Interior of the Park Theatre
Park Theatre (Manhattan)
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The Park Theatre c. late 1820s. The theatre had been rebuilt after burning down in 1820. Neighboring buildings include the City Coffee House, Sweeney's Porter House, the Theatre Hotel, and other commercial establishments.
22.
Maria Malibran
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Maria Malibran was a Spanish mezzo-soprano who commonly sang both contralto and soprano parts, and was one of the most famous opera singers of the 19th century. Malibran was known for her personality and dramatic intensity, becoming a legendary figure after her death at age 28. Contemporary accounts of her voice describe its range, power and flexibility as extraordinary, Malibran was born in Paris as María Felicitas García Sitches into a famous Spanish musical family. Her father, Manuel García, was a celebrated tenor much admired by Rossini, García was also a composer and an influential vocal instructor, and he was her first voice teacher. He was described as inflexible and tyrannical, the lessons he gave his daughter became constant quarrels between two powerful egos, Malibran first appeared on stage in Naples with her father in Paër’s Agnese, when she was 8 years old. When she was 17, she was a singer in the choir of the Kings Theatre in London, when prima donna Giuditta Pasta became indisposed, García suggested that his daughter take over in the role of Rosina in The Barber of Seville. The audience loved the young mezzo, and she continued to sing this role until the end of the season, when the season closed, García immediately took his operatic troupe to New York. The troupe consisted primarily of the members of his family, Maria, her brother, Manuel, marias younger sister, Pauline, who would later become a famous singer in her own right under the name of Pauline Viardot, was then only four years old. This was the first time that Italian opera was performed in New York, over a period of nine months, Maria sang the lead roles in eight operas, two of which were written by her father. In New York, she met and hastily married a banker, Francois Eugene Malibran and it is thought that her father forced Maria to marry him in return for the bankers promise to give Manuel García 100,000 francs. However, according to accounts, she married simply to escape her tyrannical father. A few months after the wedding, her husband declared bankruptcy, after a year, she left Malibran and returned to Europe. In Europe, Malibran sang the role at the premiere of Donizettis Maria Stuarda. The opera was based on Friedrich Schillers play Mary Stuart, and as it portrayed Mary, Queen of Scots in a light, censors demanded textual amendments. The Library of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels conserves a series of interesting coloured costume projects for this play, created by Malibran, Malibran became romantically involved with the Belgian violinist, Charles Auguste de Bériot. The pair lived together as a couple for six years. Felix Mendelssohn wrote an aria accompanied by a solo violin especially for the couple, Malibran sang at the Paris Opera among other major opera houses. In Paris, she met and performed with Michael Balfe, in 1834, Malibran moved to England and began to perform in London
Maria Malibran
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Maria Malibran
Maria Malibran
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La Malibran,
François Bouchot (1834). musée de la Vie romantique, dépôt du Louvre, Paris
Maria Malibran
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Malibran's Hotel, Brussels,1899 – a town hall today
Maria Malibran
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Malibran in the façade of Teatre Principal, Barcelona. (1847)
23.
Contralto
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A contralto is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto voice type is divided into the coloratura, lyric. Contralto is primarily meaningful only in reference to classical and operatic singing, the term contralto is only applied to female singers, men singing in a similar range are called countertenors. A true contralto is often regarded as the rarest of the female voices, some vocal theorists have found that the vocal folds are thicker than those present in other female voices. Studies have used cameras to photograph visible differences which are found in countertenors. The contralto has the lowest vocal range of the voice types. The contralto voice range is between tenor and mezzo-soprano, although tenors and baritones are usually male singers, some women can sing as low and are called female tenors or female baritones. With the exception of very rare female singers, such terms are usually informal, more formal terminology would be contralto profundo and contralto basso or oktavistka but these are not traditionally named among the fach system. Some of the rare contraltos that can sing the female equivalent of tenor and baritone include Zarah Leander, Ruby Helder, within the contralto voice type category are three generally recognized subcategories, coloratura contralto, lyric contralto, and dramatic contralto. Given its deviations from the norms, this voice type is quite rare. The lyric contralto voice is lighter than a dramatic contralto but not capable of the ornamentation and this class of contralto, lighter in timbre than the others, is the most common today and usually ranges from the E below middle C to the second G above middle C. The dramatic contralto is the deepest, darkest, and heaviest contralto voice, usually having a heavier tone, singers in this class are rare. True operatic contraltos are rare, and the operatic literature contains few roles written specifically for them, a common saying among contraltos is that they may play only witches, bitches, or britches. Examples of contralto roles in the operatic repertoire include the following. * indicates a role that may also be sung by a mezzo-soprano, category of contraltos List of operatic contraltos Fach, the German system for classifying voices Voice classification in non-classical music List of contraltos in non-classical music Coffin, Berton. Coloratura, Lyric and Dramatic Soprano, Vol.1, vocal Workouts for the Contemporary Singer. Media related to Contralto vocalists at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of Contralto at Wiktionary
Contralto
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Contralto voice range (F3–F5) indicated in sheet music (left) and on piano keyboard in green with dot marking middle C (C4).
24.
Music criticism
–
In this sense, it is a branch of musical aesthetics. The musicologist Winton Dean has suggested that music is probably the most difficult of the arts to criticize, like dramatic art, music is recreated at every performance, and criticism may therefore be directed both at the text and the performance. The absence of a clearly evolved or consensual musical aesthetics has also tended to make music criticism a highly subjective issue, there is no counter-check outside the critics own personality. Critical references to music can be found in literature, including, for example, in Platos Laws. According to Richard Taruskin, the concert life of late 18th-century London meant that the role. In France in the 1750s, the Querelle des Bouffons generated essays from Jean-Jacques Rousseau and others, the English composer Charles Avison published the first work on musical criticism in the English language - an Essay on Musical Expression published in 1752. In it, Avison claims that since the time of Palestrina and Raphael, typically until the late eighteenth century music criticism centred on vocal rather than instrumental music - vocal music. Was the apex of aesthetic hierarchy, one knew what music was expressing. The last years of the century reflected both a change of patronage of music from the aristocracy to the rising middle-classes and the rise of Romanticism in the arts. At the same time the proportion of new music to music in concert programming began to decline. This was particularly the case in respect of the rise of Beethovens reputation in his last year and this gave rise both to writings on the value of the canon and also to writings by composers and their supporters defending newer music. M. Schlesinger and edited by A. B, marx, and the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik founded in 1834 in Leipzig by Robert Schumann and Friedrich Wieck, and later edited by Franz Brendel. In 1835 James William Davison began his career as a music critic. Music journalism for reporting on classical and popular music in the media Category, Music critics Avison, bujic, Bojan Criticism of Music in The Oxford Companion to Music, Oxford Music Online, accessed 1 January 2013. Hoffmann as a Writer on Music, in Hoffmann, 1-22, jewry in Music, Entry to the Profession from the Enlightenment to Richard Wagner. FromMendelssohnto Wagner, Memoirs of J. W. Davison, Criticism, in New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians vol. London, Macmillan ISBN 0-333-23111-2 Hoffmann, E. T. A. ed. David Charlton. E, ISBN0521235200 Taruskin, Richard. Music in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, Oxford, Oxford University Press ISBN 978-0-19-538482-6 Weber, from Miscellany to Homogeneity in Concert Programming, in Poetics 29, 127-34
Music criticism
–
A symphony orchestra
25.
