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Eugène Caron
Eugène-Charles Caron (4 November 1834 – 1903) was a French operatic baritone. He was born in Rouen and after studying at the Paris Conservatory, made his stage debut in 1862 as Count di Luna in Verdi's '' Le trouvère''. He sang leading roles at the Paris Opera for 25 years, including the world premieres of operas by Auguste Mermet and Victorin de Joncières and an oratorio by Jules Massenet. He lived 69 years and also on a street that bears his name and surname Life and career Caron was born in Rouen on 4 November 1834. In 1848, at the age of 14, he entered the French civil service and worked in the Prefecture of Seine-Inférieure until 1861 when he decided to pursue a career as a singer.X Y Z (1875) p. 229 He was admitted to the Paris Conservatory and in the summer of 1861 won one of the three First Prizes in singing. The correspondent for ''Dwight's Journal of Music'', who attended the competition, wrote: M. Caron, is a barytone verging on the tenor. He is well vers ... [...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] |
Les Vêpres Siciliennes
''Les vêpres siciliennes'' (''The Sicilian Vespers'') is a grand opera in five acts by the Italian romantic composer Giuseppe Verdi set to a French libretto by Eugène Scribe and Charles Duveyrier from their work ''Le duc d'Albe'' of 1838. ''Les vêpres'' followed immediately after Verdi's three great mid-career masterpieces, ''Rigoletto'', ''Il trovatore'' and '' La traviata'' of 1850 to 1853 and was first performed at the Paris Opéra on 13 June 1855. Today the opera is performed both in the original French and (rather more frequently) in its post-1861 Italian version as ''I vespri siciliani''. The story is based on a historical event, the Sicilian Vespers of 1282, using material drawn from the medieval Sicilian tract '' Lu rebellamentu di Sichilia''. Composition history After Verdi's first grand opera for the Paris Opéra—that being his adaptation of ''I Lombardi'' in 1847 given under the title of ''Jérusalem'' - the composer had wanted to write a completely new gran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le diable'' and its successors, he gave the genre of grand opera 'decisive character'. Meyerbeer's grand opera style was achieved by his merging of German orchestra style with Italian vocal tradition. These were employed in the context of sensational and melodramatic libretti created by Eugène Scribe and were enhanced by the up-to-date theatre technology of the Paris Opéra. They set a standard which helped to maintain Paris as the opera capital of the nineteenth century. Born to a rich Jewish family, Meyerbeer began his musical career as a pianist but soon decided to devote himself to opera, spending several years in Italy studying and composing. His 1824 opera '' Il crociato in Egitto'' was the first to bring him Europe-wide reputation, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orchestre De La Société Des Concerts Du Conservatoire
The Orchestre de la Société des concerts du Conservatoire was a symphony orchestra established in Paris in 1828. It gave its first concert on 9 March 1828 with music by Beethoven, Rossini, Meifreid, Rode and Cherubini. Administered by the philharmonic association of the ''Conservatoire de Paris'', the orchestra consisted of professors of the Conservatoire and their pupils. It was formed by François-Antoine Habeneck in pioneering fashion, aiming to present Beethoven's symphonies, but over time it became more conservative in its programming.Nichols R. The Harlequin Years – Music in Paris 1917–1929. Thames and Hudson, London, 2002. Its long existence kept the tradition of playing taught at the Conservatoire prominent in French musical life. The orchestra occupied the center-stage of French musical life throughout the 19th and most of the 20th centuries. A major tour of the US took place in 1918, appearing in 52 cities. Later that year it made the first of its many recordings. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palais Garnier
The Palais Garnier (, Garnier Palace), also known as Opéra Garnier (, Garnier Opera), is a 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the behest of Emperor Napoleon III. Initially referred to as ''le nouvel Opéra de Paris'' (the new Paris Opera), it soon became known as the Palais Garnier, "in acknowledgment of its extraordinary opulence" and the architect Charles Garnier's plans and designs, which are representative of the Napoleon III style. It was the primary theatre of the Paris Opera and its associated Paris Opera Ballet until 1989, when a new opera house, the Opéra Bastille, opened at the Place de la Bastille. The company now uses the Palais Garnier mainly for ballet. The theatre has been a ''monument historique'' of France since 1923. The Palais Garnier has been called "probably the most famous opera house in the world, a symbol of Paris like No ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saint Clotilde Basilica
The Basilica of Saint Clotilde (''Basilique Ste-Clotilde'') is a basilica church in Paris, located on the Rue Las Cases, in the 7th arrondissement. It is best known for its twin spires. History Construction of the church was first mooted by the Paris City Council on 16 February 1827. It was designed by architect F. C. Gau of Cologne in a neo-Gothic style. Work began in 1846, but Gau died in 1853, and the job was continued by Théodore Ballu who completed the church in 1857. It was opened on 30 November 1857 by Cardinal Morlot. The church was declared a minor basilica by Pope Leo XIII in 1896. Architecture This neo-gothic basilica is marked by its two towers 69 meters high. The interior is clear and there are stained glass windows by Thibaut (a 19th-century glassmaker), paintings by Jules Eugène Lenepveu, sculptures by James Pradier and Francisque Joseph Duret. A series of sculptures by Jean-Baptiste Claude Eugène Guillaume representing the conversion of Valerie of Limoges, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Théodore Dubois
