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The Kiss (opera)
''The Kiss'' ( cs, Hubička) is an opera in two acts, with music by Bedřich Smetana and text by Eliška Krásnohorská, based on a novel by Karolina Světlá. It received its first performance at the Provisional Theatre in Prague on 7 November 1876. Roles Synopsis Act 1 Lukáš, a peasant, has always been in love with Vendulka. Unfortunately for the young couple, his parents insisted that he marry another girl. However, his wife dies, leaving him with an infant. As they are both still young, Lukáš intends to woo the very eligible Vendulka. Paloucký, Vendulka's father, opposes the match: he reasons that since both Lukáš and Vendulka are stubborn people, they would make an incompatible couple. Vendulka is dismayed at his position, so Paloucký withdraws his objection, but his misgivings remain. With friends and relatives in his wake, Lukáš arrives at Paloucký's home to formally make his intentions towards Vendulka known. Paloucký gives his blessing to the coup ... [...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] |
Smugglers
Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various motivations to smuggle. These include the participation in illegal trade, such as in the drug trade, illegal weapons trade, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, exotic wildlife trade, art theft, heists, chop shops, illegal immigration or illegal emigration, tax evasion, import/export restrictions, providing contraband to prison inmates, or the theft of the items being smuggled. Smuggling is a common theme in literature, from Bizet's opera ''Carmen'' to the James Bond spy books (and later films) '' Diamonds Are Forever'' and '' Goldfinger''. Etymology The verb ''smuggle'', from Low German ''smuggeln'' or Dutch ''smokkelen'' (="to transport (goods) illegally"), apparently a frequentative formation of a word meaning "to sneak", ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1876 Operas
Events January–March * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. * February 2 – The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs is formed at a meeting in Chicago; it replaces the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players. Morgan Bulkeley of the Hartford Dark Blues is selected as the league's first president. * February 2 – Third Carlist War – Battle of Montejurra: The new commander General Fernando Primo de Rivera marches on the remaining Carlist stronghold at Estella, where he meets a force of about 1,600 men under General Carlos Calderón, at nearby Montejurra. After a courageous and costly defence, Calderón is forced to withdraw. * February 14 – Alexander Graham Bell applies for a patent for the telephone, as does Elisha Gray. * February 19 – Third Carlist War: Government troops under General Primo de Rivera drive thro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New Kobbé's Complete Opera Book
''The Complete Opera Book'' is a guide to operas by American music critic and author Gustav Kobbé first published (posthumously) in the United States in 1919 and the United Kingdom in 1922. A revised edition from 1954 by the Earl of Harewood is known as ''Kobbé's Complete Opera Book''. The 1997 revision, edited by Harewood and Antony Peattie, is titled ''The New Kobbé's Opera Book''. The original ''Complete Opera Book'' Gustav Kobbé was on the point of completing the book which was afterwards published as ''The Complete Opera Book'' when he died. Various additions were made to it before publication, and also in subsequent editions or reprints, as the subject demands constant revision and renewal, both through new works and through the discovery or revival of lesser known existing ones. The work in its original form was first finally edited and brought together for publication by Katharine Wright, who at the same time included some additional operas in sections that bear her in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Lascelles, 7th Earl Of Harewood
George Henry Hubert Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood, (7 February 1923 – 11 July 2011), styled The Honourable George Lascelles before 1929 and Viscount Lascelles between 1929 and 1947, was a British classical music administrator and author. He served as director of the Royal Opera House (1951–53; 1969–72), chairman of the board of the English National Opera (ENO) (1986–95); managing director of the ENO (1972–85), managing director of the English National Opera North (1978–81), governor of the BBC (1985–87), and president of the British Board of Film Classification (1985–96). Harewood was the elder son of the 6th Earl of Harewood and Princess Mary, Princess Royal, the only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary. At his birth, he was 6th in the line of succession; at his death, he was 46th. Lord Harewood was the eldest grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary, nephew of both King Edward VIII and King George VI and first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. He succee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zdeněk Chalabala
