FACTOID # 39: The eight most developed countries all speak Germanic languages.
 
 Home   Encyclopedia   Statistics   Countries A-Z   Flags   Maps   Education   Forum   FAQ   About 
 
WHAT'S NEW
RECENT ARTICLES
More Recent Articles »
 

SEARCH ALL

FACTS & STATISTICS    Advanced view

Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

 

 

(* = Graphable)

 

 


Encyclopedia > Michael William Balfe

Michael William Balfe (May 15, 1808 - October 20, 1870), was an Irish composer, best known today for his opera The Bohemian Girl. May 15 is the 135th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (136th in leap years). ... 1808 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... October 20 is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 72 days remaining. ... 1870 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...


Balfe was born in Dublin, where his musical gifts became apparent at an early age. The only instruction he received was from his father, who was a dancing master, and from a musician, C. E. Horn (17861840). Between 1814 and 1815 he played the violin for his father's dancing-classes, and at the age of seven composed a polacca. In 1817 he appeared as a violinist in public, and in this year composed a ballad, first called "Young Fanny" and afterwards, when sung in Paul Pry by Madame Vestris, "The Lovers' Mistake". On the death of his father in 1823 he was engaged in the orchestra of Drury Lane, and being in possession of a small but pleasant baritone voice, he chose the career of an operatic singer. An unsuccessful debut was made at Norwich in Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischütz. In 1825 he was taken to Rome by Count Mazzara, being introduced to Luigi Cherubini on the way. In Italy he wrote his first dramatic work, a ballet, La Perouse. At the close of 1827 he appeared as Figaro in Rossini's The Barber of Seville, at the Italian opera in Paris. Dublin (Irish: Baile Átha Cliath), is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland, located near the midpoint of Irelands east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin Region. ... 1786 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1814 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The Battle of New Orleans 1815 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The pitches of open strings on a violin The violin is a bowed stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a perfect fifth apart, the lowest being the G just below middle C. It is the smallest and highest-tuned member of the violin family of string instruments, which... A polacca is a type of seventeenth-century sailing vessel, similar to the xebec. ... 1817 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... A ballad is a story in a song, usually a narrative song or poem. ... 1823 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Drury Lane is a street in the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. ... In music, a baritone (from Greek βαρυτονος deeply, heavily sounding) is a male voice of intermediate pitch, between bass and tenor. ... Norwich (pronounced variously Norritch or Norridge) is a city in East Anglia, in Eastern England, and the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. ... Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (born November 18 or November 19, 1786, in Eutin near Luebeck, Germany; died June 5, 1826, of tuberculosis, in London, England) was a German composer. ... Der Freischütz (English: The Freeshooter) is an opera in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber to a libretto by Friedrich Kind. ... 1825 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BCE mythical, 1st millennium BCE Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1285 km² Population  - City (2005)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 3. ... Luigi Cherubini (September 14, 1760 – March 15, 1842) was an Italian composer. ... The Waltz of the Snowflakes from Tchaikovskys The Nutcracker Ballet is the name given to a specific dance form and technique. ... 1827 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ...


Balfe soon returned to Italy, where, during the next nine years, he remained, singing at various theatres and composing a number of operas. During this time he married Luisa Roser, a Hungarian singer whom he had met at Bergamo. Fétis says that the public indignation roused by an attempt at "improving" Meyerbeer’s opera Il Crociato by interpolated music of his own, compelled Balfe to throw up his engagement at the theatre La Fenice in Venice. Bergamo: Citta Alta View of Bergamo Bergamo is a town in Lombardy, Italy, about 40km northeast of Milan. ... Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (September 5, 1791 – May 2, 1864) was a noted opera composer, and the first great exponent of Grand Opera. ... Teatro La Fenice (the phoenix) is an opera house in Venice, Italy. ... Location within Italy Venice (Italian: Venezia, Venessia in the local dialect), the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto and of the province of Venice, 45°26′N 12°19′E, population 271,663 (census estimate January 1, 2004). ...


