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Tancrède: tragédie
André Campra’s Tancrède, which premiered on 7 November 1702, is his best-known tragédie en musique, with a run of performances until 1764, and high praise by noteworthy music personalities such as Rameau. While the music critic La Cerf de la Viéville wrote positive comments about Tancrède, he was bothered by the opera’s use of low voices, which defied the tradition of employing castrati parts. Additionally, the role of Clorinda was written for a well-known contralto named Mademoiselle Maupin; although the range is that of a mezzo-soprano, the powerful quality of Maupin’s voice seemed to be a prime consideration for Campra.
Le mariage d'Antonio. Divertissement en un acte et en prose
Lucile Grétry’s opera Le mariage d’Antonio premiered in Paris when she was a mere fourteen years old. As the second daughter of André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry, she was afforded lessons at a young age in counterpoint and declamation. Her father supplied the orchestral parts for her comédie mêlée d’ariettes after Lucile had composed the vocal, bass, and harp parts. Although Le mariage d’Antonio was a modest success, Lucile’s second endeavor, a divertissement mêlée d’ariettes entitled Toinette et Louis (1787), did not receive the same positive attention. The young composer died from tuberculosis before she could establish herself further at the Comédie-Italienne.
Barbier de Seville [Il barbiere di Siviglia] Opéra comique en quatre actes
Paisiello’s Il barbiere di Siviglia was based on the first play, Le barbier de Séville, ou La precaution inutile (1772), of Beaumarchais’s famous trilogy. The controversial commentary on aristocracy caused the play to be banned from the stage for three years. The ban was lifted in 1775 and the work premiered that same year; Beaumarchais finally saw the work performed in 1780 when he was employed by Catherine II in St. Petersburg. Although Rossini’s later opera (of 1816) is more familiar today, Paisiello’s rendition was extremely popular throughout Europe during its time. The work was first performed in St. Petersburg in September of 1782.
Mélomanie : opera comique en un acte en vers mêlé d'ariettes mis en musique
During his early career, Champein was known for church music composed while he worked as music master at the collegiate church in Pignon (in the southern Provence region of France). He moved to Paris and established himself as an operatic composer; La mélomanie (1781) is one of his most famous operas, and it remained in the repertoire at the Opéra-Comique until 1829. La mélomanie actually mocks the debate between French and Italian styles of music, with Fugantini as an Italian who is rejected by the French Elise. References to harmony (a French feature) and melody (emphasized by advocates of Italian music) abound in the opera.
Orphée et Euridice; tragédie; opéra en trois actes
The Viennese premiere of Orfeo was extremely well received, and Gluck decided to revise the opera as Orphée et Eurydice for Paris in 1774, with the French adaptation and additions provided by Pierre Louis Moline. The role of Orpheus was lowered slightly for an haute-contre singer (a male operatic voice type more in line with an alto range), adhering to French preferences. The opera was lengthened, to create a more magnificent spectacle, with extra arias, ensembles, and instrumental numbers. Gluck also modified the orchestration to accommodate the orchestra at the Académie Royale de Musique. This version, Orphée et Eurydice, became one of the most popular operas in France.
Épreuve villageoise : opéra bouffon en deux actes en vers
L’épreuve villageoise started out as Théodore et Paulin before Grétry convinced Desforges to rewrite the libretto. The original three-act opera was reduced to two acts, and the improbabilities of the original plot were reworked. Théodore et Paulin received one performance at Versailles on 5 March 1784, but it was never published. L’épreuve villageoise appeared at the Comédie-Italienne on 24 June 1784. This revision remained one of the most popular of Grétry’s opéra-comiques, receiving performances throughout the nineteenth century.
Le Huron : comedie en deux actes, et en vers
Grétry’s Le Huron takes as its source a short story called L’ingénu (Geneva, 1767), written by Voltaire under the name Dulaurens. The story was banned two months after its publication due to anti-government themes. For instance, the young man raised by the Hurons (the title character of the opera) was imprisoned for expressing his radical ideas about issues such as the treatment of the Huguenots. Voltaire’s character is derived from another source, the novel Bélisaire by Marmontel, in which a man is framed for a crime and awaiting the death penalty before being released. Marmontel, who corresponded regularly with Voltaire, created the libretto for Grétry’s opera. However, most controversial aspects of the story were eliminated or downplayed for the censors, and as a result, the anti-religious message is absent from Le Huron.
