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Aga Mikolaj
Agnieszka Beata Mikołajczyk (7 March 1971 – 11 November 2021), better known by her stage name Aga Mikolaj, was a Polish operatic soprano who made an international career. She was a member of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich from 2002 to 2007, focusing on Mozart roles, especially Donna Elvira in ''Don Giovanni'', and performed from San Francisco to Tokyo. She performed and recorded '' Four Last Songs'' by Richard Strauss, Penderecki's '' The Seven Gates of Jerusalem'', and Detlev Glanert's ''Requiem for Hieronymus Bosch'', live in Rotterdam in 2016 in its first recording. Life and career Born in Kutno on 7 March 1971, Mikolaj studied at the Academy of Music in Poznań with Antonina Kawecka from 1990 to 1996. During her studies, she received a scholarship from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. In 1997, Mikolaj took master classes with Renata Scotto and in 2001 with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, who coached her until her death in 2006. Mikolaj won prizes at intern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kutno
Kutno is a city located in central Poland with 42,704 inhabitants (2021) and an area of . Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship since 1999, previously it was part of Płock Voivodeship (1975–1998) and it is now the capital of Kutno County. During the invasion of Poland in 1939, Polish armies under General Tadeusz Kutrzeba conducted an offensive in and around Kutno, a battle that was later named the Battle of the Bzura. Based on its central location and the intersection of multiple rail lines, Kutno is an important railroad junction in Poland. Two main lines cross there (Łódź – Toruń and Warsaw – Poznań – Berlin). Another connection also starts in Kutno, which connects the town to Płock. Geographical position Kutno is located in the northern part of the Łódź Voivodeship and is to the northwest of the geographical center of Poland. According to the data from 1 January 2009, the area of the town amounts to . According to the physical–geographic division of Pol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Vocal Competition 's-Hertogenbosch
The International Vocal Competition 's-Hertogenbosch (IVC; ) is a music competition for classical singing founded in 1954. It is the only classical vocal competition in the Netherlands that also focuses, besides opera, oratorio and Lied. This biennial event is organised by the Stichting Muziekstad 's-Hertogenbosch. The IVC is a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions since 1959. The IVC offers singers the chance to perform for casting directors, concert managements, impresarios, the media and a concert and theatregoing audience. Alongside its competition the IVC also presents master classes, workshops, summer schools and concerts. Concerts are organised in collaboration with various organisations. The IVC also provides advice on repertoire, career possibilities, media management and auditioning. The IVC has helped launch the careers of many internationally renowned singers (see List of notable IVC alumni). Annett Andriesen, herself an opera singer and a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orfeo Ed Euridice
' (; French: '; English: ''Orpheus and Eurydice'') is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on Orpheus, the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the ''azione teatrale'', meaning an opera on a mythological subject with choruses and dancing. The piece was first performed at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 5 October 1762, in the presence of Empress Maria Theresa. ''Orfeo ed Euridice'' is the first of Gluck's "reform" operas, in which he attempted to replace the abstruse plots and overly complex music of ''opera seria'' with a "noble simplicity" in both the music and the drama. The opera is the most popular of Gluck's works, and was one of the most influential on subsequent Opera in German, German operas. Variations on its plot—the underground rescue mission in which the hero must control, or conceal, his emotions—can be found in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart's ''The Magic Flute'', Ludwig van Beethoven, Beetho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fidelio
''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, with the work premiering at Vienna's Theater an der Wien on 20 November 1805. The following year, Stephan von Breuning helped shorten the work from three acts to two. After further work on the libretto by Georg Friedrich Treitschke, a final version was performed at the Kärntnertortheater on 23 May 1814. By convention, both of the first two versions are referred to as ''Leonore''. The libretto, with some spoken dialogue, tells how Leonore, disguised as a prison guard named "Fidelio", rescues her husband Florestan from death in a political prison. Bouilly's scenario fits Beethoven's aesthetic and political outlook: a story of personal sacrifice, heroism, and eventual triumph. With its underlying struggle for liberty and justice mirroring con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hansel And Gretel (opera)
''Hansel and Gretel'' (German: ') is an opera by nineteenth-century composer Engelbert Humperdinck, who described it as a ' (fairy-tale opera). The libretto was written by Humperdinck's sister, Adelheid Wette, based on the Grimm brothers' fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel". It is much admired for its folk music-inspired themes, one of the most famous being the "" ("Evening Benediction") from act 2. The idea for the opera was proposed to Humperdinck by his sister, who approached him about writing music for songs that she had written for her children for Christmas based on "Hansel and Gretel". After several revisions, the musical sketches and the songs were turned into a full-scale opera. Humperdinck composed ''Hansel and Gretel'' in Frankfurt in 1891 and 1892. The opera was first performed in the Hoftheater in Weimar on 23 December 1893, conducted by Richard Strauss. It has been associated with Christmas since its earliest performances and today it is still most often performed a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
L'incoronazione Di Poppea
