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Araja
Francesco Domenico Araja (or Araia, Russian: Арайя) (June 25, 1709 in Naples, Kingdom of Sicily – between 1762 and 1770 in Bologna, States of the Church) was an Italian composer who spent 25 years in Russia and wrote at least 14 operas for the Russian Imperial Court including ''Tsefal i Prokris'', the first opera in Russian. Biography He was born and received his musical education in Naples and began to compose operas at the age of 20. His early operas were produced in the theatres of Naples, Florence, Rome, Milan, and Venice. In 1735 he was invited to St. Petersburg together with a big Italian opera troupe, and became the ''maestro di cappella'' (''Kapellmeister'') to Empress Anne Ioanovna and later Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. In the winter operas were usually given in a wing of the Zimniy Dvorets (the Winter Palace), and in the summer time in the Theatre of Letniy Sad in the Summer Garden. His ''La forza dell'amore e dell'odio'' was the first Italian opera performe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Francesco Araja
Francesco Domenico Araja (or Araia, Russian: Арайя) (June 25, 1709 in Naples, Kingdom of Sicily – between 1762 and 1770 in Bologna, States of the Church) was an Italian composer who spent 25 years in Russia and wrote at least 14 operas for the Russian Imperial Court including ''Tsefal i Prokris'', the first opera in Russian. Biography He was born and received his musical education in Naples and began to compose operas at the age of 20. His early operas were produced in the theatres of Naples, Florence, Rome, Milan, and Venice. In 1735 he was invited to St. Petersburg together with a big Italian opera troupe, and became the ''maestro di cappella'' (''Kapellmeister'') to Empress Anne Ioanovna and later Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. In the winter operas were usually given in a wing of the Zimniy Dvorets (the Winter Palace), and in the summer time in the Theatre of Letniy Sad in the Summer Garden. His ''La forza dell'amore e dell'odio'' was the first Italian opera perform ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tsefal I Prokris
''Cephalus and Prokris'' (russian: Цефал и Прокрис – ''Tsefal i Prokris''), is an opera seria in three acts by the Italian composer Francesco Araja. Dating to 1755, it was the first opera written in the Russian language. Araja composed the opera to a Russian libretto by Alexander Sumarokov after the Metamorphoses of Ovid. Performance history It was staged at St. Petersburg in a wing of Zimniy Dvorets on March 7, S February 27 1755 with effective sets by Giuseppe Valeriani. It was the first opera performed with Russian singers. The main roles were performed by Elisaveta Belogradskaya (Prokris) and Gavrilo Martsenkovich known as "Gavrilushka" (Cephalus). The other actors were "pevchie" (the singers) of Count Andrey Kirillovich Razumovsky: Stefan Evstafiev (Aurora), Stefan Rzhevsky (Erechtheus, the King of Athens), Nikolay Ktitarev (Minos, the King of Crete), Ivan Tatishchev (Tester, the nobleman of Minos and magician). This opera had a great success, and the compo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Sumarokov
Alexander Petrovich Sumarokov (russian: Алекса́ндр Петро́вич Сумаро́ков; , Moscow – , Moscow) was a Russian poet and playwright who single-handedly created classical theatre in Russia, thus assisting Mikhail Lomonosov to inaugurate the reign of classicism in Russian literature. Life and works Born of a family of Muscovite gentry, Sumarokov was educated at the Cadet School in St. Petersburg, where he acquired an intimate familiarity with French polite learning. Neither an aristocratic dilettante like Antiokh Kantemir nor a learned professor like Vasily Trediakovsky, he was the first ''gentleman'' in Russia to choose the profession of letters. He consequently may be called the father of the Russian literary profession. His pursuits did not undermine his position in the family; indeed, his grandson was made a count and, when the Sumarokov family became extinct a century later, the title eventually passed to Prince Felix Yusupov, who also held the tit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librettist and incorporates a number of the performing arts, such as acting, scenery, costume, and sometimes dance or ballet. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble, which since the early 19th century has been led by a conductor. Although musical theatre is closely related to opera, the two are considered to be distinct from one another. Opera is a key part of the Western classical music tradition. Originally understood as an entirely sung piece, in contrast to a play with songs, opera has come to include numerous genres, including some that include spoken dialogue such as '' Singspiel'' and '' Opéra comique''. In traditional number opera, singers employ two styles of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Empress Anne
Anna Ioannovna (russian: Анна Иоанновна; ), also russified as Anna Ivanovna and sometimes anglicized as Anne, served as regent of the duchy of Courland from 1711 until 1730 and then ruled as Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740. Much of her administration was defined or heavily influenced by actions set in motion by her uncle, Peter the Great (), such as the lavish building projects in St. Petersburg, funding the Russian Academy of Science, and measures which generally favored the nobility, such as the repeal of a primogeniture law in 1730. In the West, Anna's reign was traditionally viewed as a continuation of the transition from the old Muscovy ways to the European court envisioned by Peter the Great. Within Russia, Anna's reign is often referred to as a "dark era". Early life Anna was born in Moscow as the daughter of Tsar Ivan V by his wife Praskovia Saltykova. Ivan V was co-ruler of Russia along with his younger half-brother Peter the Great, but he was mentally di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metamorphoses