Transposition (music)
–
In music transposition refers to the process, or operation, of moving a collection of notes up or down in pitch by a constant interval. For example, one might transpose a piece of music into another key. Similarly, one might transpose a tone row or a collection of pitches such as a chord so that it begins on another pitch. The transposition of a set A by n semitones is designated by Tn, thus the set consisting of 0–1–2 transposed by 5 semitones is 5–6–7 since 0 +5 =5,1 +5 =6, and 2 +5 =7. There are two different kinds of transposition, depending on one is measuring intervals according to the chromatic scale or some other scale. In chromatic transposition one shifts every pitch in a collection of notes by a number of semitones. For instance, if one transposes the pitches C4–E4–G4 upwards by four semitones, in scalar transposition one shifts every pitch in a collection by a fixed number of scale steps relative to some scale. For example, if one transposes the pitches C4–E4–G4 up by two steps relative to the familiar C major scale, one obtains the pitches E4–G4–B4, if one transposes the same pitches up by two steps relative to the F major scale, one obtains instead E4–G4–B♭4. Scalar transposition is sometimes called diatonic transposition, but this term can be misleading, however, scalar transposition can occur with respect to any type of scale, not just the diatonic. There are two kinds of transposition, by pitch interval or by pitch interval class, applied to pitches or pitch classes. Transposition may be applied to pitches or to pitch classes, although transpositions are usually written out, musicians are occasionally asked to transpose music at sight, that is, to read the music in one key while playing in another. There are three basic techniques for teaching sight transposition, interval, clef, and numbers, first one determines the interval between the written key and the target key. Then one imagines the notes up by the corresponding interval, a performer using this method may calculate each note individually, or group notes together. Clef transposition is routinely taught in Belgium and France, one imagines a different clef and a different key signature than the ones printed. The change of clef is used so that the lines and spaces correspond to different notes than the lines and spaces of the original score. Seven clefs are used for this, treble, bass, baritone, and C-clefs on the four lowest lines, the signature is then adjusted for the actual accidental one wants on that note. The octave may also have to be adjusted, but this is a matter for most musicians. Transposing by numbers means, one determines the degree of the written note in the given key
Transposition (music)
–
Transposition example from Koch Play top (
help ·
info) Play bottom (
help ·
info). The melody on the first line is in the key of D, while the melody on the second line is identical except that it is
major third lower, in the key of B ♭.
26.
Cabaret
–
Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. It is mainly distinguished by the venue, which might be a pub. The audience, often dining or drinking, does not typically dance, performances are usually introduced by a master of ceremonies or MC. The entertainment, as done by an ensemble of actors and according to its European origins, is oriented towards adult audiences. In the United States striptease, burlesque, drag shows, or a solo vocalist with a pianist, the word cabaret was first used in 1655. It is derived from tavern probably from Middle Dutch cambret, the word cabaret came to mean a restaurant or night club by 1912. Cabaret can be divided in 10 different types. However, these are artificial dividing lines, cabaret shows are most of the time a compound of elements from the different types, the cabaret performer plays with language, sometimes poetic, but often is he or she rock hard and hateful. The cabaret performer analyses in his/her stubborn manner actual, social and political topics, the cabaret performer tells an often slightly absurd story with a moral packed in it. The cabaret performer plays with music, for example by twisting or combining familiar melodies, the cabaret performer tells nonsensical and absurd stories and plays idiotic types. The emphasis is less on text in the show of cabaret performer. Here the cabaret performer eludes on his liberating through laughter role, an iteration of storytelling cabaret The cabaret performer quickly switches between the different styles/types of cabaret, types, or songs. In this the cabaret performer is a guest at a government, institution or a company, cabarets existed in Paris in the 16th century, they were ancestors of the modern restaurant. Unlike taverns they sold wine not by itself but only with a meal, customers might sing if they had drunk enough wine, but early cabarets did not have formal programs of entertainment. Cabarets were frequently used as meeting places for writers and artists, in 1773 French poets, painters, musicians and writers began to meet in a cabaret called Le Caveau on rue de Buci, where they composed and sang songs. The Caveau continued until 1816, when it was forced to close because its clients wrote songs mocking the royal government, in the 18th century the café-concert or café-chantant appeared, which offered food along with music, singers, or magicians. The most famous was the Cafe des Aveugles in the cellars of the Palais-Royal, in the early 19th century many cafés-chantants appeared around the city, the most famous were the Café des Ambassadeurs on the Champs-Élysées and the Eldorado on boulevard Strasbourg. By 1900 there were more than 150 cafés-chantants in Paris, the first cabaret in the modern sense was Le Chat Noir in the Bohemian neighborhood of Montmartre, created in 1881 by Rodolphe Salis, a theatrical agent and entrepreneur
Cabaret
–
1896 advertisement for a tour of the first French cabaret show,
Le Chat Noir.
Cabaret
–
The Café des Aveugles in the cellars of the Palais-Royal (beginning of the 19th century)
Cabaret
–
The composer
Eric Satie playing the piano at
Le Chat Noir (1880s)
Cabaret
–
The
Moulin Rouge in 1893
27.
Adelina Patti
–
Adelina Patti was an Italian-French 19th-century opera singer, earning huge fees at the height of her career in the music capitals of Europe and America. She first sang in public as a child in 1851, the composer Giuseppe Verdi, writing in 1877, described her as being perhaps the finest singer who had ever lived and a stupendous artist. Verdis admiration for Pattis talent was shared by numerous music critics and she was born Adelina Juana Maria Patti, in Madrid, the last child of tenor Salvatore Patti and soprano Caterina Barilli. Her Italian parents were working in Madrid, Spain, at the time of her birth, because her father came from Sicily, Patti was born a subject of the King of the Two Sicilies. She later carried a French passport, as her first two husbands were French and her sisters Amalia and Carlotta Patti were also singers. Her brother Carlo Patti was a violinist who married actress Effie Germon, in her childhood, the family moved to New York City. Patti grew up in the Wakefield section of the Bronx, where her familys home is still standing, Patti sang professionally from childhood, and developed into a coloratura soprano with perfectly equalized vocal registers and a surprisingly warm, satiny tone. Patti learned how to sing and gained understanding of technique from her brother-in-law Maurice Strakosch. Adelina Patti made her debut at age 16 on 24 November 1859 in the title role of Donizettis Lucia di Lammermoor at the Academy of Music. On 24 August 1860, she and Emma Albani were soloists in the premiere of Charles Wugk Sabatiers Cantata in Montreal which was performed in honour of the visit of the Prince of Wales. In 1861, at the age of 18, she was invited to Covent Garden, to execute the role of Amina in Bellinis La sonnambula. During an 1862 American tour, she sang John Howard Paynes Home, Sweet Home at the White House for the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, the Lincolns were mourning their son Willie, who had died of typhoid. Moved to tears, the Lincolns requested an encore of the song, henceforth, it would become associated with Adelina Patti, and she performed it many times as a bonus item at the end of recitals and concerts. Pattis career was one of success after success and her girlish good looks gave her an appealing stage presence, which added to her celebrity status. Patti, however, turned into a singer in the final phase of her operatic. She knew what suited her aging voice to perfection and she stuck to it, typically, her recital programs during the 1890s featured an array of familiar, often sentimental, not-too-demanding popular tunes of the day, which were sure to appeal to her adoring fans. She also had been prepared to tackle quite dramatic parts in operas like LAfricaine, Les Huguenots and she never attempted to sing any verismo parts, however, because these became popular only in the twilight of her career, during the final decade of the 19th century. Many years earlier, Patti had experienced an encounter in Paris with the bel canto-opera composer Gioachino Rossini
Adelina Patti
–
Adelina Patti
Adelina Patti
–
Patti caricatured by the French artist
André Gill (1840-1885).
Adelina Patti
–
Patti and third husband baron Cederström outside the central station in Stockholm in 1900. Patti, uncomfortable with being photographed, bends over in order to hide her face.
28.
Luigi Arditi
–
Luigi Arditi was an Italian violinist, composer and conductor. Arditi was born in Crescentino, Piemonte and he began his musical career as a violinist, and studied music at the Conservatory of Milan. He made his debut in 1843 as a director at Vercelli, Arditi conducted opera throughout Italy and in 1846 found himself conducting as far afield as Havana, Cuba. He visited America, where he remained for a while, conducting operas in New York, Philadelphia, then, following a visit to Constantinople, he decided to settle in London, but made several trips again to America with the Royal Italian Opera Company. He also conducted in Germany, and in other major European cities such as St. Petersburg, Vienna, after 1885, he was in England, conducting at Covent Garden and in various prestigious theatres and promenade concerts in Londons parks. He died at Hove, near Brighton, and is buried in Hove Cemetery, arditis best-known operas are, I Briganti, II Corsaro, and La Spia. In addition he wrote songs and vocal waltzes, the most popular of which are Il Bacio, Le Tortorelle, Se Saran Rose. His Inno Turco for Sultan Abdülmecid I set to a Turkish text was sung in London during the state visit of Sultan Abdülaziz at Crystal Palace by a British choir of 1600 in July 1867. The world premiere recording of Inno Turco, by Turkish music historian Dr Emre Araci with the Prague Symphony Orchestra, notes Sources Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Arditi, Luigi
Luigi Arditi
–
Luigi Arditi
29.
