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Science-fiction Opera
Science fiction opera is a subgenre of science fiction. It refers to operas whose subject-matter fits in the science fiction genre. Like science-fiction literature, science-fiction operas may be set in the future and involve spaceflight or alien invasion. Other science-fiction operas focus on a dystopian view of the future. Like Lorin Maazel's opera ''1984 (opera), 1984'', they may be based on a previously written science fiction book. List of science fiction operas The following is a partial list of science fiction operas. *Karl-Birger Blomdahl (1916–1968): ''Aniara (opera), Aniara'' (based on the Aniara, poem of that name by Harry Martinson) *Viktor Ullmann (1898–1944): ''Der Kaiser von Atlantis, The Emperor of Atlantis'' *Eef van Breen (born 1978) ''’u’'', the first opera in Klingon language, Klingon *Gavin Bryars (born 1943): ''Doctor Ox's Experiment (opera), Doctor Ox's Experiment'' (based on the book by Jules Verne) *Philip Glass (born 1937): ''The Making of the R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subgenre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a Category of being, category of literature, music, or other forms of art or entertainment, whether written or spoken, audio or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria, yet genres can be aesthetic, rhetorical, communicative, or functional. Genres form by conventions that change over time as cultures invent new genres and discontinue the use of old ones. Often, works fit into multiple genres by way of borrowing and recombining these conventions. Stand-alone texts, works, or pieces of communication may have individual styles, but genres are amalgams of these texts based on agreed-upon or socially inferred conventions. Some genres may have rigid, strictly adhered-to guidelines, while others may show great flexibility. Genre began as an absolute classification system for ancient ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gavin Bryars
Richard Gavin Bryars (; born 16 January 1943) is an English composer and double bassist. He has worked in jazz, free improvisation, minimalism, historicism, avant-garde, and experimental music. Early life and career Born on 16 January 1943 in Goole, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, Bryars studied philosophy at Sheffield University but became a jazz bassist during his three years as a philosophy student. The first musical work for which he is remembered was his role as bassist in the trio Joseph Holbrooke, alongside guitarist Derek Bailey and drummer Tony Oxley. The trio began by playing relatively traditional jazz – they toured with saxophonist Lee Konitz in 1966 – before moving into free improvisation. Bryars became dissatisfied with this when he saw a young bassist (later revealed to be Johnny Dyani) play in a manner that seemed to him to be artificial, and he abandoned improvisation, becoming interested in composition instead. In 1998 the trio reformed briefly, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karel Čapek
Karel Čapek (; 9 January 1890 – 25 December 1938) was a Czech writer, playwright and critic. He has become best known for his science fiction, including his novel ''War with the Newts'' (1936) and play ''R.U.R.'' (''Rossum's Universal Robots'', 1920), which introduced the word ''robot''.Oxford English Dictionary: robot n2 He also wrote many politically charged works dealing with the social turmoil of his time. Influenced by American pragmatic liberalism, he campaigned in favor of free expression and strongly opposed the rise of both fascism and communism in Europe. Though nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature seven times, Čapek never received it. However, several awards commemorate his name, such as the Karel Čapek Prize, awarded every other year by the Czech PEN Club for literary work that contributes to reinforcing or maintaining democratic and humanist values in society. He also played a key role in establishing the Czechoslovak PEN Club as a part of Internatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Makropulos Affair (opera)
''The Makropulos Affair'' (or ''The Makropoulos Case'', ''The Makropulos Secret'', or, literally, ''The Makropulos Thing''; Czech ''Věc Makropulos'') is a Czech opera in 3 acts, with music and libretto by Leoš Janáček. Janáček based his opera on the play ''Věc Makropulos'' by Karel Čapek. Composed between 1923 and 1925, ''The Makropulos Affair'' was his penultimate opera and, like much of his later work, was inspired by his infatuation with Kamila Stösslová, a married woman much younger than himself. The opera received its world premiere at the National Theatre in Brno on 18 December 1926, conducted by František Neumann. Composition history Janáček had seen the play early in its run in Prague on 10 December 1922, and immediately saw its potential as an opera. He entered into a correspondence with Čapek, who was accommodating towards the idea, although legal problems in securing the rights to the play delayed work. When these problems were cleared on 10 September 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leoš Janáček
Leoš Janáček (, baptised Leo Eugen Janáček; 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic musics, including Eastern European folk music, to create an original, modern musical style.Sehnal and Vysloužil (2001), p. 175 Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research. While his early musical output was influenced by contemporaries such as Antonín Dvořák, his later, mature works incorporate his earlier studies of national folk music in a modern, highly original synthesis, first evident in the opera ''Jenůfa'', which was premiered in 1904 in Brno. The success of ''Jenůfa'' (often called the "Moravian national opera") at Prague in 1916 gave Janáček access to the world's great opera stages. Janáček's later works are his most celebrated. They include operas such as ''Káťa Kabanová'' and ''The Cunning Little Vixen'', the Sinfonietta, the ''Glag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Il Mondo Della Luna
