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L'Île Enchantée
''L'Île Enchantée'' (literally, The Enchanted Island) is an 1864 ballet by Arthur Sullivan written as a divertissement at the end of Vincenzo Bellini's ''La Sonnambula'' at Covent Garden. It was choreographed by H. Desplaces."Arthur Sullivan – ''L'Île Enchantée'': ballet in one act, "Procession March", "Day Dreams", ''The Sapphire Necklace'': Overture Dutton Vocalion (2022) Nick Barnard wrote for MusicWeb International: Penny understands the Sullivan idiom ... but this new performance edges it out. ... In the intervening years Sullivan’s original score has been found allowing a couple of brief extra movements to be reinstated and generally a more critical edition of the score to be created. ... The Dutton recording is in their undemonstratively sophisticated SACD sound made in the generous acoustic of the Watford Colosseum. The playing from both orchestras is neat and nimble but the BBC players are given more of an opportunity to shine. ... Conductor John Andrews sensibl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Fille Du Régiment
' (''The Daughter of the Regiment'') is an opéra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti, set to a French libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard. It was first performed on 11 February 1840 by the Paris Opéra-Comique at the Salle de la Bourse. The opera was written by Donizetti while he was living in Paris between 1838 and 1840 preparing a revised version of his then-unperformed Italian opera, ''Poliuto'', as ''Les martyrs'' for the Paris Opéra. Since ''Martyrs'' was delayed, the composer had time to write the music for ''La fille du régiment'', his first opera set to a French text, as well as to stage the French version of ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' as ''Lucie de Lammermoor''. ''La fille du régiment'' quickly became a popular success partly because of the famous aria "''Ah! mes amis, quel jour de fête!''", which requires the tenor to sing no fewer than eight high Cs – a frequently sung ninth is not written. ', a slightly different Italia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Sapphire Necklace
''The Sapphire Necklace, or the False Heiress'' (completed by 1867, and at least mostly completed by 1864), was the first opera composed by Arthur Sullivan. It was never performed, and most of the music and libretto are now lost. Background After his incidental music to '' The Tempest'' brought Arthur Sullivan early fame in 1862, he began to experiment with a wide variety of musical compositions. By 1864, the young Sullivan had written a ballet ('' L'Île Enchantée''), orchestral pieces including ''The Masque at Kenilworth'', several hymns, a few piano solos, and some part songs and parlour ballads. He had also set to work on ''The Sapphire Necklace''. As with some of his other compositions in the 1860s, the libretto was provided by his friend Henry F. Chorley. However, this libretto proved particularly difficult to set. Later in life Sullivan would say that no other libretto had given him more difficulty, and an 1879 article suggests that he later decided to suppress the op ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dutton Vocalion
Dutton Vocalion specialises in re-issuing on CD music recorded between the 1920s and 1970s, and in issuing albums of modern digital recordings. It was established by British recording and re-mastering engineer Michael J. Dutton. Dutton Laboratories ''and'' Dutton Epoch The company is divided into two sections. The Dutton Laboratories label came first in 1993. It initially gained recognition for its highly acclaimed series of CDs of historic classical music performances that originally appeared on 78-rpm shellac discs. The Dutton Epoch series was established in 1999 and champions the unrecorded music of twentieth century British classical composers such as Arnold Bax, York Bowen, Arthur Butterworth, William Hurlstone and Granville Bantock in modern digital recordings. Vocalion Vocalion was established in 1997 and is for CDs of light music, big bands/dance bands, jazz, easy listening, vocalists and 1950s/60s pop. Vocalion first made its name with a celebrated and ongoing series ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC Concert Orchestra
The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale symphony orchestra. The BBC Concert Orchestra is the BBC's most populist ensemble, playing a mixture of classical music, light music and popular numbers. Its primary role is to produce music for radio broadcast, and it is the resident orchestra of the world's longest running live music programme, '' Friday Night is Music Night'' on BBC Radio 2. History The parent ensemble of the orchestra was the BBC Theatre Orchestra, which was formed in 1931 and based in Bedford. The orchestra also did opera work and was occasionally billed as the BBC Opera Orchestra. Stanford Robinson was the principal conductor from 1931 until 1946, but others included Walter Goehr, Spike Hughes, Harold Lowe, Mark Lubbock and Lionel Salter. In August 1949, the ensemble w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
The RTÉ Concert Orchestra is one of the two full-time professional radio orchestras in Ireland that are part of RTÉ, the national broadcasting station. Since its formation as the Radio Éireann Light Orchestra in 1948, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, has grown from a small studio-based recording group to become an active 45-strong orchestra performing over eighty concerts annually. It is part of RTÉ Performing Groups. The orchestra performs classical, popular and big band evening and lunchtime concerts, covering a range of music from baroque to contemporary. Classical The period from 2003 to 2006 saw a particular emphasis on the classical repertoire under the orchestra's then principal conductor Laurent Wagner. In this period the orchestra programmed classical-themed concerts compared to the "lighter" side that dominated under its previous principal conductor Proinnsias O'Duinn from 1978 to 2003, leading to collaboration with comperes such as Des Keogh, presenter of the popular ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victoria And Merrie England
