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From The House Of The Dead
''From the House of the Dead'' () is an opera in three acts by Leoš Janáček. The libretto was translated and adapted by the composer from the 1862 novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was the composer's last opera, premiered on 12 April 1930 at the National Theatre Brno, two years after his death. The United States premiere of the work took place at Lincoln Center in 1989 when the New York City Opera mounted a production led by conductor Christopher Keene with a cast starring Harlan Foss as Alexandr Petrovič Gorjančikov, John Absalom as Filka Morozov, Jon Garrison as Skuratov, and John Lankston as Šapkin. Composition history Janáček worked on this opera from February 1927 to 8 June 1928,Ladislav Šip, "Leoš Janáček's Last Opera" – essay in LP booklet accompanying Supraphon box SU 5075-76 (translated by Christopher Hogwood), Artia, Prague, 1965. knowing that it would be his last, and for it he broke away from the habit he had developed of creating characters modeled on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leoš Janáček
Leoš Janáček (, baptised Leo Eugen Janáček; 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic musics, including Eastern European folk music, to create an original, modern musical style.Sehnal and Vysloužil (2001), p. 175 Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research. While his early musical output was influenced by contemporaries such as Antonín Dvořák, his later, mature works incorporate his earlier studies of national folk music in a modern, highly original synthesis, first evident in the opera ''Jenůfa'', which was premiered in 1904 in Brno. The success of ''Jenůfa'' (often called the "Moravian national opera") at Prague in 1916 gave Janáček access to the world's great opera stages. Janáček's later works are his most celebrated. They include operas such as ''Káťa Kabanová'' and ''The Cunning Little Vixen'', the Sinfonietta, the ''Glag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Břetislav Bakala
Břetislav Bakala (February 12, 1897 in Fryšták – April 1, 1958 in Brno) was a Czech conductor, pianist, and composer. His career was centred on Brno and he was particularly associated with the music of Leoš Janáček. Life and career Bakala was born at Fryšták, Moravia. He studied conducting at the Brno Conservatory with František Neumann, and composition with Leoš Janáček at the organ school. In 1922 he continued his studies at the Master school at the Conservatory with Vilém Kurz. From 1920 to 1925 and from 1929 to 1931 he worked as a conductor of the National Theatre in Brno, making his conducting debut in ''Orfeo ed Euridice''. Bakala discovered Janáček ''The Diary of One Who Disappeared'' in the composer's trunk in 1921 and first performed it (taking the piano part) in April that year.Lambert, P. In the shadow of Talich. '' International Classical Record Collector'', Summer 1996, Vol 2, 5, p16-18. On 31 January 1925 he conducted the premiere of Bohuslav Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bass (voice Type)
A bass is a type of classical male singing voice and has the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', a bass is typically classified as having a vocal range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C (i.e., E2–E4).; ''The Oxford Dictionary of Music'' gives E2–E4/F4 Its tessitura, or comfortable range, is normally defined by the outermost lines of the bass clef. Categories of bass voices vary according to national style and classification system. Italians favour subdividing basses into the ''basso cantante'' (singing bass), ''basso buffo'' ("funny" bass), or the dramatic ''basso profondo'' (low bass). The American system identifies the bass-baritone, comic bass, lyric bass, and dramatic bass. The German ''Fach'' system offers further distinctions: Spielbass (Bassbuffo), Schwerer Spielbass (Schwerer Bassbuffo), Charakterbass (Bassbariton), and Seriöser Bass. These classification systems can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tenor
A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is widely defined to be B2, though some roles include an A2 (two As below middle C). At the highest extreme, some tenors can sing up to the second F above middle C (F5). The tenor voice type is generally divided into the ''leggero'' tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor, and tenor buffo or . History The name "tenor" derives from the Latin word ''wikt:teneo#Latin, tenere'', which means "to hold". As Fallows, Jander, Forbes, Steane, Harris and Waldman note in the "Tenor" article at ''Grove Music Online'': In polyphony between about 1250 and 1500, the [tenor was the] structurally fundamental (or 'holding') voice, vocal or instrumental; by the 15th century it came to signify the male voice that ... [...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] |
Tatars
The Tatars ()Tatar in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different Turkic ethnic groups bearing the name "Tatar". Initially, the ethnonym ''Tatar'' possibly referred to the . That confederation was eventually incorporated into the when unified the various steppe tr ... [...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 averag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Voice Type