I vespri siciliani
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The story is loosely based on a historical event, the Sicilian Vespers of 1282, using material drawn from the medieval Sicilian tract Lu rebellamentu di Sichilia. After its June 1855 Paris premiere, an Italian libretto was prepared using a new title because Verdi realized that it would have been impossible to place the story in Sicily. Based on Scribes suggestions for changing the location, it became Portugal in 1640 while under Spanish control and this version was first performed at the Teatro Regio in Parma on 26 December 1855. As Les vêpres It was first performed at the Paris Opéra on 13 June 1855, however, after a few performances, the opera disappeared and was replaced by the French version of Il trovatore, Le trouvère. Except for this one revival in Paris in 1863, it vanished from the Parisian stage altogether An Italian libretto was prepared under Verdis supervision by the poet Ettore Caimi. The composer was aware that in Italy at that time, it was not possible to retain the Sicilian location, as he notes to his publisher Giulio Ricordi in April 1855, the subject so as to render it acceptable for Italian theatres. The title became Giovanna de Guzman, but for reasons it was known variously as Giovanna Braganza, Giovanna di Sicilia. Overall, Verdi was not happy with the translation, which Budden regards as one of the worst ever perpetrated, however, some improvements were made when the opera reverted to its translated Italian title after 1861. Finally, by July 1856, Verdi sanctioned the removal of the ballet, and, with rare exceptions. The UK premiere took place on 27 July 1859 at the Drury Lane Theatre in London while on 7 November of that year, from 1856 forward, it has been almost always performed in the Italian version. The UK premiere took place on 27 July 1859 at the Drury Lane Theatre in London while on 7 November of that year, the Metropolitan Opera in New York has staged this version 114 times since 1893, the most recent being 2004. Companies which plan to present or have presented all of Verdis works include the Sarasota Opera, ABAO in Bilbao Spain, today, the opera is given occasionally but is not regarded as a mainstay of the repertoire. Place, Palermo, Italy Time,1282 Palermos main square Tebaldo, Roberto, as they offer a toast to their homeland, they are observed by the local Sicilians, unhappy with the occupation. Elena enters dressed in mourning for her executed brother, somewhat drunk, Roberto demands that she sing and she calmly agrees. Her song, about the perils of seamen and Gods cry of let dangers be scorned, when the governor, Montforte, enters the crowd calms down. Then Arrigo announces that he has released from prison. Alone with Arrigo, Montforte offers him a position with the French as long as he stays away from Elena and he refuses, and immediately follows Elena into the palace. Beside the sea Procida lands on the shore from a fishing boat
I vespri siciliani
–
Scene from the opera (Lithograph by Roberto Focosi)
30.
Dinorah
–
Dinorah, originally Le pardon de Ploërmel, is an 1859 French opéra comique in three acts with music by Giacomo Meyerbeer and a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. The opera was first performed at the Opéra-Comique, in Paris, the stage designs for Acts 1 and 3 were by Edouard-Désiré-Joseph Despléchin and Jean-Louis Chéret. Those for the technically demanding Act 2, which included onstage running water, were by Joseph. The supporting singers were also admired, in particular, Barreille as the huntsman. Meyerbeers music was praised for its originality, but the libretto was found incomprehensible, in the initial run of performances up to the end of 1859, changes were made, the most significant being the casting of the contralto Palmyre Wertheimber in the role of Hoël. The opera remained very successful in Paris up to 1912. Under its original title it was revived at the Opéra-Comique on 27 August 1874,23 May 1881,6 June 1896 and it was revived in Brussels as late as 11 January 1939. Meyerbeer composed recitatives to replace the spoken dialog for performances abroad, Dinorah was performed in New York in Italian on 24 November 1862. As a novelty, it attracted a deal of attention and was very popular. One of its attractions was to be the appearance of an actual, live goat on stage, unfortunately, the opera followed close on the heels of a highly successful production of Bellinis Norma, and Meyerbeers work suffered by comparison. The reviewer in Dwights Music was highly critical, writing, Beside such music as this, Bellinis melodies are golden, other sopranos who have enjoyed considerable success in the role of Dinorah are Amelita Galli-Curci, Ilma di Murska, Luisa Tetrazzini and Maria Barrientos and Lily Pons. This unusual overture has several sections with chorus, ample percussion, Hoël returns to the village, having discovered the whereabouts of a treasure. He enlists Corentin to help him recover the riches, but not without intent, since according to the legend. A mysterious valley They descend upon the cache where Dinorah also happens to be, from her, Corentin learns about the legend, and later he and Hoël invite each other first to inspect the treasure. During that time, Dinorah, in pursuit of her pet goat, steps on a trunk by a river as it is hit by lightning. Hoël having witnessed the scene leaps to her rescue, Hoël admits his love and regrets to Dinorah as she regains consciousness. She recognizes him and regains her sanity, the villagers arrive and sing a hymn of forgiveness and lead the two lovers to the chapel where they will be married. Meyerbeers manuscripts have not been found, and most published libretti reflect cuts to the made in almost all productions
Dinorah
–
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Dinorah
–
Poster for the premiere depicting Corentin, Dinorah, and Hoël
Dinorah
–
Faure as Hoël, 1859
Dinorah
–
Sainte-Foy as Corentin
31.
Henry Bishop (composer)
–
Sir Henry Rowley Bishop was an English composer. He is most famous for the songs Home and he was the composer or arranger of some 120 dramatic works, including 80 operas, light operas, cantatas, and ballets. Knighted in 1842, he was the first musician to be so honoured, Bishop was born in London, where his father was a watchmaker and haberdasher. At the age of 13, Bishop left full-time education and worked as a music-publisher with his cousin, after training as a jockey at Newmarket, he took some lessons in harmony from Francisco Bianchi in London. In 1804 he wrote the music to a piece called Angelina, after his second success on the stage with The Maniac, Bishop became music director of Covent Garden for the next 14 years. In 1813, he was a member of the Royal Philharmonic Society. It was intended to compete with Webers Oberon, commissioned by the other house, aladdin failed, and Bishops career as an operatic composer came to an end. He did, however, rework operas by other composers, an 1827 Covent Garden playbill records a performance of the Marriage of Figaro with The Overture and Music selected chiefly from Mozarts operas – the new music by Mr Bishop. It included an aria called Follow, follow oer the mountain, in 1841 he was appointed Reid Professor of Music in the University of Edinburgh, but resigned the office in 1843. In 1848 he became Heather Professor of Music at the University of Oxford, succeeding William Crotch, according to William Denslow, Bishop was a freemason. Bishops later years were clouded by scandal and he had married his second wife, the singer Ann Rivière, in 1831. She was twenty-three years younger than he, and they had three children, in 1839, Anna Bishop abandoned her husband and three children to run off with her lover and accompanist, the harpist and composer Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. They left England to give concert tours abroad until Bochsa died in Sydney, Australia, Anna Bishop sang on every continent and was the most widely travelled opera singer of the 19th century. Sir Henry Bishop died in poverty in London, although he had an income during his lifetime. He is buried in East Finchley Cemetery in north London, Bishops operas were written in a style and format that satisfied the audiences of his day. They have more in common with the earlier, native English ballad opera genre, or with modern musicals and his first opera, The Circassians Bride, had one performance at Drury Lane before the theatre burned down and the score was lost. Between 1816 and 1828, Bishop composed the music for a series of Shakespearean operas staged by Frederic Reynolds, but these, and the numerous works, operas, burlettas, cantatas, incidental music etc. which he wrote are mostly forgotten. Even his limited partnering with various composers including Joseph Edwards Carpenter, Thomas Simpson Cooke,1816 also saw the composition of a string quartet in C minor
Henry Bishop (composer)
–
Sir Henry Rowley Bishop, by
Isaac Pocock (died 1835)
32.
Home! Sweet Home!
