Maria Riccarda Wesseling
Maria Riccarda Wesseling is a Swiss-Dutch operatic mezzo-soprano who has appeared in lead roles at international opera houses and festivals. She created the title role in Henze's last opera, ''Phaedra'', at the Staatsoper Berlin, repeated at La Monnaie in Brussels and in the Barbican Centre. Career Born Maria Riccarda Schmid in Wattwil, she studied with Hedwig Vonlanthen in Solothurn, with Elisabeth Glauser at the Musikhochschule Bern, and with at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam. She appeared as Rossinis ''La Cenerentola'' on a tour with the Orchestre National de Lille. She was a regular guest at the Stadttheater Bern, where she performed roles such as Kassandra in Aribert Reimann's '' Troades'', Fenena in Verdi's ''Nabucco'', Enrichetta in Bellini's ''I puritani'', Olga in ''Tri Sestri'' by Péter Eötvös, Idamante in Mozart's ''Idomeneo'', Cesare in Handel's ''Giulio Cesare'', and the title role in Bizet's ''Carmen''. She sang leading roles by Handel also at fes ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wattwil
Wattwil is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Toggenburg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the municipality of Krinau merged into Wattwil.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 2 January 2013 Geography Since the merger, the new municipality has an area of . Before the merger, Wattwil had an area, , of . Of this area, 52.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 37.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 8.3% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (1.8%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes). Krinau had an area, , of . Of this area, 57.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 39.1% is forested. ...[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Idomeneo
' (Italian for ''Idomeneus, King of Crete, or, Ilia and Idamante''; usually referred to simply as ''Idomeneo'', 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 Crébillion père, which had been set to music by André Campra as '' Idoménée'' in 1712. Mozart and Varesco were commissioned in 1780 by 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, and ballets is very French, and the shipwreck scene towards the end of act I is ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Marc Minkowski
Marc Minkowski (born 4 October 1962) is a French conductor of classical music, especially known for his interpretations of French Baroque works, and is the current general director of Opéra national de Bordeaux. His mother, Mary Anne (Wade), is American, and his father was Alexandre Minkowski, a Polish-French professor of pediatrics and one of the founders of neonatology. Marc Minkowski is a Chevalier du Mérite. Life and career Marc Minkowski was born in Paris. His maternal grandmother, Edith Wade, was a violinist. He began his musical career as a bassoonist for René Clemencic's Clemencic Consort and Philippe Pierlot's Ricercar Consort. In 1982, Minkowski formed " Les Musiciens du Louvre", an orchestra dedicated to showcasing French Baroque music which has championed works by Marin Marais (opera '' Alcyone''), Jean-Joseph Mouret (opera ''Les amours de Ragonde''), Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Jean-Baptiste Lully (opera '' Phaëton'' at Opéra National de Lyon) and Jean- ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Krzysztof Warlikowski
Krzysztof Warlikowski (Polish pronunciation: ; born 26 May 1962) is a Polish theatre director. He is the creator and artistic director of Nowy Teatr (New Theatre) in Warsaw. Biography He studied history, philosophy and Romance languages at the Jagiellonian University and also philosophy, French language and literature at École Pratique Des Hautes Études at the Sorbonne. He graduated in directing from Ludwik Solski Academy for the Dramatic Arts in 1993. Among his teachers was director Krystian Lupa. In the early 1990s Warlikowski worked for some time as Lupa's assistant. He met and learned also from Peter Brook and Giorgio Strehler. Warlikowski directed his first plays at Stary Teatr in Kraków, where he staged Heinrich von Kleist's ''The Marquis of O.'' in 1993. His later dramas were performed at various theatres in Poland and Europe, including Teatr Nowy (The New Theatre) in Poznań, Warsaw's Teatr Studio (Studio Theatre), Teatr im. W. Horzycy (W. Horzyca Theatre) in Toru ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Iphigénie En Tauride
''Iphigénie en Tauride'' (, ''Iphigenia in Tauris'') is a 1779 opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck in four acts. It was his fifth opera for the French stage. The libretto was written by Nicolas-François Guillard. With ''Iphigénie,'' Gluck took his operatic reform to its logical conclusion. The recitatives are shorter and they are ''récitatif accompagné'' (i.e. the strings and perhaps other instruments are playing, not just continuo accompaniment). The normal dance movements that one finds in the French '' tragédie en musique'' are almost entirely absent. The drama is ultimately based on the play '' Iphigenia in Tauris'' by the ancient Greek dramatist Euripides which deals with stories concerning the family of Agamemnon in the aftermath of the Trojan War. Performance history ''Iphigénie en Tauride'' was first performed on 18 May 1779 by the Paris Opéra at the second Salle du Palais-Royal and was a great success. Some think that the head of the Paris Opéra, Devismes ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Paris Opera
The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be known more simply as the . Classical ballet as it is known today arose within the Paris Opera as the Paris Opera Ballet and has remained an integral and important part of the company. Currently called the , it mainly produces operas at its modern 2,723-seat theatre Opéra Bastille which opened in 1989, and ballets and some classical operas at the older 1,979-seat Palais Garnier which opened in 1875. Small scale and contemporary works are also staged in the 500-seat Amphitheatre under the Opéra Bastille. The company's annual budget is in the order of 200 million euros, of which €100M come from the French state and €70M from box office receipts. With this money, the company runs the two houses and supports a large permanent staff, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hercules (Handel)
