"The Abduction of Figaro The Abduction of Figaro is a comic opera, described as ""A Simply Grand Opera by P. D. Q. Bach,"" which is actually the work of composer Peter Schickele. It is a parody of opera in general, and the title is a play on two operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: ""The Abduction from the Seraglio"" and ""The Marriage of Figaro"". Those two operas, ""Così fan tutte"", and ""Don Giovanni"", as well as Gilbert and Sullivan's ""The Pirates of Penzance"" are among the core inspirations for the piece. Schickele was commissioned to ""discover"" this opera by the Minnesota"
"operatic repertoire extends from 17th century works to the present, Hobson's high lyric tenor voice (he is actually a rare ""haute-contre"" or baroque tenor) is best suited to the baroque and bel canto operas of the 18th and early 19th centuries, such as those composed by Mozart and Rossini. His Mozart roles include Ferrando in ""Così fan tutte"", Don Ottavio in ""Don Giovanni"", Tamino in ""The Magic Flute"" and Belmonte in ""The Abduction from the Seraglio"". His Rossini roles include Lindoro in ""L'italiana in Algeri"", Ramiro in ""La Cenerentola"", Count Almaviva in ""The Barber of Seville"", Dorvil in ""La scala"
"Margherita Gagnolanti, his sister-in-law by his first wife; and Ginevra Mazziere detta l’Azzurina, who had been seduced or raped by his son, Pompeo, whom she may have married. Il rapimento di Cefalo Il rapimento di Cefalo (""The Abduction of Cephalus"") was one of the first Italian operas. Most of the music was written by Giulio Caccini but Stefano Venturi del Nibbio, Luca Bati and Piero Strozzi also contributed. The libretto, by Gabriello Chiabrera, is in a prologue, five scenes and an epilogue and is based on the Classical myth of Cephalus and Aurora. The opera was the culmination of the"
"Il rapimento di Cefalo Il rapimento di Cefalo (""The Abduction of Cephalus"") was one of the first Italian operas. Most of the music was written by Giulio Caccini but Stefano Venturi del Nibbio, Luca Bati and Piero Strozzi also contributed. The libretto, by Gabriello Chiabrera, is in a prologue, five scenes and an epilogue and is based on the Classical myth of Cephalus and Aurora. The opera was the culmination of the celebrations for the (proxy) wedding of King Henri IV of France and Marie de' Medici in Florence in 1600 and was performed in the Sala delle Commedie in"
"Adina (opera) Adina is an operatic farsa in one act by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Marchese Gherardo Bevilacqua-Aldobrandini. The opera develops the popular theme of the ""abduction from the seraglio"". ""Adina"" was commissioned in 1818 by Diego Ignazio de Pina Manique, police superintendent of Lisbon and inspector of Portuguese theatres. The plot is very similar to that of Francesco Basili's 1819 opera, ""Il califfo e la schiava"", for which the libretto was written by Felice Romani, and some passages occur in both librettos - a mystery which has not yet been unravelled. The opera was intended as a"
"Carlo Sabajno Carlo Sabajno (1874 in Rosasco, Italy – 1938 in Milan) was an Italian conductor. From 1904 to 1932, he was the Gramophone Company's chief conductor and artistic director in Italy, responsible for some of the earliest full-length opera recordings, most of them with the orchestra of La Scala, Milan and prominent singers there. Particularly outstanding among these are his stately, authoritative late-1920s and early-1930s electrical recordings of Don Pasquale (with Tito Schipa in his only complete opera recording as Ernesto), Traviata (sadly limited by more than the usual cuts, but with silvery-voiced Alessandro Ziliani as Alfredo), Aida (with"
"""The Abduction from the Seraglio"". He debuted in 1976 at the Vienna State Opera as Ferrando (""Il trovatore""). From there he went on to sing Colline (""La Bohème""), Pimen (""Boris Godunov""), Grand Inquisitor (""Don Carlo""), Commendatore (""Don Giovanni""), Osmin (""The Abduction from the Seraglio""), Rocco (""Fidelio""), Daland (""The Flying Dutchman""), Roger (""Jérusalem""), King Henry (""Lohengrin""), Raimondo (""Lucia di Lammermoor""), Geronte (""Manon Lescaut""), Talbot (""Maria Stuarda""), Veit Pogner (""Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg""), Bartolo (""Il Barbiere di Siviglia""), Titurel and Gurnemanz (""Parsifal""), Sparafucile (""Rigoletto""), Fasolt (""Das Rheingold""), Hunding (""Die Walküre""), Fafner (""Siegfried""), Hagen (""Götterdammerung""), Ochs (""Der Rosenkavalier"") Morosus (""Die schweigsame Frau""), Landgraf"
"Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (; 29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who wrote 39 operas as well as some sacred music, songs, chamber music, and piano pieces. He was a precocious composer of operas, and he made his debut at age 18 with ""La cambiale di matrimonio"". His best-known operas include the Italian comedies ""The Barber of Seville"" (""Il barbiere di Siviglia""), ""The Italian Girl in Algiers"" (""L'italiana in Algeri""), and ""Cinderella"" (""La Cenerentola""). He also wrote a string of serious operas in Italian, including works such as ""Tancredi"", ""Otello"", and ""Semiramide"". ""The Thieving"
"of the Mozart Requiem with Bruno Walter conducting. He also participated in two celebrated recordings with Philips Records, George Bizet's ""Les pêcheurs de perles"" conducted by Jean Fournet, and Christoph Willibald Gluck's ""Orphée et Euridyce"" conducted by Hans Rosbaud, in which he gave what some critics feel are the definitive performances of the roles of Nadir and Orphée. Simoneau also sang the role of Belmonte in Sir Thomas Beecham's recording of Mozart's ""The Abduction from the Seraglio"", and the role of Ferrando in Mozart's ""Così fan tutte"" opposite Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Nan Merriman, Rolando Panerai, Lisa Otto, Sesto Bruscantini, conducted by"
"Carignano in Turin. He died in Genoa. Serafino Amedeo De Ferrari Serafino Amedeo De Ferrari (6 May 1824 – 27 March 1885) was an Italian composer, conductor, organist, and pianist. He is best known for his operas, of which his most popular were ""Pipelè"" (1855) and ""Il Menestrello"" (1859). Born in Genoa, Ferrari studied in his native city and in Milan. He performed widely as a concert organist and pianist. In 1852 he was highly active as a conductor in Amsterdam, after which he worked as the director of singing at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. He then worked"
"Italian tenor Mario Bordogni. The opera was left as a vocal score, preserved in a manuscript at the ""Bibliothèque nationale de France"". It was orchestrated by Luc van Hove and staged for the first time at the ""Opéra Royal de Wallonie"" on 19th September 2012. This production was recorded by ""Dynamic"" label and issued either on CDs (audio) or on a DVD (video). Act I. The opera takes place in Venice at the age of Alessandro Stradella. The Duke of Pesaro enters with Spadoni and his men to abduct the beautiful Léonor (scene I). However they are disturbed by the"
"Serafino Amedeo De Ferrari Serafino Amedeo De Ferrari (6 May 1824 – 27 March 1885) was an Italian composer, conductor, organist, and pianist. He is best known for his operas, of which his most popular were ""Pipelè"" (1855) and ""Il Menestrello"" (1859). Born in Genoa, Ferrari studied in his native city and in Milan. He performed widely as a concert organist and pianist. In 1852 he was highly active as a conductor in Amsterdam, after which he worked as the director of singing at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. He then worked in a similar capacity at the Teatro"
"operas such as ""Il cantore di Venezia"" by Virginio Marchi (1835), ""Stradella"" by Louis Niedermeyer (Paris, 1837), ""Stradella"" by César Franck (1841, unfinihed), ""Alessandro Stradella"" by Friedrich von Flotow (Hamburg, 1844), ""Alessandro Stradella"" by Adolf Schimon (1846), ""Stradella il trovatore"" by Vincenzo Moscuzza (1850), ""Alessandro Stradella"" by Giuseppe Sinico (1864). American novelist F. Marion Crawford also produced a highly romanticized novel of Stradella's affair and flight from Venice, titled ""Stradella"" (Macmillan 1909). Alessandro Stradella Antonio Alessandro Boncompagno Stradella (Bologna, 3 July 1643 – Genoa, 25 February 1682) was an Italian composer of the middle Baroque period. He enjoyed a dazzling"
"the Seraglio"", Wolfgang enjoys a celebration with his friends and wife where they mock Salieri and Rosenberg's attempts at upsetting the show. It is here that Wolfgang is approached by the well-known librettist, Lorenzo Da Ponte, who expresses interest in working with him. He presents Wolfgang with the work he had in mind, but Wolfgang refuses, instead proposing ""The Marriage of Figaro"", a controversial drama by Beaumarchais. Da Ponte initially refuses, wary of the trouble it could cause, but is swayed when Wolfgang explains that he associates not with radical politics, but the triumph of Figaro as a free man."