–
Bishop had earlier published a more elaborate version of this melody, naming it A Sicilian Air, but he later confessed to having written himself. The songs lyrics are, When the song was published separately, the publishers made a considerable profit from it, net £2,100 in the first year, and the producer of the opera did well. Only Payne did not really profit by its success, while his money lasted, he was a prince of bohemians, but had little business sense. In 1852 Henry Bishop relaunched the song as a parlour ballad, the songs American premiere took place at the Winter Tivoli Theatre in Philadelphia on October 29,1823, and was sung by Mrs. Williams. As soon as 1827 this song was quoted by Swedish composer Franz Berwald in his Konzertstück for Bassoon, gaetano Donizetti used the theme in his Opera Anna Bolena Act 2, Scene 3 as part of Anna’s Mad Scene to underscore her longing for her childhood home. In 1857 composer/pianist Sigismond Thalberg wrote a series of variations for piano on the theme of Home, in 1909, it was featured in the silent film The House of Cards, an Edison Studios film. In the particular scene, a bar was hurriedly closed due to a fracas. A card reading Play Home Sweet Home was displayed, upon which an on-screen fiddler promptly supplied a pantomime of the song and this may imply a popular association of this song with the closing hour of drinking establishments. The song was banned from being played in Union Army camps during the American Civil War for being too redolent of hearth and home. The song is famous in Japan as Hanyū no Yado and it has been used in such movies as The Burmese Harp and Grave of the Fireflies. It is also used at Senri-Chūō Station on the Kita-Osaka Kyūkō Railway
Home! Sweet Home!
–
Cover of the
sheet music for a version published in 1914.
33.
Nellie Melba
–
Dame Nellie Melba GBE, born Helen Porter Mitchell, was an Australian operatic soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and she was the first Australian to achieve international recognition as a classical musician. She took the pseudonym Melba from Melbourne, her home town, Melba studied singing in Melbourne and made a modest success in performances there. After a brief and unsuccessful marriage, she moved to Europe in search of a singing career, failing to find engagements in London in 1886, she studied in Paris and soon made a great success there and in Brussels. Returning to London she quickly established herself as the lyric soprano at Covent Garden from 1888. She soon achieved success in Paris and elsewhere in Europe. Her repertoire was small, in her career she sang no more than 25 roles and was closely identified with only ten. She was known for her performances in French and Italian opera, during the First World War, Melba raised large sums for war charities. She returned to Australia frequently during the 20th century, singing in opera and concerts and she was active in the teaching of singing at the Melbourne Conservatorium. Melba continued to sing until the last months of her life and her death, in Australia, was news across the English-speaking world, and her funeral was a major national event. Melba was born in Richmond, Victoria, the eldest of seven children of the builder David Mitchell, Mitchell, a Scot, had emigrated to Australia in 1852, becoming a successful builder. Melba was taught to play the piano and first sang in public around age six and she was educated at a local boarding school and then at the Presbyterian Ladies College. She studied singing with Mary Ellen Christian and Pietro Cecchi, an Italian tenor, in her teens, Melba continued to perform in amateur concerts in and around Melbourne, and she played the organ at church. Her father encouraged her in her studies, but he strongly disapproved of her taking up singing as a career. Melbas mother died suddenly in 1881 at Richmond, Melbas father moved the family to Mackay, Queensland, where he built a new sugar mill. Melba soon became popular in Mackay society for her singing and piano-playing, on 22 December 1882 in Brisbane, she married Charles Nesbitt Frederick Armstrong, the youngest son of Sir Andrew Armstrong. They had one child, a son, George, born on 16 October 1883, the marriage was not a success, Charles reportedly beat his wife more than once. The couple separated after just over a year, and Melba returned to Melbourne determined to pursue a singing career, debuting professionally in concerts in 1884
Nellie Melba
–
Nellie Melba, 1902, by
Henry Walter Barnett
Nellie Melba
–
Melba, drawn by Frank Haviland
Nellie Melba
–
Philippe, Duke of Orléans
Nellie Melba
–
Melba as Marguerite in
Faust
34.
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
–
Pauline Viardot
Pauline Viardot
Pauline Viardot
–
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
35.
Alexander Alyabyev
–
Alexander Aleksandrovich Alyabyev, also rendered as Alabiev or Alabieff, was a Russian composer known as one of the fathers of the Russian art song. He wrote seven operas, twenty musical comedies, a symphony, born to a wealthy family in Tobolsk in Siberia, Alyabyev learned music in his early years. He joined the Russian Army in 1812, during the Napoleonic War and he participated in the entry of the Russian forces into Dresden and Paris, and he won two awards. After the mysterious death of a man he spent all night gambling with in February 1825, while the evidence was not conclusive, Tsar Nicholas I expressly ordered him into exile to his native town of Tobolsk. Freed in 1831, he spent some years in the Caucasus before returning to Moscow, alyabyevs most famous work is The Nightingale, a song based on a poem by Anton Delvig. It was composed while Alyabyev was in prison, in 1825 and it has entered Russian consciousness as akin to a folk song. Mikhail Glinka wrote piano variations based on the song, as did Mily Balakirev, franz Liszt also wrote a transcription of it. It was one of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovskys favourite songs from his earliest childhood, the Artaria String Quartet at UNC, Whos on First. Archived from the original on April 10,2008, Free scores by Alexander Alyabyev at the International Music Score Library Project Free scores Mutopia Project Free scores by Alexander Alyabyev in the Choral Public Domain Library
Alexander Alyabyev
–
Contents
36.
Maria Callas
–
Maria Callas, Commendatore OMRI, was a Greek-American soprano, and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her bel canto technique, wide-ranging voice and dramatic interpretations and her musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as La Divina. Born in New York City and raised by a mother, she received her musical education in Greece. Forced to deal with the exigencies of wartime poverty and with myopia that left her nearly blind onstage, she endured struggles and scandal over the course of her career. She turned herself from a woman into a svelte and glamorous one after a mid-career weight loss, which might have contributed to her vocal decline. The press exulted in publicizing Callass temperamental behavior, her rivalry with Renata Tebaldi. Callass father had shortened the surname Kalogeropoulos first to Kalos and subsequently to Callas in order to make it more manageable, If you marry this man, I will never be able to help you. Evangelia had ignored his warning, but soon realized that her father was right, the situation was aggravated by Georges philandering and was improved neither by the birth of a daughter, named Yakinthi, in 1917 nor the birth of a son, named Vassilis, in 1920. Vassiliss death from meningitis in the summer of 1922 dealt another blow to the marriage, the family left for New York in July 1923, moving first into an apartment in Astoria, Queens. Evangelia was convinced that her child would be a boy. Maria was christened three years later at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in 1926, when Maria was 4, George Callas opened his own pharmacy, settling the family in Manhattan on 192nd Street in Washington Heights where Callas grew up. Around the age of three, Marias musical talent began to manifest itself, and after Evangelia discovered that her youngest daughter also had a voice, Callas later recalled, I was made to sing when I was only five, and I hated it. George was unhappy with his wife favoring their elder daughter, as well as the put upon young Mary to sing. The marriage continued to deteriorate and in 1937 Evangelia decided to return to Athens with her two daughters, I was the ugly duckling, fat and clumsy and unpopular. It is a thing to make a child feel ugly. Ill never forgive her for taking my childhood away, during all the years I should have been playing and growing up, I was singing or making money. Everything I did for them was good and everything they did to me was mostly bad. In 1957, she told Norman Ross, Children should have a wonderful childhood, I have not had it – I wish I had
Maria Callas
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Maria Callas as Violetta in
La traviata, 1958
Maria Callas
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The apartment house in Athens where Callas lived from 1937 to 1945
Maria Callas
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Maria Callas with her teacher
Elvira de Hidalgo in 1954
Maria Callas
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The Villa in Sirmione where Callas lived with Giovanni Battista Meneghini between 1950 and 1959
37.
