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Francesca Da Rimini (Zandonai)
''Francesca da Rimini'', Op. 4, is an opera in four acts, composed by Riccardo Zandonai, with a libretto by , after D'Annunzio's play ''Francesca da Rimini''. It was premiered at the Teatro Regio in Turin on 19 February 1914 and is still staged occasionally. This opera is Zandonai's best-known work. In the ''New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Renato Chiesa calls it "one of the most original and polished Italian melodramas of the 20th century, hichcombines a powerful gift for Italian melody ... with an exceptional command of orchestration." Celebrated performers of the title role have included Gilda dalla Rizza, Magda Olivero (who recorded excerpts from the opera in 1969, for Decca Records), Raina Kabaivanska and Renata Scotto. Roles Synopsis The story takes place in Ravenna and Rimini. Francesca, daughter of Guido I da Polenta, for state reasons, is to be married to Giovanni, known as Gianciotto, the malformed son of Malatesta da Verucchio. But as Francesca would certainly ...
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Riccardo Zandonai
Riccardo Zandonai (28 May 1883 – 5 June 1944) was an Italian composer. Biography Zandonai was born in Borgo Sacco, Rovereto, then part of Austria-Hungary. As a young man, he showed such an aptitude for music that he entered the Pesaro Conservatorio in 1899 and completed his studies in 1902; he completed the nine-year curriculum in only three years. Among his teachers was Pietro Mascagni, who regarded him highly. During this period he composed the ''Inno degli studenti trentini'', that is, the anthem of the organised irredentist youth of his native province. His essay for graduation was an opera named ''Il ritorno di Odisseo'' (''The Return of Ulysses''), based on a poem by Giovanni Pascoli, for singers, choir and orchestra. The same year 1902 he put to music another Pascoli poem, ''Il sogno di Rosetta''. At a soirée in Milan in 1908, he was heard by Arrigo Boito, who introduced him to Giulio Ricordi, one of the dominating figures in Italian musical publishing at the time. Hi ...
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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 ...
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Malatesta Da Verucchio
Malatesta da Verucchio (1212–1312) was the founder of the powerful Italian Malatesta family and a notable '' condottiero.'' He was born in Verucchio. He was the son of Malatesta della Penna (1183-1248). He was the leader of the Guelphs in Romagna and became ''podestà'' (chief magistrate) of Rimini in 1239. In 1295, he made himself undisputed ruler of Rimini by killing the chief members of the rival Ghibelline family, the Parcitati, including their leader Montagna. His eldest son was Giovanni Malatesta, famous for the 1285 tragedy, recorded in Dante's ''Inferno'', in which he killed his wife Francesca da Polenta Francesca da Rimini or Francesca da Polenta (died between 1283 and 1286) was a medieval noblewoman of Ravenna, who was murdered by her husband, Giovanni Malatesta, upon his discovery of her affair with his brother, Paolo Malatesta. She was a co ... and his younger brother Paolo, having discovered them in adultery. He was succeeded as seignior of Rimini by his ...
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Guido I Da Polenta
Guido I da Polenta (died 1310) was lord of Ravenna from 1275 until his abdication in 1297. The son of Lamberto da Polenta, he was ousted from Ravenna by the imperial troops in 1240. When the city was returned to the Papal States in 1248, Guido was able to return and was made chief of the local council. In 1270, after the death of Bishop Felix, he divided the power in the city and that of Comacchio with Guido Riccio da Polenta, in collaboration with the other major Ravennate family, the Traversari. However, Guido and Guido Riccio soon were at war, and Guido allied with the Malatesta of Rimini in order also to counter Guido I da Montefeltro who had conquered Forlì and Cervia. Through this alliance Guido was able to gain the complete seigniory of Ravenna. The marriage of his daughter Francesca with Giovanni Malatesta caused a revolt in the city, whose outcome was the expulsion of the Traversari. In 1282 he took part to the offensive of Pope Martin V against Guido da Montefeltro ...