Panurge dans l'Isle des Lanternes : comédie lirique en trois actes
Panurge, like Colinette à la cour, features recitative, rather than spoken dialogue. In his memoirs, Grétry recognized Panurge for being the first comic opera to enjoy a successful run at the Opéra, and he saw it as a turning point for this theater, which traditionally presented serious plots (Grétry, Memoires; ou, Essais sur la musique, 377). The overture to Panurge was featured on concerts in the nineteenth century, and although the opera eventually disappeared from the repertoire, its long stint was noted as late as 1866, by which time it was no longer being performed (Crozet, Revue de la musique dramatique en France, 275-76).
Richard Cœur de Lion : opéra comique en trois actes
Richard Cœur-de-lion is probably Grétry’s most famous opéra-comique. However, it was banned during the French Revolution and subsequent rebellions in 1830 and 1848 due to its favorable depiction of royalty. Other than those exceptions, the work has remained popular due to its well-developed and compelling plot, its idealized representation of the Medieval community, as well as its musicodramatic structure in which a recurring romance melody is treated as a unifying plot point.
Servante maîtresse : comédie en deux actes mêlée d'ariettes
The intermezzo La serva padrona first appeared between the acts of Pergolesi’s Il prigioniero superbo in 1733. This was the standard way in which to present an intermezzo. The work served as comic relief in the midst of more solemn opera serie, and incorporated elements of the improvisational commedia del’arte tradition. For instance, the few characters are drawn from stock types, such as the servant Serpina.
Serva padrona : intermezzo
The intermezzo La serva padrona first appeared between the acts of Pergolesi’s Il prigioniero superbo in 1733. This was the standard way in which to present an intermezzo. The work served as comic relief in the midst of more solemn opera serie, and incorporated elements of the improvisational commedia del’arte tradition. For instance, the few characters are drawn from stock types, such as the servant Serpina.
Buona figliuola : opera comica
Goldoni turned to Samuel Richardson’s novel Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740) as the inspiration for his La buona figliuola. In 1750, he wrote the play Pamela nubile and then turned it into a libretto for Duni. Although Duni’s La buona figliuola (1756) was a failure, Piccinni’s setting in 1760 was a huge success. The hilarious comedy coupled with Piccinni’s sentimental treatment of Cecchina contributed to the popularity of the opera, which still receives performances to this day. Typical of opera buffe, La buona figliuola features chain-like finales that propel the plot and characters to the end of the act (at that time, sectional finales were new to Rome). Other features of his music that receive praise are the beautiful, Italianate melodies, energetic accompaniments, and the variety of musical treatment throughout the opera.
Platée : comédie-ballet
Jacques Autreau’s play Platée, ou Junon jalouse was based on a story by a second-century Greek author named Pausanias who chronicled his travels (including rituals and traditions) in ten books that represent the different regions of Greece. At the time Le Valois d’Orville appropriated Autreau’s drama for a libretto, it was uncommon for French court operas to include comic features, and even Autreau’s spoken play lacked the comic tone of the opera. Yet, the humor extends beyond the plot; for instance, the sounds of frogs and birds are represented instrumentally. Platée was first performed at Versailles for the wedding of the dauphin and Princess Maria Theresa of Spain in 1745.
Colonie : opéra comique en deux actes
La colonie is Nicolas Etienne Framery’s French parody of Sacchini’s Italian L’isola d’amore, which was premiered during the 1766 Roman carnival. However, Framery chose music in a pastiche-like fashion from various Sacchini operas, without actually using any arias from L’isola d’amore. Although the operas that Sacchini specifically composed for Paris faced resistance from opponents of foreign composers, La colonie received praise from critics. The 1775 French premiere at the Comédie-Italienne was quite successful; the work even drew comparisons with Pergolesi’s wildly popular La serva padrona.
