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Stanford Robinson
Stanford Robinson OBE (5 July 190425 October 1984) was an English conductor and composer, known for his work with the BBC. He remained a member of the BBC's staff until his retirement in 1966, founding or building up the organisation's choral groups, both amateur and professional. Between 1947 and 1950, Robinson was assistant conductor of the Proms, the summer and autumn concert series founded by Henry Wood and run by the BBC. Away from his BBC work, Robinson conducted at Covent Garden and in Australia. Biography Robinson was born in Leeds, to a musical family. His father and grandfather were both organists and choirmasters, and his mother was a singer."Obituary", ''The Times'', 27 October 1984, p. 12 He was named after the composer Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. He was educated at the Stationers' Company's School, leaving at the age of 15 and earning his living as a pianist at cinemas and restaurants. At the age of 18 he went to the Royal College of Music, where he studied und ... [...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] |
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South East Queensland metropolitan region, which encompasses a population of around 3.8 million. The Brisbane central business district is situated within a peninsula of the Brisbane River about from its mouth at Moreton Bay, a bay of the Coral Sea. Brisbane is located in the hilly floodplain of the Brisbane River Valley between Moreton Bay and the Taylor Range, Taylor and D'Aguilar Range, D'Aguilar mountain ranges. It sprawls across several local government in Australia, local government areas, most centrally the City of Brisbane, Australia's most populous local government area. The demonym of Brisbane is ''Brisbanite''. The Traditional Owners of the Brisbane a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra in the state of Queensland. The orchestra is based in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's building in South Bank. The Orchestra is funded by private corporations, the state government and the Australian federal government through the Australia Council. Performance venues Most of the Orchestra's performances take place in Brisbane at three venues: * Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) Concert Hall * QSO Studios, South Bank * Brisbane City Hall In addition, the orchestra tours other parts of the state of Queensland regularly, including the following locations: * Gold Coast Art Centre * The Events Centre, Caloundra * Empire Theatres, Toowoomba * Pilbeam Theatre, Rockhampton * Mackay Entertainment Centre * Townsville Civic Theatre * Cairns Civic Theatre History Queensland Symphony Orchestra played its first concert on 26 March 1947, consisting of 45 musicians, conducted by Percy Code. John Farnsw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geraint Evans
Sir Geraint Llewellyn Evans (16 February 1922 – 19 September 1992) was a Welsh bass-baritone noted for operatic roles including Figaro in ''Le nozze di Figaro'', Papageno in ''Die Zauberflöte'', and the title role in ''Wozzeck''. Evans was especially acclaimed for his performances in the title role of Verdi's ''Falstaff''. He sang more than 70 different roles in a career that lasted from his first appearance at Covent Garden in 1948 to his farewell there in 1984. Early life Evans was born in Cilfynydd, the only son of William John Evans (1899–1978), a coal miner, and his wife, Charlotte May, ''née'' Thomas (1901–1923). His family was Welsh speaking, and Evans spoke Welsh before he learned English.Goodwin, Noël: "Evans, Sir Geraint Llewellyn (1922–1992)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200accessed 14 Dec 2008/ref> On leaving school, aged 14, he worked as a window dresser for the High Class Ladies' Wear store in Pontypridd. He took singi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pulcinella (ballet)
''Pulcinella'' is a one-act ballet by Igor Stravinsky based on an 18th-century play, ''Quatre Polichinelles semblables'' ("Four identical Pulcinellas"). Pulcinella is a stock character originating from ''commedia dell'arte''. The ballet premiered at the Paris Opera on 15 May 1920 under the baton of Ernest Ansermet. The dancer Léonide Massine created both the libretto and choreography, and Pablo Picasso designed the original costumes and sets. The ballet was commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev, impresario of the ''Ballets Russes''. A performance of the work typically lasts 35 minutes. The ballet score was revised by Stravinsky in 1965. History Diaghilev wanted a ballet based on an early 18th-century ''commedia dell'arte'' libretto and music then believed to have been composed by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. This attribution has since been proved to be spurious. Some of the music may have been by Domenico Gallo, Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer, Carlo Ignazio Monza and Alessandro Pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century and a pivotal figure in modernist music. Stravinsky's compositional career was notable for its stylistic diversity. He first achieved international fame with three ballets commissioned by the impresario Sergei Diaghilev and first performed in Paris by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes: ''The Firebird'' (1910), ''Petrushka'' (1911), and ''The Rite of Spring'' (1913). The last transformed the way in which subsequent composers thought about rhythmic structure and was largely responsible for Stravinsky's enduring reputation as a revolutionary who pushed the boundaries of musical design. His "Russian phase", which continued with works such as '' Renard'', ''L'Histoire du soldat,'' and ''Les noces'', was followed in the 1920s by a period ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Il Trionfo Dell'onore
