Alagna opened the 2006/07 season at La Scala on 7 December 2006 in the new production of Aïda by Franco Zeffirelli. During the second performance on 10 December, Alagna, whose opening performance was considered ill-at-ease, was booed and whistled from the loggione (the least expensive seats at the very back of La Scala), and he walked off the stage. The tenor's reaction to his public criticism was denounced as immature and unprofessional by La Scala management and Zeffirelli, who said, “A professional should never behave in this way. Alagna is too sensitive, it is too easy to hurt his feelings. He does not know how to act like a true star.” The role of Radames was taken over successfully for the rest of the performance by his understudy Antonello Palombi, who entered on stage wearing jeans and a black shirt. In 2007 while at the Metropolitan Opera singing the role of Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly, Alagna replaced the indisposed Rolando Villazon as Romeo in Roméo et Juliette opposite Anna Netrebko for two performances in September and two performances in December. His wife had flown to New York to be with him for the September engagements, and as a result was fired from the Lyric Opera of Chicago for missing her rehearsal dates for La Bohème. Alagna was also engaged by the Metropolitan Opera at the last minute to cover for the indisposed Marco Berti in a 16 October 2007 performance of Aida. After the performance, the audience gave him a standing ovation. The December 15 performance of Roméo et Juliette starring Alagna and Netrebko was broadcast by the Met into 447 theaters worldwide in high definition and seen by about 97,000 people.
Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:People from Clichy-sous-Bois Category:French male singers Category:French opera singers Category:French tenors Category:Operatic tenors Category:French buskers Category:French people of Italian descent Category:French people of Sicilian descent
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| Name | Lara Fabian |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Lara Crokaert |
| Born | January 09, 1970 |
| Origin | Etterbeek, Belgium |
| Occupation | Singer, songwriter, musician, actress |
| Genre | Pop, French pop, pop rock, adult contemporary, acoustic, dance |
| Instrument | Vocals, piano, keyboards |
| Voice type | Soprano |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Label | Polydor Sony Music Universal Music Group |
| Url |
Lara Fabian (born Lara Crokaert, January 9, 1970) is a Belgian international singer who also holds Canadian citizenship. Multilingual, she sings in French, Italian, Spanish, and English, in all of which she is fluent.
She has also sung in Portuguese, and once in Hebrew on Israel's 60th Independence Day celebrations and in German in 1988 for a version of "Croire" (ger.: "glaub" eng.: "believe"), although she speaks neither language fluently. She also speaks a little Dutch (Flemish). She has sold over 18 million records worldwide so far. She is a lyric soprano with a three and a half octave live vocal range — from Eb (Eb3) below middle C (C4) to soprano high G# (G#6). She has belted up to high A (A5).
During the 1980s, Lara Fabian entered a number of European competitions and won several prizes. A consequence of winning one of these contests in 1986 was the release of her first ever single, "L'Aziza est en pleurs" / "Il y avait". Both were written by the Belgian composer Marc Lerchs as a homage to the deceased French singer Daniel Balavoine.
In 1988, the RTL TV channel in Luxembourg invited Fabian to represent the country at the 33rd Eurovision Song Contest, held that year in Dublin, Ireland. The song presented to Fabian was a composition made by Jacques Cardona and Alain Garciac entitled "Croire" (Trust) and reached a respectable fourth place that night. The winning song that year was titled "Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi" and launched the career of its performer, Fabian's fellow francophone artist, Céline Dion, who sang on behalf of Switzerland. Fabian's "Croire" became a hit single that year in Europe selling nearly 500,000 copies.
In 1990, Fabian travelled to Canada to promote her third single Je Sais and fell in love with the province of Quebec. In 1991, with two suitcases and $1,000 in her pocket, Fabian and her friend and musical collaborator, Rick Allison, moved to Montreal, Canada to embark on a career in North America. They began their own music label and publishing company, Productions Clandestines. Rick first met Fabian in a jazz bar in Brussels some years previously and was impressed by Fabian's vocals on George Gershwin's "Summertime". The pair worked steadily on writing and recording songs.
In August 1991, Fabian's self-titled French-language debut album, Lara Fabian, was released in Canada and sold over 100,000 copies. This debut album went on to be certified Gold in 1993 and then certified platinum the following year. The success of the album's upbeat Dance-pop singles such as "Le jour où tu partira", "Les murs", and "Qui pense à l'amour" gave Fabian the radio exposure she needed. She received several nominations at the 1993 ADISQ awards and a poll published around that time revealed that she was considered Quebec's most promising singer.
Fabian's constant touring in Quebec helped her 1994 album Carpe diem to become her breakthrough album. The album went Gold less than three weeks after its release, and spawned three hit singles: "Tu t'en vas", "Si tu m'aimes", and "Leïla". The following year, the album went Triple Platinum and Fabian's SRO tour attracted more than 150,000 fans. The success of Carpe diem was recognized at the 1995 ADISQ gala. Fabian received two Félix awards: Best Show Of The Year and Best Female Singer Of The Year (a category that is voted upon by the public).
