The Record of Singing is a compilation of classical-music singing from the first half of the 20th century, the era of the 78-rpm record.
It was issued on
LPThe LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
(with accompanying books) by
EMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, successor to the British company His Master's Voice (better known as HMV) — perhaps the leading organization in the early history of audio recording.
The project was accompanied initially by two illustrated books, containing singers' biographies and appraisals, which were published in London, by Duckworth, in the late 1970s. It covers the period running from circa 1900, when the earliest recordings were made, through until the early 1950s, when the last 78-rpm records were produced. Singers are divided into groups arranged according to national 'schools' and
fach or
voice typeA voice type is a particular kind of human singing voice perceived as having certain identifying qualities or characteristics. Voice classification is the process by which human voices are evaluated and are thereby designated into voice types...
. In practice, this means that there are separate Italian, German, French, Anglo-American and East European classifications.
Rather than concentrating on famous singers whose recordings are widely available elsewhere,
The Record of Singing includes a large number of lesser-known artists in order to give a broad picture of the contemporary operatic world. Vocal artists of such lasting renown as Enrico Caruso,
Nellie MelbaDame Nellie Melba GBE , born Helen "Nellie" Porter Mitchell, was an Australian operatic soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian Era and the early 20th century...
,
Titta RuffoTitta Ruffo , born as Ruffo Titta Cafiero, was an Italian opera star who had a major international singing career. Known as the "Voce del leone" , he was greatly admired, even by rival baritones, such as Giuseppe De Luca, who said of Ruffo: "His was not a voice, it was a miracle" Titta Ruffo (9...
,
Feodor ChaliapinFeodor Ivanovich Chaliapin was a Russian opera singer. The possessor of a large and expressive bass voice, he enjoyed an important international career at major opera houses and is often credited with establishing the tradition of naturalistic acting in his chosen art form.During the first phase...
,
Kirsten FlagstadKirsten Målfrid Flagstad was a Norwegian opera singer and a highly regarded Wagnerian soprano...
,
Rosa PonselleRosa Ponselle , was an American operatic soprano with a large, opulent voice. She sang mainly at the New York Metropolitan Opera and is generally considered by music critics to have been one of the greatest sopranos of the past 100 years.-Early life:She was born Rosa Ponzillo on January 22, 1897,...
and
Maria CallasMaria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...
are thus represented but by only a few recordings in each case. Nonetheless, no such compilation can ever be exhaustive in scope, and the project has been criticised from time to time since its initial release for overlooking a few important singers who, while largely forgotten today, were highly talented performers that once enjoyed substantial careers and made records of enduring artistic merit.
Origins
The original idea for the series came from the collector Vivian Liff, who chose the recordings used in the first two volumes, almost all of which came from the Stuart-Liff Collection, as well as the photographs of the singers which were published in the books that accompanied volumes 1 and 2 of the project.
Michael ScottMichael Scott is the founder of the London Opera Society. In his role as the society's sole artistic director, he brought to London Marilyn Horne, Joan Sutherland, and Boris Christoff. He was also responsible for introducing Sherrill Milnes, Ruggero Raimondi, and Montserrat Caballe...
was asked to write these two books. They contained brief singers' biographies, too and featured a critical (sometimes controversial) commentary (see below) about their accomplishments, are gleaned from certain discs they had made. Bryan Crimp of EMI was responsible for the transfers of the original recorded material on to LP. Keith Hardwick, however, was responsible for the transfers, etc, on the final two volumes of the survey (which were not accompanied by books).
Publication on LPs
EMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
first released the collection on
vinylA gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
long playing records (LPs).
Volume 1 first appeared in 1977, with a second edition in 1982 including corrections to the pitch of many of the recordings. The supplement also appeared around 1982. Volume 2 was published in 1979. Volume 3 and Volume 4 were released around 1984 and 1989 respectively.
The complete set was on 47 discs. Volumes 1, 2 and 3 each occupied 13, with Volume 4 having 8 discs. The original intention was apparently to produce 12 LPs per volume; but the selection of singers included in Volume 1 proved controversial, and an extra record (entitled a 'Supplement') was added to partly correct oversights. Volumes 2 and 3 were then assigned 13 records each.
Compact discs
Volume 4 was republished on seven
compact discThe Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
s (CD) by EMI Classics under the title
The Record of Singing Volume Four in 1991. This was not apparently a commercial success and the firm did not proceed to reissue the first three volumes in the same format.
Volume 3, however, was subsequently republished in 1999 on 10 CDs by Testament under the title
The EMI Record of Singing Volume Three: 1926-1939. This was still available through retail outlets (as of 2010).
Two related sets, each containing 10 CDs, were issued by EMI Classics in 2009.
The Record of Singing, 1899-1952: The Very Best of Vols. 1-4 consists of selections previously released in the original four volumes of LPs.
The Record of Singing, Vol. 5: 1953-2007 - From the LP to the Digital Era is a new compilation which brings the series up to the present day. It has been criticised, however, for not being properly representative of non-EMI artists.
MP3 Download
Volume 2 is available as MP3 download on several internet platforms. The original LPs are now spread over 13 parts. Each part comes with an individual cover, resembling the original cover picture, but varying in color.
Documentation
The collection was published with extensive documentation, including the numbers of the original recordings and full biographies of the singers.
The first two volumes were accompanied by books by
Michael ScottMichael Scott is the founder of the London Opera Society. In his role as the society's sole artistic director, he brought to London Marilyn Horne, Joan Sutherland, and Boris Christoff. He was also responsible for introducing Sherrill Milnes, Ruggero Raimondi, and Montserrat Caballe...
:
The Record of Singing to 1914, London, Duckworth, 1977 ISBN 978-0-7156-1030-5
The Record of Singing Volume Two: 1914-1925, London, Duckworth, 1979
They were republished in paperback by Northeastern University Press in 1993, ISBN 978-1-55553-163-8
(The books are still widely available from second hand book sellers.)
The Record of Singing Volume 1 (1899-1919)
The Castrato Voice:
Alessandro MoreschiAlessandro Moreschi was the most famous castrato singer of the late 19th century, and the only castrato of the classic bel canto tradition to make solo sound recordings.-Life:...
The Old School:
Adelina PattiAdelina Patti was a highly acclaimed 19th-century opera singer, earning huge fees at the height of her career in the music capitals of Europe and America. She first sang in public as a child in 1851 and gave her last performance before an audience in 1914...
,
Emma AlbaniDame Emma Albani DBE was a leading soprano of the 19th century and early 20th century, and the first Canadian singer to become an international star. Her repertoire focused on the operas of Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini and Wagner...
,
Marcella SembrichMarcella Sembrich was the stage name of the Polish coloratura soprano, Prakseda Marcelina Kochańska...
Melba and the Marchesi Pupils:
Nellie MelbaDame Nellie Melba GBE , born Helen "Nellie" Porter Mitchell, was an Australian operatic soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian Era and the early 20th century...
,
Sigrid ArnoldsonSigrid Arnoldson was a Swedish opera singer with an active international career at the end of the 19th century and into the 20th. Possessing a fine coloratura soprano voice with a range of three octaves, music critics believed she was Jenny Lind's successor and dubbed her "the new Swedish...
,
Emma EamesEmma Eames was an American soprano renowned for the beauty of her voice. She sang major lyric and lyric-dramatic roles in opera and had an important career in New York, London and Paris during the last decade of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century.-Early life:The daughter of...
