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La Finta Semplice
''La finta semplice'' (''The Fake Innocent''), K. 51 (46a) is an opera buffa in three acts for seven voices and orchestra, composed in 1768 by then 12-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Young Mozart and his father Leopold were spending the year in Vienna, where Leopold was trying to establish his son as an opera composer. He was acting on a suggested request from the Emperor Joseph II that the young boy should write an opera. Leopold chose an Italian libretto by the Vienna court poet Marco Coltellini, which was based on an early work by Carlo Goldoni. During rehearsals, the opera was the victim of intrigues from competing composers claiming that the work was not from the 12-year-old boy, but from his father. Threatened with a sabotaged first night by the impresario Giuseppe Affligio, Leopold prudently decided to withdraw. The opera was never staged in Vienna. It was probably performed the following year in Salzburg at the request of the Prince-Archbishop. Mozart produced a full sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opera Buffa
''Opera buffa'' (; "comic opera", plural: ''opere buffe'') is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramma bernesco'', ''dramma comico'', ''divertimento giocoso''. Especially associated with developments in Naples in the first half of the 18th century, whence its popularity spread to Rome and northern Italy, ''buffa'' was at first characterized by everyday settings, local dialects, and simple vocal writing (the basso buffo is the associated voice type), the main requirement being clear diction and facility with patter. ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' considers ''La Cilla'' (music by Michelangelo Faggioli, text by , 1706) and Luigi and Federico Ricci's'' Crispino e la comare'' (1850) to be the first and last appearances of the genre, although the term is still occasionally applied to newer work (for example Ernst Krenek's ''Zeitoper'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor Francis I, and the brother of Marie Antoinette, Maria Carolina of Austria and Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma. He was thus the first ruler in the Austrian dominions of the union of the Houses of Habsburg and Lorraine, styled Habsburg-Lorraine. Joseph was a proponent of enlightened absolutism; however, his commitment to secularizing, liberalizing and modernizing reforms resulted in significant opposition, which resulted in failure to fully implement his programs. Meanwhile, despite making some territorial gains, his reckless foreign policy badly isolated Austria. He has been ranked with Catherine the Great of Russia and Frederick the Great of Prussia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucio Silla
''Lucio Silla'' (), K. 135, is an Italian opera seria in three acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the age of 16. The libretto was written by Giovanni de Gamerra, revised by Pietro Metastasio. It was first performed on 26 December 1772 at the Teatro Regio Ducale in Milan and was regarded as "a moderate success". Handel's opera ''Silla'' (1713) covered the same subject. Other operas with the same title were also composed by Leonardo Vinci (1723), Pasquale Anfossi (1774), and Johann Christian Bach (1776). Performance history ''Lucio Silla'' premiered on 26 December 1772 in Milan at the Teatro Regio Ducale. Its UK premiere was produced by Camden Town Hall in London in 1967. Its US premiere followed in 1968 with a performance in Baltimore. Among other performances, ''Lucio Silla'' was given by the Santa Fe Opera in 2005 and in Warsaw in 2011 and by The Classical Opera Company in London in 2012. In 2013 the Gran Teatre del Liceu produced the opera in Barcelona and it was pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gout
Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensity in less than 12 hours. The joint at the base of the big toe is affected in about half of cases. It may also result in tophi, kidney stones, or kidney damage. Gout is due to persistently elevated levels of uric acid in the blood. This occurs from a combination of diet, other health problems, and genetic factors. At high levels, uric acid crystallizes and the crystals deposit in joints, tendons, and surrounding tissues, resulting in an attack of gout. Gout occurs more commonly in those who: regularly drink beer or sugar-sweetened beverages; eat foods that are high in purines such as liver, shellfish, or anchovies; or are overweight. Diagnosis of gout may be confirmed by the presence of crystals in the joint fluid or in a deposit outsid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johann Adolf Hasse
Johann Adolph Hasse (baptised 25 March 1699 – 16 December 1783) was an 18th-century German composer, singer and teacher of music. Immensely popular in his time, Hasse was best known for his prolific operatic output, though he also composed a considerable quantity of sacred music. Married to soprano Faustina Bordoni and a friend of librettist Pietro Metastasio, whose libretti he frequently set, Hasse was a pivotal figure in the development of ''opera seria'' and 18th-century music. Early career Hasse was baptised in Bergedorf near Hamburg where his family had been church organists for three generations. His career began in singing when he joined the Hamburg Oper am Gänsemarkt in 1718 as a tenor. In 1719 he obtained a singing post at the court of Brunswick, where in 1721 his first opera, ''Antioco'', was performed; Hasse himself sang in the production. He is thought to have left Germany during 1722. During the 1720s he lived mostly in Naples, dwelling there for six or seven y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ascanio In Alba
