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Maria Duchêne
Maria Duchêne-Billiard (1884 – April 2, 1947) was a French contralto of the Metropolitan Opera from 1912 to 1916. She portrayed such roles as Amneris in ''Aida'', Giulietta in ''The Tales of Hoffmann'', Lola in ''Cavalleria rusticana'', Maddalena in ''Rigoletto''. She sang the role of the Old Woman in ''L'amore dei tre re'', Rosette in ''Manon'', Schwertleite in ''Die Walküre'', and the Solo Madrigalist in ''Manon Lescaut'' among others. Biography Duchêne was born in France and arrived in the United States in 1907 at the age of 23, already calling herself an "artiste". In 1910, she created the role of Adah in '' Naughty Marietta'' on Broadway. She made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera on March 16, 1912 as La Cieca in Amilcare Ponchielli's '' La Gioconda'' with Emmy Destinn in the title role, Enrico Caruso as Enzo, and Arturo Toscanini conducting. She appeared in the American premiere of ''Boris Godunov'' as the Nurse in 1912 with Toscanini conducting. On March 12, 191 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maria Duchene LCCN2014700224
Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, dark basaltic plains on Earth's Moon Terrestrial *Maria, Maevatanana, Madagascar * Maria, Quebec, Canada *Maria, Siquijor, the Philippines *María, Spain, in Andalusia *Îles Maria, French Polynesia * María de Huerva, Aragon, Spain * Villa Maria (other) Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Maria'' (1947 film), Swedish film * ''Maria'' (1975 film), Swedish film * ''Maria'' (2003 film), Romanian film * ''Maria'' (2019 film), Filipino film * ''Maria'' (2021 film), Canadian film directed by Alec Pronovost * ''Maria'' (Sinhala film), Sri Lankan upcoming film Literature * ''María'' (novel), an 1867 novel by Jorge Isaacs * ''Maria'' (Ukrainian novel), a 1934 novel by the Ukrainian writer Ulas Samchuk * ''Maria'' (play), a 1935 p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frieda Hempel
Frieda Hempel (26 June 1885 – 7 October 1955) was a German lyric coloratura soprano singer in operatic and concert work who had an international career in Europe and the United States. Life Hempel was born in Leipzig and studied first at the Leipzig Conservatory and afterwards at the Stern Conservatory, Berlin, where she was a pupil of Selma Nicklass-Kempner. She later studied singing with Sarah Robinson-Duff and Estelle Liebling in New York City; both of whom had been trained by Mathilde Marchesi. Her earliest appearances were in Breslau, singing Violetta, the Queen of the Night and Rosina. She made a debut in Schwerin in 1905, and was engaged there for the next two years, singing also Gilda, Leonora (''Il trovatore'') and Woglinde. She made such a success that the Kaiser Wilhelm II requested the Schwerin theater to release her so she could sing also in Berlin. She made a debut there in 1905 as Frau Fluth (in Nicolai's '' The Merry Wives of Windsor'') and also sang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operatic Contraltos
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretto, librettist and incorporates a number of the performing arts, such as acting, Theatrical scenery, 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 conducting, 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 culture#Music, Western classical music tradition. Originally understood as an entirely sung piece, in contrast to a play with songs, opera has come to include :Opera genres, numerous genres, including some that include spoken dialogue such as ''Singspiel'' and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boston Opera House (1909)
The Boston Opera House was an opera house located on Huntington Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. It opened in as the home of the Boston Opera Company and was demolished in after years of disuse. Speare Hall, a Northeastern University dormitory, now stands on the site at the corner of Opera Place and Huntington Avenue. History Construction Designed by the Boston architects Wheelwright and Haven, construction began on the Boston Opera House in 1901 but due to financial difficulties the completion of the opera house was delayed. Eventually Bostonian millionaire Eben Jordan, Jr. stepped forward in 1908 to provide the funds to finish the building and provide a home for the newly formed Boston Opera Company (BOC) under the leadership of impresario Henry Russell. Guido Nincheri provided interior decoration for the theatre which was located two blocks from Boston Symphony Hall, and one block from the New England Conservatory of Music. Opening The opera house officially opened on N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julien (opera)
''Julien, ou La vie du poète'' (''Julien, or The Poet's Life'') is a ''poème lyrique'', or opera, by composer Gustave Charpentier. The work is devised in a prologue and four acts and uses a French libretto by the composer. ''Julien'' is a sequel to Charpentier's ''Louise'' (1900) and describes the artistic aspirations of Louise's suitor Julien. The opera premiered in Paris at the Salle Favart on 4 June 1913. Background and performance history Like that of ''Louise'', the plot of ''Julien'' is semi-autobiographical and requires many characters and chorus roles; in ''Julien'', the female lead portrays four smaller characters in addition to the role of Louise. The opera integrates elements of an earlier composition, ''La vie du poète'', a symphony-drama of 1888–1889. The chorus consists largely of ''filles du rêve'' ("girls of the dream"), fairies, and chimeras as well as various men's roles, mainly different kinds of working class men. Charpentier stated that, except in the p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gustave Charpentier
