1.
Opera
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Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. In traditional opera, singers do two types of singing, recitative, a style and arias, a more melodic style. Opera incorporates many of the elements of theatre, such as acting, scenery. The performance is given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble. Opera is a key part of the Western classical music tradition, in the 18th century, Italian opera continued to dominate most of Europe, attracting foreign composers such as George Frideric Handel. Opera seria was the most prestigious form of Italian opera, until Christoph Willibald Gluck reacted against its artificiality with his operas in the 1760s. The first third of the 19th century saw the point of the bel canto style, with Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti. It also saw the advent of Grand Opera typified by the works of Auber and Meyerbeer, the mid-to-late 19th century was a golden age of opera, led and dominated by Richard Wagner in Germany and Giuseppe Verdi in Italy. The popularity of opera continued through the era in Italy and contemporary French opera through to Giacomo Puccini. During the 19th century, parallel operatic traditions emerged in central and eastern Europe, the 20th century saw many experiments with modern styles, such as atonality and serialism, Neoclassicism, and Minimalism. With the rise of recording technology, singers such as Enrico Caruso, since the invention of radio and television, operas were also performed on these mediums. Beginning in 2006, a number of opera houses began to present live high-definition video transmissions of their performances in cinemas all over the world. In 2009, an opera company offered a download of a complete performance. The words of an opera are known as the libretto, some composers, notably Wagner, have written their own libretti, others have worked in close collaboration with their librettists, e. g. Mozart with Lorenzo Da Ponte. Vocal duets, trios and other ensembles often occur, and choruses are used to comment on the action, in some forms of opera, such as singspiel, opéra comique, operetta, and semi-opera, the recitative is mostly replaced by spoken dialogue. Melodic or semi-melodic passages occurring in the midst of, or instead of, the terminology of the various kinds of operatic voices is described in detail below. Over the 18th century, arias were accompanied by the orchestra. Subsequent composers have tended to follow Wagners example, though some, the changing role of the orchestra in opera is described in more detail below
2.
Giacomo Puccini
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Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian opera composer who has been called the greatest composer of Italian opera after Verdi. Puccinis early work was rooted in traditional late-19th-century romantic Italian opera, later, he successfully developed his work in the realistic verismo style, of which he became one of the leading exponents. Puccinis most renowned works are La bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly, Puccini was born Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini in Lucca in Tuscany, in 1858. He was one of nine children of Michele Puccini and Albina Magi, the Puccini family was established in Lucca as a local musical dynasty by Puccinis great-great grandfather – also named Giacomo. This first Giacomo Puccini was maestro di cappella of the Cattedrale di San Martino in Lucca and he was succeeded in this position by his son, Antonio Puccini, and then by Antonios son Domenico, and Domenicos son Michele. Each of these men studied music at Bologna, and some additional musical studies elsewhere. Domenico Puccini studied for a time under Giovanni Paisiello, each composed music for the church. In addition, Domenico composed several operas, and Michele composed one opera, Puccinis father Michele enjoyed a reputation throughout northern Italy, and his funeral was an occasion of public mourning, at which the then-famed composer Giovanni Pacini conducted a Requiem. However, when Michele Puccini died in 1864, his son Giacomo was only six years old, as a child, he nevertheless participated in the musical life of the Cattedrale di San Martino, as a member of the boys choir and later as a substitute organist. Puccini was given an education at the seminary of San Michele in Lucca. One of Puccinis uncles, Fortunato Magi, supervised his musical education, Puccini got a diploma from the Pacini School of Music in Lucca in 1880, having studied there with his uncle Fortunato, and later with Carlo Angeloni, who had also instructed Alfredo Catalani. Puccini studied at the conservatory for three years, sharing a room with Pietro Mascagni, in 1880, at the age of 21, Puccini composed his Mass, which marks the culmination of his familys long association with church music in his native Lucca. Puccini wrote a piece called the Capriccio sinfonica as a thesis composition for the Milan Conservatory. Puccinis teachers Ponchielli and Bazzini were impressed by the work, and it was performed at a student concert at the conservatory on 14 July 1883, conducted by Franco Faccio. Puccinis work was reviewed in the Milanese publication Perseveranza. After the premiere of the Capriccio sinfonica, Ponchielli and Puccini discussed the possibility that Puccinis next work might be an opera, Ponchielli invited Puccini to stay at his villa, where Puccini was introduced to another young man named Fernando Fontana. Puccini and Fontana agreed to collaborate on an opera, for which Fontana would provide the libretto, the work, Le Villi, was entered into a competition sponsored by the Sozogno music publishing company in 1883. Although it did not win, Le Villi was later staged at the Teatro Dal Verme, G. Ricordi & Co. music publishers assisted with the premier by printing the libretto without charge
3.
Luigi Illica
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Luigi Illica was an Italian librettist who wrote for Giacomo Puccini, Pietro Mascagni, Alfredo Catalani, Umberto Giordano, Baron Alberto Franchetti and other important Italian composers. His most famous opera libretti are those for La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly and his personal life sometimes imitated his libretti. The reason he is photographed with his head slightly turned is because he lost his right ear in a duel over a woman. The Award is now awarded every two years and alternates with the Illica Opera Stage International Competition, which offers prizes and debut opportunities to young singers, the dates given are those of publication. Works by Luigi Illica at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Luigi Illica at Internet Archive
4.
Giuseppe Giacosa
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Giuseppe Giacosa was an Italian poet, playwright and librettist. He was born in Colleretto Parella, now Colleretto Giacosa, near Turin, Giuseppe went to the University of Turin, studying in the University of Turin, Faculty of Law. Though he gained a degree in law, he did not pursue a legal career and he gained initial fame for his play Una Partita a Scacchi in 1871. His main field was playwriting, which he accomplished with both insight and simplicity, using subjects set in Piedmont and themes addressing contemporary bourgeois values. He wrote La signora di Challant, based on a novella by Matteo Bandello, for noted French actress Sarah Bernhardt, produced in New York in 1891. Giacosa wrote the final polished version of the libretto for Giacomo Puccinis Manon Lescaut, which had begun by Ruggero Leoncavallo, Marco Praga, Domenico Oliva. He also wrote the librettos used by Puccini for La bohème, Tosca, Illica supplied the plot and dialogue, and Giacosa polished the libretto into verses. Scapigliatura Works by Giuseppe Giacosa at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Giuseppe Giacosa at Internet Archive
5.
La Tosca
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La Tosca is a five-act drama by the 19th-century French playwright Victorien Sardou. It was first performed on 24 November 1887 at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin in Paris, the play itself is no longer performed, but its operatic adaptation, Giacomo Puccinis Tosca, has achieved enduring popularity. There have been several adaptations of the play including two for the Japanese theatre and an English burlesque, Tra-La-La Tosca as well as several film versions. La Tosca is set in Rome on 17 June 1800 following the French victory in the Battle of Marengo, the action takes place over an eighteen-hour period, ending at dawn on 18 June 1800. Its melodramatic plot centers on Floria Tosca, an opera singer, her lover, Mario Cavaradossi, an artist and Bonapartist sympathiser. By the end of the play, all three are dead, Scarpia arrests Cavaradossi and sentences him to death in the Castel SantAngelo. He then offers to spare her lover if Tosca will yield to his sexual desire and she appears to acquiesce, but as soon as Scarpia gives the order for the firing squad to use blanks, she stabs him to death. On discovering that Cavaradossis execution had in fact been a real one, Victorien Sardous grandfather had served as a surgeon with Napoleons army in Italy, and Sardou retained a lifelong interest in the French Revolution and the French Revolutionary Wars. In addition to La Tosca, six of his plays were set against the events of those times, Monsieur Garat, Les Merveilleuses, Thermidor, Madame Sans-Gêne, Robespierre. Sardou wrote La Tosca specifically for Sarah Bernhardt and she was in her mid-40s by then and Frances leading actress. In 1883, she had taken over the lease on the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin. It was the third play Sardou had written specifically for her, both their first collaboration, Fédora, and their second, Théodora, had been highly successful. Pierre Berton, who played Baron Scarpia, had been Bernhardts on and off lover for many years, the costumes were designed by Théophile Thomas, who also designed Sarah Bernhardts costumes for Hugos Ruy Blas, Sardous Cléopâtre and Théodora, and Barbiers Jeanne dArc. The period leading up to the premiere was not without problems, as had happened before, once word got out of a new Sardou play, another author would accuse him of plagiarism. In the 1882 caricature of Sardou, one of the signs on the states, Idées des autres and another. He also claimed that he had read the play to Sarah Bernhardt and Félix Duquesnel, nevertheless, he said he would graciously permit Sardous play to go ahead, and had brought up the issue solely to avoid being accused of plagiarism should Saint-Auban ever be produced. Sardou, in turn, issued a robust denial in the French papers, Bernhardt was eventually pacified and rehearsals continued. The Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin was packed for the night on 24 November 1887
6.
Victorien Sardou
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Victorien Sardou was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, Victorien was born in rue Beautreillis, Paris on 5 September 1831. The Sardous were settled at Le Cannet, a village near Cannes, a nights frost killed all the trees and the family was ruined. Victoriens father, Antoine Léandre Sardou, came to Paris in search of employment, with all these occupations, he hardly succeeded in making a livelihood, and when he retired to his native country, Victorien was left on his own resources. He had begun studying medicine, but had to desist for want of funds and he taught French to foreign pupils, he also gave lessons in Latin, history and mathematics to students, and wrote articles for cheap encyclopaedias. At the same time he was trying to make headway in the literary world. His talents had been encouraged by an old bas-bleu, Mme de Bawl, who had published novels and enjoyed some reputation in the days of the Restoration, but she could do little for her protégé. Victorien Sardou made efforts to attract the attention of Mlle Rachel, La Taverne was withdrawn after five nights. Another drama by Sardou, Bernard Palissy, was accepted at the same theatre, a Canadian play, Fleur de Liane, would have been produced at the Ambigu but for the death of the manager. Sardou submitted to Adolphe Lemoine, manager of the Gymnase, a play entitled Paris à lenvers, montigny thought fit to consult Eugène Scribe, who was revolted by the scene in question. In 1857, Sardou felt the pangs of actual want, and he was living in poverty and was dying in his garret, surrounded with his rejected manuscripts. A lady who was living in the same house unexpectedly came to his assistance and her name was Mlle de Brécourt. She had theatrical connections, and was a favourite of Mlle Déjazet. She nursed him, cured him, and, when he was well again, Déjazet had just established the theatre named after her, and every show after La Taverne was put on at this theatre. Fortune began to smile on the author, garat and Gervais were done at Theatre des Varlétés and in English at Criterion Theatre in London. Les Pattes de mouche obtained a similar success at the Gymnase, fédora was written expressly for Sarah Bernhardt, as were many of his later plays. This was later adapted by Umberto Giordano, and he made an opera entitled Fedora, the play dealt with nihilism, which was coined from Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev. He struck a new vein by introducing a strong element in some of his dramatic romances
7.
Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
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The Teatro dellOpera di Roma is an opera house in Rome, Italy. Originally opened in November 1880 as the 2,212 seat Costanzi Theatre, it has several changes of name as well modifications. The Teatro dellOpera was originally known as the Teatro Costanzi after the contractor who built it and it was financed by Costanzi, who commissioned the Milanese architect Achille Sfondrini, a specialist in the building and renovation of theatres. Designing the theatre, Sfondrini paid particular attention to the acoustics, conceiving the interior structure as a resonance chamber, as is evident from the horseshoe shape in particular. With a seating capacity of 2,212, the house had three tiers of boxes, an amphitheatre and two galleries, surmounted by a dome adorned with splendid frescoes by Annibale Brugnoli. Costanzi was obliged to manage the theater himself, under his direction, and despite financial problems, the opera house held many world premieres of operas, including Cavalleria rusticana by Pietro Mascagni on 17 May 1890. For a brief period the theatre was managed by Costanzis son, Enrico, who gained renown by organizing another great premiere, in 1907 the Teatro Costanzi was purchased by the impresario Walter Mocchi on behalf of the Società Teatrale Internazionale e Nazionale. In 1912 Mocchis wife, Emma Carelli, became the director of the new Impresa Costanzi, as the theatre was later known. During the fourteen years of her tenure, major works which had not been performed before in Rome were staged, in November 1926 the Costanzi was bought by the Rome City Council and its name changed to Teatro Reale dellOpera. A partial rebuilding ensued, led by architect Marcello Piacentini and lasting fifteen months, the house re-opened on 27 February 1928 with the opera Nerone by Arrigo Boito. Chief among several major changes was the entrance, from the street formerly known as Via del Teatro to the opposite side. In addition, the amphitheatre inside the theatre was replaced by a tier of boxes. The interior was embellished by new stuccowork, decorations, and furnishings, including a magnificent chandelier measuring six meters in diameter, the theaters legendary acoustics still bear comparison with any other auditorium in the world. The seating capacity is about 1,600, the house was retrofitted with air-conditioning subsequent to a restoration, which provided improvements to the interior. The stucco work was restored, the great proscenium arch strengthened. The post-war period saw celebrated productions, including Mozarts Le nozze di Figaro in 1964 and Verdis Don Carlos in 1965, from 2001 to 2010, the music director and chief conductor of the company was Gianluigi Gelmetti. Later, Muti assumed a similar to that of music director. Notable productions under Muti have included Glucks Iphigénie en Aulide, Verdis Nabucco, Simon Boccanegra, the name Teatro Costanzi remains officially in use, to refer to the main auditorium
8.
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
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Melodrama
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A melodrama is a dramatic or literary work in which the plot, which is typically sensational and designed to appeal strongly to the emotions, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Characters are often drawn, and may appear stereotyped. In scholarly and historical contexts, melodramas are Victorian dramas in which orchestral music or song was used to accompany the action. The term is now applied to stage performances without incidental music, novels, movies. In modern contexts, the melodrama is generally pejorative, as it suggests that the work in question lacks subtlety, character development. By extension, language or behavior which resembles melodrama is often called melodramatic, the term originated from the early 19th-century French word mélodrame. It is derived from Greek melos, music, and French drame and this applies to both Victorian stage melodrama and 20th-century film melodrama. Movie director Sidney Lumet stressed the primacy of plot, saying in 2007 In a well-written drama, the characters in a well-written melodrama come out of the story. The relationship of melodrama to realism is complex, the protagonists of melodramatic works may either be ordinary people who are caught up in extraordinary events, or highly exaggerated and unrealistic characters. According to Singer, late Victorian and Edwardian melodrama combined a focus on realism in stage sets and props with anti-realism in character. Melodrama in this period strove for accuracy in the depiction of incredible. Novelist Wilkie Collins is noted for his attention to accuracy in detail in his works, beginning in the 18th century, melodrama was a technique of combining spoken recitation with short pieces of accompanying music. In such works, music and spoken dialogue typically alternated, although the music was also used to accompany pantomime. The earliest known examples are scenes in J. E. Eberlins Latin school play Sigismundus, the first full melodrama was Jean-Jacques Rousseaus Pygmalion, the text of which was written in 1762 but was first staged in Lyon in 1770. The overture and an Andante were composed by Rousseau, but the bulk of the music was composed by Horace Coignet, a different musical setting of Rousseaus Pygmalion by Anton Schweitzer was performed in Weimar in 1772, and Goethe wrote of it approvingly in Dichtung und Wahrheit. Pygmalion is a monodrama, written for one actor, some 30 other monodramas were produced in Germany in the fourth quarter of the 18th century. When two actors are involved the term duodrama may be used, georg Benda was particularly successful with his duodramas Ariadne auf Naxos and Medea. The sensational success of Bendas melodramas led Mozart to use two long melodramatic monologues in his opera Zaide, other later, and better-known examples of the melodramatic style in operas are the grave-digging scene in Beethovens Fidelio and the incantation scene in Webers Der Freischütz
10.
Kingdom of Naples
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It continued to be officially known as the Kingdom of Sicily, although it no longer included the island of Sicily. For much of its existence, the realm was contested between French and Spanish dynasties, in 1816, it was reunified with the island kingdom of Sicily once again to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Following the rebellion in 1282, King Charles I of Sicily was forced to leave the island of Sicily by Peter III of Aragons troops, Charles, however, maintained his possessions on the mainland, customarily known as the Kingdom of Naples, after its capital city. Charles and his Angevin successors maintained a claim to Sicily, warring against the Aragonese until 1373, joans reign was contested by Louis the Great, the Angevin King of Hungary, who captured the kingdom several times. Queen Joan I also played a part in the demise of the first Kingdom of Naples. This led to Joan Is murder at the hands of the Prince of Durazzo in 1382, the two competing Angevin lines contested each other for the possession of the Kingdom of Naples over the following decades. René of Anjou temporarily united the claims of junior and senior Angevin lines, in 1442, however, Alfonso V conquered the Kingdom of Naples and unified Sicily and Naples once again as dependencies of Aragon. At his death in 1458, the kingdom was again separated and Naples was inherited by Ferrante, Alfonsos illegitimate son. Charles VIII expelled Alfonso II of Naples from Naples in 1495, Ferrantino was restored to the throne, but died in 1496, and was succeeded by his uncle, Frederick IV. Charles VIIIs successor, Louis XII reiterated the French claim, in 1501, he occupied Naples and partitioned the kingdom with Ferdinand of Aragon, who abandoned his cousin King Frederick. The deal soon fell through, however, and Aragon and France resumed their war over the kingdom, the Spanish troops occupying Calabria and Apulia, led by Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordova did not respect the new agreement, and expelled all Frenchmen from the area. The peace treaties that continued were never definitive, but they established at least that the title of King of Naples was reserved for Ferdinands grandson, the future Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Ferdinand nevertheless continued in possession of the kingdom, being considered as the heir of his uncle Alfonso I of Naples. The French finally abandoned their claims to Naples by the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559, in the Treaty of London, five cities on coast of Tuscany were designated the Stato dei Presidi, and part of the Kingdom of Naples. After the War of the Spanish Succession in the early 18th century, under the terms of the Treaty of Rastatt in 1714, Naples was given to Charles VI, the Holy Roman Emperor. He also gained control of Sicily in 1720, but Austrian rule did not last long, when Charles inherited the Spanish throne from his older half-brother in 1759, he left Naples and Sicily to his younger son, Ferdinand IV. Despite the two Kingdoms being in a union under the Habsburg and Bourbon dynasts, they remained constitutionally separate. Being a member of the House of Bourbon, Ferdinand IV was an opponent of the French Revolution and Napoleon
11.
Napoleon
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Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful campaigns during the French Revolutionary Wars. As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814, Napoleon dominated European and global affairs for more than a decade while leading France against a series of coalitions in the Napoleonic Wars. He won most of these wars and the vast majority of his battles, one of the greatest commanders in history, his wars and campaigns are studied at military schools worldwide. Napoleons political and cultural legacy has ensured his status as one of the most celebrated and he was born Napoleone di Buonaparte in Corsica to a relatively modest family from the minor nobility. When the Revolution broke out in 1789, Napoleon was serving as an officer in the French army. Seizing the new opportunities presented by the Revolution, he rose through the ranks of the military. The Directory eventually gave him command of the Army of Italy after he suppressed a revolt against the government from royalist insurgents, in 1798, he led a military expedition to Egypt that served as a springboard to political power. He engineered a coup in November 1799 and became First Consul of the Republic and his ambition and public approval inspired him to go further, and in 1804 he became the first Emperor of the French. Intractable differences with the British meant that the French were facing a Third Coalition by 1805, in 1806, the Fourth Coalition took up arms against him because Prussia became worried about growing French influence on the continent. Napoleon quickly defeated Prussia at the battles of Jena and Auerstedt, then marched the Grand Army deep into Eastern Europe, France then forced the defeated nations of the Fourth Coalition to sign the Treaties of Tilsit in July 1807, bringing an uneasy peace to the continent. Tilsit signified the high watermark of the French Empire, hoping to extend the Continental System and choke off British trade with the European mainland, Napoleon invaded Iberia and declared his brother Joseph the King of Spain in 1808. The Spanish and the Portuguese revolted with British support, the Peninsular War lasted six years, featured extensive guerrilla warfare, and ended in victory for the Allies. The Continental System caused recurring diplomatic conflicts between France and its client states, especially Russia, unwilling to bear the economic consequences of reduced trade, the Russians routinely violated the Continental System and enticed Napoleon into another war. The French launched an invasion of Russia in the summer of 1812. The resulting campaign witnessed the collapse of the Grand Army, the destruction of Russian cities, in 1813, Prussia and Austria joined Russian forces in a Sixth Coalition against France. A lengthy military campaign culminated in a large Allied army defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813, the Allies then invaded France and captured Paris in the spring of 1814, forcing Napoleon to abdicate in April. He was exiled to the island of Elba near Rome and the Bourbons were restored to power, however, Napoleon escaped from Elba in February 1815 and took control of France once again. The Allies responded by forming a Seventh Coalition, which defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in June, the British exiled him to the remote island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, where he died six years later at the age of 51
12.
