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Dalibor (opera)
''Dalibor'' is a Czech opera in three acts by Bedřich Smetana. The libretto was written in German by Josef Wenzig, and translated into Czech by Ervin Špindler. It was first performed at the New Town Theatre in Prague on 16 May 1868. The opera received criticism at the time for being overly influenced by German opera, including that of Richard Wagner's ''Lohengrin''. The subject of the opera is ( fl. c. 1490), a Czech knight who took part in an uprising in Ploskovice in support of the oppressed people and was sentenced to death in 1498, during the reign of Vladislaus II of Hungary. The plot bears a resemblance to that of Ludwig van Beethoven's opera ''Fidelio'', in that the central female characters in each opera disguise themselves in male clothing and gain the confidence of a jailor to try to save the imprisoned hero. Performance history Smetana had great affection for the opera, but because of the lukewarm reception, died thinking that he had failed with this opera. The rev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bedřich Smetana
Bedřich Smetana ( , ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival." He has been regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music. Internationally he is best known for his 1866 opera ''The Bartered Bride'' and for the symphonic cycle ''Má vlast'' ("My Fatherland"), which portrays the history, legends and landscape of the composer's native Bohemia. It contains the famous symphonic poem "Vltava", also popularly known by its German name "Die Moldau" (in English, "The Moldau"). Smetana was naturally gifted as a composer, and gave his first public performance at the age of 6. After conventional schooling, he studied music under Josef Proksch in Prague. His first nationalistic music was written during the 1848 Prague uprising, in which he briefly participated. After failing to establish his career in Prague, he left for Sweden ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Vilém Přibyl
Vilém Přibyl (born Náchod, 10 April 1925 – died Brno, 21 July 1990) was a Czech operatic tenor. he made his professional debut at the age of 34 in Ústí nad Labem, in 1958. Life and career After serving during World War II, Přibyl trained as an electrical technician. In 1952 he took private singing lessons in Hradec Králové, and participated in amateur opera performances; his debut was the same year as Lukas in ''The Kiss'' by Smetana. Further appearances there led to an invitation to join the State Opera at Ústí nad Labem, making his professional debut there in 1959 in ''Rusalka'' as the Prince.Loppert, Max. Obituary – Vilém Přibyl. ''Opera'', Vol.41 No.10, October 1990, p1189. Two years later Přibyl became a soloist of the National Theatre in Brno which became the base for the rest of his career, initially continuing his studies at the city's Janáček Academy. He also sang regularly with the Prague National Opera. In 1964 he visited Edinburgh with the Prague co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marie Podvalová
Marie Podvalová (5 September 1909 – 16 May 1992) was a Czech opera singer who had a long career at the National Theatre in Prague from 1936 to 1978. A dramatic soprano who excelled in the Czech repertoire, she garnered particular acclaim for her portrayal of the title heroine in Bedřich Smetana's ''Libuše''. Her physical beauty and dramatic talents further added to her great popularity among Czech audiences. Biography Born in Čakovice, Prague, Podvalová first studied the violin before studying singing voice privately in Prague. She entered the Prague Conservatory where she studied voice with A. Fatissová and Doubravka Brambergová. She made her professional opera debut in 1935 at the Mahen Theatre in Brno as Marina in Modest Mussorgsky's ''Boris Godunov''. Under the recommendation of conductor Václav Talich, Podvalová was made a principal artist at the Prague National Theater in 1936. She was the theatre's leading dramatic soprano for the next 38 years. Among her sig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karel Kalaš
Karel Kalaš (9 October 1910 – 3 May 2001) was a Czech operatic bass and film and television actor. He first rose to prominence at the Slovak National Theatre, where he was a member from 1934 through 1939. He left there to join the roster of principal singers at the National Theatre in Prague, where he worked until his retirement from the opera stage in 1972. He appeared in a handful of films and occasionally on Czech television during his career, notably winning acclaim for his portrayal of a retired opera singer in the 1978 film '' Kulový blesk''. Kalaš's voice is preserved on a large number of recordings made on the Ultraphon, Esta, Bruno, Multisonic, and Urania labels. He also appeared on a number of complete opera recordings with the Prague National Theatre on the Supraphon label. Biography Born in Vienna, Austria to parents of Czech descent, Kalaš initially worked for a printing business in his native city. During this time he began studying singing privately with F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beno Blachut