, Lilian Blauvelt,
Suzanne AdamsSuzanne Adams was an American lyric coloratura soprano. Known for her agile and pure voice, Adams first became well known in France before establishing herself as one of the Metropolitan Opera's leading sopranos at the beginning of the twentieth century.-Biography:Adams was born in Cambridge,...
,
Ellen Beach YawEllen Beach Yaw was an American coloratura soprano, best known for her concert singing career. She had an extraordinary vocal range and could produce unusually high notes. Known as "Lark Ellen" or "The California Nightingale," she was reportedly the only known soprano of her era who could sing...
,
Blanche MarchesiBlanche Marchesi was a French mezzo-soprano and voice teacher best known for her interpretations of the works of Richard Wagner...
English-speaking singers
Dramatic sopranos:
Agnes NichollsAgnes Nicholls was one of the greatest English sopranos of the 20th century, both in the concert hall and on the operatic stage....
,
Lillian NordicaLillian Nordica was an American opera singer who had a major stage career in Europe and her native country....
,
Olive FremstadOlive Fremstad was the stage name of Anna Olivia Rundquist, a celebrated Swedish-American opera diva who sang in both the mezzo-soprano and soprano ranges. -Background:...
,
Geraldine FarrarGeraldine Farrar was an American soprano opera singer and film actress, noted for her beauty, acting ability, and "the intimate timbre of her voice." She had a large following among young women, who were nicknamed "Gerry-flappers".- Early life and opera career :Farrar was born in Melrose,...
, Susan Strong,
Zélie de LussanZélie de Lussan was an American opera singer of French descent who was successful in her native country but made most of her career in England. The wide range of her voice allowed her to sing both mezzo-soprano and soprano roles. Among de Lussan's most famous roles was the title role in Georges...
Contraltos:
Louise HomerLouise Homer was an American operatic contralto who had an active international career in concert halls and opera houses from 1895 until her retirement in 1932. After a brief stint as a vaudeville entertainer in New England, she made her professional opera debut in France in 1898...
,
Louise Kirkby LunnLouise Kirkby Lunn was an English contralto. Sometimes classified as a mezzo-soprano, she was a leading English-born singer of the first two decades of the 20th century, earning praise for her performances in concert, oratorio and opera.-Training:Kirkby Lunn had her early vocal training in her...
,
Clara ButtDame Clara Ellen Butt DBE , sometimes called Clara Butt-Rumford after her marriage, was an English contralto with a remarkably imposing voice and a surprisingly agile singing technique. Her main career was as a recitalist and concert singer.-Early life and career:Clara Butt was born in Southwick,...
Tenors:
Edward LloydEdward Lloyd was a British tenor singer who excelled in concert and oratorio performance, and was recognised as a legitimate successor of John Sims Reeves as the foremost tenor exponent of that genre during the last quarter of the nineteenth century.- Early training in choral tradition :Edward...
, Ben Davies, Dan Beddoe, Evan Williams
Baritones and basses:
Charles SantleySir Charles Santley was an English-born opera and oratorio star with a bravuraFrom the Italian verb bravare, to show off. A florid, ostentatious style or a passage of music requiring technical skill technique who became the most eminent English baritone and male concert singer of the Victorian era...
,
George HenschelSir George Henschel , was a British baritone, pianist, conductor, and composer of German birth....
,
Harry Plunket GreeneHarry Plunket Greene was an Irish baritone singer who was most famous in the formal concert and oratorio repertoire. He made a great contribution to British musical life also by writing and lecturing upon his art, and in the field of competitions and examinations...
, Robert Watkin-Mills, Andrew Black,
David BisphamDavid Scull Bispham was the first American–born operatic baritone to win an international reputation.- Early life and family:...
,
Emilio de GogorzaEmilio Eduardo de Gogorza was an American baritone of Spanish parentage.He was born in Brooklyn, New York, but brought up and trained musically in Spain. He returned to the USA in his early 20s. He sang in many languages, including French, Italian and English, as well as Spanish...
,
Clarence WhitehillClarence Whitehill was a leading American bass-baritone. He sang on both sides of the Atlantic and is best remembered for his association with the music dramas of Richard Wagner....
The French
Tenors: Émile Scaremberg,
Charles DalmorèsCharles Dalmorès was a French tenor. He enjoyed an international operatic career, singing to public and critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic during the first two decades of the 20th century.-Biography:...
,
Lucien MuratoreLucien Muratore was a French actor and operatic tenor, particularly associated with the French repertory.- Life and career :...
, Charles Rousselière
Lyric tenors:
Victor CapoulJoseph Victor Amédée Capoul, born in Toulouse on 27 February 1839 and died in Pujaudran on 18 February 1924, was a French operatic tenor with a lyric voice and a graceful singing style.-Career:Victor Capoul began his studies in Toulouse...
,
Edmond ClémentEdmond Clément was a French lyric tenor who earned an international reputation due to the polished artistry of his singing....
,
Adolphe MaréchalAdolphe Maréchal was a Belgian tenor whose career in the French and Italian repertoire took him to France and England.-Life and career:...
, Albert Vaguet
High Cs and Heroic Voices:
Léon EscalaisLéon Escalaïs was a prominent Gallic tenor, particularly associated with French and Italian heroic roles...
,
Agustarello AffréAgustarello Affré was a French operatic tenor. He possessed a powerful and firm voice which garnered him the nickname the "French Tamagno" in comparison to the great Italian tenor. He was one of the leading operatic tenors in Paris from 1890-1911. He spent the last years of his career singing and...
, Georges Imbart de la Tour, Albert Alvarez
Baritones: Jean Lasalle,
Victor MaurelVictor Maurel was a French operatic baritone who enjoyed an international reputation as a great singing-actor.-Biography:...
,
Maurice RenaudMaurice Renaud , was a cultured French operatic baritone. He enjoyed an international reputation for the superlative quality of his singing and the brilliance of his acting.-Early years:...
, Henri Albers,
Jean NotéJean-Baptiste Noté was a Belgian operatic baritone. He graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Ghent in 1884 with first prizes in singing and lyrical declamation. He made his professional opera debut in 1885 at the Opéra de Lille as Lord Enrico Ashton in Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor...
,
Léon MelchissédecLéon Melchissédec was a French baritone who enjoyed a long career in the French capital across a broad range of operatic genres, and later made some recordings and also taught at the Paris Conservatoire.-Life and Career:He played second violin in the Théâtre de Saint-Étienne before coming to Paris...
,
Lucien FugèreLucien Fugère was a French baritone, particularly associated with the French repertory and Mozart roles, he enjoyed an exceptionally long career, singing into his 80s.- Life and career :...
,
Gabriel SoulacroixGabriel-Valentin Soulacroix was a French operatic baritone...
,
Jean PérierJean Périer was a French operatic baritone and actor. Although he sang principally within the operetta repertoire, Périer did portray a number of opera roles; mostly within operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Giacomo Puccini...
, Charles Gilibert
Basses:
Pol PlançonPol-Henri Plançon was a distinguished French operatic bass . He was one of the most acclaimed singers active during the 1880s, 1890s and early 20th century—a period often referred to as the "Golden Age of Opera".In addition to being among the earliest international opera stars to have made...