Mezzo-soprano
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A mezzo-soprano or mezzo is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-sopranos vocal range extends from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above. In the lower and upper extremes, some mezzo-sopranos may extend down to the F below middle C, the mezzo-soprano voice type is generally divided into the coloratura, lyric, and dramatic mezzo-soprano. Mezzo-sopranos are well represented in music, early music. Some roles designated for lighter soubrette sopranos are sung by mezzo-sopranos, such roles include Despina in Mozarts Così fan tutte and Zerlina in his Don Giovanni. Mezzos sometimes play dramatic soprano roles such as Santuzza in Mascagnis Cavalleria rusticana, Lady Macbeth in Verdis Macbeth, the vocal range of the mezzo-sopranos lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. Mezzo-sopranos generally have a heavier, darker tone than sopranos, the mezzo-soprano voice resonates in a higher range than that of a contralto. The terms Dugazon and Galli-Marié are sometimes used to refer to light mezzo-sopranos, usually men singing within the female range are called countertenors since there is a lighter more breathy tonal quality difference. Within the mezzo-soprano voice type category are three generally recognized subcategories, coloratura mezzo-soprano, lyric mezzo-soprano, and dramatic mezzo-soprano, a coloratura mezzo-soprano has a warm lower register and an agile high register. The roles they sing often demand not only the use of the register but also leaps into the upper tessitura with highly ornamented. They have a range from approximately the G below middle C to the B two octaves above middle C, some coloratura mezzo-sopranos can sing up to high C or high D, but this is very rare. What distinguishes these voices from being called sopranos is their extension into the register and warmer vocal quality. Although coloratura mezzo-sopranos have impressive and at times thrilling high notes, they are most comfortable singing in the middle of their range, many of the hero roles in the operas of Handel and Monteverdi, originally sung by male castrati, can be successfully sung today by coloratura mezzo-sopranos. Rossini demanded similar qualities for his heroines, and Vivaldi wrote roles frequently for this voice as well. Coloratura mezzo-sopranos also often sing lyric-mezzo-soprano roles or soubrette roles, coloratura mezzo-soprano roles in operas, The lyric mezzo-soprano has a range from approximately the G below middle C to the A two octaves above middle C. This voice has a smooth, sensitive and at times lachrymose quality. Lyric mezzo-sopranos do not have the agility of the coloratura mezzo-soprano or the size of the dramatic mezzo-soprano. The lyric mezzo-soprano is ideal for most trouser roles and this voice has less vocal facility than the coloratura mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
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Mezzo-soprano voice range (A3–A5) indicated in sheet music (left) and on piano keyboard in green with dot marking middle C (C4).
38.
Marcella Sembrich
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Marcella Sembrich was the stage name of the Polish coloratura soprano, Prakseda Marcelina Kochańska. She had an important international singing career, chiefly at the New York Metropolitan Opera, Sembrich was born at Wisniewczyk, in Austrian Galicia, now part of Ukraine. She first studied violin and piano with her father, later, she entered the Lemberg Conservatory and studied piano with her future husband Wilhelm Stengel and violin with Sigismond Bruckmann. She entered the Vienna Conservatory in Autumn 1875 and it was only then that her remarkable voice was discovered. She studied violin with Joseph Hellmesberger Sr. piano with Julius Epstein, after a year it was decided to give up study of the violin and piano and fully devote the young student to voice lessons. After less than a year of study with the younger of the two Lampertis, Sembrich made her debut in opera at Athens as Elvira in Bellinis I puritani on June 3,1877. She not only sang Puritani, but also Dinorah, Lucia di Lammermoor, Robert le diable and it is a testament to her proper early training and intelligence that a 19-year-old soprano could learn so many roles in a foreign language so quickly. While her success was solid, she still had much to learn, after Athens she was to appear with the Vienna Opera, but due to pregnancy she broke the contract. During her pregnancy and after the birth of her first son, Wilhelm Marcel, she continued her vocal studies, after a long and frustrating search for an opera engagement she was hired as a guest at the Dresden Royal Opera House in September 1878, debuting as Lucia. Her success was immediate and she was dubbed the Polish Patti and she was immediately made a member of the company and remained in Dresden battling opera house politics, until 1880. She broke her contract at Dresden and sang a number of concerts to raise money to go to London and she had an auspicious audition with the impresario Ernest Gye at Covent Garden and signed a contract there for five seasons. In June 1880 she created a sensation in her debut at Covent Garden as Lucia in Donizettis Lucia di Lammermoor, in 1883, Marcella Sembrich went to the United States to sing in the newly founded Metropolitan Opera company. Due to the financial loss of the company that year, Italian opera was abandoned. While away from New York, Sembrich was a favorite at the Italian Opera in St. Petersburg, Russia. Sembrich returned to the Met in 1898, after this date, she taught students from the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and at the Juilliard School of Music. Her students included Alma Gluck, Hulda Lashanska, Queena Mario, Dusolina Giannini, Josephine Antoine, Natalie Bodanya, Polyna Stoska, additionally, some of her students in turn became important vocal teachers around the country. Among them were Anna Hamlin at Smith College, Edith Piper and Florence Page Kimball at Juilliard, the outbreak of World War I had made it impossible for the diva to return to her beloved Alps during the summers. Sembrich turned instead to the Adirondack Mountains area and spent summers at Lake Placid from 1915 to 1921, the Marcella Sembrich Opera Museum can be found at Bolton Landing, New York
Marcella Sembrich
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Marcella Sembrich, photographed in the 1880s
Marcella Sembrich
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Sembrich in a contemporary engraving
39.
Roberta Peters
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Roberta Peters was an American coloratura soprano. She was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1998, Peters was born Roberta Peterman in The Bronx, New York City, the only child of Ruth, a milliner, and Solomon Peterman, a shoe salesman. Encouraged by tenor Jan Peerce, she started her studies at age 13 with William Herman. Under Hermans training, Peters studied the French, German and Italian languages, after six years of training, Herman introduced her to impresario Sol Hurok, who arranged for an audition with Rudolf Bing, general manager of the Metropolitan Opera. Bing asked her to sing the Queen of the Nights second aria from The Magic Flute, several times and he scheduled her to sing the role in February 1951. Peters however made her debut earlier than planned, on November 17,1950, Bing phoned her asking if she could step in to replace Nadine Conner, who was ill, as Zerlina in Don Giovanni. Peters who knew the role, but had not yet ever performed on stage, or even sung with a full orchestra, fritz Reiner was the conductor that night. Despite a reputation for being distant and reserved, Reiner made a point of coming to Peterss dressing room to encourage her and her performance was received with great enthusiasm, and her career was established. Combining an attractive voice with sparkling coloratura agility and good looks, Peters became a favorite of American audiences and she quickly established herself in the standard soubrette and coloratura repertoire. She later added lyric-coloratura roles such as Amina in La sonnambula, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor and Gilda in Rigoletto, Peters also appeared frequently with the Cincinnati Opera, as well as in numerous cities around the United States while on tour with the Met. Peters also appeared abroad as early as 1951, when she sang at the Royal Opera House in London, in Balfes The Bohemian Girl, conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham. From the mid-1950s onwards, she appeared in opera houses in Italy, the Vienna State Opera, the Salzburg Festival. Peters was as popular on television as on the stage and she appeared regularly on such programs as The Voice of Firestone and The Tonight Show. On the Sunday night CBS variety program The Ed Sullivan Show, Peters was its most frequent guest, appearing a record 65 times. She also appeared in television commercials, including a memorable entry in American Express Do You Know Me. campaign. Peters also had a career as a recitalist, appearing in concert halls throughout the United States. Later in her career she added operetta and musical theater to her repertoire, appearing in The Merry Widow and she also recorded Rodgers and Hammersteins Carousel with Alfred Drake. Peters never officially retired and gave occasional recitals later in life, Peters was briefly married to baritone Robert Merrill in 1952, later admitting she had fallen in love with the voice and not the man
Roberta Peters
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Peters in 1974
40.
Beverly Sills
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Beverly Sills was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s. Although she sang a repertoire from Handel and Mozart to Puccini, Massenet and Verdi, she was known for her performances in soprano roles in live opera. Sills was largely associated with the operas of Donizetti, of which she performed and recorded many roles, after retiring from singing in 1980, she became the general manager of the New York City Opera. In 1994, she became the chairwoman of Lincoln Center and then, in 2002, of the Metropolitan Opera, Sills lent her celebrity to further her charity work for the prevention and treatment of birth defects. Sills was born Belle Miriam Silverman in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York City, to Shirley Bahn, a musician, and Morris Silverman and her parents were Jewish immigrants from Odessa, Ukraine and Bucharest, Romania. She was raised in Brooklyn, where she was known, among friends, as a child, she spoke Yiddish, Russian, Romanian, French and English. She attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, as well as Manhattans Professional Childrens School, at the age of three, Sills won a Miss Beautiful Baby contest, in which she sang The Wedding of Jack and Jill. Beginning at age four, she performed professionally on the Saturday morning radio program, Rainbow House, as Bubbles Silverman. Sills began taking singing lessons with Estelle Liebling at the age of seven, Liebling encouraged her to audition for CBS Radios Major Bowes Amateur Hour, and on October 26,1939 at the age of 10, Sills was the winner of that weeks program. Bowes then asked her to appear on his Capitol Family Hour and her first appearance was on November 19,1939, the 17th anniversary of the show, and she appeared frequently on the program thereafter. I played her as a dumb Dora all the way through and my Patience grew clumsier and clumsier with each performance, and audiences seemed to like her. I found that I had a gift for humor. Sills sang in operas for several more years. On July 9,1946, Sills appeared as a contestant on the radio show Arthur Godfreys Talent Scouts and she sang under the pseudonym of Vicki Lynn, as she was under contract to Shubert. Shubert did not want Godfrey to be able to say he had discovered Beverly Sills if she won the contest, Sills sang Romany Life from Victor Herberts The Fortune Teller. In 1947, she made her stage debut as the Spanish gypsy Frasquita in Bizets Carmen with the Philadelphia Civic Grand Opera Company. She toured North America with the Charles Wagner Opera Company, in the fall of 1951 singing Violetta in La traviata and, in the fall of 1952, singing Micaëla in Carmen. On September 15,1953, she made her debut with the San Francisco Opera as Helen of Troy in Boitos Mefistofele and also sang Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni the same season
Beverly Sills
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Beverly Sills in 1956, photo by
Carl Van Vechten
Beverly Sills
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The tombstone of Beverly Sills in Kensico Cemetery
41.
