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Hôtel De Ville, Bayonne
The (, ''City Hall'') is a municipal building in Bayonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, southwest France, standing on the Avenue du Maréchal Leclerc. The building is a mixed use complex which also accommodates the Michel Portal Theatre. History The original town hall of Bayonne was an ancient half-timbered building close to Bayonne Cathedral on the Place Publique. Meanwhile, there was a theatre on the west bank of the River Nive, a short distance upstream from its mouth, which had been completed in 1720. By the early 19th century the old town hall was dilapidated and the local council decided to demolish it, and to commission a combined town hall, theatre and customs house complex. The site they selected for the new building was on the west bank of the River Nive, but closer to its mouth than the old theatre. The foundation stone for the new building was laid by the future government minister, Nicolas Martin du Nord, in the presence of the mayor, François Balasque, on 1 May 1837. It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neoclassical Architecture
Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing styles of architecture in most of Europe for the previous two centuries, Renaissance architecture and Baroque architecture, already represented partial revivals of the Classical architecture of Roman architecture, ancient Rome and ancient Greek architecture, but the Neoclassical movement aimed to strip away the excesses of Late Baroque and return to a purer, more complete, and more authentic classical style, adapted to modern purposes. The development of archaeology and published accurate records of surviving classical buildings was crucial in the emergence of Neoclassical architecture. In many countries, there was an initial wave essentially drawing on Roman archi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Juive
''La Juive'' (, ) is a grand opera in five acts by Fromental Halévy to an original French libretto by Eugène Scribe; it was first performed at the Opéra National de Paris, Opéra de Paris, on 23 February 1835. Composition history ''La Juive'' was one of the most popular and admired operas of the 19th century. Its libretto was the work of Eugène Scribe, the prolific dramatic author. Scribe was writing to the tastes of the Opéra national de Paris, Opéra de Paris, where the work was first performed – a work in five acts presenting spectacular situations (here the Council of Constance of 1414), which would allow a flamboyant staging in a setting which brought out a dramatic situation which was also underlined by a powerful historical subject. In addition to this, there could be choral interludes, ballet and scenic effects which took advantage of the entire range of possibilities available at the Paris Opera. Because of the story of an impossible love between a Christian man a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Tales Of Hoffmann
''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in October 1880, four months before the premiere. Composition history and sources Offenbach saw a play, , written by Barbier and Michel Carré and produced at the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe, Odéon Theatre in Paris in 1851. After returning from America in 1876, Offenbach learned that Barbier had adapted the play, which Hector Salomon had now set to music at the Opéra. Salomon handed the project to Offenbach. Work proceeded slowly, interrupted by the composition of profitable lighter works. Offenbach had a premonition, like Antonia, the heroine of Act 2, that he would die prior to its completion. Offenbach continued working on the opera throughout 1880, attending some rehearsals. On 5 October 1880, he died with the manuscript in his han ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Otello
''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the La Scala, Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887. The composer was reluctant to write anything new after the success of ''Aida'' in 1871, and he retreated into retirement. It took his Milan publisher Giulio Ricordi the next ten years, first to encourage the revision of Verdi's 1857 ''Simon Boccanegra'' by introducing Boito as librettist and then to begin the arduous process of persuading and cajoling Verdi to see Boito's completed libretto for ''Otello'' in July/August 1881. However, the process of writing the first drafts of the libretto and the years of their revision, with Verdi all along not promising anything, dragged on. It was not until 1884, five years after the first drafts of the libretto, that composition began, with most of the work finishing in late ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Marseillaise
