Nabokov, Nicolas [Nikolay]

Nelbeland.

See Neweland.

Nelepp, Georgy

(b Bobruika, Ukraine, 20 April 1904; d Moscow, 18 June 1957). Russian tenor. He studied at the Leningrad Conservatory and made his début, as Lensky, with the Kirov in 1930, remaining with the company until 1944. In that year he moved to the Bol'shoy, where he had his most significant success. Nelepp possessed a lyric-dramatic tenor capable of an amazing range and intensity of expression, making him an ideal exponent of such roles as Florestan, Gustavus III, Manrico, Radames, Don José, Sobinin (A Life for the Tsar), Dmitry (Boris Godunov), Golitsïn (Khovanshchina), Yury (The Enchantress), Hermann, Andrey (Mazepa) and Sadko, several of which he recorded. He sang in approximately 20 complete opera sets, among which his agonized portrayal of the obsessive Hermann in the Melodiya recording of The Queen of Spades is an unrivalled achievement.

ALAN BLYTH

Nelhybel, Vaclav

(b Polanka nad Odrou, Czechoslovakia, 24 Sept 1919; d Scranton, PA, 22 March 1996). American composer of Czech birth. He studied classics and musicology at Prague University and conducting and composition at the Prague Conservatory. In 1942 he continued his musicological studies at Fribourg University in Switzerland, where he taught music theory from 1947. He also held conducting positions with Radio Prague and the Stadttheater (1939–42), the Czech PO (1945–6), Swiss Radio (1946–50) and Radio Free Europe (1950–57). In 1957 he emigrated to the USA, becoming an American citizen in 1962. He taught at the University of Lowell, Massachusetts (1978–9) and the University of Scranton, Pennsylvania (1994–6), where he co-founded the World Premiere Composition Series.

Nelhybel’s many wind and band works are designed for young performers. Synthesizing several musical styles by incorporating various elements from existing systems, his music demonstrates a linear-modal orientation in which functional tonality does not apply. An interaction of autonomous melodic lines and complementary rhythmic patterns creates a vigorous drive that is the hallmark of his style. This whirlwind propulsion is the result of a generation of tension through the accumulation of dissonance; increases in textural density; and the use of a wide range of dynamics and timbres. Thematic material was often borrowed from his Czech heritage. The Music for Orchestra and Woodwind Quintet (1987), for example, quotes his favourite Slovak folksong and a well-known Bohemian chorale.

WORKS

Stage: Morality e feux (ballet), 1942; Cock and the Hangman (ballet), 1946; In the Shadow of a Lime Tree (ballet), 1946; Legend (op), 1954; Everyman (op), 1974; Station (op), 1978

Vocal: Cantata pacis, 6 solo vv, chorus, wind, perc, org, 1965; Epitaph for a Soldier (W. Whitman), solo vv, chorus, 1966; Dies ultima, 3 solo vv, chorus, jazz band, orch, 1967; Sine nomine, 4 solo vv, chorus, orch, tape, 1968; America Sings, Bar, chorus, band, 1974; Estampie natalis, chorus, ens, 1975; Adoratio, chorus, 1979; Fables for all Time, nar, chorus, orch, 1980; Let there be Music, Bar, chorus, orch, 1982; songs; anthems

Sym. band/wind ens: Caucasian Passacaglia, 1963; Conc. antiphonale, brass, 1964; Sym. Requiem, with Bar, 1965; Festivo, 1969; Yamaha Conc., 1971; Concertino da camera, vc, wind, pf, 1972; Toccata, hpd, wind, perc, 1972; Cantus and Ludus, pf, wind, perc, 1973; Dialogues, with pf, 1976; Counterpoint no.2, trbn, perc, 1979; Ritual, 1979; Music, 12 tpt, wind, 1980; Sinfonia resurrectionis, 1980; Conc., grosso, 1981; Ps xii, wind, perc, 1981; Cl Conc., 1982; Concertante, 1982; Trittico, 1993; Conc., t trbn, b trbn, wind ens, 1995

Orch: Sym., 1942; Etude symphonique, 1949; Sinfonietta concertante, 1960; Va Conc., 1962; Houston Conc., 1967; Polyphonies, 1972; Polyphonic Variations, tpt, str, 1976; Slavonic Triptych, 1976; Music for Orch and Ww Qnt, 1987; Conc., b trbn, orch/band, 1992

Chbr: Wind Qnt [no.1], 1948; Str Qt [no.1], 1949; Wind Qnt [no.2], 1958; Wind Qnt [no.3], 1960; Brass Qnt [no.1], 1961; Str Qt [no.2], 1962; Brass Qnt [no.2], 1965; Quintetto concertante, vn, tpt, trbn, xyl, pf, 1965; Conc., perc, 1972; Conc. spirituoso nos.1–4, 1974–7; Ludus, 3 tubas, 1975; Music, 6 tpt, 1975; Praeambulum, org, timp, 1977; Variations, hp, 1977; Oratio no.2, ob, str trio, 1979; Sonate da chiesa; many other small chbr works; many pf and org pieces

Many pieces for children; arrs. of own works

Principal publishers: Barta, Belwin-Mills, Christopher, General, Kirby, Presser

BIBLIOGRAPHY

P.L. Boonshaft: Vaclav Nelhybel: a Biographical Study and Survey of his Compositions with an Analysis for Performance of ‘Caucasian Passacaglia’ (diss., U. of Hartford, Connecticut, 1991)

J.D. Knapp: Vaclav Nelhybel: his Life, Influences on his Compositional Style and a Review of his Published Choral Compositions (diss., U. of Missouri, Kansas City, 1991)

JAMES P. CASSARO

Nelli, Herva

(b Florence, 1909; d Sharon, CT, 31 May 1994). American soprano of Italian birth. She was taken by her parents to the USA when she was 12 and trained at Pittsburgh. Her earliest appearances were with the Salmaggi Company at the Brooklyn Academy in 1946, where she sang Norma, Leonora (Il trovatore) and Aida. Then she sang with La Scala company of Philadelphia (1946–7), adding Santuzza and Gioconda to her repertory. She was introduced to Toscanini by Licia Albanese and he immediately cast her as Desdemona for a concert performance of Otello. This was recorded, as were her subsequent performances with Toscanini in Aida, Falstaff (Alice Ford), Un ballo in maschera and Verdi's Requiem. Nelli made her Metropolitan début, as Aida, in 1953 and appeared there until 1961. She also appeared in Verdi roles at San Francisco, New Orleans and Chicago. In 1948 she sang Gioconda in Genoa and Aida at La Scala, following her appearance there with Toscanini in a concert to mark the reopening of the house. She possessed a firm, technically secure, if not strikingly individual, spinto voice; under Toscanini's tutelage, her interpretations were often shapely and eloquent.

ALAN BLYTH