,
Edouard de ReszkeÉdouard de Reszke, originally Edward, was a Polish bass from Warsaw. Born with an impressive natural voice and equipped with compelling histrionic skills, he became one of the most illustrious opera singers active in Europe and America during the late-Victorian Era.-Career:Édouard de Reszke was...
, Pedro Gailhard, Jean-François Delmas, Juste Nivette, Hippolyte Belhomme
Dramatic Sopranos:
Emma CalvéEmma Calvé, born Rosa Emma Calvet , was a French operatic soprano.Calvé was probably the most famous French female opera singer of the Belle Époque. Hers was an international career, and she sang regularly and to considerable acclaim at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, and the Royal Opera...
,
Félia LitvinneFélia Litvinne was a Russian-born, French-based dramatic soprano. She was particularly associated with Wagnerian roles, although she also sang a wide range of parts by other opera composers....
,
Aino AcktéAino Ackté was a Finnish soprano. She was the first international star of the Finnish opera scene after Alma Fohström, and a groundbreaker for the domestic field....
,
Mary GardenMary Garden , was a Scottish operatic soprano with a substantial career in France and America in the first third of the 20th century...
Lyric sopranos: Julia Guiraudon, Marguerite Carré, Lucette Korsoff, Lise Landouzy,
Alice VerletAlice Verlet was a Belgian-born operatic coloratura soprano active primarily in France. She sang principal roles at the operas in Lyon, Nice, and Monte Carlo; at His Majesty's Theater in London; at La Monnaie in Brussels; and at the Paris Opéra and Opéra-Comique...
,
Blanche ArralBlanche Arral was a Belgian coloratura soprano. Born Clara Lardinois, she studied under Mathilde Graumann Marchesi in Paris. She debuted in a small part in the 1884 world premiere of Jules Massenet's Manon. Arral performed in various opera houses in Brussels, Paris and St. Petersburg before moving...
Contraltos:
Blanche Deschamps-JéhinBlanche Deschamps-Jéhin was a French operatic contralto who had a prolific career in France from 1879-1905. She possessed a rich-toned and flexible voice that had a wide vocal range...
, Marie Delna,
Jeanne Gerville-RéacheJeanne Gerville-Réache was a French operatic contralto from the Belle Époque. She possessed a remarkably beautiful voice, an excellent singing technique, and wide vocal range which enabled her to perform several roles traditionally associated with mezzo-sopranos in addition to contralto parts...
The Emergence of Verismo
'La Gloria d'Italia':
Mattia BattistiniMattia Battistini was an Italian operatic baritone. He became internationally famous due to the beauty of his voice and the virtuosity of his singing technique, and he earned the sobriquet "King of Baritones".-Early life:...
,
Antonio CotogniAntonio Cotogni was an Italian baritone of the first magnitude. Regarded internationally as being one of the greatest male opera singers of the 19th century, he was particularly admired by the composer Giuseppe Verdi...
, Giuseppe Kaschmann, Francesco D'Andrade, Antonio Magini-Coletti, Giuseppe Pacini,
Mario AnconaMario Ancona , was a leading Italian baritone and master of bel canto singing. He appeared at some of the most important opera houses in Europe and America during what is commonly referred to as the "Golden Age of Opera".-Career:Ancona was born into a middle-class Jewish family at Livorno, Tuscany,...
Scotti, de Luca and Pini-Corsi:
Antonio ScottiAntonio Scotti was an Italian baritone. He was a principal artist of the New York Metropolitan Opera for more than 33 seasons, but also sang with great success at London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and Milan's La Scala.-Life:Antonio Scotti was born in Naples, Italy...
,
Giuseppe De LucaGiuseppe De Luca , was a famous Italian baritone who achieved his greatest triumphs at the New York Metropolitan Opera...
,
Antonio Pini-CorsiAntonio Pini-Corsi was an Italian operatic baritone of international renown. He possessed a ripe-toned voice of great flexibility and displayed tremendous skill at patter singing...
Verismo triumphant: Eugenio Giraldoni,
Mario Sammarco Mario Sammarco was an Italian operatic baritone noted for his histrionic ability.-Biography:...
,
Pasquale AmatoPasquale Amato was an outstanding Italian operatic baritone. Amato enjoyed an international reputation but attained the peak of his fame in New York City, where he sang with the Metropolitan Opera from 1908 until 1921....
,
Titta RuffoTitta Ruffo , born as Ruffo Titta Cafiero, was an Italian opera star who had a major international singing career. Known as the "Voce del leone" , he was greatly admired, even by rival baritones, such as Giuseppe De Luca, who said of Ruffo: "His was not a voice, it was a miracle" Titta Ruffo (9...
The basso: Francesco Navarini, Goivanni Gravina, Andres de Segurola,
Adamo DidurAdamo Didur was a top-class Polish operatic bass vocalist. He sang extensively in opera in Europe and appeared at New York's Metropolitan Opera from 1908 to 1932.-Career:...
Tradition and the Italian tenor:
Francesco MarconiFrancesco Marconi was an operatic tenor from Rome who enjoyed an important international career. In 1924, a reputable biographical dictionary of musicians called him 'one of the most renowned and esteemed singers of the last 50 years'...
, Fernando Valero,
Fernando De LuciaFernando De Lucia was an Italian opera tenor and singing teacher who enjoyed an international career....
, Francesco Vignas,
Florencio ConstantinoFlorencio Constantino was a Spanish operatic tenor.-Biography:He was born as Florencio Constantineau on April 9, 1869 in Bilbao, Spain. He moved to Argentina in 1889. He had a nervous breakdown and died on November 19, 1919 in Mexico City.-External links:...
Lyric tenors:
Alessandro BonciAlessandro Bonci was an Italian lyric tenor known internationally for his association with the bel canto repertoire. He sang at many famous theatres, including New York's Metropolitan Opera, Milan's La Scala and London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.-Career:A native of Cesena, Romagna, Bonci...
,
Giuseppe AnselmiGiuseppe Anselmi was an Italian operatic tenor. He became famous throughout Europe during the first decade of the 20th century for his stylish performances of lyric roles. He never sang in the United States....
, Aristodemo Giorgini, Edoardo Garbin
Dramatic tenors:
Francesco TamagnoFrancesco Tamagno was an operatic tenor from Italy who sang with enormous success throughout Europe and America. On 5 February 1887, he cemented his place in musical history by creating the role of Otello in Giuseppe Verdi's masterpiece of the same name...
, Giovanni de Negri, Giuseppe Borgatti, Fiorello Giraud, Amadeo Bassi,
Giovanni ZenatelloGiovanni Zenatello was an Italian opera singer. Born in Verona, he enjoyed an international career as a dramatic tenor of the first rank. Otello became his most famous operatic role but he sang a wide repertoire. In 1904, he created the part of Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly.-Career:Zenatello...
, Antonio Paoli, Enrico Caruso
Sopranos 'B.C.': Ines de Frate, Elena Teodorini, Fanny Torresella,
Medea Mei-FignerNikolay Figner , lyric tenor, and Medea Figner , mezzo-soprano, later soprano, were a renowned husband-and-wife team of opera singers active in Russia between 1889 and 1904. Medea was Italian-born but she became competely Russianized after marrying Nikolay...
,
Olimpia BoronatOlimpia Boronat was an Italian operatic coloratura soprano, noted for her performances of the soprano roles in the bel canto repertory.Boronat was born in Genoa, and made her debut either there or in Naples during 1885...
