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Amilcare Ponchielli
Amilcare Ponchielli (, ; 31 August 1834 – 16 January 1886) was an Italian opera composer, best known for his opera ''La Gioconda''. He was married to the soprano Teresina Brambilla. Life and work Born in Paderno Fasolaro (now Paderno Ponchielli) near Cremona, then Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, Ponchielli won a scholarship at the age of nine to study music at the Milan Conservatory, writing his first symphony by the time he was ten years old. In 1856 he wrote his first opera—it was based on Alessandro Manzoni's great novel '' The Betrothed'' (''I promessi sposi'')—and it was as an opera composer that he eventually found fame. His early career was disappointing. Maneuvered out of a professorship at the Milan Conservatory that he had won in a competition, he took small-time jobs in small cities, and composed several operas, none successful at first. In spite of his disappointment, he gained much experience as the bandmaster (''capobanda'') in Piacenza and Cremona, arrangi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paderno Ponchielli
Paderno Ponchielli ( Soresinese: ; Cremunés: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Cremona, in Lombardy, northern Italy. Before the unification of Italy in 1861, the town was known just as Paderno. After unification, the new government called on various municipalities with the same name to adjust and differentiate them. “Fasolaro” got added to the name Paderno. However, this did not meet with universal public approval as the word alluded to the production of common cowpeas (black-eyed peas) widespread in the area, which was considered as a possible source of mockery in neighboring communities. In 1878, Umberto I, King of Italy, changed the name from Paderno Fasolaro to Paderno Cremonese. In 1928, when Paderno merged with the neighboring Ossolaro, the area took the name Paderno Ossolaro. Then, in 1934, with the celebration of 100th birthday of their native son, the composer Amilcare Ponchielli Amilcare Ponchielli (, ; 31 August 1834 – 16 January 1886) was an Italian o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piacenza
Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over 102,000 inhabitants. Westernmost major city of the region of Emilia-Romagna, it has strong relations with Lombardy, with which it borders, and in particular with Milan. It was once defined by Leonardo da Vinci as "Land of passage", in his Codex Atlanticus, by virtue of its crucial geographical location. Piacenza integrates characteristics of the nearby Ligurian and Piedmontese territories added to a prevalent Lombard influence, favored by communications with the nearby metropolis, which attenuate its Emilian footprint. Piacenza is located at a major crossroads at the intersection of Route E35/A1 between Bologna and Milan, and Route E70/A21 between Brescia and Turin. Piacenza is also at the confluence of the Trebbia, draining the no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the greatest French writers of all time. His most famous works are the novels '' The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (1831) and '' Les Misérables'' (1862). In France, Hugo is renowned for his poetry collections, such as (''The Contemplations'') and (''The Legend of the Ages''). Hugo was at the forefront of the Romantic literary movement with his play '' Cromwell'' and drama ''Hernani''. Many of his works have inspired music, both during his lifetime and after his death, including the opera ''Rigoletto'' and the musicals '' Les Misérables'' and ''Notre-Dame de Paris''. He produced more than 4,000 drawings in his lifetime, and campaigned for social causes such as the abolition of capital punishment. Though he was a committed royalist when young, Hu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arrigo Boito
Arrigo Boito (; 24 February 1842 10 June 1918) (whose original name was Enrico Giuseppe Giovanni Boito and who wrote essays under the anagrammatic pseudonym of Tobia Gorrio) was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist, librettist and composer, best known today for his libretti, especially those for Giuseppe Verdi's last two monumental operas ''Otello'' and ''Falstaff'' (not to mention Amilcare Ponchielli's operatic masterpiece ''La Gioconda'') and his own opera '' Mefistofele''. Along with Emilio Praga and his own brother Camillo Boito, he is regarded as one of the prominent representatives of the Scapigliatura artistic movement. Biography Birthplace in Padua Born in Padua, the son of Silvestro Boito (1802–1856), an Italian painter of miniatures, who was not of noble birth but passed himself off as a nobleman, and his wife, a Polish countess, Józefina Radolińska, Boito studied music at the Milan Conservatory with Alberto Mazzucato until 1861, where a friend, Albert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia. It is situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, with a population of roughly 5.4 million residents. Saint Petersburg is the List of European cities by population within city limits, fourth-most populous city in Europe after Istanbul, Moscow and London, the List of cities and towns around the Baltic Sea, most populous city on the Baltic Sea, and the world's List of northernmost items#Cities and settlements, northernmost city of more than 1 million residents. As Russia's Imperial capital, and a Ports of the Baltic Sea, historically strategic port, it is governed as a Federal cities of Russia, federal city. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DeKalb, Illinois