The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its creation to the deification of Julius Caesar in a mythico-historical framework comprising over 250 myths, 15 books, and 11,995 lines. Although it meets some of the criteria for an epic, the poem defies simple genre classification because of its varying themes and tones. Ovid took inspiration from the genre of metamorphosis poetry and some of the ''Metamorphoses'' derives from earlier treatment of the same myths; however, he diverged significantly from all of his models. One of the most influential works in Western culture, the ''Metamorphoses'' has inspired such authors as Dante Alighieri, Giovanni Boccaccio, Geoffrey Chaucer, and William Shakespeare. Numerous episodes from the poem have been depicted in works of sculpture, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prokris
In Greek mythology, Procris ( grc, Πρόκρις, ''gen''.: Πρόκριδος) was an Athenian princess as the third daughter of Erechtheus, king of Athens and his wife, Praxithea, daughter of Phrasimus and Diogeneia. Homer mentions her in the ''Odyssey'' as one of the many dead spirits Odysseus saw in the Underworld, and Sophocles wrote a tragedy called ''Procris'' which has been lost, as has a version contained in the Greek Cycle, but at least six different accounts of her story still exist. Family Procris's sisters were Creusa, Oreithyia, Chthonia, Protogeneia, Pandora and Merope while her brothers were Cecrops, Pandorus, Metion, and possibly Orneus, Thespius, Eupalamus and Sicyon. She married Cephalus, the son of King Deioneus of Phocis. Mythology Pherecydes The earliest version of Procris' story comes from Pherecydes of Athens. Cephalus remains away from home for eight years because he wanted to test Procris. When he returns, he succeeds in seducing her while disgu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cephalus
Cephalus (; Ancient Greek: Κέφαλος ''Kephalos'' means "head") is a name used both for the hero-figure in Greek mythology and carried as a theophoric name by historical persons. ''Mythological'' * Cephalus, son of Hermes and Herse. * Cephalus, son of Deion/Deioneos, husband of Procris. ''Historical'' *Cephalus, son of Lysanias from Syracuse (5th century BCE), a wealthy metic and elderly arms manufacturer living in Athens who engages in dialogue with Socrates in Plato's ''Republic''. He was the father of orator Lysias, philosopher Polemarchus and Euthydemus. *Cephalus, Athenian orator who flourished after the time of the Thirty Tyrants. *Cephalus, a Molossian who sided with Perseus in the Third Macedonian War.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythologby William Smith See also * List of commonly used taxonomic affixes Notes References * Gaius Julius Hyginus, ''Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Pu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adam Olsufiev
Adam Vasilyevich Olsufiev (January 27, 1721 – July 8, 1784) was a figure in the Russian Enlightenment, a lover of literature, the patron of opera and theaters, Cabinet Minister and State Secretary of Empress Catherine II. He ended his career as a senator with the rank of Actual Privy Councilor. Grandfather of Count Vasily Olsufiev. Biography Came from the Olsufievs. The son of Ober-Hofmeister Vasily Dmitrievich and his wife Eva Ivanovna, née Golender, who was Swedish by birth. At baptism, he received the name Vasily, but at the behest of Emperor Peter I, who wished to be godfather, but who was late to his baptism, was named by a name uncommon among the Russians, Adam. Therefore, Adam Vasily had two names, but on all acts and documents he was signed by Adam. At the age of seven, he lost his father and remained in the arms of his mother, who soon after the death of her husband remarried Colonel Wenzel. Wenzel took up his education and on February 17, 1732, identified him in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sumarokov
Sumarokov (russian: Сумароков) is a Russian masculine surname, its feminine counterpart is Sumarokova. It may refer to * Alexander Sumarokov (1717–1777), Russian poet and playwright * Ekaterina Kniazhnina (née Sumarokova, 1746–1797), Russian poet, daughter of Alexander * Tatyana Sumarokova (1922–1977), aviator * Felix Sumarokov-Elston (1820–1877), Russian general and administrator * Mikhail Sumarokov-Elston Count Mikhail Nikolayevich Sumarokov-Elston ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Сумароков-Эльстон, p=mʲɪxɐˈil nʲɪkɐˈlaɪvʲɪtɕ sʊmɐˈrokəf ˈelʲstən french: link=no, Michel de Soumarokoff-Elston; 1893 or 18943 ... (1894–1970), Russian tennis player {{surname Russian-language surnames ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vasily Trediakovsky
Vasily Kirillovich Trediakovsky (russian: Васи́лий Кири́ллович Тредиако́вский ; in Astrakhan – in Saint Petersburg) was a Russian poet, essayist and playwright who helped lay the foundations of classical Russian literature. Trediakovsky was a Russian literary theoretician and poet whose writings contributed to the classical foundations of Russian literature. The son of a poor priest, Trediakovsky became the first Russian commoner to receive a humanistic education abroad, at the Sorbonne in Paris (1727–30) where he studied philosophy, linguistics and mathematics. Soon after his return to Russia he became acting secretary of the Academy of Sciences and ''de facto'' court poet. In 1735 Trediakovsky published ''Новый и краткий способ к сложенью российских стихов'' (''"A new and brief way for composing of Russian verses"''), a highly theoretical work for which he is best remembered. It discussed for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Summer Garden
The Summer Garden (russian: Ле́тний сад, ''Letniy sad'') is a historic public garden that occupies an eponymous island between the Neva, Fontanka, Moika, and the Swan Canal in downtown Saint Petersburg, Russia and shares its name with the adjacent Summer Palace of Peter the Great. Its inception dates back to early 18 century when Russia took these lands from Sweden in the Great Northern War. Being a monument of landscape architecture featuring original and copied sculptures of classical mythology characters, a former royal palace and a monument to the fable author Ivan Krylov, the garden is now a branch of the Saint Petersburg-based national art treasury Russian Museum. Landscape design Original The park was personally designed by Tsar Peter in 1704, supposedly, with the assistance of the Dutch gardener and physician Nicolaas Bidloo. Starting from 1712, the planting of the Summer Garden was further elaborated by the Dutch gardener Jan Roosen, who was the chief g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
