"outskirts of the city. In 1791, he persuaded Mozart to set one of his libretti, ""The Magic Flute"". This proved to be no ordinary ""Singspiel"". Though the traditional farcical elements remained, Mozart added a new seriousness, particularly in the music for Sarastro and his priests. Even more than ""Die Entführung"", the ""Magic Flute"" pointed the way forward for future German opera. The greatest German composer of the next generation, Beethoven, seized on ""The Magic Flute""'s blend of domestic comedy and high seriousness for his only opera, ""Fidelio"", the story of a devoted wife who saves her husband from political imprisonment."
"is what moves us to tears. His ""Fidelio"" has more of the Mass than of the Opera to it; the sentiments it expresses come from the sphere of the sacred, and preach a 'religion of humanity' which we never found so beautiful or necessary as we do today, after all we have lived through. Herein lies the singular power of this unique opera... Independent of any historical consideration ... the flaming message of ""Fidelio"" touches deeply. We realize that for us Europeans, as for all men, this music will always represent an appeal to our conscience. On 5 November 1955,"
"Symphony includes a chorus), and about a dozen pieces of ""occasional"" music. He wrote seven concerti for one or more soloists and orchestra, as well as four shorter works that include soloists accompanied by orchestra. His only opera is ""Fidelio""; other vocal works with orchestral accompaniment include two masses and a number of shorter works. His large body of compositions for piano includes 32 piano sonatas and numerous shorter pieces, including arrangements of some of his other works. Works with piano accompaniment include 10 violin sonatas, 5 cello sonatas, and a sonata for French horn, as well as numerous lieder."
"of the other leading female part, the sweet Princess Agilea. 18th century musicologist Charles Burney wrote of the accompanied recitatives for Medea:in which the wild and savage fury of the enraged sorceress, Medea, and her incantations, are admirably painted by the instruments. Teseo Teseo (""Theseus"", HWV 9; ) is an opera seria with music by George Frideric Handel, the only Handel opera that is in five acts. The Italian-language libretto was by Nicola Francesco Haym, after Philippe Quinault's ""Thésée"". It was Handel's third London opera, intended to follow the success of ""Rinaldo"" after the unpopular ""Il pastor fido"". First performed"
"Ignazio Fiorillo Ignazio Fiorillo (11 May 1715 – June 1787) was an Italian composer. He is known as an author of opera seria, often composed to the libretti of Pietro Metastasio. Fiorillo was born in Naples, Italy. His musical education was supported by Count Ferdinand Otto von Traun, who allowed him to study at the Naples Conservatory, as a pupil of Leonardo Leo and Francesco Durante. His career began with opera ""L'egeste"", premiered in Trieste in 1733. Another opera, ""Il vincitor di se stesso"", was performed in 1741 in Venice, and Fiorillo introduced himself as an opera composer also in"
"The Complete Opera Recordings"" (Naxos 8.110703). This recording was made in 1902. Fedora (opera) Fedora is an opera in three acts by Umberto Giordano to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the 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 with Gemma Bellincioni creating the role of Fedora, and Enrico Caruso as her lover, Loris Ipanov. In 1889, Umberto Giordano saw Sardou's play ""Fédora"" at the Teatro"
"Pietro Floridia Pietro Floridia (5 May 1860 in Modica – 16 August 1932 in New York City) was an Italian composer of classical music. According to David Johnson (quoting the notes, by Luigi della Croce, to the Bongiovanni recording of Floridia's Symphony and other works), Floridia was born in Modica, Sicily, and studied in Naples, where he created his first opera, ""Carlotta Clepier"". He later destroyed the score of this work and entered further studies. He wrote a symphony (his only one) in 1888, taught at the Palermo Conservatory of Music, and wrote operas ""Maruzza"" (produced in Venice in 1894)"
"to ""Fidelio"" is Rossini's ""Torvaldo e Dorliska"" of 1815. Bedřich Smetana's ""Dalibor"" (1868), which contains no spoken dialogue and which bears marks of Wagnerian influence, has nonetheless been called a rescue opera, in part because of its political themes. Rescue opera was primarily a product of the French Revolution. The social changes of the period meant that opera must now appeal to the masses, and post-aristocratic, patriotic, idealistic themes—such as resistance to oppression, secularism, the political power of individuals and of people working together, and fundamental changes to the status quo—were popular. The Terror influenced stories of fear and imprisonment;"
"Fedora (opera) Fedora is an opera in three acts by Umberto Giordano to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the 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 with Gemma Bellincioni creating the role of Fedora, and Enrico Caruso as her lover, Loris Ipanov. In 1889, Umberto Giordano saw Sardou's play ""Fédora"" at the Teatro Bellini di Napoli, with Sarah Bernhardt (for whom the play was written)"
"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"
"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"
"Teseo Teseo (""Theseus"", HWV 9; ) is an opera seria with music by George Frideric Handel, the only Handel opera that is in five acts. The Italian-language libretto was by Nicola Francesco Haym, after Philippe Quinault's ""Thésée"". It was Handel's third London opera, intended to follow the success of ""Rinaldo"" after the unpopular ""Il pastor fido"". First performed on 10 January 1713,""Teseo"" featured ""magical"" effects such as flying dragons, transformation scenes and apparitions and had a cast of notable Italian opera singers. It was a success with London audiences, receiving thirteen performances even though the stage machinery for the ""magical"""