''Victoria and Merrie England'', billed as a "Grand National Ballet in Eight Tableaux" is an 1897 ballet by the choreographer Carlo Coppi with music by Arthur Sullivan, written to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, commemorating her sixty years on the throne. The ballet became very popular and ran for nearly six months. Background In honour of the Jubilee, Alfred Maul, manager of the Alhambra Theatre, asked Sullivan to compose a patriotic ballet to a scenario by the theatre's resident choreographer, Coppi. As the nation's pre-eminent composer, Sullivan was the natural choice to write the music.Shepherd, Marc"''Victoria and Merrie England'', ballet (1897) Gilbert & Sullivan Discography, 29 October 2001, accessed 2 October 2017 An alternate Jubilee composition, a poem submitted to Sullivan by the Poet Laureate, Alfred Austin, was never set. Sullivan composed the piece mostly on the French Riviera, combining the task with visits to the casino. Nevertheless, he took the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power. Of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign of James I, ''Macbeth'' most clearly reflects his relationship with King James, patron of Shakespeare's acting company. It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book, and is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy. A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia. Forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler. The bloodbath and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Merry Wives Of Windsor
''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a reference to the town of Windsor, also the location of Windsor Castle, in Berkshire, England. Though nominally set in the reign of Henry IV or early in the reign of Henry V, the play makes no pretence to exist outside contemporary Elizabethan-era English middle-class life. It features the character Sir John Falstaff, the fat knight who had previously been featured in ''Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2''. It has been adapted for the opera at least ten times. The play is one of Shakespeare's lesser-regarded works among literary critics. Tradition has it that ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' was written at the request of Queen Elizabeth I. After watching ''Henry IV Part I'', she asked Shakespeare to write a play depicting Falstaff in love. Char ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Merchant Of Venice
''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is most remembered for its dramatic scenes, and it is best known for the character Shylock and his famous demand for a " pound of flesh" in retribution. The play contains two famous speeches, that of Shylock, "Hath not a Jew eyes?" on the subject of humanity, and that of Portia on " the quality of mercy". Debate exists on whether the play is anti-Semitic, with Shylock's insistence on his legal right to the pound of flesh being in opposition to Shylock's seemingly universal plea for the rights of all people suffering discrimination. Characters * Antonio – a prominent merchant of Venice in a melancholic mood. * Bassanio â ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thespis (opera)
''Thespis, or The Gods Grown Old'', is an operatic extravaganza that was the first collaboration between dramatist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan. No musical score of ''Thespis'' was ever published, and most of the music has been lost. Gilbert and Sullivan went on to become the most famous and successful artistic partnership in Victorian England, creating a string of enduring comic opera hits, including ''H.M.S. Pinafore'', ''The Pirates of Penzance'' and ''The Mikado''. ''Thespis'' premièred in London at the Gaiety Theatre on 26 December 1871. Like many productions at that theatre, it was written in a broad, burlesque style, considerably different from Gilbert and Sullivan's later works. It was a success, for a Christmas entertainment of the time,Walters, Michael. "Thespis: a reply", ''W. S. Gilbert Society Journal'', Vol. 4, part 3, Issue 29. Summer 2011. and closed on 8 March 1872, after a run of 63 performances. It was advertised as "An entirely origin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Autograph Score
An autograph or holograph is a manuscript or document written in its author's or composer's hand. The meaning of autograph as a document penned entirely by the author of its content, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by a copyist or scribe other than the author, overlaps with that of holograph. Autograph manuscripts are studied by scholars, and can become collectable objects. Holographic documents have, in some jurisdictions, a specific legal standing. Terminology According to ''The Oxford English Minidictionary'', an autograph is, apart from its meaning as a signature, a "manuscript in the author's handwriting," while a holograph is a "(document) written wholly in the handwriting of the person in whose name it appears." In the 1911 edition of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', Edward Maunde Thompson gives two common meanings of the word autograph as it applies to documents: "a document signed by the person from whom it emanates" and "one written entirely in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
