The Master Singers of Nürnberg, a comic German drama by Richard Wagner
Video below is a full Opera Recording of the "The Mastersingers of Nuremberg." Sung by Theo Adam, René Kollo, Geraint Evans, Peter Schreier, Helen Donath, Ruth Hesse. Recorded by Staatskapelle Dresden and the Chorus of the Staatsoper Dresden. Conducted by Herbert von Karajan (EMI, studio, 1970).
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Master Singers of Nuremberg) is a three-act comic opera composed by Richard Wagner. Libretto by Wagner himself, an original work with historical personages. It was first performed in Munich, Königliches Hof- und Nationaltheater, June 21, 1868. Setting is in Nuremberg in the 16th century. It is among the longest operas commonly performed, usually taking around four and a half hours.
The story takes place in old city of Nürnberg (modern-day Nuremberg) during the middle of the 16th century when it was an Imperial Free City, and one of the centers of the Renaissance in Northern Europe. It revolves around the real-life Meistersinger (Master Singers), an association of amateur poets and musicians, mostly from the middle class and master craftsmen in their main professions.
Tips to ask yourself before sending a formal document or your manuscript. Checking on your abbreviations, capitalizations and cliché.
Whether it's a memo, report, letter or proposal, ask yourself these questions before sending out anything:
What's my purpose?
Have I clearly said what I'm trying to say?
Are my thoughts coherent and consistent?
Is my document "reader-centered" rather than "writer-centered"
Have I checked spellings, capitalizations, punctuations, abbreviations, etc. I'm not sure of?
Have I eliminated cliches, buzz words, jargons, etc.?
Have I varied the length of my sentences and paragraphs so as not to bore my receiver?
Have I chosen the appropriate and best words I want to convey?
Are my ideas clear and presented in a logical manner?
Is my document to the point and short as I can get?
Have I written in my natural voice while maintaining my respect for the person I'm sending it to?
Does my closing paragraph encourage enough for the other person to act and respond?
Basic Capitalization Rules
Capitalize the first word of every sentence.
Capitalize words derived from proper names: British, American, Australian, Victorian
Capitalize the proper names of people. places and things: John, Paris, London, White House
Capitalize the days of the week: Sunday, Monday, Friday.
Capitalize the names of holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter.
Capitalize titles of offices when used directly before a name: Prime Minister Thatcher, President Obama, Governor Smith.
Capitalize "vice" when used in front of a name: Vice President Biden
Capitalize the names of family members when used with a name: Grandma Moses, Uncle Charlie, Aunt Jane.
Capitalize common names with place names: Seventh Avenue, Amazon River, Wimpole Road
Capitalize historical events and ages: Reformation, Second World War
Most Common Abbreviations
a.m. ante meridiem, before noon
p.m. post meridiem, after noon
e.g. exempli gratia, for example or example given
etc. et cetera, and so forth
ibid. ibidem, in the same place
i.e. id est, that is
Clichés to avoid
Words and phrases that listeners and readers may be tired of.
At the end of the day
At this moment in time
like (too much use as if it has become a form of punctuation)
With all due respect
Other terms include:
absolutely
address the issue
awesome
ballpark figure
basically
bear with me
bottom line
I hear what you're saying
in terms of
it's not rocket science
literally
ongoing prioritize
pushing the envelope thinking outside the box
We need to be clear in our minds before we can also write clearly.
Note: About the clichés, I'm glad to have found one of the clippings I've kept, sent by a friend. The result came from one of the surveys by the Plain English Campaign. It may be more than six years ago or so, still, relevant today.
Romantic Composer Robert Schumann, Master in Piano Music and Voice
Robert Schumann's life and works revisited on his birthday anniversary. A poetic musician, his works relate to literature - poems, novels and plays; especially his piano music Carnaval and Scenes from Childhood's Kinderscenen are most popular.
Robert Schumann (June 8, 1810, in Zwickau, Saxony - July 29, 1856, in Endenich, Germany) was a German composer of the Romantic period. His parents were not musical but they encouraged his interest in music with Piano lessons from the age of 10.