"Fra Diavolo (opera) Fra Diavolo, ou L'hôtellerie de Terracine (""Fra Diavolo, or The Inn of Terracina"") is an opéra comique in three acts by the French composer Daniel Auber, from a libretto by Auber's regular collaborator Eugène Scribe. It is loosely based on the life of the Itrani guerrilla leader Michele Pezza, active in southern Italy in the period 1800-1806, who went under the name of Fra Diavolo (""Brother Devil""). The opera was first performed by the Opéra-Comique at the Salle Ventadour in Paris on 28 January 1830 and an Italian version was prepared by Auber and Scribe for performance"
"""Orlando Furioso"". It was the third story (and afterwards the second volume) in their Harold Shea series. In the Baroque era, the poem was the basis of many operas. Among the earliest were Francesca Caccini's ""La liberazione di Ruggiero dall'isola d'Alcina"" (""The Liberation of Ruggiero from Alcina's Island"", 1625) and Luigi Rossi's ""Il palazzo incantato"" (1642). Antonio Vivaldi, as an impresario as well as a composer, staged three operas on themes from Ariosto: ""Orlando furioso"" (1713) by Giovanni Alberto Ristori, ""Orlando Furioso"" (1714), with music by Ristori and by himself, and ""Orlando"" (1727). Perhaps the most famous operas inspired by"
"Pelagio (opera) Pelagio is an opera (tragedia lirica) in four acts by Saverio Mercadante. The Italian-language libretto was by Marco D'Arienzo. It premiered on 12 February 1857 at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples, to great success. The opera had further successful performances in Milan and Lisbon. In modern times, ""Pelagio"" was performed in 2005 in Gijón, Spain, and in 2008 at the Festival della Valle d'Itria. ""Pelagio"" is an opera with ""roots in the bel canto tradition that shows the influence of Verdi"", and the work has been described as rich in ""excellent music"", with ""at least one aria (for"
"Don Giovanni Tenorio , (English: ""Don Giovanni, or The Stone Guest"") also known as Don Giovanni Tenorio (""tenorio"" is a Spanish word for ""seducer""). The opera appeared the same year as Mozart's version. It is the most famous opera by the Italian composer Giuseppe Gazzaniga. It belongs to the genre of dramma giocoso and is in one act. ""Don Giovanni Tenorio"" was first performed at the Teatro San Moisè, Venice, on February 5, 1787. The libretto, by Giovanni Bertati, is based on the legend of Don Juan as told by Tirso de Molina in his play ""The Trickster of Seville"
"Marilyn Tyler Marilyn Tyler (born Marilyn Teitler; 5 December 1926 – 20 December 2017) was an American soprano and music pedagogue. Of Romanian Jewish descent, Tyler was born in Brooklyn, New York to a family that contained many performers, including singers, dancers, musicians, actors and clowns. She studied music at the Manhattan School of Music, and was twice a recipient of Fulbright Scholarships. Over her professional career, Tyler sang over seventy opera roles in eight languages. Her notable roles included Constanza in ""The Abduction from the Seraglio"" at Rome Opera, Violetta in ""La traviata"" with the Royal Nederlandse Opera. Her"
"Mozart's ""Abduction from the Seraglio"" in April and May 1789. Starting in 1789, Schikaneder's company staged a series of fairy tale operas. These included ""Der Stein der Weisen"" (""The Philosopher's Stone""), a collaboratively written work to which Mozart contributed a small portion of the music (see Benedikt Schack). The fairy tale series culminated with the premiere in September 1791 of Mozart's ""The Magic Flute"". The latter was a success, and played for over 100 performances in its first year alone, 223 over the life of the theater. It gave rise to a sequel by Schikaneder and Peter von Winter (1798)"
