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Alexander's Feast (Handel)
''Alexander's Feast'' ( HWV 75) is an ode with music by George Frideric Handel set to a libretto by Newburgh Hamilton. Hamilton adapted his libretto from John Dryden's ode '' Alexander's Feast, or the Power of Music'' (1697) which had been written to celebrate Saint Cecilia's Day. Jeremiah Clarke (whose score is now lost) set the original ode to music. Handel composed the music in January 1736, and the work received its premiere at the Covent Garden Theatre, London, on 19 February 1736. In its original form it contained three concertos: a concerto in B flat major in 3 movements for "Harp, Lute, Lyrichord and other Instruments" HWV 294 for performance after the recitative ''Timotheus, plac'd on high'' in Part I; a concerto grosso in C major in 4 movements for oboes, bassoon and strings, now known as the "Concerto in Alexander's Feast" HWV 318, performed between Parts I and II; and an organ concerto HWV 289 in G minor and major in 4 movements for chamber organ, oboes, bassoon and st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Frideric Handel By Balthasar Denner
George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States * George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United States * George V, King of Great Britain, Ireland, the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 1910-1936 * George VI, King of Great Britain, Ireland, the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 1936-1952 * Prince George of Wales * George Papagheorghe also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Giorgio Moroder * George Harrison, an English musician and singer-songwriter Places South Africa * George, Western Cape ** George Airport United States * George, Iowa * George, Missouri * George, Washington * George County, Mississippi * George Air Force Base, a former U.S. Air Force base located in California Characters * George (Peppa Pig), a 2-year-old pig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cecilia Young
Cecilia Young (also Cecilia Arne) (January 1712 – 6 October 1789) was one of the greatest English sopranos of the eighteenth century, the wife of composer Thomas Arne, and the mother of composer Michael Arne. According to the music historian Charles Burney, she had "a good natural voice and a fine shake ndhad been so well taught, that her style of singing was infinitely superior to that of any other English woman of her time". She was part of a well-known English family of musicians that included several professional singers and organists. Young enjoyed a large amount of success through her close association with George Frideric Handel. She appeared in several of his oratorios and operas including the premieres of ''Ariodante'' (1735), ''Alcina'' (1735), '' Alexander's Feast'' (1736) and ''Saul'' (1739).Olive Baldwin, Thelma Wilson: "Cecilia Young", ''Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy (Accessed 9 January 2009)(subscription access)/ref> Biography Early life, education, and early ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Chamber Orchestra
The English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and their ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall. The orchestra regularly tours in the UK and internationally, and holds the distinction of not only having the most extensive discography of any chamber orchestra, but also of being the most well-traveled orchestra in the world; no other orchestra has played concerts (as of 2013, according to its own publicity) in as many countries as the English Chamber Orchestra. The English Chamber Orchestra has its roots in the Goldsbrough Orchestra, founded in 1948 by Lawrence Leonard and Arnold Goldsbrough. The group took its current name in 1960, when it expanded its repertoire beyond the Baroque period for the first time. Its repertoire remained limited by the group's size, which has stayed fairly consistently at around the size of an orchestra of Mozart's time. Shortly afterwards, it became closely assoc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Allen (baritone)
Sir Thomas Boaz Allen (born 10 September 1944) is an English operatic baritone. He is widely admired in the opera world for his voice, the versatility of his repertoire, and his acting—leading many to regard him as one of the best lyric baritones of the late 20th century. In October 2011, he was appointed Chancellor of Durham University, succeeding Bill Bryson. Early years Born to Florence and Thomas Allen in the mining village of Seaham Harbour, County Durham, in 1944, Thomas Allen studied at Ryhope Grammar School from 1955 to 1964, becoming captain of his house and later head boy while also doing well in sports, such as in athletics, rugby and especially golf. It was during his time at school that his singing voice was first observed by the then Physics master, Denis Weatherley, himself a well-known baritone in the county and especially renowned for Northumberland songs. Weatherley would then go on to be Allen's first tutor, training the young baritone during lunch bre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Tear
Robert Tear (pronounced to rhyme with "beer"), CBE (8 March 1939 – 29 March 2011) was a Welsh tenor singer, teacher and conductor. He first became known singing in the operas of Benjamin Britten in the mid-1960s. From the 1970s until his retirement in 1999 his main operatic base was the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; he appeared with other opera companies in the UK, mainland Europe, the US and Australia. Generally avoiding the Italian repertoire, which did not suit his voice, Tear became known in leading and character roles in German, British and Russian operas. Tear's concert repertoire was wide, extending from music from the 17th century to contemporary works by Britten, Tippett and others. He conducted for some years from the mid-1980s, but found himself temperamentally unsuited to it. As a teacher at the Royal Academy of Music he was happier, and was well regarded by colleagues and pupils. Life and career Early years Tear was born in Barry, Glamorgan, the son of T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sally Burgess
Sally Burgess FRCM (born 9 October 1953) is a South African-born British operatic lyric mezzo-soprano, opera director, and educator. She has been a Fellow and Professor of Vocal Studies at the Royal College of Music since 2004, as well as teaching stagecraft. She has also taught at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. Biography and career Born in South Africa, Burgess studied at the Royal College of Music in London with Marion Studholme and Josephine Veasey. She made her debut on the opera stage as Zerlina in '' Don Giovanni'' with English National Opera. The ENO gave her a solo contract when she was only 23, and during her career she has sung over 40 roles with the company. Amongst the other companies where has appeared are: the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden where she made her debut as Siebel in ''Faust'' with Alfredo Kraus, the Metropolitan Opera, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Switzerland as Fricka in ''Der Ring des Nibelun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helen Donath
