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Idomeneo
(Italian for ''Idomeneus, King of Crete, or, Ilia and Idamante''; usually referred to simply as ''Idomeneo'', Köchel catalogue, K. 366) is an Italian-language opera seria by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Varesco from a French text by Antoine Danchet, based on a 1705 play by Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon , Crébillion père, which had been set to music by André Campra as ''Idoménée'' in 1712. Mozart and Varesco were commissioned in 1780 by Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria, Karl Theodor, Elector of Bavaria for a court carnival. He probably chose the subject, though it may have been Mozart. The work premiered on 29 January 1781 at the Cuvilliés Theatre in Munich, Germany. Composition The libretto clearly draws inspiration from Metastasio in its overall layout, the type of character development, and the highly poetic language used in the various numbers and the ''secco'' and ''stromentato'' recitatives. The style of the choruses, marches, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Idomeneus
In Greek mythology, Idomeneus (; ) was a Cretan king and commander who led the Cretan armies to the Trojan War, in eighty black ships. He was also one of the suitors of Helen, as well as a comrade of the Telamonian Ajax. Meriones was his charioteer and brother-in-arms. Description Idomeneus was described by the chronicler Malalas in his account of the ''Chronography'' as "above average height, dark-skinned, good eyes, well set, strong, good nose, thick beard, good head, curly hair, a berserker when fighting". Family Idomeneus was the son of Deucalion and Cleopatra, grandson of King Minos and king of Crete and Queen Pasiphaë, thus tracing his line from Helios the sun god. He was husband of Meda by whom she became the mother of Orsilochus, Cleisithyra, Iphiclus and Lycus. Mythology In Homer's ''Iliad'', Idomeneus is found among the first rank of the Greek generals, leading his troops and engaging the enemy head-on, and escaping serious injury. Idomeneus was one of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age resulted in List of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, more than 800 works representing virtually every Western classical genre of his time. Many of these compositions are acknowledged as pinnacles of the symphony, symphonic, concerto, concertante, chamber music, chamber, operatic, and choir, choral repertoires. Mozart is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Classical music, Western music, with his music admired for its "melodic beauty, its formal elegance and its richness of harmony and texture". Born in Salzburg, Mozart showed Child prodigy, prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. At age five, he was already competent on keyboard and violin, had begun to compose, and performed before European r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cuvilliés Theatre
The Cuvilliés Theatre () or Old Residence Theatre (''Altes Residenztheater'') is the former court theatre of the Residenz in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. History Elector of Bavaria Maximilian III Joseph (reg. 1745–1777) commissioned the construction of a new theatre outside the palace after a fire in the St. George's Hall of the Residence which had served previously as a theatre room. The Residence Theatre was built from 1751 to 1753 by François de Cuvilliés in rococo style. The carving was done under supervision of Johann Baptist Straub. Due to limited space the National Theatre Munich was built next to the Residence Theatre from 1811. The interior decoration was then removed under King Ludwig I (reg. 1825–1848) when the building became a depot for the National Theatre, but the Residence Theatre was already restored and re-opened in 1857 under King Maximilian II (reg. 1848–1864). Originally the theatre was located where the present (New) Residence Theatre sta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Köchel Catalogue
The Köchel catalogue () is a catalogue of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, originally created by Ludwig Ritter von Köchel, in which the entries are abbreviated ''K.'' or ''KV''. Its numbers reflect the ongoing task of compiling the chronology of Mozart's works, and provide a shorthand reference to the compositions. For example, according to Köchel's counting, Requiem (Mozart), Requiem in D minor is the 626th piece Mozart composed, thus is designated ''K. 626''. Köchel's original catalogue (1862) has been revised several times. Catalogue numbers from these revised editions are indicated either by parentheses or by superscript: K. 49, K. 49 (47d) or K. 47d refers to the work numbered 47d in the sixth edition. The catalog was originally chronological, though revisions made chronological ordering of Mozart's works difficult and as of 2024 a new organizational system is used for the ninth version. History In the decades after Mozart's death in 1791 there were severa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giambattista Varesco
Father Giambattista Varesco (26 November 1735 – 25 August 1805) was a chaplain, musician, poet and (most famously) librettist to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. His given name variously appears as Giambattista, Gianbattista, Giovanni Battista and Girolamo Giovanni Battista. He is sometimes referred to with the Italian title ''Abate'' or the French ''Abbé'', both used for priests: he was chaplain at the Salzburg court chapel from 1766. Life and career Giambattista Battista Varesco was born in Trento, Italy on 26 November 1735. He attended the Jesuit college in his home town where he was educated in the liberal arts as well as music. In 1766 he became a chaplain in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg in the service of Archbishop Sigismund von Schrattenbach. In addition to his duties as a chaplain, he was a musician in the archbishop’s orchestra. Varesco's presence in the Vienna court and his background as an Italian with a thorough liberal arts education made him an attractiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opera Seria
