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Karl-Heinz Thiemann
Karl-Heinz Thiemann (born 1933 in Herbern (Ascheberg) near Münster, Westfalen), is a German operatic tenor. Career Origin and education Thiemann was born in Münsterland to a musical family.Siegfried Augustin: ''Karl-Heinz Thiemann. Ein Porträt des Künstlers in einigen seiner großen Rollen'' (CD-Booklet; 2008). He worked as a railway official and first appeared as a soloist at various singing clubs. After a successful audition, he studied singing at the Dortmund Conservatory from 1956 to 1961, majoring in voice with Rudolf Watzke and at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln with Dietger Jakob.''Wir stellen vor: Karl-Heinz Thiemann''. In: Programmheft und Besetzungszettel zur Oper ''Lohengrin''; Aufführung vom 5 July 1980 (Staatstheater Nürnberg)Programmheft Neujahrskonzert der Nürnberger Symphoniker 1996 vo 5./6. January 1996, .Programmheft Hans-Sachs-Chor Nürnberg 10 April 1998 During his studies he sang the tenor part in Verdi's Requiem in Dortmund in a performance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Münster
Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state district capital. Münster was the location of the Anabaptist rebellion during the Protestant Reformation and the site of the signing of the Treaty of Westphalia ending the Thirty Years' War in 1648. Today it is known as the bicycle capital of Germany. Münster gained the status of a ''Großstadt'' (major city) with more than 100,000 inhabitants in 1915. , there are 300,000 people living in the city, with about 61,500 students, only some of whom are recorded in the official population statistics as having their primary residence in Münster. Münster is a part of the international Euregio region with more than 1,000,000 inhabitants ( Enschede, Hengelo, Gronau, Osnabrück). History Early history In 793, Charlemagne sent out Ludger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Der Freischütz
' ( J. 277, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind, based on a story by Johann August Apel and Friedrich Laun from their 1810 collection '' Gespensterbuch''. It premiered on 18 June 1821 at the Schauspielhaus Berlin. It is considered the first German Romantic opera. The opera's plot is mainly based on August Apel's tale "Der Freischütz" from the '' Gespensterbuch'' though the hermit, Kaspar and Ännchen are new to Kind's libretto. That Weber's tunes were just German folk music is a common misconception. Its unearthly portrayal of the supernatural in the famous Wolf's Glen scene has been described as "the most expressive rendering of the gruesome that is to be found in a musical score". Performance history The reception of ''Der Freischütz'' surpassed Weber's own hopes and it quickly became an international success, with productions in Vienna the same ye ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ursula Wendt-Walther
Ursula Wendt-Walther (13 March 1934/1939 – 11 April 2016) was a German operatic soprano. She was a member of the Staatstheater Nürnberg for decades, where she performed leading roles by Mozart, Strauss and Wagner. In contemporary opera, she appeared as Marie in Bernhard Zimmermann's ''Die Soldaten'', and created the role of Marei in Zemlinsky's ''Der Traumgörge''. Life and career Ursula Wendt was born in Berlin, the daughter of insurance director Hugo Wendt. She studied at the Musikhochschule Berlin She also took private lessons with Finnish baritone Kari Nurmela in Zürich. Wendt was a member of the Staatstheater Hannover in 1956–1958, the following season at the Theater Rheydt, followed by a year at the . She had her first engagement as a lead singer from 1960 until 1963 at the Landestheater Detmold where she made her debut in the title role of Verdi's ''La traviata''. In the 1964/65 season, Wendt appeared as a guest at the Württembergische Landesbühne Esslingen. Fur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catarina Ligendza
Catarina Ligendza (born 18 October 1937) is a Swedish soprano opera singer. Originally Katarina Beyron, she was born in Stockholm, the daughter of the soprano and the tenor . She studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, then from 1959 to 1963, at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg, and finally with Josef Greindl at the Hochschule für Musik Saar. In 1965 she made her debut as the Countess in Mozart's '' Le nozze di Figaro'' in Linz. Afterwards she sang in Braunschweig and Saarbrücken and then at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 1969, engagements followed in Stuttgart and Hamburg and in 1971 she took the role of Leonore in ''Fidelio'' at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City. As a dramatic soprano, she was prominent in the Wagner repertoire and appeared at the Bayreuth Festival from 1971-1977 and in 1986 and 1987 as Isolde and as Elsa in 1987. Probably the best known of her recordings is the ''Meistersinger'' production of 1976 for Deutsche Grammophon, co ... [...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 Shakespeare's play '' Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the 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 wasn't until 1884, five years after the first drafts of the libretto, that composition began, with most of the work finishing in late 1885. When it finally pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Janis Martin (soprano)
