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Sémélé
is an opera by Marin Marais with a libretto by Antoine Houdar de la Motte first performed on 9 April 1709, by the Paris Opera at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal. The opera is in the form of a ''tragédie en musique'' with a prologue and five acts. Master viol player and composer Marin Marais became director of the Paris Opera in 1705 and presented, along with the established works of Jean-Baptiste Lully, two operas of his own during his brief tenure which ended in 1709. His opera ''Alcyone'' (1706) proved a successful stage work and was revived several times during the 18th Century. His final opera ''Sémélé'' (1709) did not fare as well. Opening during The Great Frost, an extraordinarily cold European winter that afflicted France particularly hard with food shortages and violent revolts in the streets of Paris, demand for ''Sémélé'' (and other new works introduced during this period) was modest. Amid the tumult, Marais retired as Director of the Opera to return to writing vi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Semele
Semele (; Ancient Greek: Σεμέλη ), in Greek mythology, was the youngest daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia (Greek goddess), Harmonia, and the mother of Dionysus by Zeus in one of his many origin myths. Certain elements of the cult of Dionysus and Semele came from the Phrygians. These were modified, expanded, and elaborated by the Ionian Greeks, Greek invaders and colonists. Dorians, Doric Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484–425 BC), born in the city of Halicarnassus under the Achaemenid Empire, who gives the account of Cadmus, estimates that Semele lived either 1,000 or 1,600 years prior to his visit to Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre in 450 BC at the end of the Greco-Persian Wars (499–449 BC) or around 2050 or 1450 BC. In Rome, the goddess #Semele in Roman culture, Stimula was identified as Semele. Etymology According to some linguists the name Semele is Thracians, Thraco-Phrygians, Phrygian, derived from a PIE root meaning 'earth' (''*Dʰéǵʰōm''). Julius Pokorny reconstructs her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marin Marais
Marin Marais (; 31 May 1656, in Paris – 15 August 1728, in Paris) was a French composer and viol player. He studied composition with Jean-Baptiste Lully, often conducting his operas, and with master of the bass viol Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe for six months. In 1676 he was hired as a musician to the royal court of Versailles and was moderately successful there, being appointed in 1679 as ''ordinaire de la chambre du roy pour la viole,'' a title he kept until 1725. He was the father of the composer Roland Marais (c. 1685 – c. 1750). Career Marin Marais was a master of the viol, and the leading French composer of music for the instrument. He wrote five books of '' Pièces de viole'' (1686–1725) for the instrument, generally suites with basso continuo. These were quite popular in the court, and for these he was remembered in later years as he who "founded and firmly established the empire of the viol" ( Hubert Le Blanc, 1740). His other works include a book of ''Pièces en ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Le Concert Spirituel
Le Concert Spirituel is a French ensemble specialising in works of baroque music, played on period instruments. Founded by Hervé Niquet in 1987, it is named after the 18th-century concert series Concert Spirituel. The group performs internationally, playing mostly rarely performed sacred music and operas, and making recordings. Its focus is on French music played at the court of Versailles. History The ensemble is named after Concert Spirituel, the first private concert society in France, founded in the 18th century and dissolved during the French Revolution. The ensemble was founded by Hervé Niquet in 1987, designed to revive the great works of the French repertoire played at the court of Versailles. Le Concert Spirituel collaborates closely with the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles, with a focus on French composers such as Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Jean-Baptiste Lully, André Campra and Joseph Bodin de Boismortier. Le Concert Spirituel often plays sacred music, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tragédie En Musique
Tragédie en musique (, ''musical tragedy''), also known as tragédie lyrique (, ''lyric tragedy''), is a genre of French opera introduced by Jean-Baptiste Lully and used by his followers until the second half of the eighteenth century. Operas in this genre are usually based on stories from Classical mythology or the Italian romantic epics of Tasso and Ariosto. The stories may not necessarily have a tragic ending – in fact, most do not – but the works' atmospheres are suffused throughout with an affect of nobility and stateliness. The standard ''tragédie en musique'' has five acts. Earlier works in the genre were preceded by an allegorical prologue and, during the lifetime of Louis XIV, these generally celebrated the king's noble qualities and his prowess in war. Each of the five acts usually follows a basic pattern, opening with an aria in which one of the main characters expresses their feelings, followed by dialogue in recitative interspersed with short arias (''petits airs'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gabriel-Vincent Thévenard
