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Hans Wallat
Hans Wallat (18 October 1929 – 11 December 2014) was a German conductor, GMD in Bremen, at the Nationaltheater Mannheim, Theater Dortmund and Deutsche Oper am Rhein. A specialist for the stage works of Richard Wagner, he appeared at the Bayreuth Festival and internationally. Career Born in Berlin, he studied with Rudolf Neuhaus in Schwerin. He worked at theatres in Schwerin, Stendal, the Meiningen Court Theatre and in Cottbus. In 1958, Wallat was appointed ''Erster Kapellmeister'' at the Leipzig Opera. He left the GDR shortly before the Wall was built, and was ''Erster Kapellmeister'' at the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1964. Wallat specialised in German opera, focussed on the works of Richard Wagner. In 1965 he became Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) in Bremen. In 1968, he stepped in for Karl Böhm to conduct performances of ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'' and ''Der fliegende Holländer'' at the Bayreuth Festival. He was the regular conductor of the ''Meistersinger'' in 1970 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hilden
Hilden is a town in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is situated in the District of Mettmann, west of Solingen and east of Düsseldorf on the right side of the Rhine. It is a middle sized industrial town with a forest and numerous attractions. The Mayor is Claus Pommer, who took office in 2020. Geography With approx. 57,000 inhabitants, Hilden is the fourth largest city in the District of Mettmann. In contrast to the surrounding cities, it has no suburban districts or incorporated villages. Hilden has a compact urbanized city centre and borders some smaller woods. History Hilden was named in written sources already in the 11th century. In the 13th century in the centre of the early settlement a Romanesque church was erected, which during the Reformation became Protestant. Later a second church for Catholics had been built. In the time of industrialization many factories especially in textiles, engineering and painting had been founded. In both World Wars the p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karl Böhm
Karl August Leopold Böhm (28 August 1894 – 14 August 1981) was an Austrian conductor. He was best known for his performances of the music of Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss. Life and career Education Karl Böhm was born in Graz. The son of a lawyer, he studied law and earned a doctorate in this subject before entering the music conservatory in his home town of Graz, Austria. He later enrolled at the Vienna Conservatory, where he studied under Eusebius Mandyczewski, a friend of Johannes Brahms. Munich, Darmstadt, Hamburg In 1917, Böhm became a rehearsal assistant in his home town, making his debut as a conductor in Viktor Nessler's ''Der Trompeter von Säckingen'' in 1917. He became the assistant director of music in 1919, and the following year, the senior director. On the recommendation of Karl Muck, Bruno Walter engaged him at the Bavarian State Opera, Munich in 1921. An early assignment here was Mozart's ''Die Entführung aus dem Serail'', with a cast which i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tannhäuser (opera)
''Tannhäuser'' (; full title , "Tannhäuser and the Minnesängers' Contest at Wartburg") is an 1845 opera in three acts, with music and text by Richard Wagner ( WWV 70 in the catalogue of the composer's works). It is based on two German legends: Tannhäuser, the mythologized medieval German Minnesänger and poet, and the tale of the Wartburg Song Contest. The story centres on the struggle between sacred and profane love, as well as redemption through love, a theme running through most of Wagner's work. The opera remains a staple of major opera house repertoire in the 21st century. Composition history Sources The libretto of ''Tannhäuser'' combines mythological elements characteristic of German ''Romantische Oper'' (Romantic opera) and the medieval setting typical of many French Grand Operas. Wagner brings these two together by constructing a plot involving the 14th-century Minnesingers and the myth of Venus and her subterranean realm of Venusberg. Both the historical and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Der Ring Des Nibelungen
(''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the '' Nibelungenlied''. The composer termed the cycle a "Bühnenfestspiel" (stage festival play), structured in three days preceded by a ("preliminary evening"). It is often referred to as the ''Ring'' cycle, Wagner's ''Ring'', or simply ''The Ring''. Wagner wrote the libretto and music over the course of about twenty-six years, from 1848 to 1874. The four parts that constitute the ''Ring'' cycle are, in sequence: * ''Das Rheingold'' (''The Rhinegold'') * '' Die Walküre'' (''The Valkyrie'') * '' Siegfried'' * '' Götterdämmerung'' (''Twilight of the Gods'') Individual works of the sequence are often performed separately, and indeed the operas contain dialogues that mention events in the previous operas, so that a viewer could watch any of them wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judith Blegen
Judith Blegen (April 27, 1943, Lexington, Kentucky) is an American soprano, particularly associated with light lyric roles of the French, Italian and German repertories. Life and career Blegen was raised and attended high school in Missoula, Montana, during which time she began voice lessons with John L. Lester, head of the voice department at the University of Montana. She studied first the violin with Toshiya Eto, and later voice at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia with Eufemia Giannini-Gregory. In 1962 she attended the Music Academy of the West where she studied with Martial Singher. In Rome she studied with Luigi Ricci. She made her operatic debut in Nuremberg, Germany, as Olympia in ''The Tales of Hoffmann'', in 1965, where she subsequently sang Lucia, Susanna, and Zerbinetta. That same year, she appeared in Spoleto, Italy, as Mélisande in '' Pelléas et Mélisande''. She made her debut with the Vienna State Opera as Olympia in ''Les contes d'Hoffmann'' in Ja ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giorgio Tozzi