Clément François Théodore Dubois (24 August 1837 – 11 June 1924) was a French Romantic composer, organist, and music teacher. After study at the Paris Conservatoire, Dubois won France's premier musical prize, the Prix de Rome in 1861. He became an organist and choirmaster at several well-known churches in Paris, and at the same time was a professor in the Conservatoire, teaching harmony from 1871 to 1891 and composition from 1891 to 1896, when he succeeded Ambroise Thomas as the Conservatoire's director. He continued his predecessor's strictly conservative curriculum and was forced to retire early after a scandal erupted over the faculty's attempt to rig the Prix de Rome competition to prevent the modernist Maurice Ravel from winning. As a composer, Dubois was seen as capable and tasteful, but not strikingly original or inspired. He hoped for a career as an opera composer, but became better known for his church compositions. His books on music theory were influential, and rem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Faust (opera)
''Faust'' is an opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play ''Faust et Marguerite'', in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's ''Faust, Part One''. It debuted at the Théâtre Lyrique on the Boulevard du Temple in Paris on 19 March 1859, with influential sets designed by Charles-Antoine Cambon and Joseph Thierry, Jean Émile Daran, Édouard Desplechin, and Philippe Chaperon. Performance history The original version of Faust employed spoken dialogue, and it was in this form that the work was first performed. The manager of the Théâtre Lyrique, Léon Carvalho cast his wife Caroline Miolan-Carvalho as Marguerite and there were various changes during production, including the removal and contraction of several numbers. The tenor Hector Gruyer was originally cast as Faust but was found to be inadequate during rehearsals, being eventually replaced by a principal of the Opéra-Comique, Joseph-Théodore ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Le Tribut De Zamora
is a grand opera in four acts by Charles Gounod, his last work for the stage. The libretto by Adolphe d'Ennery was offered to Gounod after negotiations with Giuseppe Verdi stalled. The premiere at the Paris Opera's Palais Garnier on 1 April 1881 was a success, Hermosa's patriotic "Debout! enfants de l'Ibérie!" (sung by Gabrielle Krauss) being enthusiastically encored, and praise being showered on the magnificent costumes by Eugène Lacoste and the four settings designed by Auguste Alfred Rubé and Philippe Chaperon (acts 1 and 4), Jean-Baptiste Lavastre (act 2), Antoine Lavastre and Eugène Louis Carpezat (act 3). The piece ran for 34 performances. Recent criticism is less kind, calling it "musty...too reminiscent of his earlier work" or dismissing it as an exercise in ''spagnuolismo'' (hispanicism). Roles Synopsis Scene: Spain, at the time of the Moorish occupation Act 1 ''A public square in Oviedo. In the background the Spanish royal palace.'' Manoël, a young Spanis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Les Huguenots
() is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ... by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, it premiered in Paris on 29 February 1836. Composition history ''Les Huguenots'' was some five years in creation. Meyerbeer prepared carefully for this opera after the sensational success of ''Robert le diable'', recognising the need to continue to present lavish staging, a highly dramatic storyline, impressive orchestration and virtuoso parts for the soloists – the essential elements of the new genre of Grand Opera. Meyerbeer and his librettist for ''Robert le Diable'', Eugène Scribe, had agreed to collaborate on an epic work concerning the French War ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Favorite
''La favorite'' (''The Favourite'', sometimes referred to by its Italian title: ''La favorita'') is a grand opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, based on the play ''Le comte de Comminges'' by Baculard d'Arnaud with additions by Eugène Scribe based on the story of Leonora de Guzman. The opera concerns the romantic struggles of the King of Castile, Alfonso XI, and his mistress, the "favourite" Leonora, against the backdrop of the political wiles of receding Moorish Spain and the life of the Catholic Church. It premiered on 2 December 1840 at the Académie Royale de Musique (Salle Le Peletier) in Paris. Background Originally, Donizetti had been composing an opera by the name of ''Le Duc d'Albe'' as his second work for the Opéra in Paris. However, the director, Léon Pillet, objected to an opera without a prominent role for his mistress, mezzo-soprano Rosine Stoltz. Donizetti therefore abandoned ''Le Duc d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Der Freischütz
' ( J. 277, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind, based on a story by Johann August Apel and Friedrich Laun from their 1810 collection ''Gespensterbuch''. It premiered on 18 June 1821 at the Schauspielhaus Berlin. It is considered the first German Romantic opera. The opera's plot is mainly based on August Apel's tale "Der Freischütz" from the ''Gespensterbuch'' though the hermit, Kaspar and Ännchen are new to Kind's libretto. That Weber's tunes were just German folk music is a common misconception. Its unearthly portrayal of the supernatural in the famous Wolf's Glen scene has been described as "the most expressive rendering of the gruesome that is to be found in a musical score". Performance history The reception of ''Der Freischütz'' surpassed Weber's own hopes and it quickly became an international success, with productions in Vienna the same year f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