Renaud : tragedie lyrique en trois actes
Sacchini’s first opera for the French stage was Renaud. Although he had the support of Marie Antoinette, Sacchini quickly learned that foreign (especially Italian) composers in Paris faced difficulties. The premiere of Renaud was intentionally delayed in an attempt to highlight Sacchini’s privilege with the queen, and the opera did not enjoy immediate success, even from Piccinni’s supporters. However, Renaud went on to be performed frequently, appearing as late as 1815.
Finta pazza, drama.
Although Sacrati’s La finta pazza (1641) was immensely popular and influential, the opera has received little discussion in modern scholarship, due in large part to the absence of the music (even the number of extant copies of librettos is very small). Since Lorenzo Bianconi discovery of a score that was used for traveling productions, the opera has received increasing attention.
Tarare : opéra en cinq actes avec un prologue
Antonio Salieri’s French debut Les Danaïdes (1784) led to additional commissions, Les Horaces (1786) and Tarare (1787). Although Les Horaces was not well-received, Tarare was popular both in Paris and Vienna. Beaumarchais supplied the libretto for Tarare, basing his plot on the third volume of the exotic English collection The Tales of the Genii, or The Delightful Lessons of Horam, the Son of Asmar (1764) by James Ridley, (pseudonym for Sir Charles Morell), who claimed the stories were translated from a Persian source.
Persée : tragedie
King Louis XIV's involvement in campaigns against the Dutch/Swedish alliance in early 1682 prevented him from attending the premiere of Persée in April of that year. As was customary in the operas of composer Jean-Baptiste Lully and librettist Philippe Quinault, the prologue included references to current battlefield exploits and portrayed the king as a paragon of virtue. The prologues of previous Lully operas emphasized glory and prowess over virtue; the change in emphasis in Persée may have resulted from the increased influence of Madame de Maintenon (the king's new mistress) in the court and her pension for decorum.
Phaëton. Tragedie mise en musique
Like many of the operas created by composer Jean-Baptiste Lully and Philippe Quinault, his favorite librettist, Phaëton is filled with solar symbolism--a reference to the "Sun King," Louis XIV. The story also provides a political lesson: the haughty youth unable to contend with his position of power served as a warning to anyone brash enough to challenge the rigid mores of Louis' court. In addition to this political interpretation, the story is also a character study of a reckless juvenile whose arrogance destroys him. Phaëton's misguided and inappropriate attempts to make his lineage public bring about his downfall. The plot, like that of several of Lully's operas, is based on an episode in Ovid's Metamorphoses.
Thesée; tragedie mise en musique
Thesée, which premiered at the court theater at St. Germain-en-laye on January 11, 1675, was Jean-Baptiste Lully's third tragédie lyrique created in collaboration with librettist Philippe Quinault. As in most of his libretti for Lully, Quinault combines a plot based on a classical source (an episode from Ovid's Metamorphoses) with references to contemporary events. The Prologue alludes to Louis XIV's personal leadership in the military engagements in the Alsace (along the French/German border). The juxtaposition of Venus' entreaties for pleasure with Mars' call to arms reflects a period of unease during which the French armies were in retreat from the armies of the Elector of Brandenburg. This resulted in the unique joining of songs of love with songs of war and victory.
Les deux comtesses : opera bouffon imité de l'Italien et parodié sous la musique
Paisiello’s comic operas were some of the most successful of the time. In point of fact, his operas enjoyed 251 performances in Vienna between 1783 and 1792, compared to 63 performances of Mozart’s operas. The intermezzo Le due comtesse, which first appeared in Rome (with an all-male cast) on 3 January 1776, was translated to French and parodied by Nicolas Etienne Framery, who also adapted Paisiello’s Il barbiere di Siviglia for the Parisian stage.
Phaëton : tragédie mise en musique
Like many of the operas created by composer Jean-Baptiste Lully and Philippe Quinault, his favorite librettist, Phaëton is filled with solar symbolism--a reference to the "Sun King," Louis XIV. The story also provides a political lesson: the haughty youth unable to contend with his position of power served as a warning to anyone brash enough to challenge the rigid mores of Louis' court. In addition to this political interpretation, the story is also a character study of a reckless juvenile whose arrogance destroys him. Phaëton's misguided and inappropriate attempts to make his lineage public bring about his downfall. The plot, like that of several of Lully's operas, is based on an episode in Ovid's Metamorphoses.
