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Sardanapale
''Sardanapalo'' or ''Sardanapale'' (Italian or French for ''Sardanapalus''), List of compositions by Franz Liszt, S.687, is an unfinished opera by Franz Liszt based on the 1821 verse play ''Sardanapalus (play), Sardanapalus'' by Lord Byron. Liszt was ambitious for his project, and planned to dovetail his retirement as a virtuoso with the premiere of his opera. He worked on it intermittently between 1845 and 1852, once declaring it 'well on the way toward completion', but ceased work on it thereafter. The first act had been completed in a detailed, continuous short score, but there is no evidence of any music being notated for acts 2 and 3. As an Italian opera, it would almost certainly have been called ''Sardanapalo'', though Liszt referred to it as ''Sardanapale'' in his French correspondence. The music Liszt completed remained unperformed until 2016 when British musicologist David Trippett first established the legibility of Liszt's N4 manuscript, and produced both a Critical e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sardanapalus (play)
''Sardanapalus'' (1821) is a historical tragedy in blank verse by Lord Byron, set in ancient Nineveh and recounting the fall of the Assyrian monarchy and its supposed last king. It draws its story mainly from the '' Historical Library'' of Diodorus Siculus and from William Mitford's ''History of Greece''. Byron wrote the play during his stay in Ravenna, and dedicated it to Goethe. It has had an extensive influence on European culture, inspiring a painting by Delacroix and musical works by Berlioz, Liszt and Ravel, among others. Synopsis Act 1 In a soliloquy Salemenes deplores the life of slothful luxury led by his brother-in-law Sardanapalus, king of Assyria. The king enters, and Salemenes reproaches him with his lack of ambition for military glory and his unfaithfulness to his queen, Salemenes' sister. He warns him of possible rebellion by treacherous courtiers. Sardanapalus answers by extolling the virtues of mild and merciful rule and condemning bloodshed, but is fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sardanapalus
According to the Greek writer Ctesias, Sardanapalus ( ; ), sometimes spelled Sardanapallus (), was the last king of Assyria, although in fact Aššur-uballiṭ II (612–605 BC) holds that distinction. Ctesias' book ''Persica'' is lost, but we know of its contents by later compilations and from the work of Diodorus (II.27). In this account, Sardanapalus, supposed to have lived in the 7th century BC, is portrayed as a decadent figure who spends his life in self-indulgence and dies in an orgy of destruction. The legendary decadence of Sardanapalus later became a theme in literature and art, especially in the Romantic era. The name ''Sardanapalus'' is probably a corruption of Ashurbanipal (''Aššur-bāni-apli'' > ''Sar-dan-ápalos''), an Assyrian emperor, but Sardanapalus as described by Diodorus bears little relationship with what is known of that king, who in fact was a militarily powerful, highly efficient and scholarly ruler, presiding over the largest empire the world had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hector Berlioz
Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'', choral pieces including the Requiem (Berlioz), Requiem and ''L'Enfance du Christ'', his three operas ''Benvenuto Cellini (opera), Benvenuto Cellini'', ''Les Troyens'' and ''Béatrice et Bénédict'', and works of hybrid genres such as the "dramatic symphony" ''Roméo et Juliette (Berlioz), Roméo et Juliette'' and the "dramatic legend" ''La Damnation de Faust''. The elder son of a provincial physician, Berlioz was expected to follow his father into medicine, and he attended a Parisian medical college before defying his family by taking up music as a profession. His independence of mind and refusal to follow traditional rules and formulas put him at odds with the conservative musical establishment of Paris. He briefly moderated his style ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Sanche
''Don Sanche, ou Le château de l'amour'' (), S.1, is an opera in one act composed in 1824–25 by Franz Liszt in his early teen years, with French libretto by Théaulon and de Rancé, based on a story by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian. For 30 years it was believed to be lost until it was rediscovered in 1903. The first modern performance took place in 1977, 74 years after its rediscovery. History Composition The opera appears to have been ready as early as September 1824. It is known that on 20 June 1825, Liszt presented an overture in his second Birmingham concert. This is probably the one from ''Don Sanche'' since no other overture exists from this period. The manuscript contains many passages that are reminiscent of the style of his compositions teacher Ferdinando Paer, who admittedly helped Liszt with orchestration. Liszt received a mere 170 francs for his opera (approximately 2100 dollars in 2016 USD). Later in the 1840s, Liszt tried to pursue a career as an opera composer. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Assurbanipal
Ashurbanipal (, meaning " Ashur is the creator of the heir")—or Osnappar ()—was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 669 BC to his death in 631. He is generally remembered as the last great king of Assyria. Ashurbanipal inherited the throne as the favored heir of his father Esarhaddon; his 38-year reign was among the longest of any Assyrian king. Though sometimes regarded as the apogee of ancient Assyria, his reign also marked the last time Assyrian armies waged war throughout the ancient Near East and the beginning of the end of Assyrian dominion over the region. Esarhaddon selected Ashurbanipal as heir 673. The selection of Ashurbanipal bypassed the elder son Shamash-shum-ukin. Perhaps in order to avoid future rivalry, Esarhaddon designated Shamash-shum-ukin as the heir to Babylonia. The two brothers jointly acceded to their respective thrones after Esarhaddon's death in 669, though Shamash-shum-ukin was relegated to being Ashurbanipal's closely monitored vassal. Mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marie D'Agoult
Marie Catherine Sophie, Comtesse d'Agoult (born de Flavigny; 31 December 18055 March 1876), was a French romanticism, romantic author and historian, known also by her pen name, Daniel Stern. Life Marie was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, with the full name of Marie Catherine Sophie de Flavigny, the daughter of Alexandre Victor François, Vicomte de Flavigny (1770–1819), a footloose émigré French aristocrat, and his wife Bethmann family, Maria Elisabeth Bethmann (1772–1847), whose father was the German merchant and banker Johann Philipp Bethmann (1715–1793). The young Marie spent her early years in Germany and completed her education in a French convent after the Bourbon Restoration in France, Bourbon Restoration. She entered into an early marriage of convenience with Charles Louis Constant d'Agoult, Comte d'Agoult (1790–1875) on 16 May 1827, thereby becoming the Comtesse d'Agoult. They had two daughters, Louise (1828–1834) and Claire (1830–1912). Marie never d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theater Am Kärntnertor
or (Duchy of Carinthia, Carinthian Gate Theatre) was a prestigious theatre in Vienna during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Its official title was (Imperial and Royal Court Theatre of Vienna). History The theatre was built in 1709 to designs by Antonio Beduzzi on a site near the former Kärntnertor, on the grounds of the present Hotel Sacher. The expenses of building the theatre were borne by the City of Vienna, and it was intended (as Eva Badura-Skoda notes)Badura-Skoda 1973 to be "frequented by the Viennese population of all classes". However, at the command of the emperor, the first performances were of Italian operas, an elite form of entertainment. In 1711, the theatre was redirected to its original purpose when it was placed under the direction of :de:Josef Anton Stranitzky, Josef Stranitzky, who put on a variety of entertainment, often embodying a German version of the Italian commedia dell'arte. The theatre was managed by Stranitzky's widow after his death. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kapellmeister
( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in its meaning and is today used for denoting the leader of a musical ensemble, often smaller ones used for TV, radio, and theatres. Historical usage In German-speaking countries during the approximate period 1500–1800, the word often designated the director of music for a monarch or nobleman. For English speakers, it is this sense of the term that is most often encountered, since it appears frequently in biographical writing about composers who worked in German-speaking countries. During that period, in Italy, the position (Italian: ''maestro di capella'') largely referred to directors of music assigned to cathedrals and sacred institutions rather than those under royal or aristocratic patronage. A Kapellmeister position was a senior one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera style during the first half of the nineteenth century and a probable influence on other composers such as Giuseppe Verdi. Donizetti was born in Bergamo in Lombardy. At an early age he was taken up by Simon Mayr who enrolled him with a full scholarship in a school which he had set up. There he received detailed musical training. Mayr was instrumental in obtaining a place for Donizetti at the Bologna Academy, where, at the age of 19, he wrote his first one-act opera, the comedy ''Il Pigmalione'', which may never have been performed during his lifetime. An offer in 1822 from Domenico Barbaja, the impresario of the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, which followed the composer's ninth opera, led to his move to Naples and his reside ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ctesias
Ctesias ( ; ; ), also known as Ctesias of Cnidus, was a Greek physician and historian from the town of Cnidus in Caria, then part of the Achaemenid Empire. Historical events Ctesias, who lived in the fifth century BC, was physician to the Achaemenid king, Artaxerxes II, whom he accompanied in 401 BC on his expedition against his brother Cyrus the Younger. Ctesias was part of the entourage of King Artaxerxes at the Battle of Cunaxa (401 BC) against Cyrus the Younger and his Greek mercenaries called the Ten Thousand, when Ctesias provided medical assistance to the king by treating his flesh wound. He reportedly was involved in negotiations with the Greeks after the battle, and also helped their Spartan general Clearchus before his execution at the royal court at Babylon. Ctesias was the author of treatises on rivers and on the Persian revenues, as well as an account of India, '' Indica'' (), and of a history of Assyria and Persia in 23 books, ''Persica'' (), drawn from documen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cristina Trivulzio Belgiojoso
Cristina Trivulzio di Belgiojoso (; 28 June 1808, Milan, Lombardy, Italy5 July 1871, near Milan) was an Italian noblewoman, the princess of Belgiojoso, who played a prominent part in Italian unification, Italy's struggle for independence. She is also notable as a writer and journalist.Brooklyn Museum, Dinner Party Database. Life Cristina Trivulzio was the daughter of Girolamo Trivulzio and the Vittoria dei Marchesi Gherardini (member of the Gherardini family). Her father died soon after her birth, and her mother remarried to Alessandro Visconti d'Aragona; she had a stepbrother and three stepsisters through this second marriage. By her own account "I was as a child melancholy, serious, introverted, quiet, so shy that I often happen to burst into tears in the living room of my mother because I realized that I was being looked at or that they wanted me to talk." When she was thirteen, her stepfather was arrested since he was allegedly involved in the riots of 1820–21, while Ernesta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Scala
La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, 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 ear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