,
Ada AdiniAda Adini was an American operatic soprano who had an active international career from 1876 up into the first decade of the 20th century. She possessed a large, expressive voice which enabled her to sing a broad range of roles that extended from the coloratura soprano repertoire to dramatic...
After Cavalleria:
Gemma BellincioniGemma Bellincioni was an Italian soprano and one of the best-known opera singers of the late 19th century. She had a particular affinity with the verismo repertoire and was renowned more for her charismatic acting than for the quality of her voice.-Her career:Matilda Cesira was Bellincioni's real...
, Angelica Pandolfini, Emma Carelli, Cesira Ferrani,
Lina CavalieriLina Cavalieri was an Italian operatic soprano and diseuse known for her grace and beauty.-Biography:...
,
Rosina StorchioRosina Storchio was an important Italian lyric soprano who starred in the world premieres of operas by Puccini, Leoncavallo, Mascagni and Giordano...
, Salomea Krusceniski, Teresa Arkel, Amelia Pinto, Janina Korolewicz-Wayda
Four dramatic sopranos: Maria de Macchi,
Eugenia BurzioEugenia Burzio was an Italian operatic soprano known for her vibrant voice and passionate style of singing.She was particularly prominent in the verismo repertoire, creating the role of Delia Terzaghi in Ruggero Leoncavallo's Goffredo Mameli as well as singing Minnie in the Italian premiere of...
,
Giannina RussGiannina Russ was an Italian operatic soprano, particularly associated with the Italian repertory.-Life and career:Russ studied piano and voice at the Milan Music Conservatory with Leoni....
,
Celestina BoninsegnaCelestina Boninsegna was an Italian operatic soprano, known for her interpretations of the heroines in Verdi's operas. Although particularly eminent in Verdi's works, she sang a wide repertoire during her 25-year career, including Rosaura in the world premiere of Mascagni's Le maschere...
Tetrazzini and some 'coloraturas':
Luisa TetrazziniLuisa Tetrazzini was an Italian coloratura soprano of great international fame.Tetrazzini's voice was remarkable for its phenomenal flexibility, thrust, steadiness and thrilling tone...
, Regina Pacini, Josefina Huguet,
Maria GalvanyMaria Galvany or María Galvany was a Spanish coloratura soprano notable for her showy, virtuoso singing technique. Her career, however, ended in obscurity.-Her biography and operatic engagements:...
Italian contraltos: Guerrina Fabbri,
Eugenia MantelliEugenia Mantelli was an Italian opera singer who had a prolific career in Europe, the United States, and South America from the 1880s through the early part of the twentieth century...
, Armida Paris-Pettinella,
Maria GayMaria Gay was a Catalan opera singer, a mezzo-soprano born as Maria de Lourdes Lucia Antonia Pichot Gironés. She has sometimes been referred to as Maria Gay Zenatello.-Biography:...
Wagner and the German Style
The instrumental example:
Irene Abendroth,
Margarethe SiemsMargarethe Siems was a German operatic soprano and voice teacher. A Kammersängerin of the Dresden State Opera, between 1909 and 1912 Siems created leading roles in three operas by Richard Strauss: Chrysothemis in Elektra, the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier, and Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf...
, Erika Wedekind,
Hermine BosettiHermine Bosetti née von Flick , was a German coloratura soprano.Bosetti sang her debut in Wiesbaden as "Ännchen" in Der Freischütz. In 1900 she was a member of the Vienna State Opera and from 1901 until 1924 she was a star singer with the Bavarian State Opera...
,
Marie Gutheil-SchoderMarie Gutheil-Schoder was one of the most important German sopranos of her day.Born Marie Schoder, in 1899 she married Gustav Gutheil, with whom she lived until his death in 1914....
, Hedwig Francillo-Kaufmann, Gertrude Forstel,
Frieda HempelFrieda Hempel was a German soprano singer in operatic and concert work who had an international career in Europe and the United States.-Biography:...
,
Selma KurzSelma Kurz was an Austrian operatic soprano known for her brilliant coloratura technique.-Background:...
Lilli Lehmann:
Lilli LehmannLilli Lehmann, born Elisabeth Maria Lehmann, later Elisabeth Maria Lehmann-Kalisch was a German operatic soprano of phenomenal versatility...
Sopranos of the Bayreuth school: Sophie Sedlmair, Pelagie Greef-Andriessen, Hatharina Senger-Bettaque,
Ellen GulbransonEllen Gulbranson was a Swedish operatic soprano with a strong, dramatic voice best suited to the works of Richard Wagner. She was a leading figure among the second generation of Bayreuth singers and her voice is preserved on a few acoustic recordings that she made for Edison Records and Pathé...
, Thila Plaichinger, Anna Bahr-Mildenburg, Katharine Fleischer-Edel, Felice Kaschowska, Lucie Weidt
Gadski and Destinn:
Johanna GadskiJohanna Gadski was a German soprano blessed with a secure, powerful, ringing voice, fine musicianship and an excellent technique. These attributes enabled her to enjoy a top-flight career in New York City and London, performing heavy dramatic roles in the German and Italian repertoires.-Life &...
,
Emmy DestinnEmmy Destinn was a Czech operatic soprano with a strong and soaring lyric-dramatic voice. She had a career both in Europe and at the New York Metropolitan Opera.- Biography :...
Contraltos: Marianne Brandt,
Ernestine Schumann-HeinkErnestine Schumann-Heink was a celebrated Austrian, later American, operatic contralto, noted for the size, beauty, tonal richness, flexibility and wide range of her voice.- Early life:...
, Rosa Olitzka,
Edyth WalkerEdyth Walker was an American opera singer who had an active international career from the 1890s through the 1910s. She began her career performing roles from the mezzo-soprano repertory, but later successfully added several soprano parts to her repertoire as well...
,
Margarete MatzenauerMargaret Matzenauer was a mezzo-soprano singer with an opulent timbre and a wide range to her voice...
Heldentenors: Hermann Winkelmann,
Erik SchmedesErik Anton Julius Schmedes was an operatic tenor, particularly known for his roles in operas by Richard Wagner. He was the brother-in-law of Vaslav Nijinsky....
,
Ernest van DyckErnest van Dyck was a Belgian dramatic tenor who was closely identified with the Wagnerian repertoire.A native of Antwerp, van Dyck studied both law and journalism before deciding to become an opera singer...
,
Andreas DippelAndreas Dippel was a German-born operatic tenor and impressario who from 1908 to 1910 was the joint manager of the New York Metropolitan Opera.-Biography:...
,
Heinrich KnoteHeinrich Knote was an outstanding German dramatic tenor with an international reputation.Born in Munich, he studied in that Bavarian city with Emmanuel Kirschner before joining the Munich Opera in 1892, debuting in Lortzing's Der Waffenschmied...
,
Karel BurianKarel Burian was a renowned Czech operatic tenor who had an active international career spanning the 1890s to the 1920s. A Heldentenor, Burian earned acclaim in Europe and America for his powerful performances of the heaviest Wagnerian roles...
, Alfred von Bary, Wilhelm Herold,
Jacques UrlusJacques Urlus , was a Dutch dramatic tenor. He sang to great critical acclaim at major opera houses on both sides of the Atlantic, and his recordings of the music of Richard Wagner are considered to be among the finest ever made.-Biography:Jacques Urlus was born to music-loving Dutch parents in the...