Zdeněk Chalabala (18 April 1899 – 4 March 1962) was a Czechoslovak conductor (music), conductor. He conducted orchestras in Prague, Ostrava, Moscow. Chalabala was born in Uherské Hradiště. He studied conducting at the Brno Conservatory with František Neumann, and after a few years gaining experience was appointed a conductor of the Brno Opera in 1926 alongside Břetislav Bakala; in 1932 conducted the premiere there of ''Flammen (Schulhoff), Flammen'' by Erwin Schulhoff. He also conducted performances of operas by Alexander Borodin, Borodin, Modest Mussorgsky, Mussorgsky and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Rimsky-Korsakov.Lambert, P. In the shadow of Talich. ''International Classical Record Collector'', Summer 1996, Vol 2, 5, p20-22. In 1924 he founded the Slovácká filharmonie (Uherské Hradiště). He was chief opera conductor of the Slovak National Theatre, where he produced many Yugoslav and Russian operas. He was also conductor in the National Theatre of Brno. His students i ... [...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] |
Přemysl Kočí
Přemysl Kočí (1 June 1917 – 15 January 2003) was a Czech operatic baritone, actor, music educator, stage director, theatre manager and official of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. Biography Born in Rychvald, Kočí attended high school in Bohumín. After graduating, he initially wanted to become a teacher and pursued studies at the teacher training college in Ostrava. He became interested in music and in 1937 began studying voice privately, first with J. Soupal and then Rudolf Vašek. In 1939 he made his professional opera debut as Escamillo in Georges Bizet's ''Carmen'' at the Antonín Dvořák Theatre in Ostrava. In 1940 Kočí joined the roster of principal singers at the National Theatre in Prague. He sang there in major roles for over the next two years, collaborating often with conductor Vaclav Talich. He returned to the opera house in Ostrava in 1943 where he remained committed through 1949. At the behest of the then Minister of Culture Czechoslovakia Zd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beno Blachut
Beno Blachut (14 June 1913 – 10 January 1985) was a lauded Czech operatic tenor. An icon in his own nation, Blachut drew international acclaim through his many commercial recordings of Czech music. He was an instrumental part of the post-World War II school of Czech opera singers that were responsible for popularizing Czech opera internationally. He was highly regarded for his interpretations of roles in operas by Leoš Janáček, Antonín Dvořák, and Bedřich Smetana. Biography Born in Ostrava-Vítkovice, Blachut grew up in a poor family of miners. Blachut was highly involved in his church's music program which provided him with his initial musical training as a child and teenager. In 1927, at the age of 14, he began working at an iron factory and from all appearances it seemed he was destined to live a life similar to that of his parents. In the year 1935 he started to study singing at the Prague conservatory. At the conservatory, Blachut studied under Luis Kadeřábek ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marta Krásová
Marta Krásová (16 March 1901 – 20 February 1970) was a Czech operatic mezzo-soprano who had an active international career with major opera houses in Europe from 1922 until 1966. Born in Protivín, she died in Vráž, in the Beroun District Beroun District ( cs, okres Beroun) is a district ('' okres'') within Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Beroun. Complete list of municipalities Bavoryně - Beroun - Běštín - Březová - Broumy - B .... References 1901 births 1970 deaths People from Protivín People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Czechoslovak women opera singers Operatic mezzo-sopranos {{CzechRepublic-opera-singer-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ludmila Červinková
Ludmila Červinková (29 April 1908 – 16 September 1980) was a Czech operatic soprano who had a celebrated international career during the 1930s through the 1960s. She notably had a long and fruitful association with the National Theatre in Prague from 1942 until 1966. Her voice is preserved on a number of recordings on the Supraphon label.Ludmila Cervinkova, Ludmila Biography at operissimo.com (in German) Retrieved 14 September 2009 Biography Born in , Červinková studied singing privately with Jarmila Pěničková, while attending a girl's college in Prague. Fr ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Libuše Márová
Libuše Márová (born 24 December 1943) is a Czech operatic mezzo-soprano who has been a principal artist at the National Theatre in Prague since 1969. She has sung on a number of recordings in the Supraphon label and currently teaches on the voice faculty at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. Biography Born in Sušice, Márová studied at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague with Přemysl Kočí, Josef Frýdl, Štěpánka Štěpánová, and Michael Zabejda. She made her professional opera debut in 1965 at the Divadlo Josefa Kajetána Tyla in Plzeň as Azucena in Giuseppe Verdi's ''Il Trovatore''. In 1969 Márová was appointed to the Prague National Theatre where she quickly became one of the theatre's most important artists. On stage she excelled in the dramatic Czech repertoire, portraying such roles as Donna Isabella in ''The Bride of Messina'', Fanny in '' The Excursions of Mr. Brouček to the Moon and to the 15th Century'', Martinka in '' The Kiss'', V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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