Lin-Manuel Miranda’s newest Broadway musical Hamilton, that made it’s big break last year, 2015, is taking America's youth by storm. Hamilton is a hip-hop/rap musical about one of America's lesser known founding fathers and the first Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton, or as he is more commonly known, the face off of the $10 bill. It illustrates major events in Hamilton's life along with the details in his wife’s, children's, friends, and enemies lives, from his birth to his death. The musical features 49 songs written by Manuel, the most known being My Shot, Aaron Burr, Sir and Alexander Hamilton. The musical teaches students about the revolutionary war and the time period. This isn’t Miranda's first Broadway musical, as his production,…
Marie Taglioni was born in Stockholm, Sweden to an Italian choreographer Fillippo Taglioni and a Swedish ballet dancer Sophie Karsten. Her brother Paul was also a choreographer and dancer and they both performed together early in their careers. Marie was married to Comete Auguste Gilbert de Voisins on July 14th, 1832, but then they separated in 1836. They had one daughter named, Eugenie-Marie Edwige. Taglioni moved to Vienna with her family at a very young age to and began getting trained in ballet by her father. Her father trained very precisely, he made her hold positions for 100 counts and do conditioning exercises, adagio, and jumping combinations at two hour intervals. In Vienna, Taglioni danced to her very first ballet, her father named “La Reception d'une Jeune…
Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi was born in Florence, Italy around 1386. He was born to Nicolo di Betto Bardi, a member of the Florentine Woolcombers Guild. His friends and family adopted the shortened moniker, Donatello, when he was only a child. This is what we know him as today. Donatello's first educational environment was at the home of the Martellis, a wealthy Florentine family of bankers and patrons closely linked to the Medici family. In the shop of a goldsmith within the Martellis family, Donatello learned metallurgy, fabrication of metals and various materials, and other skills of the trade. In around 1400, he began apprenticing with the metalsmith and sculptor, Lorenzo Ghiberti.…
Michelangelo Buonarroti (Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni) was born on March 6, 1475, in Caprese, Italy. His father worked for the Florentine government, and shortly after he was born his family returned to Florence, the city Michelangelo would always call his true home. His mother past away when he was 6, and at first his father did not approve of his son’s interest in art as a career. At 13, Michelangelo was apprenticed to painter Domenico Ghirlandaio, mainly known for his murals. A year later, his talent drew the attention of Florence’s leading citizen and art patron, Lorenzo de’ Medici, who enjoyed the sensible encouragement of being surrounded by the city’s most literate, poetic and talented men. He long an invitation to Michelangelo…
During the Renaissance period, ideas and beliefs changed significantly. The focus became on humanism, individualism, and secular ideas. Humanism attached the greatest importance to the dignity and worth of the individual. This entirely new way of thinking began to circulate at this time, and the church lost much of its influence. The music lost its rigid meter count and became directly connected to humanity through phrases, textures, and the text. The focus shifted from God to man. This change would give way to the individual and his achievements allowing one to live up to their full potential. Secular ideas revolved around things of this world. The attitudes of humanism and respect for the individual and for independent thought and interests in learning about the world brought science inquiry that led to the development of the sciences, arts, and philosophical concepts. People saw this life as worth living to its fullest, not just as preparation for the next world. During this time, new opportunities came about to travel and trade leading to exposure to different cultures. This…
While opera had been thriving in Europe since its beginnings in the 16th century, 19th century America was still a relatively young, focusing its growth elsewhere. Musically, opera did not appeal to the common American, who was much more interested in simpler tastes. Interest in opera was mostly shared among the upper class elite, and due to the lack of a middle class, wasn’t largely established in the general public until the turn of the 20th century. Socioeconomic limitations reinforced the exclusivity of opera, with the wealthy, cultured, and political classes primarily in attendance. It wasn’t until 1825 that the first fully staged opera was performed in New York City. Ironically, though America being the self proclaimed most egalitarian…
The music and art of the Renaissance are related because a lot of the artists were inspired by the music of the time period. Some of the paintings also had instruments that were played in Renaissance. Yes I think music greatly affected the artwork of the renaissance because music was played outside of the church. People were allowed to express different opinions through art and music.…