' (''The World on the Moon''), Hoboken-Verzeichnis, Hob. XXVIII:7, is an opera buffa by Joseph Haydn with a libretto written by Carlo Goldoni in 1750, first performed at Eszterháza, Hungary, on 3 August 1777. Goldoni's libretto had previously been set by six other composers, Il mondo della luna (Galuppi), first by the composer Baldassare Galuppi and performed in Venice in the Carnival of Venice, carnival of 1750. It was then adapted for Haydn's version of the opera, which would be performed during the wedding celebrations of Count Nikolaus Esterházy, the younger son of Haydn's patron, Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, and the Countess Maria Anna Wissenwolf. It is sometimes performed as a singspiel under its German title '. Roles The roles of Ecclitico and Lisetta were written for Guglielmo Jermoli and his wife Maria Jermoli, but they left Eszterháza shortly before the premiere. The opera is scored for two oboes, two bassoons, two French horn, horns, two trumpets, timpani, string s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led him to be called "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String quartet, String Quartet". Haydn spent much of his career as a court musician for the wealthy Esterházy family at their Eszterháza Castle. Until the later part of his life, this isolated him from other composers and trends in music so that he was, as he put it, "forced to become original". Yet his music circulated widely, and for much of his career he was the most celebrated composer in Europe. He was Haydn and Mozart, a friend and mentor of Mozart, Beethoven and his contemporaries#Joseph Haydn, a tutor of Beethoven, and the elder brother of composer Michael Haydn. Biography Early life Joseph Haydn was born in Rohrau, Austria, Rohrau, Habsburg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Voyage (opera)
''The Voyage'' is an opera in three acts (plus a prologue and an epilogue) by the American composer Philip Glass. The English/Latin/Spanish libretto was written by David Henry Hwang. The work was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera, New York City, and first performed there on October 12, 1992 (that date being the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus discovering the Americas). The British premiere was in Leeds, England, performed by Leeds Youth Opera, with Johnathon Clift and Mike Williamson as the directors, with Richard Pascoe playing Columbus. Roles Synopsis Glass did not want to create a biographical opera about Columbus, especially in a year when there were countless films, documentaries and other events doing the same job. Instead he opted to make his opera a more general study of exploration – of the oceans, of space and time and of the mind. Columbus remains a central character though, appearing in the second act and the epilogue. Prologue We see a scientist i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1000 Airplanes On The Roof
''1000 Airplanes on the Roof'' is a melodrama in one act by Philip Glass which featured text by David Henry Hwang and projections by Jerome Sirlin. It is described by Glass as "a science fiction music drama". The work was commissioned by the Donau Festival, Krems an der Donau, The American Music Theater Festival, Philadelphia, and West Berlin City Council in 1988. It premiered on July 15, 1988, at the Vienna Airport in Hangar #3. The performance featured vocals by Linda Ronstadt and was conducted by Michael Riesman. The US premiere took place in September 1988 at The American Music Theater Festival, Philadelphia and went on to play in 40 US cities and Canada, including New York, Boston, Chicago and Toronto, as well as Glasgow, Scotland during that city's celebration as European City of Culture. Synopsis The drama is set in New York City with a sole character, "M", who recalls encounters with extraterrestrial life forms, including their message: It is better to forget, it is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doris Lessing
Doris May Lessing (; 22 October 1919 – 17 November 2013) was a British-Zimbabwean novelist. She was born to British parents in Iran, where she lived until 1925. Her family then moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where she remained until moving in 1949 to London, England. Her novels include ''The Grass Is Singing'' (1950), the sequence of five novels collectively called ''Children of Violence'' (1952–1969), ''The Golden Notebook'' (1962), '' The Good Terrorist'' (1985), and five novels collectively known as '' Canopus in Argos: Archives'' (1979–1983). Lessing was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature. In awarding the prize, the Swedish Academy described her as "that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny". Lessing was the oldest person ever to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.Marchand, Philip"Doris Lessing oldest to win literature award" ''Toronto Star'', 12 Oc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four And Five
''The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five'' is a 1980 science fiction novel by Doris Lessing. It is the second book in her five-book ''Canopus in Argos'' series, the first being ''Shikasta'' (1979). It was first published in the United States in March 1980 by Alfred A. Knopf, and in the United Kingdom in May 1980 by Jonathan Cape. The novel takes place in three of six metaphysical Zones that encircle the planet Shikasta (an allegorical Earth), and concerns two ordained marriages that link the patriarchal Zone Four with the matriarchal Zone Three, and the tribal Zone Five. The story is told from the point of view of the matriarchal utopian Zone Three, and is about gender conflict and the breaking down of barriers between the sexes. Lessing called the ''Canopus in Argos'' series "space fiction", but ''The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five'' is generally referred to as feminist science fiction. The novel is influenced by spiritual and mystical themes in Sufism ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Making Of The Representative For Planet 8 (opera)
''The Making of the Representative for Planet 8'' is a full-scale opera by Philip Glass with a libretto by Doris Lessing based on her novel of the same name, first performed in 1988. Together with Glass's 1997 opera ''The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five'', it is part of a planned trilogy of operas based on Lessing's ''Canopus in Argos'' novels. The opera was co-commissioned by English National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Het Muziektheater, Amsterdam, and Theater Kiel, and co-produced with Artpark, Lewiston, New York State. Performance history The opera was first performed at Houston Grand Opera on 8 July 1988. The British premiere was 9 November 1988 by English National Opera at the London Coliseum.English National Opera programme notes. Henrietta Bredin (editor), Battley Brothers Printers, London. This production was broadcast live in the UK on BBC Radio 3 on 13 December 1988. Roles Synopsis The people of Planet 8 are peaceful and content, until one of the C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
