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Belfagor
''Belfagor'' (premiere 26 April 1923) is an Italian-language opera by the composer Ottorino Respighi to a libretto by Claudio Guastalla (1880–1948) based on the comedy ''Belfagor'' of Ercole Luigi Morselli (1882–1921), itself loosely based on the novella '' Belfagor arcidiavolo'' by Niccolò Machiavelli. It was premiered in 1923 at La Scala in Milan, under the baton of Antonio Guarnieri, since Toscanini was unavailable. The cast featured Irish soprano Margaret Burke Sheridan as Candida, baritone Mariano Stabile as her lover Baldo, and tenor Francesco Merli as the titular Belfagor, a "arcidiavolo" who tries to marry a human maiden while in disguise as a nobleman, using gifts of money to her father. The première obtained a "full and warm" approval, with several curtain calls for the composer, but the opinion of the critics was divided, ranging from the enthusiasm of Marinetti, enchanted by the futuristic aspects of the opera, and of the music critic S. A. Lucani, to those ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belfagor Arcidiavolo
''Belfagor arcidiavolo'' (" Belfagor the archdaemon") is a novella by Niccolò Machiavelli, written between 1518 and 1527, and first published with his collected works in 1549. The novella is also known as ''La favola di Belfagor Arcidiavolo'' ("The fable of Belfagor the archdaemon") and ''Il demonio che prese moglie'' ("The demon who took a wife"). Machiavelli's tale appeared in an abbreviated version published by Giovanni Brevio in 1545. Giovanni Francesco Straparola included his own version as the fourth story of the second night in his ''Le piacevoli notti'' (1557). The "devil takes a wife" story influenced several English works: a version of it occurs in the conclusion of ''Rich His Farewell to Military Profession'' (1581) by Barnabe Rich. The popular play ''Grim the Collier of Croydon'' (published 1662) shows Machiavelli's influence. An English translation of Machiavelli's work was published in London in 1647 as ''The Devil a Married Man: or The Devil Hath Met with His M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ercole Luigi Morselli
Ercole Luigi Morselli (Pesaro, 19 February 1882 – Rome, 16 March 1921) was an Italian writer and dramatist. In Florence, where his family moved in 1891 following his father, a state counsel who died there in 1895, Morselli attempted to study medicine and literature, but in both cases he did not succeed and had to interrupt his studies. In the following years he had a very turbulent life, with many journeys first in Africa and Latin America, then also in England and France. Morselli was a friend of Giovanni Papini and Giuseppe Prezzolini. After his return to Italy, Morselli started his literary career, which was initially quite difficult, such that his mother had to support him for long time. In 1910 his tragicomedy ''Orione'' obtained a great success, but Morselli did not reach economic stability until 1919, with the success of ''Glauco'', a drama given in Rome. Morselli was also film director and screenplayer. He died of tuberculosis in a Roman hospital in 1921. The works o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ottorino Respighi
Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. List of compositions by Ottorino Respighi, His compositions range over List of operas by Ottorino Respighi, operas, ballets, orchestral suites, choral songs, chamber music, and transcriptions of Italian compositions of the 16th–18th centuries, but his best known and most performed works are his three orchestral tone poems which brought him international fame: ''Fountains of Rome (poem), Fountains of Rome'' (1916), ''Pines of Rome'' (1924), and ''Feste romane, Roman Festivals'' (1928). Respighi was born in Bologna to a musical and artistic family. He was encouraged by his father to pursue music at a young age, and took formal tuition in the violin and piano. In 1891, he enrolled at the Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini, Liceo Musicale di Bologna, where he studied the violin, viola, and compos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli ( , , ; 3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527), occasionally rendered in English as Nicholas Machiavel ( , ; see below), was an Italian diplomat, author, philosopher and historian who lived during the Renaissance. He is best known for his political treatise ''The Prince'' (''Il Principe''), written in about 1513 but not published until 1532. He has often been called the father of modern political philosophy and political science. For many years he served as a senior official in the Florentine Republic with responsibilities in diplomatic and military affairs. He wrote comedies, carnival songs, and poetry. His personal correspondence is also important to historians and scholars of Italian correspondence. He worked as secretary to the Second Chancery of the Republic of Florence from 1498 to 1512, when the Medici were out of power. After his death Machiavelli's name came to evoke unscrupulous acts of the sort he advised most famously in his work, ''T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Francesco Merli
Francesco Merli (28 January 188711 December 1976) was an Italian opera singer, particularly associated with heavy roles such as Otello, Canio and Calaf. He ranks as one of the finest dramatic tenors of the inter-war period. Life and career Francesco Merli was born Francesco Cova in Corsico (Milan), son of Luigi and Emilia Cova. and studied in Milan, with Carlo Negrini and Adelaide Borghi. In 1914, he won second prize at a singing competition in Parma, being edged out of first place by the great Beniamino Gigli. He made his debut at La Scala, Milan, in 1916, as Alvaro in Spontini's ''Fernand Cortez''. Merli would sing widely in Italy and South America during the next decade, and also toured Australia in 1928 with an opera company composed of leading La Scala singers and sponsored by Dame Nellie Melba (who also sang during that tour, in roles such as Mimi in ''La bohème'', despite being 67 years old). The tour included Merli singing Calaf in the Australian premiere of Puccini's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claudio Guastalla
