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Domenico Barbaja
Domenico Barbaia (also spelled Barbaja; 10 August 1777 – 19 October 1841) was best known as an opera Italian impresario. An energetic man, Barbaia, who was born in Milan, began his career by running a coffee shop. He made his first fortune by creating (or at least taking the credit for creating) a special kind of coffee with frothing milk, the " Barbajada", probably the first "cappuccino." This drink, and a variation with hot chocolate like Bicerin, became so popular in Milan that the erstwhile waiter was able to open a string of coffee houses in the city that all featured his novel concoction. Barbaia made his second fortune by buying and selling munitions during the Napoleonic wars. Also, after the French re-allowed gambling as they advanced southwards in Italy, he became involved in the operations as a card dealer at the La Scala opera house, but quickly achieved the position of sub-contractor to run the entire gaming operation of the house in 1805. With his eyes on contro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Domenico Barbaja-1820s
Domenico is an Italian given name for males and may refer to: People * Domenico Alfani, Italian painter * Domenico Allegri, Italian composer * Domenico Alvaro, Italian mobster * Domenico Ambrogi, Italian painter * Domenico Auria, Italian architect * Domenico del Barbieri, Florentine artist * Domenico di Bartolo, Italian painter * Domenico Bartolucci, Italian Roman Catholic cardinal * Domenico di Pace Beccafumi, Italian painter * Domenico Pignatelli di Belmonte, Italian Roman Catholic cardinal * Domenico Berardi, Italian footballer * Domenico Bernini, son of Gian Lorenzo Bernini * Domenico Bidognetti, Italian criminal * Domenico Bollani, Venetian diplomat and politician * Domenico Canale, Italian-American distributor * Domenico Caprioli, Italian painter * Domenico Caruso, Italian poet and writer * Domenico Cefalù, Italian-American mobster * Domenico Cimarosa, Italian composer * Domenico Cirillo, Italian physician and patriot * Domenico Colombo, father of Christopher Columbu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Otello (Rossini)
''Otello'' is an opera in three acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by after William Shakespeare's play '' Othello, or The Moor of Venice''; it was premiered in Naples, Teatro del Fondo, 4 December 1816. The plot of the libretto differs greatly from Shakespeare's play in that it takes place wholly in Venice, not mainly on Cyprus, and the dramatic conflict develops in a different manner. The role of Iago is much less diabolical than Shakespeare's play or Verdi's 1887 opera ''Otello'', which was also based on it. Shakespeare derived his play from the story ''Un Capitano Moro'' ("A Moorish Captain") by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565. In further contrast, the role of Roderigo, a sub-plot in Shakespeare and Verdi, is very prominent in Rossini's version—some of the most difficult and brilliant music being assigned to the character Rodrigo. The roles of Otello, Iago, and Rodrigo are all composed for the tenor voice. Rossini's ''Otello'' is an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Posillipo
Posillipo (; nap, Pusilleco ) is an affluent residential quarter of Naples, southern Italy, located along the northern coast of the Gulf of Naples. From the 1st century BC the Bay of Naples witnessed the rise of villas constructed by elite Romans along the most panoramic points of the coast, who had chosen the area as a favourite vacation spot. The remains of some of these, around the imperial pleasure villa of the Roman emperors, as well as the Tunnel of Sejanus can be seen today in the ''Parco archeologico del Pausilypon'', or Pausilypon Archaeological Park, and elsewhere. Geography Posillipo is a rocky peninsula about 6 km long surrounded by cliffs with a few small coves with breakwaters at the western end of the Bay of Naples. These small harbours are the nuclei for separate, named communities such as Gaiola Island and Marechiaro. History Antiquity Posillipo is mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman sources. As part of Magna Graecia, the Ancient Greeks first named ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isabella Colbran
Isabella Angela Colbran (2 February 1785 – 7 October 1845) was a Spanish opera soprano and composer. She was known as the muse and first wife of composer Gioachino Rossini. Early years Colbran was born in Madrid, Spain, to Giovanni Colbran, King of Spain Carlo III's head court musician and violinist, and Teresa Ortola. She started her musical studies as a singer and composer at the age of six with composer and cellist Francisco Parjea, castrato Carlo Martinelli, and famous castrato and composer Girolamo Crescentini. In 1801, Colbran and her father moved to Paris where she made her concert debut and was warmly received by Napoleon's court. Both of them traveled to Italy, going to Milan, Venice, Rome, before settling and moving permanently to Naples. She inherited land in Sicily and a villa in Castenaso in 1820, after her father's death. Opera career Colbran's dramatic soprano voice and sizable three octave range allowed her to have extremely successful opera career. S ... [...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] |
Michele Benedetti (bass)
