Opera
-
The Life You Give: Renata Scotto *1934
Renata Scotto’s long and successful operatic career was marked by a rare combination of dramatic intensity and vocal flexibility, which allowed her to traverse a wide variety of styles. She believed strongly in the theatrical elements of performing and always focused her energies on the meaning of a text. She also felt much of the…
-
The Virtuous Black XXII: Shirley Verrett
Shirley Verrett (accent on the last syllable, VerrETT) was one of America’s finest opera stars and recital singers, and was one of the remarkable generation of great African-American singers who came to international prominence in the 1950s and 1960s. She studied voice in Los Angeles with Anna Fitziu and Hall Johnson. In 1955, she won…
-
The Life You Give: Alban Berg *1885
Alban Berg, born Alban Maria Johannes Berg, on February 9 1885, in Vienna, Austria, is the composer who wrote atonal and 12-tone compositions that remained true to late 19th-century Romanticism. He composed orchestral music (including Five Orchestral Songs, 1912), chamber music, songs, and two groundbreaking operas, Wozzeck (1925) and Lulu (1937). Apart from a few…
-
The Life You Give: Marcello Giordani *1963
Marcello Giordani was widely regarded as a standout among his generation’s operatic tenors, both for his numerous acclaimed performances at the world’s major operatic venues, including more than 240 at the Met, and for his many highly praised recordings. He was well known for several roles in the operas of Verdi and Puccini, but he…
-
The Life You Give: Marilyn Horne *1934
Marilyn Horne, born January 16, 1934 in Bradford, Pennsylvania, was one of the most admired singers of her generation, and was a major factor in the bel canto revival of the 1960s. While she was especially associated with the works of Rossini and Handel (she persuaded the Metropolitan Opera to mount Rinaldo for her in…
-
The Live You Give: Sherrill Milnes *1935
Sherrill Milnes was born on January 10, 1935, and grew up on a dairy farm in Downers Grove, Illinois. Despite a childhood devoted to daily chores, he took voice lessons and studied piano, violin, viola, double bass, clarinet, and tuba. But when it came time for college, he pursued pre-medical studies. After a year and…
-
The Life You Give: Edita Gruberova *1946
Edita Gruberova, born December 23, 1946, in Bratislava, was a Slovak soprano and one of the most acclaimed coloraturas of recent decades. She is noted for her great tonal clarity, agility, and ability to sing high notes with great power, making her an ideal Queen of the Night in her early years. In recent years,…
-
The Life You Give: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf *1915
Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, born Dec. 9, 1915, in Jarotschin, near Posen, Germany, [now Poznań, Poland] was a soprano who performed in the major opera houses of the Western world and is remembered especially for her mastery of German songs known as lieder. Schwarzkopf studied at the Berlin High School for Music from 1934, winning various…
-
La Damnation de Faust (Berlioz) premiered today in 1846
“La Damnation de Faust” Opus 24Dramatic Legend for four soloists, children’s chorus, seven-part choir, and orchestra Composer: Hector Berlioz Librettists: Hector Berlioz, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, & Almire GandonnièrePremiere: December 6 1846 On this recording: Kenneth Riegel —- Tenor [Faust]José van Dam —- Bass [Méphistophélès]Frederica von Stade —- Mezzo-soprano [Marguerite] Malcolm King —- Bass [Brander]…
-
“Samson and Delilah” by Camille Saint-Saëns (premiered 12.2.1877)
Opera, Blood, and Tears presents Samson and Delilah (by Camille Saint-Saëns)December w at 11:55pm ESTon Clubhouse Composer: Camille Saint-Saëns Librettist: Ferdinand Lemaire ACT I Gaza, 1150 B.C. In a square in Gaza, a group of Hebrews beg Jehovah for relief from their bondage to the Philistines; Samson, their leader, rebukes them for their lack of…
-
The Life You Give: Maria Callas *1923
Maria Callas, original name Maria Cecilia Sophia Anna Kalogeropoulos, born December 2, 1923, New York, New York, was an American-born Greek operatic soprano who revived classical coloratura roles in the mid-20th century with her lyrical and dramatic versatility. Callas was the daughter of Greek immigrants and early developed an interest in singing. Accompanied by her…
-
The Life You Give: Gaetano Donizetti *1797
Gaetano Donizetti, born on Nov. 29, 1797, in Bergamo, Cisalpine Republic, was an Italian opera composer whose numerous operas in both Italian and French represent a transitional stage in operatic development between Rossini and Verdi. Among his major works are Lucia di Lammermoor (1835), La fille du régiment (1840), and La favorite (1840). In his…
-
The Life You Give: Virgil Thomson *1896
Virgil Thomson, (born November 25, 1896, Kansas City, Missouri, USA ), American composer, conductor, and music critic whose forward-looking ideas stimulated new lines of thought among contemporary musicians. Thomson studied at Harvard University and later in Paris with Nadia Boulanger, a noted teacher of musical composition. There he was influenced by early 20th-century French composers,…
Sila Blume 