Claudio Guastalla was an Italian opera librettist. Guastalla was born in Rome on 7 November 1880 and died probably in the same city in 1948. Especially important was his collaboration with the composer Ottorino Respighi. Operas Guastalla wrote fifteen libretti. Among them: * ''La grazia'', opera in 2 acts, music by Vincenzo Michetti, Rome, Teatro Costanzi, 31 March 1923 (after Grazia Deledda) * ''Belfagor'', commedia lirica in 1 prologue, 2 acts and 1 epilogue, music by Ottorino Respighi, Milan, Teatro alla Scala, 26 April 1923 * ''Die versunkene Glocke'' (''La campana sommersa''), opera in 4 acts, music by Ottorino Respighi, Hamburg, Stadttheater, 18 November 1927 * ''Odette'', opera in 3 acts, music by Mario Marangolo, Brescia, Teatro Grande, 1929 * '' Maria egiziaca'' , mistero lirico in 1 act and three episodes, music by Ottorino Respighi, New York City, Carnegie Hall, 16 March 1932 * ''La fiamma'', melodramma in 3 acts, music by Ottorino Respighi, Rome, Teatro dell'Opera, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antonio Guarnieri
Antonio Guarnieri (Venice, Italy, 1 February 1880 — Milan, Italy, 25 November 1952) was an Italian conductor and cellist. After playing cello in the Martucci string quartet he turned to conducting in 1904, being engaged by the Vienna Court Opera in 1912. He succeeded Arturo Toscanini at La Scala in 1929 and stayed there until shortly before his death. A highly regarded technician at the podium, he conducted many important world premières, Ottorino Respighi's ''Belfagor'', for instance. It was hearing Guarnieri's conducting of Claude Debussy's ''Nocturnes'' that caused Claudio Abbado to resolve to become a conductor.Phillip Scott, "Claudio Abbado: The Legacy", ''Limelight Limelight (also known as Drummond light or calcium light)James R. Smith (2004). ''San Francisco's Lost Landmarks'', Quill Driver Books. is a type of stage lighting once used in theatres and music halls. An intense illumination is created when ...'', March 2014, p. 52 References Sources * Harold ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mariano Stabile
Mariano Stabile (12 May 1888 in Palermo, Italy – 11 January 1968 in Milan, Italy) was an Italian baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially the role of Falstaff. Career Stabile's vocal studies took place at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome with Antonio Cotogni during the 1907–08 and 1908-09 academic years. He made his professional debut in Palermo, as Marcello in ''La bohème'', in 1909. After singing throughout Italy, he appeared in Saint Petersburg in 1911, Buenos Aires in 1913, Barcelona in 1914, and made his debut at the Paris Opera in 1917, as Amonasro in ''Aida''. The turning point of his career came when Arturo Toscanini chose him for the title-role in ''Falstaff'' for the reopening of La Scala in 1921, a role that he would eventually sing an estimated 1200 times during his long career. He sang at La Scala until 1955, and among his other roles there were: Gérard, Scarpia, Iago, Malatesta, Dulcamara, Beckmesser, Schicchi. Also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above (i.e. A3–A5 in scientific pitch notation, where middle C = C4; 220–880 Hz). In the lower and upper extremes, some mezzo-sopranos may extend down to the F below middle C (F3, 175 Hz) and as high as "high C" (C6, 1047 Hz). The mezzo-soprano voice type is generally divided into the coloratura, lyric, and dramatic mezzo-soprano. History While mezzo-sopranos typically sing secondary roles in operas, notable exceptions include the title role in Bizet's '' Carmen'', Angelina (Cinderella) in Rossini's ''La Cenerentola'', and Rosina in Rossini's ''Barber of Seville'' (all of which are also sung by sopranos and contraltos). Many 19th-century French-language operas give the leading female role to mezzos, includin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SATTB
SATB is an initialism that describes the scoring of compositions for choirs, and also choirs (or consorts) of instruments. The initials are for the voice types: S for soprano, A for alto, T for tenor and B for bass. Choral music Four-part harmony using soprano, alto, tenor and bass is a common scoring in classical music, including chorales and most Bach cantatas.Shrock, DennisChoral Repertoire''Oxford University Press'', 2009, p. 298, The letters of the abbreviation are also used by publishers to describe different scorings for soloists and choirs other than four-part harmony. For example, the listing "STB solos, SATB choir", of Bach's ''Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme'', BWV 140, indicates that a performance needs three soloists: soprano, tenor and bass, and a four-part choir. "SATB/SATB" is used when a double choir is required, as in Penderecki's ''Polish Requiem''. or SSATB, with divided sopranos, which is a typical scoring in English church music. A listing for Bach's ''Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piccolo
The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher. This has given rise to the name ottavino (), by which the instrument is called in Italian and thus also in scores of Italian composers. Piccolos are often orchestrated to double the violins or the flutes, adding sparkle and brilliance to the overall sound because of the aforementioned one-octave transposition upwards. The piccolo is a standard member in orchestras, marching bands, and wind ensembles. History Since the Middle Ages, evidence indicates the use of octave transverse flutes as military instruments, as their penetrating sound was audible above battles. In cultured music, however, the first piccolos were used in some of Jean Philippe Rameau's works in the first half of the 18th century. Sti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Concert Flute
The Western concert flute is a family of transverse (side-blown) woodwind instruments made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist (in British English), flutist (in American English), or simply a flute player. This type of flute is used in many ensembles, including concert bands, military bands, marching bands, orchestras, flute ensembles, and occasionally jazz bands and big bands. Other flutes in this family include the piccolo, the alto flute, and the bass flute. A large repertory of works has been composed for flute. Predecessors The flute is one of the oldest and most widely used wind instruments. The precursors of the modern concert flute were keyless wooden transverse flutes similar to modern fifes. These were later modified to include between one and eight keys for chromatic notes. "Six-finger" D is the most common pitch for keyless wooden transverse flutes, which continue to be used to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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