''L'incoronazione di Poppea'' ( SV 308, ''The Coronation of Poppaea'') is an Italian opera by Claudio Monteverdi. It was Monteverdi's last opera, with a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello, and was first performed at the Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice during the 1643 carnival season. One of the first operas to use historical events and people, it describes how Poppaea, mistress of the Roman emperor Nero, is able to achieve her ambition and be crowned empress. The opera was revived in Naples in 1651, but was then neglected until the rediscovery of the score in 1888, after which it became the subject of scholarly attention in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Since the 1960s, the opera has been performed and recorded many times. The original manuscript of the score does not exist; two surviving copies from the 1650s show significant differences from each other, and each differs to some extent from the libretto. How much of the music is actually Monteverdi's, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Der Freischütz
' ( J. 277, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind, based on a story by Johann August Apel and Friedrich Laun from their 1810 collection ''Gespensterbuch''. It premiered on 18 June 1821 at the Schauspielhaus Berlin. It is considered the first German Romantic opera. The opera's plot is mainly based on August Apel's tale "Der Freischütz" from the ''Gespensterbuch'' though the hermit, Kaspar and Ännchen are new to Kind's libretto. That Weber's tunes were just German folk music is a common misconception. Its unearthly portrayal of the supernatural in the famous Wolf's Glen scene has been described as "the most expressive rendering of the gruesome that is to be found in a musical score". Performance history The reception of ''Der Freischütz'' surpassed Weber's own hopes and it quickly became an international success, with productions in Vienna the same year f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Staatsoper Hannover
Hanover State Opera (german: Staatsoper Hannover) is an opera company in Hanover, the state capital of Lower Saxony, Germany. The company is resident in the Hanover Opera House (), and is part of a publicly-funded umbrella performing arts organisation called Hanover State Theatre of Lower Saxony (), or simply Hanover State Theatre (). Hanover State Theatre comprises the following divisions that put on operas, stage productions, and concert programs, in addition to maintaining a theatre museum, with seasons running from September through to June. Hanover Opera House Hanover State Opera is resident in the Hanover Opera House, built in classical style between 1845 and 1852 based on a plan by Georg Ludwig Friedrich Laves. The building was rebuilt from 1948 after being badly damaged by the aerial bombings of Hanover during World War II. In 1985, the acoustics were improved, and between 1996 and 1998, the stage facilities were renovated. The International Choreographic Competitio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wrocław Opera
The Wrocław Opera (Polish: ''Opera Wrocławska'') is an opera company and opera house in the Old Town of Wrocław, Poland. The opera house was opened in 1841 and up to 1945 was named after the city's then German name, Oper Breslau. History An Italian opera company was established in Breslau in 1725 by Antonio Maria Peruzzi, following a split with Antonio Denzio with whom he had collaborated in the Peruzzi-Denzio company at the Sporck theatre in Prague. The Theater on the Cold Ashes was opened in 1755 by Franz von Schuch (1716–1764) and performed operas till his death in 1764. His son, Schuch the younger, brought the first operas of Johann Adam Hiller to the Theodor Lobe's theatre in Breslau in 1770. His successor Johann Christian Wäser introduced more, including local Singspiel translations of works by Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny. In 1804 Abbé Vogler invited Carl Maria von Weber to conduct the Breslau Opera when he was only 18. The opera house was constructed in 1841 to desi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Łódź Philharmonic
The ''Arthur Rubinstein'' ''Łódź Philharmonic'' ( pl, Filharmonia Łódzka) is a professional symphony orchestra based in Łódź, Poland. It was founded in 1915 by composer and conductor Tadeusz Mazurkiewicz and Gotliba Teschnera, a cello instructor and bookstore owner. The men organized the orchestra initially as a temporary ensemble to play for a benefit for impoverished musicians. The orchestra was made up of approximately 60 musicians, both professional and amateur. The enthusiastic reception of this benefit concert drew the patronage of industrialist Karol Wilhelm Scheilbler, who provided the finances necessary to make the orchestra a permanent ensemble. Mazurkiewicz was appointed the orchestra's first director. In 1934 the orchestra ceased activities, but resumed performances in 1938. World War II halted concerts again, with performances resuming following the end of the war.''International Festival of Contemporary Music'', Volume 26, 1983 The orchestra's current home is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Theatre, Warsaw
The Grand Theatre in Warsaw ( pl, Teatr Wielki w Warszawie), known in full as the Grand Theatre–National Opera, is a theatre and opera complex situated on the historic Theatre Square in central Warsaw, Poland. The Warsaw Grand Theatre is home to the Polish National Ballet and is one of the largest theatrical venues in the world, with a seating capacity of over 2,000. The Warsaw Grand Theatre was inaugurated on 24 February 1833 with a production of Rossini's ''The Barber of Seville''. After the building's bombing and near-complete destruction in World War II, it was rebuilt and reopened on 19 November 1965 after having been closed for over twenty years. The original building was designed in a neoclassical style by architects Antonio Corazzi and Chrystian Piotr Aigner, and later restored by Bohdan Pniewski. History From 1833 The Theatre was built on Theatre Square between 1825 and 1833, replacing the former building of Marywil, from Polish classicist designs by the Italian a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Juive
''La Juive'' () (''The Jewess'') is a grand opera in five acts by Fromental Halévy to an original French libretto by Eugène Scribe; it was first performed at the Opéra, Paris, on 23 February 1835. Composition history ''La Juive'' was one of the most popular and admired operas of the 19th century. Its libretto (text) was the work of Eugène Scribe, the prolific dramatic author. Scribe was writing to the tastes of the Opéra de Paris, where the work was first performed – a work in five acts presenting spectacular situations (here the Council of Constance of 1414), which would allow a flamboyant staging in a setting which brought out a dramatic situation which was also underlined by a powerful historical subject. In addition to this, there could be choral interludes, ballet and scenic effects which took advantage of the entire range of possibilities available at the Paris Opera. Because of the story of an impossible love between a Christian man and a Jewish woman, the work ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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