"the opera and which represent the evil character of Scarpia—or perhaps, Charles Osborne proposes, the violent atmosphere that pervades the entire opera. Budden has suggested that Scarpia's tyranny, lechery and lust form ""the dynamic engine that ignites the drama"". Other motifs identify Tosca herself, the love of Tosca and Cavaradossi, the fugitive Angelotti, the semi-comical character of the sacristan in act 1 and the theme of torture in act 2. The opera begins without any prelude; the opening chords of the Scarpia motif lead immediately to the agitated appearance of Angelotti and the enunciation of the ""fugitive"" motif. The sacristan's"
"of Angelotti and Cavaradossi. In the opera, both Cavaradossi's interrogation and torture and Scarpia's subsequent murder take place in the Farnese Palace. In the play, Cavaradossi's interrogation is set at his country house, where he was captured, while Scarpia's murder takes place at his apartment in the Castel Sant'Angelo. The news of the Austrian defeat at Marengo which formed the climax of Act 2 in ""La Tosca"" does not emerge in the opera until after Cavaradossi has been captured and tortured. Thus Scarpia is able to listen to Tosca's uninterrupted performance of the cantata (heard in a distant room of"
"fully-fledged opera by Vivaldi himself. The opera – more formally, the ""dramma per musica"" – alternates arias with recitative, and is set on an island at an unspecified time. The story line combines several plot lines from Ariosto: the exploits of the hero Orlando are detailed, as well as the tale of the sorceress Alcina. In a delightful garden in which two springs are seen, Medoro escapes from a shipwreck into the arms of his beloved Angelica. Alcina magically helps Medoro and he recounts how he was first captured, then shipwrecked. Orlando is jealous of Medoro, but Angelica lies and"
"They await Alcina's return. Inside the temple of Hecate, Bradamante disguises herself as a man. Alcina falls in love with her. Orlando, still raving mad about the marriage of Angelica and Medoro, fights with the temple statues, inadvertently destroying Alcina's power. In a deserted island. Alcina tries to attack the sleeping Orlando, but is prevented by Ruggiero and Bradamante. Astolfo returns to arrest Alcina. Orlando regains his reason and forgives Angelica and Medoro. Notes Sources Orlando furioso (Vivaldi) Orlando (RV 728), usually known in modern times as (), is an opera in three acts by Antonio Vivaldi to an Italian"
"have been traced, one being at La Pergola in Florence in 1826, the other in London in 1829. A planned staging in Paris in 1828 was abandoned. An expansive structure in the opening of the opera, grandiose orchestral effects including a stage band, and elaborate choruses and ensembles are features of this opera. Extended excerpts have been recorded: Recorded in 2006. Notes L'esule di Granata L'esule di Granata (""The exile of Granada"") is a ""melodramma serio"" (serious opera ) in two acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer. The Italian libretto was by Felice Romani based on the rivalries between the Zegridi and"
"come to his apartment, anticipating that two of his goals will soon be fulfilled at once. His agent, Spoletta, arrives to report that Angelotti remains at large, but Cavaradossi has been arrested for questioning. He is brought in, and an interrogation ensues. As the painter steadfastly denies knowing anything about Angelotti's escape, Tosca's voice is heard singing a celebratory cantata elsewhere in the Palace. She enters the apartment in time to see Cavaradossi being escorted to an antechamber. All he has time to say is that she mustn't tell them anything. Scarpia then claims she can save her lover from"
"safe arrival, the god comes to life and orders Ilo to rebuild the temple. While Ilo is absorbed in his work, another fisherman, Luca, arrives on the island. He and Telea quickly fall in love and make plans to flee the island. When Ilo discovers the plan, Luca and Telea trap him in a fishing net and escape. Believing that the god has abandoned him, Ilo destroys the temple. The god then kills Ilo, only to perish because no one is left to worship him. The Island God The Island God is a one-act opera by Gian Carlo Menotti with"
"debt and fleeing the bailiff of the mysterious Count de Ridolfi. The opera had an initial run of 98 performances at the Teatro Nuovo and was regularly produced in numerous opera houses in Italy and abroad over the next four decades. After years of neglect, it was revived in 2014 in a co-production by the Teatro San Carlo in Naples and the Festival della Valle d'Itria in Martina Franca. ""Don Checco"" was De Giosa's fifth opera. Almerindo Spadetta, a lawyer by training and prolific librettist by vocation, had also written the libretto for De Giosa's second opera ""Elvina"", an ""opera"
