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# THE MAKING OF *TOSCA* **A Complete History of the Opera’s Composition, 1896–1899** ## **I. Origins: Sardou, Bernhardt, and a Reluctant Puccini (1893–1896)** Although *Tosca* premiered in 1900, its roots stretch back several years…

# **The Heart of Puccini: A Study of His Life Through the Women He Created** ## 1. **Le Villi (1884)** – Anna and the “abandoned woman” of Puccini’s imagination **On stage** Puccini’s first opera…

# **Meyerbeer - Robert le Diable - Opera - 1831 - Marc Minkowski - ** [[https://www.patreon.com/posts/meyerbeer-robert-144754985?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/meyerbeer-robert-144754985?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)](https://www.patreon.com/posts/meyerbeer-robert-144754985?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) ## **I. Birth of a New Operatic World** When **Giacomo Meyerbeer** premiered *Robert le Diable* on **21 November…

# **THE ROMANCE OF RICHARD WAGNER AND COSIMA LISZT:** PASSION, SCANDAL, AND A LIFE BUILT ON ART AND TURMOIL** Their story is one of the most **intense, controversial, and transformative love affairs** in classical…

# **BENIAMINO GIGLI — A LIFE IN 20 CHAPTERS** *A full, expansive biography* ## **Chapter I — Recanati: The Birth of a Voice (1890–1900)** Beniamino Gigli was born on **March 20, 1890**, in the…

# **A FULL ANALYSIS OF LOUIS SPOHR’S EIGHT SYMPHONIES** ## **I. Introduction — Spohr’s Symphonic World** To explore the eight symphonies of **Louis Spohr** is to enter the most refined borderland between the Classical…

# **EUGEN D’ALBERT — A LIFE** ## **I. Origins, Childhood, and the Making of a Prodigy** Eugen Francis Charles d’Albert was born on **April 10, 1864**, in Glasgow, Scotland, into a family whose musical…

# **REYNALDO HAHN — A LIFE** ## **I. Origins, Childhood in Caracas and Paris, and the Awakening of a Poet-Musician** Reynaldo Hahn was born on **August 9, 1874**, in Caracas, Venezuela, the youngest of…

# **JOSEPH MARX — A LIFE** ## **I. Origins, Childhood, and the Awakening of a Rich Inner World** Joseph Marx was born on **May 11, 1882**, in Graz, a city whose cultural life blended…

# **Leopold von Sonnleithner (1797–1873): The Son Who Preserved Schubert** ## **I. A Young Man in a House of Culture: Early Life in the Sonnleithner Family** Leopold von Sonnleithner was born on **15 November…

# **George Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759) - Flavio, re de' Longobardi - **Opera in 3 acts (London, 1723) (HWV 16) libretto**: Nicola Francesco Haym - Concerto Köln - Benjamin Bayl ** [[[https://www.patreon.com/posts/george-frideric-144597458?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/george-frideric-144597458?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)](https://www.patreon.com/posts/george-frideric-144597458?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)](https://www.patreon.com/posts/george-frideric-144597458?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) **Julia Lezhneva**, soprano…

# **Handel - Lotario - Attilio Cremonesi ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-lotario-144573739?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-lotario-144573739?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) ## **I. A Turbulent Operatic Climate in London (1729) and the End of an Era** When Handel composed *Lotario*, he was navigating one of the…

# **Handel - Rodelinda - Opera - 1725 - Laurence Cummings ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-rodelinda-144572124?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-rodelinda-144572124?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) ## **I. The Operatic Climate in London and Handel’s Position (1724–1725)** When Handel undertook the composition of *Rodelinda*, he stood at…

# **SCHUBERT’S FRIENDS: JOHANN MAYRHOFER (1787–1836) ** *Mayrhofer wrote a lot of lyric poetry and published it in 1824.* *47 Schubert songs and two of his operas are based on Mayrhofer’s lyric poems.* ##…

# **SCHUBERT’S FRIENDS: FRANZ VON SCHOBER (1796–1882)** ## **The Magnetic, Dangerous Friend** ## **I. The First Encounter: A Charismatic Force Enters Schubert’s Life** When **Franz von Schober** entered Schubert’s circle in 1815, he seemed…

# **ZUBIN MEHTA — A LIFE IN 20 CHAPTERS** ## **Chapter I — Origins in Bombay: A Childhood Surrounded by Music** Zubin Mehta was born in **1936**, in Bombay (now Mumbai), into a family…

# **Richard Wagner’s Final Year — A Narrative Psychological Portrait** In the last year of his life, Richard Wagner moved through the world like a man walking inside a storm of his own making.…

# **GIOVANNI BATTISTA PERGOLESI – A LIFE IN 20 CHAPTERS** ## **Chapter I — Birth in Jesi (1710)** Giovanni Battista Pergolesi was born in the small town of Jesi, near Ancona, in 1710, into…

# **THE DEATH OF PERGOLESI — A COMPLETE ANALYSIS** *Illness, final works, biography, mythmaking, and historical context* Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710–1736) died at the age of **26**, leaving behind an astonishingly small but immortal…

# **The Warsaw Conservatory Years (1820–1826): A Growing Artistic Identity** When Frédéric Chopin entered his second decade of life, something in his musical nature shifted decisively. The charming prodigy who had delighted Warsaw salons…

# **TELEMANN AND THE BACH FAMILY: ENCOUNTERS, INFLUENCES, AND A QUIET, ENDURING FRIENDSHIP** *A narrative study of the human and musical ties between two dynasties* When one speaks of German Baroque music, the imagination…

# **Schumann - Das Paradies und die Peri - Oratorio - 1843 - Giuseppe Sinopoli ** [[https://www.patreon.com/posts/schumann-das-und-144137476?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/schumann-das-und-144137476?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)](https://www.patreon.com/posts/schumann-das-und-144137476?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) Among the large-scale compositions of Robert Schumann, ***Das Paradies und die Peri (1843)*** occupies a singular place.…

# **Lully - Ballet Royal de la Naissance de Vénus - Christophe Rousset ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/lully-ballet-de-144111335?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/lully-ballet-de-144111335?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) **Lully – *****Ballet Royal de la Naissance de Vénus*** When **Jean-Baptiste Lully** composed the *Ballet Royal de la Naissance…

# **Handel, Muzio Scevola - Opera - London 1721 -Rudolph Palmer ** [[https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-muzio-144034390?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-muzio-144034390?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-muzio-144034390?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) *London, 1721 — An Opera with Three Composers* ## **I. A Singular Experiment in Operatic History** *Muzio Scevola* is one of…