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Antigone (opera)
''Antigonae'' (''Antigone''), written by Carl Orff, was first presented on 9 August 1949 under the direction of Ferenc Fricsay in the Felsenreitschule, Salzburg, Austria, as part of the Salzburg Festival. Antigonae is in Orff's words a "musical setting" for the Greek tragedy of the same name by Sophocles. However, it functions as an opera. The opera is a line-by-line setting of the German translation of Sophocles' play by Friedrich Hölderlin. However, Orff did not treat Hölderlin's translation of the play as a traditional opera libretto, but rather as the basis for a "musical transformation" of the tragic language of the drama of Ancient Greece. Sophocles's play was written in 442 BC, and Hölderlin's 1804 translation copies faithfully the mood and movement of Greek tragedy. Roles Synopsis The opera begins in the early morning following a battle in Thebes between the armies of the two sons of Oedipus: Eteocles and Polynices. King Kreon ( Creon), who ascended the throne of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Orff
Carl Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, best known for his cantata ''Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Schulwerk were influential for children's music education. Life Early life Carl Orff (full name Karl Heinrich Maria Orff) was born in Munich on 10 July 1895, the son of Paula Orff (née Köstler, 1872–1960) and Heinrich Orff (1869–1949). His family was Bavarian and was active in the Imperial German Army; his father was an army officer with strong musical interests, and his mother was a trained pianist. The composer's grandfathers, Carl von Orff (1828–1905) and Karl Köstler (1837–1924), were both major generals and also scholars. His paternal grandmother, Fanny Orff (née Kraft, 1833–1919), was Catholic of Jewish descent. His maternal grandmother was Maria Köstler (née Aschenbrenner, 1845–1906). Orff had one sibling, a younger sister named Maria ("Mia", 1898–1975), who married the architect Alwin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tenor
A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is widely defined to be B2, though some roles include an A2 (two As below middle C). At the highest extreme, some tenors can sing up to the second F above middle C (F5). The tenor voice type is generally divided into the ''leggero'' tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor, and tenor buffo or . History The name "tenor" derives from the Latin word ''wikt:teneo#Latin, tenere'', which means "to hold". As Fallows, Jander, Forbes, Steane, Harris and Waldman note in the "Tenor" article at ''Grove Music Online'': In polyphony between about 1250 and 1500, the [tenor was the] structurally fundamental (or 'holding') voice, vocal or instrumental; by the 15th century it came to signify the male voice that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polynices
In Greek mythology, Polynices (also Polyneices) (; grc, Πολυνείκης, Polyneíkes, lit= manifold strife' or 'much strife) was the son of Oedipus and either Jocasta or Euryganeia and the older brother of Eteocles (according to Sophocles' "Oedipus at Colonus"). When his father, Oedipus, was discovered to have killed his father and married his mother, he was expelled from Thebes, leaving his sons Eteocles and Polynices to rule. Because of a curse put on them by their father Oedipus, the two sons did not share the rule peacefully and died as a result, killing each other in battle for control over Thebes. Mythology Oedipus's curse In the ''Thebaid'', the brothers were cursed by their father for their disrespect towards him on two occasions. The first of these occurred when they served him using the silver table of Cadmus and a golden cup, which he had forbidden. The brothers then sent him the haunch of a sacrificed animal, rather than the shoulder, which he deserved. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eteocles
In Greek mythology, Eteocles (; ) was a king of Thebes, the son of Oedipus and either Jocasta or Euryganeia. Oedipus killed his father Laius and married his mother without knowing his relationship to either. When the relationship was revealed, he was expelled from Thebes. The rule passed to his sons Eteocles and Polynices. However, because of a curse from their father, the two brothers did not share the rule peacefully and died as a result, ultimately killing each other in battle for control of the city. Upon his death, Eteocles was succeeded by his uncle, Creon. Etymology The name translates as "truly glorious", from ἐτεός (eteós, “true”) + -κλῆς (-klês < kleos “glory”). It also appears in earlier form ''*Etewoklewes'' (). '' Tawagalawas'' is thought to be the Hittite rendition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oedipus
Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family. The story of Oedipus is the subject of Sophocles' tragedy '' Oedipus Rex'', which is followed in the narrative sequence by ''Oedipus at Colonus'' and then ''Antigone''. Together, these plays make up Sophocles' three Theban plays. Oedipus represents two enduring themes of Greek myth and drama: the flawed nature of humanity and an individual's role in the course of destiny in a harsh universe. In the best-known version of the myth, Oedipus was born to King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes. Laius wished to thwart the prophecy, so he sent a shepherd-servant to leave Oedipus to die on a mountainside. However, the shepherd took pity on the baby and passed him to another shepherd who gave Oedipus to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thebes, Greece
Thebes (; ell, Θήβα, ''Thíva'' ; grc, Θῆβαι, ''Thêbai'' .) is a city in Boeotia, Central Greece. It played an important role in Greek myths, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus, Heracles and others. Archaeological excavations in and around Thebes have revealed a Mycenaean settlement and clay tablets written in the Linear B script, indicating the importance of the site in the Bronze Age. Thebes was the largest city of the ancient region of Boeotia and was the leader of the Boeotian confederacy. It was a major rival of ancient Athens, and sided with the Persians during the 480 BC invasion under Xerxes I. Theban forces under the command of Epaminondas ended Spartan hegemony at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC, with the Sacred Band of Thebes, an elite military unit of male lovers celebrated as instrumental there. Macedonia would rise in power at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC, bringing decisive victory to Philip II over an alliance of Thebes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ernst Haefliger