In January 1995, Serge Lama requested that Fabian join him on the stage of the Paris venue Palais des Congrès to perform "Je suis malade", which she had recorded on Carpe diem. Impressed by the audience's response to their duet, Lama immediately asked Fabian to sing the song once more on her own, this delighted the audience.
In 1996, Walt Disney Studios immortalized Fabian's voice when they asked her to voice the character of Esmeralda in the French version of the animated feature The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Disney also included Fabian's French version of the song "Que Dieu aide les exclus" (God Help The Outcasts) on the film's English soundtrack album beside Bette Midler's version. This was a unique move for the company.
After the success of Carpe diem, Fabian signed a contract with the French Polydor label for several albums and Pure was released in June 1997. Pure sold over two million copies in France alone and the album went platinum in less than two weeks. The album spawned several hit singles: "Tout", "Je t'aime", "Humana" and the anti-homophobia anthem "La Différence". "Tout", "Je t'aime" and "Humana" each sold more than one million copies. Fabian was again bestowed with awards, being awarded a Félix for Popular Album Of The Year at the 1997 ADISQ gala and was also nominated for two Juno Awards in the Best Female Singer and Best Selling French Album categories.
This recognition once again attracted the attention of movie studios. The producer of Daylight (starring Sylvester Stallone) asked Fabian and Rick Allison to write a song for the movie. They created the French song, "Tant qu'il y aura de l'amour". For the film this was performed in English by Donna Summer and Bruce Roberts.
In January 1998, Fabian sang a duet with Johnny Hallyday at a benefit concert given for the Restos du Coeur in France. The pair would later perform this duet again at the Stade de France in front of 240,000 fans as part of Hallyday's concert tour. Fabian's own tour during this time had two sold-out shows at L'Olympia (France). A month later, on that very same stage, Fabian was given the Discovery Of The Year award during the Victoires de la Musique Gala. Also in 1998, Polydor released Fabian's Canadian hit album Carpe diem in Europe and her international popularity was secured, as exemplified by the decision of the famous Grévin Wax Museum to unveil Fabian's wax effigy, as a Quebec City museum had already done. This made her the first female Canadian singer ever to be honoured by the Paris institution.
Fabian spent most of fall 1998 in France, where she embarked on an extensive tour of 24 cities including Paris, Lyon, Marseilles, Geneva and Monaco. During this sold-out concert tour, Fabian performed for audiences of more than 150,000. In November 1998, Fabian received the Félix Award for Artist With The Most Recognition Outside Quebec at the ADISQ Gala. In December, Fabian was chosen Revelation Of The Year by the magazine Paris Match, which put her on its cover to mark this occasion.
In March 1999, Fabian released her first live album, simply named Live, which debuted at #1 on the French charts. This helped solidify the international buzz around her and she received an international recording contract from Sony Music.
In May 1999, Fabian was honoured at the World Music Awards in Monaco, where she was given the award for Best Selling Record for the Year 1998 for her album Pure. In July 1999, with over 6 million records sold across Europe, Polydor released Fabian’s self-titled debut album from 1991. This European version of the album contained slight modifications, such as a new album cover and the addition of the hit single "Croire".
The Dance-pop song, "I Will Love Again", her first English single, reached #1 on the U.S.A. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play. It also peaked #32 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #10 Adult Contemporary) as well as appearing on several other international charts. A follow-up ballad, "Love By Grace", became a moderate Adult Contemporary chart hit peaking at #24. In February 2001, the title Love By Grace became the theme song of the lead couple in the Brazilian soap opera Laços de Família, broadcast by TV Globo for millions of viewers in Brazil and Portugal. For several weeks, the song was number 1 on most Brazilian and Portuguese radio stations. Love by Grace generated an incredible frenzy around the artist.
The third single, the Dance-pop song, "I Am Who I Am" remixed by Hex Hector became an underground club hit, but did not chart. Meanwhile in Europe, the single "Adagio" charted at #5 on the French singles chart and #3 on the Belgian singles chart.
The album itself debuted at #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers new album chart, reached #1 on the French album chart and #2 on the Belgian album chart. For the Asian version of the album, Fabian collaborated with American-Taiwanese pop star Leehom Wang on the song "Light of my life".
During this period, Fabian recorded songs for several Hollywood motion picture soundtracks such as "The Dream Within" for the soundtrack and, "For Always" for the AI:Artificial Intelligence soundtrack. The "AI: Artificial Intelligence" Soundtrack has two versions of the song "For Always". One version is of Fabian solo, the other version is a duet with singer Josh Groban. Fabian has also ventured into acting, appearing in the film De-Lovely, performing Cole Porter's So In Love with Mario Frangoulis. This song appears on the movie soundtrack. Also, Fabian's "Givin' Up On You" appears on the soundtrack "Songs From Dawson's Creek, Vol. 2".