"Lustige Witwe (1992, 2000), Die Hexe in Hansel und Gretel (1990), Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Nicias in Thais, Shober in Dreimadelhaus, Jimmy in the Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (1999), Prince Shuisky and the fool in Boris Godunov, the fisherman in Die Kluge, La Vie parisienne, Les contes d'Hoffman, Ariadne auf Naxos, Salome, Fadinard in Il cappello di paglia di Firenze (2001 and 2003), the latest in Mozart's Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail (2007). He was in a partnership with the baroque ensemble Capriccio Stravagante, directed by Skip Sempé, first at the inauguration opening of"
"Carlo Arrigoni Carlo Arrigoni (6 December 1697 – 19 August 1744 was an Italian composer and musician who was active in several countries during the first half of the 18th century. Arrigoni was born in Florence. Little is known of his early years or musical education. His first oratorio was performed in his native city in 1719 and was followed by ""Il Pentimento d’Accabo"" (Accabo’s repentance, 1722), a setting for five voices of a poem by his relative, Father Crisostomo Arrigoni. His opera ""La Vedova"" (The widow) was also performed that same year in Foligno. The next heard of Arrigoni"
"her father. Notes Sources Pelagio (opera) Pelagio is an opera (tragedia lirica) in four acts by Saverio Mercadante. The Italian-language libretto was by Marco D'Arienzo. It premiered on 12 February 1857 at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples, to great success. The opera had further successful performances in Milan and Lisbon. In modern times, ""Pelagio"" was performed in 2005 in Gijón, Spain, and in 2008 at the Festival della Valle d'Itria. ""Pelagio"" is an opera with ""roots in the bel canto tradition that shows the influence of Verdi"", and the work has been described as rich in ""excellent music"", with ""at"
"1758. Giuseppe Ferdinando Brivio Giuseppe Ferdinando Brivio (c. 1699, Milan – c. 1758, Milan) was an Italian composer, conductor, violinist, and singing teacher who is chiefly known for his operas. His work displays a natural expression and uses figurations similar to that of Antonio Vivaldi. He was born in Milan. The earliest record of Brivio was in a court document indicating his postition as a violinist at the Royal Palace of Milan in 1720. He soon after to become the music director at the Royal Palace's theatre where he remained until October 13, 1732. He later returned to the theater"
"Commendatore, Rocco and, above all, the principal Wagner bass roles. He also performed in operetta, often with Anneliese Rothenberger and Fritz Wunderlich, and often sang Archangel Raphael in Haydn's ""Creation"". He retired in 1970 from the stage, although a few of his recordings (for instance, as Gurnemanz in the Solti-led ""Parsifal""), were later than that. He is well represented on disc. Among his best-known recordings were Osmin (in ""The Abduction from the Seraglio"") first for Sir Thomas Beecham and again for Josef Krips, Sarastro (in ""The Magic Flute"") for Otto Klemperer and Rocco (in ""Fidelio"") for Klemperer and Ferenc Fricsay."
