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Siegfried Vogel
Siegfried Vogel (born 6 March 1937) is a German operatic Voice type, bass. Based at the Staatsoper Berlin, he performed internationally at major opera houses and festivals, including the Salzburg Festival and the Bayreuth Festival. He began in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart roles, but expanded his repertoire, including world premieres of operas. Life and career Born in Chemnitz, Vogel took singing lessons in Dresden from age 18, followed by studies at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber, Musikhochschule Dresden, continued in the opera studio of the Staatsoper Dresden. He made his debut there as Zizell in Adolphe Adam's ''Si j'étais roi'' in 1959, and was successful in Mozart roles. He became a member of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Staatsoper Berlin in 1965, where he appeared in Mozart roles again, the title role of ''the Marriage of Figaro, Le nozze di Figaro'', Leporello in ''Don Giovanni'' and Don Alfonso in ''Così fan tutte''. He also performed as Rocco in B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chemnitz
Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East) Berlin, Leipzig and Dresden. The city is part of the Central German Metropolitan Region, and lies in the middle of a string of cities sitting in the densely populated northern foreland of the Elster and Ore Mountains, stretching from Plauen in the southwest via Zwickau, Chemnitz and Freiberg to Dresden in the northeast. Located in the Ore Mountain Basin, the city is surrounded by the Ore Mountains to the south and the Central Saxon Hill Country to the north. The city stands on the Chemnitz River (progression: ), which is formed through the confluence of the rivers Zwönitz and Würschnitz in the borough of Altchemnitz. The name of the city as well as the names of the rivers are of Slavic origin. Chemnitz is the third larg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Die Walküre
(; ''The Valkyrie''), WWV 86B, is the second of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was performed, as a single opera, at the National Theatre Munich on 26 June 1870, and received its first performance as part of the ''Ring'' cycle at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 14 August 1876. As the ''Ring'' cycle was conceived by Wagner in reverse order of performance, ''Die Walküre'' was the third of the four texts to be written, although Wagner composed the music in performance sequence. The text was completed by July 1852, and the music by March 1856. Wagner largely followed the principles related to the form of musical drama, which he had set out in his 1851 essay ''Opera and Drama'' under which the music would interpret the text emotionally, reflecting the feelings and moods behind the work, using a system of recurring leitmotifs to represent people, ideas, and situations rather than the conv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lohengrin (opera)
''Lohengrin'', WWV 75, is a Romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the ''Parzival'' of Wolfram von Eschenbach, and its sequel ''Lohengrin'', itself inspired by the epic of ''Garin le Loherain''. It is part of the Knight of the Swan legend. The opera has inspired other works of art. King Ludwig II of Bavaria named his castle Neuschwanstein Castle after the Swan Knight. It was King Ludwig's patronage that later gave Wagner the means and opportunity to complete, build a theatre for, and stage his epic cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen''. He had discontinued composing it at the end of Act II of ''Siegfried'', the third of the ''Ring'' tetralogy, to create his radical chromatic masterpiece of the late 1850s, ''Tristan und Isolde'', and his lyrical comic opera of the mid-1860s, '' Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg''. The most popular and recognizabl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karl V (opera)
''Karl V.'' is an opera, described as a ''Bühnenwerk mit Musik'' (stage work with music) by Ernst Krenek, his opus 73. The German libretto is by the composer. His student Virginia Seay collaborated with him on the English translation of the libretto. The first completed full-length twelve-tone opera tells the story of Emperor Charles V's life in a series of flashbacks on a split stage, devices which the composer only much later recognized as "cinematic" in style; there is also some use of ''Sprechstimme''. History Originally commissioned in 1930 by the Vienna State Opera for performance in 1934, this much anticipated work became a ''cause célèbre'' when the production was cancelled after Krenek was blacklisted in Germany by the Nazi government immediately following the German parliamentary elections in March 1933. The composer believed it was its strong emphasis on Christian universality that made ''Karl V.'' "utterly intolerable" to the Nazis.Ogdon 1972, 103. A con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Concert Performance
A concert performance or concert version is a performance of a musical theater or opera in concert form, without set design or costumes, and mostly without theatrical interaction between singers. Concert performances are commonly presented in concert halls without a theater stage, but occasionally also in opera houses when a scenic production is deemed too difficult or expensive. During a concert performance in an opera house, the orchestra does not play in the orchestra pit. Frequently, they play on the stage, with the choir (chorus) behind them and the soloists standing in front of them. Concert performances, which cost less to produce and require less rehearsal, have been produced since some of the earliest operas of the 17th century; this mode has become increasingly popular in the 21st century. Since 1960, concert performances have been a part of the annual Salzburg Festival alongside scenic productions. In Theater an der Wien, concert performances have been presented regul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ariadne Auf Naxos