Campaigns of 1800 in the French Revolutionary Wars
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The French Revolutionary Wars continued from 1799 with the French fighting the forces of the Second Coalition. Napoleon Bonaparte had returned from Egypt and taken control of the French government and he prepared a new campaign, sending Moreau to the Rhine frontier and personally going to take command in the Alps, where French forces had been driven almost out of Italy in 1799. Melas attacked first, and by the week in April had advanced to the Var, with Massena and half his army in Genoa besieged by land by the Austrians. In response Berthier moved – not to the frontier, but to Geneva-. The Army of the Reserve was joined by Napoleon, and in mid-May set out to cross the Alps to attack the Austrian rear, the bulk of the army crossed by the Great St Bernard Pass still covered by snow. Artillery was manhandled over with great effort and ingenuity, on May 14,1800, the 40, 000-strong French army was stopped by 400 Austro-Piedmontese soldiers at Fort Bard in the Aosta Valley. They held the pass for two weeks, completely ruining Napoleons surprise attack on the Po Valley, once over the Alps, Napoleon did not proceed directly to the relief of Genoa. He entered Milan on 2 June and by crossing to the South bank of the Po completely cut Melass communications, taking up a strong defensive position at Stradella, he confidently awaited an attempt by the Austrian Army to fight its way out. However, Melas had not raised the siege of Genoa, and on 4 June, Massena had duly capitulated. Napoleon then faced the possibility that, thanks to the British command of the Mediterranean, far from falling back and his defensive posture would not prevent this, he had to find and attack the Austrians before they could regroup. He therefore advanced from Stradella towards Alessandria, where Melas was, convinced that Melas was about to retreat, Napoleon sent strong detachments to block Melass routes northwards to the Po, and southwards to Genoa. At this point, Melas attacked, and for all the brilliance of the previous campaign, Melas promptly entered into negotiations which led to the Austrians evacuating Northern Italy west of the Ticino, and suspending military operations in Italy. Napoleon returned to Paris after the victory, leaving Brune to consolidate in Italy and this treaty proved difficult to administer. Austria was slow to give up some of the Venetian territories, supported by French republican forces, Swiss insurgents staged several uprisings, ultimately causing the overthrow of the Swiss Confederation after 18 months of civil war. By early 1799, the French Directory had become impatient with stalling tactics employed by Austria, the uprising in Naples raised further alarms, and recent gains in Switzerland suggested the timing was fortuitous to venture on another campaign in northern Italy and southwestern Germany. At the beginning of 1800, the armies of France and Austria faced each other across the Rhine, feldzeugmeister Pál Kray led approximately 120,000 troops. Of these,25,000 men were deployed east of Lake Constance to protect the Vorarlberg, unwisely, Kray set up his main magazine at Stockach, near the northwestern end of Lake Constance, only a days march from French-held Switzerland. General of Division Jean Victor Marie Moreau commanded an army of 137,000 French troops
13.
Aria
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An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term became used almost exclusively to describe a piece for one voice, with or without orchestral accompaniment. The typical context for arias is opera, but vocal arias also feature in oratorios and cantatas, the term, which derives from the Greek and Latin aer first appeared in relation to music in the 14th century when it simply signified a manner or style of singing or playing. By the end of the 16th century, the term refers to an instrumental form. By the early 16th century it was in use as meaning a simple setting of strophic poetry, melodic madrigals. In the context of staged works and concert works, arias evolved from simple melodies into structured forms, the aria evolved typically in one of two forms. Binary form arias were in two sections, arias in ternary form were known as da capo arias, in the da capo aria the B episode would typically be in a different key – the dominant or relative major key. This version of form with ritornelli became a dominant feature of European opera throughout the 18th century. It is thought by some writers to be the origin of the forms of concerto. The ritornelli became essential to the structure of the aria – while the words determine the character of a melody the ritornello instruments often decided in terms it shall be presented. By the early 18th century, composers such as Alessandro Scarlatti had established the aria form and it offered balance and continuity, and yet gave scope for contrast. The very regularity of its conventional features enabled deviations from the normal to be exploited with telling effect. In the early years of the century, arias in the Italian style began to take over in French opera, giving rise eventually to the French genre of ariette, normally in a relatively simple ternary form. Types of operatic aria became known by a variety of terms according to their character – e. g. aria parlante, aria di bravura, aria buffa, and so on. By the end of this first vocal paragraph the music, if it were in a key as it usually was, had modulated to the dominant. The orchestra then played a second ritornello usually shorter than the first, the singer re-entered and sang the same words through a second time. The music of this paragraph was often slightly more elaborate than that of the first. There were more repeats of words and perhaps more florid vocalisations, the key worked its way back to the tonic for the final vocal cadence after which the orchestra rounded the section off with a final ritornello
14.
Richard Wagner
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Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is primarily known for his operas. Unlike most opera composers, Wagner wrote both the libretto and the music for each of his stage works and he described this vision in a series of essays published between 1849 and 1852. Wagner realised these ideas most fully in the first half of the four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen and his advances in musical language, such as extreme chromaticism and quickly shifting tonal centres, greatly influenced the development of classical music. His Tristan und Isolde is sometimes described as marking the start of modern music, Wagner had his own opera house built, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, which embodied many novel design features. The Ring and Parsifal were premiered here and his most important stage works continue to be performed at the annual Bayreuth Festival, until his final years, Wagners life was characterised by political exile, turbulent love affairs, poverty and repeated flight from his creditors. His controversial writings on music, drama and politics have attracted extensive comment, notably, since the late 20th century, where they express antisemitic sentiments. The effect of his ideas can be traced in many of the arts throughout the 20th century, his influence spread beyond composition into conducting, philosophy, literature, Richard Wagner was born to an ethnic German family in Leipzig, where his family lived at No. 3, the Brühl in the Jewish quarter and he was baptized at St. Thomas Church. He was the child of Carl Friedrich Wagner, who was a clerk in the Leipzig police service, and his wife, Johanna Rosine. Wagners father Carl died of typhus six months after Richards birth, afterwards his mother Johanna lived with Carls friend, the actor and playwright Ludwig Geyer. In August 1814 Johanna and Geyer probably married—although no documentation of this has found in the Leipzig church registers. She and her family moved to Geyers residence in Dresden, until he was fourteen, Wagner was known as Wilhelm Richard Geyer. He almost certainly thought that Geyer was his biological father, Geyers love of the theatre came to be shared by his stepson, and Wagner took part in his performances. In his autobiography Mein Leben Wagner recalled once playing the part of an angel, in late 1820, Wagner was enrolled at Pastor Wetzels school at Possendorf, near Dresden, where he received some piano instruction from his Latin teacher. He struggled to play a scale at the keyboard and preferred playing theatre overtures by ear. Following Geyers death in 1821, Richard was sent to the Kreuzschule, at the age of nine he was hugely impressed by the Gothic elements of Carl Maria von Webers opera Der Freischütz, which he saw Weber conduct. At this period Wagner entertained ambitions as a playwright and his first creative effort, listed in the Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis as WWV1, was a tragedy called Leubald. Begun when he was in school in 1826, the play was influenced by Shakespeare
15.
Leitmotif
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A leitmotif or leitmotiv /ˌlaɪtmoʊˈtiːf/ is a short, constantly recurring musical phrase associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the concepts of idée fixe or motto-theme. The spelling leitmotif is an anglicization of the German Leitmotiv, literally meaning leading motif, or perhaps more accurately, a musical motif has been defined as a short musical idea. It may also be combined with other leitmotifs to suggest a new dramatic condition or development, although usually a short melody, it can also be a chord progression or even a simple rhythm. Leitmotifs can help to bind a work together into a coherent whole, by association, the word has also been used to mean any sort of recurring theme, in literature, or the life of a fictional character or a real person. It is sometimes used in discussion of other musical genres, such as instrumental pieces, cinema. The use of characteristic, short, recurring motives in orchestral music can be traced back to the seventeenth century. In French opera of the eighteenth century, reminiscence motif can be identified. Their use, however, is not extensive or systematic, indeed, the first use of the word leitmotif in print was by the critic Friedrich Wilhelm Jähns in describing Webers work, although this was not until 1871. Motives also figured occasionally in purely instrumental music of the romantic period, the related idea of the musical idée fixe was coined by Hector Berlioz in reference to his Symphonie fantastique. This purely instrumental, programmatic work features a recurring melody representing the object of the artists obsessive affection and depicting her presence in various real, in La forza del destino, the opening theme of the overture recurs whenever Leonora feels guilt or fear. In Il Trovatore, the theme of the first aria by Azucena is repeated whenever she invokes the horror of how her mother was burnt alive, Richard Wagner is the earliest composer most specifically associated with the concept of leitmotif. His cycle of four operas, Der Ring des Nibelungen, uses hundreds of leitmotifs, often related to characters, things. While some of these occur in only one of the operas. Wagner had raised the issue of how music could best unite disparate elements of the plot of a drama in his essay Opera and Drama. Some controversy surrounded the use of the word in Wagners own circle, Wagner never authorised the use of the leitmotiv, using words such as Grundthema. His preferred name for the technique was Hauptmotiv, which he first used in 1877, the word gained currency with the overly literal interpretations of Wagners music by Hans von Wolzogen, who in 1876 published a Leitfaden to the Ring. In it he claimed to have isolated and named all of the motifs in the cycle
16.