"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"
"melodic, while others hear his most famous work, Leonora (due to its setting by Beethoven for his only opera a year later), as mere dull formula-writing. One of his pupils was Ferdinando Orlandi. Oratorios: Ferdinando Paer Ferdinando Paer (1 July 17713 May 1839) was an Italian composer known for his operas and oratorios. He was of Austrian descent and used the German spelling Pär in application for printing in Venice, and later in France the spelling Paër. He was born in Parma into a family of Austrian descent. His grandfather Michael Pär was a regimental band member from Peterwardein (today"
"Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 1809 4 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early romantic period. Mendelssohn wrote symphonies, concertos, oratorios, piano music and chamber music. His best-known works include his Overture and incidental music for ""A Midsummer Night's Dream"", the ""Italian Symphony"", the ""Scottish Symphony"", the overture ""The Hebrides"", his mature Violin Concerto, and his String Octet. His ""Songs Without Words"" are his most famous solo piano compositions. After a long period of relative denigration due to changing musical tastes and antisemitism"
"with the verse ""E' mia madre addormentata"" from Margareta's aria in act 3 was awarded the Euro Video Grand Prix 2006. Notes Sources Mefistofele Mefistofele () is an opera in a prologue, four acts and an epilogue, the only completed opera with music by the Italian composer-librettist Arrigo Boito (there are several completed operas for which he was librettist only). The opera was given its premiere on 5 March 1868 at La Scala, Milan, under the baton of the composer, despite his lack of experience and skill as a conductor. However, it was not a success and was immediately withdrawn"
"London. The opera is based upon the story of the Roman Emperor Alexander Severus. Notes Sources Alessandro Severo Alessandro Severo (Alexander Severus, HWV A13) is an opera by George Frideric Handel composed in 1738. It is one of Handel's three pasticcio works, made up of the music and arias of his previous operas ""Giustino"", ""Berenice"" and ""Arminio"". Only the overture and recitatives (as well as the words) were new. The impresario Johann Jacob Heidegger probably selected the 1717 libretto by Apostolo Zeno, originally written for Antonio Lotti and re-used by many composers thereafter. ""Alessandro Severo"" was not a success at"
"while in New York City, he headed the Italian Symphony Orchestra. Floridia died in Harkness Presbyterian Hospital in New York City in 1932. Pietro Floridia Pietro Floridia (5 May 1860 in Modica – 16 August 1932 in New York City) was an Italian composer of classical music. According to David Johnson (quoting the notes, by Luigi della Croce, to the Bongiovanni recording of Floridia's Symphony and other works), Floridia was born in Modica, Sicily, and studied in Naples, where he created his first opera, ""Carlotta Clepier"". He later destroyed the score of this work and entered further studies. He wrote"
"Filippo Acciaiuoli Filippo Acciaiuoli (1637 – 8 February 1700) was an Italian composer, librettist, theater manager, machine designer, and poet. Acciaiuoli spent much of his youth and early adulthood traveling throughout Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa. After returning to Rome in his early twenties, he initially studied mathematics at a seminary in Rome but ultimately became interested in theater. He is best known for his work as a librettist for operas such as Jacopo Melani's ""Girello"", which premiered in Rome in 1668, and as the inventor of numerous sophisticated machines that were used in theatrical productions of the"
"Mefistofele Mefistofele () is an opera in a prologue, four acts and an epilogue, the only completed opera with music by the Italian composer-librettist Arrigo Boito (there are several completed operas for which he was librettist only). The opera was given its premiere on 5 March 1868 at La Scala, Milan, under the baton of the composer, despite his lack of experience and skill as a conductor. However, it was not a success and was immediately withdrawn after only two performances. Revisions in 1875 resulted in success in Bologna and, with further adjustments in 1876 for Venice, the opera was"
"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 in"
"single source; some are literary versions, unrelated to any theatrical performances. All but one of the 12 identify Badoaro as the author, while the other gives no name. Only two refer to Monteverdi as the composer, though this is not significant—composers' names were rarely given on printed librettos. The texts are all generally the same in each case, and all differ from the one surviving copy of Monteverdi's musical score, which has three acts instead of five, a different prologue, a different ending, and many scenes and passages either omitted or rearranged. Some of the libretto copies locate the opera's"
"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"
"Flavio Flavio, re de' Longobardi (""Flavio, King of the Lombards"", HWV 16) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was by Nicola Francesco Haym, after Matteo Noris's ""Flavio Cuniberto"". It was Handel's fourth full-length opera for the Royal Academy of Music. Handel had originally entitled the opera after the character of Emilia in the opera. ""Flavio"" is unusually concise for an opera by Handel of this period. It is also notable as a skillful blend of tragedy and comedy, both in the text and the music, and for being one of Handel's few"
