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Cléopâtre
''Cléopâtre'' is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Louis Payen. It was first performed at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo on 23 February 1914, nearly two years after Massenet's death. ''Cléopâtre'' is one of three operas by Massenet to be premiered posthumously; the others are ''Panurge'' (1913) and '' Amadis'' (1922). The piece has seen limited revival since its premiere and has a modest modern recording history. Performance history Though the opera was written for the mezzo Lucy Arbell, the role of Cléopâtre was created by the soprano Maria Nikolaevna Kuznetsova. The Chicago Opera Association presented the first American performance on 10 January 1916 with Kuznetsova. The first New York performance was on 23 January 1919 with Mary Garden. It was revived at the Massenet Festival in Saint-Étienne in 1990 with Kathryn Harries in the title role. This production yielded a live recording (''Koch Schwann''). New York saw a revival of ''Cléopâtre'' o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther'' (1892). He also composed oratorios, ballets, orchestral works, incidental music, piano pieces, songs and other music. While still a schoolboy, Massenet was admitted to France's principal music college, the Paris Conservatoire. There he studied under Ambroise Thomas, whom he greatly admired. After winning the country's top musical prize, the Prix de Rome, in 1863, he composed prolifically in many genres, but quickly became best known for his operas. Between 1867 and his death forty-five years later he wrote more than forty stage works in a wide variety of styles, from opéra-comique to grand-scale depictions of classical myths, romantic comedies, Drame lyrique, lyric dramas, as well as oratorios, cantatas and ballets. Masse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autocratic Roman Empire. Antony was a relative and supporter of Julius Caesar, and served as one of his generals during the conquest of Gaul and the Civil War. Antony was appointed administrator of Italy while Caesar eliminated political opponents in Greece, North Africa, and Spain. After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, Antony joined forces with Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, another of Caesar's generals, and Octavian, Caesar's great-nephew and adopted son, forming a three-man dictatorship known to historians as the Second Triumvirate. The Triumvirs defeated Caesar's killers, the ''Liberatores'', at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC, and divided the government of the Republic between themselves. Antony was assigned Rome's eastern provinces, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a diplomat, Ancient navies and vessels, naval commander, linguist, and Ancient Greek medicine, medical author; see and . A member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, she was a descendant of its founder Ptolemy I Soter, a Ancient Macedonians, Macedonian Greek general and Government of Macedonia (ancient kingdom)#Companions, friends, councils, and assemblies, companion of Alexander the Great. writes about Ptolemy I Soter: "The Ptolemaic dynasty, of which Cleopatra was the last representative, was founded at the end of the fourth century BC. The Ptolemies were not of Egyptian extraction, but stemmed from Ptolemy Soter, a Macedonian Greek in the entourage of Alexander the Great."For additional sources that describe the Ptolemaic dynasty as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Massenet Festival
Massenet Festival (''Festival Massenet'') is a biennale festival of music by French composer, Jules Massenet held in Saint-Étienne, France, close to the area where the composer was born. The first Massenet Festival took place in November 1990 when the opera ''Cléopâtre'' and the oratorio ''La Vierge'' were presented. In recent years, performances have been given in the Grand Théâtre Massenet, one of the theatres of the Opéra Théâtre de Saint-Etienne, and formerly known as L'Esplanade. History Appointed to run the Opéra de Saint-Etienne in 1986, Jean-Louis Pichon invited Jean-Pierre Jacquillat to become musical director. Shortly afterwards, the elderly widow of a chief electrician at the Théâtre Eden handed over a mass of rare vocal scores, which included '' Amadis'' by Massenet. Intrigued, Pichon obtained a conductor's score for Jacquillat, but the conductor was killed in a road accident that August and a replacement was needed urgently. Eventually Pichon found Patrick ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maria Nikolaevna Kuznetsova
Maria Nikolaevna Kuznetsova (25 April 1966) (russian: Мария Николаевна Кузнецова, also spelled Maria Kuznetsova-Benois) was a 20th century Russian opera singer and dancer. Prior to the Revolution, Kuznetsova was one of the most celebrated opera singers in Imperial Russia, having worked with Richard Strauss, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Jules Massenet. She was frequently paired with Feodor Chaliapin. After leaving Russia in 1917, Kuznetsova continued to perform for another thirty years abroad before retiring.Grove, George and Blom, Eric. ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', 879. St. Martin's Press, 1955. Family Kuznetsova was born in 1880, in Odessa, the daughter of portraitist Nikolai Kuznetsov.Salmina-Haskell, Larissa. ''Russian Paintings and Drawings in the Ashmolean Museum'', Pages 23–24. Published by Ashmolean Museum, 1989 Kuznetsova's mother was descended from a distinguished family of scientists and intellectuals of Romanian and Russ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Léon Jehin
Léon Jehin (17 July 1853 – 14 February 1928) was a conductor and composer, especially associated with the opera house in Monte Carlo.Favre G. ''Histoire Musicale de la Principauté de Monaco du XVIe au XXe siècle.'' Éditions des Archives du Palais Princier, Monaco/Éditions A et J Picard, Paris, 1974. He composed the national anthem of Monaco. Life and career Jehin was born in Spa, Belgium. He studied at the conservatoire in Liege and then in Brussels. He was a violinist at La Monnaie in the Belgian capital and conducted at Anvers, Aix-les-Bains, and the Royal Opera House. In 1889, when he was an assistant conductor in Brussels, he succeeded Arthur Steck as the conductor of the Monte Carlo Opera in Monaco, a position he held until his death. His first performance there was of '' Mireille'' by Charles Gounod.Walsh T J. ''Monte Carlo opera, 1879–1909.'' Gill and Macmillan, Dublin, 1975. In addition to conducting the main repertoire at the Monte Carlo opera, he conducted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Véronique Gens