Ernst Haefliger (6 July 191917 March 2007) was a Swiss tenor. Biography Haefliger was born in Davos, Switzerland, on 6 July 1919 and studied at the Wettinger Seminary and the Zürich Conservatory. Later he became a pupil of Fernando Carpi in Geneva and the noted tenor Julius Patzak in Vienna. He devoted himself to lieder and choral works, and soon established a reputation for impeccable style and musicianship. Haefliger sang the Evangelist in Bach's ''St John Passion'' for the first time in Zurich, in 1943. After this debut he was engaged for several concerts in Switzerland and – after World War II – abroad. He soon won the attention of Ferenc Fricsay, who engaged him for the Salzburg Festival where Haefliger's world career started in 1949 with the role of Tiresias in Carl Orff's opera ''Antigonae''. He also sang the role of First Armed Man in ''Die Zauberflöte'' conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler the same year at the Salzburg Festival. In 1952, he responded to the call o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hermann Uhde
Hermann Uhde (July 20, 1914 – October 10, 1965) was a German Wagnerian bass-baritone. He was born in Bremen and died on stage of a heart attack during a performance in Copenhagen. He studied in his hometown, where he gave his début in 1936. During the war, he sang in Munich and at the opera of The Hague (then occupied by German troops). He sang at the Salzburg Festival from 1949 on (singing the role of Kreon in the premiere of Carl Orff's ''Antigonae''), at the Bayreuth Festival from 1951 on and at the Metropolitan Opera from 1955 to 1964. He began as a low, dark bass, and later moved up to baritone. He continued singing low bass roles occasionally, such as the Grand Inquisitor from ''Don Carlos''. The cutting quality of his voice and diction lead to him being cast in villainous roles at the Bayreuth Festival, such as Telramund and Klingsor, or in morally ambiguous roles such as Wotan, Gunther or the title role in ''Flying Dutchman''. In spite of being a famous singer, he o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C (i.e. F2–F4) in choral music, and from the second A below middle C to the A above middle C (A2 to A4) in operatic music, but the range can extend at either end. Subtypes of baritone include the baryton-Martin baritone (light baritone), lyric baritone, ''Kavalierbariton'', Verdi baritone, dramatic baritone, ''baryton-noble'' baritone, and the bass-baritone. History The first use of the term "baritone" emerged as ''baritonans'', late in the 15th century, usually in French sacred polyphonic music. At this early stage it was frequently used as the lowest of the voices (including the bass), but in 17th-century Italy the term was all-encompassing and used to describe the averag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maria Von Ilosvay
Mária von Ilosvay (8 May 1913 – 16 June 1987) was a Hungarian contralto renowned for her performances of the role of Erda in Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. She studied in Budapest and Vienna, where her teachers included Laura Hilgermann, Felicie Kashovska and Mária Budanovicz.Potter T. Ladies of low repute - Part 7. ''Classical Recordings Quarterly'', Autumn 2014, No 78, p42. In 1937 won first prize in the International Singing Contest in Vienna. During 1937 and 1938 she toured America with an opera company. In 1940, she joined the Hamburg company, while appearing as a guest artist in Vienna, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Salzburg. She became a mainstay at the Bayreuth Festival following its re-opening in 1951 when she made her debut there, until 1958. She recorded the role of Erda in live recordings from Bayreuth conducted by Clemens Krauss (1953) and Joseph Keilberth (1955, Decca stereo). Among her other recordings of opera excerpts on two 10 inch LPs are arias fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Contralto
A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically between the F below middle C (F3 in scientific pitch notation) to the second F above middle C (F5), although, at the extremes, some voices can reach the D below middle C (D3) or the second B above middle C (B5). The contralto voice type is generally divided into the coloratura, lyric, and dramatic contralto. History "Contralto" is primarily meaningful only in reference to classical and operatic singing, as other traditions lack a comparable system of vocal categorization. The term "contralto" is only applied to female singers; men singing in a similar range are called "countertenors". The Italian terms "contralto" and "alto" are not synonymous, "alto" technically denoting a specific vocal range in choral singing without regard to factors ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lorenz Fehenberger
Lorenz Fehenberger (24 August 1912 – 29 July 1984) was a German operatic tenor, particularly associated with the German and Italian repertories. Fehenberger was born in Oberweidach, Upper Bavaria, and began singing as a boy in a church choir, later studying voice with Elisabeth Wolff in Munich. He made his stage debut in Graz, as the Italian singer in ''Der Rosenkavalier'', in 1939. He then sang at the Staatsoper Dresden from 1941 to 1945, and made his debut at the Munich State Opera in 1946. He sang regularly at the Salzburg Festival between 1949 and 1962, where he created the role of Haemon in Carl Orff's ''Antigone''. He also sang at the Vienna State Opera (1951–52). He made guest appearances in Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, also appearing at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires (1951), and the Royal Opera House in London (1953). Fehenberger was much admired as Lohengrin and Walther, but also gained considerable acclaim in Italian roles such as Duke of Mantua, R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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