Punch (magazine)
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Punch, or The London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 1850s, after the 1940s, when its circulation peaked, it went into a long decline, closing in 1992. It was revived in 1996, but closed again in 2002, Punch was founded on 17 July 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells, on an initial investment of £25. It was jointly edited by Mayhew and Mark Lemon and it was subtitled The London Charivari in homage to Charles Philipons French satirical humour magazine Le Charivari. Mayhew ceased to be joint editor in 1842 and became suggestor in chief until he severed his connection in 1845, the magazine initially struggled for readers, except for an 1842 Almanack issue which shocked its creators by selling 90,000 copies. In December 1842 due to difficulties the magazine was sold to Bradbury and Evans. Bradbury and Evans capitalised on newly evolving mass printing technologies and also were the publishers for Charles Dickens, Punch humorously appropriated the term to refer to its political cartoons, and the popularity of the Punch cartoons led to the terms widespread use. The illustrator Archibald Henning designed the cover of the magazines first issues, the cover design varied in the early years, though Richard Doyle designed what became the magazines masthead in 1849. Artists who published in Punch during the 1840s and 50s included John Leech, Richard Doyle, John Tenniel and this group became known as The Punch Brotherhood, which also included Charles Dickens who joined Bradbury and Evans after leaving Chapman and Hall in 1843. Punch authors and artists contributed to another Bradbury and Evans literary magazine called Once A Week. In the 1860s and 1870s, conservative Punch faced competition from upstart liberal journal Fun, at Evanss café in London, the two journals had Round tables in competition with each other. Punch gave several phrases to the English language, including The Crystal Palace, several British humour classics were first serialised in Punch, such as the Diary of a Nobody and 1066 and All That. Towards the end of the century, the artistic roster included Harry Furniss, Linley Sambourne, Francis Carruthers Gould. Among the outstanding cartoonists of the century were Bernard Partridge, H. M. Bateman, Bernard Hollowood who also edited the magazine from 1957 to 1968, Kenneth Mahood. Circulation broke the 100,000 mark around 1910, and peaked in 1947–1948 at 175,000 to 184,000, sales declined steadily thereafter, ultimately, the magazine was forced to close in 1992 after 150 years of publication. Punch was widely emulated worldwide and popular in the colonies, however, the colonial experience, especially in India, also influenced Punch and its iconography. Tenniels Punch cartoons of the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny led to a surge in the magazines popularity, colonial India was time and again caricatured in Punch and can be seen as a significant source for producing knowledge about India. Many Punch cartoonists of the late 20th century published collections of their own, Punch magazine ceased publishing in 1992
17.
Sarah Bernhardt
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Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage and early film actress. She was referred to as the most famous actress the world has ever known, Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France in the 1870s, at the beginning of the Belle Epoque period, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas. She developed a reputation as a dramatic actress and tragedienne. In her later career she starred in some of the earliest films ever produced, Sarah Bernhardt was born in Paris as Rosine Bernardt on October 23,1844. She was the daughter of a Dutch-Jewish courtesan, or upper-class prostitute, Judith Bernard. Four different addresses in Paris are claimed as her birthplace,125 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré,5 rue de lEcole-de-Medicine,22 rue de la Michodière and 265 rue Saint-Honoré. The father, whoever he was, left a sum of one hundred francs for her future dowry when she came of age. Sarah lived for months with the nurse and her husband in the tiny apartment of the concierge. While there, the child showed the first signs of tuberculosis. Sarah was discovered on the street by her aunt Rosine, who was passing by, when Sarahs mother finally returned to Paris, Sarah was taken to her apartment at 265 rue Saint-Honoré, where she lived, attended by servants, rarely ever seeing her mother. At the age of eight, Sarah could neither read or writer and her mother sent her away to a school for young ladies in Auteuil run by a Madame Fressard, where for the first time she was with other children her own age. The other children made fun of her appearance and curly hair. During the two years she attended the school, her mother came to see her only twice and she completely forgot all of her lines and fled the stage in tears. At the age of ten, by obtaining the sponsorship of the Duc de Morny, her mother sent Sarah to Grandchamp, at the convent, she was soon on the stage again, performing the part of the Archangel Raphael in the story of Tobias and the Angel. She received her first communion as a Roman Catholic in 1856, however, she never forgot her Jewish heritage. When asked years later by a reporter if she were a Christian, she replied, No, Im a Roman Catholic, Im waiting until Christians become better. At the age of fifteen, her mother withdrew her from the school and her mother summoned a family council, which also included the Duc de Morny, one of her friends. Morny proposed that Sarah should become an actress, an idea which horrified the young girl, Morny arranged for her to attend her first theater performance at the Comedie Française in a party which included her mother, the Duc de Morny, and his friend Alexandre Dumas
18.
Giulio Ricordi
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Upon his fathers death in 1888, Giulio became the head of the company until his death. With the nickname Jules Burgmein, Ricordi contributed a great deal to the prestige of the Casa Ricordi as it also produced several magazines. Ricordi was also publisher of the operas by Giuseppe Verdi. In 1853, Ricordi built a mansion, Villa Margherita Ricordi, but he also had the good sense to promote younger composers of merit. These included Amilcare Ponchielli, Alfredo Catalani, Carlos Gomes, Umberto Giordano, to Puccini in particular, he became something of a father-figure, feared but deeply trusted. Works by or about Giulio Ricordi at Internet Archive Free scores by Giulio Ricordi at the International Music Score Library Project
19.
Emanuele Muzio
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Donnino Emanuele Muzio was an Italian composer, conductor and vocal teacher. He was a friend and the only student of Giuseppe Verdi. In April 1844, Verdi took on Muzio, eight years his junior, as a pupil and he had known him since about 1828 as a protégé of his own supporter, Antonio Barezzi. Muzio, who in fact was Verdis only pupil, became indispensable to the composer and he reported to Barezzi that Verdi has a breadth of spirit, of generosity, a wisdom. The relationship was to grow stronger, and Muzio remained a lifelong friend, in November 1846, Muzio wrote of Verdi, If you could see us, I seem more like a friend, rather than his pupil. We are always together at dinner, in the cafes, when we play cards. All in all, he doesnt go anywhere without me at his side, in the house we have a big table and he was chosen by Verdi as one of the executors of his will, but predeceased the composer in 1890. Muzio was conductor of the Italian Opera in Brussels in 1852 as well as conducting in London, in 1875, he settled in Paris as a vocal teacher. His students include Carlotta Patti and Clara Louise Kellogg, lallievo di Verdi, Emanuele Muzio by Gaspare Nello Vetro Free scores by Emanuele Muzio at the International Music Score Library Project
20.
Alberto Franchetti
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Alberto Franchetti was an Italian opera composer. Alberto Franchetti was born in Turin, a Jewish nobleman of independent means and he studied first in Venice, then at the Munich Conservatory under Josef Rheinberger, and finally in Dresden under Felix Draeseke. His first major success occurred in 1888 with his opera Asrael and his operatic style combined Wagnerianism and the traits of Meyerbeer with Italian verismo. During his life, critics referred to him as the Meyerbeer of modern Italy. The words of music critic G. B, in this regard Alberto Franchetti knows that he has no rival. Grove considers Cristoforo Colombo Franchettis best work, however, his most popular opera was Germania. It clung to the operatic repertoire until the First World War, it was performed worldwide. But by the war, Germania had lapsed into obscurity, another version is that Franchetti waived his rights to the opera because he felt that Puccini would make a better job of it - this is believed to have been stated by the Franchetti family. Of Franchettis last opera Glauco only the third act finale No piange ancora with its haunting melody and this was despite a plea for tolerance on his behalf from Pietro Mascagni to Benito Mussolini, which was rejected, just before Franchettis death. Recent revivals and recordings of Cristoforo Colombo and Germania show his work to be of genuine quality with an ability in orchestration and use of the chorus. These traits, along with a tendency for two-dimensional characters, were recognised early. He also wrote a Symphony in E minor and he was the director of the Florence College of Music from 1926 to 1928, it was the only musical post he ever held. He died in Viareggio in 1942, aged 81 and he was a member of the World War 2 Italian Resistance Underground movement from 1946 to 1948. Arnold Franchetti was Professor of Composition at the Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford, the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera. London, New York and Melbourne, Oxford University Press
21.
Voice type
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Other considerations are physical characteristics, speech level, scientific testing, and vocal register. A singers voice type is identified by a known as voice classification, by which the human voice is evaluated. The discipline of voice classification developed within European classical music and is not generally applicable to other forms of singing, voice classification is often used within opera to associate possible roles with potential voices. Voice classification is a tool for singers, composers, venues, while useful, voice classification systems have been used too rigidly, i. e. a house assigning a singer to a specific type and only casting him or her in roles they consider belonging to this category. A singer will choose a repertoire that suits his or her instrument, many different voice types are used in vocal pedagogy in a variety of voice classification systems. Most of these types, however, are grouped into seven major categories that are, for the most part. Women are typically divided into three groups, soprano, mezzo-soprano, and alto, men are usually divided into four groups, countertenor, tenor, baritone, and bass. Some women fall into the tenor or baritone groups, while men identified as countertenors can be grouped as contralto, mezzo-soprano, when considering the pre-pubescent voice, an eighth term, treble, is applied. Within each of these categories, subcategories identify specific vocal qualities such as coloratura facility. The vocal range of classical performance covers about five octaves, from a low G1 to a high G6, any individuals voice can perform over a range of one and a half to more than two octaves. Vocal ranges are grouped into overlapping types that each span two octaves. Many singers fall between groups and can perform some parts in either type, soprano range, The soprano is the highest singing voice. The typical soprano voice lies between C4 and C6, the low extreme for sopranos is roughly A3. Most soprano roles do not extend above C6 although there are several standard soprano roles that call for D6, at the highest extreme, some coloratura soprano roles may reach to F6. Soprano tessitura, The tessitura of the soprano voice lies higher than all the other voices except the sopranino, in particular, the coloratura soprano has the highest tessitura of all the soprano subtypes. Soprano subtypes, As with all types, sopranos are often divided into different subcategories based on range, vocal color or timbre, the weight of voice. Sopranos are often broken down into five subcategories, coloratura soprano, soubrette, lyric soprano, spinto soprano, two types of soprano especially dear to the French are the Dugazon and the Falcon, which are intermediate voice types between the soprano and the mezzo soprano. A Dugazon is a darker-colored soubrette, a Falcon a darker-colored soprano drammatico
22.
