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Umberto Giordano
Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano (28 August 186712 November 1948) was an Italian composer, mainly of operas. His best-known work in that genre was Andrea Chénier (1896). He was born in Foggia in Apulia, southern Italy, and studied under Paolo Serrao at the Conservatoire of Naples. His first opera, ''Marina'', was written for a competition promoted by the music publishers Edoardo Sonzogno, Casa Sonzogno for the best one-act opera, remembered today because it marked the beginning of Italian ''verismo''. The winner was Pietro Mascagni, Mascagni's ''Cavalleria rusticana''. Giordano, the youngest contestant, was placed sixth among seventy-three entries with his ''Marina'', a work which generated enough interest for Sonzogno to commission the staging of an opera based on it in the 1891–92 season. The result was ''Mala vita'', a gritty ''verismo'' opera about a labourer who vows to reform a prostitute if he is cured of his tuberculosis. This work caused something of a scandal when per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaetano Esposito
Gaetano Esposito (November 17, 1858 – April 8, 1911) was an Italian painter. Biography He was born in Salerno. He first studied under Gaetano D'Agostino, but later enrolled at the Royal Institute of Fine Arts of Naples, where he studied under Filippo Palizzi, Domenico Morelli and Stanislao Lista. In these studies, he was funded by a stipend from the government of Salerno. He was influenced by Antonio Mancini, a lifelong supporter, especially in his Genre painting, genre depictions of the activities of the lower classes of Naples. He also painted portraits. Gaetano, like other Neapolitan painters such as Domenico Morelli, Morelli, rebelled from an academic temperament. He was described as ''Irascible, diffident, and prone the jealousy, he was not one to gain friends among his colleague painters, with the exception of Antonio Mancini''... and this ''lack of affability'' forced him to have to sell briskly to be able to sustain himself. He did get commissions in the last decade of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti
Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti (17 March 186330 May 1934) was an Italian librettist. Biography He was best known for his friendship and collaboration with the composer Pietro Mascagni. Most of his libretti were written in collaboration with Guido Menasci. Targioni-Tozzetti was born and died in Livorno. Operas *''Cavalleria rusticana ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; ) is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 Cavalleria rusticana (short story), short story of the same name and subsequent ...'' (1890) *'' I Rantzau'' (1892) *'' Regina Diaz'' (1894) *'' Silvano'' (1895) *'' Zanetto'' (1896) *'' Amica'' (1905) *'' La sposa di Nino'' (1913) *'' Pinotta'' (1932) *'' Nerone'' (1935) External links * * 1863 births 1934 deaths Musicians from Livorno Italian opera librettists Italian male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Italian dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Italian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siberia (opera)
''Siberia'' is an opera in three acts by Umberto Giordano from a libretto by Luigi Illica. It premiered on 19 December 1903 at La Scala in Milan. There is no direct source for the plot of ''Siberia'' and it is quite possible that this is an original work by Illica. It was suggested at the New York premiere in 1908 that it was based on Leo Tolstoy's 1899 novel ''Resurrection'' or one of the stories within it. Performance history The opera premiered on 19 December 1903 at La Scala in Milan. The première was not successful, despite having an illustrious first-night cast ( Puccini's ''Madama Butterfly'' had been cancelled and ''Siberia'' took the same vocal distribution so the singers were re-engaged for Giordano's opera), and it received more praise in its opening in Genoa and then in Paris in May 1905. It was premièred in the US in New Orleans at the French Opera House on 31 January 1906. The composer Gabriel Fauré thought highly of the first act when he heard it in Paris in 190 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teatro Bellini, Naples
Teatro Bellini is a private theatre and opera located in the centre of Naples, across the street from the Academy of Fine Arts of Naples on Via Conte di Ruvo. The house is named after the Sicilian-born composer Vincenzo Bellini, who is best known for his operas and who spent some time in the 1820s studying music in the city. In addition, there in an opera house name after him, the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, Sicily, his birthplace. History In 1864, Baron Nicola Lacapra Sabelli commissioned the theatre's creation by the architect Carlo Sorgente on Via Vincenzo Bellini. This theatre, located near Piazza Dante Alighieri, burned down in 1869, and a new one was inaugurated a few hundred feet from the original locale. On 6 February 1877, Bellini's opera ''I puritani'' was performed there. The theatre has six tiers of box seats surrounding an oval floor. The interior decorations were created by Giovanni Ponticelli, Pasquale Di Criscito, and Vincenzo Paliotti, and the oil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teatro Lirico (Milan)
The Teatro Lirico (known until 1894 as the Teatro alla Canobbiana) is a theatre in Milan, Italy. In the 19th and early 20th centuries it hosted numerous opera performances, including the world premieres of Donizetti's '' L'elisir d'amore'' and Giordano's '' Fedora''. The theatre, located on Via Rastrelli, closed in 1998. However, a restoration project was begun in April 2007, and it has finally re-opened in December 2021 as the Teatro Lirico Giorgio Gaber. Stage Entertainment carried on the renovation of the Theatre, completing all finishes and all workings started by the administration "Comune di Milano". History The Teatro Regio Ducale, the court theatre of the Royal Palace of Milan, was destroyed by fire on February 26, 1776. With the city deprived of its only theatre, Giuseppe Piermarini was commissioned to design and build two new theatres on land surrounding the Palace. The church of Santa Maria della Scala was demolished to build the Teatro alla Scala. A second thea ... [...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] |
Sem Benelli
Sem Benelli (August 10, 1877 – December 18, 1949) was an Italian playwright, essayist and librettist. He provided the texts for several noted Italian operas, including Italo Montemezzi's '' L'amore dei tre re'' and ''L'incantesimo'', and Umberto Giordano's '' La cena delle beffe'', based on Benelli's own play of the same title. Biography Sem Benelli was born in Prato on August 10, 1877. He studied at the Piarist school in Florence, where his chief teacher was the scholar Ermenegildo Pistelli. He achieved widespread recognition for his historical dramas in verse. The first of these was ''La maschera di Bruto'' (1908), in which Lorenzaccio, the murderer of Duke Alessandro de' Medici, is likened to the Roman politician Brutus. The second and better known, '' The Jester's Supper'' (1909), is a theatrical adaptation of a story by Antonio Francesco Grazzini set in Renaissance Florence. A revenge drama, it caught the popular taste of the period and its leading role, Giannetto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Jester's Supper (play)
''The Jester's Supper'' (Italian:''La cena delle beffe'') is a historical play by the Italian writer Sem Benelli, which was first staged in 1909. The work is inspired by a short story from Antonio Francesco Grazzini's ''Le Cene'' (I, 3). In 1910 Sara Bernhardt played in "La Beffa" (adapted by Jean Richepin) the role of Gianetto Malespini. In 1919 the play was put on in New York City, under the name ''The Jest'', adapted by Edward Sheldon, at Broadway's Plymouth Theatre. The play portrays a violent and cruel rivalry in the Florence of Lorenzo the Magnificent. This production starred John Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore. They added an element of surprise by exchanging the lead roles on certain nights without alerting the audience. Adaptations Opera The play was the basis for an opera '' La cena delle beffe'' composed by Umberto Giordano with a libretto written by Benelli himself. It premiered at La Scala on 20 December 1924. Film In 1942 the play was adapted as a film, '' The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Cena Delle Beffe
''La cena delle beffe'' (''The Jesters' Supper'') is an opera in four acts composed by Umberto Giordano to an Italian libretto by Sem Benelli adapted from his 1909 The Jester's Supper (play), play of the same name. The opera premiered on 20 December 1924 at La Scala. Milan. The story, set in Florence at the time of Lorenzo de' Medici, recounts the rivalry between Giannetto Malespini and Neri Chiaramantesi for the affections of the beautiful Ginevra and Giannetto's thirst for revenge over a cruel joke played on him by Neri and his brother Gabriello. Giannetto's revenge "joke" ultimately leads Neri to murder both Ginevra and (by mistake) his own brother. The opera ends with Neri's descent into madness. Composition history The libretto for Giordano's opera was adapted by the Italian playwright and poet, Sem Benelli, from his verse play, ''La cena delle beffe''. Described as a ''poema drammatico'' (dramatic poem), it premiered in 1909 at the Teatro Argentina in Rome with original mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enrico Caruso
Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyric tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles that ranged from the lyric to the dramatic. Generally recognized as the first international recording star, Caruso made around 250 commercially released recordings from 1902 to 1920. Biography Early life Enrico Caruso came from a poor but not destitute background. Born in Naples in the via Santi Giovanni e Paolo n° 7 on 25 February 1873, he was baptised the next day in the adjacent Church of San Giovanni e Paolo. His parents originally came from Piedimonte d'Alife (now called Piedimonte Matese), in the Province of Caserta in Campania, Southern Italy. Caruso was the third of seven children and one of only three to survive infancy. For decades, there was a story of Caruso's parents having had 21 children, 18 of whom died in infancy. However, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victorien Sardou
Victorien Sardou ( , ; 5 September 1831 – 8 November 1908) was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-century operas such as ''La Tosca'' (1887) on which Giacomo Puccini's opera ''Tosca'' (1900) is based, and ''Fédora'' (1882) and ''Madame Sans-Gêne (play), Madame Sans-Gêne'' (1893) that provided the subjects for the lyrical dramas ''Fedora (opera), Fedora'' (1898) and ''Madame Sans-Gêne (opera), Madame Sans-Gêne'' (1915) by Umberto Giordano. His play ''Gismonda'', from 1894, was also adapted into an opera of the same name by Henry Février. Early years Victorien Sardou was born at 16 rue Beautreillis (), Paris on 5 September 1831. The Sardous were settled at Le Cannet, a village near Cannes, where they owned an estate, planted with olive trees. A night's frost killed all the trees and the family was ruined. Victorien's father, Antoin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fedora (opera)
''Fedora'' is an opera in three acts by Umberto Giordano to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the 1882 play ''Fédora'' by Victorien Sardou. Along with ''Andrea Chénier'' and ''Siberia'', it is one of the most notable works of Giordano. It was first performed at the Teatro Lirico in Milan on 17 November 1898 conducted by the composer; Gemma Bellincioni created the role of Fedora with Enrico Caruso as her lover, Loris Ipanov. Composition history In 1889, Umberto Giordano saw Sardou's play ''Fédora'' at the Teatro Bellini di Napoli, with Sarah Bernhardt (for whom the play was written) in the title role. The play was popular, and the hat "fedora" was named after it. He immediately asked Sardou for permission to base an opera on the play, and Sardou initially refused because, at the time, Giordano was a relatively unknown composer. Following the premiere of his 1894 ''Regina Diaz'', Giordano's publisher, Edoardo Sonzogno, asked Sardou again. However, Sardou dem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
