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25-563: The term implies "effect for effect's sake", therefore, while many pieces of Beethoven do require a high skill, they are not described as "bravura". Fuller-Maitland suggests the following arias as examples of bravura: "Let the bright Seraphim" from Samson , " Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen " (Act II of The Magic Flute ) and "Non più mesta" from La Cenerentola . Musical terms "allegro di bravura" and "con bravura" indicate boldness, fire and brilliance. The term "bravura" also refers to daring performance in ballet, e.g., in reference of

50-516: A Biblical drama by Jean Racine , was given in London without Handel's participation and proved to be popular. He thus revised the work and planned to present it at the theatre where his Italian operas were being presented. However, the Bishop of London would not permit a drama based on a Biblical story to be acted out on the stage; Handel therefore presented Esther in concert form, thus giving birth to

75-582: A duel. Harapha, however, reviles Samson, claiming it is beneath his dignity to fight with a blind man. Samson mocks him as a braggart. Micah proposes to measure the power of Dagon against that of the God of the Israelites. The Israelite and Philistine choruses both praise their God. Harapha arrives to take Samson to the feast of the Philistines and show him off there. Samson at first refuses to be present at

100-586: A string of masterpieces of oratorio in English. Handel began the composition of Samson immediately after completing Messiah on 14 September 1741. It used a libretto by Newburgh Hamilton , based on Milton 's Samson Agonistes , which in turn was based on the figure Samson in Chapter 16 of the Book of Judges . Handel completed the first act on 20 September 1741, the second act on 11 October that year, and

125-439: A total of seven performances in its first season, the most in a single season of any of his oratorios. Samson retained its popularity throughout Handel's lifetime and has never fallen entirely out of favor. Samson, Judge of Israel, married a Philistine woman, Delilah, who discovered that he derived his supernatural strength from never cutting his hair. Delilah shaved his hair while he was sleeping and betrayed him to her people,

150-409: Is appalled by how low their once invincible hero has fallen, seeing Samson's humiliation as a symbol of Israel's defeat, but Samson insists it is all his own fault for having been unable to keep the secret of his magical strength from the woman who betrayed him. Samson bitterly laments his loss of sight. Samson's father Manoah finds Samson and is shocked by his transformation. Samson longs for death but

175-541: Is comforted by the Chorus of the Israelites that he will triumph over death and time. Micah and the Israelites implore divine assistance as Samson still wishes to die. Delilah, with a group of young women, appears and tells Samson she is sorry for what she did and that she did not realise how serious the consequences would be. She attempts to convince him that she still loves him, but he angrily repudiates her. The Philistine Harapha comes to insult Samson, who challenges him to

200-474: Is evidenced throughout the work, not only in the music for soloists such as Delilah's would-be seductive aria with alluring violins or in the swagger of Harapha's music, but also in the choruses, with the solemn gravity of the Israelites' music sharply contrasted with the hedonistic carefree choruses with added horns for the Philistines. Premiere A premiere , also spelled première , (from French : première, 1 , transl.  first, 1st )

225-541: Is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play , film , dance , musical composition , or even a performer in that work. Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the film premiere to showman Sid Grauman , who founded Grauman's Chinese Theatre . The first ever Hollywood premiere was for the 1922 film Robin Hood , starring Douglas Fairbanks , in front of the Egyptian Theatre . By

250-493: Is usually performed as an oratorio in concert form, but on occasions has also been staged as an opera . The well-known arias "Let the bright Seraphim" (for soprano), "Total eclipse" (for tenor) and "Let their celestial concerts" (the final chorus) are often performed separately in concert. The German-born Handel was resident in London since 1712 where he enjoyed great success as a composer of Italian operas. His opportunities to set English texts to music were more limited. He spent

275-512: The pas de deux from Le Corsaire . Lynn Garafola describes the Russian ballet school of Marius Petipa as "marrying the new Italian bravura technique to its more lyrical French counterpart ". This music-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Samson (Handel) Samson ( HWV 57) is a three-act oratorio by George Frideric Handel , considered to be one of his finest dramatic works. It

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300-785: The Theater am Kärntnertor in Vienna on 7 May 1824, and subsequently received a premiere in England at the Argyll Rooms in London on 21 March 1825. When a work originates in a country that speaks a different language from that in which it is receiving its premiere, it is possible to have two premieres for the same work, e.g., the French-language version of the play The Maids by Jean Genet received its British premiere (which

325-496: The English oratorio. Esther in its revised form proved to be a popular work, and Handel, though still continuing to focus on composing Italian operas, followed up with two more sacred dramas with English words presented in concert form, Deborah , and Athalia (which, like Esther , was also based on a Biblical drama by Racine), both in 1733. Such was the success of his oratorios in English that Handel eventually abandoned Italian opera, with his last being Deidamia in 1741 and

