1606–84, French Pierre Corneille, the renowned playwright, wrote verse dramas on heroic and classical themes that were tailor-made for operatic treatment. Corneille’s list of plays that were turned into libretti is not nearly as long as William Shakespeare’s or Sir Walter Scott’s, but it is impressive enough. Corneille’s verse dramas were still attracting composers in the early ...
‘Medea’ Composed: 1797 Premiered: 1797, Paris Libretto by François Benoit Hoffman, after Pierre Corneille Act I At the palace of Corinth, Glaucé, daughter of King Créon, prepares for her approaching marriage to Jason. She fears the wrath of Médée, a sorceress who helped Jason to steal the Golden Fleece from Cholcis. Médée betrayed her family to ...
the aria brilliantly captures Bertarido’s indignant defiance, giving him a full characterization. Composed: 1725 Premiered: 1725, London Libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym, after Antonio Salvi and Pierre Corneille Background The kingdom of Lombardy was split between two brothers, Bertarido and Gundeberto, who then fought over the inheritance. Gundeberto called upon Duke Grimoaldo to help him, ...
c. 1660–c. 1728–44, Italian Little is known about Silvani’s life, but he was an abbot who issued his earliest works under the anagram Frencasco Valsini. Silvani regularly produced libretti for Venice between 1691 and 1716, and the title pages of the printed wordbooks state that he served the Duke of Mantua between 1699 and 1705. Silvani identified with ...
Love of Alexander the Great and Roxane’) by Francesco Luzzo (1628–58) appeared in 1651, the year Giacinto died. Introduction | Early & Middle Baroque | Opera Personalities | Pierre Corneille | Early & Middle Baroque | Opera ...
(‘The Village Wedding’, 1692), were equally well received. His masterpiece, however, was a tragédie lyrique, Médée (1693), based on a play of the same name by Pierre Corneille (1606–84). Introduction | Early & Middle Baroque | Opera Personalities | Giacinto Cicognini | Early & Middle Baroque | Opera ...
Cardinal Destouches (1672–1749). Charpentier was quick off the mark with his religious drama David et Jonathas. It was followed by Médée, a tragédie lyrique with a libretto by Thomas Corneille, and the composer’s dramatic masterpiece. While adhering to the formal structure of Lullian opera, with its prologue and five acts, Charpentier greatly enriched and diversified the static ...
blood circulation 1630 Tirso de Molina writes El burlador de Sevilla, first dramatization of Don Juan legend 1632 Rembrandt paints Anatomy Lesson 1637 Descartes inaugurates modern study of mathematics; Corneille writes Le Cid 1642 English Civil War breaks out between Charles I and Parliament 1645 Gianlorenzo Bernini starts Ecstasy of St Teresa 1661 Louis XIV begins personal absolute rule in ...
ancient theatrical genres in sixteenth-century Italy bore fruit in seventeenth-century England and France in the works of the great dramatists of those countries: William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, Pierre Corneille and Jean Racine. In Italy, however, the sixteenth-century innovations in spoken drama were followed in the next century not by a great national spoken theatre, but by ...
, France experienced a renaissance of artistic and literary activity. The great palace of Versailles was begun in 1662, its gardens laid out by Le Nôtre. The tragedies of Corneille and Racine dominated the dramatic scene, as did the comedies of Molière, and Charles Lebrun was active as a painter, director of the Gobelins tapestry factory, ...
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