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Maaria Eira
Maaria Eira (real name Saskia D’Onofrio, Suomalainen; 23 October 1924 – 19 June 1999) was a Finnish operatic soprano and film actress noted for her coloratura voice and stage presence. Personal life Saskia Suomalainen was born to an artistic family: her father was the violinist and music critic Yrjö Suomalainen, and her mother the professional dancer Estelle Suomalainen. Her maternal grandfather was the sculptor Emil Wikström. Her older brother was '' Professori'' Kari Suomalainen, who became famous as a political caricaturist and cartoonist. In the early 1950s, she married the Italian doctor Giovanni D'Onofrio, taking his name and settling in his home city of Rome. Education She received her initial training at the Ballet of Finland (now the Finnish National Ballet) ballet school at an early age, from 1928 to 1936, with the aim of becoming a dancer like her mother. Early on, however, she switched to singing, first training in Finland under , furthering her studies fro ...
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Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The Helsinki urban area, city's urban area has a population of , making it by far the List of urban areas in Finland by population, most populous urban area in Finland as well as the country's most important center for politics, education, finance, culture, and research; while Tampere in the Pirkanmaa region, located to the north from Helsinki, is the second largest urban area in Finland. Helsinki is located north of Tallinn, Estonia, east of Stockholm, Sweden, and west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It has History of Helsinki, close historical ties with these three cities. Together with the cities of Espoo, Vantaa, and Kauniainen (and surrounding commuter towns, including the eastern ...
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Royal Swedish Opera
Royal Swedish Opera ( sv, Kungliga Operan) is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the center of Sweden's capital Stockholm in the borough of Norrmalm, on the eastern side of Gustav Adolfs torg across from the former Arvfurstens Palats, now Ministry for Foreign Affairs. It lies on the north side of the Norrström river and is connected to the Royal Palace through the Norrbro bridge. Further historically as well as architecturally important buildings in the close neighborhood are the Sager House, official residence of the Prime Minister of Sweden, and the Riksdag building. History The opera company was founded with the Royal Swedish Academy of Music by King Gustav III and its first performance, ''Thetis and Phelée'' with Carl Stenborg and Elisabeth Olin, was given on 18 January 1773; this was the first native speaking opera performed in Sweden. But the first opera house was not opened until 1782 and s ...
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Elektra (opera)
''Elektra'', Opus number, Op. 58, is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German-language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, which he adapted from his 1903 drama ''Elektra''. The opera was the first of many collaborations between Strauss and Hofmannsthal. It was first performed at the Semperoper, Königliches Opernhaus in Dresden on 25 January 1909. It was dedicated to his friends Natalie and Willy Levin. History While based on ancient Greek mythology and Sophocles' tragedy ''Electra (Sophocles play), Electra'', the opera is highly Modernism, modernist and Expressionist music, expressionist in style. Hofmannsthal's and Strauss's adaptation of the story focuses tightly on Electra, Elektra, thoroughly developing her character by single-mindedly expressing her emotions and psychology as she meets with other characters, mostly one at a time. (The order of these conversations closely follows Sophocles' play.) The other characters are Clytemnestra, Klytaemnestra, her mother and o ...
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Teatro Dell'Opera Di Roma
The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (Rome Opera House) is an opera house in Rome, Italy. Originally opened in November 1880 as the 2,212 seat ''Costanzi Theatre'', it has undergone several changes of name as well modifications and improvements. The present house seats 1,600. Original Teatro Costanzi: 1880 to 1926 The Teatro dell'Opera was originally known as the ''Teatro Costanzi'' after the contractor who built it, (1819–1898). It was financed by Costanzi, who commissioned the Milanese architect Achille Sfondrini (1836–1900), a specialist in the building and renovation of theatres. The opera house was built in eighteen months, on the site where the house of Heliogabalus stood in ancient times, and was inaugurated on 27 November 1880 with a performance of ''Semiramide'' by Gioachino Rossini. Designing the theatre, Sfondrini paid particular attention to the acoustics, conceiving the interior structure as a "resonance chamber", as is evident from the horseshoe shape in particular. ...
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Jack Witikka
Jack Witikka (20 December 1916 – 28 January 2002; surname until 1942 ''Jakobsson'') was a Finnish film director and screenwriter. He directed 15 films between 1951 and 1968. His 1961 film ''Little Presents'' was entered into the 12th Berlin International Film Festival. Life and career Witikka's father was Evert Jakobsson , the unofficial world record holder and Olympic representative, deputy judge and insurance director. Witikka studied theater in England and the United States, among other places. He began his career as an advertising manager at Paramount Films Oy and as a managing director at Parvisfilm (1946–48). In 1949, Witikka started work as a director at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet, from where he moved to the Finnish National Theatre in 1953. At the theatre Witikka served as director, financial manager, (1953–57), deputy director (1957–69) and director (1969–80). After working as a freelance director for a couple of years, he became the director of ...
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Hannu Leminen
Hannu Päiviö Leminen (originally Hanno Leminen; 5 January 1910 in Helsinki – 6 June 1997 in Turku) was a Finnish film director, set designer, screenwriter and later an executive at the Finnish Broadcasting Company. During his career, Leminen directed almost 30 films. Leminen was married to actress Helena Kara (1916–2002) who appeared in almost all of his films. He won four Jussi Awards; for directing the film ''Valkoiset ruusut'' (1943) and the Olympic documentary ''Maailmat kohtaavat'' (''Where the World Meets'', 1952), and for set designing ''En ole kreivitär'' (1945) and ''Morsiusseppele'' (1954). Selected filmography as a director *''Täysosuma'' (1941) *''Valkoiset ruusut'' (1943) *''Tuomari Martta'' (1943) *''Synnitön lankeemus'' (1943) *''Vain sinulle'' (1945) *''Synnin jäljet'' (1946) *''Tree Without Fruit ''Tree Without Fruit'' (Finnish: ''Hedelmätön puu'') is a 1947 Finnish drama film directed by Hannu Leminen and starring Helena Kara, Rauli Tuomi and Joel R ...
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Toivo Särkkä
Toivo Jalmari Särkkä (20 November 1890, Mikkeli – 9 February 1975, Helsinki), born Toivo Hjalmar Silén, was a Finnish film producer and director. He was CEO of the production company Suomen Filmiteollisuus. Before his career in filmmaking, Särkkä worked as a bank manager and chairman in Kotimainen Työ, an organization promoting Finnish work and products. After the death of Erkki Karu, founder and owner of Suomen Filmiteollisuus, Särkkä became the CEO thus producing 233 and directing 49 feature films. In 1965, when Finnish film industry was in difficulties due to the coming of television, Särkkä initiated bankruptcy of Suomen Filmiteollisuus. Films directed by Särkkä are e.g. ''Suomisen perhe'', ''Helmikuun manifesti'', ''Kulkurin valssi'' and ''Vaivaisukon morsian''. Särkkä married Russian-Lithuanian Margariitta Beljavsky in 1914. They had one daughter. Selected filmography * ''Radio tekee murron'' (1951) * ''Kvinnan bakom allt'' (1951) * ''Pekka Puupää'' ...
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Il Trovatore
''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's most successful play, one which Verdi scholar Julian Budden describes as "a high flown, sprawling melodrama flamboyantly defiant of the Aristotelian unities, packed with all manner of fantastic and bizarre incident." The premiere took place at the Teatro Apollo in Rome on 19 January 1853, where it "began a victorious march throughout the operatic world," a success due to Verdi's work over the previous three years. It began with his January 1850 approach to Cammarano with the idea of ''Il trovatore''. There followed, slowly and with interruptions, the preparation of the libretto, first by Cammarano until his death in mid-1852 and then with the young librettist Leone Emanuele Bardare, which gave the composer the opportunity to propose signifi ...
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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 ...
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Otello (Rossini)
''Otello'' is an opera in three acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by after William Shakespeare's play '' Othello, or The Moor of Venice''; it was premiered in Naples, Teatro del Fondo, 4 December 1816. The plot of the libretto differs greatly from Shakespeare's play in that it takes place wholly in Venice, not mainly on Cyprus, and the dramatic conflict develops in a different manner. The role of Iago is much less diabolical than Shakespeare's play or Verdi's 1887 opera ''Otello'', which was also based on it. Shakespeare derived his play from the story ''Un Capitano Moro'' ("A Moorish Captain") by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565. In further contrast, the role of Roderigo, a sub-plot in Shakespeare and Verdi, is very prominent in Rossini's version—some of the most difficult and brilliant music being assigned to the character Rodrigo. The roles of Otello, Iago, and Rodrigo are all composed for the tenor voice. Rossini's ''Otello'' is an ...
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La Traviata
''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 1848 novel. The opera was originally titled ''Violetta'', after the main character. It was first performed on 6 March 1853 at La Fenice opera house in Venice. Piave and Verdi wanted to follow Dumas in giving the opera a contemporary setting, but the authorities at La Fenice insisted that it be set in the past, "c. 1700". It was not until the 1880s that the composer's and librettist's original wishes were carried out and " realistic" productions were staged. ''La traviata'' has become immensely popular and is among the most frequently performed of all operas. Composition history For Verdi, the years 1851 to 1853 were filled with operatic activity. First, he had agreed with the librettist Salvadore Cammarano on a subject for what would ...
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Repertoire
A repertoire () is a list or set of dramas, operas, musical compositions or roles which a company or person is prepared to perform. Musicians often have a musical repertoire. The first known use of the word ''repertoire'' was in 1847. It is a loanword from the French language, as (), with a similar meaning in the arts. This word, in turn, has its origin in the Late Latin word ''repertorium''. The concept of a basic repertoire has been extended to refer to groups which focus mainly on performing standard works, as in repertory theater or repertoire ballet. See also * setlist A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ... – a list of works for a specific performance * playlist – a list of works available to play * signature song – a musical composition most associa ...
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