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Elena Tsallagova
Elena Tsallagova is a Russian operatic soprano who has performed at major opera houses and festivals in Europe. She was noticed internationally as Nanetta in Verdi's ''Falstaff (opera), Falstaff'' at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Glyndebourne Festival, and in the title role of Janáček's ''The Cunning Little Vixen'' at the Paris Opera. She has been a member of Deutsche Oper Berlin since 2013, performing lead roles such as Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande (opera), Mélisande, Gilda in Verdi's ''Rigoletto'' and Sophie in ''Der Rosenkavalier'' by Richard Strauss. Career Tsallagova was born in Vladikavkaz to an Ossetian people, Ossetian family. Her father was a singer in an opera chorus, and her mother a choral conductor. She took ballet training from age five to 15 and intended to become a dancer. She studied voice at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. She won first prize in the Rachmaninov competition there, and began performing at the Mariinsky Theatre. She moved to France t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Das Rheingold
''Das Rheingold'' (; ''The Rhinegold''), WWV 86A, is the first of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was performed, as a single opera, at the National Theatre Munich on 22 September 1869, and received its first performance as part of the ''Ring'' cycle at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, on 13 August 1876. Wagner wrote the ''Ring'' librettos in reverse order, so that ''Das Rheingold'' was the last of the texts to be written; it was, however, the first to be set to music. The score was completed in 1854, but Wagner was unwilling to sanction its performance until the whole cycle was complete; he worked intermittently on this music until 1874. The 1869 Munich premiere of ''Das Rheingold'' was staged, much against Wagner's wishes, on the orders of his patron, King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Following its 1876 Bayreuth premiere, the ''Ring'' cycle was introduced into the worldwide repertory, with perf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armida (Haydn)
''Armida'' ( Hob. XXVIII/12) is a 1784 opera (''dramma eroico'') in three acts by Austrian composer Joseph Haydn, set to an Italian-language libretto taken from Antonio Tozzi's 1775 opera ''Rinaldo'', as amended by , and ultimately based on the story of Armida and Rinaldo in Torquato Tasso's poem ''Gerusalemme liberata'' (''Jerusalem Delivered'').Mary Hunter (1992)''Armida'' (v). ''Dramma eroico'' in three acts by Joseph Haydn" vol. 1, pp. 198–199, in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', four volumes, edited by Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan. . Libretto The text of Nunziato Porta's libretto for Haydn's ''Armida'' was principally taken from Antonio Tozzi's opera ''Rinaldo'', first performed during Ascension 1775 at the Teatro San Salvatore in Venice with a libretto by an unknown adapter that was chiefly based on an ''Armida'' written by and set to music by Pasquale Anfossi for Turin in 1770 (see List of operas by Pasquale Anfossi) and Antonio Sacchini for Milan in 1772 (see ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875, where its breaking of conventions shocked and scandalised its first audiences. Bizet died suddenly after the 33rd performance, unaware that the work would achieve international acclaim within the following ten years. ''Carmen'' has since become one of the most popular and frequently performed operas in the classical Western canon, canon; the "Habanera (aria), Habanera" from act 1 and the "Toreador Song" from act 2 are among the best known of all operatic arias. The opera is written in the genre of ''opéra comique'' with musical numbers separated by dialogue. It is set in southern Spain and tells the story of the downfall of Don José, a naïve soldier who is seduced by the wiles of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Die Zauberflöte
''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on 30 September 1791 at Schikaneder's theatre, the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna, just two months before the composer's premature death. Still a staple of the opera repertory, its popularity was reflected by two immediate sequels, Peter Winter's ''Das Labyrinth oder Der Kampf mit den Elementen. Der Zauberflöte zweyter Theil'' (1798) and a fragmentary libretto by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe titled ''The Magic Flute Part Two''. The allegorical plot was influenced by Schikaneder and Mozart's interest in Freemasonry and concerns the initiation of Prince Tamino. Enlisted by the Queen of the Night to rescue her daughter Pamina from the high priest Sarastro, Tamino comes to a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Der Zwerg
''Der Zwerg'' (''The Dwarf''), Op. 17, is an opera in one act by Austrian composer Alexander von Zemlinsky to a libretto by Georg C. Klaren, freely adapted from the short story "The Birthday of the Infanta" by Oscar Wilde. Composition history Zemlinsky's choice of this story was a reflection of the end of his relationship with Alma Mahler, and the identification he felt with the drama's main character. He completed the short score in December 1919 and the orchestration in January 1921. The score was published by Universal Edition Vienna. Performance history The opera's premiere took place on 28 May 1922 at the Stadttheater Glockengasse in Cologne, Germany, under the baton of Otto Klemperer. Further productions followed in Vienna, Karlsruhe and Prague. Its last performance in Zemlinsky's lifetime was in September 1926 at the Städtische Oper in Berlin-Charlottenburg.Clayton, Alfred, "Reports: Hamburg" (December 1981). ''The Musical Times'', 122 (1666): pp. 841–842. The work ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Die Schweigsame Frau
