Semele (Handel)
''Semele'' (Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis, HWV 58) is a 'musical drama', originally presented "after the manner of an oratorio", in three parts by George Frideric Handel. Based on an existing opera libretto by William Congreve, the work is an opera in all but name but was first presented in concert form at The Royal Opera, Covent Garden theatre on 10 February 1744. The story comes from Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' and concerns Semele, mother of Bacchus. Handel also referred to the work as 'The Story of Semele'. The work contains the famous aria "Where'er you walk". The work fuses elements of opera, oratorio and classical drama. ''Semele'' was presented during Lent, one of Handel's regular oratorio seasons. However it was not what London audiences were expecting of an oratorio during the solemn season of Lent. ''Semele'' has a secular text with a story involving an adulterous sexual relationship. It is distinguished from Handel's operas by the large number of polyphonic choruses. ''Seme ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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George Frideric Handel By Balthasar Denner
George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Giorgio Moroder * George, son of Andrew I of Hungary Places South Africa * George, South Africa, a city ** George Airport United States * George, Iowa, a city * George, Missouri, a ghost town * George, Washington, a city * George County, Mississippi * George Air Force Base, a former U.S. Air Force base located in California Computing * George (algebraic compiler) also known as 'Laning and Zierler system', an algebraic compiler by Laning and Zierler in 1952 * GEORGE (computer), early computer built by Argonne National Laboratory in 1957 * GEORGE (operating system), a range of operating systems (George 1–4) for the ICT 1900 range of computers in the 1960s * GEORGE (programming language), an autocode system invented by Charles Leonard Hamblin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hercules (Handel)
''Hercules'' ( HWV 60) is a ''Musical Drama'' in three acts by George Frideric Handel, composed in July and August 1744. The English language libretto was by the Reverend Thomas Broughton, based on Sophocles's '' Women of Trachis'' and the ninth book of Ovid's ''Metamorphoses''. Performance history ''Hercules'' was first given at the King's Theatre in London on 5 January 1745 in concert style. There were only two performances in the original run. The role of Lichas was written first as a small one for tenor, but it was greatly expanded before the premiere to provide Susannah Cibber with six airs. She was too ill to sing on the first night, and the music was either omitted or redistributed on that occasion. She sang in the second performance on 12 January. The music for the chorus "Wanton God" and the air "Cease, ruler of the day" was never given in this opera: the latter was adapted for the final chorus of ''Theodora''. The work was a total failure and caused Handel to susp ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Winton Dean
Winton Basil Dean (18 March 1916 – 19 December 2013) was an English musicologist of the 20th century, most famous for his research on the life and works—in particular the operas and oratorios—of George Frideric Handel, as detailed in his book ''Handel's Dramatic Oratorios and Masques'' (1959). Dean was born in Birkenhead in March 1916, the son of the film and theatre producer Basil Dean.Sadie, Stanley. Winton (Basil) Dean. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera''. Macmillan, London & New York, 1997. He was educated at Harrow and King's College, Cambridge, where he took part in stagings of Handel oratorios in the 1930s. After World War II, he became notable as a writer on music, particularly when he published several articles about the compositions of Bizet, starting with ''La Coupe du roi de Thulé'' in '' Music & Letters'' in 1947. He considerably rewrote his 1948 book on Bizet in 1965 due to new material and music of the composer which had since emerged. Porter, Andrew ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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English Restoration
The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 1649 after the execution of Charles I, with his son Charles II of England, Charles II. The Commonwealth of England had been governed by Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell and then his son Richard Cromwell. The term is also used to describe the reign of Charles II (1660–1685), and sometimes that of his younger brother King James II, James II (1685–1688). The Protectorate After Richard Cromwell, Lord Protector from 1658 to 1659, ceded power to the Rump Parliament, Charles Fleetwood and John Lambert (general), John Lambert then dominated government for a year. On 20 October 1659, George Monck, the governor of Scotland under the Cromwells, marched south with his army from Scotland to oppose Fleetwood and Lambert. Lambert's a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Beard
John Beard may refer to: * John Beard (artist) (born 1943), Welsh artist and painter * John Beard (colonial administrator) (died 1685), Chief Agent and Governor of Bengal * John Beard (embryologist) (1858–1924), Scottish embryologist and anatomist * John Beard (news anchor) (born 1948), American newscaster and ''Arrested Development'' actor ** John Beard (''Arrested Development''), the character he plays * John Beard (politician) (1797–1876), American politician * John Beard (tenor) ( 1716–1791), English singer of Handel's operas and oratorios * John Beard (trade unionist) (1871–1950), British trade unionist and politician * John F. Beard (1822–1891), Wisconsin legislator * John Relly Beard (1800–1876), Unitarian minister * John Stanley Beard (1916–2011), British-born Australian forester and ecologist * John Stanley Coombe Beard John Stanley Coombe Beard FRIBA (17 July 1890 – 1970),Antonia Brodie, ''Directory of British Architects 1834–1914'', London/New ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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George Lascelles, 7th Earl Of Harewood