Janis Martin (August 16, 1939 – December 14, 2014) was an American opera singer who sang leading roles first as a mezzo-soprano and later as a soprano in opera houses throughout Europe and the United States. She was particularly known for her performances in the operas of Richard Wagner and sang at the Bayreuth Festival from 1968 to 1997. Biography Martin was born in Sacramento, California, the daughter of a radio producer. She studied at both California State University, Sacramento and the University of California, Berkeley. She began studying singing in Sacramento with Julia Monroe and later studied in New York with Lili Wexberg and Otto Gruth. She made her operatic debut in 1960 at San Francisco Opera as Theresa in ''La sonnambula'' and at 21 was the youngest member of the company that season. She continued to sing a number of comprimario mezzo-soprano roles with the company through 1969, including Sister Anne in the 1961 world premiere of Norman Dello Joio's opera '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Carlos
''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Friedrich Schiller. In addition, several incidents, of which the Forest of Fontainebleau scene and '' auto-da-fé'' were the most substantial, were borrowed from Eugène Cormon's 1846 play ''Philippe II, Roi d'Espagne''. The opera is most often performed in Italian translation, usually under the title ''Don Carlo''. The opera's story is based on conflicts in the life of Carlos, Prince of Asturias (1545–1568). Though he was betrothed to Elisabeth of Valois, part of the peace treaty ending the Italian War of 1551–59 between the Houses of Habsburg and Valois demanded that she be married instead to his father Philip II of Spain. It was commissioned and produced by the Théâtre Impérial de l'Opéra (Paris Opera) and given its premiere a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hans Gierster
Hans Gierster (12 January 1925 – 20 September 1995) was a German conductor. on AllMusic Life Training and debut Born in Munich, Gierster was a pupil of and worked from 1942 as in Munich. He was engaged at the Düsseldorfer Opernhaus from 1945 to 1952. From 1952 to 1956 he was |
Music Director
A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the director of music of a film, the director of music at a radio station, the person in charge of musical activities or the head of the music department in a school, the coordinator of the musical ensembles in a university, college, or institution (but not usually the head of the academic music department), the head bandmaster of a military band, the head organist and choirmaster of a church, or an organist and master of the choristers (the title given to a director of music at a cathedral, particularly in England). Orchestra The title of "music director" or "musical director" is used by many symphony orchestras to designate the primary conductor and artistic leader of the orchestra. The term "music director" is most common for orchestras ... [...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 Theatre in Paris in 1851. After returning from America in 1876, Offenbach learned that Barbier had adapted the play, which 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 hand, just four months before the opening. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Undine (Lortzing)
''Undine'' is an opera in four acts by Albert Lortzing. The German libretto was by the composer after Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué's novella of the same name. There had been a revival of interest in Fouqué following the writer's death in 1843 to which Lortzing responded. Unlike Lortzing's earlier comedies, this work is a serious one, described as a ''romantische Zauberoper'' ('romantic magic opera'). A number of other operas and ballets have been based on Fouqué's version of the myth of the water spirit Undine, including Tchaikovsky's ''Undina'', E. T. A. Hoffmann's ''Undine'', Cesare Pugni's '' Ondine, ou La naïade'' and Hans Werner Henze's '' Ondine''. Performance history The opera was first performed at the Stadttheater Magdeburg on 21 April 1845. Roles Synopsis Act 1 The knight Hugo von Ringstetten, having won a tournament, has been given a quest by Bertalda, the daughter of the Duke. She wants him to explore the enchanted forest. Hugo and his squire Veit have be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrea Chénier
''Andrea Chénier'' () is a verismo opera in four acts by Umberto Giordano, set to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica, and first performed on 28 March 1896 at La Scala, Milan. The story is based loosely on the life of the French poet André Chénier (1762–1794), who was executed during the French Revolution. The character Carlo Gérard is partly based on Jean-Lambert Tallien, a leading figure in the Revolution. It remains popular with audiences, though less frequently performed than in the first half of the 20th century. One reason for its survival in the repertoire is the lyrical-dramatic music provided by Giordano for the tenor lead, which gives a talented singer opportunities to demonstrate his skills and flaunt his voice. Giuseppe Borgatti's triumph in the title role at the first performance immediately propelled him to the front rank of Italian opera singers. He went on to become Italy's greatest Wagnerian tenor, rather than a verismo-opera specialist. Performa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
