|
Kirsten Flagstad
Kirsten Malfrid Flagstad (12 July 1895 – 7 December 1962) was a Norwegian opera singer, who was the outstanding Wagnerian soprano of her era. Her triumphant debut in New York on 2 February 1935 is one of the legends of opera. Giulio Gatti-Casazza, the longstanding General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera said, “I have given America two great gifts — Caruso and Flagstad.” Called "the voice of the century", she ranks among the greatest singers of the 20th century. Desmond Shawe-Taylor wrote of her in the '' New Grove Dictionary of Opera'': "No one within living memory surpassed her in sheer beauty and consistency of line and tone." Early life and career Flagstad was born in Hamar, Norway, in her grandparents' home, now the Kirsten Flagstad Museum. Though she never actually lived in Hamar, she always considered it her home town. She was raised in Oslo within a musical family; her father Michael Flagstad was a conductor and her mother Maja Flagstad a pianist. Their othe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kirsten Flagstad Museum
Kirsten Flagstad Museum is dedicated to the life and career of the Norwegian operatic soprano Kirsten Flagstad (1895–1962). The museum is in a wooden house called Strandstuen, located at Kirkebakken 11, Hamar, Norway, close to the ruins of Hamar Cathedral. History of the house This history of the house dates back to at least 1840, when Kirsten Flagstad's great-grandfather settled there. Flagstad was born in the house on 12 July 1895, when her grandparents owned the house. At that time Flagstad's father Michael Flagstad and her mother Maja Flagstad, Maja were already living in Oslo, where they eventually bought a house in Vinderen in 1902. Flagstad didn't grow up in Hamar, but she remained proud of her roots and referred to Hamar as "my town": "Jeg sier alltid at jeg er fra Hamar – jeg er så stolt av det, jeg føler fremdeles slik at Hamar er min by!" [I always say I'm from Hamar – I'm so proud of it, I still feel like Hamar is my town!] Museum The museum's collections co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kirsten Flagstad As Isolde
Kirsten is both a given name and a surname. Given name Kirsten is a female given name. It is a Scandinavian form of the names Christina and Christine. Behind the Name, retrieved 15 December 2009. * Surname People with the surname Kirsten include: * (born 1972), American composer * (born 1987), German footballer * |
Tiefland (opera)
''Tiefland'' (''The Lowlands'') is an opera in a prologue and two acts by Eugen d'Albert, to a libretto in German by Rudolf Lothar. Based on the 1896 Catalan play '' Terra baixa'' by Àngel Guimerà, ''Tiefland'' was d'Albert's seventh opera, and is the one which is now the best known. Performance history ''Tiefland'' was first performed on 15 November 1903 at the Neues Deutsches Theater in Prague, with only limited success. Part of the reason for the lukewarm reception may have been because the house's leading dramatic tenor, Wilhelm Elsner, had died suddenly not too long before the opera's premiere, forcing another singer to learn and perform the role of Pedro in a relatively short amount of time. For its next performance, ''Tiefland'' was revised by D'Albert and revived in Hamburg and Berlin in 1907, where it played to long runs. Its American premiere took place at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on November 23, 1908 with Emmy Destinn and Erik Schmedes in the two leading ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tosca
''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language dramatic play, ''La Tosca'', is a melodramatic piece set in Rome in June 1800, with the Kingdom of Naples's control of Rome threatened by Napoleon's Campaigns of 1800 in the French Revolutionary Wars#Italy, invasion of Italy. It contains depictions of torture, murder, and suicide, as well as some of Puccini's best-known lyrical arias. Puccini saw Sardou's play when it was touring Italy in 1889 and, after some vacillation, obtained the rights to turn the work into an opera in 1895. Turning the wordy French play into a succinct Italian opera took four years, during which the composer repeatedly argued with his librettists and publisher. ''Tosca'' premiered at a time of unrest in Rome, and its first performance was delayed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Faust (opera)
''Faust'' is an opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play ''Faust et Marguerite'', in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's ''Faust, Part One''. It debuted at the Théâtre Lyrique on the Boulevard du Temple in Paris on 19 March 1859, with influential sets designed by Charles-Antoine Cambon and Joseph Thierry, Jean Émile Daran, Édouard Desplechin, and Philippe Chaperon. Performance history The original version of Faust employed spoken dialogue, and it was in this form that the work was first performed. The manager of the Théâtre Lyrique, Léon Carvalho cast his wife Caroline Miolan-Carvalho as Marguerite and there were various changes during production, including the removal and contraction of several numbers. The tenor Hector Gruyer was originally cast as Faust but was found to be inadequate during rehearsals, being eventually replaced by a principal of the Opéra-Comique, Joseph-Théodore ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training in Halle (Saale), Halle and worked as a composer in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London in 1712, where he spent the bulk of his career and Handel's Naturalisation Act 1727, became a naturalised British subject in 1727. He was strongly influenced both by the middle-German polyphony, polyphonic choral tradition and by composers of the Italian Baroque. In turn, Handel's music forms one of the peaks of the "high baroque" style, bringing Italian opera to its highest development, creating the genres of English oratorio and organ concerto, and introducing a new style into English church music. He is consistently recognized as one of the greatest composers of his age. Handel started three c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rodelinda (opera)
