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Didon (Piccinni)
''Didon'' (''Dido'') is a tragédie lyrique in three acts by the composer Niccolò Piccinni with a French-language libretto by Jean-François Marmontel. The opera is based on the story of Dido and Aeneas from Virgil's ''Aeneid'' as well as Metastasio's libretto '' Didone abbandonata'' (which Piccinni himself had set in 1770). ''Didon'' was first performed at Fontainebleau on 16 October 1783 in the presence of the French sovereigns, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. After being remounted at court twice, the opera had its Paris public premiere on 1 December 1783. It proved to be the composer's greatest success and was billed almost every year till 1826, enjoying a total of 250 performances al the Paris Opera.Lajarte, p. 337 ''Didon'' had some influence on Berlioz's opera on the same theme, '' Les Troyens''. Roles Synopsis Dido, Queen of Carthage (Didon), falls in love with the Trojan warrior Aeneas (Énée), who has been shipwrecked on her shore. However, Dido is promised in ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tragédie En Musique
Tragédie en musique (, ''musical tragedy''), also known as tragédie lyrique (, ''lyric tragedy''), is a genre of French opera introduced by Jean-Baptiste Lully and used by his followers until the second half of the eighteenth century. Operas in this genre are usually based on stories from Classical mythology or the Italian romantic epics of Tasso and Ariosto. The stories may not necessarily have a tragic ending – in fact, most do not – but the works' atmospheres are suffused throughout with an affect of nobility and stateliness. The standard ''tragédie en musique'' has five acts. Earlier works in the genre were preceded by an allegorical prologue and, during the lifetime of Louis XIV, these generally celebrated the king's noble qualities and his prowess in war. Each of the five acts usually follows a basic pattern, opening with an aria in which one of the main characters expresses their feelings, followed by dialogue in recitative interspersed with short arias (''petits airs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Les Troyens
''Les Troyens'' (; in English: ''The Trojans'') is a French grand opera in five acts by Hector Berlioz. The libretto was written by Berlioz himself from Virgil's epic poem the ''Aeneid''; the score was composed between 1856 and 1858. ''Les Troyens'' is Berlioz's most ambitious work, the summation of his entire artistic career, but he did not live to see it performed in its entirety. Under the title ''Les Troyens à Carthage'', the last three acts were premièred with many cuts by Léon Carvalho's company, the Théâtre Lyrique, at their theatre (now the Théâtre de la Ville) on the Place du Châtelet in Paris on 4 November 1863, with 21 repeat performances. After decades of neglect, today the opera is considered by some music critics as one of the finest ever written. Composition history Berlioz began the libretto on 5 May 1856 and completed it toward the end of June 1856. He finished the full score on 12 April 1858. Berlioz had a keen affection for literature, and he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pluto (mythology)
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Pluto ( gr, Πλούτων, ') was the ruler of the Greek underworld. The earlier name for the god was Hades, which became more common as the name of the underworld itself. Pluto represents a more positive concept of the god who presides over the afterlife. ''Ploutōn'' was frequently conflated with Ploûtos, the Greek god of wealth, because mineral wealth was found underground, and because as a chthonic god Pluto ruled the deep earth that contained the seeds necessary for a bountiful harvest. The name ''Ploutōn'' came into widespread usage with the Eleusinian Mysteries, in which Pluto was venerated as both a stern ruler and a loving husband to Persephone. The couple received souls in the afterlife and are invoked together in religious inscriptions, being referred to as ''Plouton'' and as ''Kore'' respectively. Hades, by contrast, had few temples and religious practices associated with him, and he is portrayed as the dark and violent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis-Armand Chardin
Louis-Armand Chardin, called Chardiny (1755 – 1 October 1793) was an 18th-century French composer. Biography Born in Fécamp, Chardin made his debut at the Paris opera in 1780 as baritone and was finally received the following year. He stood out for the beauty of his voice and the purity of his singing. Nevertheless, he acted coldly and never knew how to enliven the stage. The role which made him most honoured was that of Theseus in '' Œdipe à Colone''. Chardin was a composer, and we know of him several small operas that he wrote for the , such as: ''le Pouvoir de la nature'', in one act, 1786; ''la Ruse d’amour'', in one act, 1786; ''le Clavecin'', 1787; ''Clitandre et Céphise'', 1788. In 1787 he had ''l’Anneau perdu et retrouvé'' performed at the Comédie-Italienne. He is also known for the music of a melodrama entitled: ''Annette et Basile''. Chardin was one of the first to set music to Florian's romances ''Estelle'' and ''Galatée''. His oratorio ''Retour de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Correspondance Littéraire
Friedrich Melchior, Baron von Grimm (26 September 172319 December 1807) was a German-born French-language journalist, art critic, diplomat and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers''. In 1765 Grimm wrote ''Poème lyrique'', an influential article for the Encyclopédie on lyric and opera librettos. Like Christoph Willibald Gluck and Ranieri de' Calzabigi, Grimm became interested in opera reform. According to Martin Fontius, a German literary theorist, "sooner or later a book entitled ''The Aesthetic Ideas of Grimm'' will have to be written." Early years Grimm was born at Regensburg, the son of Johann Melchior Grimm (1682–1749), a pastor, and Sibylle Margarete Grimm, (''née'' Koch) (1684–1774). He studied at the University of Leipzig, where he came under the influence of Johann Christian Gottsched and of Johann August Ernesti, to whom he was largely indebted for his critical appreciation of classical lite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adélaïde Gavaudan
