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• Houses & Companies
• High Romantic
• Opera

The claque, a French word for ‘slap’ or ‘clap’, was a crowd of supporters hired by composers, impresarios or performers to work up enthusiasm for an opera or, alternatively, sabotage the work of rivals. Most professional claques were indistinguishable from the rest of the audience and flourished more in France and Italy than they did in Germany ...

• Major Operas
• High Romantic
• Opera

tortuous history before 24 March 1881, when its final version premiered at La Scala, Milan. Verdi composed Boccanegra in 1857, but the Venetian audience reacted coolly; an anti-Verdi claque sabotaged the performance and a false rumour spread, claiming that Verdi had written the libretto and made a mess of it. A quarter of a century passed before the ...

• Personalities
• Modern Era
• Opera

working relationship with Maria Callas – during a rehearsal of Medea in Rome, Christoff accused her husband, Meneghini, of reducing his role by two-thirds. Meneghini hired a claque to disrupt Christoff’s scenes on opening night, while Christoff and Callas argued backstage. They never sang together again. Introduction | Modern Era | Opera Personalities | Jean Cocteau | ...

• Personalities
• Classical Era
• Opera

Classical Era Major Operas | Iphigénie en Tauride by Christoph Willibald von Gluck | Classical Era Personalities | Carlo Goldoni | Classical Era | Opera Houses & Companies | The Claque | High Romantic | Opera ...

• Houses & Companies
• High Romantic
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that they fled. After Tchaikovsky died in 1893, Madame von Meck survived him by only two months, dying in Wiessbaden early in 1894. Houses & Companies | The Claque | High Romantic | Opera ...