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Achilles (opera)
''Achilles'' is a ballad opera by John Gay, first performed at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in 1733, a year after Gay's death, with Gay's associate John Rich as producer. Background The opera is a burlesque parody of the story of Achilles on Skyros, based on legends of Achilles as related by Bion, Ovid, and Statius (notably the latter's ''Achilleid''). Unsuccessful attempts were made at the time to interpret the work as a political satire (as was Gay's ''The Beggar's Opera'') but no convincing case has been made for this. Unlike ''The Beggar's Opera'' and Gay's other ballad opera, ''Polly'', ''Achilles'' uses not only tunes from popular music, but also employs melodies from concertante works of Arcangelo Corelli. ''Achilles'' proved popular; the first performance alone brought John Rich over £200, and the opera ran for over a month after its premiere on 10 February 1733. Roles Synopsis The opera takes place on the isle of Skyros, (called "Scyros" in the libretto). Achil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Achilles Opera Title-page
In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's ''Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, king of Phthia. Achilles' most notable feat during the Trojan War was the slaying of the Trojan prince Hector outside the gates of Troy. Although the death of Achilles is not presented in the ''Iliad'', other sources concur that he was killed near the end of the Trojan War by Paris, who shot him with an arrow. Later legends (beginning with Statius' unfinished epic ''Achilleid'', written in the 1st century AD) state that Achilles was invulnerable in all of his body except for one heel, because when his mother Thetis dipped him in the river Styx as an infant, she held him by one of his heels. Alluding to these legends, the term " Achilles' heel" has come to mean a point of weakness, especially in someone or something with an otherwise strong ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hannah Norsa
Hannah Norsa (first name sometimes spelt Hanna; c. 1712 – 28 August 1784) was an English Jewish actress and singer, who achieved fame appearing in John Gay's ''The Beggar's Opera'' in 1732 and became the mistress of Robert Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford. Life Norsa was the daughter of the London innkeeper Issachar Norsa, an Italian Jew from Mantua. She created a sensation at her stage debut in the character of Polly Peachum at the revival of ''The Beggar's Opera'' at the Covent Garden Theatre on 16 December 1732, and over the next few years took leading roles in operas by Johann Ernst Galliard and others. In 1733 she sang the part of Deidamia in Gay's posthumously performed ballad opera ''Achilles.'' She also undertook non-singing roles in plays including George Farquhar's ''The Beaux' Stratagem'' and '' The Orphan'' by Thomas Otway.Baldwin (2008) By 1736 she had come under the wing of Robert Walpole, the son and heir of the former Prime Minister Robert Walpole and brother of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ballad Operas
The ballad opera is a genre of English stage entertainment that originated in the early 18th century, and continued to develop over the following century and later. Like the earlier '' comédie en vaudeville'' and the later '' Singspiel'', its distinguishing characteristic is the use of tunes in a popular style (either pre-existing or newly composed) with spoken dialogue. These English plays were 'operas' mainly insofar as they satirized the conventions of the imported '' opera seria''. Music critic Peter Gammond describes the ballad opera as "an important step in the emancipation of both the musical stage and the popular song." Earliest ballad operas Ballad opera has been called an "eighteenth-century protest against the Italian conquest of the London operatic scene."M. Lubbock, ''The Complete Book of Light Opera'' (New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1962), pp. 467–68 It consists of racy and often satirical spoken (English) dialogue, interspersed with songs that are deliberate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1733 Operas
Events January–March * January 13 – Borommarachathirat V becomes King of Siam (now Thailand) upon the death of King Sanphet IX. * January 27 – George Frideric Handel's classic opera, ''Orlando'' is performed for the first time, making its debut at the King's Theatre in London. * February 12 – British colonist James Oglethorpe founds Savannah, Georgia. * March 21 – The Molasses Act is passed by British House of Commons, which reinforces the negative opinions of the British by American colonists. The Act then goes to the House of Lords, which consents to it on May 4 and it receives royal assent on May 17. * March 25 – English replaces Latin and Law French as the official language of English and Scottish courts following the enforcement of the Proceedings in Courts of Justice Act 1730. April–June * April 6 – **After British Prime Minister Robert Walpole's proposed excise tax bill results in rioting over the imposit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Works By John Gay
Works may refer to: People * Caddy Works (1896–1982), American college sports coach * Samuel Works (c. 1781–1868), New York politician Albums * '' ''Works'' (Pink Floyd album)'', a Pink Floyd album from 1983 * ''Works'', a Gary Burton album from 1972 * ''Works'', a Status Quo album from 1983 * ''Works'', a John Abercrombie album from 1991 * ''Works'', a Pat Metheny album from 1994 * ''Works'', an Alan Parson Project album from 2002 * ''Works Volume 1'', a 1977 Emerson, Lake & Palmer album * ''Works Volume 2'', a 1977 Emerson, Lake & Palmer album * '' The Works'', a 1984 Queen album Other uses * Microsoft Works, a collection of office productivity programs created by Microsoft * IBM Works, an office suite for the IBM OS/2 operating system * Mount Works, Victoria Land, Antarctica See also * The Works (other) * Work (other) Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operas
