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Die Wundersame Schustersfrau
''Die wundersame Schustersfrau'' (''The Wondrous Cobbler's Wife'') is an opera in two acts by Udo Zimmermann, with a libretto which he wrote with Eberhard Schmidt based on the 1930 Spanish play ''La zapatera prodigiosa'', a ''farsa violenta'' by Federico García Lorca and translated by Enrique Beck. The opera was first performed on 25 April 1982 at the Schlosstheater Schwetzingen, staged by Alfred Kirchner. History ''Die wundersame Schustersfrau'' is Zimmermann's fifth opera and the first not premiered in the GDR. He wrote it on a commission by the broadcaster Süddeutscher Rundfunk after the success of his opera '' Der Schuhu und die fliegende Prinzessin'' at the 1977 Schwetzingen Festival. The libretto, based on 's German version of Lorca's ''La zapatera prodigiosa'', was written by the composer and Lutz Eberhard Schmidt. Zimmermann completed the composition in 1981. The premiere, as part of the Schwetzingen Festival at the Schlosstheater Schwetzingen on 25 April 1982, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Udo Zimmermann
Udo Zimmermann (6 October 1943 – 22 October 2021) was a German composer, musicologist, opera director, and conductor. He worked as a professor of composition, founded a centre for contemporary music in Dresden, and was director of the Leipzig Opera and the Deutsche Oper Berlin. He directed a contemporary music series for the Bayerischer Rundfunk and a European centre of the arts in Hellerau. His operas, especially '' Weiße Rose'', on a topic he set to music twice, have been performed internationally, and recorded. Biography Born in Dresden, Zimmermann was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor from 1954 to 1962, when he completed the Abitur. Directed by Rudolf Mauersberger, Zimmermann was immersed in the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and learned vocal expression, which became a focus of his own compositions. He wrote three motets which were performed by the choir, including a "Vaterunserlied" in 1959. Education in the choir fostered a humanitarian attitude which he kept for lif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Munich Biennale
The Munich Biennale (german: Münchener Biennale) is a contemporary opera and music theatre festival in the city of Munich. The full German name is ''Internationales Festival für neues Musiktheater'', literally: International Festival for New Music Theater. The biennial festival was created in 1988 by Hans Werner Henze and is held in even-numbered years over 2–3 weeks in the late spring. The festival concentrates on world premieres of theater-related contemporary music, with a particular focus on commissioning first operas from young composers. History Hans Werner Henze's artistic directorship (1988–1996) Henze, himself a prolific composer of operas, described the genesis of the festival like this: Henze curated the first four festivals, from 1988 to 1994, and established the general format of most of the festivals that followed. Short runs of the premiered operas are preceded by talks and additional concerts from the featured composers, to introduce the audiences to their ... [...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] |
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] |
Yoko Kawahara
Yoko Kawahara (born 3 September 1939) is a Japanese operatic soprano who made a career first in Germany, then also appearing internationally at opera houses and festivals. Her repertory includes parts by Mozart as well as contemporary music, in both opera and concert. Career Kawahara was born in Tokyo. She studied voice with Toshiko Toda, and made her debut in 1958 as Fiordiligi in Mozart's ''Così fan tutte'' at the in Tokyo. She moved to Germany and continued her studies at the Musikhochschule Köln with Ellen Bosenius. After a performance as Pamina in Mozart's '' Die Zauberflöte'' at the Bonn Opera in 1969, she stayed with the company for three years. She appeared in 1972 at the Salzburg Festival with the Wiener Singakademie in Honegger's oratorio Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher, conducted by Martin Turnovsky. She appeared as a guest internationally, including the Bavarian State Opera, the Frankfurt Opera, the Rouen Opera House and the Nikikai Opera where she appeared as Eurid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hildegard Uhrmacher