His family was later beset by tragedy. When Schumann was in his teens, his father died and his sister committed suicide in quick succession, events that were to have a deep impact on the young musician. Initially music was to take a back seat in his life. For his main subject he studied law at Leipzig while simultaneously continuing his music studies. One of his music teachers was Friedrich Wieck whose daughter Clara (eventually becoming his wife) showed a great talent at the piano while she was only 9 years old.
A tragedy hit Schumann when a mishap damaged one of his hands spoiling his chances as a pianist. After the accident, Schumann concentrated more on composing. However, he kept his association with the Wiecks. When Clara was of the right age, he sought to marry her but her father forbade it.
Following a legal action, Schumann was able to marry her shortly before her 21st birthday.
The libretto of Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes is adapted by Montagu Slater from the narrative poem of the same name, in George Crabbe's book The Borough. The "borough" of the opera is a fictional village which shares some
similarities with Crabbe's, and later Britten's.
The opera, briefly. Peter Grimes is a fisherman, living in a small
Suffolk town. After the death of his young
apprentice at sea, he is summoned to court as the townspeople are convinced that Grimes is to blame, but he is let off with a caution, and warned not to take another apprentice.
Peter Grimes was first performed at Sadler's Wells in London on 7 June 1945, conducted by Reginald Goodall. Still widely performed worldwide, it was the first of Britten's operas to be a critical and popular
success. In
addition, the Four Sea Interludes were published separately as Op. 33a, and are frequently performed as an orchestral suite. The "Passacaglia" was also published separately as Op. 33b, also often performed, either together with the Sea Interludes or by itself.
Here's the "Four Sea Interludes, Op 33a" performed by the Cincinatti Symphony Orchestra, condcuted by Paavo Järvi. (Four Sea Interludes from "Peter Grimes", Op. 33a: I. Dawn II. Sunday Morning III. Moonlight and IV. Storm)
Trivia:
This year 2019, Britten's Peter Grimes in Concert is presented by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra for two nights at 7pm, Thursday, July 25 and Saturday, July 27, Sydney Opera House.
Artists: David Robertson, conductor; Stuart Skelton, Peter Grimes; Nicole Car, Ellen Orford; Alan Held, Captain Balstrode; Deborah Humble, Auntie; Jacqueline Porter, Niece 1; Cleo Lee-McGowan, Niece 2; Christopher Richardson, Swallow; Elizabeth Campbell, Mrs (Nabob) Sedley; Michael Honeyman, Ned Keene; Robert Macfarlane, Bob Boles; John Longmuir, Rev. Horace Adams; Jud Arthur, Hobson; and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
Peter Grimes, an English tragic drama by Benjamin Britten: opera plot summary, character list, and other Britten opera information.
Benjamin
Britten (November 22, 1913 – December 4, 1976) composed Peter Grimes in three
acts and a prologue. Libretto was written by Montagu Slater after George Crabbe's
poem "The Borough." It was premiered at Sadler's Wells, London, on June 7, 1945. The
setting is at The Borough, a fictional small fishing-town on the East Coast,
towards 1830.
Notable arias:
"Now the Great Bear" (Grimes) and "Embroidery" (Ellen)
This opera, Britten's first, won instant success and wide
recognition. Much of its music makes a ready appeal and it is descended from 19th
century peasant opera yet vividly illustrating a realistic and moving story
constructed with a strong sense of the stage.
Character Roles of Peter Grimes
Peter Grimes, A fisherman (Tenor)
Ellen Orford, A widow, schoolmistress of the Borough (Soprano)
Her Two Nieces, Main attractions of The Boar (Sopranos)
Bob Boles, Fisherman and Methodist (Tenor)
Swallow, A lawyer (Bass)
Mrs Sedley, A widow of an East India Company's factor
(Mezzo-soprano)
Rev. Horace Adams, The rector (Tenor)
Ned Keene, Apothecary and quack (Baritone)
Hobson, Carrier (Bass)
John, The boy, Grimes' new apprentice (Speaking bit)
Plot / Synopsis of Peter
Grimes
There's a Prologue and an
orchestral "sea" interludes between scenes.
Prologue.A Room Inside the Moot Hall.
Swallow is
presiding at the inquest, attended by hostile townspeople, about Grimes'
apprentice who died at sea. After the facts are established, Swallow gives a
verdict of accidental death. Grimes seeks an opportunity to refute the hostile
group.
