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Pol Plançon
Pol Henri Plançon (; 12 June 1851 – 11 August 1914) was a distinguished French operatic bass (''basse chantante''). He was one of the most acclaimed singers active during the 1880s, 1890s and early 20th century—a period often referred to as the "Golden Age of Opera". In addition to being among the earliest international opera stars to have made recordings, he was a versatile singer who performed roles ranging from Sarastro in Mozart's ''The Magic Flute'' to the core bass roles by Meyerbeer, Gounod, Verdi and Wagner, among others. He was renowned for his legato singing as well as for his diction, tone, intonation, and mastery of ornaments and fioriture. Biography Pol Plançon was born in Fumay, in the Ardennes ''département'' of France, near the Belgian border. "Pol" is a pet form of Paul. Training Blessed with a fine natural voice, he commenced learning to sing with the pivotal French tenor Gilbert Duprez (the originator of the "chest voice high C"), who had turned to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Édouard De Reszke
Édouard de Reszke (22 December 185325 May 1917) was a Polish bass from Warsaw. A member of the musical Reszke family, he was a successful opera singer, as were his brother Jean and his sister Josephine. He made his debut in ''Aida'' in Paris on 22 April 1876. Born with an impressive natural voice and equipped with compelling histrionic skills, he became one of the most illustrious opera singers active in Europe and America during the late-Victorian era. He is most famous for his role as Mephistopheles in ''Faust''. He was also known for his roles as Leporello, Sachs, and Hagen. When in London, the Reszke brothers performed for Queen Victoria during gala performances at the Royal Opera House or command performances at Windsor Castle. He was awarded the Royal Victorian Order (R.V.O.) from the Queen. The Reszke brothers were entertained near London by Lady de Grey, a patron of the arts. After he retired from the stage, he taught singing until he had significant health problems. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Francis I Of France
Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis XII, who died without a son. A prodigious patron of the arts, he promoted the emergent French Renaissance by attracting many Italian artists to work for him, including Leonardo da Vinci, who brought the ''Mona Lisa'' with him, which Francis had acquired. Francis' reign saw important cultural changes with the growth of central power in France, the spread of humanism and Protestantism, and the beginning of French exploration of the New World. Jacques Cartier and others claimed lands in the Americas for France and paved the way for the expansion of the first French colonial empire. For his role in the development and promotion of the French language, he became known as ''le Père et Restaurateur des Lettr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ascanio
''Ascanio'' is a grand opera in five acts and seven tableaux by composer Camille Saint-Saëns. The opera's French libretto, by Louis Gallet, is based on the 1852 play ''Benvenuto Cellini'' by French playwright Paul Meurice which was in turn based on the 1843 historical novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. The name was changed to ''Ascanio'' to avoid confusion with the Berlioz opera ''Benvenuto Cellini''. The opera premiered on March 21, 1890, at the Académie Nationale de Musique in Paris, in costumes designed by Charles Bianchini and sets by Jean-Baptiste Lavastre and Eugène Carpezat (acts I; II, scene 2; and III), Auguste Alfred Rubé and Philippe Chaperon and Marcel Jambon (act II, scene 1). Composition history ''Ascanio'' was composed by Saint-Saëns during 1887–1888. Saint-Saëns chose the subject of the historical figure of Benvenuto Cellini largely due to his friendship with Meurice who, in addition to writing the play about Cellini, also helped Dumas write the 1843 novel. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano Concerto No. 2 (Saint-Saëns), Second Piano Concerto (1868), the Cello Concerto No. 1 (Saint-Saëns), First Cello Concerto (1872), ''Danse macabre (Saint-Saëns), Danse macabre'' (1874), the opera ''Samson and Delilah (opera), Samson and Delilah'' (1877), the Violin Concerto No. 3 (Saint-Saëns), Third Violin Concerto (1880), the Symphony No. 3 (Saint-Saëns), Third ("Organ") Symphony (1886) and ''The Carnival of the Animals'' (1886). Saint-Saëns was a musical prodigy; he made his concert debut at the age of ten. After studying at the Paris Conservatoire he followed a conventional career as a church organist, first at Saint-Merri, Paris and, from 1858, La Madeleine, Paris, La Madeleine, the official church of the Second French Empire, Fren ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Le Cid (opera)
