What is "croesus"

Croesus \Cr[oe]"sus\ (kr[=e]"s[u^]s), n. [L., fr. G. Kroi^sos.] A king of Lydia who flourished in the 6th century b. c., and was renowned for his vast wealth; hence, a common appellation for a very rich man; as, he is a veritable Cr[oe]sus.

from Latinized form of Greek Kroisis, 6c. B.C.E. king of Lydia in Asia Minor, famously wealthy; hence "rich man" or in other allusions to riches, from late 14c.

Croesus ( ; , Kroisos; 595 BC – c. 546 BC) was the king of Lydia who, according to Herodotus, reigned for fourteen years: from 560 BC until his defeat by the Persian king Cyrus the Great in 546 BC (sometimes given as 547 BC).

Croesus was renowned for his wealth—Herodotus and Pausanias noted his gifts were preserved at Delphi. The fall of Croesus made a profound impact on the Greeks, providing a fixed point in their calendar. "By the fifth century at least," J.A.S. Evans has remarked, "Croesus had become a figure of myth, who stood outside the conventional restraints of chronology."

Der hochmütige, gestürzte und wieder erhabene Croesus (The Proud, Overthrown and Again Exalted Croesus) is a three-act opera (described as a "Singe-Spiel") composed by Reinhard Keiser. The German language libretto by Lucas von Bostel was based on Nicolò Minato's 1678 dramma per musica Creso, the music for which was composed by the Emperor Leopold I.

Keiser's Croesus received its first performance at the Theater am Gänsemarkt, Hamburg, in 1711 (exact date unknown). Later, the composer extensively revised the opera for a new version, which premièred at the same theatre on 6 December 1730. In the process, he discarded much of the original material, and, in consequence, only the 1730 version has survived in complete form.

The first performance in modern times was given in 1990 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris (conductor René Clemencic), and first full performance in turn was given in 1999 at the Berlin State Opera (conductor: René Jacobs). The first British performance was given, in English, by Opera North on 17 October 2007, at the Grand Theatre, Leeds. It was conducted by Harry Bicket, designed by Leslie Travers and directed by Tim Albery. The opera received its North American premiere on 1 March 2008, when Albery's production was performed (in German) by the Minnesota Opera at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts.

Croesus (French: Crésus) is a 1960 French comedy film directed by Jean Giono and starring Fernandel, Marcelle Ranson-Hervé and Rellys.