''Opera seria'' (; plural: ''opere serie''; usually called ''dramma per musica'' or ''melodramma serio'') is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to about 1770. The term itself was rarely used at the time and only attained common usage once ''opera seria'' was becoming unfashionable and beginning to be viewed as something of a historical genre. The popular rival to ''opera seria'' was ''opera buffa,'' the 'comic' opera that took its cue from the improvisatory commedia dell'arte. An opera seria had a historical or Biblical subject, whereas an opera buffa had a contemporary subject. Italian ''opera seria'' (invariably to Italian libretto, libretti) was produced not only in Italy but almost throughout Europe, and beyond (see Opera in Latin America, Opera in Cuba e. g.). Among the main centres in Europe were the Royal court, court operas based in Warsaw (since 1628), Bavarian State Opera, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Idoménée
''Idoménée'' (English: ''Idomeneus'') is an opera by the French composer André Campra. It takes the form of a ''tragédie en musique'' in a prologue and five acts. ''Idoménée'' was first performed on 12 January 1712 by the Académie royale de musique at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris. The libretto, by Antoine Danchet, is based on a stage play by Crébillon père. It later formed the basis of Giambattista Varesco's libretto for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera ''Idomeneo''. Roles Synopsis *Prologue Vénus visits Eole (Aeolus) in his cavern to ask him to release the winds so she can punish the Greek hero Idoménée (Idomeneus), on his way back from the siege of Troy to his home in Crete. *Act 1: In Crete, Ilione, daughter of King Priam of Troy reveals she has rejected the advances of Idoménée, but is secretly in love with his son Idamante. He returns her love, spurning Electre, who jealously plots revenge. News arrives that Idoménée has been lost in a storm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Theodore, Elector Of Bavaria
Charles Theodore (; 11 December 1724 – 16 February 1799) was a German nobleman of the Palatinate-Sulzbach, Sulzbach branch of the House of Wittelsbach. He became Count Palatine of Sulzbach at the age of six following the death of his father John Christian, Count of Palatinate-Sulzbach, Johann Christian in 1733. With the death of his cousin, Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine, Charles III Philip, he became Prince-elector and County Palatine of the Rhine, Count Palatine of the Rhine in 1742, being eighteen. In his fifties, he became Prince-Elector of Bavaria at the death of another cousin, Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria, Maximilian III Joseph, in 1777. Family and ascent Charles Theodore was born into Palatinate-Sulzbach branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Brockhaus Geschichte Second Edition His father was John Christian, Count of Palatinate-Sulzbach, Johann Christian, who later became Count Palatine of Sulzbach. His mother was Maria Henriette de La Tour d'Auvergne, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christoph Willibald Gluck
Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; ; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period (music), classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire at the time, he gained prominence at the House of Habsburg, Habsburg court in Vienna. There he brought about the practical reform of opera's dramaturgical practices for which many intellectuals had been campaigning. With a series of radical new works in the 1760s, among them ''Orfeo ed Euridice'' and ''Alceste (Gluck), Alceste'', he broke the stranglehold that Metastasio, Metastasian ''opera seria'' had enjoyed for much of the century. Gluck introduced more drama by using orchestral recitative and cutting the usually long da capo aria. His later operas have half the length of a typical baroque opera. The strong influence of French opera encouraged Gluck to move to Paris in November 1773. Fusing the traditions of Italian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antoine Danchet
Antoine Danchet (7 September 1671 – 21 February 1748) was a French playwright, librettist and dramatic poet. Biography Danchet was born in Riom, in the Auvergne, France. Having been a professor of rhetoric at Chartres and then a tutor at Paris, Danchet gave up teaching to write for the theatre. He wrote some opera libretti which, set to music by André Campra, met with success. By contrast, his tragedies, mediocre imitations of Racine, almost all failed. He died in Paris. An associate member of the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres from 1705, he was elected to the Académie française in 1712 thanks to the patronage of Mesdames de Ferriol et de Tencin. Voltaire wrote an epigram about him stating that his membership was more for his good deeds than his writing. :fr:Antoine Danchet He died in Paris. His works, published in 1751 include, in addition to dramatic works, odes, cantatas, and letters. In 1781, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Giambattista Varesco wrote the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
André Campra
André Campra (; baptized 4 December 1660 – 29 June 1744) was a French composer and conductor of the Baroque era. The leading French opera composer in the period between Jean-Baptiste Lully and Jean-Philippe Rameau, Campra wrote several '' tragédies en musique'' and ''opéra-ballets'' that were extremely well received. He also wrote three books of cantatas as well as religious music, including a requiem. Biography Campra was the son of Giovanni Francesco Campra, a surgeon and violinist from Graglia, Italy, and Louise Fabry, from Aix-en-Provence. His father was his first music teacher. He was baptised on 4 December 1660 in the Église de la Madeleine in Aix. He became a choirboy in the Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur there in 1674 and commenced ecclesiastical studies four years later. He was reprimanded by his superiors in 1681 for having taken part in theatrical performances without permission, but was nevertheless made a chaplain on 27 May of that year. He served as ''maître d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