Nue (Naked) was Fabian's fourth French album and was released in the Fall of 2001 in both Québec and France, making her return to her French singing roots. Her experiences surrounding her first English album were intense and, although critically praised, personally exhausting. "Nue" is the documentation by Fabian and her partner and producer, Rick Allison, of her emotional ride in the preceding few years. It is an album that gave listeners a much more vulnerable and fragile perception of Fabian although presented with an exceptional vocal strength. Her first single released in the summer of 2001 was the anthem "J'y crois encore" which was a top 20 French hit and was followed by the release of the album later that month. The album reached #1 in Belgium and #2 in France but had little impact in Québec. Other singles followed, such as Fabian's personal favourite, "Immortelle", a strong song that remains constantly present in Fabian's live concerts. "Aimer Déjà" was also released as a single and in 2002 "Tu es mon autre" (a duet with fellow Belgian friend and singer Maurane), was nominated for song of the year and reached the top 5 in France. This has become another trademark song in Fabian's career and she has performed it many times with many other artists, including Rick Allison during her 2001/2002 tour. In addition, this album was also released in Portugal and reached the top 10 on the album charts during the Fall of 2001 as a consequence of the tremendous success of Fabian's previous English album.
Also in 2001, she collaborated with David Foster and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra to record the Canadian national anthem, "O Canada", for an English version and a French version, for a promotion of the Government of Canada.
Also in 2002, Fabian contributed to the World Soccer Championship CD release with the song "World At Your Feet" written and produced by Gary Barlow.
Towards the end of 2002, Fabian released her second live album, Live 2002, from her latest tour together with a DVD showcasing concerts recorded in December 2001 in Belgium at the Forest National and at Le Zénith in Paris.
By early 2003, Fabian was once again touring. This time the concert was presented in a more intimate and acoustic atmosphere at the Casino de Paris every Monday night. An acoustic set that became her transition towards a new Lara Fabian that the public was on verge of knowing and worshiping. During this tour, Maurane and Daniel Lavoie both appeared as guests, duetting with Fabian on "Tu es mon autre" and "Je suis mon coeur" respectively. These acoustic concerts were released as a live CD and DVD at the end of 2003, under the title En toute intimité.
The first single release (though only for radio) was "The Last Goodbye" in the US and most other countries (except France). The video premiered on Portuguese talk show "Herman Sic" one day before the album was released. In the meantime, Fabian decided to release a different song in France, considering that "The Last Goodbye" was too "American" for an audience that was more used to her own songwriting. She released (with a video as well) the song "No Big Deal". Neither of the songs achieved massive or moderate, partly attributable to Fabian's personal decision to withdraw from the project and also due to conflicts with Sony Music. The album was not promoted and its release was cancelled in the United States.
At least one song from the album, "I Guess I Loved You", saw some moderate success when included on a Brazilian soap opera. Brazil is still one of the countries with a strong passion for Fabian's music, and therefore this song was chosen for the soundtrack of "Senhora do Destino" (Lady Of Destiny) almost gaining the same popularity that "Love By Grace" did when similarly chosen in 2001. The song also gained some popularity in Portugal for the same reasons, though it was never officially released or promoted.
For the rest of 2004 Fabian was in almost complete seclusion from the music scene, having left her second English record aside. Newspapers began speculating about a serious disease that had affected her. The drama became so exaggerated that Fabian herself was forced to appear on a short interview in Québec later that year explaining some of the reasons she withdrew from the public eye and also why she had returned to her native Belgium, leaving Québec (where she had lived in Westmount for nearly 15 years).
9 yielded the hit single "La Lettre", a song co-written by Fabian and composed by her new partner, Jean-Félix Lalanne. He is responsible, along with Fabian herself for the composition and production of the album's 11 tracks. Other singles from 9 were "Ne lui parlez plus d'elle", "Un Ave Maria", "Il ne manquait que toi" (a song written by Fabian and inspired by Lalanne) and the gospel-infused "L'homme qui n'avait pas de maison".
The success of 9 was cemented by a huge tour titled "Un regard 9". This tour reached France, Belgium, Switzerland, Lebanon, Russia, Quebec, Turkey, Luxembourg, Mauritius, French overseas territories in the Caribbean and Oceania and totalled more than 60 concerts. Fabian also performed in Portugal for the first time, showcasing songs from her two English records and a few French songs such as "La Lettre".
In October 2006, Fabian released a CD and DVD of this tour, both titled Un regard 9 Live. Both the CD and DVD were recorded during Fabian's concerts on 29 March 2006 at Le Zénith in Paris. The CD presents 15 live performances plus a brand new song, "Aime", which was recorded in a studio in Montreal. This song has been recorded in both English and French, though the latter version is the only one officially released so far. "Aime" was initially performed live during a few concerts in Belgium as gift for her native Belgium fans but the enthusiastic response and feedback prompted Fabian to record the song and include it on a forthcoming release. On TV shows, where Fabian promoted the song as a single, one can see the audience putting their hands in the air in the shape of a heart, a sign Fabian made during her tour and that has now became a symbol for the song and its meaning.
