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Stephanie Novacek
Stephanie Novacek (b. Iowa City, Iowa, 31 August 1970) is an American operatic mezzo-soprano who has appeared at many of the world's opera houses. A regular performer at the Houston Grand Opera and Opera Atelier, Novacek is especially known for her performances in contemporary operas and in obscure operas, particularly baroque works, outside of the standard repertory. ''Opera News'' has described her voice as a "rich, seamless flow of solid silk" and an actress "with always a strong presence on stage". Career Novacek studied voice at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ( M. Mus. 1995) and began her career in 1996 as a member of the Young Artist Programs at the Santa Fe Opera in New Mexico and the Houston Grand Opera (HGO) in Texas. She made her professional opera debut that year as The Page of Herodias in Richard Strauss's ''Salome'' with HGO and her career has largely been based with that company ever since. With Santa Fe Opera she appeared in productions of Stravinsk ...
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Iowa City
Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's fifth-largest city. The metropolitan area, which encompasses Johnson and Washington County, Iowa, Washington counties, has a population of over 171,000. The Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is also a part of a Combined Statistical Area (CSA) with the Cedar Rapids MSA. This CSA plus two additional counties are known as the Iowa City-Cedar Rapids region which collectively has a population of nearly 500,000. Iowa City was the second capital of the Iowa Territory and the first capital city of the State of Iowa. The Iowa Old Capitol Building, Old Capitol building is a National Historic Landmark in the center of the University of Iowa cam ...
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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 Elisabeth Schwarzkopf creating the role of Anne Trulove, and Robert Rounseville that of Tom Rakewell. It w ...
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Engelbert Humperdinck (composer)
Engelbert Humperdinck (; 1 September 1854 – 27 September 1921) was a German composer. He is known widely for his opera ''Hansel and Gretel'' (1893). Biography Humperdinck was born at Siegburg in the Rhine Province in 1854. After receiving piano lessons, he produced his first composition at the age of seven. His first attempts at works for the stage were two singspiele written when he was 13. His parents disapproved of his plans for a career in music and encouraged him to study architecture. But he began taking music classes under Ferdinand Hiller and Isidor Seiss at the Cologne Conservatory in 1872. In 1876, he won a scholarship that enabled him to go to Munich, where he studied with Franz Lachner and later with Josef Rheinberger. In 1879, he won the first Mendelssohn Award given by the Mendelssohn Stiftung (foundation) in Berlin. He went to Italy, where he became acquainted with composer Richard Wagner in Naples. Wagner invited him to join him in Bayreuth, and durin ...
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Great Performances
''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise theatrical performances such as plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is produced by the PBS member station WNET in New York City (originally in conjunction with KQED/San Francisco, WTTW/Chicago, Maryland Public Television, South Carolina ETV and KERA-TV/ Dallas/Fort Worth). The series is the longest-running performing arts anthology on television and has won 29 Primetime Emmy Awards, three Peabody Awards and an Image Award, with nods from the Directors Guild of America and the Cinema Audio Society. History ''Great Performances predecessor, ''New York Playhouse'', premiered on October 7, 1972, with a production of '' Antigone''. In 1973, Exxon and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting provided grants to create ''Theater in America'', which reran the ''New York Playhouse'' and some '' NET Playhouse'' pr ...
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Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educational programming to public television stations in the United States, distributing shows such as '' Frontline'', '' Nova'', ''PBS NewsHour'', '' Sesame Street'', and '' This Old House''. PBS is funded by a combination of member station dues, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, pledge drives, and donations from both private foundations and individual citizens. All proposed funding for programming is subject to a set of standards to ensure the program is free of influence from the funding source. PBS has over 350 member television stations, many owned by educational institutions, nonprofit groups both independent or affiliated with one particular local public school district or collegiate educational institution, or entities owne ...
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New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid digital subscribers. It also is a producer of popular podcasts such as '' The Daily''. Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, it was initially published by Raymond, Jones & Company. The ''Times'' has won 132 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any newspaper, and has long been regarded as a national "newspaper of record". For print it is ranked 18th in the world by circulation and 3rd in the U.S. The paper is owned by the New York Times Company, which is publicly traded. It has been governed by the Sulzberger family since 1896, through a dual-class share structure after its shares became publicly traded. A. G. Sulzberger, the paper's publisher and the company's chairman, is the fifth generation of the family to head the p ...
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Little Women (opera)
''Little Women'' (1998) is the first opera written by American composer Mark Adamo to his own libretto after Louisa May Alcott's 1868–69 tale of growing up in New England after the American Civil War, '' Little Women''. The opera also includes text by John Bunyan (Beth's setting of ''The Pilgrim's Progress''), Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Dr. Bhaer sings "Kennst du das Land" from ''Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship''), and Alcott herself (an excerpt of one of her thrillers at the beginning of act 2, which is spoken and mostly omitted on the audio recording). Performance history Commissioned by the Opera Studio of Houston Grand Opera (HGO), then under the guidance of General Director David Gockley, ''Little Women'' was first performed on March 13, 1998, in a smaller scale production.''Little Women''
usopera.com
The success of this ...
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Mark Adamo
Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finnish markka ( sv, finsk mark, links=no), the currency of Finland from 1860 until 28 February 2002 * Mark (currency), a currency or unit of account in many nations * Polish mark ( pl, marka polska, links=no), the currency of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Republic of Poland between 1917 and 1924 German * Deutsche Mark, the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later the unified Germany from 1990 until 2002 * German gold mark, the currency used in the German Empire from 1873 to 1914 * German Papiermark, the German currency from 4 August 1914 * German rentenmark, a currency issued on 15 November 1923 to stop the hyperinflation of 1922 and 1923 in Weimar Germany * Lodz Ghetto mark, a special currency for Lodz Ghetto. ...
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Jackie O (opera)
''Jackie O'' is a chamber opera in two acts composed by Michael Daugherty to a libretto by Wayne Koestenbaum. The 90-minute work, commissioned by Houston Grand Opera in 1995 and premiered in 1997, is inspired by American musical and popular culture of the late 1960s and episodes in the life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Performance history ''Jackie O'' received its first performance in the Cullen Theater, Houston, Texas, on March 14, 1997 with a second performance on March 16, 1997, both conducted by Christopher Larkin. The opera's Canadian premiere took place on August 7, 1997 at the Banff Centre in Alberta, conducted by Bruno Ferrandis. Co-produced by Houston Grand Opera's Houston Opera Studio and the Banff Centre, the premiere production was directed by Nicholas Muni, with sets and costumes by Peter Werner, lighting design by Harry Frehner, and choreography by Bruce Brown, who also created the role of Paparazzo. The work has subsequently received several other US perfor ...
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Michael Daugherty
Michael Kevin Daugherty (born April 28, 1954) is an American composer, pianist, and teacher. He is influenced by popular culture, Romanticism, and Postmodernism. Daugherty's notable works include his Superman comic book-inspired '' Metropolis Symphony'' for Orchestra (1988–93), '' Dead Elvis'' for Solo Bassoon and Chamber Ensemble (1993), ''Jackie O'' (1997), ''Niagara Falls'' for Symphonic Band (1997), '' UFO'' for Solo Percussion and Orchestra (1999) and for Symphonic Band (2000), ''Bells for Stokowski'' from ''Philadelphia Stories'' for Orchestra (2001) and for Symphonic Band (2002), '' Fire and Blood'' for Solo Violin and Orchestra (2003) inspired by Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, ''Time Machine'' for Three Conductors and Orchestra (2003), ''Ghost Ranch'' for Orchestra (2005), ''Deus ex Machina'' for Piano and Orchestra (2007), ''Labyrinth of Love'' for Soprano and Chamber Winds (2012), ''American Gothic'' for Orchestra (2013), and '' Tales of Hemingway'' for Cello and Orche ...
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Maria Callas
Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel canto'' technique, wide-ranging voice and dramatic interpretations. Her repertoire ranged from classical ''opera seria'' to the ''bel canto'' operas of Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini and, further, to the works of Verdi and Puccini; and, in her early career, to the music dramas of Wagner. Her musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as ''La Divina'' ("the Divine one"). Born in Manhattan, New York City, to Greek immigrant parents, she was raised by an overbearing mother who had wanted a son. Maria received her musical education in Greece at age 13 and later established her career in Italy. Forced to deal with the exigencies of 1940s wartime poverty and with near-sightedness that left her nearly blind onstage, she endured struggles a ...
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Emmeline (opera)
''Emmeline'' is an opera in two acts composed by American Tobias Picker with a libretto by J. D. McClatchy. Picker's first opera, it was commissioned by the Santa Fe Opera company and premiered in 1996. Based on Judith Rossner's novel of the same name, Emmeline is an American retelling of the Oedipus myth from the mother’s viewpoint. In 2009, a chamber version of ''Emmeline'' was created for the Dicapo Opera. In 2015, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis mounted a major new production of Emmeline that won universal acclaim. Roles Synopsis In Act I, the Mosher family in Maine has just finished burying another child. Emmeline's Aunt Hannah convinces her father to send 14-year-old Emmeline to work in a Lowell, Massachusetts textile mill so that she can send money back to the family to help them survive. Many of the mill girls live in a boarding house directed by Mrs. Bass, who leads them in prayers and tries to promote their good behavior. Emmeline is seduced by Mr. Maguire, a handsome ...
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