Notorious (opera)

Notorious is an opera in five acts and 22 scenes by Hans Gefors based on a Swedish-language libretto from Kerstin Perski after Alfred Hitchcock's 1946 film Notorious. The opera premiered at Göteborg Opera in September 2015 with Nina Stemme in the leading role which had been played in the film by fellow Swede Ingrid Bergman. Gefors had previously composed full-length stage works for the Swedish Royal Opera (Christina, 1986), for Wiesbaden Opera (Der Park, 1992), and for the centenary of the Opéra-Comique at the Salle Favart in Paris (Clara, 1998).

Background

The work was commissioned from Gefors in 2009 and permission was sought from Disney / Buena Vista who held the rights to the story. When these were obtained Kerstin Perski (who had worked with Gefors on Vargen kommer (The wolf is coming) for Malmö in 1997) began work on the libretto and Stemme was booked for the leading role.

The opera is set in Brazil and generally follows the scenario of the film faithfully although the script is of necessity much reduced. However the libretto respects traditions of opera with many ariosos, ensembles and choruses apt for singing. The music is characterized by “moments of lushness... ear-catching polytonalities and extraordinary susurrating tonal clusters for the chorus”, along with rhythms and suggestions of the samba woven into gluckist memories which reflect the partly south American setting.

Opera (web browser)

Opera is a web browser developed by Opera Software. The latest version is available for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux operating systems, and uses the Blink layout engine. An earlier version using the Presto layout engine is still available, and additionally runs on FreeBSD systems.

Opera siblings – Opera Mobile, Opera Mini and Opera Coast – work on devices running Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Symbian, Maemo, Bada, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile operating systems, while Opera Mini runs on Java ME-capable devices.

According to Opera Software, the browser had more than 350 million users worldwide in the 4th quarter 2014. Total Opera mobile users reached 291 million in June 2015. Opera has been noted for originating many features later adopted by other web browsers. A prominent example is Speed Dial.

History

Opera began in 1994 as a research project at Telenor, the largest Norwegian telecommunications company. In 1995, it branched out into a separate company named Opera Software ASA. Opera was first released publicly with version 2.0 in 1996, which only ran on Microsoft Windows. In an attempt to capitalize on the emerging market for Internet-connected handheld devices, a project to port Opera to mobile device platforms was started in 1998. Opera 4.0, released in 2000, included a new cross-platform core that facilitated creation of editions of Opera for multiple operating systems and platforms.

Opera (magazine)

Opera is a monthly British magazine devoted to covering all things related to opera. It contains reviews and articles about current opera productions internationally, as well as articles on opera recordings, opera singers, opera companies, opera directors, and opera books. The magazine also contains major features and analysis on individual operas and people associated with opera.

The magazine employs a network of international correspondents around the world who write for the magazine. Contributors to the magazine, past and present, include William Ashbrook, Martin Bernheimer, Julian Budden, Rodolfo Celletti, Alan Blyth, Elizabeth Forbes, and J.B. Steane among many others.

Opera is printed in A5 size, with colour photos, and consists of around 130 pages. Page numbering is consecutive for a complete year (e.g. September 2009 goes from p1033-1168). All issues since August 2006 are available online to current subscribers (through Exact Editions).

Based in London, the magazine was founded in 1950 by George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood. It was launched at the house of Richard Buckle, under the imprint 'Ballet Publications Ltd'.

Opera (Andrea Bocelli album)

Opera is the first Classical compilation album of opera arias by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. The album was only released in the United Kingdom and charted in the album charts of both the UK and Ireland.

Background

The album is a compilation of arias from Bocelli's previously recorded Classical albums.

Track listing

Commercial performance

The album debuted at No. 10 on the UK Albums Chart, following Bocelli's performance of Nessun dorma on the Strictly Come Dancing results show the day before. With 14,577 copies sold, it became Bocelli's 16th Top 40 album and seventh Top 10 entry since his 1997 breakthrough, Romanza, while lifting his career sales to a 4,964,058 total in the United Kingdom.

Peak positions

References

Notorious (Duran Duran song)

"Notorious" is the 14th single by Duran Duran. It was released internationally by EMI on 20 October 1986. "Notorious" was the first single issued from the album Notorious, and the first released by Duran Duran as a 3-piece band after the departure of Roger and Andy Taylor. It was a success worldwide, reaching #7 in the UK, and #2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, behind "Walk Like an Egyptian" by The Bangles, and was a success in various other countries.

About the song

"Notorious" marked the debut of the new streamlined trio version of Duran Duran, as Andy Taylor and Roger Taylor had left the band by the time the album was released. In fact, the acrimonious nature of Andy Taylor's departure was reflected in the song to a certain degree. According to songwriter Simon Le Bon, the lyric "Who really gives a damn for a flaky bandit" was a direct dig at the guitarist.

As a trio, the band had enlisted the help of Nile Rodgers to take over production duties. His funk influences can be heard throughout the single - for example, the tempo and the use of The Borneo Horns brass section. Rodgers also played the guitar on the single.

Notorious (ship)

The Notorious is a replica fifteenth century caravel. The ship took ten years to build, made entirely from reclaimed timber. It was launched at Martins Point, Port Fairy, Victoria, Australia on Monday, 7 February 2011. The Notorious was fitted with sails and conducted its first week-long journey from Port Fairy to Geelong in January 2012.

Background

The Notorious has been a project of Graeme Wylie and wife Felicite, who originally started the project in 2001. The inspiration for the ship was a local legend (or possible history) of the area where the Wylies lived, the Mahogany Ship. The story is that a Portuguese shipwreck had long been located in the area, and was still visible in the mid-1800s, but since has been covered over with sand.

Inspired by this legend, Wylie has spent twenty thousand dollars Australian, and thousands of manhours, working on the ship. The ship has been carefully built based on period drawings of caravelles, as well as advice from historians. The ship was known while under construction as the Raven, but christened the Notorious when launched in February 2011 at Martin's Point in Port Fairy, Victoria. Wylie is a keen sailor and a professional cabinetmaker.

Notorious (TV series)

Notorious is an American documentary television series that profiles the lives of infamous individuals in history. The series premiered on The Biography Channel, on December 14, 2007.

Most episodes of Notorious are rehashes of the similar television shows American Justice and Mobsters, both series that were originally broadcast on A&E, Biography Channel's sister channel. The only difference between the series is the introduction of the episodes and the lead-in after commercials.

External links