In June 2007, Fabian worked in Rome and Los Angeles to record sessions for her Italian album. In the meantime, the single "Un Cuore Malato" (with Gigi D'Alessio) reached the top of the Italian charts and #16 in France. As part of her time in Los Angeles, Fabian worked with David A. Stewart (musician and record producer known for his work with Eurythmics) and Glen Ballard (former Alanis Morissette producer and writing partner) on a "multilingual" album which is reputed to include songs in English, Spanish, French, Italian and a few other languages (resembling albums by singers such as Josh Groban, Mario Frangoulis and Russell Watson with whom Fabian has recorded before). This album is expected to be released in late 2008. Fabian revealed some time ago that she wrote a song with Dave Stewart called "Between Hatred And Love" and a few tracks with Glen Ballard for to this project. Ballard had previously composed a track for Fabian titled "Ivy" and this was released as a b-side for the single "Adagio" in 1999.
Also in 2007, Fabian was in Québec to perform a two night concert at the Olympia de Montreal (re-opening this theatre after its long renovation) presenting her Quebec fans with some of the atmosphere of her 2005-2006 European Un regard 9 tour. In addition, Fabian performed private acoustic sessions in countries such as Portugal, Turkey and Russia. On the 14th October 2007, Fabian was a surprise guest at the only concert Gigi D'Alessio gave in France at the famous Olympia in Paris, just a few days before the birth of her daughter. Fabian surprised everyone by appearing and performing their successful duet "Un Cuore Malato". The concert was broadcasted through an Italian TV channel.
On an interview for Russian radio station "Silver Rain", prior to a concert in Moscow, Fabian expressed how much she loved and admired the late singer Grégory Lemarchal and claimed he was her favourite Star Academy participant from all seven editions done so far. She was also asked about what she thought of the talent shows that have brought so many people to the world of music. Fabian responded with "Who are we to judge? [...] These young people don't know how this machinery works, but we can't kill their dreams, can we?". In addition to the interview, she performed Sarah McLachlan's "Angel" specially for LeMarchal during her Moscow concert.
During 2008, Fabian was in Belgium preparing to record a brand new French album with famous pianist Mark Herskowitz, who had also composed and arranged the hidden instrumental track featured on the 2001 album "Nue". The album will be partly recorded in Montreal, Canada. No further details have been revealed regarding her anticipated Italian album. It is highly suspected, however, that the new French album may be the so-called "multilingual" project previously mentioned, considering the fact that songs in Spanish, Italian, and English are said to be included on it.
Fabian confirmed the release of this much anticipated new album, Toutes les femmes en moi, on her official website on 20 October 2008. Fabian stated on her website that Toutes les femmes en moi is "daring" and that "Blues, Jazz, Gospel, Klezmer, Tango, Neo Classic, White Soul [and Gospel] come close without disturbing each other...". According to Fabian's official website the album will be released on May 26, 2009. The first single release from this album is Soleil, Soleil, a cover of the Nana Mouskouri song, which was sent to French radios on March 11, 2009. Fabian will be promoting the album during the next few months before starting a new tour later this year. The album is a "self-portrait" where Fabian reveals her strong admiration for some of the most impressive female singers in France and Québec that have inspired her as both a woman and as an artists and, as she states "have constructed [her]". The album came as a result of two situations, where at one point Fabian had had a deep reflective conversation with her best friend Natalie about how can anyone truly explain that people are what they have become (a question to which Fabian replies has being a result of all the women that are part of her both at a personal level and musically; and after that she had a discussion with Polydor France boss Pascal Negre who told her that she should be comfortable about herself as a singer not letting herself be influenced by those old criticisms and views that followed her over the years concerning her singing and personality. According to him, she should just be herself and sing exactly the way that represent who she is and who she has always been regardless those who tried to knock her down. Fabian thanks each and every one the selected singers hommaged on this album with real life letters she actually wrote to them in different periods of her life thanking them for their inspiration and perseverance that helped her in her own professional and personal life. She pays tribute to artists such has Maurane, Véronique Sanson, Dalida, Nana Mouskouri, Catharine Lara, France Gall and Céline Dion among others.
It was recently revealed by the singer during her current promotional tour in France that there is an English recorded album equivalent to TLFM called "Every Woman In Me" that showcases in an acoustic environment with piano and vocals her own interpretation of some of the most amazing classic songs from some of the most recognized women in the recording Anglo-Saxonic industry around the world with names such as Celine Dion, Bette Midler, Joni Mitchell, Karen Carpenter, Kate Bush, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald and even Fabian's forever idol Barbra Streisand. The album will only be released online and during her upcoming francophone tour "Tous Le Femmes En Moi Font Son Show" that will start later in September this year. Fabian has, however showcased a few numbers from this release in her 5 day recent concert tour in Russia, a country where she has become a huge star over the last four years with both her English and French repertoire.
The second single of the album confirmed is the song "Toutes les Femmes en moi", Fabian's only original recording included and also the album's title track.
As her career follows new directions, she hasn't lost connection to her French and Canadian public and fans. In September 2010 she finally released her 2009 album "Tout Les Femmes En Moi" in Québec having enjoyed a heavy week of promotion there returning shortly to the country she claims made her who she is. There is a new version on the album for "Nuit Magique" which was recorded as a duet with Canadian singer Coral Egan.
