‘Richard the Lionheart’ Composed: 1784 Premiered: 1784, Paris Libretto by Michel-Jean Sedaine Prologue Richard I has disappeared on his way home to England from the Third Crusade. Blondel, his squire and a troubadour, is trying to find his master. Act I Peasants are returning in the evening to their homes near Linz Castle. A local boy, Antonio ...
(An-dra Âr-nest’ Mo-dest’ Gra’-tre) 1741–1813 Belgian (French) composer Born in Liège, Grétry studied in Rome and in 1767 settled in Paris. With the success the next year of Le Huron he quickly became the leading composer of opéra comique, having particular successes with Zémire et Azor (1771), La caravane du Caire (‘The Caravan of Cairo’, 1783) and Richard Coeur-de-Lion (‘Richard ...
1741–1813, French Grétry, who was born in Liège, composed two intermezzi before he headed for Paris and his preferred genre, the opéra comique. His first success, Le Huron (1768), came a year after his arrival and was followed in 1769 by the equally well received Lucile and Le tableau parlant (‘The Talking Picture’). Grétry charmed French ...
‘Ernelinde, Princess of Norway’ Composed: 1767 Premiered: 1767, Paris Libretto by Antonine Alexandre Henri Poinsinet after Francesco Silvani’s libretto La fede tradita, e vendicata Prologue The brother of Ricimer, King of the Goths (Sweden), has been killed by Rodoald, King of Norway. In revenge, Ricimer has attacked Rodoald’s capital at Nidaros (now Trondheim). Sandomir, ...
1660–1744, French Born in Aix-en-Provence, Campra became a church musician in Arles and Toulouse, and composed sacred music that was much admired. In 1694, Campra moved to Paris to become master of music at the cathedral of Nôtre Dame. Three years later, he produced his opéra-ballet, L’Europe galante (1697). With this work, Campra was ...
b. 1930 American conductor, pianist and composer Previn’s family fled Germany in 1938, settling finally in Los Angeles, where he began parallel careers as an orchestrator and conductor at MGM (he went on to win four Academy awards for film music) and a jazz pianist. His classical conducting debut in 1962 led to numerous international engagements before his ...
(Fran-swa An-dra’ Da-ne-kan Fe-le-dôr’) 1726–95 French composer Coming from a large family of musicians associated with the French court, Philidor was a pupil of André Campra (1660–1744). He achieved international fame as a chess player and played much in England as well as in France. His main musical contribution came in his opéras comiques; he wrote more than 20, of ...
1726–95, French Philidor was more or less forced into writing opéras comiques once his earlier, Italian, style got him banned from the Paris Opéra in 1756. Philidor adapted splendidly. He soon became a successful composer in this typically French genre, producing Blaise le savetier (‘Blaise the Cobbler’, 1759) and Le Sorcier (‘The Sorcerer’, 1764). At a performance ...
(Fran’-swa A-dre-an’ Bwald-yö) 1775–1834 French composer Boieldieu was one of the leading opera composers of the early nineteenth century, concentrating on the opéra comique tradition. He studied with Charles Broche in his home town of Rouen, and was influenced by late eighteenth-century opéra comique, especially the works of André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry (1741–1813) and Méhul. His earliest operas were encouragingly received ...
The Paris Conservatoire revolutionized music education in France. For most of the eighteenth century such education in Paris was rooted in church choir schools, but as these gradually closed as the century progressed the Ecole Royal de Chant was founded (1783), largely thanks to Gossec. This institution became the Institut National de Musique in 1793. By 1794 there were 80 ...
The Queen of Spades, based on another story by Pushkin, was Tchaikovsky’s penultimate opera and one in which western influences were particularly evident. It was first produced at the Maryinsky Theatre in St Petersburg on 19 December 1890. However, 20 years passed before it was staged at the Metropolitan Opera, New York on 5 March 1910 and ...
b. 1959 English conductor and pianist Born in England to Italian parents, he studied in the US, working as assistant conductor at the New York City Opera and in Europe (including at Bayreuth). While music director of Norwegian Opera 1990–92 and La Monnaie, Brussels 1992–2002 he made distinguished debuts at Berlin, Vienna and the Met. He was ...
(Al-yek-san-der Där-go-mezh’-ke) 1813–69 Russian composer From a landowning background, Dargomïzhsky was renowned in the salons of St Petersburg as a performer and composer, while pursuing a civil service career. Emulating the example of his contemporary Glinka, Dargomïzhsky followed his first opera Esmeralda (1839) with two works of overtly Russian character based on Pushkin, Rusalka (1856) and The Stone ...
1671–1748, French Librettist Danchet was born on 7 September 1671 at Riom in Auvergne. His first theatrical text, Vénus (1698), was privately performed at Paris. This was also his first collaboration with composer André Campra (1660–1744). Between 1698 and 1735 Danchet and Campra produced several pastorals, ballets and opéra ballets, and 11 tragedies lyriques including Hésione (1700), ...
(Kärl Ôrf) 1895–1982 German composer Orff’s Carmina Burana (‘Songs of Beuren’, 1937), with its simple melodies and pounding rhythms, is characteristic of his work. It is one of the most popular choral works in the repertory today. He wrote comic and satirical operas in this manner, including Der Mond (‘The Moon’, 1939) and Die Kluge (‘The Clever Girl’, 1943). ...
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