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Armide (Gluck)
''Armide'' is an opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck, set to a libretto by Philippe Quinault. Gluck's fifth production for the Parisian stage and the composer's own favourite among his works, it was first performed on 23 September 1777 by the Académie Royale de Musique in the second Salle du Palais-Royal in Paris. Background and performance history Gluck set the same libretto Philippe Quinault had written for Lully in 1686, based on Torquato Tasso's ''Gerusalemme liberata'' (''Jerusalem Delivered''). Gluck seemed at ease in facing French traditions head-on when he composed ''Armide''. Lully and Quinault were the very founders of serious opera in France and ''Armide'' was generally recognized as their masterpiece, so it was a bold move on Gluck's part to write new music to Quinault's words. A similar attempt to write a new opera to the libretto of '' Thésée'' by Jean-Joseph de Mondonville in 1765 had ended in disaster, with audiences demanding it be replaced by Lully's ori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librettist and incorporates a number of the performing arts, such as acting, scenery, costume, and sometimes dance or ballet. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble, which since the early 19th century has been led by a conductor. Although musical theatre is closely related to opera, the two are considered to be distinct from one another. Opera is a key part of the Western classical music tradition. Originally understood as an entirely sung piece, in contrast to a play with songs, opera has come to include numerous genres, including some that include spoken dialogue such as ''Singspiel'' and ''Opéra comique''. In traditional number opera, singers employ two styles o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
François-Joseph Gossec
François-Joseph Gossec (17 January 1734 – 16 February 1829) was a French composer of operas, string quartets, symphonies, and choral works. Life and work The son of a small farmer, Gossec was born at the village of Vergnies, then a French exclave in the Austrian Netherlands, now an '' ancienne commune'' in the municipality of Froidchapelle, Belgium. Showing an early taste for music, he became a choir-boy in Antwerp. He went to Paris in 1751 and was taken on by the composer Jean-Philippe Rameau. He followed Rameau as the conductor of a private orchestra kept by the '' fermier général'' Le Riche de La Poupelinière, a wealthy amateur and patron of music. Gradually he became determined to do something to revive the study of instrumental music in France. Gossec's own first symphony was performed in 1754, and as conductor to the Prince de Condé's orchestra he produced several operas and other compositions of his own. He imposed his influence on French music with remarkable ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
François-Auguste Gevaert
François-Auguste Gevaert (31 July 1828 in Huysse, near Oudenaarde – 24 December 1908 in Brussels) was a Belgian musicologist and composer.N. Slonimsky, Ed., ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', 8th ed., Schirmer Books, NY Life His father was a baker, and he was intended for the same profession, but better counsels prevailed and he was permitted to study music. He was sent in 1841 to the Ghent Conservatory, where he studied under Édouard de Sommere and Martin-Joseph Mengal. Then he was appointed organist of the Jesuit church in that city. Soon Gevaert's compositions attracted attention, and he won the Belgian Prix de Rome which entitled him to two years' travel. The journey was postponed during the production of his first opera and other works. He finally embarked on it in 1849. After a short stay in Paris he went to Spain, and subsequently to Italy. In 1867 Gevaert, having returned to Paris, became "Chef de Chant" at the Academie de Musique there, in s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Monnaie
The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (french: Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, italic=no, ; nl, Koninklijke Muntschouwburg, italic=no; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is housed—La Monnaie in French or De Munt in Dutch—referring both to the building as well as the opera company. As Belgium's leading opera house, it is one of the few cultural institutions which receive financial support from the Federal Government of Belgium. Other opera houses in Belgium, such as the Vlaamse Opera and the Opéra Royal de Wallonie, are funded by regional governments. La Monnaie is located on the Place de la Monnaie/Muntplein, not far from the Rue Neuve/Nieuwstraat and the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein. The current edifice is the third theatre on the site. The facade dates from 1818 with major alterations made in 1856 and 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eugène Louis Carpezat
Eugene is a common male given name that comes from the Greek εὐγενής (''eugenēs''), "noble", literally "well-born", from εὖ (''eu''), "well" and γένος (''genos''), "race, stock, kin". Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus Gene is a common shortened form. The feminine variant is or Eugenie. , a common given name in parts of central and northern Europe, is also a variant of Eugene / Eugine. Other male foreign-language varia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geneviève Vix
Geneviève Vix (née Brouwer, December 31, 1879 – August 25, 1939) was a French soprano. She was a descendant of the Dutch painter Adriaen Brouwer.Gourret J. ''Dictionnaire des cantatrices de l'Opéra de Paris.'' Editions Albatros, Paris, 1987. Life and career Vix studied at the Nantes Conservatoire and then at the Paris Conservatoire as a pupil of Lhérie where she won the first prize for opera in 1904 (as well as second prize for opéra comique). She made her debut at the Palais Garnier on 27 January 1905 in the title role in the premiere of ''Daria'' by Georges Marty, following this with Marguerite in ''Faust'', Mélisse in '' Armide'', and Juliette in '' Roméo et Juliette''. Vix made her debut at the Opéra-Comique on 27 September 1906 as ''Louise'', and was a member of the company for six seasons, creating the roles of Concepción in ''L'heure espagnole'' in 1911 and Francesca in ''Francesca da Rimini'' (Leoni) in 1913. She also sang in ''Manon'' (title role), ''Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dinh Gilly
Dinh Gilly (19 July 1877 – 19 May 1940) was a French-Algerian operatic baritone and teacher. Biography He studied in Toulouse, Rome (with Antonio Cotogni), and at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he won a first prize in 1902. That same year he made his debut at the Paris Opera as Silvio in Leoncavallo's ''Pagliacci''. In 1908 he left the Paris Opera and from 1909 to 1914 he performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. He also sang at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and later taught in London. During this period he also headlined on fourteen occasions at the Royal Albert Hall, London. His students there included Dennis Noble Dennis Noble (25 September 189814 March 1966) was a noted British baritone and teacher. He appeared in opera, oratorio, musical comedy and song, from the First World War through to the late 1950s. He was renowned for his enunciation and di ... and John Brownlee. On 4 January 1925, he opened the 'Dinh Gilly School of Singing' a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agustarello Affre
Agustarello Affre (23 October 1858 - 27 December 1931) was a French operatic tenor. He possessed a powerful, firm and exceptionally beautiful voice which garnered him the nickname the "French Tamagno" in comparison to the great Italian tenor. He was one of the leading operatic tenors in Paris from 1890 to 1911. He spent the last years of his career singing and directing operas in the United States. After World War I, he lived in retirement in France. Life and career Born Auguste Affre in Saint-Chinian, Affre was trained at the Conservatoire de Toulouse and the Conservatoire de Paris. He studied singing with Edmond Duvernoy and Pierre Gailhard. After singing in theatres in the French provinces, he made his debut in Paris at the Opéra in 1890 as Edgardo in Gaetano Donizetti's ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' opposite Nellie Melba in the title role, who also made her debut. He remained a leading tenor at that opera house for the next 20 years, portraying such roles as Arnold Melchtal i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alice Verlet
Alice Verlet (1873–1934) was a Belgian-born operatic coloratura soprano active primarily in France. She sang principal roles at the operas in Opéra National de Lyon, Lyon, Opéra de Nice, Nice, and Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Monte Carlo; at Her Majesty's Theatre, His Majesty's Theater in London; at La Monnaie in Brussels; and at the Palais Garnier, Paris Opéra and Opéra-Comique. In the United States, although not entirely absent from the operatic stage, she was known primarily as a concert singer and was a featured singer on Edison Disc Record, Edison records.Explanatory talk coupled with Edison diamond disc 83057, Giacomo Puccini, Puccini, ''La bohème'' act 1 — "O soave fanciulla", Alice Verlet and Giovanni Zenatello Life Alice Verlet was born in 1873 as Alice Verheyden in the Flemish-speaking region of Belgium, [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucienne Bréval
Lucienne Bréval (4 November 1869 – 15 August 1935) was a Swiss dramatic soprano who had a major international opera career from 1892 to 1918. Although she appeared throughout Europe and in the United States, Bréval spent most of her career performing with the Paris Opera where she became a greatly admired interpreter of French grand opera roles and Wagner heroines. She also specialized in the works of Gluck and Rameau, becoming particularly associated with the title roles in Gluck’s '' Armide'' and Rameau's ''Hippolyte et Aricie''. A favorite of the composers of her day, such as Massenet and Dukas, Bréval sang in numerous world premières during her career. Biography Born with the name Bertha Agnès Lisette Schilling, Bréval initially studied to be a pianist at Lausanne and briefly in Geneva before deciding to pursue an opera career."Bréval, Lucienne", ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', Personenteil:3 p 874. She studied voice with Victor Warot at the Paris Conse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles-Antoine Cambon
Charles-Antoine Cambon (21 April 1802 – 22 October 1875) was a French scenographer, theatrical production designer, who acquired international renown in the Romantic Era. Career Little biographical information exists on Cambon's early years, other than that he would have been active as an aquarelle and sepia artist before studying with Pierre-Luc Charles Ciceri. At Ciceri's workshop Cambon made acquaintance with Humanité-René Philastre, who would become his first long-term associate. As a stage design for a "Salon" at the Bibliothèque-Musée de l'Opéra testifies, Philastre and Cambon started collaborating in 1824 at the latest. From that time until 1848, Philastre and Cambon accepted numerous joint commissions for theatrical interior decorations and stage designs. Thus, they decorated the interiors of venues in Angoulême, Antwerp, Beaune, Brest, Choiseul, Dijon, Douai, Ghent, Lille, Lyon, Paris and Rouen, often providing complete machineries as well. Philastre and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philippe Chaperon
Philippe Chaperon (2 February 1823 – 21 December 1906) was a French painter and scenic designer, particularly known for his work at the Paris Opera. He produced stage designs for the premieres of numerous 19th-century operas, including Verdi's '' Don Carlos'' and ''Aida'', Massenet's '' Le Cid'', Saint-Saëns's '' Henri VIII'', part two of Berlioz's ''Les Troyens'' and the first performances in France of Verdi's ''Otello'' and ''Rigoletto'' and Wagner's '' Tannhäuser''. Life and career Chaperon came from a modest background. He was born in Paris, where his father was an employee at the Caisse d'Épargne. He attended the Lycée impérial Bonaparte and then the École des Beaux-Arts where he studied painting and architecture. He won a Prix de Rome scholarship and spent three years at the Villa Medici. He also studied architecture in the atelier of Victor Baltard and painting in the atelier of Léon Riesener where he received guidance from Riesener's cousin Eugène Delacroix. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