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 singing: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford Dictionary Of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September 2004 in 60 volumes and online, with 50,113 biographical articles covering 54,922 lives. First series Hoping to emulate national biographical collections published elsewhere in Europe, such as the '' Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (1875), in 1882 the publisher George Smith (1824–1901), of Smith, Elder & Co., planned a universal dictionary that would include biographical entries on individuals from world history. He approached Leslie Stephen, then editor of the ''Cornhill Magazine'', owned by Smith, to become the editor. Stephen persuaded Smith that the work should focus only on subjects from the United Kingdom and its present and former colonies. An early working title was the ''Biographia Britannica'', the name of an earlier eightee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of North Texas
The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," Dallas Morning News, May 25, 1901, p. 2. UNT is a member of the University of North Texas System, which includes additional universities in Dallas and Fort Worth. UNT also has a location in Frisco. The university consists of 14 colleges and schools, an early admissions math and science academy for exceptional high-school-age students from across the state, the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, and a library system that comprises the university core. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". According to the National Science Foundation, UNT spent $78.4 million on research and development in 2019. Campus The main campus is located in Denton, TX part of the largest metropolitan area in T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trojan Wars
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has been narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably Homer's ''Iliad''. The core of the ''Iliad'' (Books II – XXIII) describes a period of four days and two nights in the tenth year of the decade-long siege of Troy; the ''Odyssey'' describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the war's heroes. Other parts of the war are described in a cycle of epic poems, which have survived through fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid. The ancient Greeks believed that Troy was located near the Dardanelles and that the Trojan War was a historical event of the 13th or 12th century BC, but by the mid-19th century AD, both the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lycomedes
In Greek mythology, Lycomedes ( grc, Λυκομήδης), also known as Lycurgus, was the most prominent king of the Dolopians in the island of Scyros near Euboea during the Trojan War. Family Lycomedes was the father of seven daughters including Deidameia, and grandfather of Pyrrhus or Neoptolemus. Mythology Death of Theseus Plutarch says that Lycomedes killed Theseus, who had fled to his island in exile by pushing him off a cliff for he feared that Theseus would dethrone him, as people of the island treated the guest with marked honor. Some related that the cause of this violence was that Lycomedes would not give up the estates which Theseus had in Scyros, or the circumstance that Lycomedes wanted to gain the favour of Menestheus. Achilles At the request of Thetis, Lycomedes concealed Achilles in female disguise among his own daughters. At Lycomedes' court Achilles had an affair with Deidamia, which resulted in the birth of Neoptolemus (Pyrrhus). As Odysseus drew Achille ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deidamia (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Deidamia (; Ancient Greek: Δηϊδάμεια ''Deïdameia'') was a princess of Scyros as a daughter of King Lycomedes. Mythology Deidamia was one of King Lycomedes's seven daughters with whom Achilles was concealed. Some versions of this story state that Achilles was hidden in Lycomedes's court as one of the king's daughters, some say as a lady-in-waiting under the name "Pyrrha". The two soon became romantically involved to the point of intimacy. After Odysseus arrived at Lycomedes's palace and exposed Achilles as a young man, the hero decided to join the Trojan War, along with hitherapon Patroclus, leaving behind his wife Deidamia. Years later, Deidamia tried to persuade their son, Neoptolemus, not to join his father in the same war, but after the death of Achilles, his father, Neoptolemus went for the Trojan war as the next ''Aristos Achaion''. After the war, she was given in marriage by Neoptolemus to his slave Helenus, son of Priam, whom he had broug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Çanakkale and about miles east of the Aegean Sea. It is known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. In Ancient Greek literature, Troy is portrayed as a powerful kingdom of the Greek Heroic Age, Heroic Age, a mythic era when monsters roamed the earth and gods interacted directly with humans. The city was said to have ruled the Troad until the Trojan War led to its complete destruction at the hands of the Greeks. The story of its destruction was one of the cornerstones of Greek mythology and literature, featuring prominently in the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', and referenced in numerous other poems and plays. Its legacy played a large role in Greek society, with many prominent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