(''Ariadne on Naxos''), Op. 60, is a 1912 opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The opera's unusual combination of elements of low commedia dell'arte with those of high opera seria points up one of the work's principal themes: the competition between high and low art for the public's attention. First version (1912) The opera was originally conceived as a 30-minute divertissement to be performed at the end of Hofmannsthal's adaptation of Molière's play ''Le Bourgeois gentilhomme.'' Besides the opera, Strauss provided incidental music to be performed during the play. In the end, the opera occupied ninety minutes, and the performance of play plus opera occupied over six hours. It was first performed at the Hoftheater Stuttgart on 25 October 1912, directed by Max Reinhardt. The combination of the play and opera proved to be unsatisfactory to the audience: those who had come to hear the opera resented having to wait until the play finished. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Der Rosenkavalier
(''The Knight of the Rose'' or ''The Rose-Bearer''), Op. 59, is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel ''Les amours du chevalier de Faublas'' by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière's comedy ''Monsieur de Pourceaugnac''. It was first performed at the Königliches Opernhaus in Dresden on 26 January 1911 under the direction of Max Reinhardt, Ernst von Schuch conducting. Until the premiere, the working title was ''Ochs auf Lerchenau''. (The choice of the name Ochs is not accidental, for in German "Ochs" means "ox", which describes the character of the Baron throughout the opera.) The opera has four main characters: the aristocratic Marschallin; her very young lover, Count Octavian Rofrano; her brutish cousin Baron Ochs; and Ochs' prospective fiancée, Sophie von Faninal, the daughter of a rich bourgeois. At the Marschallin's suggestion, Octavian acts as Ochs' ''Rosenkavalier'' by pre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Die Schweigsame Frau
''Die schweigsame Frau'' (''The Silent Woman''), Op. 80, is a 1935 comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with libretto by Stefan Zweig after Ben Jonson's '' Epicoene, or the Silent Woman''. Composition history Since '' Elektra'' and ''Der Rosenkavalier'', with only the exception of ''Intermezzo'', all previous operas by Strauss were based on libretti by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, who died in 1929. Stefan Zweig, who was then a celebrated author, had never met Strauss, who was his senior by 17 years. In his autobiography '' The World of Yesterday'', Zweig describes how Strauss got in touch with him after Hofmannsthal's death to ask him to write a libretto for a new opera. Zweig chose a theme from Ben Jonson. Politics of the opera Strauss was seen as an important icon of German music by the Nazis, who had seized power in Germany in April 1933. Strauss himself was co-operating with the Nazis and became the president of the Reichsmusikkammer in November 1933. Zweig had gotten to ... [...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] |
Komische Oper Berlin
The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces opera, operetta and musicals. The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, just a few steps from Unter den Linden. Since 2004, the Komische Oper Berlin, along with the Berlin State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Berlin State Ballet, and the Bühnenservice Berlin (Stage and Costume Design), has been a member of the Berlin Opera Foundation. History of the building The theatre was built between 1891 and 1892 by architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer for a private society. It first opened on 24 September 1892 as ''"Theater Unter den Linden"'' with Adolf Ferron's operetta ''Daphne'' and Gaul and Haßreiter's ballet ''Die Welt in Bild und Tanz''. The theatre was primarily a vehicle for operetta, but was also used for various other events and balls. Around 800 people could be seated in the stalls, and the balconies and various en-suite dinner rooms housed about a further 1,70 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ernst Hermann Meyer
Ernst Hermann Ludimar Meyer (8 December 1905 – 8 October 1988) was a German composer and musicologist, noted for his expertise on seventeenth-century English chamber music. Life Meyer was born in Berlin. He received his first piano lessons at the age of six, and started composing at eleven. After finishing school, he worked as an apprentice at a bank, and in 1926 he started the advanced study for music at Heidelberg University, where in 1930 he completed his Ph.D. on the 17th century chamber music of North German composers. He became a pupil of Hanns Eisler and under his influence joined the Communist Party. Being a Jew and the composer of militant protest songs, he emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1933 to avoid detention by the Nazi Party. There he eventually became a close friend of leftist composer Alan Bush, who was also in contact with exiled composers Eisler and Kurt Weill. In the UK Meyer researched English chamber music of the 17th century, lectured for the Worker ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Hill (opera)
''Joe Hill: the Man Who Never Died'' is an opera with music by Alan Bush based on a 1958 play by Barrie Stavis, ''The Man Who Never Died''. It is based on the life and death of Joe Hill, a trade union activist and song-writer. Composed in 1965–67, it was first performed at the Berlin State Opera in East Berlin on 29 September 1970. It was introduced to the UK by a broadcast of the BBC in 1979. History Alan Bush composed his fifth and final opera in 1965–67 on a commission from the Berlin State Opera in East Berlin, where other works by the composer had been performed. Bush's compositions were better received in East Germany than in the West. The opera's libretto is based on a play by the American Barrie Stavis, ''The Man Who Never Died'', which was first performed at the Jan Hus Theater in New York City in 1958. Stavis arranged the libretto himself, after Nancy Bush who first working on a libretto, failed to retain the short scenes of the play. It is based on the life of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
