Zampa was a notorious pirate who deserted a girl named Alice who was then befriended by a wealthy Sicilian merchant named Lugano. She died, and Lugano raised a statue in her honour. Zampa imprisoned Lugano whose daughter, Camilla, was about to marry Alfonso de Monza. But Zampa wanted to marry Camilla, and demanded her hand as a ransom. Camilla reluctantly consented. At the wedding Zampa was confronted with the statue of Alice, which came to life and bore Zampa away to the infernal regions, leaving Camilla to her lover.
Hérold was a man of undoubted genius, and in the music of “Zampa”
we recognize the hand of a master. |
In the Summer of 1888, Edward Elgar decided on a holiday in Yorkshire.
As he left Worcester, Alice Roberts presented him with a poem she had written and entitled Love’s Grace. Whilst on holiday Edward reciprocated by writing a short piece of music for her, which he called Love’s Greeting. On his return from Yorkshire Elgar presented the work to Alice and proposed to her.
They married at the Brompton Oratory in South Kensington, London in May the following year.
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Carl Maria von Weber was born near Lubeck, Germany in 1786. He began writing operas at the age of 13, and became an operatic conductor at age 18. He is famous for his three operas Der Freischutz, Euryanthe, and Oberon. He also wrote two symphonies, two clarinet concertos, a horn concerto, a bassoon concerto, cantatas, and piano solos. |
Jean Sibelius born 1865. The first symphony was completed in the last year of the 19th Century when Sibelius was 34. The symphony shares qualities with Finlandia which appeared that same year. Sibelius was driven by a fierce patriotism at a time when Finland struggled against the politics of the ‘Bear in the East’. |
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