350-591: The Philistines, enemy of the Israelites. The Philistines captured Samson and put his eyes out. The scene was set in front of the prison in Gaza . Since it was a festival day in honour of the Philistine god Dagon Samson was allowed to come out of his prison cell, albeit in chains, and received visitors. The Philistines celebrate the festival in honour of their god as Samson, blind and in chains, bewails his fate. Samson's friend Micah, allowed to visit on this special day,

375-442: The building on himself and the Philistines. Samson's dead body is brought out to a funeral march and the children of Israel lament his death. The work ends on a note of thanksgiving as the Israelites praise their God. Samson is richly orchestrated by the standards of its day, calling for strings, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, two flutes, two trumpets, timpani and continuo instruments . Handel's characterisation through music

400-644: The cancellation of a number festivals, including the Tribeca Film Festival , an International film festival called We Are One was organised where films were globally streamed, via YouTube , in an event containing 13 world premieres, 31 online premieres, and 5 international online premiers. Director Lina Soualem  [ fr ] , who reluctantly kept her film Their Algeria  [ fr ] in for an online premier at We Are One said "At first, your automatic feeling is, 'No, I don't want to do that, ... I felt distressed because this would be

425-453: The coronavirus pandemic, festivals had to become either partially online, e.g. SXSW and Tribeca , or fully online, e.g. CPH:DOX , Visions du Reel . Director Alex Winter even went so far as to pull his documentary Zappa out of both SXSW and CPH:DOX rather than let the film premiere there, saying "Our main concern was sales. Being online with these festivals would be the equivalent of a streaming distribution deal." On 29 May 2020, upon

450-457: The film." Fionnuala Halligan of Screen Daily questioned the legitimacy of the festivals without physically screened premiers, saying "Is premiere status demanded by A-list festivals still valid, and if not world, then national or international, or online – how much do they matter in the time of Covid?" On the complications of incorporating online premiers during the new online reformatting of festivals, Halligan said that another burning question

475-510: The first time I would show an audience my film, so I was upset that it (would have to) be online." but said she relented as "I was observing (the Doha Film Institute's Qumra event ) online, and it was a good experience. I spoke to many programmers and professionals, and little by little, I understood we are all in the same situation and times are so uncertain that if I decided to say 'no,' I wouldn't know what would happen next with

500-482: The international premiere status. Premiering at a film festival has been used to gain publicity for a film, even without a distributor already in place, and can even allow last minuting editing. Director Alex Winter said, of film festival premiers, "It helps me get a sense of what my work is or isn't communicating. We've often made little tweaks and changes after we've premiered it at a few film festivals." Concerns existed about online premieres, when in 2020, during

525-651: The late 1920s the red carpet had become synonymous with film premieres. There are a number of different types: A single work will often have many premieres. For example, in film, the 2019 United States movie Aladdin held its world premiere at the Grand Rex in Paris , France, on 8 May 2019, its first regional premiere in Jordan on 13 May 2019, and its United States premiere on 24 May 2019. Likewise, in music, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 received its world premiere in

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550-406: The whole work on 29 October. Shortly after that he travelled to Dublin to premiere Messiah , returning to London at the end of August 1742 and thoroughly revising Samson . The premiere was given at Covent Garden in London on 18 February 1743, with the incidental organ music probably played at the recently completed concerto in A major (HWV 307). The oratorio was a great success, leading to

575-437: The worship of Dagon, but then thinks of a plan and agrees to go to the festival, though he warns the Israelites to stay away from it. Manoah arrives with plans for the children of Israel, including how to free Samson. From a distance the songs of the Philistines are heard, calling on Dagon. Suddenly these sounds turn to noise and panic. An Israelite messenger arrives and tells the Israelites what has happened: Samson pulled down

600-414: The years 1717 to 1719 as composer in residence to the wealthy Duke of Chandos , where he wrote church anthems and two stage works, Acis and Galatea and Esther . He composed vocal music to English words for various royal occasions, including a set of Coronation anthems for George II in 1727, which made a huge impact. In 1731, a performance of the 1718 version of Esther , a work in English based on

625-645: Was also its world premiere) in 1952, and subsequently its English-language premiere in Britain in 1956. The type of premiers that a work receives will impact on how the work is treated by festivals, including the categorization of the work in screening sessions, e.g. Fantastic Fest , and even as the basis of its submission requirements, e.g. Sundance Film Festival eligibility rules require that United States feature films, both narrative and documentary, have retained their world premier status, whilst international feature films, both narrative and documentary, have retained

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