Download or read book Farinelli and The King written by Claire van Kampen and published by Concord Theatricals. This book was released on 2019 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Depressed and plagued by insomnia, King Philippe V of Spain lies awake in his chamber. The queen, desperate to find a cure, hears of Farinelli – a castrato with a voice so divine it has the power to captivate all who hear it. Even Philippe is astonished when Farinelli sings, and he begs him to stay. But will Farinelli, one of the greatest celebrities of his time, choose a life of solitude over fame and fortune in the opera houses of Europe? And will his extraordinary talent prove to be a curse rather than a blessing?
Download or read book Regina Mingotti written by Michael Burden and published by PHP研究所. This book was released on 2013 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Regina Mingotti was the first female impresario to run London's opera house. Michael Burden offers the first considered survey of Mingotti's London years, including material on Mingotti's publication activities, and the identification of the characters in the key satirical print 'The Idol'. Burden makes a significant contribution to the knowledge and understanding of eighteenth-century singers' careers and status, and discusses the management, finance, choice of repertory, and the pasticcio practice at The King's Theatre, Haymarket during the middle of the eighteenth century. He includes the complete texts of both of Mingotti's Appeals to the Publick, accounts of the squabble between Mingotti and Vanneschi.
Download or read book Nice Fish written by Louis Jenkins and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Minnesota Book Award for Poetry, 1995 "To imagine what it means to be another human being is an act of love. These are poems written by a great lover of the world. Everything in it that stands alone, unobserved, and luminous. Solitary people with their solitary destinies...If there's a native, archetypical American solitude, Louis Jenkins has given us its flavor."--Charles Simic,The Boston Review
Download or read book Surgery and Selfhood in Early Modern England written by Alanna Skuse and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-02-18 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Implements stories of surgical alteration to consider how early modern individuals conceived the relationship between body, mind, and self.
Download or read book Trouble in Mind written by Alice Childress and published by Theatre Communications Group. This book was released on 2022-06-21 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A masterpiece . . . Trouble in Mind still contains astonishing power; it could have been written yesterday.” —Vulture Ahead of its time, Trouble in Mind, written in 1955, follows the rehearsal process of an anti-lynching play preparing for its Broadway debut. When Wiletta, a Black actress and veteran of the stage, challenges the play’s stereotypical portrayal of the Black characters, unsettling biases come to the forefront and reveal the ways so-called progressive art can be used to uphold racist attitudes. Scheduled to open on Broadway in 1957, Childress objected to the requested changes in the script that would “sanitize” the play for mainstream audiences, and the production was canceled as a result. Childress’s final script is published here with an essay by playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, editor of TCG Illuminations.
Download or read book How to Hold Your Breath written by Zinnie Harris and published by Faber & Faber. This book was released on 2015-02-26 with total page 179 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Because we live in Europe. Because nothing really bad happens. The worst is a bit of an inconvenience. Perhaps not such a good mini break. But really in the grand scheme of life, not so bad. Starting with a seemingly innocent one night stand, this dark, witty and magical play by Zinnie Harris dives into our recent European history. An epic look at the true cost of principles and how we live now, How to Hold Your Breath premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in February 2015.
Download or read book The Castrato written by Martha Feldman and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2016-08-02 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Castrato is a nuanced exploration of why innumerable boys were castrated for singing between the mid-sixteenth and late-nineteenth centuries. It shows that the entire foundation of Western classical singing, culminating in bel canto, was birthed from an unlikely and historically unique set of desires, public and private, aesthetic, economic, and political. In Italy, castration for singing was understood through the lens of Catholic blood sacrifice as expressed in idioms of offering and renunciation and, paradoxically, in satire, verbal abuse, and even the symbolism of the castrato’s comic cousin Pulcinella. Sacrifice in turn was inseparable from the system of patriarchy—involving teachers, patrons, colleagues, and relatives—whereby castrated males were produced not as nonmen, as often thought nowadays, but as idealized males. Yet what captivated audiences and composers—from Cavalli and Pergolesi to Handel, Mozart, and Rossini—were the extraordinary capacities of castrato voices, a phenomenon ultimately unsettled by Enlightenment morality. Although the castrati failed to survive, their musicality and vocality have persisted long past their literal demise.
