In the Meiji period, the modern regional system was made by Imperial decree. Japan was divided into regions ("chihō "), including the Kantō region. A regional council ("chihō gyōsei kyōgisai") was headed by the governor of the most powerful prefecture in the regional grouping. The council also included regional chiefs of central government ministries.
Over time, Kantō developed its own regional dialects, customs and unique traditional culture.
The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area. The Kantō covers seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa.
North and South subdivisions are sometimes used:
East and West subdivisions are sometimes used:
Inland and Coastal subdivisions are sometimes used:
The Japanese national government defines the as the Kantō region plus Yamanashi Prefecture.
Japan's national public broadcaster NHK defines the which includes Yamanashi, Nagano and Niigata Prefectures for regional programming.
Der Hölle Rache
"Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" () is an aria for the Queen of the Night in Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute" (). Mozart's friend Emanuel Schikaneder wrote the words. The aria is written in D minor. The voice ranges over two octaves. It is known for being difficult to perform well. Mozart's sister-in-law Josepha Hofer was the first to sing the aria on stage.
The Queen of the Night is a role for a coloratura soprano. She has two arias in the opera. The other is "Oh, tremble not, my beloved son" ("). Both arias are famous. "Hell's vengeance" is highly memorable, fast paced and menacingly grandiose.
The aria is written in D minor. It is scored for pairs of flutes, oboes, bassoons, horns, trumpets, timpani, and the string section. It is a larger orchestra than that for """. It comprises all the players from the opera as a whole, except the clarinets and trombones.
The aria is sung in act 2. It is famous for being difficult to perform well. The Queen of the Night is in a fit of rage. She gives a knife to her daughter Pamina. She tells her to kill the priest Sarastro. If she refuses, the Queen will curse her. The aria's range is two octaves, from F to F and requires a very high tessitura.
The first singer to perform the aria onstage was Mozart's sister-in-law Josepha Hofer. She was 33. Mozart wrote the two "Magic Flute" arias to showcase her voice. He was very impressed with Hofer's performance. In the fifth week of the opera's run, Mozart lay dying. He whispered to his wife Constanze on December 4, 1791: "Quiet, quiet! Hofer is just taking her top F; – now my sister-in-law is singing her second aria, "Der Hölle Rache"; how strongly she strikes and holds the B-flat: ""
The words were written (in German) by Mozart's friend Emanuel Schikaneder, who also played Papageno in the first performances.
Se vuol ballare
The cavatina "Se vuol ballare" is an aria from "The Marriage of Figaro" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The lyrics are by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It portrays Figaro's intent to foil Count Almaviva's womanizing, but can also be read as a political attack on the power-wielding nobility of the time.
The song is sung in act 1. Figaro discovers Count Almaviva intends to exercise his feudal right to sleep with Figaro's wife Susanna before they consummate their marriage. Figaro sings of how he will unravel the Count's schemes and thwart him.
Beethoven wrote a series of 12 variations on the theme of "Se vuol ballare". It bears the Number WoO 40 (=Werk ohne Opuszahl, work without opus number)
Lorenzo da Ponte
Lorenzo da Ponte (10 March 1749 – 17 August 1838) was an opera librettist and poet. He is best known for having written the libretti for three of Mozart's operas, "The Marriage of Figaro", "Don Giovanni", and "Così fan tutte".
Da Ponte was born Emanuele Conegliano to Jewish parents near Venice, Italy. He became a Christian, and took the name Lorenzo da Ponte from the bishop who baptized him. He became a priest at the church of San Luca in Venice. He took Anzoletta Bellaudi as his mistress. They ran a brothel. Da Ponte was banished from Venice for 15 years. He went to Austria where he became court librettist to Emperor Joseph II.
About 1792, da Ponte married Ann Celestine Grahl. They had four children. When Joseph II died, da Ponte lost his job. He went to London. He got into debt, and went to the United States. He ran a grocery store in Pennsylvania for a short time. He moved to New York City and opened a bookstore. He became the first professor of Italian literature at Columbia College. He produced "Don Giovanni" in New York in 1826. In 1828, da Ponte became a naturalized US citizen.
Da Ponte died in 1838 in New York. His funeral was held in New York's old St. Patrick's Cathedral. His final resting place is uncertain. All of da Ponte's libretti were adaptations of pre-existing plots, except "L'arbore di Diana" and "Così fan tutte". His adaptations are of the highest order. The Don Giovanni character was given new life in da Ponte's hands. The character is now considered the archetypical libertine.
Magnetic pendulum
A magnetic pendulum is an experiment where a metal ball on a thread (a pendulum) can be influenced by a number of magnets on the ground. The length of the rope is such that the ball cannot touch the magnets, but is still influenced by them. If the ball is moved, its movement will be influenced by both gravitation and the fields the magnets generate. If the movement is so large that the ball can get outside the influence of the magnets, the resulting movement will look irregular.
Amahl and the Night Visitors
Amahl and the Night Visitors is a one-act opera. The words and music were written by Gian Carlo Menotti. Menotti took inspiration from Hieronymus Bosch's "The Adoration of the Magi", a painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
It was the first opera written for television. Its first performance was on Christmas Eve 1951 on NBC. It was the first show in the famous "Hallmark Hall of Fame" series. About five million people watched the program. It was the largest audience to ever see an opera on television. "Amahl" was shown every year until 1966.
Menotti wanted Amahl to always be performed by a boy. He wrote, "It is the express wish of the composer that the role of Amahl should always be performed by a boy. Neither the musical nor the dramatic concept of the opera permits the substitution of a woman costumed as a child."
Amahl is a crippled shepherd boy who uses a crutch. He sees a huge star in the night sky. His mother thinks he is lying and sends him to bed. She worries that they will become beggars.
There is a knock at the door. Three kings ask for a place to rest. They are on their way to Bethlehem to find a newborn child. Amahl pesters them with many questions. Shepherds arrive to dance for the kings. The kings grow sleepy and the shepherds go home.
The room is dark and everyone is asleep. The mother tries to steal a piece of gold from the kings. She is caught by their servant. Amahl wakes and beats the servant. He falls exhausted. The kings tell the mother to keep the gold. They tell her the wonderful baby they are seeking has no need for gold because his kingdom is Heaven.
Amahl offers his crutch to this wonderful baby. He takes a few stumbling steps. A miracle has occurred. He can walk. He leaves with the kings to give his crutch to the baby himself. His mother waves good-bye.
The Medium