DeKalb ( ) is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 43,862 according to the 2010 census, up from 39,018 at the 2000 census. The city is named after decorated Franconian-French war hero Johann de Kalb, who died during the American Revolutionary War. Founded in 1856, DeKalb became important in the development and manufacture of barbed wire, especially for agriculture and raising livestock. While agricultural-related industries remain a facet of the city, along with health and services, the city's largest employer in the 21st century is Northern Illinois University, founded in 1895. DeKalb is about from downtown Chicago. History DeKalb was originally called Huntley's Grove, and under the latter name was platted in 1853. The name is for Baron Johann de Kalb, a major general in the American Revolutionary War. The first church in DeKalb was organized in 1844. Beginning in 1846, a stage coach traveled from Chicago through DeKalb and Dixon to Galen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a Public university, public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system for producing college-educated teachers. In addition to the main campus in DeKalb, it has satellite centers in Chicago, Naperville, Illinois, Naperville, Rockford, Illinois, Rockford, and Oregon, Illinois. The university is composed of seven Academic degree, degree-granting colleges and has a student body of approximately 16,000 with over 240,000 alumni. NIU is one of only two public universities in Illinois that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the highest levels of all sports, NCAA Division I, Division I. The university's athletic teams are known as the Northern Illinois Huskies, Huskies and compete in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). History Northern Illinois University was founded as p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical region. Italy is also considered part of Western Europe, and shares land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and the enclaved microstates of Vatican City and San Marino. It has a territorial exclave in Switzerland, Campione. Italy covers an area of , with a population of over 60 million. It is the third-most populous member state of the European Union, the sixth-most populous country in Europe, and the tenth-largest country in the continent by land area. Italy's capital and largest city is Rome. Italy was the native place of many civilizations such as the Italic peoples and the Etruscans, while due to its central geographic location in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, the country has also historically b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its Metropolitan City of Bologna, metropolitan area is home to more than 1,000,000 people. It is known as the Fat City for its rich cuisine, and the Red City for its Spanish-style red tiled rooftops and, more recently, its leftist politics. It is also called the Learned City because it is home to the oldest University of Bologna, university in the world. Originally Etruscan, the city has been an important urban center for centuries, first under the Etruscans (who called it ''Felsina''), then under the Celts as ''Bona'', later under the Romans (''Bonōnia''), then again in the Middle Ages, as a free municipality and later ''signoria'', when it was among the List of largest European cities in history, largest Euro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million Military personnel, personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Air warfare of World War II, Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in hu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I Lituani
''I Lituani'' (''The Lithuanians'') is an opera consisting of a prologue and three acts by Amilcare Ponchielli to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on the historical poem '' Konrad Wallenrod'' written by Lithuanian-Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz. It premiered at La Scala in Milan on 7 March 1874. History Casa Ricordi commissioned Ponchielli to write the opera, and the idea to use ''Konrad Wallenrod'' came from Salvatore Farina, a novelist and playwright working for Ricordi. The opera was extremely well received when it opened, and a second, final version with additional material was performed again a year later also to good reviews. It continued to be performed in the last decades of the 19th century in Cremona, Trieste, Brescia, Rome, Turin, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Chicago, and a single noteworthy Russian performance in 1884 at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in Saint Petersburg with the title ''Aldona''. After a three-night run in 1903 at La Scala, where ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dizionario Biografico Degli Italiani
The ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' ( en, Biographical Dictionary of the Italians) is a biographical dictionary published by the Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, started in 1925 and completed in 2020. It includes about 40,000 biographies of distinguished Italians. The entries are signed by their authors and provide a rich bibliography. History The work was conceived in 1925, to follow the model of similar works such as the German '' Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (1912, 56 volumes) or the British '' Dictionary of National Biography'' (from 2004 the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''; 60 volumes). It is planned to include biographical entries on Italians who deserve to be preserved in history and who lived at any time during the long period from the fall of the Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