Parallel to this whole range of musical events and adventures, Fabian will finally release her first "Best of" album in France on the 15th November alongside the DVD filmed in March of one of the concerts during the "Tout Les Femmes Font Leur Show". The album will contain two new recordings: the first single "On S'aimerai Tout Bas" composed by Stanislas and Maxime Le Forestier and a virtual duet with Ray Charles called "Ensemble".
Fabian will also be featured on an upcoming release by American singer Michael Bolton on which both sang the classic The Prayer originally recorded by Andrea Bocelli and Céline Dion in 1998. The track was produced by the hitmaker producer David Foster who had also composed the song. For the producer's latest show "Hitman and Friends" in Canada on October 15, Fabian was invited to perform "Caruso" and also the recently recorded duet with Michael Bolton with standing ovation from the crowd.
Category:1970 births Category:Belgian immigrants to Canada Category:Belgian pop singers Category:Belgian female singers Category:Belgian people of Italian descent Category:Belgian people of Sicilian descent Category:Canadian dance musicians Category:Canadian female singers Category:Canadian pop singers Category:Canadian singer-songwriters Category:Canadian people of Flemish descent Category:Canadian people of Sicilian descent Category:English-language singers Category:French-language singers Category:Italian-language singers Category:Living people Category:Luxembourgian Eurovision Song Contest entrants Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1988 Category:People from Brussels Category:Musicians from Quebec Category:Spanish-language singers Category:World Music Awards winners
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In 1854, Gounod completed a Messe Solennelle, also known as the Saint Cecilia Mass. This work was first performed, in its entirety, for the church of Saint Eustache in Paris on Saint Cecilia's Day, November 22, 1855; from this rendition dates Gounod's fame as a noteworthy composer.
During 1855 Gounod wrote two symphonies. His Symphony No. 1 in D major was the inspiration for the Symphony in C, composed later that year by Georges Bizet, who was then Gounod's 17-year-old student. In the CD era a few recordings of these pieces have emerged: by Michel Plasson conducting the Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse, and by Sir Neville Marriner with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.
Fanny Mendelssohn, sister of Felix Mendelssohn, introduced the keyboard music of Johann Sebastian Bach to Gounod, who came to revere Bach. For him, The Well-Tempered Clavier was "the law to pianoforte study...the unquestioned textbook of musical composition". It inspired Gounod to devise an improvisation of a melody over the C major Prelude (BWV 846) from the collection's first book. To this melody, in 1859 (after the deaths of both Mendelssohn siblings), Gounod fitted the words of the Ave Maria, resulting in a setting that became world-famous.
Gounod wrote his first opera, Sapho, in 1851, at the urging of a friend of his, the singer Pauline Viardot; it was a commercial failure. He had no great theatrical success until Faust (1859), derived from Goethe. This remains the composition for which he is best known; and although it took a while to achieve popularity, it became one of the most frequently staged operas of all time, with no fewer than 2,000 performances of the work having taken place by 1975 at the Paris Opéra alone, not counting other theatres. The romantic and melodious Roméo et Juliette (based on the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet), premiered in 1867, is revived now and then but has never come close to matching Fausts popular following. Mireille, first performed in 1864, has been admired by connoisseurs rather than by the general public. The other Gounod operas have fallen into oblivion.
, 1882]] From 1870 to 1874 Gounod lived in England, becoming the first conductor of what is now the Royal Choral Society. Much of his music from this time is vocal. He became entangled with the amateur English singer Georgina Weldon, a relationship (platonic, it seems) which ended in great acrimony and embittered litigation. Gounod had lodged with Weldon and her husband in London's Tavistock House.
Later in his life, Gounod returned to his early religious impulses, writing much sacred music. His Pontifical Anthem (Marche Pontificale, 1869) eventually (1949) became the official national anthem of Vatican City. He expressed a desire to compose his Messe à la mémoire de Jeanne d'Arc (1887) while kneeling on the stone on which Joan of Arc knelt at the coronation of Charles VII of France. A devout Catholic, he had on his piano a music-rack in which was carved an image of the face of Jesus.
He was made a Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur in July 1888.
Category:1818 births Category:1893 deaths Category:People from Paris Category:French composers Category:French Roman Catholics Category:Opera composers Category:Prix de Rome for composition Category:Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medallists Category:Romantic composers Category:National anthem writers Category:Academics of the Conservatoire de Paris Category:Honorary Members of the Royal Philharmonic Society Category:Ballet composers
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| Name | Bryn Terfel CBE |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Bryn Terfel Jones |
| Born | Pant Glas, Gwynedd,Wales |
| Occupation | Opera singer (Bass-baritone) |
| Spouse | Lesley Terfel |
| Children | 3 |
In 1992, he made his Royal Opera House, Covent Garden début as Masetto in Don Giovanni, with Thomas Allen in the title role. That same year Terfel made his Salzburg Easter Festival debut singing the role of the Spirit Messenger in Die Frau ohne Schatten. This was followed by an international breakthrough at the main Salzburg Festival when he sang Jochanaan in Strauss's Salome. Terfel went on to make his début as Figaro at the Vienna State Opera and his debut at Covent Garden as Masetto in Don Giovanni. That year, he also signed an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon, and returned to the Welsh National Opera to sing Ford in Falstaff. In 1993, he recorded the role of Wilfred Shadbolt in The Yeomen of the Guard, by Gilbert and Sullivan and sang Figaro to acclaim at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Terfel has said that he would like to record "an album of Gilbert and Sullivan arias".