Michele Benedetti (17 October 1778 – after 1828 ) was an Italian bass particularly associated with Rossini roles. Career Benedetti was born in Loreto. He sang in the world première of Giuseppe Farinelli's '' Calliroe'' in 1808 and at the Italian première of Spontini's La vestale in 1811, both in Naples, where his career was based. He created several Rossini roles in Naples, notably: Elmiro in ''Otello'', Idraote in ''Armida'', the title role in ''Mosè in Egitto'', Ircano in ''Ricciardo e Zoraide'', Fenicio in ''Ermione'', Douglas in ''La donna del lago'', Leucippo in ''Zelmira''. For Donizetti, he created the roles of Atkins in ''Alfredo il grande'' (1823) and the King in ''Gianni di Calais'' (1828), and for Bellini in 1826 the role of Clemente in '' Bianca e Gernando''. He also sang in Paris and London, and appeared in premières of operas by Mayr, Pacini, and Mercadante. Stendhal Marie-Henri Beyle (; 23 January 1783 – 23 March 1842), better known by his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bass (vocal Range)
A bass is a type of classical male singing voice and has the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', a bass is typically classified as having a vocal range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C (i.e., E2–E4).; ''The Oxford Dictionary of Music'' gives E2–E4/F4 Its tessitura, or comfortable range, is normally defined by the outermost lines of the bass clef. Categories of bass voices vary according to national style and classification system. Italians favour subdividing basses into the ''basso cantante'' (singing bass), ''basso buffo'' ("funny" bass), or the dramatic ''basso profondo'' (low bass). The American system identifies the bass-baritone, comic bass, lyric bass, and dramatic bass. The German ''Fach'' system offers further distinctions: Spielbass (Bassbuffo), Schwerer Spielbass (Schwerer Bassbuffo), Charakterbass (Bassbariton), and Seriöser Bass. These classification systems can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrea Nozzari
Andrea Nozzari (27 February 1776 – 12 December 1832) was an Italian tenor. Nozzari was born in Vertova and studied in Bergamo and Rome. He is notable for the principal roles written for him by Gioachino Rossini and mostly premiered in Domenico Barbaia's theatres in Naples. These were: *Leicester in ''Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra'' (1815) *Otello in ''Otello'' (1816) *Rinaldo in ''Armida'' (1817) *Osiride in ''Mosè in Egitto'' (1818) *Agorante in ''Ricciardo e Zoraide'' (1818) *Pirro in ''Ermione'' (1819) *Rodrigo in ''La donna del lago'' (1819) *Paolo Erisso in ''Maometto II'' (1820) *Antenore in ''Zelmira'' (1822) He also premièred the title roles in Giovanni Pacini's ''Alessandro nelle Indie'' (1824) and Donizetti's ''Alfredo il grande'', and roles in operas by Michele Carafa, Manuel García, Johann Simon Mayr, Saverio Mercadante, Nicola Antonio Manfroce and Stefano Pavesi. Nozzari's voice had a baritonal quality, and his intense acting was much valued by com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giovanni David
Giovanni David (15 September 1790 in Naples – 1864 in Saint Petersburg) was an Italian tenor particularly known for his roles in Rossini operas. Overview David (also known as Davide) was the son of the tenor Giacomo David, with whom he studied. He made his operatic début in Siena in 1808 in ''Adelaide de Guesclino'' by Johann Simon Mayr. He is notable for the principal roles written for him by Gioachino Rossini, mostly for Domenico Barbaia's theatres in Naples: *Narciso in ''Il turco in Italia'' (1814) *Rodrigo in '' Otello'' (1816) *Ricciardo in ''Ricciardo e Zoraide'' (1818) *Oreste in ''Ermione'' (1819) *Uberto ( James IV of Scotland) in ''La donna del lago'' (1819) *Ilo in ''Zelmira'' (1822) He also created the roles of Fernando in the revised version of Bellini's ''Bianca e Fernando'' (1828) and Leicester in Donizetti's ''Il castello di Kenilworth'' (1829). David was noted for his vocal range of almost 3 octaves in performance (up to b′&prime). However, accordi ... [...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] |
Maometto II
''Maometto II'' (or ') is an 1820 opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Cesare della Valle. Set in the 1470s during a time of war between the Turks and Venetians, the work was commissioned by the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. Della Valle based his libretto on his earlier play ''Anna Erizo''. The name of the title character, Maometto II, refers to the real-life Ottoman Sultan and conqueror of Constantinople Mehmed II, who lived from 1432 to 1481. Regarded "in some ways s hismost ambitious opera"Brauner, Patricia and Gossett, Philip, "''Maometto II''" in Holden p. 787 and as "the best of Rossini's Neapolitan operas", ''Maometto II'' failed to find an audience in Naples and, "to help ensure tssuccess in Venice and Paris, he smoothed out the most audacious elements of the score". Venice first saw it on 22 December 1822 and then, translated into French and changed significantly, it was presented as ''Le siège de Corinthe'' in 1826. Until the prepara ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Donna Del Lago
''La donna del lago'' (English: ''The Lady of the Lake'') is an opera composed by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola (whose verses are described as "limpid" by one critic) based on the French translationOsborne, Charles 1994, p. 94 of ''The Lady of the Lake'', a narrative poem written in 1810 by Sir Walter Scott, whose work continued to popularize the image of the romantic Scottish Highlands. Scott's basic story has been noted as coming from "the hint of an incident stemming from the frequent custom of James V, the King of Scotland, of walking through the kingdom in disguise". It was the first of the Italian operas to be based on Scott's romantic works,Gossett and Brauner (2001), in Holden (Ed.), p. 785 and marked the beginning of romanticism in Rossini's work. Scott was "deeply influential in the development of Italian romantic opera"Commons 2007, pp. 9 - 12 to the extent that by 1840 (barely 20 years after this opera), there were 25 Italian operas base ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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