Lily Pons
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Lily Pons was a French-American operatic soprano and actress who had an active career from the late 1920s through the early 1970s. As an opera singer she specialized in the soprano repertoire and was particularly associated with the title roles in Lakmé. She also had a successful and lucrative career as a singer which continued until her retirement from performance in 1973. From 1935–37 she made three films for RKO Pictures. She also made appearances on radio and on television, performing on variety programs like The Ed Sullivan Show, The Colgate Comedy Hour. In 1955 she topped the bill for the first broadcast of what became a television series. She made dozens of records, recording both classical and popular music and she was awarded the Croix de Lorraine and the Légion dhonneur by the Government of France. Pons was also savvy at making herself into a cultural icon. Her opinions on fashion and home decorating were frequently reported in womens magazines, a town in Maryland named itself after her, and thereafter the singer contrived to have all her Christmas cards posted from Lilypons, Maryland. Pons was born as Alice Joséphine Pons in Draguignan near Cannes, to a French father, Léonard Louis Auguste Antoine Pons, and she first studied piano at the Paris Conservatory, winning the First Prize at the age of 15. On October 15,1930, Pons married her first husband, August Mesritz, a successful publisher, the marriage would end in divorce on December 7,1933. In 1925, encouraged by soprano Dyna Beumer and Mesritz, who agreed to fund her singing career and she later studied singing with Alice Zeppilli in New York. Pons successfully made her debut in the title role of Léo Delibes Lakmé at Mulhouse in 1928. She was discovered by the dramatic tenor/impresario Giovanni Zenatello, who took her to New York where she auditioned for Giulio Gatti-Casazza, the Met needed a star coloratura after the retirement of Amelita Galli-Curci in January,1930. Gatti-Casazza engaged Pons immediately and she signed a recording contract with RCA Victor. On January 3,1931, Pons, unknown in the U. S. made an unheralded Met debut as Lucia in Donizettis Lucia di Lammermoor and she became a star and inherited most of Galli-Curcis important coloratura roles. Her career after this point was primarily in the United States and she became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1940. From 1938 to 1958, she was married to conductor André Kostelanetz, in 1955 they built a home in Palm Springs, California
Lily Pons
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Lily Pons
Lily Pons
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Lily Pons at
CKAC,
Montreal
Lily Pons
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Pons in 1935
42.
Diana Damrau
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Diana Damrau is a German soprano opera singer. She is a Kammersängerin of the Bavarian State Opera, Damrau was born in 1971 in Günzburg, Bavaria, Germany, and began her operatic studies with Carmen Hanganu at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg. During her studies, she developed an edema on a vocal fold, after consulting with several doctors, she decided to undergo an alternative therapy without surgery. The treatment lasted about one and a half years, after graduating from music conservatory she worked in Salzburg with Hanna Ludwig. Her first operatic engagements were in Würzburg and subsequently the National Theatre Mannheim and she was invited to sing the title role in Antonio Salieris Europa riconosciuta at the re-opening of La Scala, Milan in 2004, under the baton of Riccardo Muti. Damrau made Metropolitan Opera history in the 2007/08 season by appearing as both Pamina and Queen of the Night in different performances of the same run. Another notable engagement was her portrayal of all four heroines in Offenbachs Les contes dHoffmann in a new production at the Bavarian State Opera in October 2011. Other coloratura roles in her repertoire include Zerbinetta, Lucia, Elvira, Rosina, Gilda, Adina, Marie, Linda and she also performs roles in the lyric repertoire including Manon, Donna Anna, Gretel and Pamina. She has since returned to the Metropolitan Opera as both Adina and Rosina and brought her portrayal of Donizettis Lucia to Berlin and Vienna, in March 2014 she sang in La sonnambula at the Metropolitan Opera. As well as performing in operas, Damrau is a regular on the concert stage and her concert repertoire includes Carl Orffs Carmina Burana, Mozarts Great Mass in C minor, Requiem and Exsultate, jubilate as well as Handels Messiah. Damrau is married to French bass-baritone Nicolas Testé and they have two sons, born in 2010 and 2012. 25, with the Telos label and live recordings of her summer 2005 Liederabend at the Salzburg Festival, since 2007 Damrau has had an exclusive recording contract with EMI/Virgin. Arie di Bravura, her first release was a recital of Mozart, Righini and Salieri arias with Le Cercle de lHarmonie, conducted by Jérémie Rhorer. Donna, Opera and Concert Arias by Mozart is a collection of Mozart opera and concert arias and is a collaboration with Rhorer. Coloraturas is a collection of arias with which the soprano is most closely associated, Poesie, Richard Strauss Lieder is a collection of Richard Strauss orchestral songs recorded with the Munich Philharmonic under the baton of Christian Thielemann. Liszt Lieder is a collection of songs by Liszt, accompanied by pianist Helmut Deutsch. Forever is a collection of operetta and musical numbers recorded with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic conducted by David Charles Abell. The number of living holders of the award is limited to 100,2011, Awarded the Echo Klassik Award for her album Poesie 2014, Named Female Singer of the Year in the International Opera Awards 2014
Diana Damrau
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Diana Damrau, 2012
43.
Kathleen Battle
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Kathleen Deanna Battle is an American operatic light lyric soprano known for her distinctive vocal range and tone. Born in Portsmouth, Ohio, Battle initially became known for her work within the repertoire through performances with major orchestras during the early. She made her debut in 1975. Battle expanded her repertoire into lyric soprano and coloratura soprano roles during the 1980s, after a 22-year absence from the Met, Battle performed a concert of spirituals at the Metropolitan Opera House in November 2016. Battle was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, USA, the youngest of seven children and her father was a steelworker, and her mother was an active participant in the gospel music of the familys African Methodist Episcopal church. Battle attended Portsmouth High School where her teacher and mentor was Charles P. Varney. In a 1985 Time Magazine interview, Varney recalled the first time he heard the eight-year-old Battle sing, describing her as this little thing singing so beautifully. I went to her later, Varney recalled, and told her God had blessed her, in that same interview, music critic Michael Walsh described Battle as the best lyric coloratura in the world. Battle was awarded a scholarship to the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where she studied voice with Franklin Bens and she majored in music education, and proceeded to a masters degree in Music Education. In 1971 she began a career at an inner-city public school in Cincinnati. Later, she studied singing with Daniel Ferro in New York, in 1972, her second year as a teacher, a friend and fellow church choir member phoned her and informed her that the conductor Thomas Schippers was holding auditions in Cincinnati. At her audition Schippers engaged her to sing as the soprano soloist in Brahms German Requiem at the 1972 Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto and her performance there on July 9,1972 marked the beginning of her professional career. During the next years, Battle would go on to sing in several more orchestral concerts in New York, Los Angeles. In 1973 she was awarded a grant from the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music to support her career, william Mullen, managing director of the Santa Fe Concert Association was on the panel of judges who made the award. In 2004 he recalled, We would meet monthly, listen to up-and-coming concert artists, a very young Kathleen Battle sang for us. The other judges thought her voice was too small, but I thought she had an ability to communicate through music. I talked the judges into giving her a grant. Thomas Schippers introduced Kathleen Battle to his fellow conductor James Levine who selected Battle to sing in Mahlers Symphony No.8 at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras May Festival in 1974
Kathleen Battle
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Kathleen Battle singing the
Lord's Prayer at the arrival ceremony in honor of
Pope Benedict XVI on the South Lawn of the
White House on April 16, 2008
44.
