|
Le Cinesi
''Le cinesi'' (''The Chinese Women'') is an opera in one act, with music composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck. The Italian-language libretto was by Pietro Metastasio, and he described it as a ''componimento drammatico''. This libretto had first been set by Antonio Caldara in 1735. For Gluck's rework, the piece is often considered as an '' azione teatrale'', even though Metastasio and the composer both retained the original designation. The work was first performed for the Austrian royal family at the Schloss Hof on 24 September 1754, on the occasion of the visit of the Empress Maria Theresa to the household of Saxe-Hildburghausen.Howard, Patricia, "Music in London: Opera – ''Le cinesi''" (September 1984). ''The Musical Times'', 125 (1699): pp. 515–517. Max Loppert has commented on Gluck's relationship with the Austrian royal family and its bearings on this work. The work has also been characterized as a satire on then-contemporary opera conventions. Roles Synopsis The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christoph Willibald Gluck
Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he gained prominence at the Habsburg court at Vienna. There he brought about the practical reform of opera's dramaturgical practices for which many intellectuals had been campaigning. With a series of radical new works in the 1760s, among them '' Orfeo ed Euridice'' and '' Alceste'', he broke the stranglehold that Metastasian '' opera seria'' had enjoyed for much of the century. Gluck introduced more drama by using orchestral recitative and cutting the usually long da capo aria. His later operas have half the length of a typical baroque opera. Future composers like Mozart, Schubert, Berlioz and Wagner revered Gluck very highly. The strong influence of French opera encouraged Gluck to move to Paris in November 1773. Fusing the traditions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880 Hz in choral music, or to "soprano C" (C6, two octaves above middle C) = 1046 Hz or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which often encompasses the melody. The soprano voice type is generally divided into the coloratura, soubrette, lyric, spinto, and dramatic soprano. Etymology The word "soprano" comes from the Italian word '' sopra'' (above, over, on top of),"Soprano" '' |
Italian-language Operas
Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about 85 million people (2022), Italian is an official language in Italy, Switzerland (Ticino and the Grisons), San Marino, and Vatican City. It has an official minority status in western Istria (Croatia and Slovenia). Italian is also spoken by large immigrant and expatriate communities in the Americas and Australia.Ethnologue report for language code:ita (Italy) – Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version Italian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operas By Christoph Willibald Gluck
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] |
Naxos Records
Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 17 labels including Naxos Records, Naxos Audiobooks, and Naxos Books (ebooks). There are about an additional 50 labels that are independent of the Naxos Musical Group with a wide range of offerings. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong. Naxos Records Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. The company was known for its budget pricing of discs, with simpler artwork and design than most other labels. In the 1980s, Naxos primarily recorded central and eastern European symphony orchestras, often with lesser-known conductors, as well as upcoming and unknown musicians, to minimize recording costs and maintain its budget prices. In more recent years, Naxos has taken advan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lamberto Gardelli
Lamberto Gardelli (8 November 191517 July 1998) was a Swedish conductor of Italian birth,Lamberto Gardelli. ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997. particularly associated with the Italian opera repertory, especially the works of Giuseppe Verdi. Life and career Born in Venice, Italy, Gardelli studied with Amilcare Zanella and Adriano Ariani at the Liceo Musicale Rossini in Pesaro, and later at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. He started his career as a pianist (appearing in public at the age of eight) and double-bass player in Italy. In addition to vocal studies he took composition classes with Goffredo Petrassi, and later spent eight years as an assistant to Serafin, also working with Mascagni during this period.Lamberto Gardelli (biographical note). In: booklet accompanying ''I Due Foscari'', Philips LPs 6700 105, 1977, p4. He made his conducting debut at the Rome Opera with ''La traviata'' in 1944. Professionally, he c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Munich Radio Orchestra