A voice type is a group of voices with similar vocal ranges, capable of singing in a similar tessitura, and with similar vocal transition points ('' passaggi''). Voice classification is most strongly associated with European classical music, though it, and the terms it utilizes, are used in other styles of music as well. A singer will choose a repertoire that suits their voice. Some singers such as Enrico Caruso, Rosa Ponselle, Joan Sutherland, Maria Callas, Jessye Norman, Ewa Podleś, and Plácido Domingo have voices that allow them to sing roles from a wide variety of types; some singers such as Shirley Verrett and Grace Bumbry change type and even voice part over their careers; and some singers such as Leonie Rysanek have voices that lower with age, causing them to cycle through types over their careers. Some roles are hard to classify, having very unusual vocal requirements; Mozart wrote many of his roles for specific singers who often had remarkable voices, and some of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brno Philharmonic
The Brno Philharmonic (Czech: ''Filharmonie Brno'') is a Czech orchestra based in Brno, the Czech Republic. Its principal concert venue in Brno is the ''Besední dům''. The orchestra also performs regularly in the Janáček Opera House in Brno. The orchestra receives state support from the city of Brno, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the South Moravian Region (''Jihomoravský kraj''). The orchestra's current ''Intendantin'' is Marie Kučerová. The precursor ensemble to the orchestra, the Czech Symphony Orchestra, began its existence in the 1870s and was resident at the ''Besední dům''. The orchestra had to vacate the ''Besední dům'' during the time of 1953-1957. During this period, the current Brno Philharmonic was formed in 1956 with the merger of the Radio Orchestra and the Brno Region Symphony Orchestra. Břetislav Bakala served as the newly formed orchestra's first principal conductor orchestra, from 1956 to 1958. The orchestra again vacated th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
František Jílek
František Jílek (May 22, 1913 – September 16, 1993) was a Czech conductor, known especially for his interpretation of Leoš Janáček's works. Life Jílek began studying piano and composition as a pupil of Jaroslav Kvapil, and later studied conducting under Antonín Balatka and Zdeněk Chalabala at the Brno Conservatory. In 1937, Jílek completed his education at the Prague Conservatory, in the master class of Vítězslav Novák. From 1938 to 1949 he conducted the opera in Ostrava. In 1952, he became the principal conductor of the Janáček Opera in Brno, a position he held for 25 years. During his career Jílek frequently conducted the orchestra of the National Theatre in Prague, the Czech Philharmonic, as well as orchestras abroad. In 1978, he became the conductor of the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra. Work He conducted the complete operas of Bedřich Smetana and Leoš Janáček, and also focused on Russian and Italian operatic repertoire. The recordings of his int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suite (music)
A suite, in Western classical music and jazz, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/ concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes and grew in scope to comprise up to five dances, sometimes with a prelude, by the early 17th century. The separate movements were often thematically and tonally linked. The term can also be used to refer to similar forms in other musical traditions, such as the Turkish fasıl and the Arab nuubaat. In the Baroque era, the suite was an important musical form, also known as ''Suite de danses'', ''Ordre'' (the term favored by François Couperin), ''Partita'', or ''Ouverture'' (after the theatrical " overture" which often included a series of dances) as with the orchestral suites of Christoph Graupner, Telemann and J.S. Bach. During the 18th century, the suite fell out of favour as a cyclical form, giving way to the symphony, sonata and concerto. It was revived in the later 19th century, but in a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arrangement
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestration in that the latter process is limited to the assignment of notes to instruments for performance by an orchestra, concert band, or other musical ensemble. Arranging "involves adding compositional techniques, such as new thematic material for introductions, transitions, or modulations, and endings. Arranging is the art of giving an existing melody musical variety".(Corozine 2002, p. 3) In jazz, a memorized (unwritten) arrangement of a new or pre-existing composition is known as a ''head arrangement''. Classical music Arrangement and transcriptions of classical and serious music go back to the early history of this genre. Eighteenth century J.S. Bach frequently made arrangements of his own and other composers' piec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