George Henry Hubert Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood (7 February 1923 – 11 July 2011), styled The Honourable George Lascelles before 1929 and Viscount Lascelles between 1929 and 1947, was a British classical music administrator and author, and a member of the extended British Royal Family, as a maternal grandson of King George V and Queen Mary, and thus a first-cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. He served as director of the Royal Opera House (1951–1953; 1969–1972), chairman of the board of the English National Opera (ENO) (1986–1995); managing director of the ENO (1972–1985), managing director of the English National Opera North (1978–81), governor of the BBC (1985–1987), and president of the British Board of Film Classification (1985–1996). Harewood was the elder son of the 6th Earl of Harewood and Princess Mary, Princess Royal, the only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary. At his birth, he was sixth in the line of succession; at his death, he was 46th. Lor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mary Delany
Mary Delany, earlier Mary Pendarves ( Granville; 14 May 1700 – 15 April 1788) was an English artist, letter-writer, and bluestocking, known for her "paper-mosaicks", botanic drawing, needlework and her lively correspondence. Early life Mary Delany was born at Coulston, Wiltshire, the daughter of Colonel Bernard Granville by his marriage to Mary Westcombe, loyal Tory supporters of the Stuart Crown. She was a niece of George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne, her father's brother. Mary had one older brother, Bernard (1699), known as Bunny; a younger brother Bevil, born between 1702 and 1706; and a sister, Anne (1707) who married John Dewes (D'Ewes). When Mary was young, her parents moved the family to London, and she attended a school taught by a French refugee, Mademoiselle Puelle. Mary came into close contact with the Court when she was sent to live with her aunt, Lady Stanley, who was childless – the intention being that she would eventually become a maid of honour.Hayde ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Recitative
Recitative (, also known by its Italian name recitativo () is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repeat lines as formally composed songs do. It resembles sung ordinary speech more than a formal musical composition. Recitative can be distinguished on a continuum from more speech-like to more musically sung, with more sustained melodic lines. The mostly syllabic ''recitativo secco'' ("dry", accompanied only by Basso continuo, continuo, typically cello and harpsichord) is at one end of the spectrum, through ''recitativo accompagnato'' (using orchestra), the more melismatic arioso, and finally the full-blown aria or ensemble, where the pulse is entirely governed by the music. Secco recitatives can be more improvisatory and free for the singer, since the accompaniment is so sparse; in contrast, when recitative is accompanied by orchestra, the singer m ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Georg Philipp Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is one of the most prolific composers in history, at least in terms of surviving works. Telemann was considered by his contemporaries to be one of the leading German composers of the time, and he was compared favourably both to his friend Johann Sebastian Bach, who made Telemann the godfather and namesake of his son Carl Philipp Emanuel, and to George Frideric Handel, whom Telemann also knew personally. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesheim, Telemann entered the University of Leipzig to study law, but eventually settled on a career in music. He held important positions in Leipzig, Sorau, Eisenach, and Frankfurt before settling in Hamburg in 1721, where he became musical director of that city's five main churches. While Telemann's career prospered, his personal li ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Reinhard Keiser
Reinhard Keiser (9 January 1674 – 12 September 1739) was a German opera composer based in Hamburg. He wrote over a hundred operas. Johann Adolf Scheibe (writing in 1745) considered him an equal to Johann Kuhnau, George Frideric Handel and Georg Philipp Telemann, but his work was largely forgotten for many decades. Biography Keiser was born in Teuchern (in present-day Saxony-Anhalt), son of the organist and teacher Gottfried Keiser (born about 1650), and educated by other organists in the town and then from age eleven at the Thomasschule in Leipzig, where his teachers included Johann Schelle and Johann Kuhnau, direct predecessors of Johann Sebastian Bach. In 1694, he became court-composer to the duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, though he had probably come to the court already as early as 1692 to study its renowned operas, which had been going on since 1691, when the city had built a 1,200-seat opera house. Keiser put on his first opera ''Procris und Cephalus'' there and, the s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Il Pompeo
''Il Pompeo'' is a dramma per musica in three acts by composer Alessandro Scarlatti. Written in 1682 when Scarlatti was 22 years old, it was his fourth opera and first dramatic work on a serious and grand subject. The opera uses an Italian language libretto by Nicolò Minato which had previously been used by Francesco Cavalli for his 1666 opera ''Pompeo Magno''. The work premiered at the Teatro di Palazzo Colonna in Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ... on 25 January 1683. Roles References 1683 operas Italian-language operas Operas Operas by Alessandro Scarlatti {{Italian-opera-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alessandro Scarlatti
Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti (2 May 1660 – 22 October 1725) was an Italian Baroque music, Baroque composer, known especially for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the most important representative of the Neapolitan school of opera. Nicknamed by his contemporaries "the Italian Orpheus", he divided his career between Naples and Rome; a significant part of his works was composed for the papal city. He is often considered the founder of the Neapolitan school, although he has only been its most illustrious representative: his contribution, his originality and his influence were essential, as well as lasting, both in Italy and in Europe. Particularly known for his operas, he brought the Italian dramatic tradition to its maximum development, begun by Claudio Monteverdi, Monteverdi at the beginning of 17th century and continued by Antonio Cesti, Cesti, Francesco Cavalli, Cavalli, Giacomo Carissimi, Carissimi, Giovanni Legrenzi, Legrenzi and Alessandro Stradell ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |