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Jennifer Johnston (mezzo-soprano)
__NOTOC__ Jennifer Johnston is an English operatic mezzo-soprano. Born in Liverpool, she studied law at the University of Cambridge and worked in London chambers as a barrister before studying opera at the Royal College of Music (RCM). She is universally known as the 'Scouse Diva'. A former BBC New Generation Artist, she made her professional debut as Humperdinck's Hänsel for Scottish Opera, followed by her international debuts at the Aix-en-Provence Festival as Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and at the Salzburg Festival as Carmi in an unstaged performance of Mozart's '' La Betulia Liberata''; a performance which was recorded and released on DVD by Deutsche Grammophon. She is particularly associated with the Bayerische Staatsoper and its distinguished musical director Kirill Petrenko, where her roles have included Second Norn, Roßweise, Floßhilde, Hedwige and La Ciesca. She has appeared in opera at the Teatro alla Scala as Mrs Grose in ''The Turn of the Screw'' (Brit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operatic
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretto, librettist and incorporates a number of the performing arts, such as acting, Theatrical scenery, 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 conducting, 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 Western culture#Music, Western classical music, and Italian tradition in particular. Originally understood as an sung-through, entirely sung piece, in contrast to a play with songs, opera has come to include :Opera genres, numerous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bayerische Staatsoper
The Bavarian State Opera () is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bavarian State Orchestra. History The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under Electress consort Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy, when Giovanni Battista Maccioni's ''L'arpa festante'' was performed in the court theatre. In 1753, the Residence Theatre (Cuvilliés Theatre) was opened as a major stage. While opera performances were also held in the Prinzregententheater (completed in 1901), the company's home base is the Nationaltheater München on Max-Joseph-Platz. In 1875, the Munich Opera Festival took place for the first time. Sir Peter Jonas became the general manager in 1993, the first British general manager of any major German-speaking opera house. In 2008, Nikolaus Bachler became Intendant (general manager) of the opera company, and Kirill Petrenko became Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) in 2013. In 2014, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harrison Birtwistle
Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include '' The Triumph of Time'' (1972) and the operas '' The Mask of Orpheus'' (1986), '' Gawain'' (1991), and '' The Minotaur'' (2008). The last of these was ranked by music critics at ''The Guardian'' in 2019 as the third-best piece of the 21st century. Even his compositions that were not written for the stage often showed a theatrical approach. A performance of his saxophone concerto '' Panic'' during the BBC's Last Night of the Proms caused "national notoriety". He received many international awards and honorary degrees. Life and career Early life Harrison Birtwistle was born in Accrington, a mill town in Lancashire around 20 miles north of Manchester. His parents, Fred and Madge Birtwistle, ran a bakery, and his interest in music was encourag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gawain (opera)
''Gawain'' is an opera with music by Harrison Birtwistle to a libretto by David Harsent. The story is based on the Middle English romance ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight''. The opera was a commission from the Royal Opera House, London, where it was first performed on 30 May 1991. Rhian Samuel has published a detailed analysis of the opera. Birtwistle revised it in 1994, and the premiere of the revised version was given at the Royal Opera House on 20 April 1994. Music The plot of ''Gawain'' is ideally suited to Birtwistle's approach to musical structure. The repetitious structure of events can be paralleled with a repetitious musical structure. Thus the three hunts in Act 2 use the same musical material, as do the three seductions. The music is varied and adapted every time it is heard, but inner coherence is easily established. The synopsis also indicates many points where recurring motifs are heard: trios of door knocks; the return to the Arthurian court at the end of the o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CO2 (opera)
''CO2'' is an Italian opera by Giorgio Battistelli which premiered at La Scala on May 16, 2015. It is based on Al Gore's documentary ''An Inconvenient Truth'',Druckenbrod, Andrew (June 03, 2008)"An inconvenient opera? Gore goes operatic."''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...''. and Gore was initially a character in the opera. The libretto, primarily in English but containing passages in other languages, was written by Robert Carsen, who directed the production, and Ian Burton. Works with similar themes * Anthropocene (opera) 2019 by Stuart MacRae * Auksalaq (opera) 2012 by Matthew Burtner References Environmental mass media Operas Operas based on films 2015 operas English-language operas Opera world premieres at La Scala Opera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giorgio Battistelli
Giorgio Battistelli (born 25 April 1953) is an Italian composer of contemporary classical music. A native of Albano Laziale (province of Rome), he studied at the conservatory in L'Aquila and is a former student of Stockhausen and Kagel. Battistelli has written nearly 20 operas on subjects ranging from Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopaedia to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. His opera '' CO2'', based on Al Gore's ''An Inconvenient Truth'', premiered at La Scala in 2015. His opera '' Wake'' was premiered by the Birmingham Opera Company in March 2018 and is inspired by the story of Lazarus being brought back from the dead. In 1994 he founded with some friends the improvisation group entitled ''Edgard Varèse'' and an instrumental ensemble named ''Beat '72''. From 1985 to 1986 he was host of the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst in Berlin. In 1990 he won the SIAE for an opera and in 1993 the Cervo Prize for contemporary music. He was also artistic director of the Cantiere Intern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaia
In Greek mythology, Gaia (; , a poetic form of ('), meaning 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea (), is the personification of Earth. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenogenic—of all life. She is the mother of Uranus (Sky), with whom she conceived the Titans (themselves parents of many of the Olympian gods), the Cyclopes, and the Giants, as well as of Pontus (Sea), from whose union she bore the primordial sea gods. Her equivalent in the Roman pantheon was Terra.''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. Etymology The Greek name (''Gaia'' or ) is a mostly epic, collateral form of Attic (''Gē'' ), and Doric (''Ga'' ), perhaps identical to (''Da'' ), both meaning "Earth". Some scholars believe that the word is of uncertain origin. Beekes suggested a probable Pre-Greek origin. Robert S. P. Beekes, ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, pp. 269–270 (''s.v.'' "γῆ"). M.L. West derives the na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Turn Of The Screw (opera)
''The Turn of the Screw'', Op. 54, is a 20th-century English chamber opera composed by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto by Myfanwy Piper, based on the 1898 novella '' The Turn of the Screw'' by Henry James. Kennedy, Michael, "Benjamin Britten", in It concerns a young, inexperienced governess sent to a country house to care for two children, whom she is gradually convinced have been corrupted by the ghosts of a previous manservant and governess. The drama grows increasingly tense, with a tragic outcome. It was described by ''The Guardian'' as one of the most dramatically appealing of Britten's operas, and by music professor Peter Evans as "Britten's most intricately organized opera". It is in two acts of eight scenes each, with a prologue that ends with the introduction of a twelve-note 'Screw' theme. Each scene is preceded by a variation on that theme. Several other related leitmotifs occur through the opera. Typically of Britten, the music mixes tonality and dissonance. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teatro Alla Scala
La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was a church). The premiere performance was Antonio Salieri's ''Europa riconosciuta''. Most of Italy's greatest operatic artists, and many of the finest singers from around the world, have appeared at La Scala. The theatre is regarded as being one of the leading opera and ballet theatres globally. It is home to the La Scala Theatre Chorus, La Scala Theatre Ballet, La Scala Theatre Orchestra, and the Filarmonica della Scala orchestra. The theatre also has an associate school, known as the La Scala Theatre Academy (), which offers professional training in music, dance, stagecraft, and stage management. Overview La Scala's season opens on 7 December, Saint Ambrose's Day, the feast day of Milan's patron saint. All performances must end before midnight and long operas start earlier in the evening when necessary. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Ciesca
() is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''. The work is the third and final part of Puccini's (The Triptych)three one-act operas with contrasting themes, originally written to be presented together. Although it continues to be performed with one or both of the other operas, is now more frequently staged either alone or with short operas by other composers. The aria is one of Puccini's best known, and one of the most popular arias in opera. Puccini had long considered writing a set of one-act operas which would be performed together in a single evening, but faced with a lack of suitable subjects and opposition from his publisher, he repeatedly put the project aside. However, by 1916 Puccini had completed the one-act tragedy and, after considering various ideas, he began work the following year on the solemn, religious, all- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Tell (opera)
''William Tell'' (; ) is a French-language opera in four acts by Italian composer Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Victor-Joseph Étienne de Jouy and Hippolyte Bis, L. F. Bis, based on Friedrich Schiller's play ''William Tell (play), Wilhelm Tell,'' which, in turn, drew on the William Tell legend. The opera was Rossini's last, although he lived for nearly 40 more years. Fabio Luisi said that Rossini planned for ''Guillaume Tell'' to be his last opera even as he composed it. The often-performed William Tell Overture, overture in four sections features a depiction of a storm and a vivacious finale, the "March of the Swiss Soldiers". Paris Opéra archivist Charles Malherbe discovered the original orchestral score of the opera in the hands of a second-hand bookseller, resulting in its being acquired by the Paris Conservatoire in 1898. Performance history ''Guillaume Tell'' was first performed by the Paris Opéra at the Salle Le Peletier on 3 August 1829, but within three perform ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Floßhilde
The Rhinemaidens are the three water-nymphs (''Rheintöchter'' or "Rhine daughters") who appear in Richard Wagner's opera cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen''. Their individual names are Woglinde, Wellgunde and Flosshilde (Floßhilde), although they are generally treated as a single entity and they act together accordingly. Of the 34 characters in the ''Ring'' cycle, they are the only ones who did not originate in the Old Norse ''Eddas''. Wagner created his Rhinemaidens from other legends and myths, most notably the ''Nibelungenlied'' which contains stories involving water sprites ( nixies) or mermaids of the Danube. The key concepts associated with the Rhinemaidens in the ''Ring'' operas—their flawed guardianship of the Rhine gold, and the condition (the renunciation of love) through which the gold could be stolen from them and then transformed into a means of obtaining world power—are wholly Wagner's own invention, and are the elements that initiate and propel the entire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