In Baroque Era, you can see the style throughout various of life forms in that time, for the purpose of this response, we are focusing on the architect and musical style of the Baroque Era. Bach’s composition No. 5 (Brandenburg), has polyphonic texture and uses the string and woodwind instrument family. You can hear the violins, flute, and harpsichord in this piece. The musical form of this piece is a three-part ritornello, and there are 3 movements. The movements go: (1) fast, (2) slow, and (3) fast. You can see the same type of texture used in the architect of the Town Hall in Munich, Germany. There are many individual layers to this structure that contribute to making this building a wonderful sight. Starting on at ground level, the Town Hall have these arch ways, followed by numerous amount of windows, and ending with pointed structures. This structure resembles a cathedral and it fits the Baroque style of music because the music…
Rigoletto was an opera that consisted of four acts. Giuseppe Verdi was the producer of Rigoletto and Francesco Maria Piave was the librettist. This opera made it's premiere at a theater called Le Fenice located in Venice in March of 1851. Giuseppe Verdi showed interest in musical arts at an early age. When Verdi discovered the 3rd and 5th of the key of C, he was overjoyed (Great Composers). In Rigoletto, there are four main characters. One of them being the Hunchback called Rigoletto, another called the Duke, Sparafucile, and Gilda, the heroine. II Trovatore is a sequel to Rigoletto and is an opera with four acts. Both Il Trovatore and Rigoletto was based off of the play Le roi's amuse which was written by Victor Hugo.…
Within sixty years of the opera’s appearance, new concepts developed such as the aria, which similarly to a theatrical soliloquy, real time stops. “In an aria, the librettist provides words that pause and reflect and the composer creates music that interprets and deepens the emotions behind those words” (L12, 8:12). About “the year 1660, the aria had joined recitative as one of the two essential aspects of operatic dramaturgy” (L12, 30:21). “Unlike recitative in which the words carry the expressive message, in an operatic aria it is the music that carries the expressive message” (L12, 31:59). “The same Baroque advances in harmony; rhythm, motivic manipulation and melodic construction that led to the development of purely instrumental music…
Cited: Citron, Marcia J. "Operatic Style and Structure in Coppola 's "Godfather Trilogy"" The Musical Quarterly Autumn 2004: 423. Web.…
The difference between Wagner and Verdi is night and day. They were only born a few months apart, but musically, they were leagues apart, yet at times their lives were complete parallels of each other. They represented two powerful cultures. Italian culture had roots that drew from the traditions of Rome, the Catholic Church and the Renaissance; its cultural identity was well established. In the area of opera, its most popular musical entertainment, the emerging state sought perfection. In time, Verdi provided it. By contrast, the high culture of the German-speaking countries had mostly developed during the 18th century – first with the Baroque genius of Bach and Handel. In many ways Italy and Germany had parallel national experiences during…
I would like to start saying that I really enjoyed listening these two examples of baroque music, wonderful election. It was really interesting to observe two women signing as lovers in the first piece Pur ti miro, pur ti godo by Monteverdi, one of them replacing as the professor said before the castrato voice. I think I really got caught by this piece because the letter is in italian, which I can understand. I think this piece has a polyphonic texture because the voices complement each other. I have never been in an opera before but this presentation was absolutely joyful. According to this video I think opera is magnificent because is a conjunction of emotions where acting, singing and dancing play an important role. The…
Founded in 1943, New York City Opera, dubbed “the people’s opera” by Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia, was seen as the alternative to the high-class and high-priced Metropolitan Opera. City Opera operated with a fraction of the budget of the Met, and was interested in developing the work of new American composers and singers, and often used it’s stature to prove it made the better platform for these works. Behind the scenes, management struggled for many years, with strong artistic voices combatting the purse strings of the board of directors, and it wasn’t until the late 1950’s, with the appointment of Julius Rudel to the role of general director, that City Opera saw it’s designations as “one of the leading opera companies in the US”. Over the…
In a Latin American country that is unnamed to the reader, a birthday party held for the head of a major Japanese electronics company brings together a successful crowd to enjoy food, drinks and entertainment by none other than the most desired soprano, Roxanne Coss. The party had been held at the vice president’s home in the hopes of persuading Mr. Hosokawa to build a factory in their country. As the night progresses, and Ms. Coss finishes her performance, a “strong and passionate kiss” is followed by an intrusion of 18 terrorists. The target, the president of the unnamed country, has decided to abstain from the party to stay home and watch a highly anticipated episode of his favourite soap opera. With the discovery that the president is…