Saffo (opera)
Saffo is an opera in three acts by Giovanni Pacini set to a libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, which was based on a play by Franz Grillparzer, after the legend of the ancient Greek poet Sappho.
Performance history
The opera was first performed at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on 29 November 1840, and was also given in Paris at the Théâtre-Italien on 15 March 1842. It was frequently performed during the 19th century. Its first UK presentation was on 1 April 1843 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London and, in the US in 1847 in New York.
It saw occasional revivals during the 20th century. Notable ones took place at the San Carlo on 7 April 1967, with Leyla Gencer, and at the Wexford Festival in 1995 under Maurizio Benini with Carlo Ventre as Faone.
Roles
Synopsis
During the Poetic Games at the 42nd Olympiad (about 608 BC) a woman poet named Saffo sings so effectively against the practice of tossing felons and undesirables from a cliff on the Island of Leucadia in the hope that Apollo will catch them before they drown in the sea (the Leucadian Leap) that the god's high priest, Alcandro, is driven away in contempt. He vows to get revenge. The priest come upon Faone, a suitor of Saffo given to jealousy. At Alcandro's prompting, Faone denounces Saffo for preferring the poet Alceo to himself.
Opera
Opera /ˈɒprə/ (Italian: [ˈɔːpera]; English plural: operas; Italian plural: opere [ˈɔːpere]) is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text (libretto) and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. In traditional opera, singers do two types of singing: recitative, a speech-inflected style and arias, a more melodic style. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble, which since the early 1800s has been led by a conductor.
Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition. It started in Italy at the end of the 16th century (with Jacopo Peri's lost Dafne, produced in Florence in 1598) and soon spread through the rest of Europe: Schütz in Germany, Lully in France, and Purcell in England all helped to establish their national traditions in the 17th century. In the 18th century, Italian opera continued to dominate most of Europe (except France), attracting foreign composers such as Handel. Opera seria was the most prestigious form of Italian opera, until Gluck reacted against its artificiality with his "reform" operas in the 1760s. Today the most renowned figure of late 18th century opera is Mozart, who began with opera seria but is most famous for his Italian comic operas, especially The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze Di Figaro), Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte, as well as The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte), a landmark in the German tradition.
Opera (song)
"Opera", written by Buğra Uğur and Aysel Gürel, was the song performed by Çetin Alp & The Short Waves that represented Turkey at the Eurovision Song Contest 1983.
The song was performed 6th on the night, following Italy's Riccardo Fogli with "Per Lucia" and preceding Spain's Remedios Amaya with "Quién maneja mi barca". The song received no points from the 19 other countries taking part, placing joint last of 20 together with Spain who also failed to score.
The song was succeeded as Turkish representative at the 1984 contest by Beş Yıl Önce, On Yıl Sonra with "Halay".
References
External links
Opera (Tosca album)
Opera is the debut studio album of Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber's electronic music project Tosca. It combines new material and previously released singles, including "Chocolate Elvis". "Irresistibly funky" (BBC), "the blues, and the thick sultry bass, makes it as sexy and melancholy as cigarette smoke after a one-night stand in a strange city" (Mixmag). It is "one of the few sure things in a modest genre" (Sasha Frere-Jones, LA Weekly).
Track list
All tracks written by Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber.
References
External links
http://www.toscamusic.com/discography/66-opera
Podcasts:
