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Katie Bray
Katie Emily Bray (born 23 January 1987) is an English mezzo-soprano and is best known as the winner of the Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World in 2019. She is particularly noted for her baroque repertoire. Early life and education Bray was born on 23 January 1987 in Exeter, Devon, England. She was educated at St Margaret's School in Exeter until 2005 and went on to study at the University of Manchester, graduating in 2008. She then went onto study opera as a post-graduate at the Royal Academy of Music, where she was taught by Elizabeth Ritchie and Iain Ledingham, and finished her studies at the academy in 2012 having won an Alfred Alexander Scholarship and been recipient of The Karaviotis Scholarship. Professional career In 2013, Bray made her debuts with Glyndebourne Festival Opera and English Touring Opera. Bray has also performed with Opera North, English National Opera, Scottish Opera, Welsh National Opera, Garsington Oper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal command of Vespasian. Exeter became a religious centre in the Middle Ages. Exeter Cathedral, founded in the mid 11th century, became Anglican in the 16th-century English Reformation. Exeter became an affluent centre for the wool trade, although by the First World War the city was in decline. After the Second World War, much of the city centre was rebuilt and is now a centre for education, business and tourism in Devon and Cornwall. It is home to two of the constituent campuses of the University of Exeter: Streatham and St Luke's. The administrative area of Exeter has the status of a non-metropolitan district under the administration of the County Council. It is the county town of Devon and home to the headquarters of Devon County Council. A p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leading centres for this type of music and an essential port of call for many of the classical music world's leading stars. With near-perfect acoustic, the Hall quickly became celebrated across Europe and featured many of the great artists of the 20th century. Today, the Hall promotes 550 concerts a year and broadcasts a weekly concert on BBC Radio 3. The Hall also promotes an extensive education programme throughout London and beyond and has a huge digital broadcasting arm, which includes the Wigmore Hall Live Label and many live streams of concerts. Origins Originally named Bechstein Hall, it was built between 1899 and 1901 by C. Bechstein Pianofortefabrik, the German piano manufacturer, whose showroom was next door. The renowned British a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Scala Di Seta
''La scala di seta'' (''The Silken Ladder'' or ''Die seidene Leiter'') is an operatic '' farsa comica'' in one act by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Giuseppe Maria Foppa. It was first performed in Venice, Italy, at the Teatro San Moisè on 9 May 1812. The overture has been frequently recorded and continues to be featured in the modern concert repertoire. From 1810 to 1813, the young Rossini composed four Italian ''farse'', beginning with ''La cambiale di matrimonio'' (''The Bill of Marriage''), his first opera, and ending with ''Il Signor Bruschino''. These types of short pieces were popular in Venice at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. The pieces were intimate, with a cast of five to seven singers, always including a pair of lovers, at least two comic parts, and one or two other minor roles. The style called for much visual comedy improvised by the players. As compared to many genres of opera, acting and comedic talent is more important ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akhnaten (opera)
''Akhnaten'' is an opera in three acts based on the life and religious convictions of the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV), written by the American composer Philip Glass in 1983. The libretto is by Philip Glass in association with Shalom Goldman, Robert Israel, Richard Riddell, and Jerome Robbins. According to the composer, this work is the culmination of his two other biographical operas, ''Einstein on the Beach'' (about Albert Einstein) and ''Satyagraha'' (about Mahatma Gandhi). These three people were all driven by an inner vision which altered the age in which they lived: Akhenaten in religion, Einstein in science, and Gandhi in politics. The text, taken from original sources, is sung in the original languages, linked together with the commentary of a narrator in a modern language, such as English or German. Egyptian texts of the period are taken from a poem of Akhenaten himself, from the ''Book of the Dead'', and from extracts of decrees and letters from the Amarn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albert Herring
''Albert Herring'', Op. 39, is a chamber opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten. Composed in the winter of 1946 and the spring of 1947, this comic opera was a successor to his serious opera ''The Rape of Lucretia''. The libretto, by Eric Crozier, was based on Guy de Maupassant's novella '' Le Rosier de Madame Husson'', with the action transposed to an English setting. Composition history After having composed and staged ''The Rape of Lucretia'', Britten decided he should attempt a comedy, preferably set in England.Nigel Douglas. "Some personal memories of Benjamin Britten, the English Opera Group and ''Albert Herring''". Booklet note to Nimbus NI 5824/6 (2008). Crozier suggested adapting the Maupassant short story ''Le rosier de Madame Husson'' and transplanting it to the Suffolk landscape already familiar to Britten from his home in Snape. Britten composed ''Albert Herring'' at his home, The Old Mill at Snape, in the winter of 1946 and the spring of 1947. He scored the oper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cavalleria Rusticana
''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; Italian for "rustic chivalry") is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 short story of the same name and subsequent play by Giovanni Verga. Considered one of the classic ''verismo'' operas, it premiered on 17 May 1890 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. Since 1893, it has often been performed in a so-called ''Cav/Pag'' double-bill with ''Pagliacci'' by Ruggero Leoncavallo. Composition history In July 1888 the Milanese music publisher Edoardo Sonzogno announced a competition open to all young Italian composers who had not yet had an opera performed on stage. They were invited to submit a one-act opera which would be judged by a jury of five prominent Italian critics and composers. The best three would be staged in Rome at Sonzogno's expense. Mascagni heard about the competition only two months before the closing date and asked his friend Giovanni Targioni-Tozze ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
