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The Brandenburgers In Bohemia
''The Brandenburgers in Bohemia'' ( cz, Braniboři v Čechách) is a three-act opera, the first by Bedřich Smetana. The Czech libretto was written by Karel Sabina, and is based on events from Czech history. The work was composed in the years 1862–1863. Smetana and Sabina wrote the opera at a time of great Czech patriotism, with the pending opening of a new theatre for production of Czech operas in Prague. The opera received its first performance at the Provisional Theatre (or the "Interim Theatre"), Prague, on 5 January 1866, and the first performance was a success. The first UK performances were in April 1978 by Hammersmith Municipal Opera. The first professional production in the UK, conducted by Vilém Tauský, was not until 1994. Roles Synopsis :Place: Prague :Time: the 13th century, during the occupation of Bohemia by forces of the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Upon the death of King Ottokar II in the 1278 Battle on the Marchfeld, his widow Kunigunda had called in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bedřich Smetana
Bedřich Smetana ( , ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival." He has been regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music. Internationally he is best known for his 1866 opera ''The Bartered Bride'' and for the symphonic cycle ''Má vlast'' ("My Fatherland"), which portrays the history, legends and landscape of the composer's native Bohemia. It contains the famous symphonic poem "Vltava", also popularly known by its German name "Die Moldau" (in English, "The Moldau"). Smetana was naturally gifted as a composer, and gave his first public performance at the age of 6. After conventional schooling, he studied music under Josef Proksch in Prague. His first nationalistic music was written during the 1848 Prague uprising, in which he briefly participated. After failing to establish his career in Prague, he left for Sweden ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margraviate Of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe. Brandenburg developed out of the Northern March founded in the territory of the Slavic peoples, Slavic Wends. It derived one of its names from this inheritance, the March of Brandenburg (). Its ruling margraves were established as prestigious prince-electors in the Golden Bull of 1356, allowing them to vote in the election of the Holy Roman Emperor. The state thus became additionally known as Electoral Brandenburg or the Electorate of Brandenburg ( or ). The House of Hohenzollern came to the throne of Brandenburg in 1415. In 1417, Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg, Frederick I moved its capital from Brandenburg an der Havel to Berlin. By 1535, the electorate had an area of some and a population of 400,000.Preserved SmithThe Social Background of the Reformation.19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivo Žídek
Ivo Žídek (4 June 1926, Kravaře – 20 May 2003, Prague) was a Czech lyric tenor, known for his vivid portrayals of character roles in the operas of Smetana, Dvořák and Janáček. Early life Ivo Žídek was born in Kravaře, Czechoslovakia. He was descended from a long family line of music teachers and cantors. His father, Libor Žídek, was also an actor and a singer. As a youth, he was schooled in Ostrava where he studied painting because the local music schools had been closed under the Nazi occupation. However, he studied voice privately with Rudolf Vašek (at first, as a baritone) and studied music theory with Josef Schreiber. He was invited by conductor Zdeněk Chalabala to sing with the opera company in Ostrava, making his debut in the title role of Jules Massenet's Werther" in 1944. He continued singing in Ostrava until 1948. National Theatre of Prague In 1947, he was invited to Prague to appear as guest soloist with the National Theatre as Jeník in Bedřich Sm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karel Kalaš
Karel Kalaš (9 October 1910 – 3 May 2001) was a Czech operatic bass and film and television actor. He first rose to prominence at the Slovak National Theatre, where he was a member from 1934 through 1939. He left there to join the roster of principal singers at the National Theatre in Prague, where he worked until his retirement from the opera stage in 1972. He appeared in a handful of films and occasionally on Czech television during his career, notably winning acclaim for his portrayal of a retired opera singer in the 1978 film '' Kulový blesk''. Kalaš's voice is preserved on a large number of recordings made on the Ultraphon, Esta, Bruno, Multisonic, and Urania labels. He also appeared on a number of complete opera recordings with the Prague National Theatre on the Supraphon label. Biography Born in Vienna, Austria to parents of Czech descent, Kalaš initially worked for a printing business in his native city. During this time he began studying singing privately with F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Theatre (Prague)
The National Theatre ( cs, Národní divadlo) in Prague is known as the alma mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of History of the Czech Republic, Czech history and art. The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions, with a rich artistic tradition, which helped to preserve and develop the most important features of the nation–the Czech language and a sense for a Czech musical and dramatic way of thinking. Today the National Theatre consists of three artistic ensembles: opera, National Theatre Ballet (Prague), ballet and drama. They alternate in their performances in the historic building of the National Theatre, in the Theatre of the Estates and in the Kolowrat Theatre. All three artistic ensembles select their repertoire both from Culture of the Czech Republic, classical heritage, and modern authors. Initial design and construction, 1844 to 1881 The cornerstone of the National Theatre was laid on 16 May 1868, but the idea of b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 1866 between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia, with each also being aided by various allies within the German Confederation. Prussia had also allied with the Kingdom of Italy, linking this conflict to the Third Italian War of Independence, Third Independence War of Italian unification. The Austro-Prussian War was part of the wider Austria-Prussia rivalry, rivalry between Austria and Prussia, and resulted in Prussian dominance over the German states. The major result of the war was a shift in power among the German states away from Austrian and towards Prussian hegemony. It resulted in the abolition of the German Confederation and its partial replacement by the unification of Germany, unification of all of the northern German sta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an emergency decree transferring powers of the Prussian government to German Chancellor Franz von Papen in 1932 and ''de jure'' by an Allied decree in 1947. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, expanding its size with the Prussian Army. Prussia, with its capital at Königsberg and then, when it became the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701, Berlin, decisively shaped the history of Germany. In 1871, Prussian Minister-President Otto von Bismarck united most German principalities into the German Empire under his leadership, although this was considered to be a "Lesser Germany" because Austria and Switzerland were not included. In November 1918, the monarchies were abolished and the nobility lost its political power during the Ger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Habsburg, french: Maison des Habsbourg and also known as the House of Austriagerman: link=no, Haus Österreich, ; es, link=no, Casa de Austria; nl, Huis van Oostenrijk, pl, dom Austrii, la, Domus Austriæ, french: Maison d'Autriche; hu, Ausztria Háza; it, Casa d'Austria; pt, Casa da Áustria is one of the most prominent and important dynasties in European history. The house takes its name from Habsburg Castle, a fortress built in the 1020s in present-day Switzerland by Radbot of Klettgau, who named his fortress Habsburg. His grandson Otto II, Count of Habsburg, Otto II was the first to take the fortress name as his own, adding "Count of Habsburg" to his title. In 1273, Count Radbot's seventh-generation descendant Rudolph I of German ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bezděz Castle
Bezděz Castle is a Gothic castle located some southeast of Česká Lípa, in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. Its construction began before 1264 by order of Ottokar II of Bohemia. The royal castle of Bezděz was one of the most important Gothic castles in the Czech lands until its destruction in the Thirty Years' War.Humphreys, Rob, Tim Nollen (2004)''Rough guide to the Czech & Slovak Republics'' Rough Guides, 6th ed. p. 273. Erected between 1260 and 1280 on the phonolite hill of Velký Bezděz, above sea level, it became the characteristic landmark of the local landscape and met the demands for an inaccessible as well as respectable royal castle. History A year after Přemysl's death, the castle Bezděz, which was still unfinished, became the place of imprisonment of Queen Kunhuta and her underage son Wenceslaus II, kept under lock and key in very spartan conditions by Wenceslaus's guardian Ota Braniborský, Margrave of Brandenburg, after the Battle on the Marchfel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wenceslaus II Of Bohemia
Wenceslaus II Přemyslid ( cs, Václav II.; pl, Wacław II Czeski; 27 SeptemberK. Charvátová, ''Václav II. Král český a polský'', Prague 2007, p. 18. 1271 – 21 June 1305) was King of Bohemia (1278–1305), Duke of Cracow (1291–1305), and King of Poland (1300–1305). He was the only son of King Ottokar II of Bohemia and Ottokar's second wife Kunigunda. He was born in 1271, ten years after the marriage of his parents. Kunigunda was the daughter of Rostislav Mikhailovich, lord of Slavonia, son of a Grand Prince of Kiev, and Anna of Hungary, daughter of Béla IV of Hungary. His great-grandfather was the German king Philip of Swabia. Wenceslaus II was the grandfather of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV. He was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty. Early years In 1276 Rudolf I, King of the Romans, placed Ottokar under the ban of the empire and besieged Vienna. This compelled Ottokar in November 1276 to sign a new treaty by which he gave up all claims to Austria and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archduchy Of Austria
The Archduchy of Austria (german: Erzherzogtum Österreich) was a major Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire and the nucleus of the Habsburg monarchy. With its capital at Vienna, the archduchy was centered at the Empire's southeastern periphery. Its present name originates from the Frankish term ''Oustrich'' - Eastern Kingdom (east of the Frankish kingdom). The Archduchy developed out of the Bavarian Margraviate of Austria, elevated to the Duchy of Austria according to the 1156 ''Privilegium Minus'' by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. The House of Habsburg came to the Austrian throne in Vienna in 1282 and in 1453 Emperor Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick III, also the ruler of Austria, officially adopted the archducal title. From the 15th century onwards, all Holy Roman Emperors but Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor, one were Austrian archdukes and with the acquisition of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown, Bohemian and Kingdom of Hungary (152 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rudolf I Of Germany
Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany from the House of Habsburg. The first of the count-kings of Germany, he reigned from 1273 until his death. Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum which had begun after the death of the Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick II in 1250. Originally a Swabian count, he was the first Habsburg to acquire the duchies of Austria and Styria in opposition to his mighty rival, the Přemyslid king Ottokar II of Bohemia, whom he defeated in the 1278 Battle on the Marchfeld. The territories remained under Habsburg rule for more than 600 years, forming the core of the Habsburg monarchy and the present-day country of Austria. Rudolf played a vital role in raising the comital House of Habsburg to the rank of Imperial princes. Early life Rudolf was born on 1 May 1218 at Limburgh Castle near Sasbach am Kaiserstuhl in the Breisgau region of present-day southwestern Germany. He was the son of Count Albert IV of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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