''Ascanio in Alba'', K. 111, is a pastoral opera in two parts (') by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Parini. It was commissioned by the Empress Maria Theresa for the wedding of her son, Archduke Ferdinand Karl, to Maria Beatrice d'Este on 15 October 1771. Performance history It was first performed at the Teatro Regio Ducale in Milan on 17 October 1771. It was performed in October 2006 on the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth at La Scala, Milan, under the baton of Giovanni Antonini. The ballet which linked the two acts was twice performed by the orchestra of the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston in 2006. Roles Synopsis :Place: the site of the future city of Alba Longa, near Rome :Time: mythical times. Part 1 The opening scene introduces Venus and Ascanio, the son she had by Aeneas. (In most classical sources, Venus/Aphrodite is the mother of ''Aeneas''.) The goddess vaunts the charms of Alba and invites her son to go and rule there. She ur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitridate, Re Di Ponto
''Mitridate, re di Ponto'' ('' Mithridates, King of Pontus''), K. 87 (74a), is an opera seria in three acts by the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto is by , after Giuseppe Parini's Italian translation of Jean Racine's play ''Mithridate''. Mozart wrote ''Mitridate'' while touring Italy in 1770. The musicologist Daniel E. Freeman has demonstrated that it was composed with close reference to the opera ''La Nitteti'' by Josef Mysliveček. The latter was the opera being prepared for production in Bologna when Mozart met Mysliveček for the first time with his father in March 1770. Mysliveček visited the Mozarts frequently in Bologna during the summer of 1770 while Wolfgang was working on ''Mitridate''. Mozart gained expertise in composition from his older friend and also incorporated some of his musical motifs into his own operatic setting. The opera was first performed at the Teatro Regio Ducale, Milan, on 26 December 1770 (at the Milan Carnival). It was a success, perfo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands, and Parma. By marriage, she was Duchess of Lorraine, Grand Duchess of Tuscany and Holy Roman Empress. Maria Theresa started her 40-year reign when her father, Emperor Charles VI, died on 20 October 1740. Charles VI paved the way for her accession with the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 and spent his entire reign securing it. He neglected the advice of Prince Eugene of Savoy, who believed that a strong military and a rich treasury were more important than mere signatures. Eventually, Charles VI left behind a weakened and impoverished state, particularly due to the War of the Polish Succession and the Rus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sigismund Von Schrattenbach
Sigismund Graf von Schrattenbach (28 February 1698 – 16 December 1771) was Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1753 to 1771. Both Leopold and Wolfgang Mozart served under him. Life He was born in Graz, Styria, the son of Count Otto Heinrich von Schrattenbach and Maria Theresa, Countess of Wildenstein and widowed Baroness Gall von Gallenstein. After studying theology in Rome, Schrattenbach was ordained a priest in 1723 and obtained a seat in the Salzburg cathedral chapter in 1733. In 1747 he was appointed administrator of Hohenwerfen Castle, later also cathedral dean and privy councillor. He was elected Archbishop of Salzburg after the death of Count Andreas Jakob von Dietrichstein in 1753, after numerous rounds of voting he finally prevailed against rivalling Joseph Maria von Thun, Bishop of Gurk. During his tenure Leopold Mozart as well as his son Wolfgang Amadeus were appointed members of the episcopal court orchestra and he financed the grand tour across Europe. In 17 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alceste (Gluck)
''Alceste'', Wq. 37 (the later French version is Wq. 44), is an opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck from 1767. The libretto (in Italian) was written by Ranieri de' Calzabigi and based on the play ''Alcestis'' by Euripides. The premiere took place on 26 December 1767 at the Burgtheater in Vienna. The famous preface When Gluck published the score of ''Alceste'' in Vienna in 1769, he added a famous preface in Italian almost certainly written by Calzabigi, which set out their ideals for operatic reform, whose programmatic points follow those exposed by Francesco Algarotti in his ''Saggio sopra l'opera in musica'' (''Essay on opera in music'', 1755), namely: * no da capo arias, * no opportunity for vocal improvisation or virtuosic displays of vocal agility or power, * no long melismas, * a more predominantly syllabic setting of the text to make the words more intelligible, * far less repetition of text within an aria, * a blurring of the distinction between recitative and aria, decla ... [...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] |
Cliff Eisen
Cliff Eisen (born 21 January 1952 in Toronto) is a Canadian musicologist and a Mozart expert. He was based in the Department of Music at King's College London. He studied at the University of Toronto and at Cornell University, and has taught at the University of Western Ontario and New York University. His research focuses on the Classical period, particularly Mozart and performance practice. He has written extensively on the issues of authenticity surrounding the works of Leopold Mozart and his son, Wolfgang. Other publications of his deal with Mozart's chamber music, life in Salzburg, biography and his life in contemporary documentation as well as Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to .... References 1952 births Living people University of Toronto alumn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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