Proserpine : tragedie mise en musique
With Proserpine, composer Jean-Baptiste Lully returned to his collaboration with librettist Philippe Quinault, which had been interrupted when the poet was banned from Court for offending Madame de Montespan (the king's mistress) with unflattering references in Isis. By 1679, Quinault had been restored to favor. Proserpine was first performed at St. Germain-en-Laye in February of 1680. Though seventeenth-century audiences were familiar with the story of Proserpine being carried off into Hades from numerous ballets and stage plays, Quinault returned to the source in Ovid's Metamorphoses to embellish the plot. In addition to details drawn from Ovid, Quinault added some of his own, making Proserpine among the most convoluted of Lully's operas. While the prologue alludes to King Louis XIV in the guise of Jupiter, the play itself refers specifically to the king's recent victories over the Spanish and Dutch when Jupiter battles and defeats the giants. Robert Isherwood notes that Jupiter's trip to Phrygia may represent Louis' inspection of Flanders after its defeat in 1679.
Thesee : tragédie
Thesée, which premiered at the court theater at St. Germain-en-laye on January 11, 1675, was Jean-Baptiste Lully's third tragédie lyrique created in collaboration with librettist Philippe Quinault. As in most of his libretti for Lully, Quinault combines a plot based on a classical source (an episode from Ovid's Metamorphoses) with references to contemporary events. The Prologue alludes to Louis XIV's personal leadership in the military engagements in the Alsace (along the French/German border). The juxtaposition of Venus' entreaties for pleasure with Mars' call to arms reflects a period of unease during which the French armies were in retreat from the armies of the Elector of Brandenburg. This resulted in the unique joining of songs of love with songs of war and victory.
Zéphire et Flore; opéra en musique
Zephire et Flore, the only opera attributed to Louis and Jean-Louis Lully, sons of Jean-Baptiste Lully, sets a libretto by Michel Du Boullay based on episodes from Greek mythology. It was performed for the first time 22 March 1688 at the Palais Royale in Paris. There is no record of a court performance, and it was revived only once, in June of 1715, with revisions by Destouches. We know of no modern performances, nor recordings of the opera in whole or in part.
Hand-Written Program Lists, 1978-1981
Handwritten program lists for Music USA, 1978-1981.
Hand-Written Program Lists, 1981-1982
Handwritten cue sheets for Music USA, 1981-1982. Includes: Individual Program Lists, February and March 1978; Handwritten Program Lists, December 1981; Handwritten Program Lists, January-March 1982; Interview with Lee Bark; Notes for Art Farmer program; UDC Lab Jazz Band; Toni Wilson notes.
Hand-Written Program Lists, 1982-1983
Handwritten cue sheets for Music USA, 1982-1983. Includes: Handwritten Program Lists, September-December 1982; Handwritten Program Lists, January-February 1983.
Handwritten Program Lists, March-July 1982
Handwritten cue sheets for Music USA, March-July 1982.
Plain and easy introduction to practical music
In 1597, while Morley was negotiating for the patent, he wrote his musical treatise, A Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke. Although his preface contains the statement that he had “nothing better to do,” Morley probably knew publishing a treatise on the science of music would boost public interest in purchasing musical works. In addition, by publishing such a work, the English audience would view Morley as an authority in music (and he would become more likely to obtain the patent) (Smith, “Print Culture and the Elizabethan Composer,” 163). The work is practical, and is organized into three sections: teaching to sing simple song, teaching to sing two parts over a plainsong or ground, and teaching counterpoint.
Music USA Broadcast List 1964-1979
Typed list of Music USA broadcast schedule, 1964-1979.
Debrecen Jazz Days 1981
Handwritten notes relating to the Debrecen Jazz Days, July-August 1981
Music USA, list of international performances on programs, 1966
A list of programs for the year 1966 which substantially consisted of performances from musicians and groups in other countries.