Beno Blachut (14 June 1913 – 10 January 1985) was a lauded Czech operatic tenor. An icon in his own nation, Blachut drew international acclaim through his many commercial recordings of Czech music. He was an instrumental part of the post-World War II school of Czech opera singers that were responsible for popularizing Czech opera internationally. He was highly regarded for his interpretations of roles in operas by Leoš Janáček, Antonín Dvořák, and Bedřich Smetana. Biography Born in Ostrava-Vítkovice, Blachut grew up in a poor family of miners. Blachut was highly involved in his church's music program which provided him with his initial musical training as a child and teenager. In 1927, at the age of 14, he began working at an iron factory and from all appearances it seemed he was destined to live a life similar to that of his parents. In the year 1935 he started to study singing at the Prague conservatory. At the conservatory, Blachut studied under Luis Kadeřábek ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Theatre (Prague)
The National Theatre ( cs, Národní divadlo) in Prague is known as the alma mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of History of the Czech Republic, Czech history and art. The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions, with a rich artistic tradition, which helped to preserve and develop the most important features of the nation–the Czech language and a sense for a Czech musical and dramatic way of thinking. Today the National Theatre consists of three artistic ensembles: opera, National Theatre Ballet (Prague), ballet and drama. They alternate in their performances in the historic building of the National Theatre, in the Theatre of the Estates and in the Kolowrat Theatre. All three artistic ensembles select their repertoire both from Culture of the Czech Republic, classical heritage, and modern authors. Initial design and construction, 1844 to 1881 The cornerstone of the National Theatre was laid on 16 May 1868, but the idea of b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jaroslav Krombholc
Jaroslav Krombholc (Prague, 30 January 1918 - 16 July 1983) was a Czechoslovak conductor. Biography Krombholc is born in a musician family. He studied in Prague Conservatory in 1937-1940 and nearby Václav Talich until 1942. After, he became conductor and director of different theatres. He made various recordings of Czech operas for Supraphon, notably Janáček's ''Káťa Kabanová,'' and Martinů's ''Julietta.''''The rough guide to opera'' ed Matthew Boyden, Nick Kimberley He was succeeded as chief conductor and director of the National Theatre, Prague by Václav Talich. His wife was the soprano Maria Tauberová Maria Tauberová (née Proskeová) (28 April 1911 – 16 January 2003) was a Czech opera singer who had an active international career from the 1930s through the 1970s. A lyric coloratura soprano with an excellent technique, she possessed a warm .... External links * References Czech conductors (music) Male conductors (music) 1918 births 1983 deaths 20t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eleanora Ehrenbergů
Eleanora or Eleonora is a female given name and may refer to one of the following: *Eleanora Atherton (1782–1870), English philanthropist * Eleonora Duse (1858–1924), Italian actress, often known simply as Duse * Eleonora Ehrenbergů (1832–1912), Czech operatic soprano *Eleanora Fagan (1915–1959), birth name of US jazz singer Billie Holiday * Eleonora Luisa Gonzaga (1686–1741), Duchess of Rovere and Montefeltro as the wife of Francesco Maria de' Medici *Eleonora, Princess of Ligne, wife of Michel, 14th Prince of Ligne *Ulrika Eleonora or Ulrica Eleanor (1688–1741), a queen of Sweden Eleanora and Eleonora may also refer to: *Eleonora's falcon (''Falco eleonorae'') is a medium-sized falcon, belonging to the hobby group *"Eleanora", a popular song recorded by Percy Faith *"Eleonora Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western ... [...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" '' |
Bass (voice Type)
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] |
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] |
