• 1651
• Articles
• 26 Feb 2012

“Ermione” is a tragic opera (azione tragica) in two acts by G. Rossini to an Italian libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, based on the play “Andromaque” by Jean Racine. “Ermione” was first performed at the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples, on 27 March 1819. For reasons that are as yet unclear, the opera was withdrawn […]

• 4521
• Articles
• 23 Feb 2012

Callas’s voice has been difficult to place in the modern vocal classification or fach system, especially since in her prime, her repertoire contained the heaviest dramatic soprano roles as well as roles usually undertaken by the highest, lightest and most agile coloratura sopranos. Regarding this versatility, Maestro Tullio Serafin said, “This woman can sing anything […]

• 3364
• Articles
• 20 Feb 2012

“Orientalism” is a book published in 1978 by Edward Said that has been highly influential and controversial in postcolonial studies and other fields. In the book, Said effectively redefined the term “Orientalism” to mean a constellation of false assumptions underlying Western attitudes toward the Middle East. This body of scholarship is marked by a “subtle […]

• 1669
• Articles
• 16 Feb 2012

Nella breve (un cinquantennio, più o meno: da Visconti in poi) storia della regia lirica i décoratori si sprecano [e sfiniscono a furia di ninnoli camp (un altro indizio? iniziali FZ)], i provocatori si spintonano [e tediano con trovate incomprensibili e chiarissime sciatterie (pessimo ultimo Walter Pagliaro, responsabile di una nefanda FAVORITE vista a Bologna […]

• 1265
• Articles
• 12 Feb 2012

The Uses of Enchantment: A Program Essay for Handel’s Alcina at New York City Opera by Marion Lignana Rosenberg Now little known in the English-speaking world, Ludovico Ariosto (1474-1533) was arguably the greatest poet of his age, and his 46-canto epic Orlando furioso (Mad Roland, 1532) was the most celebrated literary work of its era. […]

• 1346
• Articles
• 12 Feb 2012

‎”Alcina” (HWV 34) is an opera seria by George Frideric Händel. Händel used the libretto of L’isola di Alcina, an opera that was set in 1728 in Rome by Riccardo Broschi, which he acquired the year after, during his travels in Italy. The plot was originally taken from – but partly altered for better conformity […]

• 1140
• Articles
• 09 Feb 2012

Nicolai Gedda (born 11 July 1925) is a Swedish operatic tenor. Having made some two hundred recordings, Gedda is said to be the most widely recorded tenor in history. Gedda’s singing is best known for his beauty of tone, vocal control, and musical perception. Nicolai Harry Gustav Gedda means was born in Stockholm to a […]

• 1608
• Articles
• 06 Feb 2012

This is an “ancient” recording. Maybe 1910-11. Mattia Battistini was the last baritone in possession of the perfect nineteenth-century voice color and technique. A perfect exemple of how had to be the “real” baritone voice: smooth, light, extended and velvet. Not too big or dark. Mattia Battistini (27 February 1856 – 7 November 1928) was […]

• 1363
• Articles
• 05 Feb 2012

“Rückert-Lieder” is a song cycle of five Lieder for voice and orchestra or piano by Gustav Mahler, based on poems written by Friedrich Rückert. They were first published in Sieben Lieder aus letzter Zeit. The songs: 1. Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder! (Do not look at my songs!, 14 June 1901) 2. Ich atmet’ […]

• 7390
• Articles
• 02 Feb 2012

Orpheus (Ancient Greek:‛Oρφεύς) was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music; his attempt to retrieve his wife, Eurydice, from the underworld; and his death at the hands of those […]