Helen Jeanette Donath (née Erwin; born July 10, 1940) is an American soprano with a career spanning fifty years. Biography She was born in Corpus Christi, Texas and studied there at Del Mar College. Later she studied in New York with Paola Novikova. She debuted as a concert and Lieder singer in New York in 1958. In 1961, she became a member of the at the Cologne Opera. She sang from 1963 until 1968 at the Staatsoper Hannover where she met her future husband, choir master and conductor Klaus Donath. Their son, Alexander Donath, is a stage and opera director. In 2000, all three were involved in Michigan Opera Theatre's production of ''Der Rosenkavalier'' where Donath sang the Marschallin.George Bulanda"S/he loves me (not)" MetroTimes.com, April 19, 2000. In 1967, she sang Pamina in Mozart's ''The Magic Flute'' at the Salzburg Festival, which began a long association with the festival. From 1970 until 1990, she was a regular member of the Vienna State Opera. She has performed all ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Johann Nikolaus Harnoncourt or historically Johann Nikolaus Graf de la Fontaine und d'Harnoncourt-Unverzagt; () (6 December 1929 – 5 March 2016) was an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music from the Classical era and earlier. Starting out as a classical cellist, he founded his own period instrument ensemble, Concentus Musicus Wien, in 1953, and became a pioneer of the Early Music movement. Around 1970, Harnoncourt began conducting opera and concert performances, soon leading international symphony orchestras, and appearing at leading concert halls, operatic venues and festivals. His repertoire then widened to include composers of the 19th and 20th centuries. In 2001 and 2003, he conducted the Vienna New Year's Concert. Harnoncourt was also the author of several books, mostly on subjects of performance history and musical aesthetics. Early life Johann Nikolaus Harnoncourt was born as an Austrian citizen in Berlin, German ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Concentus Musicus Wien
Concentus Musicus Wien (CMW) is an Austrian baroque music ensemble based in Vienna. The CMW is recognized as a pioneer of the period-instrument performance movement. History Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Alice Harnoncourt co-founded the CMW in 1953, along with several musicians from the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. The CMW did research and rehearsal for 4 years before their first official concert; although the ensemble made its 'unofficial' debut at the Konzerthaus, Vienna in 1954 with a production of Claudio Monteverdi's ''Orfeo'', the CMW's first public concert was in May 1957 at the Schwarzenberg Palace in Vienna. The CMW gave a regular concert series at the Schwarzenberg Palace from 1958 to 1962. The CMW made its formal debut in the ''Mozart-Saal'' of the Vienna ''Konzerthaus'' in February 1962, and performed concerts regularly there until 1971. The CMW staged its first opera at the 1971 Wiener Festwochen with Monteverdi's ''Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria''. The CMW's first concer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthony Rolfe Johnson
Anthony Rolfe Johnson (5 November 1940 – 21 July 2010) was an English operatic tenor. Early life Anthony Rolfe Johnson was born in Tackley in Oxfordshire. As a boy, he demonstrated musical ability and sang as a boy soprano, making a record with HMV. Despite his ability, he did not consider singing as a career and instead went to study for an agricultural degree. He worked as a farm manager, and would sing church hymns to his herd of cows. He joined a choral society in Crawley, West Sussex, and sang regularly with the choir of St Nicholas' Church, Worth, and was encouraged by another member to pursue a professional singing career. Career Rolfe Johnson studied with Ellis Keeler and Vera Rózsa at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He was also tutored by Peter Pears. He first appeared in opera in the chorus and in small roles at the Glyndebourne Festival between 1972 and 1976. His major operatic debut was in the role of Count Vaudémont in Tchaikovsky's opera ''Iolanta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Felicity Palmer
Dame Felicity Joan Palmer, (born 6 April 1944), is an English mezzo-soprano and music professor. She sang soprano roles until 1983. Palmer was born in Cheltenham and educated at Erith Grammar School, now named Erith School. She studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and under Marianne Schech's guidance at the Munich College for Music and Theatre. In April 1970, she won first prize in the Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Scholarship. She made her operatic debut in 1971 as Dido in ''Dido and Aeneas'' with the Kent Opera. In 1973, she made her US debut with the Houston Grand Opera and her Metropolitan Opera debut was in 2000 as Waltraute (''Götterdämmerung''). Having made her debut with English National Opera (ENO) in 1975, her performance with the company forty years later, as the Countess in The Queen of Spades, was widely applauded and described as 'mesmerising' and 'astonishing'. Palmer has performed and recorded Gilbert and Sullivan operas, as Katisha in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alfred Deller
Alfred George Deller, CBE (31 May 1912 – 16 July 1979), was an English singer and one of the main figures in popularising the return of the countertenor voice in Renaissance and Baroque music during the 20th century. He is sometimes referred to as the "godfather of the countertenor". His style in singing lute song, with extensive use of rubato and extemporised ornamentation, was seen as radical and controversial in his day but is now considered the norm. Deller was an influential figure in the renaissance of early music: an early proponent of "original instrument performance" and one of the first to bring this form to the popular consciousness through his broadcasts on the BBC. He also founded the Stour Music Festival in 1962, one of the first and most important early music festivals in the world. Life and career Church music Deller was born in Margate, a seaside resort in Kent. As a boy, he sang in his local church choir. When his voice broke, he continued singing in his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
