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Le Pont Des Soupirs
''Le pont des soupirs '' ("The Bridge of Sighs") is an opéra bouffe (or operetta) set in Venice, by Jacques Offenbach, first performed in Paris in 1861. The French language, French libretto was written by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. Plays, including melodramas, set in Venice were quite common in Paris in the early 19th century; the libretto, by the successful team from ''Orphée aux enfers'', also nods towards the operas ''La reine de Chypre'' (1841) and ''Haydée'' (1847). Kurt Gänzl, Gänzl describes the piece as being in Offenbach's "best bouffe manner", noting a "long list of sparkling and funny musical pieces": the multiple serenade beneath Catarina's balcony, the tale of the loss of the Venetian fleet, the parody of an Mad scene, operatic mad scene for Catarina, and a farcical "quatuor des poignards". Gänzl, p. ?? Offenbach would return to Venice in the Giulietta act of his final work ''Les Contes d'Hoffmann''. Performance history ''Le pont des soupirs'' was f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Jacques Offenbach By Nadar
Jacques or Jacq are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over one hundred identified noble families related to the surname by the Nobility & Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland. Origins The origin of this surname comes from the Latin 'Jacob (name), Iacobus', associated with the biblical patriarch Jacob. Ancient history A French knight returning from the Crusades in the Holy Lands probably adopted the surname from "Saint Jacques" (or "James the Greater"). James the Greater was one of Jesus' Twelve Apostles, and is believed to be the first martyred apostle. Being endowed with this surname was an honor at the time and it is likely that the Church allowed it because of acts during the Crusades. Indeed, at this time, the use of biblical name, biblical, Christian name, Christian, or Hebrew names and surnames became very popular, and entered the Eur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
St James's Theatre
The St James's Theatre was in King Street, St James's, King Street, St James's, London. It opened in 1835 and was demolished in 1957. The theatre was conceived by and built for a popular singer, John Braham (tenor), John Braham; it lost money and after three seasons he retired. A succession of managements over the next forty years also failed to make it a commercial success, and St James's acquired a reputation as an unlucky theatre. It was not until 1879–1888, under the management of the actors John Hare (actor), John Hare and Madge Kendal, Madge and William Hunter Kendal, W. H. Kendal that the theatre began to prosper. The Hare-Kendal management was succeeded, after brief and disastrous attempts by other lessees, by that of the actor-manager George Alexander (actor), George Alexander, who was in charge from 1891 until his death in 1918. Under Alexander the house gained a reputation for programming that was adventurous without going too far for the tastes of London society ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Bass (vocal Range)
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). 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'' (comical bass), or the dramatic ''basso profondo'' (deep 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 classifications tend to describe roles rather than singers: it is rare for a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Lucille Tostée
Lucille Tostée (1837- 1874) was a French soprano, associated with opéra-bouffe in Paris and the US in the mid-19th century, particularly in the works of Jacques Offenbach, Offenbach.Gänzl K. ''The Encyclopaedia of the Musical Theatre.'' Blackwell, Oxford, 1994. Life and career Tostée's first role at the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens was as Scipionne in ''Les vivandières de la grande-armée'' in 1859, swiftly followed by a revival of ''La rose de Saint-Flour'', and she remained a star in the Paris opéra-bouffe from the early 1860s to her death. She created roles in Offenbachs's ''Le pont des soupirs'' (Amoroso, 1861), ''Les bavards'' (Béatrix, 1862), and ''Il signor Fagotto'' (Fabricio, 1863). She toured with the Bouffes company to Vienna in 1861 and 1862, appearing at the Theater am Franz-Josefs-Kai. In 1867 she travelled to New York to appear at the Théâtre Français, starring in ''Geneviève de Brabant'', ''La belle Hélène'', ''Lischen et Fritzchen'' and ''Orphée ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