Leopoldo Mugnone
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Leopoldo Mugnone was an Italian conductor, especially of opera, whose most famous work was done in the period 1890-1920, both in Europe and South America. He conducted various operatic premieres, and was also a composer of operas, a year later he was recruited as a chorus director for an operetta troupe at the Teatro Nuovo, run by F. Sadowsky. From there he went on to the Garibaldi Theatre, first as chorus master and later as concertatore, two other early operettas by him, Don Bizzarro e le sue figlie, and Mamma Angot al serraglio di Costantinopoli were produced during the later 1870s at Naples. Mugnone was himself the teacher of the conductor Uriel Nespoli, Mugnone established his reputation in Italy and beyond, and conducted a tour with the double-bass player Bottesini. In 1887 at the Costanzi Theatre in a season he conducted La forza del destino. According to Giuseppe Depanis, a Carmen of his of 1888, with Luisa Borghi, Mugnone was very esteemed by Verdi, who especially admired his performances of Otello and Falstaff, and became a friend of the conductor. After a May 1894 performance of Falstaff at the Paris Opera, Boito wrote to Verdi, with the same work Mugnone gave the inaugural concert of the Teatro Massimo at Palermo on 16 May 1897. A story goes that he once got hold of a score with Toscaninis annotations and flung it from him, saying, the Verdi centenary celebrations of October 1913, at La Scala, opened with a memorable performance of Nabucco which he arranged and directed. His own compositions, however, and many of his most important premieres, were in the field of verismo opera, in 1890 he conducted the sensational premiere of Mascagnis Cavalleria rusticana, at the Costanzi with Gemma Bellincioni and Roberto Stagno. After this he was out by composers of the young school as one likely to be sympathetic to their work. It appeared in Barcelona in 1893, Mugnone became famous for other revivals of important operas, including Glucks Orfeo, Rossinis Guglielmo Tell, and Berliozs La Damnation de Faust in its original form as an oratorio. During the Exhibition of 1899 he directed a Grand Opera season in Paris, Mugnone conducted the world premiere of Tosca in Rome in 1900. His own opera Vita Brettona was premiered at Naples in 1905 and he gave the first London performances of Cileas Adriana Lecouvreur and Giordanos Fedora. He gave the first performance of Franchettis La figlia di Iorio at La Scala in 1906 and he conducted for Eugenia Burzios famous La Scala debut in March 1906 as Katiusha in the Risurrezione of Franco Alfano. In 1910 he gave the premiere of Giordanos Mese Mariano at the Teatro Massimo, djamileh by Bizet, Orfeo by Gluck, Labilia by N. It was through Sonzogno that Mugnano began to develop his work in operatic seasons in Argentina and elsewhere in South America, in Buenos Aires he gave the first South American Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in August 1898. Between May and August 1919 he conducted a Covent Garden Italian season, including Aida, Tosca, Madame Butterfly and other works, and this appearance was under the management of Thomas Beecham, who describes him as a man of fiery and uncontrollable temper. Never a day passed without a stormy scene with singers, chorus and orchestra and these scenes always ended in Beechams room, and after several such experiences Beecham called his bluff by producing tickets for Mugnone and his family to return to Italy the following day
23.
Soprano
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A soprano is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The sopranos vocal range is from approximately middle C =261 Hz to high A =880 Hz in choral music, in four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody. The soprano voice type is divided into the coloratura, soubrette, lyric, spinto. The lyric soprano is the most common female singing voice, the word soprano comes from the Italian word sopra, as the soprano is the highest pitch human voice, often given to the leading female roles in operas. The term soprano is also based on the Latin word superius which, like soprano, the word superius was especially used in choral and other multi-part vocal music between the 13th and 16th centuries. The soprano has the highest vocal range of all voice types, a soprano and a mezzo-soprano have a similar range, but their tessituras will lie in different parts of that range. The low extreme for sopranos is roughly A3 or B♭3, within opera, the lowest demanded note for sopranos is F3. Often low notes in higher voices will project less, lack timbre, however, rarely is a soprano simply unable to sing a low note in a song within a soprano role. The high extreme, at a minimum, for non-coloratura sopranos is soprano C, a couple of roles have optional E♭6s, as well. In the coloratura repertoire several roles call for E♭6 on up to F6, in rare cases, some coloratura roles go as high as G6 or G♯6, such as Mozarts concert aria Popoli di Tessaglia. Or the title role of Jules Massenets opera Esclarmonde, while not necessarily within the tessitura, a good soprano will be able to sing her top notes full-throated, with timbre and dynamic control. In opera, the tessitura, vocal weight, and timbre of voices, a singers tessitura is where the voice has the best timbre, easy volume, and most comfort. Within the soprano voice type category are five generally recognized subcategories, coloratura soprano, soubrette, lyric soprano, spinto soprano, the coloratura soprano may be a lyric coloratura or a dramatic coloratura. The lyric coloratura soprano is a very agile light voice with a high upper extension capable of fast vocal coloratura, Light coloraturas have a range of approximately middle C to high F with some coloratura sopranos being able to sing somewhat higher or lower. Dramatic coloraturas have a range of approximately low B to high F with some coloratura sopranos being able to sing higher or lower. In classical music and opera, a soubrette soprano refers to both a type and a particular type of opera role. A soubrette voice is light with a bright, sweet timbre, a tessitura in the mid-range, the soubrette voice is not a weak voice, for it must carry over an orchestra without a microphone like all voices in opera. The voice, however, has a lighter weight than other soprano voices with a brighter timbre
24.
Tenor
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Tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is one of the highest of the male voice types. The tenors vocal range lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, and A4, the A above middle C, in solo work, this range extends up to C5, or tenor high C. The low extreme for tenors is roughly A♭2, at the highest extreme, some tenors can sing up to two Fs above middle C. The tenor voice type is divided into the leggero tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor. The name tenor derives from the Latin word tenere, which means to hold, in medieval and Renaissance polyphony between about 1250 and 1500, the tenor was the structurally fundamental voice, vocal or instrumental. All other voices were normally calculated in relation to the tenor, until the late 16th century introduction of the contratenor singers, the tenor was usually the highest voice, assuming the role of providing a foundation. It was also in the 18th century that tenor came to signify the male voice that sang such parts, thus, for earlier repertoire, a line marked tenor indicated the parts role, and not the required voice type. Indeed, even as late as the century, partbooks labelled tenor might contain parts for a range of voice types. The vocal range of the tenor is one of the highest of the voice types. Within opera, the lowest note in the tenor repertoire is probably A♭2 in Rossinis rarely performed La donna del lago in the role of Rodrigo di Dhu. Within more frequently performed repertoire, Mime and Herod both call for an A2, a few tenor roles in the standard repertoire call for a tenor C. Some of the few top Cs in the operatic repertoire are either optional or interpolated by tradition. However, the highest demanded note in the standard operatic repertoire is D5. Some operatic roles for tenors require a darker timbre and fewer high notes, in the leggero repertoire, the highest note is F5, therefore, very few tenors can, given the raising of concert pitch since its composition, have this role in their repertoire without transposition. Within the tenor voice type category are seven generally recognized subcategories, leggero tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor, Mozart tenor, Also known as the tenore di grazia, the leggero tenor is essentially the male equivalent of a lyric coloratura. This voice is light, agile, and capable of executing difficult passages of fioritura, the typical leggero tenor possesses a range spanning from approximately C3 to E♭5, with a few being able to sing up to F5 or higher in full voice. In some cases, the chest register of the leggero tenor may extend below C3, voices of this type are utilized frequently in the operas of Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini and in music dating from the Baroque period. Leggero tenor roles in operas, The lyric tenor is a warm voice with a bright, full timbre that is strong but not heavy
25.
Baritone
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A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice types. It is the most common male voice, the baritone voice type is generally divided into the baryton-Martin baritone, lyric baritone, Kavalierbariton, Verdi baritone, dramatic baritone, baryton-noble baritone, and the bass-baritone. The first use of the term baritone emerged as baritonans, late in the 15th century, at this early stage it was frequently used as the lowest of the voices, but in 17th-century Italy the term was all-encompassing and used to describe the average male choral voice. Baritones took roughly the range as it is today at the beginning of the 18th century. Indeed, many works of the 18th century have roles marked as bass that in reality are low baritone roles. Examples of this are to be found, for instance, in the operas, the greatest and most enduring parts for baritones in 18th-century operatic music were composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. They include Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Papageno in The Magic Flute and these included the likes of Filippo Galli, Giovanni Inchindi, and Henri-Bernard Dabadie. The basse-taille and the bass were commonly confused because their roles were sometimes sung by singers of either actual voice part. The bel canto style of vocalism which arose in Italy in the early 19th century supplanted the castrato-dominated opera seria of the previous century and it led to the baritone being viewed as a separate voice category from the bass. More often than not, however, baritones found themselves portraying villains, the principal composers of bel canto opera are considered to be, Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti, Vincenzo Bellini, Giacomo Meyerbeer, and the young Giuseppe Verdi. Figaro in Il barbiere is often called the first true baritone role, however, Donizetti and Verdi in their vocal writing went on to emphasize the top fifth of the baritone voice, rather than its lower notes—thus generating a more brilliant sound. The major international baritone of the first half of the 19th century was the Italian Antonio Tamburini and he was a famous Don Giovanni in Mozarts eponymous opera as well as being a Bellini and Donizetti specialist. Commentators praised his voice for its beauty, flexibility and smooth tonal emission, Tamburinis range, however, was probably closer to that of a bass-baritone than to that of a modern Verdi baritone. His French equivalent was Henri-Bernard Dabadie, who was a mainstay of the Paris Opera between 1819 and 1836 and the creator of several major Rossinian baritone roles, including Guillaume Tell. Dabadie sang in Italy, too, where he originated the role of Belcore in Lelisir damore in 1832, the most important of Tamburinis Italianate successors were all Verdians. In France, Paul Barroilhet succeeded Dabadie as the Paris operas best known baritone, like Dabadie, he also sang in Italy and created an important Donizetti role, in his case, Alphonse in La favorite. Antonio Pini-Corsi was the standout Italian buffo baritone in the period between about 1880 and World War I, reveling in comic roles by Rossini, Donizetti and Paer. In 1893, he created the part of Ford in Verdis last opera, notable among their contemporaries were the cultured and technically adroit French baritones Jean Lassalle, Victor Maurel, Paul Lhérie, and Maurice Renaud
26.