"La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. It was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by the First French Republic against Austria, and was originally titled "". The French National Convention adopted it as the First Republic's anthem in 1795. The song acquired its nickname after being sung in Paris by ''Fédéré'' (volunteers) from Marseille marching to the capital. The anthem's evocative melody and lyrics have led to its widespread use as a song of revolution and its incorporation into many pieces of classical and popular music. The Italian violinist Guido Rimonda pointed out in 2013 that the incipit of "Tema e variazioni in Do maggiore" of Giovanni Battista Viotti has a strong resemblance to the anthem. This incipit was first thought to have been published before La Marseillaise, but it appeared to be a misconception as Viotti published several variations of "La Marseillaise" in 1795 and wrote as a note ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks in World War II, Tanks and Air warfare of World War II, aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in history, causing World War II casualties, the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Allied-occupied Germany, Germany, Allied-occupied Austria, Austria, Occupation of Japan, Japan, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edmond Rostand
Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (, , ; 1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with the naturalistic theatre popular during the late nineteenth century. Another of Rostand's works, ''Les Romanesques'' (1894), was adapted to the 1960 musical comedy ''The Fantasticks''. Early life Rostand was born in Marseille, France, into a wealthy and cultured Provençal family. His father was an economist, a poet who translated and edited the works of Catullus, and a member of the Marseille Academy and the Institut de France. Rostand studied literature, history, and philosophy at the Collège Stanislas in Paris, France. Career When Rostand was twenty years old, his first play, a one-act comedy, ''Le Gant rouge'', was performed at the Cluny Theatre, 24 August 1888, but it was almost unnoticed. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
L'Aiglon
''L'Aiglon'' is a play in six acts by Edmond Rostand based on the life of Napoleon II, who was the son of Emperor Napoleon I and his second wife, Empress Marie Louise. The title of the play comes from a nickname for Napoleon II, the French word for "eaglet" (a young eagle). The title role was created by Sarah Bernhardt in the play's premiere on 15 March 1900 at the Théàtre Sarah Bernhardt. Fashion designer Jacques Doucet designed her famous white costume. In October of the same year, the play (in an English translation by Louis N. Parker) premiered at New York's Knickerbocker Theatre, with Maude Adams in the title role. Its first performance in London was at His Majesty's Theatre in 1901, with Bernhardt again playing the leading role. Rostand had written ''L'Aiglon'' specifically for Bernhardt, and it became one of her signature roles. Clemence Dane made an English translation which was broadcast by the BBC on National Radio in 15 November 1936 and regionally t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including by Alexandre Dumas fils, Alexandre Dumas ''fils'', ''Ruy Blas'' by Victor Hugo, ''Fédora'' and ''La Tosca'' by Victorien Sardou, and ''L'Aiglon'' by Edmond Rostand. She played female and male roles, including Shakespeare's Prince Hamlet, Hamlet. Rostand called her "the queen of the pose and the princess of the gesture", and Hugo praised her "golden voice". She made several theatrical tours worldwide and was one of the early prominent actresses to make sound recordings and act in motion pictures. She is also linked with the success of artist Alphonse Mucha, whose work she helped to publicize. Mucha became one of the more sought-after artists of this period for his Art Nouveau style. Biography Early life Henriette-Rosine Bernard was born at 5 rue de L'École-de- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the help of a local patron, Antonio Barezzi. Verdi came to dominate the Italian opera scene after the era of Gioachino Rossini, Vincenzo Bellini, and Gaetano Donizetti, whose works significantly influenced him. In his early operas, Verdi demonstrated sympathy with the Risorgimento movement which sought the unification of Italy. He also served briefly as an elected politician. The chorus "Va, pensiero" from his early opera ''Nabucco'' (1842), and similar choruses in later operas, were much in the spirit of the unification movement, and the composer himself became esteemed as a representative of these ideals. An intensely private person, Verdi did not seek to ingratiate hims ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gustave Deloye
Jean-Baptiste Gustave Deloye (30 April 1838, Sedan - 17 February 1899, Paris) was a French sculptor and medallist in the Neo-Baroque style. Biography He was a student of François Jouffroy and Jean-Pierre Dantan at the École des beaux-arts de Paris. In 1862, he was awarded second place for sculpture in the Prix de Rome. He was a frequent exhibitor at the Salon and received several commissions for monuments from the French government. Among his most outstanding works are the caryatids at the Château de Chenonceaux, the and the . His best known work is a monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi (1891), commissioned by the city of Nice, done from an original design by Antoine Étex.That same year, he contributed two bas-reliefs for a monument to Juan Santamaría, a national hero of Costa Rica, in Alajuela, created by his friend Aristide Croisy. In 1892, he was named a Knight in the Legion of Honor. He also created numerous decorative works at public buildings in Vienna, Rome and St ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