,
Leo SlezakLeo Slezak was a world-famous Moravian tenor. He was associated in particular with German opera as well as the title role in Verdi's Otello.- Beginnings :...
, Karl Jörn,
Lieder singers: Gustav Walter, Felix Senius
Baritones and basses:
Karl ScheidemantelKarl Scheidemantel was a baritone singer, and later an opera director.-Life and career:...
, Baptist Hoffmann,
Anton van RooyAnton van Rooy was a Dutch bass-baritone. He had a voice of enormous proportions and is most remembered for his association with the music dramas of Richard Wagner, especially the Ring Cycle, The Mastersingers of Nuremberg and Parsifal.Born in Rotterdam, van Rooy studied with the famous voice...
, Theodor Bertram, Leon Rains, Leopold Demuth, Wilhelm Hesch
Singers of Imperial Russia
Sopranos and contraltos: Natalia Yuzhina,
Antonina NezhdanovaAntonina Vasilievna Nezhdanova was a Russian lyric-coloratura soprano. An outstanding opera singer, she represented the Russian vocal school at its best....
, Marie Michailova, Alma Fohrström, Nina Friede, Eugenia Zbujeva, Anastasia Vialtzeva
Tenors, baritones and basses:
Nikolay FignerNikolay Figner , lyric tenor, and Medea Figner , mezzo-soprano, later soprano, were a renowned husband-and-wife team of opera singers active in Russia between 1889 and 1904. Medea was Italian-born but she became competely Russianized after marrying Nikolay...
, Ivan Erschov,
Leonid SobinovLeonid Vitalyevich Sobinov , was an acclaimed Imperial Russian operatic tenor. His fame continued unabated into the Soviet era, and he was made a People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1923...
, Andrei Labinsky, Alexander Davidov, Ivan Altchevsky, Tadeusz Leliva, Joachim Tartakov, Nicholai Shevelev, Waclav Brzezinski, Lev Sibiriakov, Vladimir Kastorsky,
Feodor ChaliapinFeodor Ivanovich Chaliapin was a Russian opera singer. The possessor of a large and expressive bass voice, he enjoyed an important international career at major opera houses and is often credited with establishing the tradition of naturalistic acting in his chosen art form.During the first phase...
Supplement
Félia LitvinneFélia Litvinne was a Russian-born, French-based dramatic soprano. She was particularly associated with Wagnerian roles, although she also sang a wide range of parts by other opera composers....
, Georgette Bréjean-Silver, Léon Lafitte, Méyriane Héglon,
Gemma BellincioniGemma Bellincioni was an Italian soprano and one of the best-known opera singers of the late 19th century. She had a particular affinity with the verismo repertoire and was renowned more for her charismatic acting than for the quality of her voice.-Her career:Matilda Cesira was Bellincioni's real...
, Elisa Bruno,
Alice CuciniAlice Cucini was an Italian contralto who had a prolific opera career in Europe and South America between 1891 and 1915. She was particularly associated with the role of Dalila in Camille Saint-Saëns's Samson et Dalila, which she sang in numerous houses internationally...
, Mario Gilion,
Francesco Maria BoniniFrancesco Maria Bonini was an Italian baritone who had a major international opera career from 1896 through 1927. He was one of the first wave of musicians to be recorded, having made a number of recordings with Fonotipia Records in Milan in 1905-1906.Born in Naples, Bonini studied singing with...
,
Giuseppe De LucaGiuseppe De Luca , was a famous Italian baritone who achieved his greatest triumphs at the New York Metropolitan Opera...
, Enrico Nani, Vittorio Arimondi, Oreste Luppi,
Nazzareno De AngelisNazzareno De Angelis was an Italian operatic bass, particularly associated with Verdi, Rossini and Wagner roles.-Career:...
, Elise Elizza, Marie Dietrich,
Minnie NastMinnie Nast was a German soprano. She was born in Karlsruhe and studied at the Karlsruhe Conservatory, making her début at Aachen in 1897....
, Marie Götze, Wilhelm Grüning, John Forsell
Revolution and Russian Songs
Chaliapin:
Feodor ChaliapinFeodor Ivanovich Chaliapin was a Russian opera singer. The possessor of a large and expressive bass voice, he enjoyed an important international career at major opera houses and is often credited with establishing the tradition of naturalistic acting in his chosen art form.During the first phase...
(1873–1938), George Baklanov (1880–1938), Alexander Bragin (1881–1955), Ivan Grizounov (1897–1919), Ivan Ivantzov (c.1880-?)
Smirnov:
Dimitri SmirnovDmitri Alexeyevich Smirnov was a leading Russian operatic tenor with a lyric voice and a bravura singing technique.-Biography:...
(1881–1944)
Kouznetsova to Koshetz:
Maria KouznetsovaMaria Nikolayevna Kuznetsova , was a famous 20th century Russian opera singer and dancer.Prior to the Revolution, Kuznetsova was one of the most celebrated opera singers in Imperial Russia, having worked with Richard Strauss, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Jules Massenet. She was frequently paired...
(1880–1966), Marianne Tcherkasskaya (1884–1919),
Nina KoshetzNina Koshetz ; December 30, 1891 - May 14, 1965) was a Ukrainian, later American, soprano opera and recital singer.Her father, a famous opera singer Pavel Koshetz , committed suicide. She was then 12 years....
(1894–1965)
Two 'Coloraturas':
Lydia LipkowskaLydia Lipkowska was a Russian operatic soprano. Born in Babino, she was trained at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. She was committed to the Mariinsky Theatre from 1906–1908 and again from 1911–1913. She was a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1909 -1911...
(1880–1955), Eugenia Bronskaya (1882–1953)
Contraltos: Elisaveta Petrenko (1880–1951), Vera Petrova-Zvanceva (1875–1944), Klavdia Tugarinova (1877-?)
The French Tradition in Decline
Franz, Ansseau and Fontaine: Paul Franz (1876–1950), Fernand Ansseau (1890–1972), Charles Fontaine (1878-?)
A Quintet of Lyric Tenors:
David DevrièsDavid Devriès was a French operatic lyric tenor noted for his light, heady tone, and polished phrasing...
(1881–1936), Fernand Francell (1886–1966),
Charles FriantAuguste Charles Paul Friant , was a French tenor.Friant was born in the Montmartre district of Paris. His father was a principal ballet dancer, and his grandfather a professor of ballet at the Paris Opéra. While a boy, Charles Friant sang in the opera chorus, and appeared in the premiere of ...
(1890–1947), Louis Cazette (1887–1922), René Lapelletrie (1884-?)
Baritones of the Opéra:
Dinh GillyDinh Gilly was a French-Algerian operatic baritone and teacher.-Biography:He studied in Toulouse, Rome and at the Paris Conservatoire, where he won a premier prix in 1902. That same year he made his debut at the Paris Opera as Silvio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci...
(1877–1940), Louis Lestelly (1877–1936)
Journet and the Basses:
Marcel JournetMarcel Journet , was a French, bass, operatic singer. He enjoyed a prominent career in England, France and Italy, and appeared at the foremost American opera houses in New York City and Chicago....
(1867–1933),
Hector DufranneHector Dufranne was a Belgian operatic bass-baritone who enjoyed a long career that took him to opera houses throughout Europe and the United States for more than four decades...