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
27.
Boy soprano
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A boy soprano is a young male singer with an unchanged voice in the soprano range. Usage of the boy soprano is more prevalent in North America. In the liturgical Anglican and English Catholic traditions, young choristers are normally referred to as trebles, rather than boy sopranos. The term treble derives from the Latin triplum, used in 13th and 14th century motets to indicate the third and highest range which was sung above the tenor part, another term for that range is superius. The term treble itself was first used in the 15th century, trebles have an average range of A3 to F5. The use of trebles in Christian liturgical music can be traced back to pre-Christian times, the earliest use is traced to a Choral Festival at Irving Hall, New York, in May 1866. Most trebles have a range from the A below middle C to the F one. This ability may be rare, but the Anglican church repertory. Some trebles, however, can extend their voices higher in the register to high C. The high C is considered the defining note of the voice type. Many trebles are also able to reach higher notes by use of the whistle register, as a boy approaches and begins to undergo puberty, the quality of his voice increasingly distinguishes itself from that typical of girls. Before and as the drops, a uniquely rich tone develops. This brief period of vocal range and unique color forms much of the ground for the use of the boy soprano in both liturgical and secular music in the Western world and elsewhere. Occasionally boys whose voices have changed can continue to sing in the range for a period of time. This stage ends as the boys larynx continues to grow and, with the breaking of his voice, the voice of the boy is subject to the effects of the dropping of the larynx, also known as the breaking of the voice. The ultimate result of profound change is that a new set of vocal ranges become available, for example bass, baritone, tenor, countertenor. It has been observed that boy sopranos in earlier times were, on average, however, for a male to sing soprano with an unchanged voice in his mid-to-late teens is currently fairly uncommon. In the developed world, puberty tends to begin at younger ages, early breaking of boys voices due to puberty becoming earlier in recent times, is causing a serious problem for choirmasters
28.
French Revolutionary Wars
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The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of sweeping military conflicts, lasting from 1792 until 1802, resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted the French First Republic against Britain, Austria and several other monarchies and they are divided in two periods, the War of the First Coalition and the War of the Second Coalition. Initially confined to Europe, the fighting gradually assumed a global dimension as the political ambitions of the Revolution expanded, French success in these conflicts ensured the spread of revolutionary principles over much of Europe. The Revolutionary Wars began from increasing political pressure on King Louis XVI of France to prove his loyalty to the new direction France was taking. In the spring of 1792, France declared war on Prussia and Austria, the victory rejuvenated the French nation and emboldened the National Convention to abolish the monarchy. A series of victories by the new French armies abruptly ended with defeat at Neerwinden in the spring of 1793, by 1795, the French had captured the Austrian Netherlands and knocked Spain and Prussia out of the war with the Peace of Basel. A hitherto unknown general called Napoleon Bonaparte began his first campaign in Italy in April 1796, in less than a year, French armies under Napoleon decimated the Habsburg forces and evicted them from the Italian peninsula, winning almost every battle and capturing 150,000 prisoners. With French forces marching towards Vienna, the Austrians sued for peace and agreed to the Treaty of Campo Formio, the War of the Second Coalition began with the French invasion of Egypt, headed by Napoleon, in 1798. The Allies took the opportunity presented by the French strategic effort in the Middle East to regain territories lost from the First Coalition. The war began well for the Allies in Europe, where they pushed the French out of Italy and invaded Switzerland—racking up victories at Magnano, Cassano. However, their efforts largely unraveled with the French victory at Zurich in September 1799, meanwhile, Napoleons forces annihilated a series of Egyptian and Ottoman armies at the battles of the Pyramids, Mount Tabor, and Abukir. These victories and the conquest of Egypt further enhanced Napoleons popularity back in France, however, the Royal Navy had managed to inflict a humiliating defeat on the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, further strengthening British control of the Mediterranean. Napoleons arrival from Egypt led to the fall of the Directory in the Coup of 18 Brumaire, Napoleon then reorganized the French army and launched a new assault against the Austrians in Italy during the spring of 1800. This latest effort culminated in a decisive French victory at the Battle of Marengo in June 1800, another crushing French triumph at Hohenlinden in Bavaria forced the Austrians to seek peace for a second time, leading to the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801. With Austria and Russia out of the war, the United Kingdom found itself increasingly isolated and agreed to the Treaty of Amiens with Napoleons government in 1802, concluding the Revolutionary Wars. The lingering tensions proved too difficult to contain, however, in 1789–1792, the entire governmental structure of France was transformed to fall into line with the Revolutionary principles of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. As a result, one of the first major elements of the French state to be restructured was the army, the transformation of the army was best seen in the officer corps. Before the revolution 90% had been nobility, compared to only 3% in 1794, Revolutionary fervour was high, and was closely monitored by the Committee of Public Safety, which assigned Representatives on Mission to keep watch on generals
29.
Papal States
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The Papal States, officially the State of the Church, were territories in the Italian Peninsula under the sovereign direct rule of the pope, from the 8th century until 1870. They were among the states of Italy from roughly the 8th century until the Italian Peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. At their zenith, they covered most of the modern Italian regions of Lazio, Marche, Umbria and Romagna and these holdings were considered to be a manifestation of the temporal power of the pope, as opposed to his ecclesiastical primacy. By 1861, much of the Papal States territory had been conquered by the Kingdom of Italy, only Lazio, including Rome, remained under the Popes temporal control. In 1870, the pope lost Lazio and Rome and had no physical territory at all, Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini ended the crisis between unified Italy and the Vatican by signing the Lateran Treaty, granting the Vatican City State sovereignty. The Papal States were also known as the Papal State, the territories were also referred to variously as the State of the Church, the Pontifical States, the Ecclesiastical States, or the Roman States. For its first 300 years the Catholic Church was persecuted and unrecognized and this system began to change during the reign of the emperor Constantine I, who made Christianity legal within the Roman Empire, and restoring to it any properties that had been confiscated. The Lateran Palace was the first significant new donation to the Church, other donations followed, primarily in mainland Italy but also in the provinces of the Roman Empire. But the Church held all of these lands as a private landowner, the seeds of the Papal States as a sovereign political entity were planted in the 6th century. Beginning In 535, the Byzantine Empire, under emperor Justinian I, launched a reconquest of Italy that took decades and devastated Italys political, just as these wars wound down, the Lombards entered the peninsula from the north and conquered much of the countryside. While the popes remained Byzantine subjects, in practice the Duchy of Rome, nevertheless, the pope and the exarch still worked together to control the rising power of the Lombards in Italy. As Byzantine power weakened, though, the took a ever larger role in defending Rome from the Lombards. In practice, the papal efforts served to focus Lombard aggrandizement on the exarch, a climactic moment in the founding of the Papal States was the agreement over boundaries embodied in the Lombard king Liutprands Donation of Sutri to Pope Gregory II. When the Exarchate of Ravenna finally fell to the Lombards in 751, the popes renewed earlier attempts to secure the support of the Franks. In 751, Pope Zachary had Pepin the Younger crowned king in place of the powerless Merovingian figurehead king Childeric III, zacharys successor, Pope Stephen II, later granted Pepin the title Patrician of the Romans. Pepin led a Frankish army into Italy in 754 and 756, Pepin defeated the Lombards – taking control of northern Italy – and made a gift of the properties formerly constituting the Exarchate of Ravenna to the pope. The cooperation between the papacy and the Carolingian dynasty climaxed in 800, when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Emperor, the precise nature of the relationship between the popes and emperors – and between the Papal States and the Empire – is disputed. Events in the 9th century postponed the conflict, the Holy Roman Empire in its Frankish form collapsed as it was subdivided among Charlemagnes grandchildren
30.
French Revolution
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Through the Revolutionary Wars, it unleashed a wave of global conflicts that extended from the Caribbean to the Middle East. Historians widely regard the Revolution as one of the most important events in human history, the causes of the French Revolution are complex and are still debated among historians. Following the Seven Years War and the American Revolutionary War, the French government was deeply in debt, Years of bad harvests leading up to the Revolution also inflamed popular resentment of the privileges enjoyed by the clergy and the aristocracy. Demands for change were formulated in terms of Enlightenment ideals and contributed to the convocation of the Estates-General in May 1789, a central event of the first stage, in August 1789, was the abolition of feudalism and the old rules and privileges left over from the Ancien Régime. The next few years featured political struggles between various liberal assemblies and right-wing supporters of the intent on thwarting major reforms. The Republic was proclaimed in September 1792 after the French victory at Valmy, in a momentous event that led to international condemnation, Louis XVI was executed in January 1793. External threats closely shaped the course of the Revolution, internally, popular agitation radicalised the Revolution significantly, culminating in the rise of Maximilien Robespierre and the Jacobins. Large numbers of civilians were executed by revolutionary tribunals during the Terror, after the Thermidorian Reaction, an executive council known as the Directory assumed control of the French state in 1795. The rule of the Directory was characterised by suspended elections, debt repudiations, financial instability, persecutions against the Catholic clergy, dogged by charges of corruption, the Directory collapsed in a coup led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799. The modern era has unfolded in the shadow of the French Revolution, almost all future revolutionary movements looked back to the Revolution as their predecessor. The values and institutions of the Revolution dominate French politics to this day, the French Revolution differed from other revolutions in being not merely national, for it aimed at benefiting all humanity. Globally, the Revolution accelerated the rise of republics and democracies and it became the focal point for the development of all modern political ideologies, leading to the spread of liberalism, radicalism, nationalism, socialism, feminism, and secularism, among many others. The Revolution also witnessed the birth of total war by organising the resources of France, historians have pointed to many events and factors within the Ancien Régime that led to the Revolution. Over the course of the 18th century, there emerged what the philosopher Jürgen Habermas called the idea of the sphere in France. A perfect example would be the Palace of Versailles which was meant to overwhelm the senses of the visitor and convince one of the greatness of the French state and Louis XIV. Starting in the early 18th century saw the appearance of the sphere which was critical in that both sides were active. In France, the emergence of the public sphere outside of the control of the saw the shift from Versailles to Paris as the cultural capital of France. In the 1750s, during the querelle des bouffons over the question of the quality of Italian vs, in 1782, Louis-Sébastien Mercier wrote, The word court no longer inspires awe amongst us as in the time of Louis XIV
31.
