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Sarah Walker (opera Singer)
Sarah Elizabeth Royle Walker (born 11 March 1943) is an English mezzo-soprano. Walker was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. She studied at the Royal College of Music from 1961 to 1965, initially as a violinist and cellist, and went on to study singing with Vera Rózsa. She has appeared in numerous opera performances and is also known as a concert soloist and recitalist. Operatic career Walker's operatic debut was in 1969, as Ottavia in Kent Opera's production of ''L'incoronazione di Poppea''. She has also appeared in Britain with Glyndebourne Festival Opera, The Royal Opera, English National Opera, Scottish Opera, and abroad at The Metropolitan Opera (New York City), Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, La Monnaie (Brussels) and the Vienna State Opera. Notable roles have included the title-roles in ''Gloriana'' and ''Maria Stuarda'', Dido in ''Les Troyens'' and Baba the Turk in ''The Rake's Progress''. She recorded the challenging ''Voices'' under the direction of i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above (i.e. A3–A5 in scientific pitch notation, where middle C = C4; 220–880 Hz). In the lower and upper extremes, some mezzo-sopranos may extend down to the F below middle C (F3, 175 Hz) and as high as "high C" (C6, 1047 Hz). The mezzo-soprano voice type is generally divided into the coloratura, lyric, and dramatic. History While mezzo-sopranos typically sing secondary roles in operas, notable exceptions include the title role in Georges Bizet, Bizet's ''Carmen'', Angelina (Cinderella) in Gioachino Rossini, Rossini's ''La Cenerentola'', and Rosina in Rossini's ''The Barber of Seville, Barber of Seville'' (all of which are also sung by sopranos and contraltos). Many 19th-century French- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll, and designs by Josef Hlávka. The opera house was inaugurated as the "Vienna Court Opera" (''Wiener Hofoper'') in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria. It became known by its current name after the establishment of the First Austrian Republic in 1921. The Vienna State Opera is the successor of the old Vienna Court Opera (built in 1636 inside the Hofburg). The new site was chosen and the construction paid by Emperor Franz Joseph in 1861. The members of the Vienna Philharmonic are recruited from the Vienna State Opera's orchestra. The building is also the home of the Vienna State Ballet, and it hosts the annual Vienna Opera Ball during the ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (, BRSO) is a German radio orchestra. Based in Munich, Germany, it is one of the city's four orchestras. The BRSO is one of two full-size symphony orchestras operated under the auspices of Bayerischer Rundfunk, or Bavarian Broadcasting (BR). Its primary concert venues are the ''Philharmonie'' of the Gasteig Cultural Centre and the ''Herkulessaal'' in the Munich Residenz. History The orchestra was founded in 1949, with members of an earlier radio orchestra in Munich as the core personnel. Eugen Jochum was the orchestra's first chief conductor, from 1949 until 1960. Subsequent chief conductors have included Rafael Kubelík, Sir Colin Davis and Lorin Maazel. Mariss Jansons was the orchestra's chief conductor from 2003 until his death in 2019. Jansons regularly campaigned for a new concert hall during his tenure. In 2010, Sir Simon Rattle first guest-conducted the BRSO. In January 2021, the BRSO announced the appointment of Rattle as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government of the GDR on 13 August 1961. It included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, accompanied by a wide area (later known as the "death strip") that contained anti-vehicle trenches, beds of nails and other defenses. The primary intention for the Wall's construction was to prevent East Germany, East German citizens from Emigration from the Eastern Bloc, fleeing to the West. The Eastern Bloc, Soviet Bloc propaganda portrayed the Wall as protecting its population from "Fascist (insult), fascist elements conspiring to prevent the will of the people" from building a Communism, communist state in the GDR. The authorities officially referred to the Berlin Wall as the ''Anti-Fascist Protection Ram ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Symphony No
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning common today: a work usually consisting of multiple distinct sections or movements, often four, with the first movement in sonata form. Symphonies are almost always scored for an orchestra consisting of a string section (violin, viola, cello, and double bass), brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments which altogether number about 30 to 100 musicians. Symphonies are notated in a musical score, which contains all the instrument parts. Orchestral musicians play from parts which contain just the notated music for their own instrument. Some symphonies also contain vocal parts (e.g., Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, or Mahler's Second Symphony). Etymology and origins The word ''symphony'' is derived from the Greek word (), meaning ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first American-born conductor to receive international acclaim. Bernstein was "one of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history" according to music critic Donal Henahan. List of awards and nominations received by Leonard Bernstein, Bernstein's honors and accolades include seven Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and 16 Grammy Awards (including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Lifetime Achievement Award) as well as an Academy Award for Best Original Score, Academy Award nomination. He received the Kennedy Center Honor in 1981. As a composer, Bernstein wrote in many genres, including symphonic and orchestral music, ballet, film and theatre music, choral works, opera, chamber music, and pieces for the pian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jan-Hendrik Rootering