L'enfant Et Les Sortilèges
''L'enfant et les sortilèges: Fantaisie lyrique en deux parties'' (''The Child and the Spells: A Lyric Fantasy in Two Parts'') is an opera in one act, with music by Maurice Ravel to a libretto by Colette. It is Ravel's second opera, his first being ''L'heure espagnole''. Written from 1917 to 1925, ''L'enfant et les sortilèges'' was first performed in Monte Carlo in 1925 conducted by Victor de Sabata. After being offered the opportunity to write a musical work, Colette wrote the text in eight days. Several composers had proposed to Colette that she write to music, but she was only excited by the prospect of Ravel. Composition history During World War I, the Opéra de Paris director Jacques Rouché asked Colette to provide the text for a fairy ballet. Colette originally wrote the story under the title ''Divertissements pour ma fille''. After Colette chose Ravel to set the text to music, a copy was sent to him in 1916 while he was still serving in the war; however, the mailed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Káťa Kabanová
''Káťa Kabanová'' (also known in various spellings including ''Katia'', ''Katja'', ''Katya'', and ''Kabanowa'') is an opera in three acts, with music by Leoš Janáček to a libretto by the composer based on '' The Storm'', a play by Alexander Ostrovsky, translated by . The opera was also largely inspired by Janáček's love for Kamila Stösslová. Although he was 67 when it was premiered, ''Káťa Kabanová'' is a clear response to Janáček's feelings for Kamila, and the work is dedicated to her. The first performance was at the National Theatre Brno on 23 November 1921. The opera has had a complex publication history. František Neumann, the conductor of the opera's first performance, made changes that were incorporated into the first publication of the score in 1922 by Universal Edition. Conductor Václav Talich later produced a "re-orchestrated" version of the score. In 1992, Sir Charles Mackerras published a critical edition of the opera.Wingfield, Paul, "Reviews of Music" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Barber Of Seville
''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ''The Barber of Seville'' (1775). The première of Rossini's opera (under the title ''Almaviva, o sia L'inutile precauzione'') took place on 20 February 1816 at the Teatro Argentina, Rome, with designs by Angelo Toselli. Rossini's ''Barber of Seville'' has proven to be one of the greatest masterpieces of comedy within music, and has been described as the opera buffa of all "opere buffe". After two hundred years, it remains a popular work. Composition history Rossini's opera recounts the events of the first of the three plays by French playwright Pierre Beaumarchais that revolve around the clever and enterprising character named Figaro, the barber of the title. Mozart's opera ''The Marriage of Fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hansel And Gretel
"Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister. Hansel and Gretel are a brother and sister abandoned in a forest, where they fall into the hands of a witch who lives in a house made of gingerbread, cake, and candy. The cannibalistic witch intends to fatten Hansel before eventually eating him, but Gretel pushes the witch into her own oven and kills her. The two children then escape with their lives and return home with the witch's treasure. "Hansel and Gretel" is a tale of Aarne–Thompson–Uther type 327A. It also includes an episode of type 1121 ('Burning the Witch in Her Own Oven'). The story is set in medieval Germany. The tale has been adapted to various media, most notably the opera (1893) by Engelbert Humperdinck. Origin Sources Although Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm credited "vario ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford Lieder Festival
The Oxford Lieder Festival is a UK-based classical music festival, specialising in the art-song repertoire. History The Festival was founded in 2002 by the pianist Sholto Kynoch, and in a short space of time grew to be the United Kingdom's largest art song festival. Oxford Lieder is now a registered charity and in addition to the annual festival which takes place in October, there are regular concerts and masterclasses throughout the year, and a growing programme of educational events. While most events are held in a core set of venues (including Holywell Music Room and the Jacqueline du Pré Music Building), there has been a recent show of concerts outside of central Oxford, England. Recordings In 2010, Oxford Lieder made its first recording with Stone Records under the Oxford Lieder Live banner. The disc, released in 2011, was the first in a series that will comprise the first complete recordings of the songs of Hugo Wolf. Seven of a total of eleven discs have now been releas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
City Of London Festival
The City of London Festival was an annual arts festival that took place in the City of London, England, over two to three weeks in June and July. The Festival was strongly geared towards classical music, but also offered a programme that included jazz, world music, opera, film screenings, lectures and guided tours. Performances were usually held within local venues including some of London's ornate churches, St Paul's Cathedral and Livery Company Halls. In 2016 the festival announced it was closing, stating: "However over the years the funding landscape has become ever more competitive and despite achieving support from a range of valued sponsors and supporters it has become increasingly difficult to attract the level of funding necessary to stage the annual festival." Many events were free with the aim being to make the arts accessible to a larger proportion of the City's population. These were often held outdoors in the City's streets, squares and gardens. These venues inclu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