''Le Cid'' is an opera in four acts and ten tableaux by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Louis Gallet, Édouard Blau and Adolphe d'Ennery. It is based on the play of the same name by Pierre Corneille. It was first performed by a star-studded cast at the Paris Opéra on 30 November 1885 in the presence of President Grévy, with Jean de Reszke as Rodrigue. The staging was directed by Pedro Gailhard, with costumes designed by Comte Lepic, and sets by Eugène Carpezat (act 1), Enrico Robecchi and his student Amable (act 2), Auguste Alfred Rubé, Philippe Chaperon and their students Marcel Jambon (act 3), and Jean-Baptiste Lavastre (act 4). The opera had been seen 150 times by 1919 but faded from the repertory and was not performed again in Paris until the 2015 revival at the Palais Garnier. While ''Le Cid'' is not in the standard operatic repertory, the ballet suite is a popular concert and recording piece which includes dances from different regions of Spain. It was speciall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are '' Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther'' (1892). He also composed oratorios, ballets, orchestral works, incidental music, piano pieces, songs and other music. While still a schoolboy, Massenet was admitted to France's principal music college, the Paris Conservatoire. There he studied under Ambroise Thomas, whom he greatly admired. After winning the country's top musical prize, the Prix de Rome, in 1863, he composed prolifically in many genres, but quickly became best known for his operas. Between 1867 and his death forty-five years later he wrote more than forty stage works in a wide variety of styles, from opéra-comique to grand-scale depictions of classical myths, romantic comedies, lyric dramas, as well as oratorios, cantatas and ballets. Massenet had a good sense of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paris Opera
The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be known more simply as the . Classical ballet as it is known today arose within the Paris Opera as the Paris Opera Ballet and has remained an integral and important part of the company. Currently called the , it mainly produces operas at its modern 2,723-seat theatre Opéra Bastille which opened in 1989, and ballets and some classical operas at the older 1,979-seat Palais Garnier which opened in 1875. Small scale and contemporary works are also staged in the 500-seat Amphitheatre under the Opéra Bastille. The company's annual budget is in the order of 200 million euros, of which €100M come from the French state and €70M from box office receipts. With this money, the company runs the two houses and supports a large permanent staff, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hippolyte Duprat
In Classical Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte (; grc-gre, Ἱππολύτη ''Hippolytē'') was a daughter of Ares and Otrera, queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' ''zoster'', the Greek word found in the Iliad and elsewhere meaning "war belt." Some traditional English translations have preferred the more feminine-sounding "girdle." Hippolyta figures prominently in the myths of both Heracles and Theseus. The myths about her are varied enough that they may therefore be about several different women. The name ''Hippolyta'' comes from Greek roots meaning "horse" and "let loose." Legends Ninth Labor of Heracles In the myth of Heracles, Hippolyta's belt (ζωστὴρ Ἱππολύτης) was the object of his ninth labour. He was sent to retrieve it for Admete, the daughter of King Eurystheus.Hyginus, ''Fabulae'', 30 Most versions of the myth indicate that Hippolyta was so impressed with Heracles that she gave him th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Les Huguenots
() is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ... by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, it premiered in Paris on 29 February 1836. Composition history ''Les Huguenots'' was some five years in creation. Meyerbeer prepared carefully for this opera after the sensational success of ''Robert le diable'', recognising the need to continue to present lavish staging, a highly dramatic storyline, impressive orchestration and virtuoso parts for the soloists – the essential elements of the new genre of Grand Opera. Meyerbeer and his librettist for ''Robert le Diable'', Eugène Scribe, had agreed to collaborate on an epic work concerning the French War ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, northeast of Saint-Étienne. The City of Lyon proper had a population of 522,969 in 2019 within its small municipal territory of , but together with its suburbs and exurbs the Lyon metropolitan area had a population of 2,280,845 that same year, the second most populated in France. Lyon and 58 suburban municipalities have formed since 2015 the Metropolis of Lyon, a directly elected metropolitan authority now in charge of most urban issues, with a population of 1,411,571 in 2019. Lyon is the prefecture of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and seat of the Departmental Council of Rhône (whose jurisdiction, however, no longer extends over the Metropolis of Lyo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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