Marilyn Horne
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Marilyn Horne is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring a large sound, beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and she is a recipient of the National Medal of Arts and the Kennedy Center Honors. She has won four Grammy Awards, Horne was born in Bradford, Pennsylvania, but moved with her parents to Long Beach, California, when she was 11. At the age of 13, she became part of the newly formed Los Angeles Concert Youth Chorus and she attended the University of Southern California where she was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority. She is an alumna of Long Beach Polytechnic High School and returned in 1989 in a performance to benefit its music program, as a high school student, Marilyn was part of the St. Lukes Choir of Long Beach under the direction of William Ripley Dorr. This prestigious choir often worked for the studios and recorded with Capitol Records. Marilyn and her sister Gloria were part of St. Lukes Quartet along with tenor Bob James and she studied voice under William Vennard at the University of Southern California School of Music and participated in Lotte Lehmanns vocal master classes. Hornes first major engagement was in 1954, when she dubbed the singing voice of Dorothy Dandridge in the film Carmen Jones.98. She made her Los Angeles debut the year when she performed the role of Hata in The Bartered Bride with the Los Angeles Guild Opera. Her first major breakthrough came when her ability was recognized by Igor Stravinsky. She remained in Europe for three seasons singing for the Gelsenkirchen Opera and she was highly acclaimed for her performance as Marie in Alban Bergs Wozzeck at the inauguration of Gelsenkirchens new opera house on May 22,1960. In 1964, she returned to the United States to appear in Wozzeck at the San Francisco Opera, for many years, Horne was associated with the Australian soprano Dame Joan Sutherland in their performances of the bel canto repertoire. They first performed together in a version of Vincenzo Bellinis Beatrice di Tenda at The Town Hall in Manhattan in February 1961. This performance was so successful, it was repeated twice at Carnegie Hall, Horne made her debut at the Royal Opera House in October 1964 as Marie in Wozzeck. Her La Scala debut was as Jocasta in Stravinskys opéra-oratorio Œdipus rex on March 13,1969, another of Hornes breakthroughs occurred that same year during a performance of Rossinis Le siège de Corinthe at La Scala, when Horne received a remarkable mid-act seven-minute ovation. Horne made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1970 as Adalgisa in Bellinis Norma with Sutherland in the title role and she thereafter appeared regularly at the Met, opening the 1972/1973 season as Carmen. A great success there was in Meyerbeers Le prophète, in John Dexters production, in 1984, she sang the title role of Handels opera seria Rinaldo, the first Handel opera ever performed at the Met. Although best known for her bel canto and opera seria roles, Horne also sang much American music, both contemporary music by composers such as William Bolcom, and traditional popular songs
Marilyn Horne
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Marilyn Horne and
Henry Lewis in 1961, photo by
Carl Van Vechten
45.
Teresa Berganza
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Teresa Berganza Vargas is a Spanish mezzo-soprano. She is most closely associated with the roles of Rossini, Mozart and she is admired for her technical virtuosity, musical intelligence, and beguiling stage presence. Teresa Berganza was born in Madrid and she studied piano and voice at the Madrid Conservatory, where she was awarded first prize for singing in 1954. She made her debut in Madrid in 1955. Berganza made her debut as Dorabella in Così fan tutte in 1957 at the Aix-en-Provence Festival. That same year, she made her Teatro alla Scala debut, in 1959, Berganza made her first appearances at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, which became one of her signature roles. In 1967, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, as a recitalist, Berganza made her Carnegie Hall debut in 1964. Her concert repertoire includes Spanish, French, German, and Russian songs, Berganza shared the 1991 Prince of Asturias Award for arts and letters with six other Spanish singers. She also won the Grand Prix Rossini, in 1992, Berganza participated in the opening ceremonies of Expo 92 in Seville and the opening ceremonies of the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. In 1994, she became the first woman elected to the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, in 1996, she was awarded the Premio Nacional de Música. She currently teaches singing at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, continues to perform music of Spanish composers and her students have included María Bayo and Jorge Chaminé. Teresa Berganza has appeared in nine motion pictures, including Il barbiere di Siviglia in 1972, as Zerlina in Joseph Loseys Don Giovanni in 1979, official web page Teresa Berganza at the Internet Movie Database Discography Teresa Berganza interview by Bruce Duffie, December 1,1984
Teresa Berganza
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Teresa Berganza in 1957
46.
Lucia Valentini Terrani
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Lucia Valentini Terrani was an Italian coloratura mezzo-soprano, particularly associated with Rossini roles. Born Lucia Valentini, she studied first at the Padua Music Conservatory and she made her stage debut in Brescia, as Angelina in La cenerentola, a role with which she would remain closely associated throughout her career. She made her debut at La Scala in 1973, again as Angelina, and quickly established herself in the Rossini repertoire, singing in Litaliana in Algeri, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Il viaggio a Reims. She also sang the many roles such as Tancredi, Malcolm in La donna del lago, Pippo in La gazza ladra, Calbo in Maometto secondo, Arsace in Semiramide, Isolier in Le comte Ory. She also sang a few roles of the repertory, notably Medea in Cavallis Giasone, Dido in Purcells Dido and Aeneas, Alcina in Vivaldis Orlando furioso. However, she did not restrict herself to the belcanto and expanded her repertoire to include such as Eboli, Quickly, Mignon, Carmen, Charlotte, Dulcinée, Marina. She enjoyed a successful international career, appearing in Paris, Moscow, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1974, as Isabella Litaliana in Algeri, Valentini married Italian actor Alberto Terrani, pseudonym of Alfredo Bolognesi, in 1973, and added his stage surname to hers. Sadly she was not as lucky as Carreras, and died of complications following a bone marrow transplant at the age of 51. One of the leading contemporary Italian coloratura mezzos, she had a rich, creamy and agile voice used with fine musicianship and her recordings include Litaliana in Algeri, La cenerentola, Nabucco, Falstaff, and Don Carlos. A small square close to the Teatro Verdi in Padua, the city of her birth, has been named Piazzetta Lucia Valentini Terrani in her honour, Le guide de lopéra, les indispensables de la musique, R. Mancin & J-J. Rouvereux, ISBN 2-213-01563-5 Opera News, Obituaries, August 1998 Interview with Lucia Valentini Terrani by Bruce Duffie, December 2,1981
Lucia Valentini Terrani
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Lucia Valentini Terrani
47.
Susanne Marsee
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Susanne Marsee is an American mezzo-soprano of note, particularly acclaimed as a singing-actress. She is of Greek, English, and French heritage and she sang performances of Rossinis Stabat mater for the Cincinnati May Festival and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Abroad, the mezzo-soprano appeared at Calgary, the Canary Islands Festival, Caracas, the Cervantes Festival, Mexico City, Montreal, and the Taiwanese Opera Festival. In 1972, Marsee made her only recording, for Westminster, as Nicklausse in Les contes dHoffmann, opposite Sills and Treigle. Marsee was seen in a number of PBS television broadcasts, Rachel, la cubana, Roberto Devereux, Il turco in Italia, La Cenerentola, Rigoletto, A Little Night Music and her final appearances at the City Opera were as Mistress Bentsen in Lakmé, in 1994. The following year, she sang her farewell performance, in the cameo rôle of Alisa in the Capobianco production of Lucia di Lammermoor, for the Pittsburgh Opera. In 2015, Opera Depot published her 1976 performance of Lucrezia Borgia, with Sills and Henry Price, conducted by Rudel, later the same year, they published the 1975 Anna Bolena, with Scotto and Ramey, conducted by Rudel. In 2016, they published the Aix-en-Provence Roberto Devereux, to mark the birthday of Carreras. Offenbach, Les contes dHoffmann Deutsche Grammophon Donizetti, Roberto Devereux VAI Whos Who in Opera, edited by Maria F. Rich, the New York City Opera, An American Adventure, by Martin L. Sokol, Macmillan Publishing Co, Inc,1981. ISBN 0-02-612280-4 Susanne Marsee in an excerpt from La Cenerentola on YouTube, with Rockwell Blake
Susanne Marsee
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Susanne Marsee.
48.
