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Madame Sans-Gêne (opera)
''Madame Sans-Gêne'' is an opera in three acts by Umberto Giordano. The libretto was taken from Victorien Sardou and Émile Moreau's play, adapted for the opera by Renato Simoni. Performance history Its première took place at the Metropolitan Opera on 25 January 1915, conducted by Arturo Toscanini with Geraldine Farrar in the title role, Giovanni Martinelli, and Pasquale Amato. This was followed by a performance in Turin under Ettore Panizza with Farneti, Grassi and Riccardo Stracciari on 28 February 1915. Roles Synopsis Act 1 ''Paris. 10 August 1792, the day of the capture of the Tuileries during the French Revolution'' There is a squabble in the laundry of Caterina Hubscher, a beautiful Alsacian girl, a very free and easy-mannered woman whom everyone calls "Madame Sans-Gêne" (Madame Carefree). One of her customers is Fouché (later Minister of Police under Napoleon), whom Caterina dislikes; another, a quiet young officer who lives nearby, is Napoleon himself. As Caterin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geraldine Farrar
Alice Geraldine Farrar (February 28, 1882 – March 11, 1967) was an American lyric soprano who could also sing dramatic roles. She was noted for her beauty, acting ability, and "the intimate timbre of her voice." She had a large following among young women, who were nicknamed "Gerry-flappers". Biography Farrar was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, the daughter of baseball player Sidney Farrar, and his wife Henrietta Barnes. At age five, she began studying music in Boston and by 14 was giving recitals. Later she studied voice with the American soprano Emma Thursby in New York City, in Paris, and finally with the Italian baritone Francesco Graziani in Berlin. Farrar created a sensation at the Berlin Hofoper with her debut as Marguerite in Charles Gounod's ''Faust'' in 1901 and remained with the company for three years, during which time she continued her studies with famed German soprano Lilli Lehmann. (She had been recommended to Lehmann by another famous soprano of the previ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tenor
A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is widely defined to be B2, though some roles include an A2 (two As below middle C). At the highest extreme, some tenors can sing up to the second F above middle C (F5). The tenor voice type is generally divided into the ''leggero'' tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor, and tenor buffo or . History The name "tenor" derives from the Latin word ''wikt:teneo#Latin, tenere'', which means "to hold". As Fallows, Jander, Forbes, Steane, Harris and Waldman note in the "Tenor" article at ''Grove Music Online'': In polyphony between about 1250 and 1500, the [tenor was the] structurally fundamental (or 'holding') voice, vocal or instrumental; by the 15th century it came to signify the male voice that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Leonhardt
Robert Leonhardt (December 27, 1872 – February 2, 1923) was an Austrian operatic baritone who sang several notable roles with the New York Metropolitan Opera between 1913 and 1922. He made numerous recordings for major record labels, both in Europe and in the United States. Biography Leonhardt was born in 1872 in Linz. His operatic debut was in 1898, in Linz. For four years he found permanent employment at the German Theatre in Prague starting in 1905. Specializing in Wagnerian roles, he sang in Brno from 1909 to 1911, and from 1911 until 1913 with the Vienna Volksoper while also guesting with the Vienna Imperial Opera in 1909 and the Berlin Gura Summer Opera in 1910. In October 1913 it was announced that Leonhardt had joined the New York Metropolitan opera. Sailing from Bremen, he endured a difficult voyage before arriving in the U.S. on November 6. He first appeared on stage for his new employer in December in the role of Peter in Engelbert Humperdinck's opera '' Hänsel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angelo Badà
Angelo Badà (Pernate, 27 May 1876 – Novara, 23 March 1941) was an Italian operatic tenor. He was on the roster of the Metropolitan Opera for 30 years where he gave a total of 2,170 performance in 94 different operas in over 100 different roles from 1908 through 1938. Only two singers in the Met's history have made more appearances with the company: Charles Anthony and George Cehanovsky. He mostly appeared in comprimario roles during his career, although he did occasionally perform larger parts. His repertoire encompassed operas in the English, Italian, French, and German languages. Life and career Born in Pernate (Novara), Badà studied singing in his native city with Cecilio Manfredi. He made his professional opera debut in January 1900 as the messenger in Giuseppe Verdi's ''Aida''. He spent the next eight years performing mainly comprimario roles in major opera houses in Italy, including La Scala in Milan and the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. He also made appearances at th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minnie Egener
Minnie Egener (1881–1938) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano. Biography She made her professional opera debut in 1904 at the Metropolitan Opera as one of the flower maidens in Richard Wagner's ''Parsifal''. In 1906 she moved to Italy and spent the next several years performing in operas with various theaters throughout that nation. In 1910 she performed the role of Alissa in Donizetti's ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' with Luisa Tetrazzini at the Teatro Regio di Parma; she also appeared in small roles at Covent Garden and at the Manhattan Center. Over the next four years she performed in several operas with the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company and the Chicago Grand Opera Company. In 1914 she returned to the Metropolitan Opera, where she performed mostly comprimario roles for the next eighteen years. Most notably, Egener performed in the original productions of Frederick Delius's ''A Village Romeo and Juliet'' in 1907, Reginald De Koven's ''The Canterbury Pilgrims'' in 1917, Pucci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Princess
Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a substantive title Some princesses are reigning monarchs of principalities. There have been fewer instances of reigning princesses than reigning princes, as most principalities excluded women from inheriting the throne. Examples of princesses regnant have included Constance of Antioch, princess regnant of Antioch in the 12th century. Since the President of France, an office for which women are eligible, is ''ex-officio'' a Co-Prince of Andorra, then Andorra could theoretically be jointly ruled by a princess. Princess as a courtesy title Descendants of monarchs For many centuries, the title "princess" was not regularly used for a monarch's daughter, who, in English, might simply be called "Lady". Old English had no female equivalent of "prince ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maria Carolina Of Austria
Maria Carolina Louise Josepha Johanna Antonia (13 August 1752 – 8 September 1814) was List of consorts of Naples, Queen of Naples and List of Sicilian consorts, Sicily as the wife of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies. As ''de facto'' ruler of her husband's kingdoms, Maria Carolina oversaw the promulgation of many reforms, including the revocation of the ban on Freemasonry, the enlargement of the navy under her favorite, Sir John Acton, 6th Baronet, Sir John Acton and the expulsion of Spanish influence. She was a proponent of enlightened absolutism until the advent of the French Revolution, when, in order to prevent its ideas gaining currency, she made Naples a police state. Born an archduchess of Austria, the thirteenth child of Empress Maria Theresa and Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor Francis I, Maria Carolina married Ferdinand as part of an Austrian alliance with Spain, of which Charles III of Spain, Ferdinand's father was king. Following the birth of a male heir in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sophie Braslau
Sophie Braslau (August 16, 1892 – December 22, 1935) was a contralto prominent in United States opera, starting with her debut in New York City's Metropolitan Opera in 1913 when she was 21. Biography Braslau was born on August 16, 1892 in Manhattan, New York City to Abel Braslau and Alexandra Goodelman Braslau. As a child, Braslau studied piano. Her vocal talent was discovered by voice teacher Arturo Buzzi-Peccia, a family friend, who heard the little girl humming while she practiced piano. Braslau herself claimed to be inspired to a singing career after hearing Alma Gluck, another student of Buzzi-Peccia. She studied with Buzzi-Peccia for three years and then with a number of other instructors. She auditioned for New York's Metropolitan Opera in April 1913, was promptly signed to a contract, and debuted in November of that year. Her first leading role was in 1918 as Shanewis. Braslau also sang in concert and toured widely and frequently, first in the United States and C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rita Fornia
Rita Fornia (17 July 1878 – 27 October 1922) was an American opera singer. She began her career in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century singing coloratura soprano roles. Early on in her career her voice darkened and dropped slightly causing her to focus more within the mezzo-soprano repertoire while still singing some soprano roles.Riemens, ''A concise biographical dictionary of singers'' She joined the Metropolitan Opera company in 1907 where she performed regularly in mostly supporting roles until her retirement in 1922. She is best remembered today for portraying the role of the Abbess in the world premiere of Puccini's ''Suor Angelica'' in 1918.Steane, ''Grove Music Online'' Career Fornia was born in San Francisco, California as Regina Newman on 17 July 1878. Her parents were immigrants from Prussia and her father owned a successful business as a wholesale jeweller. At the age of 12, she attended Adelina Patti's 1890 concert in San Francisco which inspired her to b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C (i.e. F2–F4) in choral music, and from the second A below middle C to the A above middle C (A2 to A4) in operatic music, but the range can extend at either end. Subtypes of baritone include the baryton-Martin baritone (light baritone), lyric baritone, ''Kavalierbariton'', Verdi baritone, dramatic baritone, ''baryton-noble'' baritone, and the bass-baritone. History The first use of the term "baritone" emerged as ''baritonans'', late in the 15th century, usually in French sacred polyphonic music. At this early stage it was frequently used as the lowest of the voices (including the bass), but in 17th-century Italy the term was all-encompassing and used to describe the averag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career of Napoleon Bonaparte, successful campaigns during the French Revolutionary Wars, Revolutionary Wars. He was the ''de facto'' leader of the First French Republic, French Republic as First Consul from 1799 to 1804, then Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814 and again in Hundred Days, 1815. Napoleon's political and cultural legacy endures to this day, as a highly celebrated and controversial leader. He initiated many liberal reforms that have persisted in society, and is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history. His wars and campaigns are studied by militaries all over the world. Between three and six million civilians and soldiers Napoleonic Wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Althouse
Paul Shearer Althouse (December 2, 1889 – February 6, 1954) was an American opera singer. He began his career as a lyric tenor with a robust Italianate sound, in roles including Cavaradossi in ''Tosca'', Pinkerton in ''Madama Butterfly'', and Turiddu in ''Cavalleria rusticana''. He later branched out into the dramatic tenor repertoire, finding success in portraying Wagnerian heroes. He sang with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City for 30 years. Biography He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania on December 2, 1889 to Harry Jacob Althouse (1871-1937) and Laura May Shearer (1873-1942). Althouse sang as a boy soprano in the choir of his hometown's Episcopal Church. He received his first voice lessons at the church from Evelyn Essick. He studied music at Bucknell University and then singing privately with Perley Dunn Aldrich in Philadelphia and Oscar Saenger and Percy Rector Stevens in New York City. He made his professional opera debut with the Philadelphia-Chicago Grand Opera Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