The Munich Radio Orchestra (German: ''Münchner Rundfunkorchester'') is a German symphony broadcast orchestra based in Munich. It is one of the two orchestras affiliated with the Bavarian Radio (Bayerischer Rundfunk), the other being the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. History A precursor ensemble to the Munich Radio Orchestra was established in the 1920s. The current Munich Radio Orchestra was formalised in 1952, with Werner Schmidt-Boelke as its first chief conductor. The orchestra's focus has historically been on light music, with particular emphasis in its early years as an orchestra for operettas. The orchestra was also historically known for its Sunday concerts. From the chief conductorship of Lamberto Gardelli (1982–1985) onwards, the orchestra expanded its repertoire into opera, specifically Italian opera. This work continued under the orchestra's next three chief conductors, all Italians, Giuseppe Patanè (1988–1989), Roberto Abbado (1992–1998), and Marce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Moser
Thomas Moser (born 27 May 1945) is an American-Austrian operatic tenor. Life Born in Richmond, Virginia, Moser first studied singing at Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and with Martial Singher at the Music Academy of the West, attended master classes with Lotte Lehmann and Gérard Souzay - before moving to Europe in 1975. There he made his debut in Graz, first as lyric tenor and Mozart interpreter. Only two years later, Moser sang for the first time at the Vienna State Opera, as Iopas in Berlioz' opera '' Les Troyens''). on Bach Cantatas Website In the 1990s, Moser increasingly turned to roles and first appeared as |
Marga Schiml
Marga Schiml (born 29 November 1945) is a German opera singer who sings mezzo-soprano and alto. She has appeared at major European opera houses and festivals, such as the Vienna State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Hamburg State Opera and La Scala, at the Salzburg Festival and the Bayreuth Festival. She is also an academic voice teacher. Career Born in Weiden, Upper Palatinate, Schiml studied at the Musikhochschule München with Hanno Blaschke. She received a scholarship from Deutsche Grammophon. At the Salzburg Festival, she appeared in 1970 as ''Erste Dame'' in Mozart's ''Die Zauberflöte'', in 1972 as Cherubino in his ''Le nozze di Figaro'', conducted by Herbert von Karajan, and in 1984 and 1985 in scenic performances of Bach's '' St Matthew Passion''. At the Bayreuth Festival, she performed several parts in the centenary production ''Jahrhundertring'' of Wagner's ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'', directed by Patrice Chéreau and conducted by Pierre Boulez. She p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Music (journal)
''Early Music'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal specialising in the study of early music. It was established in 1973 and is published quarterly by Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books .... The co-editors are Helen Deeming, Alan Howard and Stephen Rose. History ''Early Music''s founder was John Mansfield Thomson, an eminent New Zealand musicologist who worked for many decades in London, where he was a leading figure at the beginning of the early music revival. Through Baroque Concerts, his concert promotion agency, he brought major performers of early music to London in the late 1960s. Among the musicians were Gustav Scheck (flute and treble recorder) and Walter Bergmann (basso continuo and harpsichord) whose concert at the Purcell Room in Ja ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rushton, Julian
Julian Gordon Rushton (born 22 May 1941) is an English musicologist, born in Cambridge. He has contributed the entry on Mozart in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' and several other articles in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' and other reference works. He has written a critical study of the style of Hector Berlioz and was involved in critical editions of that composer's works. In 1999, he published an analysis of Elgar's ''Enigma Variations''. His book '' Coffee with Mozart'' (2007) has been translated into German. He also wrote Mozart (The Master Musicians, 2006) and Mozart: An Extraordinary Life (2006). In addition to his 1983 work ''The Musical Language of Berlioz'', he wrote ''The Music of Berlioz'' (OUP, 2001) as well as several articles on Mozart, Berlioz, and Elgar. He was General Editor of Cambridge Music Handbooks (c. 60 volumes), contributing Berlioz, ''Roméo et Juliette'' and Elgar, '' 'Enigma' Variations''. He has edited works by Charpentier, Berl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