In 1994, Terfel sang Figaro at Covent Garden, and made both his Metropolitan Opera and Teatro Nacional de São Carlos débuts in the same role. He also sang Mahler's Eighth Symphony at the Ravinia Festival under the baton of James Levine. However, back surgery in 1994 (and again in 2000) prevented him from performing in several scheduled events. In 1996, Terfel expanded his repertoire to include Wagner, singing Wolfram in Tannhäuser at the Metropolitan Opera, and Stravinsky, singing Nick Shadow in The Rake's Progress at the Welsh National Opera.
In 1997, Terfel made his La Scala début as Figaro. In 1998, Bryn had a recital at Carnegie Hall which included works by Wolf, Fauré, Brahms, Schumann, Schubert, and others. In 1999, Terfel performed in Paris the title role of Don Giovanni for the first time and sang his first Falstaff at the Lyric Opera of Chicago; the latter of which he reprised in the inaugural production at the newly refurbished Royal Opera House.
In 2007, Terfel performed at the opening gala concert for the re-dedication of the Salt Lake Tabernacle with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on April 6–7. Later, Terfel performed the title role in a concert version of Sweeney Todd that had four performances from July 5 to July 7 at London's Royal Festival Hall. This was the idea of him and his fellow bass-baritone and friend, the Irishman Dermot Malone.
Terfel has not shied away from popular music either. He has recorded CDs of songs by Lerner and Loewe and Rodgers and Hammerstein. In 2001 he commissioned and performed Atgof o'r Ser ('The Memory of Stars') in the National Eisteddfod with the composer Robat Arwyn.
In September 2007, Terfel withdrew, to severe criticism, from Covent Garden's Ring Cycle when his six-year-old son required several operations on his finger. But the singer did successfully return to the Met in November 2007 to sing the role of Figaro. He told reporters in New York that he will now retire Figaro from his repertoire.
Terfel intended to take 2008 as a sabbatical from opera performances, but broke this to take the title role in WNO's revival of Falstaff. He had sung in this production in 1993, when he played the role of Ford.
In 2009 Terfel sang Scarpia and the Dutchman for the Royal Opera House.
In 2010, Terfel made his debut as Hans Sachs in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in a production for Welsh National Opera, in Cardiff and on tour. On 17 July 2010, the cast of this production gave a "concert staging" at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the 2010 BBC Proms, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and on BBC Four television. On 31 July, again at the Proms, he performed in a concert from the Royal Albert Hall celebrating the works of Stephen Sondheim, in his 80th birthday year. On 27 September he led the opening of the Met's new season in New York singing Wotan in the premiere of the production of Das Rheingold that begins Robert Lepage's, and the Met's, new staging of the complete Wagner Ring; he continues with Die Walküre in spring 2011.
The family lives in Bontnewydd, near Caernarfon, Gwynedd. Terfel was a leading petitioner in the creation of Bontnewydd railway station on the rebuilt Welsh Highland Railway, and in part sponsored its construction.
In 2003, Terfel became a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, receiving the honour from the Prince of Wales. In 2006, he became the second recipient of the Queen's Medal for Music (the previous recipient was conductor Sir Charles Mackerras). In 2008, he was appointed an Honorary Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford.
Terfel is also President of the Welsh homelessness charity Shelter Cymru and is Patron of Bobath Children's Therapy Centre Wales, a registered charity based in Cardiff which provides specialist Bobath therapy to children from all over Wales who have cerebral palsy.