"recognize a regular handling and expressive quality in his style. For these, the public wanted to salute Signor Donizetti on stage at the end of the opera"". For the first time in 192 years, the opera was presented at the Vadstena Academy in Sweden in July/August 2012. ""The king has been deceived and murdered by his own brother. The king's bodyguards, Pietro and Brunone, manage to escape with Enrico, the first-born son of the king and the rightful heir to the throne. During Pietro’s escape, his wife is killed before they can get to safety. Brunone stays in the castle,"
"are wanted, not imitations, but originality. The opera has been rarely performed in modern times. It was revived in a staged performance in Genoa in 1978 and given a concert performance in London in 1981. The first version of the opera, ""Bianca e Gernando"", was given in concert form by the Rossini in Wildbad festival in the summer of 2016. A recording exists of a 1991 performance at the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania. ""Background"" The ambitious Filippo has secretly imprisoned Carlo, Duke of Agrigento and usurped his throne. Carlo's son Fernando was accordingly forced into exile although he was"
"and injustice; the one-act opera ""Il prigioniero"" and the cantata ""Canti di liberazione"" completed the trilogy. Of these, ""Il prigioniero"" (1944–48) has become Dallapiccola's best-known work. It tells the chilling story of a political prisoner whose jailor, in an apparent gesture of fraternity, allows him to escape from his cell. At the moment of his freedom, however, he finds he has been the victim of a cruel practical joke as he runs straight into the arms of the Grand Inquisitor, who smilingly leads him off to the stake at which he is to be burned alive. The opera's pessimistic outlook"
"the Trocadero Theater, Philadelphia in March 1982 with John Gilmore in the title role. The opera makes a reference to the castrati in during Pasquale's Act 2 aria ""Ecco spiano"", during which he sings """"Ah, che un musico castrato come me non canta affé"""" (Even a castrato cannot sing as well as me). The same aria is also notable for requiring the tenor to go into falsetto to hit some of the high notes. Scene 1 – A mountainous landscape. The shepherdess Eurilla and her father Licone are alarmed by the appearance of a threatening knight, searching for Angelica and"
"The Saint of Bleecker Street The Saint of Bleecker Street is an opera in three acts by Gian Carlo Menotti to an original English libretto by the composer. It was first performed at the Broadway Theatre in New York City on December 27, 1954. David Poleri and Davis Cunningham alternated in the role of Michele, and Thomas Schippers conducted. It ran for 92 consecutive performances. The opera is through-composed, and set in the intensely Catholic Little Italy of New York City in 1954. It follows Annina, a young and simple woman who is blessed with the stigmata. She often hears"
"The Saint of Bleecker Street The Saint of Bleecker Street is an opera in three acts by Gian Carlo Menotti to an original English libretto by the composer. It was first performed at the Broadway Theatre in New York City on December 27, 1954. David Poleri and Davis Cunningham alternated in the role of Michele, and Thomas Schippers conducted. It ran for 92 consecutive performances. The opera is through-composed, and set in the intensely Catholic Little Italy of New York City in 1954. It follows Annina, a young and simple woman who is blessed with the stigmata. She often hears"
"Il trionfo dell'onore Il trionfo dell'onore (""The Triumph of Honour"") is an operatic 'commedia' in three acts by the Italian composer Alessandro Scarlatti, with a libretto by . It was first performed at the Teatro dei Fiorentini, Naples on 26 November 1718. It is Scarlatti's only known comic opera. Ricardo Albenori, a dissolute young man, and his friend, the soldier Rodimarte Bombarda, arrive in Pisa, having escaped from Lucca where they had run into trouble with the law. In Lucca, Riccardo had also seduced Leonora Dorini before rejecting her in favour of Doralice Rossetti. Leonora has followed him and takes"
"from his messenger Michele (a friend of Elisabetta and the son of her nurse) explaining the injustice of their exile. The Tsar pardons the whole family who are then reunited in Moscow. As ""Otto mesi"" As ""Elisabetta"" Notes Cited sources Other sources Otto mesi in due ore Otto mesi in due ore ossia Gli esiliati in Siberia (""Eight Months in Two Hours or The Exiles in Siberia"") is an opera in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a libretto by Domenico Gilardoni. The original story comes from the 1806 novel, ""Elisabeth, ou Les exilés de Sibérie"" (""Elisabeth, or the Exiles"
"stake. The opera concludes with the Prisoner's enigmatic whisper of ""Freedom?"" Il prigioniero Il prigioniero (""The Prisoner"") is an opera (originally a radio opera) in a prologue and one act, with music and libretto by Luigi Dallapiccola. The opera was first broadcast by the Italian radio station RAI on 1 December 1949. The work is based on the short story ""La torture par l'espérance"" (""Torture by Hope"") from the collection ""Nouveaux contes cruels"" by the French writer Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam and from ""La Légende d'Ulenspiegel et de Lamme Goedzak"" by Charles de Coster. Some of the musical material is"