Jan-Hendrik Rootering (born 18 March 1950 in Wedingfeld near Flensburg) is a German-born operatic bass, son of the Dutch tenor Hendrikus Rootering from whom he had his first lessons. After further study at Hamburg's ''Musikhochschule'' he began singing minor roles with the Staatsoper Hamburg and made a debut at the Bayerischen Staatsoper München in 1982 as the Spirit Messenger in ''Die Frau ohne Schatten''. In 1987 he received the title of ''Bayerischer Kammersänger''. Rootering was the bass soloist in the Beethoven Ninth Symphony conducted by Leonard Bernstein in celebration of the fall of the Berlin wall—in the no-longer-divided city of Berlin—at Christmastime 1989. He can be seen as Fasolt on James Levine's ''The Ring of the Nibelung'', and as the Speaker of the Temple on Wolfgang Sawallisch's ''The Magic Flute'', and heard on two recital discs of ''Lieder'' by Richard Strauss and Hugo Wolf Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf (; ; 13 March 1860 – 22 February 1903) was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Klaus König
Klaus König (26 May 1934 – 7 June 2025) was a German operatic tenor. Based at the Staatsoper Dresden, he made an international career, focused on heldentenor roles including Wagner's Tannhäuser, Lohengrin and Parsifal. He performed the tenor solo in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, conducted by Leonard Bernstein at the Konzerthaus Berlin after the Fall of the Berlin Wall. At the time of his death in 2025, ''Place de l'Opera'' magazine described him as "one of the most important tenors of his generation, especially in the heroic tenor repertoire." Life and career König was born in Beuthen, Upper Silesia, on 26 May 1934. He grew up in Bad Muskau. He trained as a house painter and decorator and worked in his father's business. He later opened his own workshop in Krauschwitz. He studied voice at the Musikhochschule Dresden from 1965, taking evening courses. He kept running the workshop even after becoming known internationally as a singer. König made his stage debut at the Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
June Anderson
June Anderson (born December 30, 1952) is an American dramatic coloratura soprano. She is known for ''bel canto'' performances of Rossini, Donizetti, and Vincenzo Bellini. Subsequently, she has extended her repertoire to include a wide variety of other roles, including those from the Russian repertoire and works by Richard Strauss. In 2008, Anderson was elevated to Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government and in 2007 received a "Victoire d'honneur" in the Victoires de la musique classique in Paris. Anderson has performed in noted opera houses including La Scala, Covent Garden, La Fenice, Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Teatro Colón. She has collaborated with conductors Leonard Bernstein, James Levine, Charles Dutoit, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Kent Nagano and Michael Tilson Thomas. Early life June Anderson was born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in Wallingford, Connecticut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large List of compositions by Hans Werner Henze, oeuvre is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Igor Stravinsky, Stravinsky, Music of Italy, Italian music, Arabic music and jazz, as well as traditional schools of German composition. In particular, his stage works reflect "his consistent cultivation of music for the theatre throughout his life". Henze was also known for his political convictions. He left Germany for Italy in 1953 because of a perceived intolerance towards his Left-wing politics, leftist politics and homosexuality. Late in life he lived in the village of Marino, Lazio, Marino in the central Italian region of Lazio, and in his final years still travelled extensively, in particular to Britain and Germany, as part of his work. An avowed Marxism, Marxist and member of the Italian Communist Party, Henze produced compositions honoring Ho Chi Minh and Che ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Voices (Henze)
''Voices'' is a musical composition by the German composer Hans Werner Henze. Written between January and June 1973, it is a collection of 22 independent songs which may be performed individually, with alterations to the instrumentation. In its full version, it is written for mezzo-soprano, tenor, electronics and fifteen instrumentalists who are required to play about 70 different instruments from all over the world. The piece consists of two parts (11 + 11 songs) and lasts 90 minutes. The polystylistic conception of "Voices" results from the different origin and message of the poems. The songs set a diverse range of words, almost all of which are from the twentieth century, the linking theme being alienation and oppression. Henze has said: The voices of the title are those of young and old artists whose work is politically committed. These people are concerned with their fellow human beings, with the contemporary human condition within the world around them and with all the proble ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Rake's Progress
''The Rake's Progress'' is an English-language opera from 1951 in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings '' A Rake's Progress'' (1733–1735) of William Hogarth, which Stravinsky had seen on 2 May 1947, in a Chicago exhibition. The story concerns the decline and fall of one Tom Rakewell, who deserts Anne Trulove for the delights of London in the company of Nick Shadow, who turns out to be the Devil. After several misadventures, all initiated by the devious Shadow, Tom ends up in Bedlam, a hospital for the insane at that time situated in the City of London. The moral of the tale is: "For idle hearts and hands and minds the Devil finds work to do." Performance history It was first performed at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice on 11 September 1951, with Robert Rounseville as Tom Rakewell, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf as Anne Trulove, and Otakar Kraus as Nick Shadow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