{|class="wikitable sortable" !Composer!!Opera!!Role!!In repertoire!!Recorded |- |Britten||Peter Grimes||Balstrode||1995||No |- |Donizetti||L'elisir d'amore||Dulcamara||2001||Yes (dvd) |- |Gounod||Faust||Mephistopheles||2004||Yes (dvd) |- |Mozart||Così fan tutte||Guglielmo||1991||No |- |Mozart||Don Giovanni||Masetto||1992||Yes |- |Mozart||Don Giovanni||Leporello||1991||Yes |- |Mozart||Don Giovanni||Don Giovanni||1999 –||Yes |- |Mozart||Die Zauberflöte||Speaker||1991||No |- |Mozart||Le nozze di Figaro||Figaro||1991–2007||Yes |- |Offenbach||Les contes d'Hoffmann||Four male roles||2000||Yes (dvd) |- |Puccini||Gianni Schicchi||Gianni Schicchi||2007||No |- |Puccini||Tosca||Scarpia||||Yes |- |Puccini||Madama Butterfly||Sharpless||1996||No |- |Richard Strauss||Die Frau ohne Schatten||Der Geisterbote||1992||Yes |- |Richard Strauss||Salome||Jochanaan||1993||Yes |- |Sondheim||||Sweeney Todd||2002 –||No |- |Stravinsky||The Rake's Progress||Nick Shadow||1996–2000||Yes |- |Stravinsky||Oedipus Rex||Creon||1992||Yes |- |Verdi||Falstaff||Falstaff||1999 –||Yes |- |Verdi||Falstaff||Ford||1993||No |- |Wagner||Das Rheingold||Donner||1993||No |- |Wagner||Das Rheingold||Wotan||2005 –||No |- |Wagner||Die Walküre||Wotan||2005 –||No |- |Wagner||Tannhäuser||Wolfram||1998||No |- |Wagner||Der fliegende Holländer||Holländer||2006 –||No |- |Wagner||Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg||Hans Sachs||2010||Concert staging of Welsh National Opera production broadcast by BBC Radio 3 and BBC Four television as part of BBC Proms |- |-class="sortbottom" |}
Category:1965 births Category:Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:People from Gwynedd Category:Operatic bass-baritones Category:Welsh Eisteddfod winners Category:Welsh male singers Category:Welsh opera singers Category:Welsh-language music Category:Welsh-speaking people Category:Bards of the Gorsedd Category:Welsh baritones Category:Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music Category:Bass-baritones
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Gheorghiu made her international debut in 1992 at the Royal Opera House as Zerlina in Don Giovanni. She debuted at the Vienna State Opera as Adina in L'elisir d'amore and at the Metropolitan Opera as Mimi in La bohème. In 1994, she was auditioned by the conductor Sir Georg Solti for a new production of La traviata at the Royal Opera House. Her debut as Violetta led her to international stardom.
Gheorghiu has concentrated her repertoire on several different roles: Violetta, Mimì, Magda, Adina, and Juliette. In 2003, she debuted as Nedda in Pagliacci and as Marguerite in Faust. A soprano with a large range and a dark coloured voice, Gheorghiu is also able to sing spinto roles. She has recorded Tosca (also made into a film directed by the French Benoît Jacquot) and Leonora in Il trovatore for EMI and sang in her first Tosca at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 2006. Her performance was an overall success, although because the famous Zeffirelli production of 1964 was replaced by a new production (which premiered with her), there was comparison between the Toscas of Gheorghiu and Maria Callas, for whom the Zeffirelli production was designed.
She has recorded many recital albums and complete opera recordings and often appears on television and in concerts. The EMI recording of Massenet's Manon with Angela Georghiu in the title role won the 2001 Gramophone Award for "Best Opera Recording", was nominated for "Best Opera Recording" in the 2002 Grammy Awards.
"Because I grew up in a country where there was no possibility of having an opinion, it makes me stronger now. Lots of singers are frightened about not getting invited back to an opera house if they speak out. But I have the courage to be, in a way, revolutionary. I want to fight for opera, for it to be taken seriously. Pop music is for the body, but opera is for the soul.".
Gheorghiu had a problematic relationship with former Metropolitan Opera General Manager Joseph Volpe after her debut there as Mimi in 1993. In 1996, Gheorghiu was cast as Micaela in a new production of Carmen, opposite Waltraud Meier and Plácido Domingo. The production by Franco Zeffirelli called for Micaela to wear a blonde wig, a nuance to which the soprano refused to wear it. Volpe famously declared, "The wig is going on, with you or without you". Gheorghiu eventually accepted and appeared in ten performances of Carmen that season, including the Met's tour to Japan, although she kept the hood of her cloak up to cover the wig as much as possible. She appeared at the Met again in 1998 for six performances of Roméo et Juliette with her husband, tenor Roberto Alagna as Roméo. Volpe had planned to engage Gheorghiu in Violetta Valery for a new production of La traviata, to premiere in November 1998 and directed by Zeffirelli. Alagna was to sing the role of Violetta's lover, Alfredo Germont. According to Volpe, Gheorghiu and Alagna argued with the staff and the director over production details and continually delayed signing the contract. They eventually signed their contracts, and faxed them to the Met one day past their deadline. Volpe refused to accept them. The production opened with Patricia Racette and Marcelo Álvarez as the lovers.
In September 2007, Gheorghiu was dismissed from Lyric Opera of Chicago's production of La bohème by General Manager William Mason, for missing rehearsals and costume fittings, and generally "unprofessional" behavior. Gheorghiu said in a statement that she had missed some rehearsals to spend time with her husband, who was singing at the Met in Roméo et Juliette and rehearsing for Puccini's Madama Butterfly and added "I have sung 'Boheme' hundreds of times, and thought missing a few rehearsals wouldn't be a tragedy. It was impossible to do the costume fitting at the same time I was in New York.