"for Gilardoni's libretto. The opera has two later, substantially re-worked versions, Élisabeth ou la fille de l'exilé (""Elisabeth, or the daughter of the exile""), and Elisabetta, both of which received their first performances some 150 years after Donizetti's death. 19th century The opera underwent many revisions and changes of title over the years, with a performance history nearly as convoluted as its plot. Its first version premiered with the title ""Otto mesi in due ore"" at the Teatro Nuovo in Naples on 13 May 1827, and was performed 50 times in its first season. In 1831, it was presented in"
"mondo"" (""What eyes in the world""). After Tosca has left, Angelotti reappears and discusses with the painter his plan to flee disguised as a woman, using clothes left in the chapel by his sister. Cavaradossi gives Angelotti a key to his villa, suggesting that he hide in a disused well in the garden. The sound of a cannon signals that Angelotti's escape has been discovered. He and Cavaradossi hasten out of the church. The Sacristan re-enters with choristers, celebrating the news that Napoleon has apparently been defeated at Marengo. The celebrations cease abruptly with the entry of Scarpia, his henchman"
"He asks Antigone and Haemon to forgive his harshness. The opera ends with a marriage ceremony for the two rescued lovers. Antigona Antigona (""Antigone"") is an opera in three acts in Italian by the composer Tommaso Traetta. The libretto, by Marco Coltellini, is based on the tragedy ""Antigone"" by Sophocles. But there is also an opera ""Antigona"" by Josef Mysliveček. ""Antigona"" received its premiere at the Imperial Theatre, Saint Petersburg, Russia on 11 November 1772. The background to the opera is the myth of Oedipus. Oedipus has been expelled from Thebes, the city where he was king, after it was"
"times with costumes by Giorgio Armani. ""Tosca, Amore Disperato"" continues to be performed in Italy and was broadcast on RAI television in June 2010. The number of characters is sharply reduced in the opera, and the work shortened to three acts, leaving out much of the political motivations of the protagonists. In the opera, Angelotti and Cavaradossi already know each other. In the play, they had never met before, thus allowing considerable scope to explain their histories and backgrounds to each other. The roles of Tosca's maid and Cavaradossi's two servants were eliminated as were most of the characters in"
"opera, her final words are addressed to Scarpia: (""O Scarpia, [we meet] before God!""). The opera also gives Cavaradossi a soliloquy in the final act, (""And the stars were shining""), in which he reflects on his past happiness with Tosca and his impending death. Other relatively minor changes include Puccini's addition of a singing shepherd boy as Cavaradossi awaits his execution and a change of the church in Act 1 from Sardou's Sant'Andrea al Quirinale to Puccini's Sant'Andrea della Valle. The latter actually has a potential hiding place for Angelotti. Its Barberini chapel incorporates a shallow chamber separated from the"
"Tosca will sing later that evening as part of the victory celebrations. Baron Scarpia arrives and there is further discussion of Angelotti's escape, cut short by the arrival of Tosca. Queen Marie Caroline enters for the performance of the cantata accompanied by Paisiello, Prince Diego Naselli, courtiers, musicians, Austrian army officers, and monsignors. She reiterates her demand that Scarpia capture Angelotti and have him hanged. Scarpia must now find the fugitive's hiding place as quickly as possible. Hoping to provoke Tosca into leading him to Cavaradossi and Angelotti, he takes her aside and shows her the Marquise Attavanti's fan, intimating"
"Il prigioniero Il prigioniero (""The Prisoner"") is an opera (originally a radio opera) in a prologue and one act, with music and libretto by Luigi Dallapiccola. The opera was first broadcast by the Italian radio station RAI on 1 December 1949. The work is based on the short story ""La torture par l'espérance"" (""Torture by Hope"") from the collection ""Nouveaux contes cruels"" by the French writer Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam and from ""La Légende d'Ulenspiegel et de Lamme Goedzak"" by Charles de Coster. Some of the musical material is based on Dallapiccola's earlier choral work on a similar theme, ""Canti"
"Maria Golovin Maria Golovin is an English language opera in three acts by Gian Carlo Menotti. It is through-composed and centers on a romantic encounter between a blind recluse named Donato and the title character, a married woman living in a European country a few years after a recent war. The work was commissioned by Peter Herman Adler of the NBC Opera Theatre. Its first performance was at the International Exposition Pavilion Theater at Expo '58 in Brussels on 20 August 1958. Later that year, David Merrick and the NBC Opera mounted a Broadway production billed as a ""musical drama."""