''Hercules'' ( HWV 60) is a ''Musical Drama'' in three acts by George Frideric Handel, composed in July and August 1744. The English language libretto was by the Reverend Thomas Broughton, based on Sophocles's '' Women of Trachis'' and the ninth book of Ovid's '' Metamorphoses''. Performance history ''Hercules'' was first given at the King's Theatre in London on 5 January 1745 in concert style. There were only two performances in the original run. The role of Lichas was written first as a small one for tenor, but it was greatly expanded before the premiere to provide Susanna Cibber with six airs. She was too ill to sing on the first night, and the music was either omitted or redistributed on that occasion. She sang in the second performance on 12 January. The music for the chorus "Wanton God" and the air "Cease, ruler of the day" was never given in this opera: the latter was adapted for the final chorus of ''Theodora''. The work was a total failure and caused Handel to suspend ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Teseo
''Teseo'' ("Theseus", HWV 9; ) is an opera seria with music by George Frideric Handel, the only Handel opera that is in five acts. The Italian-language libretto was by Nicola Francesco Haym, after Philippe Quinault's '' Thésée''. It was Handel's third London opera, intended to follow the success of ''Rinaldo'' after the unpopular '' Il pastor fido''. First performed on 10 January 1713,''Teseo'' featured "magical" effects such as flying dragons, transformation scenes and apparitions and had a cast of notable Italian opera singers. It was a success with London audiences, receiving thirteen performances even though the stage machinery for the "magical" effects broke down, and would have received more performances had not one of the theatre's managers run away with the box office receipts. Performance history The opera was premiered at the Queen's Theatre in the Haymarket on 10 January 1713. It received an additional 12 performances through 16 May 1713, a mark of success ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Festival De Radio France Et Montpellier
The Festival Radio France Occitanie Montpellier, formerly the Festival de Radio France et de Montpellier, is a summer festival of opera and music held in Montpellier, France created in 1985. The music festival concentrates on classical music and jazz with about 100 events, including opera, concerts, films, and talks, most of which are free and located in the historic courtyards of the city or the modern concert halls of Le Corum. Since its beginning, the festival has been entrusted to René Koering. Jean-Noël Jeanneney, president and general manager of Radio France in 1985 declared the purpose the festival was to reconcile "the classic and the unexpected, great interpreters and musicians making their debut, ancient accents and the sonorities of tomorrow... in the great tradition of public service". The Festival is held for more than two weeks in mid to late July. Significant premieres * 2006 premiere Édouard Lalo's lost opera '' Fiesque''. With Roberto Alagna, cond. Alain A ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Handel Festival Halle
The Handel Festival (in German: Händel-Festspiele) in Halle an der Saale, Saxony-Anhalt, is an international music festival concentrating on the music of George Frideric Handel in the composer's birthplace. It was founded in 1922 and it grew into a center of Handel studies and performance in Europe. Especially Handel's operas have been staged regularly, some of them as first revivals. History The first Handel Festival in Halle was conducted in 1922,George Frideric Handel Halle feiert den "Weltbürger Händel" MDR 2009 three yea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Amadigi Di Gaula
''Amadigi di Gaula'' ( HWV 11) is a "magic" opera in three acts, with music by George Frideric Handel. It was the fifth Italian opera that Handel wrote for an English theatre and the second he wrote for Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington in 1715. The opera about a damsel in distress is based on '' Amadis de Grèce'', a French tragédie-lyrique by André Cardinal Destouches and Antoine Houdar de la Motte. ''Amadigi'' was written for a small cast, employing four high voices. Handel made prominent use of wind instruments, so the score is unusually colorful, comparable to his '' Water Music''. The opera received its first performance in London at the King's Theatre in the Haymarket on 25 May 1715, in a lavish successful production. Charles Burney maintained near the end of the eighteenth century: Amadigi contained "...more invention, variety and good composition, than in any one of the musical dramas of Handel which I have yet carefully and critically examined".Richard B. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lucerne Festival
Lucerne Festival is one of the leading international festivals in the world of classical music and presents a series of classical music festivals based in Lucerne, Switzerland. Founded in 1938 by Ernest Ansermet and Walter Schulthess, it currently produces three festivals per year. Since 1999, Michael Haefliger has been its Executive and Artistic Director. Each festival features resident orchestras and soloists alongside guest performances from international ensembles and artists. The central festival takes place in summer from mid-August to mid-September and offers a widely varied range of approximately 100 concerts and related events primarily at the Lucerne Culture and Congress Centre (KKL) designed by Jean Nouvel. History The festival started with the so-called "Concert de Gala" in the gardens of Richard Wagner's villa at Tribschen in 1938 conducted by Arturo Toscanini, who had formed an orchestra with members of different orchestras and soloists from around Europe. I ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |