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The Icelandic Opera
The Icelandic Opera (''Íslenska óperan'') is an opera company based in Reykjavík that produces operas and concerts. Its productions emphasize Icelandic artists, but regularly involve foreign artists as well. The company performs between October and May every year at the Harpa concert hall, their home venue since the hall's opening in 2011. As of October 2017, the company has produced 85 operas. History The company was founded in the late 1970s by opera tenor , father of tenor Garðar Thór Cortes. He remained artistic director until Ólöf Kolbrún Harðardóttir, also an opera singer, took over in 1992. Steinunn Birna Ragnarsdóttir was appointed the new director of the company in April 2015. The company's first performance was Leoncavallo's '' Pagliacci'' in March 1979.Atladóttir, E"Íslenska óperan: aurar og eldsálir"(Master's thesis), Spring 2015, Bifröst University. Since then, it has performed classics by Mozart, Rossini, Bizet, Verdi, Puccini and others. For the fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reykjavík
Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a population of around 131,136 (and 233,034 in the Capital Region), it is the centre of Iceland's cultural, economic, and governmental activity, and is a popular tourist destination. Reykjavík is believed to be the location of the first permanent settlement in Iceland, which, according to Landnámabók, was established by Ingólfr Arnarson in 874 CE. Until the 18th century, there was no urban development in the city location. The city was officially founded in 1786 as a trading town and grew steadily over the following decades, as it transformed into a regional and later national centre of commerce, population, and governmental activities. It is among the cleanest, greenest, and safest cities in the world. History According to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harpa (concert Hall)
Harpa () is a concert hall and conference centre in Reykjavík, Iceland. The opening concert was held on May 4, 2011. The building features a distinctive colored glass facade inspired by the basalt landscape of Iceland. History Harpa was designed by the Danish firm Henning Larsen Architects in co-operation with Danish- Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson. The structure consists of a steel framework clad with geometric shaped glass panels of different colours. The building was originally part of a redevelopment of the Austurhöfn area dubbed World Trade Center Reykjavík, which was temporarily abandoned when the 2008 Icelandic financial crisis took hold. The development was originally intended to include a 400-room hotel, luxury apartments, retail units, restaurants, a car park and the new headquarters of Icelandic bank Landsbanki. These related developments were put on hold, but resumed construction by 2018 and as of 2022, the development is almost complete. The Reykjavik Ed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iceland Review
''Iceland Review'' is the oldest English-language magazine about Iceland, having originally been published in August 1963. It also runs a news website which covers current events in Iceland. Since 2009, the online version is offered in German as well. The ''Iceland Review'' magazine publishes reports on Icelandic society, politics, pop culture, music, art, literature, current events, as well as interviews with notable Icelanders, articles on traveling in Iceland, and photo essay A photographic essay or photo-essay for short is a form of visual storytelling, a way to present a narrative through a series of images. A photo essay delivers a story using a series of photographs and brings the viewer along a narrative journey. E ...s on Iceland. The magazine is published on a bi-monthly basis. References External links * 1963 establishments in Iceland Cultural magazines English-language magazines Entertainment magazines Magazines established in 1963 Magazines published in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Garðar Thór Cortes
Garðar Thór Cortes (pronounced , born 2 May 1974) is an Icelandic tenor of Icelandic and English parentage. A former child actor, Garðar subsequently trained as a singer in Vienna, Copenhagen and London. He has performed various leading tenor roles in operas, as well as a leading part in ''The Phantom of the Opera'' in London's West End. While insisting that he is first and foremost a classical opera singer, it was with his classical crossover album ''Cortes'', released in Iceland in 2005, that Garðar came to prominence. His debut album in the UK, also titled ''Cortes'', was released on 16 April 2007 and entered the UK Classical Charts at number 1. Family, early life and education Garðar was born in Reykjavík, Iceland, into a musical family. His father, Garðar Cortes Snr., was a world-class tenor who founded the Icelandic Opera, the Reykjavík School of Singing and the Reykjavík Symphony Orchestra. According to Garðar, his father had the same stature as Pavarotti a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pagliacci
''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who murders his wife Nedda and her lover Silvio on stage during a performance. ''Pagliacci'' premiered at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan on 21 May 1892, conducted by Arturo Toscanini, with Adelina Stehle as Nedda, Fiorello Giraud as Canio, Victor Maurel as Tonio, and Mario Ancona as Silvio. Soon after its Italian premiere, the opera played in London (with Nellie Melba as Nedda) and in New York (on 15 June 1893, with Agostino Montegriffo as Canio). ''Pagliacci'' is the composer's only opera that is still widely performed. ''Pagliacci'' is often staged with '' Cavalleria rusticana'' by Pietro Mascagni, a double bill known colloquially as "Cav and Pag". Origin and disputes Leoncavallo was a little-known composer when Pietro Mascagni's ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bifröst University
Bifröst University () is located in the valley of List of valleys of Iceland, Norðurárdalur, approximately 30 kilometers north of Borgarnes, Iceland. Originally a business school, it also offers degrees in law and social sciences, at both bachelor's and master's level, as well as a remedial university preparatory course. As of 2011, the university had 573 enrolled students. Student and staff housing surrounds the school, which with Hólar University College is one of two real “campus universities” in Iceland. However, many enrolled students are in distance learning programs. History The university was founded in Reykjavík in 1918 as a secondary school called the Cooperative College (Samvinnuskólinn). The school was run by the Icelandic cooperative movement (Samband íslenskra samvinnufélaga) and was originally intended as a training college for the staff of cooperative stores and other members of the movement. The founder and first head of the school was Jónas Jónsso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operabase
Operabase is an online database of opera performances, opera houses and companies, and performers themselves as well as their agents. Found at operabase.com, it was created in 1996 by English software engineer and opera lover Mike Gibb.Edward Schneider (29 July 2001),"Singing and Their Suppers" ''The New York Times''. Retrieved 13 May 2011. Initially a hobby site, it became his full-time occupation after three years. ''Opera'' magazine describes the Operabase website as "the most comprehensive source of data on operatic activity". Public website By its tenth anniversary, in 2006, the site received "about 10,000 visitors a day to the public site, who look at over four million pages a month between them. Of these, fewer than half use English, 17% use German, 12% Italian, 10% French, 9% Spanish." In autumn of that year the British magazine ''Opera Now'' reported that "Operabase has taken on the Herculean task of making he siteavailable to every European Union citizen in their own ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opera Companies
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librettist and incorporates a number of the performing arts, such as acting, scenery, costume, and sometimes dance or ballet. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble, which since the early 19th century has been led by a conductor. Although musical theatre is closely related to opera, the two are considered to be distinct from one another. Opera is a key part of the Western classical music tradition. Originally understood as an entirely sung piece, in contrast to a play with songs, opera has come to include numerous genres, including some that include spoken dialogue such as '' Singspiel'' and '' Opéra comique''. In traditional number opera, singers employ two styles of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