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Rimini
Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminus'') and Ausa (ancient ''Aprusa''). It is one of the most notable seaside resorts in Europe with revenue from both internal and international tourism forming a significant portion of the city's economy. It is also near San Marino, a small nation within Italy. The first bathing establishment opened in 1843. Rimini is an art city with ancient Roman and Renaissance monuments, and is also the birthplace of the film director Federico Fellini. The city was founded by the Romans in 268 BC. Throughout Roman times, Rimini was a key communications link between the north and south of the peninsula. On its soil, Roman emperors erected monuments such as the Arch of Augustus and the Tiberius Bridge to mark the beginning and the end of the Decumanus ...
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Ravenna
Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom until it was re-conquered in 540 by the Byzantine Empire. Afterwards, the city formed the centre of the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna until the last exarch was executed by the Lombards in 751. Although it is an inland city, Ravenna is connected to the Adriatic Sea by the Candiano Canal. It is known for its well-preserved late Roman and Byzantine architecture, with eight buildings comprising the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna". History The origin of the name ''Ravenna'' is unclear. Some have speculated that "Ravenna" is related to "Rasenna" (or "Rasna"), the term that the Etruscan civilization, Etruscans used for themselves, but there is no agreement on this point. Ancien ...
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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 ...
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Giuseppe Nessi
Giuseppe Nessi (25 September 1887 – 16 December 1961) was an Italian operatic tenor. Life Nessi was born in Bergamo, near Milan in Italy. He made his debut in Saluzzo in 1910, in the role of Alfredo in '' La Traviata''.Harold Rosenthal/R, "Nessi Giuseppe", in Sadie, Stanley (ed.), ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Oxford University Press, 1997, III, p. 575. However, on the advice of renowned Italian conductor Tullio Serafin, the majority of his career was focussed on character tenor roles.Rosenthal, Harold; & Warrack, John (1964). ''Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera''. London: Oxford University Press, p. 279 He was La Scala's leading comprimario tenor between 1921 and 1959, and also performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and at the Salzburg Festival under Arturo Toscanini. He created, among others, the roles of Pong in ''Turandot'', the Priest in ''Il re'', Donna Pasqua in ''Il campiello'', and an archer in '' Francesca da Rimini''; in Zandonai's opera he wo ...
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Gabriella Besanzoni
Gabriella Besanzoni (20 September 1888 – 8 July 1962) was an Italian opera singer (mezzo-soprano and contralto). Early life Gabriella Besanzoni was born in Rome and studied at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.Richard P. ConnellLiner Notes, ''Jose Mojica - Tenor; Gabriella Besanzoni - Alto'', ArkivMusic. Career Besanzoni had her debut at Viterbo in 1911. From 1918 she was a star of the Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires, with regular appearances in other South American cities, especially Rio de Janeiro. Her debut in the United States happened in 1919, when she sang Amneris in ''Aida'' with Claudia Muzio, Giovanni Martinelli, and Renato Zanelli. That same season, she starred with Enrico Caruso in productions of ''Samson et Dalila'' and ''La Forza del Destino'' at the Metropolitan Opera. The pair were appearing together in ''Aida'' in Havana in 1920 when a bomb exploded in the auditorium during the second act of the final performance. She left the Teatro Colón in 1935, and h ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Malatestino Malatesta
Malatestino Malatesta (also known as ''Malatesta I'' (or ''II'') ''Malatesta'', nicknamed ''Il Guercio'' (English: the War-ish; the Warlike) or ''dell'Occhio'' (English: "of the Eye"); died 14 October 1317) was the lord of Rimini from 1312 until his death. He was the son of Malatesta da Verucchio, inheriting the lordship after his death. He was also the brother of Gianciotto Malatesta, husband of Francesca da Rimini, and of Paolo Malatesta. Malatestino is mentioned by Dante in his ''Inferno'' (XVII, 48-48; and XVIII, 76-84), described as a tyrant like his father, and as the assassin of Guido del Cassero and Angiolello da Carignano. But there is no historical information on these characters. Dante presents the news as a prophecy by the sower of discord, Pier da Medicina, that they, the best of Fano, must beware of Malatestino I Malatesta, tyrant of Rimini, who will kill them by ''mazzeratura'' (drowning in leaded bags) near Cattolica. The lack of any archive source on such an i ...
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