Six weeks later, Gheorghiu made her debut at San Francisco Opera receiving favorable reviews for her Magda in that company's new production of La rondine. The San Francisco Opera production originated with London's Royal Opera House, where it premiered on May 7, 2002 with Gheorghiu and Alagna as Magda and her lover Ruggero. It is one which she particularly admires:
"When the curtain opened on La rondine at Covent Garden, the audience gasped and applauded. People want to dream. If directors want to do something new with operas, why not do something beautiful?"
Despite these issues, Gheorghiu and Alagna returned to the Metropolitan Opera for five performances of L'elisir d'amore in 1999 and for four performances of Faust in 2003. Gheorghiu also performed at the Met as Liù in Turandot in 2000; as Violetta in La traviata opposite Jonas Kaufmann in 2006 and 2007; as Amelia in Simon Boccanegra in 2007; as Mimì in La bohème in 2008; as Magda in the 2008-09 season in the ROH/SFO production of La rondine, the Met's first performance of the opera since 1936; and for the 2009-10 season she appeared as Violetta, replacing her previous engagement as Marie Antoinette in a rare revival of John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles which was replaced due to the recession.
In August, 2009, Gheorghiu canceled all her scheduled 2010 Met performances of Carmen, for "personal reasons". It was to be her first public performance of the title role (normally sung by mezzo-sopranos). She also cancelled other Met performances scheduled near the end of 2010.
Category:1965 births Category:Living people Category:People from Adjud Category:Romanian female singers Category:Romanian opera singers Category:Romanian sopranos Category:Operatic sopranos
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| Name | Adam |
|---|---|
| Caption | Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam, a fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Adam is the figure on the left, and God the figure on the right. |
| Birth date | 3760 BC (Hebrew calendar)4004 BC (Ussher chronology) |
| Birth place | Garden of Eden |
| Death date | 2830 BC (Hebrew calendar) [aged 930]3074 BC (Ussher chronology) |
| Death place | Unknown |
| Spouse | LilithEve |
| Children | CainAbelSethmore sons and daughters |
As a result, both immediately become aware of the fact that they are naked, and thus cover themselves with garments made of fig leaves (Gen. 3.7). Then, finding God walking in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve hide themselves from God's presence (Gen. 3.8). God calls to Adam "Where art thou?" (Gen. 3.9, KJV) and Adam responds "I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself" (Gen. 3.10, KJV). When God then asks Adam if he had eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam responds that his wife had told him to (Gen. 3.11-12).
As a result of their breaking God's law, the couple were removed from the garden (Gen. 3.23) (the Fall of Man according to Christian doctrine) and both receive a curse. Adam's curse is contained in Gen. 3.17-19: "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field: In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (KJV).
According to the Genealogies of Genesis, Adam died at the age of 930. With such numbers, calculations such as those of Archbishop Ussher would suggest that Adam would have died only about 127 years before the birth of Noah, nine generations after Adam. In other words, Adam's lifespan would have overlapped that of Lamech (father of Noah), at least fifty years. Ussher and a group of theologians and scholars in 1630 performed calculations and created a study that reported the creation of Adam on October 23, 4004 BC at 9:00 am and lived until 3074 BC. There was controversy over the fact that Ussher believed the whole creation process occurred on that day.
Although the Book of Joshua mentions a "City of Adam" at the time that the Israelites crossed the Jordan River on entering Canaan, it doesn't suggest any relationship between this city and the first man of Genesis. Traditional Jewish belief, on the other hand, says that following his death, Adam was buried in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron.
He appears to an extent in both Eastern and Western Christian liturgies.
Eve's sin is counted as deliberate disobedience, as she did know that Jehovah had commanded them not to eat, but she is held to have been deceived by the Serpent. (She was deceived only about the effect of their disobedience, not about the will of God on the matter.) Adam's sin is considered even more reproachable, as he had not been deceived. Rather, when confronted with his sin, he attempted to blame both his wife Eve, and Jehovah himself. Genesis 3:12 NWT - "The woman who you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree and so I ate.". By his sin, he forfeited human perfection and was therefore unable to pass it on to his offspring.
The Latter Day Saints hold the belief that the "Fall" was not a tragedy, but a necessary part of God's plan. They believe that Adam and Eve had to partake of the forbidden fruit in order to fulfill God's will, and that it is good that they did so.
"Then began Satan to whisper suggestions to them, bringing openly before their minds all their shame that was hidden from them (before): he said: 'Your Lord only forbade you this tree, lest ye should become angels or such beings as live for ever.' And he swore to them both, that he was their sincere adviser. So by deceit he brought about their fall: when they tasted of the tree, their shame became manifest to them, and they began to sew together the leaves of the garden over their bodies. And their Lord called unto them: Did I not forbid you that tree, and tell you that Satan was an avowed enemy unto you?"
The Qur'an also mentions that Adam was misled by deception and was in fact pardoned by God after much repentance.
"Then Adam received (some) words from his Lord, so He turned to him mercifully; surely He is Oft-returning (to mercy), the Merciful."
Category:Burials in Hebron Category:Gnosticism Category:Hebrew Bible people Category:Old Testament saints Category:People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar Category:Prophets of Islam
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