Gabriel-Vincent Thévenard (10 August 1669 – 24 August 1741) was a French operatic baritone (''basse taille''). Thévenard was born at Orléans or possibly Paris. Arriving in Paris in 1690, he studied under the composer André Cardinal Destouches and went on to become a member of the Académie Royale de Musique. He was notable for playing tragic roles that made use of his skill at declamatory recitatives. He appeared in over 80 tragédies en musique and opéras ballet before finally retiring in 1729. He died in Paris. Roles created *Apollon/Vertumne/l'Automne in Pascal Colasse et Louis Lully's ''Ballet des Saisons'' (Paris, 1695) *Jupiter/Hylas in Destouches's '' Issé'' (Fontainebleau, 1697) *Silvandre/Zuliman in André Campra's L'Europe galante (Paris, 1697) *The title role in Destouches's ''Amadis de Grèce'' (Paris, 1699) *Argapise in Destouches's ''Marthesie, première reine des Amazones'' (Paris, 1699) *Pygmalion in Michel de la Barre's ''Le triomphe des arts'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Semele (Handel)
''Semele'' ( 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 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. ''Semele'' was performed four times during its o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Semele (Eccles)
''Semele'' is an opera by John Eccles, written in about 1706 with a libretto by William Congreve drawing on the ''Semele'' myth from Ovid's ''Metamorphoses''. It forms part of the English opera tradition of Blow's ''Venus and Adonis'', but was never staged due to changes in popular taste at the time. Indeed, the opera remained unperformed until the mid twentieth century, eclipsed by George Frideric Handel's 1744 secular oratorio of the same name, based on the same libretto. Roles Argument In his introductory 'argument', Congreve briefly summarises the plot, explains why he has modified some of Ovid's story, and then goes on to explain for the audience's benefit the concept of musical recitative: Synopsis Act I Semele is about to be married against her will to Prince Athamus, though she loves the god Jupiter. Jupiter's thunder interrupts the ceremony, and Athamus finds himself left alone with Ino, Semele's sister. Ino is professing her love for Athamus when Cadmus ente ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antoine Houdar De La Motte
Antoine Houdar de la Motte (18 January 167226 December 1731) was a French author. De la Motte was born and died in Paris. In 1693 his comedy, ''Les Originaux'' (Les originaux, ou, l'Italien), was a complete failure, and so depressed the author that he contemplated joining the Trappists. Four years later he began writing texts for operas and ballets, e.g. ''L'Europe galante'' (1697), and tragedies, one of which, ''Inès de Castro'' (1723), was an immense success at the Theâtre Français. He was a champion of the moderns in the revived controversy of the ancients and moderns. His ''Fables nouvelles'' (1719) was regarded as a modernist manifesto. Anne Dacier had published (1699) a translation of the ''Iliad'', and La Motte, who knew no Greek, made a translation (1714) in verse founded on her work. He said of his own work: "I have taken the liberty to change what I thought disagreeable in it." He defended the moderns in the ''Discours sur Homère'' prefixed to his translation, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Françoise Journet
Françoise Journet (born Lyon, died Paris 1720) was a French operatic soprano. Beginning her career at the Lyon Opera, Journet eventually became a pupil of Marie Le Rochois in Paris. In 1699 she appeared as Mélisse in the premiere of ''Amadis de Gréce'' by Destouches and subsequently created a number of important roles in operas by Marin Marais and Campra. She also sang in revivals of the operas of Lully and others. Her successor, in many of her roles, was Marie Antier. A full-length portrait of Journet as Iphigénie was painted by Jean Raoux. Roles created *Mélisse in André Cardinal Destouches's ''Amadis de Gréce'' (Paris, 1699) *The title role in André Campra's ''Iphigénie en Tauride'' (Paris, 1704) *The title role in Marin Marais's ''Sémélé'' (Paris, 1709) *Isabelle in Campra's ''Les fêtes vénitiennes'' (Paris, 1710) *The title role in Destouches's ''Callirhoé'' (Paris, 1712) *Ilione in Campra's ''Idoménée'' (Paris, 1712) Sources *Weller, Philip (1992), 'Journ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880 Hz in choral music, or to "soprano C" (C6, two octaves above middle C) = 1046 Hz or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which often encompasses the melody. The soprano voice type is generally divided into the coloratura, soubrette, lyric, spinto, and dramatic soprano. Etymology The word "soprano" comes from the Italian word '' sopra'' (above, over, on top of),"Soprano" '' |
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of California cities by population, fourth most populous in California and List of United States cities by population, 17th most populous in the United States, with 815,201 residents as of 2021. It covers a land area of , at the end of the San Francisco Peninsula, making it the second most densely populated large U.S. city after New York City, and the County statistics of the United States, fifth most densely populated U.S. county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs. Among the 91 U.S. cities proper with over 250,000 residents, San Francisco was ranked first by per capita income (at $160,749) and sixth by aggregate income as of 2021. Colloquial nicknames for San Francisco include ''SF'', ''San Fran'', ''The '', ''Frisco'', and '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above (i.e. A3–A5 in scientific pitch notation, where middle C = C4; 220–880 Hz). In the lower and upper extremes, some mezzo-sopranos may extend down to the F below middle C (F3, 175 Hz) and as high as "high C" (C6, 1047 Hz). The mezzo-soprano voice type is generally divided into the coloratura, lyric, and dramatic mezzo-soprano. History While mezzo-sopranos typically sing secondary roles in operas, notable exceptions include the title role in Bizet's '' Carmen'', Angelina (Cinderella) in Rossini's ''La Cenerentola'', and Rosina in Rossini's ''Barber of Seville'' (all of which are also sung by sopranos and contraltos). Many 19th-century French-language operas give the leading female role to mezzos, includin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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