(1870–1951), Paul Payan (1878–1959)
Singing Actors:
Vanni MarcouxJean-Émile Diogène Marcoux was a French operatic bass-baritone, known professionally as Vanni Marcoux . He was particularly associated with the French and Italian repertories...
(1877–1962), Jean Aquistapace (1888–1952), Alfred Maguenat (c. 1880-?),
Armand CrabbéArmand Crabbé was a Belgian operatic baritone. In 1904 he made his professional opera debut at La Monnaie as the Nightwatchman in Richard Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. He was a leading performer at the Royal Opera House in London from 1906-1914 and again in 1937...
(1883–1947)
Contraltos: Suzanne Brohly (1882–1943), Marie Charbonnel (1880-?), Jacqueline Royer (1884-?)
Five International Sopranos: Marie-Louise Edvina (1880–1948),
Marthe ChenalMarthe Chenal was a French operatic soprano who had an active singing career between 1905 and 1923. Although she made a number of appearances with opera companies throughout the French provinces and on the international stage, her career was mainly centered at the Palais Garnier and the...
(1881–1947),
Geneviève VixGeneviève Vix née Brouwer was a French soprano. She was a descendant of the Dutch painter Adriaen Brouwer.-Life and career:...
(1879–1939),
Yvonne GallYvonne Gall was a famous French operatic soprano.Gall was born and died in Paris. She trained at the Conservatoire de Paris and made her debut in 1908 at the Paris Opéra under André Messager as Woglinde in the Paris premiere of Götterdämmerung...
(1885–1972),
Fanny HeldyFanny Heldy was a lyric soprano opera singer.Born Marguerite Virginie Emma Clémentine Deceuninck in Ath , Hainaut, Belgium. she graduated from the Liége Conservatoire. Heldy made her professional debut as a substitute in the premiere of Ivan the Terrible, by Raoul Gunsbourg...
(1888–1973)
Lyric Sopranos at the Opéra-Comique: Marguerite Merentie (1880-?), Aline Vallandri (1878–1952), Zina Brozia (1880-?)
A Trio of Concert Singers:
Gabrielle Ritter-CiampiGabrielle Ritter-Ciampi Gabrielle Ritter-Ciampi Gabrielle Ritter-Ciampi (born in Paris November 2, 1886 - died July 18, 1974, was a French operatic soprano.Initially trained to be a pianist by her uncle Theodore Ritter, at age 16 she started to receive singing lessons from her parents; her Italian...
(1986-1974), Berthe Auguez de Montalant (1868-?),
Georgette Leblanc-MaeterlinckGeorgette Leblanc was a French operatic soprano, actress, author, and the sister of novelist Maurice Leblanc. She became particularly associated with the works of Jules Massenet and was an admired interpreter of the title role in Bizet's Carmen...
(1860–1941)
The Heyday of Verismo
The Duse of Song:
Claudia MuzioClaudia Muzio was an Italian operatic soprano, whose international career was among the most successful of the early 20th century.-Early years:...
(1889–1936)
Raisa and some Dramatic Sopranos:
Rosa RaisaRosa Raisa was a Polish-born, Italian-trained, dramatic operatic soprano. In 1926 she created the role of Turandot at La Scala, Milan.-Career:...
(1892–1963), Elena Ruszkowska (1878–1948),
Maria LabiaMaria Labia was an Italian operatic soprano who was particularly associated with roles of the verisimo repertoire.-Career:...
(1880–1953), Adelina Agostinelli (1880–1954), Ester Mazzoleni (1882-?)
Verismo Sopranos: Tina Poli-Randaccio (1887–1956),
Carmen MelisCarmen Melis was an Italian operatic soprano who had a major international career during the first four decades of the 20th century. She was known, above all, as a verismo soprano, and was one of the most interesting singing actresses of the early 20th century...
(1885–1967), Juanita Caracciolo (1890–1924),
Gilda dalla RizzaGilda Dalla Rizza was an important Italian soprano. Born in Verona, she made her operatic debut in Bologna in 1912, as Charlotte in Werther. Especially acclaimed in the verismo repertory, she was regarded as being Giacomo Puccini's favorite soprano, creating Magda in his La rondine...
(1882–1975)
Galli-Curci and the 'Coloraturas':
Amelita Galli-CurciAmelita Galli-Curci was an Italian operatic soprano. She was one of the best-known coloratura singers of the early 20th century with her gramophone records selling in large numbers.-Early life:...
(1882–1963),
Maria BarrientosMaria Barrientos was a Spanish opera singer, a light coloratura soprano, one of the most eminent sopranos of her time.- Life and career :...
(1883-I946),
Graziella ParetoGraziella Pareto was a Spanish soprano leggiero, one of the leading sopranos of the inter-war years. She is considered one of the great coloratura sopranos of the "Spanish School" of the early 20th century, alongside Maria Barrientos, Maria Galvany and Mercedes Capsir.-Life and career:Pareto was...
(1889–1975),
Elvira de HidalgoElvira de Hidalgo was a prominent Spanish coloratura soprano, who later became a pedagogue...
(1892–1980),
Lucrezia BoriLucrezia Bori was a Spanish operatic singer, a lyric soprano.-Biography:Lucrezia Bori was born in Valencia, Spain. Her real name was Lucrecia Borja y González de Riancho and her family were reputed to be descended from the Borgias.Her voice had a unique timbre and transparent quality unlike any...
(1887–1960)
Italian Contraltos: Gabriella Besanzoni (1890–1962),
Fanny AnituaFanny Anitúa was a renowned Mexican contralto opera singer.-History:Anitùa initially studied singing in her native city, moving afterward to Mexico City, and later to Rome. She debuted at Teatro Nazionale in Rome in 1910, singing the role of Orfeo from the eponymous Christoph Willibald Gluck opera...
(1887–1968), Luisa Bertana (1898–1933)
Lyric Tenors:
Tito SchipaTito Schipa was an Italian tenor. He is considered one of the finest tenori di grazia in operatic history...
(1889–1965), Fernando Carpi (1876–1959),
Tradition and the Italian Tenor:
Beniamino GigliBeniamino Gigli was an Italian opera singer. The most famous tenor of his generation, he was renowned internationally for the great beauty of his voice and the soundness of his vocal technique. Music critics sometimes took him to task, however, for what was perceived to be the over-emotionalism...
(1890–1957),
Hipólito LázaroHipólito Lázaro was a Spanish/Catalan opera singer. Lázaro was born in Barcelona, Spain....
(1887–1974),
Miguel FletaMiguel Burró Fleta was a Spanish operatic tenor....
(1893–1938),
Giulio CrimiGiulio Crimi was an Italian operatic tenor.Crimi was born in Paternò, Italy. He studied in Catania with Adernò and made his debut in Palermo, as Manrico in Il trovatore, in 1910, later appearing in Treviso as Hagenbach in La Wally...
(1885–1939), Ulysses Lappas (1881–1971)
Four Dramatic Tenors:
Bernardo de Muro Bernardo De Muro was an international operatic tenor from Sardinia.-Biography:Bernardino De Muro was born on November 3, 1881 in Tempio Pausania, Sardinia to Antonio Maria and Jeanne-Marie Demuro. His father was a small landowner. Bernardo’s formal education ceased at primary school...
(1881–1955), Edoardo Ferrari-Fontana (1878–1936), Icilio Calleja (1882–1941),
Giovanni MartinelliGiovanni Martinelli was a celebrated Italian operatic tenor. He was particularly associated with the Italian lyric-dramatic repertory, although he performed French operatic roles to great acclaim as well...