Hand-Written Program Lists, Debrecen Jazz Days, September 8-13, 1981
Handwritten cue sheets for Music USA, unknown dates. Includes: Gyorgy Szabados, piano: Budapest; "Philadelphia" Jerry Ricks, vocals & guitar: USA; Radio Big Band: Berlin; Pori Bigband featuring Ted Burson: Finland; Jazz group of Rousse/Bulgaria; Kati Bontovica and Supertrio: Budapest; Fusti-Lakatos Quintet featuring Tat Guinez, conga: Budapest; Thermacnius Quartet: Kobenhaven; Jana Koubkova Trio: Praha; Graham Collier Band: London; Team/Tamas Berki: Budapest; Binder Quintet: Budapest; Jazz Workshop of Debrecen; Pege Quintet: Budapest; Tomsits Quartet: Novi Sad, Yugoslavia; Albert Mangelsdorff, trombone & Weet Gev. Aladar Pege, bass: Budapest; String Connection: Warsaw, Poland; Markovic-Gut Sextet: Beograd, Yugoslavia; Christian Esconde and his Workshop: Paris, France; Siger Small Band: London; Workshop Group of Gyorgy Vukan; Saturnus, Budapest; Erich Klunshuster Quintet: Vienna, Austria; Jazz Band Radi Ostrava: Tscheckoslovakia; Enrico Rava Quartet: Milano, Italy; Workshop Group of Gyorgy Szabados: Budapest; Kaszako Group: Budapest; Hulin Quintet: Szeged, Hungary.
Music USA promo scripts, January 1983 - October 1984
Scripts for promotional announcements about upcoming programs from January 17, 1983, through October 22, 1984.
Music USA playlists, 1968
A partial set of playlists for individual Music USA programs 4750 through 5115, broadcast in 1968. There are 172 pages in this document.
Music USA playlists, 1967
A partial set of playlists for individual Music USA programs 4386 through 4744, broadcast in 1967. There are 160 pages in this document.
Music USA Storage Data Sheets
Handwritten contents listing for Music USA storage boxes.
Music USA playlists, November-December 1971
A partial set of playlists for individual Music USA programs 6150 through 6209, broadcast in November and December of 1971. There are 25 pages in this document.
Music USA program lists, 1985
Lists of programs, with brief content notes, for programs broadcast from January 26 through December 7, 1985 (10985 - 11300).
Music USA program lists and promo scripts, 1980-1982
Lists of programs, with brief content notes, for programs broadcast from November 14, 1980 through the end of 1982, with a small set of scripts for promotional announcements about upcoming programs. Program numbers are not regularly stated from the beginning until April of 1981. This document has 80 pages.
Music USA playlists, January-June 1973
A partial set of playlists for individual Music USA programs 6581 through 6714, broadcast in 1973. There are 91 pages in this document.
Music USA playlists, 1972
A partial set of playlists for individual Music USA programs 6211 through 6572, broadcast in 1972. There are 134 pages in this document.
Music USA program lists, 1983-1984
Lists of programs, with brief content notes, for programs broadcast from January 1, 1983 through December 31, 1984 (10229 - 10959).
Music USA Recording Schedule, January-March 1978 and 1980
Music USA Recording Schedule, January-March 1978 and 1980. Includes: Music USA B Show (Jazz) Broadcast to Africa; Due Dates for Music USA Recording Schedule; Individual Program Lists for March 13 and 17, 1978.
Music USA Recording Schedule, 1984-1990
Music USA recording schedule for May 27, 1984 through January 27, 1990 (10741 - 12812).
Music USA playlists, 1974
A partial set of playlists for individual Music USA programs 6951 through 7306, broadcast in 1974. There are 109 pages in this document.
Music USA Recording Schedule, 1965-1977
Music USA Recording Schedule, June 13, 1965- December 9, 1977
Individual Program List, 1981
Hour-by-hour breakdown of music played on Music USA, 1981. Includes: Duke Ellington Tribute Programs, April 1978. Handwritten program notes, 1978-1979 and unknown date.
Music USA playlists, 1976
A partial set of playlists for individual Music USA programs 7673 through 8033, broadcast in 1976. There are 92 pages in this document.
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