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Jack Harrold
Jack Harrold (June 10, 1920 – July 22, 1994) was an American operatic tenor and voice teacher. Admired for his comedic skills, he specialized in the tenor buffo repertoire. He had a particularly long association with the New York City Opera from the 1940s through the 1980s. He also appeared in several Broadway musicals. Danny Newman of the Lyric Opera of Chicago stated that, "Jack Harrold was one of American musical theater's most beloved and most versatile performers, possessing a clarion tenor voice that practically bounced off the back walls of the biggest theaters." Life and career Born in Atlantic City, Harrold was the son of Metropolitan Opera tenor Orville Harrold. During World War II he served in the United States Army. He studied singing at the Juilliard School in New York and privately with Giovanni Martinelli. Harrold made his professional opera debut with the New York City Opera (NYCO) in 1945 and continued to sing with the company with some frequency up through 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librettist and incorporates a number of the performing arts, such as acting, scenery, costume, and sometimes dance or ballet. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble, which since the early 19th century has been led by a conductor. Although musical theatre is closely related to opera, the two are considered to be distinct from one another. Opera is a key part of the Western classical music tradition. Originally understood as an entirely sung piece, in contrast to a play with songs, opera has come to include numerous genres, including some that include spoken dialogue such as '' Singspiel'' and '' Opéra comique''. In traditional number opera, singers employ two styles of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Mikado
''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, where it ran at the Savoy Theatre for 672 performances, the second-longest run for any work of musical theatre and one of the longest runs of any theatre piece up to that time.The longest-running piece of musical theatre was the operetta ''Les Cloches de Corneville'', which held the title until ''Dorothy (opera), Dorothy'' opened in 1886, which pushed ''The Mikado'' down to third place. By the end of 1885, it was estimated that, in Europe and America, at least 150 companies were producing the opera.H. L. Mencken, Mencken, H. L.]Article on ''The Mikado'', ''Baltimore Evening Sun'', 29 November 1910 ''The Mikado'' is the most internationally successful Savoy opera and has been especially popular with amateur and school productions. The work has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago Railroad Fair
The Chicago Railroad Fair was an event organized to celebrate and commemorate 100 years of railroad history west of Chicago, Illinois. It was held in Chicago in 1948 and 1949 along the shore of Lake Michigan and is often referred to as "the last great railroad fair" with 39 railroad companies participating. The board of directors for the show was a veritable "Who's Who" of railroad company executives. History of the fair The origin of the fair traces back to the Chicago and North Western Railway (CNW), which at the time was the successor of the first railroad to operate out of Chicago, the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad. CNW was seeking a way to commemorate 100 years of railroading in Chicago, especially as it was done on the CNW itself. Public Relations Manager F.V. Koval is credited with developing the idea behind the fair. The CNW advertising and public relation staff went to work to promote the show in the early months of 1948, beginning with a series of photographs made ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tulsa Opera
Tulsa Opera is an American opera company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Originally an amateur performance group named the Tulsa Opera Club (established 1948), the company was incorporated as a professional organization in 1953. Performances for the company were originally presented at the Tulsa Theater (the "Old Lady on Brady") until the Tulsa Performing Arts Center (TPAC) opened in 1977. The company currently presents an annual season of three staged operas at the TPAC. Numerous well known singers have performed in operas with the company, including Beverly Sills, Anna Moffo, Roberta Peters, Richard Tucker, Renata Scotto, Cornell MacNeil, Samuel Ramey, Simon Estes, and Jerry Hadley among many others. In addition to staged operas, the company has also presented concerts and recitals featuring artists like Barbara Cook, Susan Graham, Luciano Pavarotti, Leontyne Price, and Joan Sutherland. Opera composer and pianist Tobias Picker currently serves as the company's artistic director ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company
The Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company was an American opera company located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was active between 1958 and 1974. The company was led by a number of Artistic Directors during its history, beginning with Aurelio Fabiani. Other notable Artistic Directors include Julius Rudel and Anton Guadagno (1966–1972). The company produced between four and six of their own operas every year in addition to sponsoring numerous traveling productions from the New York City Opera. In 1975 the company merged with the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company but retained its original name. With the combined resources of both companies, the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company began producing higher quality productions with name artists such as Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, Roberta Peters, Montserrat Montserrat Caballé, and others. For the bicentennial year 1976, the company commissioned famed opera composer Gian Carlo Menotti to create a new opera. The work, The Hero, premie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opera Company Of Boston
The Opera Company of Boston was an American opera company located in Boston, Massachusetts, that was active from the late 1950s through the 1980s. The company was founded by American conductor Sarah Caldwell in 1958 under the name Boston Opera Group. At one time, the touring arm of the company was called Opera New England. Caldwell served as both director and conductor for most of the company's productions throughout its more than three decade-long history. Under her leadership, the company presented a repertoire of more than 75 operas that came from a wide array of musical periods and styles, including many works previously unheard in the United States, and a significant number of contemporary operas. This focus on distinctive repertoire, along with Caldwell's innovative stage direction, garnered the group wide acclaim and earned it a place among the leading opera companies in the U.S. In 1990, after 32 seasons, the company was forced to close due to financial difficulties. His ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opera Carolina