''Die schweigsame Frau'' (''The Silent Woman''), Op. 80, is a 1935 comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with libretto by Stefan Zweig after Ben Jonson's '' Epicoene, or the Silent Woman''. Composition history Since '' Elektra'' and ''Der Rosenkavalier'', with only the exception of ''Intermezzo'', all previous operas by Strauss were based on libretti by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, who died in 1929. Stefan Zweig, who was then a celebrated author, had never met Strauss, who was his senior by 17 years. In his autobiography '' The World of Yesterday'', Zweig describes how Strauss got in touch with him after Hofmannsthal's death to ask him to write a libretto for a new opera. Zweig chose a theme from Ben Jonson. Politics of the opera Strauss was seen as an important icon of German music by the Nazis, who had seized power in Germany in April 1933. Strauss himself was co-operating with the Nazis and became the president of the Reichsmusikkammer in November 1933. Zweig had gotten to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medea In Corinto
''Medea in Corinto'' (''Medea in Corinth'') is an 1813 opera in Italian by the composer Simon Mayr. It takes the form of a ''melodramma tragico'' in two acts. The libretto, by Felice Romani, is based on the Greek myth of Medea and the plays on the theme by Euripides and Pierre Corneille. The same subject had formed the basis for Luigi Cherubini's famous opera ''Médée'' (1797) which may have had an influence on Mayr's work. ''Medea in Corinto'' was first performed at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on 28 November 1813 and was Mayr's greatest theatrical success. Roles Synopsis Act 1 Jason (Giasone) has rejected his former wife, Medea, in favour of Creusa, daughter of King Creon (Creonte) of Corinth. Creon banishes Medea from the city and she swears revenge. Meanwhile, King Aegeus (Egeo) of Athens arrives in Corinth. He had been promised Creusa as his bride. Finding he has been rejected, he makes a pact with Medea. As Jason and Creusa are being married in the temple, Medea bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Bohème
''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions ''quadri'', ''tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on ''Scènes de la vie de bohème'' (1851) by Henri Murger. The story is set in Paris around 1830 and shows the Bohemian lifestyle (known in French as "") of a poor seamstress and her artist friends. The world premiere of ''La bohème'' was in Turin on 1 February 1896 at the Teatro Regio, conducted by the 28-year-old Arturo Toscanini. Since then, ''La bohème'' has become part of the standard Italian opera repertory and is one of the most frequently performed operas worldwide. In 1946, fifty years after the opera's premiere, Toscanini conducted a commemorative performance of it on radio with the NBC Symphony Orchestra. A recording of the performance was later released by RCA Victor on vinyl record, tape and compact disc. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Werther
''Werther'' is an opera (''drame lyrique'') in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann (who used the pseudonym Henri Grémont). It is loosely based on Goethe's epistolary novel ''The Sorrows of Young Werther'', which was based both on fact and on Goethe's own early life. Earlier examples of operas using the story were made by Kreutzer (1792) and Pucitta (1802). Milnes R. Werther. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera''. Macmillan, London and New York, 1997. Performance history Massenet started composing ''Werther'' in 1885, completing it in 1887. He submitted it to Léon Carvalho, the director of the Paris Opéra-Comique, that year, but Carvalho declined to accept it on the grounds that the scenario was too serious. With the disruption of the fire at the Opéra-Comique and Massenet's work on other operatic projects (especially ''Esclarmonde''), it was put to one side, until the Vienna Opera, pleased with the succes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Giovanni
''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legend about a libertine as told by playwright Tirso de Molina in his 1630 play '' El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra''. It is a ''dramma giocoso'' blending comedy, melodrama and supernatural elements (although the composer entered it into his catalogue simply as ''opera buffa''). It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the National Theater (of Bohemia), now called the Estates Theatre, on 29 October 1787. ''Don Giovanni'' is regarded as one of the greatest operas of all time and has proved a fruitful subject for commentary in its own right; critic Fiona Maddocks has described it as one of Mozart's "trio of masterpieces with librettos by Da Ponte". Composition and premiere The opera was commissioned after the succes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Così Fan Tutte
(''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte who also wrote ''Le nozze di Figaro'' and ''Don Giovanni''. Although it is commonly held that was written and composed at the suggestion of the Emperor Joseph II, recent research does not support this idea. There is evidence that Mozart's contemporary Antonio Salieri tried to set the libretto but left it unfinished. In 1994, John Rice uncovered two terzetti by Salieri in the Austrian National Library. The short title, ''Così fan tutte'', literally means "So do they all", using the feminine plural (''tutte'') to indicate women. It is usually translated into English as "Women are like that". The words are sung by the three men in act 2, scene 3, just before the finale; this melodic phrase is also quoted in the overture to the opera. Da P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victoires De La Musique
Victoires de la Musique (; en, Victories of Music) is an annual French award ceremony where the Victoire accolade is delivered by the French Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The classical and jazz versions are the Victoires de la musique classique and ''Victoires du Jazz''. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by prominent artists, some of the awards of more popular interest are presented in a widely viewed televised ceremony. The awards are the French equivalent to the Grammy Awards and the Brit Awards for music, and it is one of the major awards in France, along with Nuits des Molières for stage performances, and the César Award for motion pictures. The first Victoires de la Musique ceremony was held in 1985, and it was set up to honor musical accomplishments by performers for the year 1985. Background The title trophies and nominees for each are established annually by the ''Board of Directors of the Assoc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_by_Max_Brückner.jpg "Click for more on -> Das Rheingold")