Marie-Françoise-Adélaïde Gavaudan, called Mlle Gavaudan cadette and nicknamed Spinette, (1767–1805) was a French operatic soprano. Life Gavaudan is the daughter of Denis Gavaudan and Catherine Calmen, a member of the Gavaudan family, which reigns at the Opéra-Comique; sister of , Jean-Baptiste-Sauveur and .Kutsch and Riemens. In 1780, she was hired with her sister Émilie, by Madame Donvilliers, of the Petits Comédiens de . She was a chorister in 1778, at the Académie royale de musique. She already sang important roles, such as that of Angélique in the revival of ''Roland'' by Piccinni in October 1782. On 8 July 1782, she made her debut at the Comédie-Italienne, as Mme Saintclair, in ''La Fausse Magie'' by Gretry; then as Alix, in ''Les Trois fermiers de Dezède''; as Aline, in ''la Belle Arsène'', but she was not hired by this company. She was coryphée in 1784, at the Académie Royale de Musique. She became an assistant in 1786. She came to prominence in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henri Larrivée
Henri Larrivée (9 January 1737 – 7 August 1802) was a French opera singer. He was born in Lyon. His voice range was ''basse-taille'' (equivalent to baritone).Dratwicki, p. 85 According to Fétis, Larrivée was working as an apprentice to a wigmaker when the head of the Paris Opéra, Rebel, noticed his talent for singing and hired him as a chorus member. He made his first solo appearance as a high priest in a 1755 revival of Rameau's ''Castor et Pollux''. He was particularly associated with the works of Christoph Willibald Gluck, helping Gluck establish his "reform operas" in France. He found Gluck's rival, Niccolò Piccinni, less congenial but still worked with him on the premieres of operas including '' Roland'' (1778).Rushton p. 269 After already getting a pension in 1779, he retired from the ''Académie Royale de Musique'' in 1786 and devoted most of the time he had left to live to tour around with his two daughters, Camille (later known as Mme Delaval) and Henriette, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bass-baritone
A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the title role in '' Der fliegende Holländer'', Wotan/Der Wanderer in the '' Ring Cycle'' and Hans Sachs in '' Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg''. Wagner labelled these roles as ''Hoher Bass'' ("high bass")—see fach for more details. The bass-baritone voice is distinguished by two attributes. First, it must be capable of singing comfortably in a baritonal tessitura. Secondly, however, it needs to have the ripely resonant lower range typically associated with the bass voice. For example, the role of Wotan in ''Die Walküre'' covers the range from F2 (the F at the bottom of the bass clef) to F4 (the F above middle C), but only infrequently descends beyond C3 (the C below middle C). Bass-baritones are typically divided ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iarbas
Iarbas (or Hiarbas) was a Roman mythological character, who has appeared in works by various authors including Ovid and Virgil. The character is possibly based on a historical king of Numidia. In Roman mythology, Iarbas was the son of Jupiter Hammon (Hammon was a North African god associated by the Romans with Jupiter, and known for his oracle) and a Garamantian nymph. He became the king of Getulia. According to Virgil's ''Aeneid'', he was a suitor for the Carthaginian queen Dido, who rejected his advances. Variations of the story were referred to by Ovid. In Ovid's ''Heroides'', Dido describes Iarbas as one of her suitors, to whom Aeneas would be handing her over as a captive if he should leave her. In Ovid's ''Fasti'', Iarbas and the Numidians invade Dido's land after her suicide, resulting in his capturing her palace. Macrobius, and Pompeius Trogus also tell versions of the myth; in Justin's epitome of Pompeius he is king of the Muxitani. Iarbas is briefly referenced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Étienne Lainez
Étienne Lainez (or Lainé, Laînez) (23 May 1753 – 15 September 1822) was a French operatic tenor, and leading figure at the Paris Opera for over thirty years. In the course of his career there he created many tenor roles including Rodrigue in Sacchini's '' Chimène'', Énée in Piccinni's '' Didon'', Narcisse in Gluck's ''Echo et Narcisse'', and Licinius in Spontini's ''La vestale''. Lainez was born in Vaugirard in Paris, and died in Paris as well. After his retirement from the stage, he taught lyric declamation at the Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue .... References French operatic tenors 1753 births 1822 deaths 18th-century French male opera singers 19th-century French male opera singers Singers from Paris {{France-opera-s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing 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 '' 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 enor was thestructurally fundamental (or 'holding') voice, vocal or instrumental; by the 15th century it came to signify the male voice that sang such parts. All other voices were normal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antoinette Saint-Huberty
Anne-Antoinette-Cécile Clavel, better known by her stage name Madame Saint-Huberty or Saint-Huberti ( Strasbourg, 15 December 1756 – 22 July 1812, Barnes, London), was a celebrated French operatic soprano whose career extended from until 1790. After her retirement from the stage and the publicising of her second marriage, she was also known as the Comtesse d'Antraigues from around 1797. She and her husband were murdered in England. Early life and musical career Antoinette Clavel (later known professionally as Madame Saint-Huberty) was the daughter of Jean-Pierre Clavel, a musician employed as a répétiteur in the private opera troupe of Charles IV Theodore, Elector Palatine. Her mother was Claude-Antoinette Pariset, the daughter of a grocer from Sélestat.Dorlan (1932), p. 25. Her biographers have often disagreed about her place of birth. Renwick, for example, found instances of it being indicated as Toul, Thionville, or Mannheim, and Clayton gives it as Toulouse – pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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