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Opera

Cremona to Central Park: Stradivari & Nahan Franko’s Legacy

March 28, 2023 by Jaap Harskamp 2 Comments

Edgar Bundy, Antonio Stradivari at Work in his Studio, 1893. (Birmingham Museums Trust)Musician Nicola Matteis arrived in London in the early 1670s. Describing himself as “Napolitano,” he was the first Baroque violinist of note active in the capital. Very much his own promoter, he published his Arie diverse per il violin in 1676, a collection of 120 pieces for solo violin. A second extended edition with an English title-page appeared two years later. In 1685, he published the third and fourth parts of the famous Ayres for the Violin.

Matteis is credited with changing English taste for violin from the French to the Italian style of playing. Soon after, attention shifted from performer to instrument which sparked a veritable cult of Cremonese violins. The name Stradivari became a metaphor for perfection attained by a combination of individual genius, skill and attention to detail. [Read more…] about Cremona to Central Park: Stradivari & Nahan Franko’s Legacy

Filed Under: Arts, History, New York City Tagged With: German-American History, Immigration, Italian History, Jewish History, Metropolitan Opera, Museums, Music, Musical History, New Jersey, Opera, Performing Arts, Smithsonian

The Architecture of Joseph Urban: Mar-a-Lago & The New School

June 21, 2022 by Jaap Harskamp Leave a Comment

Joseph UrbanJoseph Urban may be a somewhat forgotten figure in America’s annals of culture, but during his lifetime he enjoyed an almost legendary reputation. An all-round creative talent, Urban was a prolific Gilded Age illustrator, set designer, and architect of private dwellings, theaters, and a university building in the city of New York. His Gingerbread Castle was built for a fairy tale themed amusement park in Hamburg, New Jersey.

His feeling for color and choice of materials did much to revitalize American stage design and architecture. The contrast between two of Urban’s extant buildings shows the range of his talent as an architect. It goes beyond that: the marked stylistic difference seemed to foreshadow the divisiveness of contemporary society. [Read more…] about The Architecture of Joseph Urban: Mar-a-Lago & The New School

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Architecture, art, Art History, Columbia University, Cultural History, Film History, Manhattan, New York City, Opera, Performing Arts, Rockefeller Foundation, The New School, Theatre, Trump, World War One

Wilhelm Grosz: The Red Sails of Forced Migration

June 16, 2022 by Jaap Harskamp Leave a Comment

Wilhelm Grosz towards the end of his life courtesy The Wilhelm Grosz EstateOne of the top-grossing American films of 1940 was the western Santa Fe Trail, the seventh Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland collaboration. The story concerns John Brown’s campaign against slavery just before the outbreak of the Civil War. Starting out on an acting career, young Ronald Reagan appeared in the story line as George Armstrong Custer. [Read more…] about Wilhelm Grosz: The Red Sails of Forced Migration

Filed Under: Arts, History, New York City Tagged With: Art History, Black History, Cultural History, Dance, Film History, German-American History, Jazz, Jewish History, modernism, Music, Musical History, New York City, Opera, Performing Arts, Poetry, Queens, Theatre, Vice

Andalusian Allure: From Washington Irving to Thomas Edison

December 2, 2021 by Jaap Harskamp 1 Comment

Theodoor de By’s engraving of a Spaniard feeding slain women and children to his dogs, 1598.Washington Irving was the son of immigrants. His father was a Presbyterian Scot, his mother Cornish. He was born on April 3rd, 1783, the same week that New Yorkers celebrated the ceasefire that ended the American Revolution. His parents named their son after George Washington. They had settled at 131 William Street, Manhattan, and were part of the city’s merchant class.

Washington began writing letters to the New York Morning Chronicle in 1802. He gained recognition as a satirical author in 1809 with A History of New York using the pseudonym Dietrich Knickerbocker. He riveted readers with his irreverent combination of fact and fancy. [Read more…] about Andalusian Allure: From Washington Irving to Thomas Edison

Filed Under: Arts, History, New York City Tagged With: Art History, Cultural History, Dance, Film History, Hispanic History, Literature, New York City, Opera, Performing Arts, spanish history, Thomas Edison, Washington Irving

Carnage at Carnegie Hall

August 23, 2021 by Jaap Harskamp 1 Comment

Una serata futurista a MilanoOn October 4th 1923 a concert took place in Paris at which there were performances of Airplane sonata (1921), Sonata sauvage (1922/3), and Mechanisms (1923).

The composer was a young man from Trenton, New Jersey. Among his supporters were Erik Satie, Darius Milhaud, and James Joyce. The recital broke up in a riot. To modernists in the audience such disturbances justified their artistic experimentation. [Read more…] about Carnage at Carnegie Hall

Filed Under: Arts, History, New York City Tagged With: Carnegie Hall, Cultural History, modernism, Music, Musical History, New York City, Opera, Performing Arts, Theatre

A Rascal in Venice, Hero in Vienna, Opera Buff in Manhattan

May 23, 2021 by Jaap Harskamp Leave a Comment

Piazza San MarcoDefrocked priest and poet Lorenzo Da Ponte wrote the words for Mozart’s three celebrated operas Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro, and Così fan tutte. As the librettist’s ultimate challenge is creating character whilst thinking music, few could match Lorenzo’s achievement. [Read more…] about A Rascal in Venice, Hero in Vienna, Opera Buff in Manhattan

Filed Under: Arts, History, New York City Tagged With: art, Art History, Cultural History, Italian History, Manhattan, Music, Musical History, Opera, Performing Arts

Enrico Caruso & Werner Hertzog’z Fitzcarraldo

August 3, 2020 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Enrico CarusoThe Sembrich has launched “Enrico in the Jungle,” the fourth installment of its 20/20: Musical Visionaries summer festival, which looks at the life of Enrico Caruso. [Read more…] about Enrico Caruso & Werner Hertzog’z Fitzcarraldo

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Arts, History Tagged With: art, Opera, Sembrich, Theatre

Geneva Light Opera Presents Virtual Music Event

July 21, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Marriage of Figaro at Geneva Light OperaGeneva Light Opera (GLO) is set to present a retrospective of its recent work in Geneva’s historic Smith Opera House, in addition to digital recordings made by the cast from this summer’s cancelled production of Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” from “lockdown” locations across the USA, on July 26th, at 3 pm. [Read more…] about Geneva Light Opera Presents Virtual Music Event

Filed Under: Arts, Events, Western NY Tagged With: Cultural History, Geneva, Music, Opera, Performing Arts, Theatre

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