"of Mozart's opera as the starting point of a satirical fantasy. Music professor, composer, and humorist Peter Schickele claims to have ""discovered"" P. D. Q. Bach's ""The Abduction of Figaro"", a pastiche of the ""Entführung"" and Mozart's ""The Marriage of Figaro"". Notes Sources Die Entführung aus dem Serail The company that first sponsored the opera was the ""Nationalsingspiel"" (""national Singspiel""), a pet project (1778–1783) of the Austrian emperor Joseph II. The Emperor had set up the company to perform works in the German language (as opposed to the Italian opera style widely popular in Vienna). This project was ultimately given"
"je passe""). The scene moves to Antonio Salieri, walking with Rosenberg, the Steward to Emperor Joseph II, and Gottlieb Stephanie, a librettist who has recently finished his piece ""The Abduction from the Seraglio"". Rosenberg tells Salieri of the newcomer, Wolfgang, and his aspirations of composing a German opera, which Rosenberg then proceeds to mock for its lack of eloquence. Upon the appearance of the Emperor, Rosenberg attempts to discourage him from choosing Wolfgang as the composer for his commission on the basis of his desire to use German instead of the more traditional Italian. Rosenberg explains that Wolfgang insists on"
"La liberazione di Ruggiero La liberazione di Ruggiero dall'isola d'Alcina (""En."" ""The Liberation of Ruggiero from the island of Alcina"") is a comic opera in four scenes by Francesca Caccini, first performed 3 February 1625 at the Villa di Poggio Imperiale in Florence, with a libretto by Ferdinando Saracinelli based on Ludovico Ariosto's ""Orlando Furioso"". It is the first opera written by a woman and was long considered to be the first Italian opera to be performed outside of Italy. It was performed to celebrate the visit of Prince Władysław of Poland during Carnival 1625, and it was revived in"
"Alessandro Scarlatti Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti (2 May 1660 – 22 October 1725) was an Italian Baroque composer, known especially for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the founder of the Neapolitan school of opera. He was the father of two other composers, Domenico Scarlatti and Pietro Filippo Scarlatti. Scarlatti was born in Palermo (or in Trapani), then part of the Kingdom of Sicily. He is generally said to have been a pupil of Giacomo Carissimi in Rome, and some theorize that he had some connection with northern Italy because his early works seem to show the influence"
"Il giuramento Il giuramento (""The Oath"") is an opera in three acts by the Italian composer Saverio Mercadante. The libretto, by Gaetano Rossi, is based on Victor Hugo's play ""Angelo, Tyrant of Padua"". (This is the same source as Arrigo Boito, under the pseudonym of Tobia Gorrio, was to use for his libretto for Amilcare Ponchielli's ""La Gioconda""). The opera was first performed at La Scala, Milan on 11 March 1837 and was ""quickly taken up by other theatres throughout Italy"". Within a year, it was staged in Vienna (April 1838) and later appeared in many European cities including London"
"Ruggero Leoncavallo Ruggero (or Ruggiero) Leoncavallo (; 23 April 18579 August 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Although he produced numerous operas and other songs throughout his career it is his opera ""Pagliacci"" (1892) that remained his lasting contribution, despite attempts to escape the shadow of his greatest success. Today he remains largely known for ""Pagliacci"", one of the most popular works in the repertory, appearing as number 20 on the Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide in the 2013/14 season. His other well-known works include the song ""Mattinata"", popularized by Enrico Caruso, as well as the"
"by Antonio Vivaldi). The recitative used in the production was likely composed by Matteo Luchini, a minor composer attached to the Denzio company who also appeared in the production as a singer, indeed as Don Giovanni in this production. No reaction is recorded over Denzio's ironic decision to cast a castrato singer as the world's greatest seducer. In spite of the unfamiliar setting in Naples, the Denzio drama features many incidents and characters familiar to operatic audiences from Mozart's opera Don Giovanni. The central character, the seducer Don Giovanni, is also dragged down to hell for murdering an aged military"
"di prigionia"" (1938). Dallapiccola composed ""Il prigioniero"" in the period of 1944–1948. The work contains seven parts and lasts about 50 minutes. The musical idiom is serialism, and it is one of the first completed operas using that compositional method. The opera's first stage performance was at the Teatro Comunale Florence on May 20, 1950. The performers were Magda Laszlo, Mario Binci, Scipio Colombo, with conductor Hermann Scherchen. The ""professional"" American premiere took place on September 29, 1960, at the New York City Center, where the cast included Norman Treigle, Richard Cassilly and Anne McKnight; Leopold Stokowski conducted Christopher West's"