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Ghiselle
''Ghiselle'' is an opera by César Franck to a Merovingian-themed French libretto by the novelist Gilbert-Augustin Thierry, son of Amédée Thierry. The plot, set in the sixth century, while not keeping up with the "one assassination per act" of its predecessor '' Hulda'' (1886), is nonetheless rich in violent incident and ends with a double suicide. Composition began in the fall of 1888 and the last page of the piano score bears the date 21 September 1889. Franck orchestrated the first act himself; the remainder were prepared for the posthumous premiere (in Monte Carlo) by his pupils Pierre de Bréville, Ernest Chausson, Vincent d'Indy, Samuel Rousseau and Arthur Coquard. Roles Sources Léon Vallas Léon Vallas (17 May 1879 in Roanne – 9 May 1956 in Lyon) was a 20th-century French musicologist. Biography Orphaned at 8 years of age, after studying at the St. Mary's Institution at St. Chamond, held by the Marists, he passed his baccalaure ...: ''César Franck'', transl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
César Franck
César-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modern-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of his birth was part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands). He gave his first concerts there in 1834 and studied privately in Paris from 1835, where his teachers included Anton Reicha. After a brief return to Belgium, and a disastrous reception of an early oratorio ''Ruth'', he moved to Paris, where he married and embarked on a career as teacher and organist. He gained a reputation as a formidable musical improviser, and travelled widely within France to demonstrate new instruments built by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. In 1858, he became organist at the Basilica of St. Clotilde, Paris, a position he retained for the rest of his life. He became professor at the Paris Conservatoire in 1872; he took French nationality, a requirement of the appointment. Afte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hulda (opera)
''Hulda'' is an opera by César Franck to a French libretto by Charles Grandmougin. It is set in 11th-century Norway, and is based on the play ' (1858) by Norwegian writer Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. The complete opera contains a prologue, three acts and an epilogue, albeit the world premier recording by Naxos has five acts. It was composed between 1879 and 1885. Performance history It was first performed in an incomplete version in Monte Carlo, Monaco, on 8 March 1894. followed by performances in The Hague in March 1895 and Toulouse in April 1895. ''Hulda'' was Franck's first opera to be performed, in Monte Carlo, 1894. The influence of Richard Wagner is clear, both in the writing for brass and also in the love duets which are reminiscent of ''Tristan und Isolde''. Franck's writing shows his seriousness of expression and characteristic chromatic harmony. The third act was performed at the Concerts Colonne with Demellier and Cazeneuve on 16 October 1904 to mark the unveiling of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Léon Jehin
Léon Jehin (17 July 1853 – 14 February 1928) was a conductor and composer, especially associated with the opera house in Monte Carlo.Favre G. ''Histoire Musicale de la Principauté de Monaco du XVIe au XXe siècle.'' Éditions des Archives du Palais Princier, Monaco/Éditions A et J Picard, Paris, 1974. He composed the national anthem of Monaco. Life and career Jehin was born in Spa, Belgium. He studied at the conservatoire in Liege and then in Brussels. He was a violinist at La Monnaie in the Belgian capital and conducted at Anvers, Aix-les-Bains, and the Royal Opera House. In 1889, when he was an assistant conductor in Brussels, he succeeded Arthur Steck as the conductor of the Monte Carlo Opera in Monaco, a position he held until his death. His first performance there was of ''Mireille'' by Charles Gounod.Walsh T J. ''Monte Carlo opera, 1879–1909.'' Gill and Macmillan, Dublin, 1975. In addition to conducting the main repertoire at the Monte Carlo opera, he conducted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ada Adini
Ada Adini (1855 – February 1924) was an American operatic soprano who had an active international career from 1876 up into the first decade of the 20th century. She possessed a large, expressive voice which enabled her to sing a broad range of roles that extended from the coloratura soprano repertoire to dramatic soprano parts. She made five recordings with Fonotipia Records in Paris in 1905. Life and career Born Adele Chapman in Boston, Adini studied singing with Giovanni Sbriglia and Pauline Viardot in Paris. She married the Spanish tenor Antonio Aramburo while studying in Paris. She made her professional opera debut in 1876 at the opera house in Varese, Italy in the title role of Giacomo Meyerbeer's ''Dinorah''. She was then active with the Mapleson Company in New York City, making her debut with the company in 1879 as Gilda in Giuseppe Verdi's ''Rigoletto'' at the Academy of Music with Aramburo as the Duke of Mantua. She was later heard with the company as Leonora in Verdi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pierre De Bréville
