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Xerse
''Il Xerse'' ( in its 1660 French version ''Xerxès'') is an opera by Francesco Cavalli (specifically, a ''dramma per musica'') about Xerxes I. The libretto was written by Nicolò Minato, and was later set by both Giovanni Bononcini (1694, ''Xerse'' and George Frideric Handel (''Serse'', 1738). Minato's plot outline is loosely based on Book 7 of Herodotus's '' Histories''. The opera, Cavalli's twenty-first, consisting of a prologue and three acts, was first performed at Venice on 12 January 1655, at the Teatro SS. Giovanni e Paolo.Clinkscale (2001) It was dedicated to the Ferrarese nobleman Marchese Cornelio Bentivoglio. Background The premiere at Venice was probably conducted by Cavalli from the keyboard.da Silva (2021), p. 12 The opera was highly popular in Italy, not least due to Cavalli's setting of "Ombra mai fu" (later more famously set by Handel): nine different revivals were given across Italy while Cavalli lived. In 1660 Cavalli was persuaded to travel to France to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xerse (Bononcini)
''Xerse'' (Xerxes) is an opera in three acts by Giovanni Bononcini. It was designated as a ''dramma per musica''. The libretto was written by Silvio Stampiglia after that by Nicolò Minato which had been used for the 1654 opera of the same name by Francesco Cavalli. Stampiglia's version was in turn used as the basis for Handel's ''Serse''. Stampiglia's version keeps to the story used by Minato but there are major differences in the way the work as a whole is structured. Performance history The opera was first performed in Rome at the Teatro di Tor di Nona on 25 January 1694. Roles References * *Lindgren, Lowell (1992), "''Xerse'' (ii)" in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', ed. Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ... (London) External links * {{ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giovanni Bononcini
Giovanni Bononcini (or Buononcini) (18 July 1670 – 9 July 1747) (sometimes cited also as Giovanni Battista Bononcini) was an Italian Baroque composer, cellist, singer and teacher, one of a family of string players and composers. Biography Early years Bononcini was born in Modena, Italy, the oldest of three sons. His father, Giovanni Maria Bononcini (1642–1678), was a violinist and a composer, and his younger brother, Antonio Maria Bononcini, was also a composer. An orphan from the age of 8, Giovanni Battista studied in the music school of Giovanni Paolo Colonna at San Petronio Basilica in Bologna (perhaps in 1680 or 1681). In 1685, at the age of 15, he published three collections of instrumental works (in two of which he gave his age as 13). On 30 May 1686, he was accepted as a member of the prestigious Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna. His services were already much in demand: he worked at San Petronio as a string player and singer, published further collections o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Francesco Cavalli
Francesco Cavalli (born Pietro Francesco Caletti-Bruni; 14 February 1602 – 14 January 1676) was a Venetian composer, organist and singer of the early Baroque period. He succeeded his teacher Claudio Monteverdi as the dominant and leading opera composer of the mid 17th-century. A central figure of Venetian musical life, Cavalli wrote more than forty operas, almost all of which premiered in the city's theaters. His best known works include ''Ormindo'' (1644), ''Giasone'' (1649) and ''La Calisto'' (1651). Life Cavalli was born at Crema, then an inland province of the Venetian Republic. He became a singer (boy soprano) at St Mark's Basilica in Venice in 1616, where he had the opportunity to work under the tutorship of Claudio Monteverdi. He became second organist in 1639, first organist in 1665, and in 1668 ''maestro di cappella''. He took the name "Cavalli" from his patron, Venetian nobleman Federico Cavalli. Though he wrote prolifically for the church, he is chiefly remembered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean-Baptiste Lully
Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France and became a French subject in 1661. He was a close friend of the playwright Molière, with whom he collaborated on numerous '' comédie-ballets'', including ''L'Amour médecin'', ''George Dandin ou le Mari confondu'', '' Monsieur de Pourceaugnac'', '' Psyché'' and his best known work, '' Le Bourgeois gentilhomme''. Biography Lully was born on November 28, 1632, in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, to Lorenzo Lulli and Caterina Del Sera, a Tuscan family of millers. His general education and his musical training during his youth in Florence remain uncertain, but his adult handwriting suggests that he manipulated a quill pen with ease. He used to say that a Francisc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xerxes I
Xerxes I ( peo, 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ξέρξης ; – August 465 BC), commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, ruling from 486 to 465 BC. He was the son and successor of Darius the Great () and his mother was Atossa, a daughter of Cyrus the Great (), the founder of the Achaemenid empire. Like his father, he ruled the empire at its territorial peak. He ruled from 486 BC until his assassination in 465 BC at the hands of Artabanus, the commander of the royal bodyguard. Xerxes I is notable in Western history for his invasion of Greece in 480 BC. His forces temporarily overran mainland Greece north of the Isthmus of Corinth until losses at Salamis and Plataea a year later reversed these gains and ended the second invasion decisively. However, Xerxes successfully crushed revolts in Egypt and Babylon. Xerxes also oversaw the completion of various construction projects at Susa and Persepolis. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serse