Gustave Charpentier (; 25 June 1860 – 18 February 1956) was a French composer, best known for his opera ''Louise''.Langham Smith R., "Gustave Charpentier", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997. Life and career Charpentier was born in Dieuze, Moselle, the son of a baker, and with the assistance of a rich benefactor he studied violin at the conservatoire in Lille before entering the Paris Conservatoire in 1881. There he took lessons in composition under Jules Massenet (from 1885) and had a reputation of wanting to shock his professors. In 1887 he won the Prix de Rome for his cantata ''Didon''. During the time in Rome that the prize gave him, he wrote the orchestral suite ''Impressions d'Italie'' and began work on the libretto and music for what would become his best-known work, the opera ''Louise''. Charpentier returned to Paris, settling in Montmartre, and continued to compose, including songs on texts by Charles Baudelaire and Voltaire. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Les Contes D'Hoffmann
''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in October 1880, four months before the premiere. Composition history and sources Offenbach saw a play, , written by Barbier and Michel Carré and produced at the Odéon Theatre in Paris in 1851. After returning from America in 1876, Offenbach learned that Barbier had adapted the play, which had now set to music at the Opéra. Salomon handed the project to Offenbach. Work proceeded slowly, interrupted by the composition of profitable lighter works. Offenbach had a premonition, like Antonia, the heroine of Act 2, that he would die prior to its completion. Offenbach continued working on the opera throughout 1880, attending some rehearsals. On 5 October 1880, he died with the manuscript in his hand, just four months before the opening. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boris Godunov (opera)
''Boris Godunov'' ( rus, Борис Годунов, links=no, Borís Godunóv ) is an opera by Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881). The work was composed between 1868 and 1873 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is Mussorgsky's only completed opera and is considered his masterpiece. Its subjects are the Russian ruler Boris Godunov, who reigned as Tsar (1598 to 1605) during the Time of Troubles, and his nemesis, the False Dmitriy (reigned 1605 to 1606). The Russian-language libretto was written by the composer, and is based on the 1825 drama '' Boris Godunov'' by Aleksandr Pushkin, and, in the Revised Version of 1872, on Nikolay Karamzin's ''History of the Russian State''. Among major operas, ''Boris Godunov'' shares with Giuseppe Verdi's ''Don Carlos'' (1867) the distinction of having an extremely complex creative history, as well as a great wealth of alternative material. The composer created two versions—the Original Version of 1869, which was rejected for production by the Imper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his eidetic memory. He was at various times the music director of La Scala in Milan and the New York Philharmonic. Later in his career he was appointed the first music director of the NBC Symphony Orchestra (1937–54), and this led to his becoming a household name (especially in the United States) through his radio and television broadcasts and many recordings of the operatic and symphonic repertoire. Biography Early years Toscanini was born in Parma, Emilia-Romagna, and won a scholarship to the local music conservatory, where he studied the cello. Living conditions at the conservatory were harsh and strict. For example, the menu at the conservatory consisted almost entirely of fish; in his later years, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emmy Destinn
Emmy Destinn ( (); 26 February 1878 – 28 January 1930) was a Czech operatic soprano with a strong and soaring lyric-dramatic voice. She had a career both in Europe and at the New York Metropolitan Opera. Biography Destinn was born Emílie Pavlína Věnceslava Kittlová () in Prague, in what was then the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire. Her voice teacher since age thirteen had been Marie Maria von Dreger Loewe-Destinn, and the young singer began using her teacher's surname as a tribute. She was let go after the short engagement at the Semperoper, Dresden Opera and declined by Prague National Theatre in 1897. She debuted on 19 July 1898 at the Berlin State Opera, Berlin Court Opera as Santuzza in ''Cavalleria rusticana''. She made such progress that the intendant of the Berlin Court Opera engaged her at once when she was brought to intendant's notice. She was only nineteen at the time, but her voice and her acting soon won the Berlin public. Her engagement in Berl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Gioconda (opera)
''La Gioconda'' is an opera in four acts by Amilcare Ponchielli set to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito (as Tobia Gorrio), based on '' Angelo, Tyrant of Padua'', a 1835 play in prose by Victor Hugo (the same source Gaetano Rossi had used for his libretto for Mercadante's '' Il giuramento'' in 1837). First performed in 1876, ''La Gioconda'' was a major success for Ponchielli, as well as the most successful new Italian opera between Verdi's ''Aida'' (1871) and ''Otello'' (1887). It is also a famous example of the Italian genre of ''Grande opera'', the equivalent of French '' Grand-Opéra''. Ponchielli revised the work twice; the third and final version (that is used to this day) was first performed in 1880. There are several complete recordings of the opera, and it is regularly performed, especially in Italy. It is one of only a few operas that features a principal role for each of the six major voice types. The opera also includes the famous ballet ''Dance of the Hours'', oft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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