Roman Republic (18th century)
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The Roman Republic was proclaimed on 15 February 1798 after Louis Alexandre Berthier, a general of Napoleon, had invaded the city of Rome on 10 February. The Roman Republic was a client republic under the French Directory composed of territory conquered from the Papal States, Pope Pius VI was exiled to France and died there in 1799. It immediately took the control of the other two former-papal revolutionary administrations, the Tiberina Republic and the Anconine Republic, the Roman Republic was short-lived, as the Papal States were restored in October 1799. Napoleons campaign on the Italian peninsula from 1796 to 1797 was one of the reasons for his elevation to supreme commander of the French Army during the Wars of the Republic. At the same time he intended to reinforce the French Army of Italy, which was outnumbered by Austria and this invasion of the Italian Peninsula was also a diversion since, according to the First Coalition, the main offensive was expected in the Rhine River. Rome, under the rule of the Papal States, was part of the First Coalition, bonaparte, skeptical over divided command for the invasion, sent two letters to the Directory. The letters let the Directory relent the invasion for a while, the Austrians were defeated at the Battle of Lodi on 10 May 1796 and retreated to Minico. Under the Treatry of Tolentino, signed on 19 February 1797, in February 1798, the French invaded the Papal States, motivated by the killing of French general Mathurin-Léonard Duphot in December 1797. After the successful invasion, the Papal States became a satellite state renamed the Roman Republic, under the leadership of Louis-Alexandre Berthier, Pope Pius VI was taken prisoner, escorted out of Rome on 20 February 1798 and exiled to France, where he would later die. However, the republic did not last long and popular support for it was low, following a Neapolitan invasion on 30 September 1799, the Papal States were restored under Pope Pius VII in June 1800. The French invaded the Papal States again in 1808, after which it was divided between France and the Kingdom of Italy until the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, the Republics government was based on that of the more famous namesake Roman Republic, a Senate. The government was run by the senators, each one representing a different political party, the Senate was basically a Parliament. The main purpose of the Senate was to provide a chamber of second thought to consider legislation passed by a house, whose members are usually elected. The Roman Republic flag was a vertical tricolour black-white-red, taken from the French tricolour and it was governed by a clique of consuls, like the ancient Roman Republic. French forces had invaded the Papal States partly in revenge for the death of French general Mathurin-Léonard Duphot in 1797, historical states of Italy Consul § Roman Republic www. historyofwar. org/articles/campaign_napoleon_italy_1796. html Imperial City, Rome under Napoleon, Susan Vandiver Nicassio
32.
Pope Pius VI
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Pope Pius VI, born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, reigned as Pope from 15 February 1775 to his death in 1799. Pius VI condemned the French Revolution and the suppression of the Gallican Church that resulted from it, French troops commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the papal troops and occupied the Papal States in 1796. In 1798, upon his refusal to renounce his power, Pius was taken prisoner. He died one year later in Valence and his reign is the fourth-longest in papal history, being over two decades. P. M. graven in all parts of the city, the portrait in the box is one of numerous studio copies of the official portrait by Pompeo Batoni. Pius VIs pontificate was a tumultuous and rough one with the onset of the French Revolution, in the beginning of his Pontificate, Pius succeeded in silencing a group of followers of Jansenism with his bull Auctorem Fidei, which reaffirmed the Churchs stance at the topics at hand. Pius VI also saw the growth of Catholicism in the United States of America, therefore erecting the first American archepiscopal see, the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Pius VI also attempted the daring job of draining the Pontine Marshes, which he did with success, but did successfully drain the marshes near Citta della Pieve, Perugia. Pius VI also deepened and expanded the harbors of Terracina and Porto dAnizo, Pius was a great patron of the arts and humanities, for he completed the Pio-Clementine Museum and added a new sacristy to St. Peters Basilica. Pius VI also restored the famous Roman Appian Way, Giovanni Angelo Braschi was born in Cesena on Christmas in 1717 as the eldest of eight children to Count Marco Aurelio Tommaso Braschi and Ana Teresa Bandi. His siblings were Felice Silvestro, Giulia Francesca, Cornelio Francesco, Maria Olimpia, Anna Maria Costanza, Giuseppe Luigi and he was baptized in Cesena on the following 27 December and was given the baptismal name of Angelo Onofrio Melchiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio. After he completed his studies in the Jesuit college of Cesena and it was there that he became the private secretary of Cardinal Tommaso Ruffo, papal legate, in whose bishopric of Ostia and Velletri he held the post of auditor until 1753. Cardinal Ruffo took him as his conclavist at the 1740 papal conclave and his skill in the conduct of a mission to the court of Naples won him the esteem of Pope Benedict XIV who appointed him as one of his secretaries in 1753 following the death of Cardinal Ruffo. The pope also appointed him as a canon of St Peters Basilica in 1755, in 1758, putting an end to an engagement to be married he was ordained to the priesthood. Braschi was also appointed as the Referendary of the Apostolic Signatura in 1758 and he also became the auditor and secretary of Cardinal Carlo Rezzonico, the nephew of Pope Clement XIII. In 1766, he was appointed as the treasurer of the camera apostolica by Pope Clement XIII and those who suffered under his conscientious economics had managed to convince Pope Clement XIV to elevate him into the cardinalate. Braschi was elevated on 26 April 1773 in Rome as the Cardinal-Priest of SantOnofrio and this was a promotion which rendered him innocuous for a brief period of time. Pope Clement XIV died in 1774 and this triggered a conclave to choose a successor, spain, France and Portugal dropped all objections to the election of Braschi who was one of the more moderate opponents of the anti-Jesuit stance of the late pope
33.
Pope Pius VII
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Pope Pius VII, born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti, reigned as Pope from 14 March 1800 to his death in 1823. Chiaramonti was also a monk of the Order of Saint Benedict in addition to being a well known theologian, Chiaramonti was made Bishop of Tivoli in 1782, and resigned that position upon his appointment as Bishop of Imola in 1785. That same year, he was made a cardinal, in 1789, the French Revolution took place, and as a result a series of anti-clerical governments came into power in the country. In 1796, during the French Revolutionary Wars, French troops under Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Rome and he was taken as prisoner to France, where he died in 1799. The following year, after a sede vecante period lasting six months, Chiaramonti was elected to the papacy. Pius at first attempted to take an approach in dealing with Napoleon. In 1809, however, during the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon once again invaded the Papal States, Pius VII was taken prisoner and transported to France. He remained there until 1814 when, after the French were defeated, he was permitted to return to Rome, Pius lived the remainder of his life in relative peace. His papacy saw a significant growth of the Catholic Church in the United States, Pius VII died in 1823 at age 81. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI began the process towards canonizing him as a saint, Barnaba Chiaramonti was born in Cesena in 1742, the youngest son of Count Scipione Chiaramonti (30 April 1698 -13 September 1750. His mother, Giovanna Coronata, was the daughter of the Marquess Ghini, through her, though his family was of noble status, they were not wealthy but rather, were of middle-class stock. His maternal grandparents were Barnaba Eufrasio Ghini and Isabella de conti Aguselli and his paternal grandparents were Giacinto Chiaramonti and Ottavia Maria Altini, his paternal great-grandparents were Scipione Chiaramonti and Ottavia Maria Aldini. His paternal great-great grandparents were Chiaramonte Chiaramonti and Polissena Marescalchi and his siblings were Giacinto Ignazio, Tommaso and Ottavia. Two years after this on 20 August 1758, he became a professed member and he taught at Benedictine colleges in Parma and Rome, and was ordained a priest on 21 September 1765. A series of promotions resulted after his relative, Giovanni Angelo Braschi was elected Pope Pius VI, a few years before this election occurred, in 1773, Chiaramonti became the personal confessor to Braschi. In 1776, Pius VI appointed the 34-year-old Dom Gregory, who had been teaching at the Monastery of SantAnselmo in Rome, as honorary abbot in commendam of his monastery. Although this was an ancient practice, it drew complaints from the monks of the community, in December 1782, the pope appointed Dom Gregory as the Bishop of Tivoli, near Rome. Pius VI soon named him, in February 1785, the Cardinal-Priest of San Callisto, and as the Bishop of Imola, when the French Revolutionary Army invaded Italy in 1797, Cardinal Chiaramonti counseled temperance and submission to the newly created Cisalpine Republic
34.
Consul
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Consul was the title of one of the chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently a somewhat significant title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other city states and also revived in modern states. The relating adjective is consular, from the consularis, in modern terminology, a consul is a type of diplomat. The American Heritage Dictionary defines consul as an appointed by a government to reside in a foreign country. Throughout most of southern France, a consul was an equivalent to the échevins of the north. The most prominent were those of Bordeaux and Toulouse, which came to be known as jurats and capitouls, the capitouls of Toulouse were granted transmittable nobility. In many other towns the first consul, was the equivalent of a mayor today, assisted by a variable number of secondary consuls. His main task was to levy and collect tax, the Dukes of Gaeta often used also the title of consul in its Greek form Hypatos. The city-state of Genoa, unlike ancient Rome, bestowed the title of consul on various state officials, among these were Genoese officials stationed in various Mediterranean ports, whose role included helping Genoese merchants and sailors in difficulties with the local authorities. This institution, with its name, was emulated by other powers and is reflected in the modern usage of the word. In reality, the first consul, Bonaparte, dominated his two colleagues and held power, soon making himself consul for life and eventually, in 1804. Chief magistrate, an office held for four months by one of the consuls. As noted above, Bologna already had consuls at some parts of its Medieval history, while many cities had a double-headed chief magistracy, often another title was used, such as Duumvir or native styles such as Meddix, but consul was used in some. It was not uncommon for an organization under Roman private law to copy the terminology of state, the founding statute, or contract, of such an organisation was called lex, law. The people elected each year were patricians, members of the upper class. org, see each present country
35.