''Serse'' (; English title: ''Xerxes''; HWV 40) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. It was first performed in London on 15 April 1738. The Italian libretto was adapted by an unknown hand from that by Silvio Stampiglia (1664–1725) for an earlier opera of the same name by Giovanni Bononcini in 1694. Stampiglia's libretto was itself based on one by Nicolò Minato (ca.1627–1698) that was set by Francesco Cavalli in 1654. The opera is set in Persia (modern-day Iran) about 470 BC and is very loosely based upon Xerxes I of Persia. Serse, originally sung by a mezzo-soprano castrato, is now usually performed by a female mezzo-soprano or countertenor. The opening aria, "Ombra mai fu", sung by Xerxes to a plane tree (''Platanus orientalis''), is set to one of Handel's best-known melodies, and is often known as Handel's "Largo" (despite being marked "larghetto" in the score). Composition history In late 1737 the King's Theatre, London, commissioned Handel to w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teatro Santi Giovanni E Paolo
The Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo (often written as Teatro SS. Giovanni e Paolo) was a theatre and opera house in Venice located on the Calle della Testa, and takes its name from the nearby Basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice. Built by the Grimani family in 1638, in its heyday it was considered the most beautiful and comfortable theatre in the city. The theatre played an important role in the development of opera and saw the premieres of several works by Francesco Cavalli, as well as Monteverdi's ''Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria'' and ''L'incoronazione di Poppea''. History The Grimani family originally built the theatre as a wooden structure on the Fondamenta Nuove around 1635. It was then rebuilt on a grander scale using both stone and wood in 1638 when it moved to the nearby Calle della Testa. It was built primarily for the performance of spoken drama, but from the very beginning operas were also performed there. In fact, the new theatre was inaugurated on 20 January 1639 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ombra Mai Fu
"" ("Never was a shade…"), also known as "Largo from ''Xerxes''", is the opening aria from the 1738 opera '' Serse'' by George Frideric Handel. Context The opera was a commercial failure, lasting only five performances in London after its premiere. In the 19th century, however, the aria was rediscovered and became one of Handel's best-known pieces. Handel adapted the aria from the setting by Giovanni Bononcini, who, in turn, adapted it from the setting by Francesco Cavalli. All three composers had produced settings of the same opera libretto by Nicolò Minato. Music Originally composed to be sung by a soprano castrato (and typically sung in modern performances of ''Serse'' by a countertenor, contralto or a mezzo-soprano; sometimes even by a tenor or high baritone an octave below), it has been arranged for other voice types and instruments, including solo organ, solo piano, violin or cello and piano, and string ensembles, often under the title "Largo from ''Xerxes''" or (as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Concerto Vocale
Concerto Vocale is a Belgian musical ensemble for baroque music. History Concerto Vocale was founded in Amsterdam in 1977 by the Belgian countertenor and conductor René Jacobs. The vocal ensemble has included sopranos María Cristina Kiehr and Martina Bovet, countertenor Andreas Scholl, tenors Gerd Türk and , baritones and , and basses Ulrich Messthaler and Franz-Josef Selig. It is complemented by an instrumental ensemble including, among others, Jean Tubéry, William Dongois and Gottfried Bach. Selected discography * 1978: 3 ''Leçons de Ténèbres du Mercredy Sainct,'' H.96, H.97, H.98, 3 ''Répons'' ''du Mercrediy Sainct,'' H.111, H.112'','' H.113, 3 ''Leçons de Ténèbres du Jeudy Sainct,'' H.102, H.103, H.109 by Marc-Antoine Charpentier (recorded 08/1977 and 01/1978) 3 LP Harmonia Mundi HM 1005/6/7 * 1979: 3 ''Leçons de Ténèbres du Vendredy Sainct,'' H.105, H.106, H.110, 6 ''Répons du Mercredy Sainct.'' H.114.H.115, H.116, H.117, H.118, H.119 by Marc-Antoine Cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dramma Per Musica
Dramma per musica ( Italian, literally: ''drama for music'', plural: ''drammi per musica'') is a libretto. The term was used by dramatists in Italy and elsewhere between the mid-17th and mid-19th centuries. In modern times the same meaning of ''drama for music'' was conveyed through the Italian Greek-rooted word ''melodramma'' (from μέλος = song or music + δρᾶμα = scenic action). ''Dramma per musica'' never meant "drama ''through'' music", let alone music drama. A ''dramma per musica'' was thus originally (in Italy in the 17th century) a verse drama specifically written for the purpose of being set to music, in other words a libretto for an opera, usually a serious opera (a libretto meant for opera buffa, i.e. comic opera, would have been called a ''dramma giocoso''). By extension, the term came to be used also for the opera or operas which were composed to the libretto, and a variation, ''dramma in musica'', which emphasised the musical element, was sometimes preferr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C (i.e. F2–F4) in choral music, and from the second A below middle C to the A above middle C (A2 to A4) in operatic music, but the range can extend at either end. Subtypes of baritone include the baryton-Martin baritone (light baritone), lyric baritone, ''Kavalierbariton'', Verdi baritone, dramatic baritone, ''baryton-noble'' baritone, and the bass-baritone. History The first use of the term "baritone" emerged as ''baritonans'', late in the 15th century, usually in French sacred polyphonic music. At this early stage it was frequently used as the lowest of the voices (including the bass), but in 17th-century Italy the term was all-encompassing and used to describe the ave ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Stage
''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those who work in theatre and the performing arts. History The first edition of ''The Stage'' was published (under the title ''The Stage Directory – a London and Provincial Theatrical Advertiser'') on 1 February 1880 at a cost of three old pence for twelve pages. Publication was monthly until 25 March 1881, when the first weekly edition was produced. At the same time, the name was shortened to ''The Stage'' and the publication numbering restarted at number 1. The publication was a joint venture between founding editor Charles Lionel Carson and business manager Maurice Comerford. It operated from offices opposite the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Carson, whose real name was Lionel Courtier-Dutton, was cited as the founder. His wife Emily Courtie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
