Royal Academy of Music (company) directors of the Royal Academy of Music, imploring them: The performances of "Alessandro" went off with no signs of animosity between Bordoni and Cuzzoni or their respective supporters, but it was not very long after that tension between the two erupted. As 18th century musicologist Charles Burney observed about the Cuzzoni / Faustina rivalry: Handel's next opera."Admeto", again with roles for both sopranos, was well-received and had nineteen performances in its initial run, a mark of success for those times. Many audience members were extremely enthusiastic about the singers. At the conclusion of one of Cuzzoni's arias at a performance
Music of Germany the 20th century. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte" (1791) is usually said to be the beginning of German opera. An earlier starting date for German opera, however, could be Heinrich Schütz's "Dafne" from 1627. Schütz is said to be the first great German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, and was a major figure in 17th-century music. In the 19th century, two figures were paramount in German opera: Carl Maria von Weber and Richard Wagner. Wagner introduced devices like the Leitmotiv, a musical theme which recurs for important characters or ideas. Wagner (and Weber) based his operas of German history and