''Rodelinda, regina de' Longobardi'' ( HWV 19) is an opera seria in three acts composed for the first Royal Academy of Music by George Frideric Handel. The libretto is by Nicola Francesco Haym, based on an earlier libretto by Antonio Salvi. ''Rodelinda'' has long been regarded as one of Handel's greatest works. Performance history ''Rodelinda'' was first performed at the King’s Theatre in the Haymarket, London, on 13 February 1725. It was produced with the same singers as ''Tamerlano''. There were 14 performances; it was repeated on 18 December 1725, and again on 4 May 1731, a further 16 performances in all, each revival including changes and fresh material. In 1735 and 1736 it was also performed, with only modest success, in Hamburg at the Oper am Gänsemarkt. The first modern production – in heavily altered form – was in Göttingen on 26 June 1920 where it was the first of a series of modern Handel opera revivals produced by the Handel enthusiast Oskar Hagen. The opera r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michal
Michal (; he, מיכל , gr, Μιχάλ) was, according to the first Book of Samuel, a princess of the United Kingdom of Israel; the younger daughter of King Saul, she was the first wife of David (), who later became king, first of Judah, then of all Israel. In the Bible identifies Saul's elder daughter as Merab and younger daughter as Michal. Michal's story is recorded in the first Book of Samuel, where it is said in and that Michal loved David. The narrative does not indicate whether this is reciprocated. After David's success in battle against the Philistine giant Goliath, Merab was given in marriage to Adriel. Later, after Merab had married Adriel the Meholathite, Saul invited David to marry Michal. David replied, "I am a poor and lightly esteemed man", meaning that he was unable to provide a bride price. Saul then advised him that no bride price was required except for the foreskins of 100 Philistines. David took part in a further battle, killed 200 Philistines ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saul Og David
Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tribal society to organized statehood. The historicity of Saul and the United Kingdom of Israel is not universally accepted, as what is known of both comes from the Hebrew Bible. According to the text, he was anointed as king of the Israelites by Samuel, and reigned from Gibeah. Saul is said to have died by suicide when he "fell on his sword" during a battle with the Philistines at Mount Gilboa, in which three of his sons were also killed. The succession to his throne was contested between Ish-bosheth, his only surviving son, and David, his son-in-law; David ultimately prevailed and assumed kingship over Israel and Judah. Biblical account The biblical accounts of Saul's life are found in the Books of Samuel: House of King Saul According to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Nielsen
Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he demonstrated his musical abilities at an early age. He initially played in a military band before attending the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen from 1884 until December 1886. He premiered his Op. 1, '' Suite for Strings'', in 1888, at the age of 23. The following year, Nielsen began a 16-year stint as a second violinist in the Royal Danish Orchestra under the conductor Johan Svendsen, during which he played in Giuseppe Verdi's ''Falstaff'' and '' Otello'' at their Danish premieres. In 1916, he took a post teaching at the Royal Danish Academy and continued to work there until his death. Although his symphonies, concertos and choral music are now internationally acclaimed, Nielsen's career and personal life were marked by man ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Maria Von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas, he was a crucial figure in the development of German ''Romantische Oper'' (German Romantic opera). Throughout his youth, his father, , relentlessly moved the family between Hamburg, Salzburg, Freiberg, Augsburg and Vienna. Consequently he studied with many teachers – his father, Johann Peter Heuschkel, Michael Haydn, Giovanni Valesi, Johann Nepomuk Kalcher and Georg Joseph Vogler – under whose supervision he composed four operas, none of which survive complete. He had a modest output of non-operatic music, which includes two symphonies; a viola concerto; bassoon concerti; piano pieces such as Konzertstück in F minor and '' Invitation to the Dance''; and many pieces that featured the clarinet, usually written for the virtuoso c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Der Freischütz
' ( J. 277, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind, based on a story by Johann August Apel and Friedrich Laun from their 1810 collection ''Gespensterbuch''. It premiered on 18 June 1821 at the Schauspielhaus Berlin. It is considered the first German Romantic opera. The opera's plot is mainly based on August Apel's tale "Der Freischütz" from the ''Gespensterbuch'' though the hermit, Kaspar and Ännchen are new to Kind's libretto. That Weber's tunes were just German folk music is a common misconception. Its unearthly portrayal of the supernatural in the famous Wolf's Glen scene has been described as "the most expressive rendering of the gruesome that is to be found in a musical score". Performance history The reception of ''Der Freischütz'' surpassed Weber's own hopes and it quickly became an international success, with productions in Vienna the same year f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
