AUTHORITATIVE | CURATED | First 500 words Free

• Major Operas
• Opera
• Turn of the Century

the gaoler to substitute her for another of the prisoners. Gérard leaves them to make a final appeal to Robespierre. They are taken to the guillotine together. Personalities | Umberto Giordano | Turn of the Century | Opera ...

• Personalities
• Classical
• Composer
• Modern Era

(Oom-bâr’-to Jôr-da’-no) 1867–1948 Italian composer A leading member of the verismo school, Giordano has been much criticized for dramatic crudity and melodic short-windedness. He remains popular with singers, however, who value his effectively flattering vocal writing, and with audiences, who respond to his sense of the stage and his emotional power. Such works as Andrea Chénier ...

• Personalities
• Opera
• Turn of the Century

1867–1948, Italian Having successfully avoided the career of fencing master intended for him by his father, Giordano studied at the Naples Conservatory and entered a one-act opera, Marina, in the Sonzogno competition in 1889. This was the year in which Mascagni blew away the competition with Cavalleria rusticana and Giordano came a respectable sixth. Even so, ...

• Personalities
• Classical
• Contemporary Classical
• Singer

1924–2014 Italian tenor Bergonzi studied as a baritone, singing Rossini’s Figaro in Lecce in 1948 before retraining as a tenor. His second debut was as Giordano’s Andrea Chénier in 1951. He sang regularly at the Metropolitan Opera 1956–88. At Covent Garden, where he made his debut in 1962, he sang many roles including Verdi’s Alvaro and Manrico (conducted ...

• Personalities
• Classical
• Composer
• Modern Era

takes jazz and other popular styles and develops them symphonically. No other work of its kind has achieved such lasting popularity. Introduction | Modern Era | Classical Personalities | Umberto Giordano | Modern Era | Classical ...

• Personalities
• Opera
• Turn of the Century

today. Gilbert continued to write after taking official retirement and died, gallantly, rescuing a woman from drowning. Introduction | Turn of the Century | Opera Personalities | Umberto Giordano | Turn of the Century | Opera ...

• Opera
• Turn of the Century

The schools of naturalism and realism had an immediate effect in Italy. With scant literary tradition to draw on from this period, Italian writers in the second half of the nineteenth century seized upon Zola’s beliefs as a potent dramatic source. The style they developed came to be known as verismo and was exemplified by writers such as Giovanni Verga ...