Giorgio Tozzi (January 8, 1923 – May 30, 2011) was an American operatic bass. He was a mainstay for many years with the Metropolitan Opera, and sang principal bass roles in nearly every major opera house worldwide. Career Tozzi was born George John Tozzi in Chicago, Illinois. He studied at DePaul University with Rosa Raisa, Giacomo Rimini and John Daggett Howell. He later studied singing in New York City with Beverley Peck Johnson. He made his professional debut in the Broadway production of Britten's ''The Rape of Lucretia'' in 1948 as Tarquinius. His signature roles included Figaro in Mozart's ''The Marriage of Figaro'', Philip II in Verdi's ''Don Carlos'', Hans Sachs in Wagner's ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'', and Méphistophélès in Gounod's ''Faust''. In 1957 he portrayed the title role in a nationally broadcast performance of Mussorgsky's ''Boris Godunov'' with the NBC Opera Theatre. In 1958 he created the role of The Doctor in Barber's ''Vanessa''. In July 1958, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Dooley
William Dooley (September 9, 1932 – July 2, 2019 in Modesto, California) was an American bass-baritone singer who performed with many prominent opera companies. He began his career in Germany in the late 1950s, ultimately becoming a leading performer at the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1962 to 1964. He then embarked on a highly successful career at the Metropolitan Opera where he sang regularly between 1964 and 1977. Between 1977 and 1982 he sang regularly at the Vienna State Opera, after which he remained active as a freelance artist on the international stage through the early 1990s. Dooley possessed a rich, deep, and warm voice that had a considerable amount of dramatic power and a wide vocal range. In his prime singing years he particularly excelled within the operas of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. Although primarily an exponent of German opera, his repertoire spanned a wide range of languages from French and Italian to Russian and even, in the case of the opera '' Mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James McCracken
James McCracken (December 16, 1926 – April 29, 1988) was an American operatic tenor. At the time of his death ''The New York Times'' stated that McCracken was "the most successful dramatic tenor yet produced by the United States and a pillar of the Metropolitan Opera during the 1960s and 1970s." Biography Born in Gary, Indiana, McCracken's earliest musical experiences were singing in his church choir in childhood. In the US Navy during World War II, he sang in the Blue Jacket Choir. He studied music at Columbia University, with Elsa Seyfert in Konstanz, Germany, and then with Joyce McLean in New York City until his death. McCracken made his professional opera debut in 1952 with the Central City Opera in Colorado as Rodolfo in Puccini's ''La bohème''. He sang minor roles at the Metropolitan Opera from 1953 to 1957, while still a student. In 1957, he moved to Europe and made his debut at the Vienna State Opera. He had great success with the Zürich Opera. The role of Otell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ingrid Bjoner
Ingrid Kristine Bjoner Pierpoint (8 November 1927 – 4 September 2006) was a Norwegian soprano who had an international opera career between 1956 and 1990. She was particularly celebrated for her portrayal of Wagnerian heroines and for her performances in operas by Richard Strauss. In addition to performing in operas, Bjoner was an active concert soloist and recital performer throughout her career. Biography Background Ingrid Kristine Bjoner Pierpoint was born at Kråkstad in Akershus, Norway. Her parents were Johan Bjoner (1877–1950) and Alma Prestangen (1890–1982). She was the eighth of nine children born to a farming family. Bjoner was educated as a pharmacist at the University of Oslo during which time she also studied voice with Gudrun Boellemose. She drew considerable public notice after an extraordinary performance at Oslo Cathedral which reoriented her path towards a professional musical career. She travelled to Germany for further voice lessons with Paul Lohmann ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fidelio
''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, with the work premiering at Vienna's Theater an der Wien on 20 November 1805. The following year, Stephan von Breuning helped shorten the work from three acts to two. After further work on the libretto by Georg Friedrich Treitschke, a final version was performed at the Kärntnertortheater on 23 May 1814. By convention, both of the first two versions are referred to as ''Leonore''. The libretto, with some spoken dialogue, tells how Leonore, disguised as a prison guard named "Fidelio", rescues her husband Florestan from death in a political prison. Bouilly's scenario fits Beethoven's aesthetic and political outlook: a story of personal sacrifice, heroism, and eventual triumph. With its underlying struggle for liberty and justice mirroring con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager. As of 2018, the company's current music director is Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The Met was founded in 1883 as an alternative to the previously established Academy of Music opera house, and debuted the same year in a new building on 39th and Broadway (now known as the "Old Met"). It moved to the new Lincoln Center location in 1966. The Metropolitan Opera is the largest classical music organization in North America. Until 2019, it presented about 27 different operas each year from late September through May. The operas are presented in a rotating repertory schedule, with up to seven performances of four different works staged each week. Performances are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll, and designs by Josef Hlávka. The opera house was inaugurated as the "Vienna Court Opera" (''Wiener Hofoper'') in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria. It became known by its current name after the establishment of the First Austrian Republic in 1921. The Vienna State Opera is the successor of the old Vienna Court Opera (built in 1636 inside the Hofburg). The new site was chosen and the construction paid by Emperor Franz Joseph in 1861. The members of the Vienna Philharmonic are recruited from the Vienna State Opera's orchestra. The building is also the home of the Vienna State Ballet, and it hosts the annual Vienna Opera Ball during the carnival season. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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