Hildegard Uhrmacher (born 15 December 1939), married name Hildegard Kronstein-Uhrmacher, is a German operatic soprano who appeared at European opera houses in coloratura soprano roles such as Mozart's Konstanze, but also in contemporary works including Marie in Bernd Alois Zimmermann's '' Die Soldaten''. She was a professor of voice at the Musikhochschule Hannover and the Hochschule für Musik Detmold. Her 2006 autobiography is entitled ''Hilde, du schaffst das''. Life Uhrmacher was born in Mönchengladbach. She worked as a teacher for three years in Waldniel. At the same time, she studied voice with Clemens Clettenberg, Peter Witsch and in the opera studio of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. There, she made her debut in 1964 as Vespina in Haydn's ''L'infedeltà delusa''. From 1965 to 1967, she was a member of the ensemble of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. From 1967 to 1973, she had an engagement at the Staatstheater Kassel. In 1974, she became first coloratura soprano of the Hambu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Franz Grundheber
Franz Grundheber (born 27 September 1937) is a German operatic baritone. At the Hamburg State Opera, he performed over 150 roles from 1966. His voice is flexible enough to sing Italian opera as well as Wagner roles and contemporary opera; he is a stage presence in acting and singing. He has performed at major international opera houses and is known for his performance of the title role of Alban Berg's ''Wozzeck'', filmed for DVD in 1994 in a production staged by Patrice Chéreau. Career Grundheber was born in Trier and graduated from the Max-Planck- Gymnasium in 1959. He subsequently enrolled in the Air Force of the Bundeswehr, where he spent three years. After studying in Hamburg, he embarked upon a two-year scholarship under Margaret Harshaw at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, and spent a summer at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California in 1966. In 1966, Grundheber joined the Hamburg State Opera where he became a prolific performer. He first san ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bass-baritone
A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the title role in ''Der fliegende Holländer'', Wotan/Der Wanderer in the ''Ring Cycle'' and Hans Sachs in '' Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg''. Wagner labelled these roles as ''Hoher Bass'' ("high bass")—see fach for more details. The bass-baritone voice is distinguished by two attributes. First, it must be capable of singing comfortably in a baritonal tessitura. Secondly, however, it needs to have the ripely resonant lower range typically associated with the bass voice. For example, the role of Wotan in ''Die Walküre'' covers the range from F2 (the F at the bottom of the bass clef) to F4 (the F above middle C), but only infrequently descends beyond C3 (the C below middle C). Bass-baritones are typically divide ... [...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] |
Lisbeth Balslev
Lisbeth Balslev (born 21 February 1945) is a Danish operatic soprano with an international career, especially in Wagnerian operas. Balslev was born in Aabenraa and originally trained as a nurse. She then studied singing, first at the Academy of Music and Music Communication in Esbjerg, then at the opera academy of the Royal Danish Theater in Copenhagen. In 1976, she made her debut at the Royal Danish Theater as Yaroslavna in ''Prince Igor''. After two years, Balslev left the Royal Danish Theater and had her international breakthrough as Senta in Harry Kupfer's staging of Wagner's '' Der fliegende Holländer'' at the 1978 Bayreuth Festival. From 1979 to 1983 she sang at the Hamburg State Opera, after which she has worked freelance at La Scala, the Vienna State Opera and Bayreuth among others. In addition to her professional work, Balslev was in 1992 among the founders of an organization which supports orphanages in Romania and provides summer and Christmas vacations for the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880 Hz in choral music, or to "soprano C" (C6, two octaves above middle C) = 1046 Hz or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which often encompasses the melody. The soprano voice type is generally divided into the coloratura, soubrette, lyric, spinto, and dramatic soprano. Etymology The word "soprano" comes from the Italian word '' sopra'' (above, over, on top of),"Soprano" '' |
Voice Type
A voice type is a group of voices with similar vocal ranges, capable of singing in a similar tessitura, and with similar vocal transition points ('' passaggi''). Voice classification is most strongly associated with European classical music, though it, and the terms it utilizes, are used in other styles of music as well. A singer will choose a repertoire that suits their voice. Some singers such as Enrico Caruso, Rosa Ponselle, Joan Sutherland, Maria Callas, Jessye Norman, Ewa Podleś, and Plácido Domingo have voices that allow them to sing roles from a wide variety of types; some singers such as Shirley Verrett and Grace Bumbry change type and even voice part over their careers; and some singers such as Leonie Rysanek have voices that lower with age, causing them to cycle through types over their careers. Some roles are hard to classify, having very unusual vocal requirements; Mozart wrote many of his roles for specific singers who often had remarkable voices, and some of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