By this time he had produced his first complete opera, I Rivali di se stessi, at Palermo in the carnival season of 18291830; the opera Un Avvertimento ai gelosi at Pavia; and Enrico Quarto at Milan, where he had been engaged to sing with Malibran at the Scala. He returned to England in the spring of 1833, and on the 29th of October 1835 his Siege of Rochelle was produced and rapturously received at Drury Lane. Encouraged by his success, he produced The Maid of Artois on the 27th of May 1836--the success of the opera being confirmed by the exquisite singing of Malibran. 1829 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix commemorates the July Revolution 1830 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Milan (Italian: Milano; Milanese dialect: Milán) is the main city in northern Italy, and is located in the plains of Lombardy, the most populated and developed region in Italy. ... Scala is a multi-paradigm programming language designed to express common programming patterns in a concise, elegant, and type-safe way. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK... 1833 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Drury Lane is a street in the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. ... 1836 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...


Balfe was a prolific composer, as may be seen from the following list of his English operas alone:

  • Siege of Rochelle (1835)
  • The Maid of Artois (1836)
  • Catherine Grey (1837)
  • Joan of Arc (1837)
  • Falstaff (1838, Lablache in title-role)
  • Amelia, or the Love Test (1838)
  • Keolanthe (1841)
  • The Bohemian Girl (1844)
  • The Daughter of St. Mark (1844)
  • The Enchantress (1845)
  • The Bondman (1846)
  • The Devil’s in it (1847)
  • The Maid of Honour (1847)
  • The Sicilian Bride (1852)
  • The Rose of Castile (1857)
  • Satanella (1858)
  • Bianca (1860)
  • The Puritan’s Daughter (1861)
  • The Armourer of Nantes (1863)
  • Blanche de Nevers (1863)

Balfe also wrote several operas for the Opéra Comique and Grand Opéra in Paris, where Scribe and Saint-George provided him with the libretti for his LePuits d’amour (1843) and his Les Quatre Fils Aymon (1844). His L’Etoile de Seville was written in 1845 for the Académie Royale. 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1836 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1837 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1837 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Jöns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Jöns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... take you to calendar). ... 1844 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1844 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1858 is a common year starting on Friday. ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... 1861 is a common year starting on Tuesday. ... 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar). ... 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar). ... Opéra comique is a French style of opera that is a partial counterpart to the Italian opera buffa. ... Grand Opéra is a style of opera largely characterized by many features on an excessive scale. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... Illustration of a 15th century scribe This is about scribe, the profession. ... Saint George (ca 275/280–April 23, 303) was a soldier of the Roman Empire and later Christian martyr. ... Libretto can also refer to a sub-notebook PC manufactured by Toshiba. ... 1843 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1844 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...


Though he wrote many works, the only large-scale piece of Balfe's which is remembered today is The Bohemian Girl. Nonetheless, he is probably the second most famous 19th century composer of English language opera (after Arthur Sullivan). He was more famous in his day, both for his singing and for songs such as When other hearts, I dreamt that I dwelt in marble halls and Come into the garden, Maud. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (May 13, 1842 – November 22, 1900) was a British composer best known for his operatic collaborations with librettist William S. Gilbert. ... A song is a relatively short musical composition for the human voice (possibly accompanied by other musical instruments), which features words (lyrics). ...


Balfe retired to Hertfordshire in 1864, where he owned a farm. He died in 1870, and was buried at Kensal Green. In 1882 a medallion portrait of him was unveiled in Westminster Abbey. Hertfordshire (pronounced Hartfordshire and abbreviated as Herts) is an inland county in the United Kingdom, officially part of the East of England Government region. ... 1864 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Bales of hay on a farm near Ames, Iowa A farm is the basic unit in agriculture. ... 1870 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Kensal Green is a place in the London Borough of Brent. ... 1882 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Abbeys western facade The Collegiate Church of St John, Westminster, which is almost always referred to as Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ...


External links



 

COMMENTARY     


Share your thoughts, questions and commentary here
Your name
Your comments
Please enter the 5-letter protection code

Want to know more?
Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

 


Lesson Plans | Student Area | Student FAQ | Reviews | Press Releases |  Feeds | Contact
The Wikipedia article included on this page is licensed under the GFDL.
Images may be subject to relevant owners' copyright.
All other elements are (c) copyright NationMaster.com 2003-5. All Rights Reserved.
Usage implies agreement with terms.