(1885–1969)
Principal Baritones:
Giuseppe De LucaGiuseppe De Luca , was a famous Italian baritone who achieved his greatest triumphs at the New York Metropolitan Opera...
(1870–1950),
Riccardo StracciariRiccardo Stracciari was a leading Italian baritone. His repertoire consisted mainly of Italian operatic works, with Rossini's Figaro and Verdi's Rigoletto becoming his signature roles during a long and distinguished career which stretched from 1899 to 1944.- Life and career :Born near Bologna,...
(1875–1955), Domenico Viglione-Borchese (1877–1957),
Renato ZanelliRenato Zanelli was a Chilean operatic baritone and later tenor, particularly associated with heroic Italian and German roles, notably Verdi's Otello.-Life and career:...
(1892–1935), Emilio Sagi-Barba (1875–1949)
Mardones: José Mardones (1869–1939)
Singers from the English-Speaking World
Alda and Mason:
Frances AldaFrances Alda was a New Zealand-born, Australian-raised operatic soprano. She achieved fame during the first three decades of the 20th century due to her outstanding singing voice, fine technique and colourful personality—and frequent onstage partnerships at the New York Metropolitan Opera with the...
(1883–1952),
Edith MasonEdith Mason was an American soprano.She studied in Boston, Philadelphia, and Paris. She made her debut on January 27, 1912, as Nedda in Pagliacci with the Boston Opera Company. During the next three years, she sang in Europe at Nice, Marseilles, and Paris...
(1893–1973)
American Concert Sopranos:
Alma GluckAlma Gluck was a Romanian-born American soprano, one of the world's most famous female singers at the peak of her career .-Life and career:...
(1884-I938), Hulda Lashanska (1893–1974),
Anna CaseAnna Case was an American soprano. She recorded with Thomas Alva Edison, who used her voice extensively in "tone tests" of whether a live audience could tell the difference between the actual singer and a recording...
(1889–1984),
Éva GauthierÉva Gauthier was a Canadian mezzo-soprano and voice teacher. She performed and popularised songs by contemporary composers throughout her career and sang in the American premieres of several works by Erik Satie, Maurice Ravel and Igor Stravinsky, including the title role in the latter's...
(1885–1958)
American Lyric Sopranos:
Anna FitziuAnna Fitziu was an American soprano who had a prolific international opera career during the early part of the 20th century. Her signature roles included Fiora in L'amore dei tre re, Mimi in La Boheme, Nedda in Pagliacci, and the title roles in Isabeau, Madama Butterfly, and Tosca...
(1888–1967), Carolina White (1886–1961), Lucille Marcel (1887–1921), Julia Heinrich (1880–1919),
Marguerite NamaraMarguerite Namara was a classically trained American lyric soprano whose varied career included serious opera, Broadway musicals, film and theater roles, and vocal recitals, and who counted among her lifelong circle of friends and acquaintances many of the leading artistic figures of the first...
(1888–1977)
Gramophone Singers: Eleanor Jones-Hudson (1874–1946),
Ruth VincentRuth Vincent was an English opera singer and actress, best remembered for her performances in soprano roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in the 1890s and her roles in the West End during the first decade of the 20th century, particularly her role as Sophia in Tom...
(1877–1955), Lucy Isabelle Marsh (1878–1956), Olive Kline (1885–1976)
A Quartet of 'Coloraturas':
Evelyn ScotneyEvelyn Scotney was an Australian coloratura soprano of great renown in the period from 1913 to the late 1920s. Her range extended to E in altissimo. In her time she was considered by some to be the world's greatest soprano. She was compared very favourably with Amelita Galli-Curci, Luisa...
(1886–1967),
Mabel GarrisonMabel Garrison , was an American soprano from Baltimore, Maryland who sang at the Metropolitan Opera from 1914-1921.-References:...
(1886–1963),
Florence MacbethFlorence MacBeth , was an American operatic soprano.-Biography:She has sung in opera abroad and with the Chicago Opera, as well as in the Mozart operas given by the Society of American Musicians in New York in 1918. She was one of the organizers of the Los Angeles Opera Guild.-External links:* at...
(1891–1966), Luella Paikin (1900-?)
English Lyric Sopranos: Maud Perceval Allen (1880–1955), Rosina Buckman (1880–1948)
Miura and Bryhn-Langard:
Tamaki Miurawas a Japanese opera singer famous for her performances as Cio-Cio-San in Puccini's Madama Butterfly.Miura made her operatic debut in Tokyo in 1911 and the same year went to Europe to perform and study...
(1884–1946), Borghild Bryhn-Langard (1883–1939)
Ponselle and Easton:
Rosa PonselleRosa Ponselle , was an American operatic soprano with a large, opulent voice. She sang mainly at the New York Metropolitan Opera and is generally considered by music critics to have been one of the greatest sopranos of the past 100 years.-Early life:She was born Rosa Ponzillo on January 22, 1897,...
(1897-?),
Florence EastonFlorence Easton was a popular English dramatic soprano in the early 20th century. She was one of the most versatile singers of all time. She sang more than 100 parts, covering a wide range of styles and periods, from Mozart, Meyerbeer, Gounod, Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Strauss, Schreker and Krenek...
(1882–1955)
Contraltos: Carmen Hill (1883-?), Leila Megane (1891–1960), Carolina Lazzari (1891–1946), Edna Thornton (1875–1958),
Sophie BraslauSophie Braslau was a contralto prominent in United States opera, starting with her debut in New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1913 when she was just 21 years of age....
(1902–1935),
Eleonora de CisnerosCountess Eleonora de Cisneros was an American operatic mezzo-sopranoBorn in New York City nee Eleanora Broadfoot, she studied singing under Mme. Murio Celli in New York, and made her début at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1899. In the following year she was married to Count François G. de...
(1878–1934)
A Quartet of American Tenors:
Riccardo MartinRiccardo Martin was an American tenor.Born Hugh Whitfield Martin in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Martin was granted an endowment which allowed him, in 1901, to go to Paris to study with Giovanni Sbriglia and Jean de Reszke; he later completed his studies with Vincenzo Lombardi in Florence and Beniamino...
(1874–1952),
Orville HarroldOrville Harrold was an American operatic tenor and musical theatre actor. He began his career in 1906 as a performer in operettas in New York City, and was also seen during his early career in cabaret, musical theatre, and vaudeville performances...
(1878–1933),
Charles HackettCharles Hackett was an American tenor.-Life and career:Hackett studied first at the New England Conservatory in Boston with Arthur J. Hubbard, and later with Vincenzo Lombardi in Florence...
(1887–1941),
Mario ChamleeMario Chamlee was the lyric tenor who replaced Enrico Caruso at the Metropolitan Opera. His birth name was Archer Cholmondeley...
(1892–1966)
A British Born Trio:
Edward JohnsonEdward Patrick Johnson CBE was a Canadian operatic tenor who was billed outside North America as Edoardo Di Giovanni, and became director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.- Early life :...
(1878–1959) (actually born in Canada),
Alfred PiccaverAlfred Piccaver was a British-American operatic tenor. He was particularly noted for his performances as Rodolfo in Giacomo Puccini's La bohème and other popular mainstream operatic roles.-Early years:...
