Es war einmal

Es war einmal (Once upon a time) is a fairy-tale opera in a prologue and three acts by the Austrian composer Alexander von Zemlinsky. Its libretto, an adaptation of M. Von Borch's German translation of the fairy-tale play Der var engang by the Danish author Holger Drachmann, was written by Maximilian Singer.

Performance history

The opera was first performed on 22 January 1900 at the Vienna State Opera conducted by Gustav Mahler with Selma Kurz and Erik Schmedes in the principal roles. The successful premiere resulted in a run of twelve performances. It was revived in Mannheim in May 1912 (with Zemlinsky's former pupil Artur Bodanzky conducting), and in October 1912 at the Neues Deutsches Theater in Prague (conducted by the composer).

Roles

Recordings

In 1990 the German record label Capriccio released the world premiere recording: a June 1987 recording from Danish Radio with Hans Graf conducting the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. The principal roles were sung by Eva Johansson (Princess), Kurt Westi (Prince), Per-Arne Wahlgren (Kaspar) and Aage Haugland (King). This performance was the first one since the Prague staging of 1912.

Anastasia

Anastasia (also spelled Anastasiya, Annastasia, Anastacia or Annastatia) is a Christian given name bestowed to women and the feminine equivalent of the male name Anastasius. The name is of Greek origin, coming from the Greek word "anastasi" (gr. "ανάσταση"), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the most used name for decades until 2008, when its place was taken by Sophia. It is still heavily used.

Origin

Anastasia was created during the early days of Christianity and was abundantly given to Greek children born in December and around Easter. It was established as the female form of the male name Anastasius, and has the meaning of "resurrection". It is the name of several early saints; Anastasia of Sirmium, a central saint from the 2nd century, is commemorated during the second Mass on Christmas Day each year according to the traditional calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. The name can also be written as Anastasiya, Annastasia, Anastacia or Annastatia. There are a number of short forms; Ana, Anna, Anya, Nastya, Stacia, Stacie, Stacy; as well as various hypocoristics: Nastenka, Nastyusha, Nastyona; Serbian, Slovenian: Nastja.

Don Bluth

Donald Virgil "Don" Bluth (born September 13, 1937) is an American animator, film director, producer, writer, production designer, video game designer and animation instructor who is known for directing animated films, such as The Secret of NIMH (1982), An American Tail (1986), The Land Before Time (1988), All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989) and Anastasia (1997), and his involvement in the laserdisc game Dragon's Lair. He is also known for competing with former employer Walt Disney Productions during the years leading up to the films that would make up the Disney Renaissance. He is the older brother of illustrator Toby Bluth.

Early life and the Disney years

Bluth was born in El Paso, Texas, the son of Emaline (née Pratt) and Virgil Ronceal Bluth. His great-grandfather was Helaman Pratt, an early leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He is of Swedish, English, Irish, Scottish, and German descent.

As a child in El Paso he rode his horse to the town movie theater to watch Disney films; Bluth said later, "then I'd go home and copy every Disney comic book I could find". At the age of six his family moved to Payson, Utah where he lived on a family farm. In 1954, his family moved to Santa Monica, California, where he attended part of his final year of high school before returning to Utah and graduating from Springville High School. Bluth attended Brigham Young University in Utah for one year and after got a job at The Walt Disney Company. He started in 1955 as an assistant to John Lounsbery for Sleeping Beauty. In 1957 Bluth left Disney only two years after being hired. Afterwards Bluth spent two and a half years in Argentina on a mission for the LDS Church. He returned to the United States where he opened the Bluth Brothers Theater with his younger brother Fred, though he occasionally worked for Disney.

Myles Kennedy

Myles Richard Kennedy (born Myles Richard Bass; November 27, 1969) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Alter Bridge, and as the lead vocalist in Slash's current band: Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators. A former guitar instructor from Spokane, Washington, Kennedy is known for his ability as both a guitarist and a vocalist. He has worked as a session musician and songwriter, making both studio and live appearances with several artists over the years and has been involved with several projects throughout his career.

The Conspirators

The Conspirators is a 1944 American World War II spy film directed by Jean Negulesco. The film stars Hedy Lamarr and Paul Henreid and features Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre.

Plot

During World War II, former schoolteacher turned Dutch resistance fighter Vincent Van Der Lyn (Henreid) causes so much trouble for the Nazis, they place a bounty on his head. As a result, he is ordered to travel to England by way of neutral Lisbon.

On Van Der Lyn's arrival, Police Captain Pereira (Joseph Calleia) notes that his passport has no exit stamp on it (indicating he sneaked across the border), but reassures the traveler that all that matters is that the Portuguese visa is in order. German agent Otto Lutzke (Kurt Katch) becomes suspicious and starts following the Dutchman.

At a restaurant, Van Der Lyn is pleasantly surprised when a beautiful stranger, Irene Von Mohr (Lamarr), sits down at his table. Irene had passed a card to a man in a nearby alley, only to see him shot in the back. She fled to the restaurant; when the police arrived to question everyone, she sat down to throw off suspicion. She describes herself merely as a frequent gambler at the Casino Estoril. She leaves, supposedly to make a telephone call, but never returns. The Dutchman goes to the casino and finds Irene. As she warns him to stay away from her, they are joined by Hugo Von Mohr (Victor Francen), who is a high ranking German diplomatic official, and Lutzke. The Germans soon identify Van Der Lyn as the saboteur nicknamed the "Flying Dutchman".