"recently (unknown to him, it is Angelotti's sister the Marchesa). Cavaradossi describes the ""hidden harmony"" (""Recondita armonia"") in the contrast between the blonde beauty of his painting and his dark-haired lover, the singer Floria Tosca. The Sacristan mumbles his disapproval before leaving. Angelotti emerges and tells Cavaradossi, an old friend who has republican sympathies, that he is being pursued by the Chief of Police, Baron Scarpia. Cavaradossi promises to assist him after nightfall. Tosca's voice is heard, calling to Cavaradossi. Cavaradossi gives Angelotti his basket of food and Angelotti hurriedly returns to his hiding place. Tosca enters and suspiciously asks"
"Cattanei, who tries to warn him of the conspiracy against his family. But she is killed by Montesecco, a murderer hired by Pope Sixtus V. Giuliano is killed by the conspirators, but Lorenzo de' Medici escapes with the help of the poet Poliziano. He then wins the support of the people, who lynch the conspirators. A recording of the opera released in 2010 on Deutsche Grammophon featuring Plácido Domingo as Giuliano de' Medici, Carlos Álvarez as Lorenzo de' Medici, Vitaly Kovalkov as Francesco de' Pazzi, Daniela Dessì as Simonetta Cattanei (Simonetta Vespucci née Cattaneo ) and Renata Lamanda as Fioretta"
"Opera (film) Opera (also known and released as Terror at the Opera) is a 1987 Italian giallo film co-written and directed by Dario Argento, with music composed and performed by Brian Eno, Claudio Simonetti, and Bill Wyman. Starring Cristina Marsillach, Urbano Barberini, and Ian Charleson, the plot focuses on a young soprano (Marsillach) involved in a series of murders being committed inside an opera house by a masked assailant. The film was one of Argento's most commercially successful, seeing 1,363,912 ticket sales in his native country of Italy.<ref name=""IMDB Box Office/Business""></ref> This is the second Dario Argento horror film to"
"or ""Maometto II"" (The Sultan or Muhammad II). The same opera was performed in Naples at the Teatro di San Carlo in 1854 with enthusiastic success, thanks also to the outstanding cast of singers, which included among others the tenor Emilio Pancani and soprano Carlotta Carrozzi Zucchi. In 1859 the opera ""Caterina di Guisa"" (Catherine of Guise) was performed for the first time at Teatro Comunale di Catania. In 1859, he was appointed director of the Teatro Comunale di Catania. Antonino had to leave soon Sicily, taking refuge in Malta, to escape the Bourbon police because of his activities as"
"the happy bride of Feraspe. In the final scene, Venus descends from the heavens accompanied by Innocence. They describe the happy turn of events and sing ""Viva Cyprus and Negroponte!"", echoed by choruses of divine spirits, dancing soldiers, and cherubs flying overhead. L'Argia L'Argia is an opera in a prologue and three acts composed by Antonio Cesti to a libretto by Giovanni Filippo Apolloni. It was first performed in the court theatre at Innsbruck on 4 November 1655 to celebrate the visit of Queen Christina of Sweden who was on her way to exile in Rome. Over the next 20"
"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"
"Arrighetto Arrighetto is an opera in one act by Carlo Coccia. The Italian-language libretto was by Angelo Anelli, after ""Madonna Beritola"", sixth tale of the second day of the ""Decameron"" by Giovanni Boccaccio. It premiered on 9 January 1813 at the Teatro San Moisè, Venice. The plot is inspired by the tale of Madonna Beritola, told by Emilia in the second day of the ""Decameron"" by Giovanni Boccaccio, with significant variations. In the tale, Giuffredi and Scacciato, the two sons of Arrighetto Capece, nobleman fallen into disfavour and arrested after the fall of the king of Sicily Manfredi, reach adventurously"
"in and sheltered by Lugano, a wealthy merchant. Alice died shortly thereafter, of a broken heart; and Lugano caused a marble statue of her to be erected in his palace. This statue is venerated by the local people as a saint. Camille, Lugano's daughter, is preparing to marry Alphonse, the younger son of the Monza family, who has never met his elder brother. Just then, by the sort of coincidence beloved of opera librettists, Zampa arrives on the scene, in disguise. He is thought by everyone to be in prison awaiting execution; but in reality he has escaped, and he"