1678–1729, Italian Haym was the skilful literary adaptor who prepared several of Handel’s best opera libretti, including Radamisto, Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Tamerlano and Rodelinda. Rather than writing new texts for Handel, Haym’s talent was reorganizing old Italian texts so that they were adequately dramatic and balanced while also reducing the amount of simple recitative for ...
her vengeful son Sesto are also compellingly brought to life, especially in their sublime duet ‘Son nata a lagrimar’. Composed: 1724 Premiered: 1724, London Libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym, after Giacomo Francesco Bussani Act I Giulio Cesare is in Egypt and has promised a reconciliation with his old enemy Pompeo, if Pompeo shows himself personally. Achilla, ...
ferocious, but the sentimental tone of 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 ...
Handel based its simple melody, suspended over a gentle pulsating string accompaniment, on a previous setting by Bononcini. Introduction | Late Baroque | Opera Personalities | Nicola Francesco Haym | Late Baroque | Opera Major Operas | Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel | Late Baroque Major Operas | Acis and Galatea by George Frideric Handel | Late Baroque Major ...
Donizetti’s three-act comic opera, Don Pasquale, full of fun and infectious humour, was first performed at the Théâtre Italien in Paris on 3 January 1843. There was no hint here of Donizetti’s failing health, but as time proved, Don Pasquale was among the last of his remarkable total of 67 operas. The first performance was a ...
Le Comte Ory (1828) was another of Rossini’s bright, brilliant operas buffa. This one, based on an old Picardy legend, premiered at the Paris Opéra on 20 August 1828. The first performance in London took place at the Haymarket on 28 February 1829, and was possibly intended as a celebration for Rossini’s thirty-seventh birthday, the best ...
1690–1756, Italian The Italian mezzo-soprano castrato Antonio Maria Bernacchi earned fame throughout Europe for his impressive technical virtuosity. Bernacchi performed in operas by most of the important composers of his time, including Handel. In 1716 and 1717, Bernacchi sang at the Haymarket, London, in parts previously sung by women, including Goffredo in Handel’s Rinaldo. However ...
1800–76, Italian Antonio Tamburini, the Italian baritone, was 18 when he made his debut in Cento in Contessa di colle erboso (‘Countess of the Grassy Hill’, 1814) by Pietro Generali. Tamburini went on to appear at La Scala, Milan in 1822 and 1827–30, in Naples in 1824 and 1828–32), the London Haymarket (1832–51) and Covent Garden ...
1812–67, Italian The angelic-looking soprano Fanny Tacchinardi-Persiani was made to play the delicate, suffering heroines of early Romantic opera. Fanny Tacchinardi – as she was before marrying the composer Giuseppe Persiani in 1830 – made her debut in 1832 at Livorno and went on to great success in Venice, Naples and Milan. She sang at the Théâtre Italien ...
1685–1759 English composer George Frideric Handel is one of the best known of all Baroque composers. His gift for melody, his instinctive sense of drama and vivid scene-painting, and the extraordinary range of human emotions explored in his vocal compositions make his music instantly accessible. Works such as Messiah (1741), Water Music (1717) and Music for the Royal Fireworks ...
1780–1861, Italian Giovanni Battista Velluti, the Italian soprano castrato, created Rossini’s only castrato role, as Arsace in his Aureliano in Palmira (1813), but infuriated the composer with his pretentious and showy ornamentation. After that Rossini wrote his own ornamentation. Velluti also created the role of Armando in Meyerbeer’s Crociato in Egitto (‘The Crusader in Egypt’, 1824); Meyerbeer ...
1810–83, Italian The Italian tenor and one-time army officer Giovanni Mario played the title role in Meyerbeer’s Robert le diable at the Paris Opéra in 1838 and in 1843 was the first to sing Ernesto in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale at the Théâtre Italien. Mario Cavaliere di Candia, to use his real, aristocratic, name, had good looks ...
1797–1865, Italian Giuditta Pasta, who created the title role in Bellini’s Norma, was classed as a soprano, but was probably closer to a mezzo-soprano. On stage, she was majestic, and her acting was so powerful that, according to Stendhal, she ‘electrified the soul’. However, success did not come her way all that ...
(Bandleader, trombone, trumpet, 1905–56) With the break-up of the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, Tommy Dorsey quickly hired the Joe Haymes Orchestra en masse and built a new band to his specifications. For all the talent it would attract, however, it would always be built around the leader’s warm trombone sound and flawless perfection on ballads. The ...
1804–60, German Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient was born into ‘show business’. Her father was Friedrich Schröder (1744–1816), the first German Don Giovanni in Mozart’s opera of that name, and her mother was the ‘Mrs Siddons of Germany’, the actress Sophie Bürger (1781–1868). Wilhelmine was a child actress and ballet dancer before making her debut at the Kärnterthortheater in Vienna as Pamina ...
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