Download or read book Philip V of Spain written by Henry Kamen and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2001-01-01 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Philip V, who reluctantly assumed the Spanish throne in 1700, was the first of the Bourbon dynasty which continues to rule Spain today. His 46-year reign, briefly curtailed in 1724 when he abdicated in favour of his short-lived son, Louis I, was one of the most important in the country's history. This account is the first biography of Philip V in English. Drawing on contemporary opinion and fresh archival sources, Kamen discusses Philip's character, decisions and policies. He offers a new assessment of the king's illness (which led earlier historians to view Philip as mad) and re-evaluates the role of his two wives. Kamen's account of Philip as king also provides an essential introduction to the study of early eighteenth-century Spain and the Bourbon monarchy.
Download or read book On the Royal Road written by Elfriede Jelinek and published by Gazebo Books. This book was released on 2021-04-01 with total page 131 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nobel Prize winner Elfriede Jelinek is known as a writer who works in response to contemporary crises and cultural phenomena. Perhaps none of her works display that quality as clearly as On the Royal Road. Three weeks after Donald Trump's election, Jelinek mailed her German editor the first draft of this monologue, which turns out to be a stunningly prescient response to Trump and what he represents. In this drama we discover that a 'king', blinded by himself, who has made a fortune with real estate, golf courses and casinos, suddenly rules the United States, and the rest of the people of the world rub their eyes in disbelief until no one sees anything anymore. On the Royal Road brings into focus the phenomenon of right-wing populism. Carefully perched somewhere between tragedy and grotesque, high-pitched and squeamish, Jelinek in this work questions her own position and forms of resistance. 'Ms. Jelinek's play is a screed of outrage at the political, economic and cultural forces that have brought us to an unprecedented — and for many, unimaginable — moment of crisis for modern democracy. Mr. Trump is never mentioned by name, but the narration sketches an undisciplined, uncouth monarch who has been propped up by obscene wealth, a nonstop media circus and a remarkable talent for self-aggrandizing...[On the Royal Road] is neither a polemic nor a historical dramatization but an of-the-moment allegory for our deeply troubling political, social and economic reality.' — A. J. Goldmann, New York Times 'Jelinek's work is brave, adventurous, witty, antagonistic and devastatingly right about the sorriness of human existence, and her contempt is expressed with surprising chirpiness: it's a wild ride.' — The Guardian
Download or read book Cry to Heaven written by Anne Rice and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 1995-04-01 with total page 578 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a sweeping saga of music and vengeance, the acclaimed author of The Vampire Chronicles draws readers into eighteenth-century Italy, bringing to life the decadence beneath the shimmering surface of Venice, the wild frivolity of Naples, and the magnetic terror of its shadow, Vesuvius. This is the story of the castrati, the exquisite and otherworldly sopranos whose graceful bodies and glorious voices win the adulation of royal courts and grand opera houses throughout Europe. These men are revered as idols—and, at the same time, scorned for all they are not. Praise for Anne Rice and Cry to Heaven “Daring and imaginative . . . [Anne] Rice seems like nothing less than a magician: It is a pure and uncanny talent that can give a voice to monsters and angels both.”—The New York Times Book Review “To read Anne Rice is to become giddy as if spinnning through the mind of time.”—San Francisco Chronicle “If you surrender and go with her . . . you have surrendered to enchantment, as in a voluptuous dream.”—The Boston Globe “Rice is eerily good at making the impossible seem self-evident.”—Time
Download or read book Moreschi written by Nicholas Clapton and published by Haus Publishing. This book was released on 2004 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Behind the extraordinary sound of the voice of ‘the last castrato’ lies a strange and lonely life lived in the shadow of great events and institutions, a personality glimpsed by inference and allusion.
Download or read book The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre written by Scott Graham and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-07-25 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘This is a close companion to Frantic Assembly’s practice and one that is written with an open and engaging, even disarming, tone ... A rich, rewarding and compelling text.’ Stuart Andrews, University of Surrey As Frantic Assembly move into their twentieth year of producing innovative and adventurous theatre, this new edition of their well-loved book demystifies the process of devising theatre in an unusually candid way. Artistic directors Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett offer an intimate and invaluable insight into their evolution and success, in the hope that sharing their experiences of devising theatre will encourage and inspire students and fellow practitioners. The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre is a uniquely personal account of the history and practice of this remarkable company, and includes: · practical exercises · essays on devising, writing and choreography · suggestions for scene development · a 16-page colour section, and illustrations throughout · a companion website featuring clips of rehearsals and performances. This is an accessible, educational and indispensable introduction to the working processes of Frantic Assembly, whose playful, intelligent and dynamic productions continue to be acclaimed by audiences and critics alike.