Act I. The
Beach and Street in the morning, and at The Boar that Night
Scene 1. The
Beach and Street on a Morning
Fishermen
and their women sing at work. Peter calls for help in hauling his boat. No one
is willing to help until Balstrode and Keene give a hand. Keene tells Grimes that he has found him a
new apprentice. Ellen volunteers to look after the boy. Balstrode observes that
a storm is approaching and advises Grimes to get away to sea, but Grimes believes
the sea is his "home" and is determined to silence the gossip about
the previous apprentice who died. He wants to continue fishing until he is
wealthy and marry Ellen.
Scene
2.Inside The Boar that Night
News is
brought that the cliff is down by Grimes' hut. When Grimes enters The Boar, everyone
tries to avoid him. Hobson, Ellen and the new apprentice arrive, all wet. Grimes
wants to go for the sea at once.
Act II. At
the Beach Some Night Later, then at Grimes' Hut
Scene 1. The
Beach and Street on a Sunday Morning
Ellen talks
to the silent apprentice as villagers enter the church. She talks about her
fondness for children and hopes that Grimes makes a new start. Her thoughts are
dashed when she finds that the boy's coat is torn and his neck bruised. She
reminds him that he is overworking the boy and if it's worth to live by lonely
toil. Grimes gets furious and strikes her. He then goes off with the boy and Ellen
departs in tears. The rector and Swallow lead a threatening procession of men
to Grimes' hut.
Scene
2.Peter's Hut, an Upturned Boat
Grimes bullies
John. He dreams of life with Ellen. When he hears the sound of the approaching
procession, he hustles the boy down to the boat. Just as there is knocking on
the door, the boy falls down the cliff. Balstrode enters and discovers what has
happened.
Act III.
At the Moot Hall, later, at the Beach
Scene
1.At the Moot Hall
There is a
dance in the Moot hall and Swallow flirts with Auntie's nieces. Mrs. Sedley
takes Keene
aside and insists John has been murdered, neither he nor Grimes having been
seen for days. Keene
ignores her. Mrs Sedley eavesdrops while Balstrode and Ellen discuss Grimes'
arrival. His boat has been in for an hour, but they cannot find him and the
boy. Mrs Sedley rouses Swallow and Hobson to look for Grimes.
Scene 2.At the Beach
Balstrode
finds Grimes who struggles in, quite demented and tells him to take his boat out
and sink it. Grimes does.
As the day
dawns, the orchestra softly resumes the music of the first Interlude while Grimes'
boat sinks far out at sea.
Resources:
Martin, Nicholas Ivor. The Da Capo Opera
Manual. New York:
Da Capo Press, 1997
Morley, Sir Alexander F. Harrap Opera
Guide. London:
Harrap, 1970
Riding, Alan and L.D. Downer. Opera. London: Dorling
Kindersley, 2006 Sadie, Stanley, Ed. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd Edition. London: Macmillan Publishers, 2000.
English composer famous for "Pomp and Circumstance"
English Romantic composer and church organist, Edward Elgar (b. June 2, 1857 - d. February 23, 1934), is born in Broadheath. He succeeded his father as church organist in Worcester's St. George's Roman Catholic church. Famous for his Enigma Variations and the magnificent "Pomp and Circumstance", Elgar is often considered as the greatest English-born composer since Henry Purcell, two centuries ago.
The introduction of the microphone in 1925 made far more accurate sound reproduction possible, and Elgar made new recordings of most of his major orchestral works and excerpts from his well-known "The Dream of Gerontius".
Librettists of Mozart include Lorenzo Da Ponte and Emanuel Schikaneder
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, having composerd more than 20 operas in his short years of life, had several librettists. A librettist is a writer of a libretto, an Italian word meaning “little book.” In musical parlance, it is the text used for opera, operetta, oratorio, and other musical genres.
The term libretto is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as Mass, requiem, and sacred cantata. Libretto (pl. libretti), from Italian, is the diminutive of the word libro (book). The difference between the libretto and a synopsis: the libretto contains all the words and stage directions, while a synopsis summarizes the plot.
The relationship of the librettist (that is, the writer of a libretto) to the composer in the creation of a musical work has varied over the centuries, as have the sources and the writing techniques employed. In the context of a modern English-language musical theater piece, the libretto is often referred to as the book of the work.