Véronique Gens (born 19 April 1966) is a French operatic soprano. She has spent much of her career recording and performing Baroque music. Gens was born in Orléans, France, and studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, winning first prize at the school. Her debut in 1986 was with William Christie and his Les Arts Florissants. She has since worked with Marc Minkowski, René Jacobs, Christophe Rousset, Philippe Herreweghe, Martin Gester, and Jean-Claude Malgoire. While she started out as a Baroque specialist, Gens has also come into demand for roles in Mozart operas, and as an interpreter of songs by Berlioz, Debussy (see also Beau Soir), Fauré and others. Her numerous recordings include many works by Mozart and Purcell, as well as Joseph Canteloube's '' Chants d'Auvergne'' and Berlioz's '' Nuits d'été''. Selected discography * Marc-Antoine Charpentier : ''Le Massacre des Innocents'' H.411'', Super flumina Babylonis'' H.170'', Psaumes de David'' H .215'','' H.216, H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montserrat Caballé
Montserrat Caballé i Folch or Folc (full name: María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch (, , ; (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), known simply as Montserrat Caballé, was a Catalan Spanish operatic soprano. She sang a wide variety of roles, but is best known as an exponent of the works of Verdi and of the bel canto repertoire, notably the works of Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti. She was noticed internationally when she stepped in for a performance of Donizetti's ''Lucrezia Borgia'' at Carnegie Hall in 1965, and then appeared at leading opera houses. Her voice was described as pure but powerful, with superb control of vocal shadings and exquisite pianissimo. Caballé became popular to non-classical music audiences in 1987, when she recorded, at the request of the International Olympic Committee, "Barcelona", a duet with Freddie Mercury, which became an official theme song for the 1992 Olympic Games. She received several international awards and also Gram ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liceu
The Gran Teatre del Liceu (, English: Great Theatre of the Lyceum), known as ''El Liceu'', is an opera house in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Located in La Rambla, it is the oldest running theatre in Barcelona. Founded in 1837 at another location, El Liceu opened at its current location on 4 April 1847. The theatre was rebuilt after two fires in 1861 and 1994 and reopened on 20 April 1862 and 7 October 1999, respectively. On 7 November 1893, on the opening night of the season, an anarchist threw two bombs into the stalls, and some twenty people were killed and many more were injured. Between 1847 and 1989, the Liceu was the largest opera house in Europe by capacity, with its 2,338 seats at the time. Since 1994, the Liceu has been owned and managed by a public foundation, whose Board of Trustees comprises members representing the Ministry of Culture of the Government of Spain, the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Provincial Deputation of Barcelona and the City Council of Barc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amadis (Massenet)
''Amadis'' is an opera in three acts with prologue by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Jules Claretie based on the Spanish knight-errantry romance '' Amadis de Gaula'', originally of Portuguese origin, by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. It was first performed at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo on 1 April 1922, nearly ten years after Massenet's death. Massenet had started to compose the piece in 1895 but shelved it and completed it clandestinely in the last years of his life. ''Amadis'' is one of three operas by Massenet to have been premiered posthumously; the others are ''Panurge'' (1913) and ''Cléopâtre'' (1914). ''Amadis'' has gained no lasting popularity but was revived (and recorded on the Koch Swann label) during the Massenet Festival in Saint-Étienne, France in 1988. Roles Synopsis The story takes place in ancient Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis Payen
Albert Liénard, known as Louis Payen (1875 – 1927) was a French librettist. He was secretary general of the Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real .... He wrote several librettos for Massenet, Kunc etc. Works *1908: ''La Victoire à Orange.'' Revival at the Arènes de Nîmes in 1911 *1911: ''Les Esclaves'', three-act tragedy, created at the in Béziers, 27–29 August 1911, music by Aymé Kunc, *1912: ''La monnaie de singe'', four-act comedy (cowritten with Lucie Delarue-Mardrus *'' Cléopâtre'', four acts, music by Jules Massenet. Premiered posthumously in 1914. * ''La Femme nue,'' ''drame lyrique'' in four acts, after the play by Henry Bataille, music by Henry Février External links Louis Payenon People from Alès 1875 births ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panurge (opera)
''Panurge'' is an opera (titled 'Haulte farce musicale') in three acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Georges Spitzmuller and Maurice Boukay, after ''Pantagruel'' by Rabelais. It was first performed at the Théâtre de la Gaîté in Paris on 25 April 1913, nearly a year after Massenet's death, one of three operas by the composer to have premiered posthumously, the others being ''Cléopâtre'' (1914) and '' Amadis'' (1922). Performance history It is one of Massenet's least known operas, but was revived at the Massenet Festival in St. Etienne in 1994 under conductor Patrick Fournillier. Harding quotes a reaction of Alfred Bruneau who declared that the libretto was not suited to Massenet's temperament and demanded music not of a Massenet, but of a Chabrier.Harding J. ''Massenet.'' J M Dent & Sons Ltd, London, 1970. Roles Synopsis Act 1 A crowd of townspeople have gathered outside the tavern of Alcofibras, the 'Hostellerie du Coq à l’Asne' in Les Halles Les ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