Download or read book The Secret Theatre written by Anders Lustgarten and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-01-25 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'It's not enough that men are watched; they must think themselves watched, even when they are not' Spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham oversees a vast surveillance network from the heart of Elizabeth I's court. As the nation's relationship with Europe deteriorates and civil unrest grows, Walsingham adopts ever more extreme tactics to keep his queen and country safe. But does he risk losing control of the apparatus he has created and destroying the lives of those closest to him? And can such safety ever be achieved? The Secret Theatre asks what we are prepared to sacrifice in order to ensure our safety. Shot through with moments of the blackest humour, this smart, tense thriller has been published to coincide with the world premiere at the Sam Wanamker Playhouse in November 2017 directed by Matthew Dunster.
Download or read book The World of the Castrati written by Patrick Barbier and published by Souvenir Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This entertaining, authoritative book is the first study of the phenomenon of the castrati in relation to the baroque period, covering the lives and triumphs of more than 60 singers over three centuries, when the fashion for castrati was at its peak.
Download or read book Moreschi and the Voice of the Castrato written by Nicholas Clapton and published by Haus Pub.. This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Known as the 'Angel of Rome,' Alessandro Moreschi was the last surviving castrato singer of the Vatican choir, and the only castrati whose voice was recorded. Its ethereal, haunting quality was highly prized for centuries in the papal basilicas and opera houses of Europe (readers can request a copy on CD using details in the book). The castrati tradition was established in Italy in the sixteenth century by Pope Clement VIII, and by the seventeenth century had moved onto the secular operatic stage, where castrato singers were feted as the 'pop stars' of their day. No other singers came close to matching their fame and notoriety. By the nineteenth century, however, their very existence had become an embarrassment, and when Moreschi himself joined the Sistine Chapel in 1883, there were only six castrati left inthe choir, and by 1903 they were officially no more. The strange and lonely life of Alessandro Moreschi was lived in the shadows of great events and great institutions, his personality glimpsed only by inference and allusion. Written by the acclaimed musicologist and countertenor Nicholas Clapton, this is a perceptive and informed study of the last survivor of a perennially intriguing part of Western cultural history. Clapton addresses the complexities inherent in such a complicated and historically neglected subject, establishing that castratisingers were an integral part of the lineage of Western music that should not be judged or condemned from the perspective of the twenty-first century. A professor of singing at the Royal Academy of Music,Nicholas Clapton's career as a counter-tenor has seen him particularly involved in performing the repertoire of the great castrati. In 2006, he produced and presented a television documentary on the castrato voice for the BBC.
Download or read book James Joyce s The Dead written by Richard Nelson and published by Samuel French, Inc.. This book was released on 2001 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Adapted from Joyce's literary masterpiece set in 1904, the last and best known of the short stories collected in The Dubliners, this intimate musical portrays a homespun Yuletide party with Irish music, dancing, food, drink and good fellowship. Sparkling songs, many of them traditional sounding Irish melodies that are performed as entertainment by the partygoers, are all original. Christopher Walken starred in a production that moved from Playwrights Horizon to Broadway.
Download or read book Observations on the Florid Song 1723 written by Pier Francesco Tosi and published by Gregory Blankenbehler. This book was released on 2009-09-29 with total page 119 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Opinioni de' cantori antichi, e moderni o sieno osservazioni sopra il canto figurato (1723) -- Extended Edition. As the first full-length treatise ever to be published on singing, Tosi revealed to the world the secret method that accounted for the unworldly vocal abilities of the famous castrati. Living in a Europe alight with the virtuosic Baroque operas of Handel, Scarlatti and Porpora, Tosi revealed that it was extensive training in the old Italian school of singing that cultivated the beautiful tone and expression of their voices, as well as the infamous mezza di voce, trills and runs. What's more, Tosi revealed that the method worked equally well for any voice type, male or female, provided that its principles and techniques were adhered to with exactness and consistency. Written by one of the most famous singers and voice teachers of the early 18th century, Tosi's Opinioni has remained an indispensable text on the bel canto singing method, as well as Baroque stylistic techniques.