''Il trionfo dell'onore'' (''The Triumph of Honour'') is an operatic 'commedia' in three acts by the Italian composer Alessandro Scarlatti, with a libretto by . It was first performed at the Teatro dei Fiorentini, Naples, on 26 November 1718. It is Scarlatti's only known comic opera. Roles Synopsis ;Act 1 :Ricardo Albenori, a dissolute young man, and his friend, the soldier Rodimarte Bombarda, arrive in Pisa, having escaped from Lucca where they had run into trouble with the law. In Lucca, Riccardo had also seduced Leonora Dorini before rejecting her in favour of Doralice Rossetti. Leonora has followed him and takes refuge with Cornelia Buffacci, Doralice's aunt. Doralice, too, is still pursuing Riccardo, who manages to convince her he loves her. ;Act 2 :Erminio, Leonora's brother who is in love with Doralice, arrives in Pisa. Leonora tells him how Riccardo, Erminio's friend, seduced her. He vows to avenge her. Leonora and Doralice quarrel over Riccardo. ;Act 3 :Riccardo pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alessandro Scarlatti
Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti (2 May 1660 – 22 October 1725) was an Italian 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, where he received his training; 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 Monteverdi at the beginning of 17th century and continued by Cesti, Cavalli, Carissimi, Legrenzi and Stradella, designing the final form of the ''Da capo aria'', imitated throughout Europe. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Rape Of Lucretia
''The Rape of Lucretia'' (Op. 37) is an opera in two acts by Benjamin Britten, written for Kathleen Ferrier, who performed the title role. Ronald Duncan based his English libretto on André Obey's play '. Performance history The opera was first performed at Glyndebourne in England on 12 July 1946. It is the first work to which Britten applied his term "chamber opera." The opera debuted in the United States on Broadway at the Ziegfeld Theatre in a production staged by Agnes de Mille which opened on 29 December 1948 and closed on 15 January 1949 after 23 performances. The cast notably included Giorgio Tozzi as Tarquinius, Kitty Carlisle as Lucretia, Lidija Franklin as Bianca, Brenda Lewis as the Female Chorus, and Adelaide Bishop as Lucia. In 1996 the opera was presented at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis directed by Britten expert and friend, Colin Graham. It also appeared in the Opera Company of Philadelphia's 2009 season. In 2013, the opera was performed for the first time ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other vocal music, orchestral and chamber pieces. His best-known works include the opera '' Peter Grimes'' (1945), the '' War Requiem'' (1962) and the orchestral showpiece ''The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra'' (1945). Born in Lowestoft, Suffolk, the son of a dentist, Britten showed talent from an early age. He studied at the Royal College of Music in London and privately with the composer Frank Bridge. Britten first came to public attention with the '' a cappella'' choral work '' A Boy was Born'' in 1934. With the premiere of ''Peter Grimes'' in 1945, he leapt to international fame. Over the next 28 years, he wrote 14 more operas, establishing himself as one of the leading 20th-century composers in the genre. In addition to large-sca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Opera Group
The English Opera Group was a small company of British musicians formed in 1947 by the composer Benjamin Britten (along with John Piper, Eric Crozier and Anne Wood) for the purpose of presenting his and other, primarily British, composers' operatic works. The group later expanded to present larger-scale works, and was renamed the English Music Theatre Company. The organisation produced its last opera and ceased to run in 1980. English Opera Group Fleeing internal politics at Sadler's Wells Opera at the end of 1945, Britten and singers Joan Cross, Anne Wood, and Peter Pears joined with designer Piper and producer Crozier to found the English Opera Group. The new company's goal was to première Britten's operas, and to present other, mostly British, small-scale operas. Rosenthal, Harold. ''English Opera Group'' in Sadie, vol. 2, p. 52 The company's first project was to première Britten's chamber opera ''Albert Herring'' and give further performances of his opera ''The Rape of L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