Battle of Marengo
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The Battle of Marengo was fought on 14 June 1800 between French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont, Italy. Surprised by the Austrian advance toward Genoa in mid-April 1800, Bonaparte had hastily led his army over the Alps in mid-May, initially, their two assaults across the Fontanone stream near Marengo village were repelled, and General Jean Lannes reinforced the French right. Bonaparte realised the true position and issued orders at 11,00 am to recall the detachment under Général de Division Louis Desaix, on the Austrian left, Ott’s column had taken Castel Ceriolo, and its advance guard moved south to attack Lannes’s flank. Melas renewed the assault and the Austrians broke the central French position. By 2,30 pm the French were withdrawing and Austrian dragoons seized the Marengo farm, Bonaparte had by then arrived with the reserve, but Berthier’s troops began to fall back on the main vine belts. Knowing Desaix was approaching, Bonaparte was anxious about a column of Ott’s soldiers marching from the north, the French then withdrew steadily eastward toward San Giuliano Vecchio as the Austrians formed a column to follow them in line with Ott’s advance in the northern sector. The French casualties were considerably fewer, but included Desaix, the whole French line chased after the Austrians to seal une victoire politique that secured Bonaparte’s grip on power after the coup. It would be followed by a campaign, which sought to rewrite the story of the battle three times during Napoleon’s rule. The Battle of Marengo was the victory that sealed the success of Bonapartes Italian campaign of 1800 and is best understood in the context of that campaign. By a daring crossing of the Alps with his Army of the Reserve in mid-May 1800 almost before the passes were open, Bonaparte had threatened Melass lines of communications in northern Italy. The French army then seized Milan on 2 June, followed by Pavia, Piacenza and Stradella, Lombardy, Bonaparte hoped that Melass preoccupation with the Siege of Genoa, held by General André Masséna, would prevent the Austrians from responding to his offensive. However, Genoa surrendered on 4 June, freeing a number of Austrians for operations against the French. On 9 June, General Jean Lannes beat Feldmarschallleutnant Peter Ott in the Battle of Montebello and this caused Bonaparte to become overconfident. He became convinced that Melas would not attack, and further, as other French forces closed from the west and south, the Austrian commander had withdrawn most of his troops from their positions near Nice and Genoa to Alessandria on the main Turin-Mantua road. Ott arrived from Montebello of 13 June in a war council, nonetheless, by abandoning the San Giuliano plain, where the superior Austrian cavalry could have given him an edge, Melas probably made a serious mistake. Bonaparte knew that Ott had no way out from Alessandria, Victor then deployed divisional generals Gaspard Amédée Gardanne and Jacques-Antoine de Chambarlhac de Laubespins divisions along the Fontanone stream. The battle took place to the east of Alessandria, on a plain crossed by a river forming meanders, on the plain were spread numerous hamlets and farms which represented strategic points. The three main sites of the battle formed a triangle, with Marengo in the west, Castel Ceriolo in the north, a small stream, the Fontanone, passed between Marengo and the Bormida
36.
Alessandria
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Alessandria listen is a city and comune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about 90 kilometres southeast of Turin. Alessandria is also a railway hub. Alessandria stood in the territories of the marchese of Montferrat, an ally of the Emperor, with a name assumed in 1168 to honor the Emperors opponent. In 1174–75 the fortress was tested by Imperial siege and stood fast. A legend says it was saved by a peasant, Gagliaudo, he fed his cow with the last grain remaining within the city. Here he was captured, and his cow cut open to be cooked and he answered that he was forced to feed his cow with grain because there was such a lot of it, and no room to place it within the city. The Emperor, fearing that the siege would last too long, a statue of Gagliaudo can be found on the left corner of the city cathedral. Alessandria entered into conflicts with the older communes of the region. The new domination was evidenced by the construction of a new big Cittadella on the side of the river Tanaro. With Napoleons success at the Battle of Marengo, Alessandria fell to France, during this period another substantial fort was built to the north of the city containing impressive and substantial barracks which are still used as a military headquarters and stores. The remains of a fort to the south of the city have been sliced in two by a railway, a third one still remains in the middle of the same quarter. From 1814 Alessandria was Savoyard territory once more, part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, during the years of the Risorgimento, Alessandria was an active center of the liberals. In a suburb, Spinetta Marengo, the Battle of Marengo is reenacted annually, Alessandria was the first capital of an Italian province to be governed by a Socialist, the clockmaker Paolo Sacco was elected mayor on July 25,1899. On end of month the city was liberated from the German occupation by the partisan resistance. On November 6,1994 the Tanaro flooded a part of the city, causing major damage. The first known Jews in Alessandria, named Abraham opened a bank in or about 1490. Of the 230 Jews living in the city in 1684,170 were members of the Vitale family, the Jewish Ghetto was established in 1724
37.
Michael von Melas
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Michael Friedrich Benedikt Baron von Melas was a Transylvanian-born field marshal of Saxon descent for the Austrian Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in Radeln, Transylvania in 1729 and joined the Austrian army at age 17 and he served in the Seven Years War as aide de camp for Leopold Josef Graf Daun. He was promoted to colonel in 1781 and he fought on the lower Rhine in 1794 and the middle Rhine in 1795. He later led the Austrian army in Italy during Napoleon Bonapartes campaigns in Italy, a stand made by the French forces further down the road, and a subsequent counter-attack by the French General Louis Desaix led to a defeat for von Melas forces. Von Melas was later a Habsburg commander in Bohemia, Melas retired in 1803, he died in 1806 at Týnec nad Labem, in Bohemia. Melas at Napoleon Guide Melas in The Memoirs of Baron de Marbot
38.
Sant'Andrea della Valle
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SantAndrea della Valle is a basilica church in the rione of SantEustachio of the city of Rome, Italy. The basilica is the seat for the religious order of the Theatines. It is located on Piazza Vidoni at the intersection of Corso Vittorio Emanuele, since Amalfis patron was Saint Andrew, the church was planned in his honor. Work initially started around 1590 under the designs of Giacomo della Porta and Pier Paolo Olivieri, with the previous patrons death, direction of the church passed to Cardinal Alessandro Peretti di Montalto, nephew of Pope Sixtus V. Work restarted by 1608, financed by what was then an enormous endowment of over 150,000 gold scudi, the interior of the church was completed by 1650, with some changes added by Francesco Grimaldi. The fresco decoration of SantAndreas dome was one of the largest commissions of its day, the work was disputed by two Carracci pupils, Giovanni Lanfranco and Domenichino. In 1608, Lanfranco had been chosen by Cardinal Alessandro, in the end, both artists were employed, and Lanfrancos lavish dome decoration set the model for such decorations for the following decades. This dome was for a time the third largest dome in Rome, after the Basilica of St Peter. The angel is depicted in the style of his mentor, Bernini, in this chapel are buried Cardinal Marzio Ginetti and his nephew, the Cardinal Giovanni Francesco Ginetti. The second Strozzi Chapel has a Pietà, Leah and Rachel, the chapel was probably designed by Michelangelo, but executed by Leone Strozzi. Beneath the statues of Leah and Rachel are two bronze bas-reliefs depicting a Deposition from the Cross and Christs Descent into Limbo, the cenotaphs in black marble in the side walls were erected for the Strozzi family, Cardinal Lorenzo, Leone, Pietro, Roberto Strozzi and Maddalena Medici. The chapel of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart was designed by Aristide Leonori, the painting of the Madonna is by Silverio Capparoni and was blessed by Pope Pius IX. In the corner of the transept are situated two chapels. The chapel of the Crucifix displays an antique wooden crucifix above a painting of the Madonna inside a radiant halo, on the right side is the tomb of the Theatine Cardinal St Giuseppe Maria Tomasi. The Oratory of the Divine Love dates from 1751, the Chapel of the Madonna della Purità was originally dedicated to the Holy Family. In 1647 it was designated to the Madonna, patroness of the Theatines, the altar was consecrated in 1725 and shows beneath the tomb of the martyr Saint Fortunatus. The four lunettes on the arches were painted by Silvio Galimberti in 1912 and it was adorned with a golden radiant halo in gratitude for having saved the city from famine. On the left wall of the chapel is the tomb of cardinal Stoppani, the left transept is dedicated to Saint Cajetan, founder of the Theatines
39.
Metropolitan Opera House (39th Street)
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The Metropolitan Opera House was an opera house located at 1411 Broadway in New York City. Opened in 1883 and demolished in 1967, it was the first home of the Metropolitan Opera Company, sometimes referred to as the old Met, the Metropolitan Opera House opened on October 22,1883, with a performance of Faust. It was located at 1411 Broadway, occupying the block between West 39th Street and West 40th Street on the west side of the street in the Garment District of Midtown Manhattan. Nicknamed The Yellow Brick Brewery for its industrial looking exterior, the original Metropolitan Opera House was designed by J. Cleaveland Cady, on August 27,1892, the nine-year-old theater was gutted by fire. The 1892−93 season was canceled while the house was rebuilt along its original lines. During that season, the Vaudeville Club, which became the Metropolitan Opera Club, was founded and hosted entertainment in the undamaged portions of the house. In 1903, architects Carrère and Hastings extensively redesigned the interior of the opera house, the familiar golden auditorium with its sunburst chandelier, and curved proscenium inscribed with the names of six composers, dates from this time. The first of the Mets signature gold damask stage curtains was installed in 1906, in 1940, ownership of the opera house shifted from the wealthy families who occupied the theaters boxes to the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association. At this time the last major change to the interior was completed. The second tier of privately held boxes was converted into standard row seating and this enlarged the seating capacity and left only the first tier of boxes from the golden horseshoe of the opera houses origins as a showplace for New York society. The Met had a capacity of 3,625 with 224 standing room places. While the theater was noted for its excellent acoustics and elegant interior, scenery and sets were a regular sight leaning against the building exterior on 39th Street where crews had to shift them between performances. Various plans were put forward over the years to build a new home for the company, proposed new locations included Columbus Circle and what is now Rockefeller Center, but none of these plans came to fruition. Only with the development of Lincoln Center on New Yorks Upper West Side did the Met finally have the opportunity to build an opera house. The Metropolitan Opera said goodbye to its old house on April 16,1966, the long time Met star soprano Zinka Milanov made her last Met appearance that night and among the many invited guests was soprano Anna Case who had made her debut at the house in 1909. The final performance at the house was given not by the Met but the Bolshoi Ballet. The theater was purchased by Jack D. Weiler and despite a campaign to preserve the theater, it failed to obtain landmark status and it was replaced by a 40-story office tower,1411 Broadway, intended to provide a steady income for the opera company. Since 1966, the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center has been home to the Metropolitan Opera, the Met, One Hundred Years of Grand Opera
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