Pierre Eugène Onfroy de Bréville (21 February 1861 – 24 September 1949) was a French composer. Biography Pierre de Bréville was born in Bar-le-Duc, Meuse (department), Meuse. Following the wishes of his parents, he studied law with the goal of becoming a diplomat. However, he abandoned his plans after a few years and entered the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris, Conservatoire de Paris. He began his musical studies with Théodore Dubois (1880–1882), later taking courses under the direction of César Franck. He became a professor, teaching counterpoint at the Schola Cantorum in Paris (1898–1902). Following a twelve-year break, he taught classes in chamber music composition at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris, Conservatoire de Paris (1914–1918). He established himself as a music critic and became well known for his reviews and commentary in ''Mercure de France'', ''Le Courrier musical'' and ''La Revue b ... [...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] |
Léon Melchissédec
Léon Melchissédec (born Clermont Ferrand, 7 May 1843, died Neuilly-sur-Seine 23 March 1925) was a French baritone who enjoyed a long career in the French capital across a broad range of operatic genres, and later made some recordings and also taught at the Paris Conservatoire.Forbes E. Léon Melchissédec. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997. Life and career He played second violin in the Théâtre de Saint-Étienne before coming to Paris to study.Martin J. ''Nos artistes des théâtres et concerts.'' Paul Ollendorff, Paris, 1895. After classes with Alkan, Puget, Mocker and Levasseur at the Paris Conservatoire, where he won a first prize in 1865,Kutsch KJ, Riemens L. Léon Melchissèdec. In : ''Unvergängliche Stimmen: Sängerlexikon.'' Francke Verlag, Bern and Munchen, 1982. he made his debut at the Paris Opéra-Comique on 16 July 1866 in Cohen's ''José Maria''. Remaining at the Opéra-Comique until 1877, Melchissédec’s repe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Léon Vallas
Léon Vallas (17 May 1879 in Roanne – 9 May 1956 in Lyon) was a 20th-century French musicologist. Biography Orphaned at 8 years of age, after studying at the St. Mary's Institution at St. Chamond, held by the Marists, he passed his baccalaureate and studied medicine in Lyon, which he dropped out. In 1908, he defended a thesis of musicology on ''La Musique à l'Académie de Lyon au XVIIIe'' ("Music at the Academy of Lyon in the 17th Century"). A collaborator of Vincent d'Indy, in 1902 he became a music critic at ''Tout Lyon'', then founded ''La Revue musicale de Lyon'' in 1903, which later became the ''Revue française de musique'' in 1912, and then the ''Nouvelle revue musicale'' in 1920. He was involved in the creation of the "Société des grands concerts" in 1905, with the composer Georges Martin Witkowski and the construction of the in 1908. A physician during the war, he received his doctorate in 1919 on ''Un Siècle de musique et de théâtre à Lyon (1688–1789)'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blanche Deschamps-Jéhin
Blanche Deschamps-Jéhin (also Marie Blanche Deschamps-Jehin) (18 September 1857, Lyons- June 1923, Paris) was a French operatic contralto who had a prolific career in France from 1879-1905. She possessed a rich-toned and flexible voice that had a wide vocal range. She sang in numerous world premieres throughout her career, most notably originating the title role in Jules Massenet’s ''Hérodiade'' in 1881. Biography Deschamps-Jehin studied singing in Lyons and Paris before making her professional opera début in 1879 in the title role of Ambroise Thomas's ''Mignon'' at La Monnaie in Brussels. She continued to sing at that opera house for the next several years, notably portraying the title role in the world premiere of Jules Massenet’s ''Hérodiade'' in 1881 and Uta in the world premiere of Ernest Reyer’s ''Sigurd'' in 1884. Elizabeth Forbes: "Blanche Deschamps-Jehin", ''Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy (Accessed February 28, 2009)(subscription access)/ref> Deschamps-Jehi ... [...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] |
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] |
Guntram
Saint Gontrand (c. 532 in Soissons – 28 March 592 in Chalon-sur-Saône), also called Gontran, Gontram, Guntram, Gunthram, Gunthchramn, and Guntramnus, was the king of the Kingdom of Orléans from AD 561 to AD 592. He was the third eldest and second eldest surviving son of Chlothar I and Ingunda. On his father's death in 561, he became king of a fourth of the Kingdom of the Franks, and made his capital at Orléans. The name "Gontrand" denotes " War Raven". Personal life King Gontrand had something of that fraternal love which his brothers lacked; the preeminent chronicler of the period, St. Gregory of Tours, often called him "good king Gontrand", as noted in the quotation below from the former's ''Decem Libri Historiarum'', in which St. Gregory discussed the fate of Gontrand's three marriages: The good king Gontrand first took a concubine Veneranda, a slave belonging to one of his people, by whom he had a son Gundobad. Later he married Marcatrude, daughter of Magnar, and sent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