"in Cherubini's ""Médée"" on 13 March 1797. Gaveaux's first opera, ""L'amour filial"" (1792), was a success in Paris and was performed throughout Europe: Brussels, Cologne and Rotterdam in 1795, Bern and Moscow in 1809, Berlin and Hamburg (in a German translation) in 1796. His most famous opera, ""Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal"", premièred in 1798, with Gaveaux himself in the role of Florestan and Julie-Angélique Scio as Léonore. It is best known today because the libretto (by Jean-Nicolas Bouilly) served as the basis for Beethoven's only opera, ""Fidelio"". Other operas by Gaveaux that were popular in their day include ""Sophie et"
"Pietro Antonio Fiocco Pietro Antonio Fiocco (or Pier Antonio or Pierre-Antoine) (3 February 1654 – 3 September 1714) was an Italian Baroque composer. Pietro Antonio Fiocco was born in Venice. Nothing is known of his childhood and his musical formation in Italy, but it is known that he soon made a name for himself, since Dirck Strijcker, the son of the Dutch consul in Venice had him come to Amsterdam, where an opera was founded. In 1681 the booklet of ""Helena rapita da Paride"" appeared, composed by Domenico Freschi, and for which Fiocco arranged the music. The same year he"
"Tolomeo Tolomeo, re d'Egitto (""Ptolemy, King of Egypt"", HWV 25) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel to an Italian text by Nicola Francesco Haym, adapted from Carlo Sigismondo Capece's ""Tolomeo et Alessandro"". It was Handel's 13th (or 14th if the one act Handel contributed to the collaborative opera ""Muzio Scevola"" is counted) and last opera for the Royal Academy of Music (1719) and was also the last of the operas he composed for the triumvirate of internationally renowned singers, the castrato Senesino and the sopranos Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni. The story of the opera"
"Labyrinth (opera) Labyrinth is an opera in one act by composer Gian Carlo Menotti. The work was commissioned for television by the NBC Opera Theatre and uses an English language libretto by the composer. Unlike Menotti's previous television operas, such as ""Amahl and the Night Visitors"", this opera was written with no intention of being moved to live stage performance later. Menotti intended for this work to utilize the special effects unique to television which could not be recreated in live theatre. As a result, NBC's television production of the opera is the only performance the work has received. At"
"allows her to come to life, giving him final happiness. Pygmalion (opera) Pygmalion is a monodrama in one act by composer Georg Benda with a German libretto by Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter. The opera's first performance was at the , the court theatre in Gotha, on September 20, 1779. ""Pygmalion"" was the fourth of the five theatrical collaborations of Benda and Gotter. Gotter based his text on Jean-Jacques Rousseau's 1762 play ""Pygmalion"". Benda's melodrama is unusual as it has three characters but only one spoken role. Two of the parts are silently acted on stage. Pygmalion, having renounced women, is in"
"Benedetto Ferrari Benedetto Ferrari (ca. 1603 – 1681) was an Italian composer, particularly of opera, librettist, and theorbo player. Ferrari was born in Reggio nell'Emilia. He worked in Rome (1617–1618), Parma (1619–1623), and possibly in Modena at some time between 1623 and 1637. He created music and libretti in Venice and Bologna, 1637-1644. Ferrari's ""Andromeda"", with music by Francesco Manelli, was the first Venetian opera performed in a public theatre (in 1637). Subsequently he provided both the text and the music for two operas, both presented in Venice: ""La maga fulminata"" (1638) and ""Il pastor regio"" (1640). The 1641 Bolognese"
"Alessandro Severo Alessandro Severo (Alexander Severus, HWV A13) is an opera by George Frideric Handel composed in 1738. It is one of Handel's three pasticcio works, made up of the music and arias of his previous operas ""Giustino"", ""Berenice"" and ""Arminio"". Only the overture and recitatives (as well as the words) were new. The impresario Johann Jacob Heidegger probably selected the 1717 libretto by Apostolo Zeno, originally written for Antonio Lotti and re-used by many composers thereafter. ""Alessandro Severo"" was not a success at its premiere under the direction of the composer on 25 February 1738 at the King's Theatre,"
"1983 complete reference recording La finta semplice La finta semplice (""The Fake Innocent""), K. 51 (46a) is an opera buffa in three acts for seven voices and orchestra, composed in 1768 by then 12-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Young Mozart and his father Leopold were spending the year in Vienna, where Leopold was trying to establish his son as an opera composer. He was acting on a suggested request from the Emperor Joseph II that the young boy should write an opera. Leopold chose an Italian libretto by the Vienna court poet Marco Coltellini, which was based on an early work"
"La finta semplice La finta semplice (""The Fake Innocent""), K. 51 (46a) is an opera buffa in three acts for seven voices and orchestra, composed in 1768 by then 12-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Young Mozart and his father Leopold were spending the year in Vienna, where Leopold was trying to establish his son as an opera composer. He was acting on a suggested request from the Emperor Joseph II that the young boy should write an opera. Leopold chose an Italian libretto by the Vienna court poet Marco Coltellini, which was based on an early work by Carlo Goldoni. During"