Cecilia Bartoli
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Cecilia Bartoli, Cavaliere OMRI is an Italian coloratura mezzo-soprano opera singer and recitalist. She is best known for her interpretations of the music of Mozart and Rossini, as well as for her performances of lesser-known Baroque and she is known for having the versatility to sing soprano and mezzo roles. Bartoli is considered a coloratura mezzo-soprano with an unusual timbre and she is one of the most popular opera singers of recent years. Her parents, Silvana Bazzoni and Pietro Angelo Bartoli, were both singers and gave her her first music lessons. Her first public performance was at age eight as the boy in Tosca. Bartoli later studied at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome, in contrast to most opera singers, Bartoli came to prominence in her early twenties, unusual in a profession where vocal maturity is typically not achieved until the thirties. She made her professional opera début in 1987 at the Arena di Verona, the following year she undertook the role of Rosina in Rossinis The Barber of Seville at the Cologne Opera, the Schwetzingen Festival and the Zurich Opera earning rave reviews. In 1990 she made her début at the Opéra Bastille as Cherubino in Mozarts Le nozze di Figaro and this was followed by her La Scala début as Isolier in Le comte Ory in 1991, a performance which solidified her reputation as one of the worlds leading Rossini singers. In 2000 she sang in another Mozart soprano role, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, in 2001 she made a long-awaited Royal Opera House début, taking the roles of Euridice and the Genio in the London stage première of Haydns Lanima del filosofo. In addition to Mozart and Rossini, Bartoli has spent much of her performing and recording baroque and early classical era music of such composers as Gluck, Vivaldi, Haydn. In early 2005, she sang Cleopatra in Handels Giulio Cesare, a written for a soprano. She often performs with the baroque Ensemble Il Giardino Armonico, the album Maria was released in September 2007. In May 2008, Bartoli played the role written for Malibran in a revival of Fromental Halévys 1828 opera Clari at the Zurich Opera. In June 2010 she sang the role of Bellinis Norma for the first time with conductor Thomas Hengelbrock in a concert in the Konzerthaus Dortmund. In March 2011, Bartoli toured five Australian cities with two programs, drawn from Sacrificium and Maria, in 2012 Bartoli became the artistic director of the Salzburg Whitsun Festival, an extension of the traditional Salzburg Festival, which produces performances during Whitsun weekend. In 2012, she sang Cleopatra in Handels Giulio Cesare, in 2013 the title role in Vincenzo Bellinis Norma, in 2011, Bartoli won a fifth Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance for Sacrificium. In 2012 she was voted into the magazines Gramophones Hall of Fame and she is a 2012 recipient of the Herbert von Karajan Music Prize. The couple married in 2011 after 12 years together, Bartoli lived in Monaco in the early 2010s
Cecilia Bartoli
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Bartoli at the
Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels, 2008
Cecilia Bartoli
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Bartoli at the
Salle Pleyel, Paris, 2008
Cecilia Bartoli
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Bartoli as Cleopatra at the
Salzburg Festival, 2012
49.
Joyce DiDonato
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Joyce DiDonato is an American operatic lyric-coloratura mezzo-soprano notable for her interpretations of the works of Handel, Mozart, and Rossini. She has performed many of the worlds leading opera companies and orchestras. Joyce Flaherty was born in Prairie Village, Kansas in 1969 and her father, Donald Flaherty, was a self-employed architect who designed houses in the area. One of her sisters, Mrs. Amy Hetherington, is a teacher at St. Ann Catholic School. She later attended Bishop Miege High School, where she sang in musicals and she entered Wichita State University in the autumn of 1988 where she studied vocal music education. After graduating from WSU in spring 1992, DiDonato decided to graduate studies in vocal performance at the Academy of Vocal Arts. Following her studies in Philadelphia, she was accepted in The Santa Fe Operas Apprentice Singer program for the summer 1995 festival season, DiDonato was honored as one of several Outstanding Apprentice Artists by the Santa Fe Opera that year. In 1996 she became a part of Houston Grand Operas young artist program where she sang from autumn 1996 to spring 1998, during the summer of 1997, DiDonato participated in San Francisco Operas Merola Program. During her apprentice years, DiDonato competed in several notable vocal competitions, in 1996 she won second prize in the Eleanor McCollum Competition and was a district winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation, DiDonato began her professional career in the 1998/1999 season singing with several regional opera companies in the United States. She most notably appeared as the heroine, Maslova, in the world premiere of Tod Machovers Resurrection with the Houston Grand Opera. She gave a recital in San Francisco that year as part of the Schwabacher recital series. That season, she sang the role of Cherubino in Mozarts Le nozze di Figaro with the Santa Fe Opera. That same season saw performances of the role in Rossinis Adina at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. Lukes under the baton of Peter Schreier and she toured Europe with Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre in performances of Les nuits dété. The San Francisco Opera was the venue during the 2003/2004 season when DiDonato made her debut as Rosina in Rossinis Il barbiere di Siviglia plus a reprise of the role with Houston Grand Opera. Solo recital appearances included the Lincoln Center in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, Kansas Citys Folly Theater and she sang at the Hollywood Bowl in a production of Beethovens Symphony No.9 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In the role of Elisabetta at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, during the 2005-06 season, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro and she also played Stéphano in Gounods Roméo et Juliette at the Met
Joyce DiDonato
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Joyce DiDonato as Sister
Helen Prejean and Philip Cutlip as Joseph De Rocher in Houston Grand Opera's 2011 production of
Dead Man Walking
50.
Vesselina Kasarova
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Vesselina Katsarova is a Bulgarian mezzo-soprano opera singer. Vesselina Katsarova was born in the central Bulgarian town of Stara Zagora, under the communist regime she studied Russian as a second language and had an early start in music education. She started taking lessons at the Pionerski Dom at age 4 and enrolled at Stara Zagoras Hristina Morfova School of Music. Kasarova gave her first singing performance in Stara Zagora singing Habanera from Bizets Carmen and she performed at Sofia National Opera while still a student. She performed the part of Rosina in the Barber of Seville for her graduation exam, in 1989, her final year at the Sofia Conservatory, she and 5 other students were sent to a month-long concert tour of France. The artist agent Luisa Lasser-Petrov made a recording of one of her performances which she sent to Herbert von Karajan and they met in Salzburg where she was asked to sing Agnus Dei from Bach’s B minor mass. Karajan wanted to engage her to sing Bach’s mass with him at the Salzburg Festival the following year, but died shortly after. The Impresario of the Vienna State Opera, Ioan Holender was persuaded by Lasser-Petrov to hear her auditions, when she returned to Bulgaria, she took part in another audition at Stara Zagora Opera where she was heard by Christoph Groszer, the impresario of the Zurich Opera. He also immediately engaged her for his company, after graduation, Kasarova joined the ensemble at Zurich Opera in 1989 and made her professional stage debut in Wagner’s Götterdämmerung as the 2nd Norn and Wellgunde. She soon became a local favorite there with the audience appreciative of her unique vocal timbres, expressive intensity and she also entered and won that years Neue Stimmen competition at Gütersloh. The competition was sponsored by Bertelsmann, which ownes BMG Classics label, in 1991, she made her debut at the Salzburg Festival singing 2 concerts in commemoration of Mozarts 200th death anniversary and as Annio in Mozarts La Clemenza di Tito under Sir Colin Davis. In that same year she left Zurich to fulfill her contract at the Vienna State Opera debuting in the role of Rosina in Rossinis The Barber of Seville, there she married her Swiss husband. Her international career took flight in Salzburg in 1992 when at short notice and she has also performed at other notable opera festivals such as Bregenz, St. Moritz, Glyndebourne, Munich and Pesaro. Kasarova initially specialized in Mozarts operas and works by bel canto composers such as Rossini, Bellini, by the mid 2000s she became much sought after in Baroque trouser roles such as Orphée in Glucks Orphée et Eurydice, Ruggiero in Händels Alcina, and Ariodante in Ariodante. After her first assumption of Bizets Carmen in 2008, however, her voice has gained more warmth, in 2003 Kasarova collaborated with the Bulgarian composer Krassimir Kyurkchiyski to produce the CD Bulgarian Soul. She sings with the Cosmic Voices from Bulgaria and the Sofia Soloists Orchestra in this compilation of Bulgarian folk songs, many people dont know my native land. I would like them to discover the Bulgarian soul, the singer commented and she won the 2003 German ECHO Award for Singer of the Year. In 2005 she won the Merkur Preis and was elected Bayerische Kammersängerin and she hosted Deutsche Welle’s Euromaxx television series Vesselina Kasarova, Bulgarian Encounters, introducing European audiences to her native Bulgaria
Vesselina Kasarova
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Vesselina Kasarova at the Offenbach Konzert in 2007