Opera Carolina is a professional opera company in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in 1948 by the Charlotte Music Club as the Charlotte Opera Association, the company was renamed Opera Carolina after its 1986 merger with North Carolina Opera which combined the main stage, educational, and touring operations of the two companies. Its past leadership has included Artistic Directors Richard Marshall and Charles Rosekrans, and General Director James Wright. Since 2000, Opera Carolina has been under the direction of General Director and Principal Conductor James Meena. Opera Carolina is a member of Opera America and is supported by the Arts & Science Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the North Carolina Arts Council.North Carolina Arts Council Opera Carolina presents three main stage productions, featuring the Opera Carolina Chorus and the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Charlotte, North Carolina. As ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Worth Opera
Fort Worth Opera is the oldest continually-performing opera company in the state of Texas and among the oldest in the United States, according to the company. While originally presenting operas one at a time over a fall/winter season, it changed to a "festival" format in 2007. It now performs three to four operas per year each spring in Bass Performance Hall, located in the downtown area of Fort Worth, Texas. In 2021, as the company celebrated its 75th anniversary season, Fort Worth Opera left the Festival format after fourteen years and returned to year-round programming. History The Fort Worth Civic Opera Association, now known as Fort Worth Opera, was founded by three women, Eloise MacDonald Snyder and Betty Spain, both former opera singers, and pianist and composer Jeanne Axtell Walker. In seven months, the trio pulled together a full-scale production of Verdi's ''La Traviata,'' performed on November 25, 1946, in a building now known as the Cowtown Coliseum, located in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grammy Award For Best Opera Recording
The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ... for Best Opera Recording has been awarded since 1961. The award was originally titled Best Classical Opera Production. The current title has been used since 1962. Prior to 1961 the awards for operatic and choral performances were combined in a single award for Best Classical Performance, Operatic or Choral. According to the list of nominees for the 2023 Grammy season, the award goes to the conductor, album producer(s) and principal soloists, and also to the composer and librettist (if applicable) of a world premiere opera recording only. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were presented, for works released in the previous year. ''Note: Performers who did not receive a nomination and/or an award (s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Candide (operetta)
''Candide'' is an operetta with music composed by Leonard Bernstein, based on the 1759 novella of the same name by Voltaire. The operetta was first performed in 1956 with a libretto by Lillian Hellman; but since 1974 it has been generally performed with a book by Hugh Wheeler which is more faithful to Voltaire's novel. The primary lyricist was the poet Richard Wilbur. Other contributors to the text were John Latouche, Dorothy Parker, Lillian Hellman, Stephen Sondheim, John Mauceri, John Wells, and Bernstein himself. Maurice Peress and Hershy Kay contributed orchestrations. Although unsuccessful at its premiere, ''Candide'' has now overcome the unenthusiastic reaction of early audiences and critics and achieved more popularity. Origins ''Candide'' was originally conceived by Lillian Hellman as a play with incidental music in the style of her previous work, '' The Lark''. Bernstein, however, was so excited about this idea that he convinced Hellman to do it as a "comic operetta"; s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lee Hoiby
Lee Henry Hoiby (February 17, 1926 – March 28, 2011) was an American composer and classical pianist. Best known as a composer of operas and songs, he was a disciple of composer Gian Carlo Menotti. Like Menotti, his works championed lyricism at a time when such compositions were deemed old fashioned. His most well known work is his setting of Tennessee Williams's ''Summer and Smoke'', which premiered at the St Paul Opera in 1971. Biography Hoiby was born in Madison, Wisconsin. A child prodigy, he began playing the piano at the age of 5. He studied at the University of Wisconsin under notable pianists Gunnar Johansen and Egon Petri. He then became a pupil of Darius Milhaud at Mills College. Hoiby became influenced by a variety of composers, particularly personalities in the twentieth century avant garde, including the Pro Arte String Quartet led by Rudolf Kolisch, brother-in-law of Arnold Schoenberg. During his youth, Hoiby played with Harry Partch's Dadaist ensembles. Following ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kismet (musical)
''Kismet'' is a musical adapted by Charles Lederer and Luther Davis from the 1911 play of the same name by Edward Knoblock, with lyrics and musical adaptation (as well as some original music) by Robert Wright and George Forrest. The music was mostly adapted from several pieces composed by Alexander Borodin. The story concerns a wily poet who talks his way out of trouble several times; meanwhile, his beautiful daughter meets and falls in love with the young caliph. The musical was first produced on Broadway in 1953 and won the Tony Award for best musical in 1954. It was also successful in London's West End and has been given several revivals. A 1955 film version was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Background The musical was commissioned by Edwin Lester, founder and director of the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, who conceived of a musical based on the 1911 play '' Kismet'' by Edward Knoblock.Rooney, David''Kismet'' ''Variety'', February 10, 2006, accessed November 28, 2011 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