(1883–1958),
Joseph HislopJoseph Hislop was a lyric tenor who appeared in opera and oratorio and gave concerts around the world....
(1884–1977)
High Cs and Heroic Voices: John O'Sullivan (1878–1948), Frank Mullings (1881–1953)
The Ballad and Oratorio Tradition:
John CoatesJohn Coates was a leading English tenor, who sang in opera and oratorio and on the concert platform. His repertoire ranged from Bach and Purcell to contemporary works, and embraced the major heldentenor roles in Richard Wagner's operas...
(1865–1941), Gervase Elwes (1866–1921), Walter Hyde (1875–1951), Paul Reimers (1877–1942)
McCormack: John McCormack (1884–1945)
Baritones and Basses: Reinald Werrenrath (1883–1953), Peter Dawson (1882–1961), Horace Stevens (1876–1954),
Malcolm McEachernWalter Malcom Neil McEachern was a noted Australian bass singer who enjoyed a successful career in the United Kingdom, both as a concert soloist and as one half of the comic musical duo Flotsam and Jetsam....
(1883–1945)
The German Style in Evolution
Lyric Sopranos:
Eva von der OstenEva Helga Bertha von der Osten was a German soprano. She was born in Helgoland, the daughter of actor Emil von der Osten and Rosa von der Osten-Hildebrandt ....
(1881–1936), Luise Perard-Petzl (1884–1936), Zinaida Jurjevskaya (1896–1925),
Elisabeth RethbergThe German soprano Elisabeth Rethberg was an opera singer of international repute active from the period of the First World War through to the early 1940s. Some hailed her as the greatest soprano of her day...
(1894–1976),
Grete Stückgold-Biography:She was born in 1895. She married Gustav Schützendorf.Her debut at the Metropolitan Opera was on November 2, 1927 the role of Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. In 1929 she created the lead in Paul Hindemith's opera Neues vom Tage. She died in 1977.-External links:* at the...
(1895–1977)
Lyric-Dramatic Sopranos: Elsa Bland (1880–1935), Lily Hafgren-Dinkela (1884–1965), Barbara Kemp (1881–1959), Charlotte von Seebök (1886–1952)
Dramatic Sopranos:
Melanie KurtMelanie Kurt was an Austrian opera singer .- Life and career :Melanie Kurt first studied to become a pianist in her native City of Vienna before starting to take singing lessons. Later she went to Berlin, where Marie Lehmann, sister of the great soprano Lilli Lehmann, became her teacher...
(1880–1941), Berta Morena (1878–1952), Helene Wildbrunn (1882–1972), Gertrude Bindernagel (1894–1932), Gertrude Kappel (1884–1971),
Frida LeiderFrida Leider was a German opera singer.Leider was one of the most important dramatic sopranos of the 20th century. Her most famous roles were Wagner's Isolde and Brünnhilde, Beethoven's Fidelio, Mozart's Donna Anna, and Verdi's Aida and Leonora...
(1888–1975)
Schumann:
Elisabeth SchumannElisabeth Schumann was a German lyric soprano who sang in opera, operetta, oratorio, and lieder. She left a substantial legacy of recordings.-Career:...
(1888–1952), Berta Kiurina (1881–1933),
Lola Artôt de PadillaLola Artôt de Padilla was a French-Spanish soprano, renowned in Germany, where she mainly sang.-Biography:...
(1880–1933),
Claire DuxClaire Dux was an operatic and concert soprano with a successful career in continental Europe, England, and the United States.-Early life:...
(1885–1967), Vera Schwarz (1884–1964),
Maria IvogünMaria Ivogün was a distinguished soprano singer of Hungarian origin. She was especially an outstanding interpreter of the works of Mozart: her recording of the aria of the Queen of the Night became legendary.- Biography and artistic career :Maria Ivogün was born Ilse Kempner...
(1891–1987)
Jeritza and Lehmann:
Maria JeritzaMaria Jeritza , born Marie Jedličková, was a celebrated Moravian soprano singer, long associated with the Vienna State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera...
(1887–1982),
Lotte LehmannCharlotte "Lotte" Lehmann was a German soprano who was especially associated with German repertory. She gave memorable performances in the operas of Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Ludwig van Beethoven, Puccini, Mozart and Massenet. The Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier was considered her greatest...
(1888–1976)
Five Contraltos:
Margarethe Arndt-OberMargarethe Arndt-Ober was an American opera singer of German descent who had an active international career during the first half of the twentieth century. A highly skilled contralto, Ober enjoyed a particularly long and fruitful association with the Berlin State Opera from 1907 to 1944...
(1885–1971), Ottilie Metzger (1878–1943), Ankar Horvat (1888- c.1921),
Sabine KalterSabine Kalter was a Polish operatic mezzo-soprano. She made her professional opera debut at the Vienna Volksoper in 1911. From 1915-1935 she was a leading artist at the Hamburg State Opera. She was then committed to the Royal Opera House in London from 1935-1939...
(1889–1957), Emmi Leisner 1885-1958)
The Great Lieder Singers:
Elena GerhardtElena Gerhardt was a German mezzo-soprano singer associated with the singing of German classical lieder, of which she was considered one of the great interpreters...
(1883–1961),
Julia CulpJulia Bertha Culp , the "Dutch nightingale", was an internationally celebrated mezzo-soprano in the years 1901–1919....
(1880–1970)
Baritones: Julius von Raatz-Brockmann (1870–1944), Friedrich Broderson (1873–1926),
Heinrich RehkemperHeinrich Rehkemper was a German baritone singer whose repertoire was in opera and Lieder, and whose career was principally in Germany between the First and Second World War...
(1894–1949), Hans Duhan (1890–1971), Hermann Weil (1876–1949), Cornelis Bronsgeest (1878–1957), Joseph Groenen (1885–1959), Joseph Schwarz (1880–1926)
Basses:
Michael BohnenFranz Michael Bohnen was a German bass baritone opera singer and actor.-Life:Michael Bohnen was born in Cologne. He trained in opera singing at the Hochschule für Musik Köln and with a private tutor, making his debut in 1910 at the Stadttheater Düsseldorf. In 1912 he appeared at the Hoftheater...
(1887–1965), Paul Bender (1875–1947),
Richard MayrRichard Mayr was an Austrian operatic bass-baritone who was particularly admired for his performances in works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss...
(1877–1935), Walter Soomier (1878–1955), Carl Braun (1886–1960),
Alexander KipnisAlexander Kipnis , was a Ukrainian-born operatic bass of great artistry and vocal endowment.Having initially established his artistic reputation in Europe, Kipnis became an American citizen in 1931, following his marriage to an American...
(1891–1978)
Tauber and the Lyric Tenors:
Richard TauberRichard Tauber was an Austrian tenor acclaimed as one of the greatest singers of the 20th century. Some critics commented that "his heart felt every word he sang".-Early life:...
(1891–1948), Alexander Kirchner (1876–1948), Johannes Sembach (1881–1944),
Herman JadlowkerHerman Jadlowker was a leading Latvian-born tenor of Russian nationality who enjoyed an important international career during the first quarter of the 20th century....
(1877–1953)
East European Tenors: Ottokar Marak (1872–1939), Icnacy Dygas (1881–1955), Joseph Mann (1883–1921),
Tino PattieraTino Pattiera was a Croatian tenor, born in Cavtat in 27 June 1890 and died 24 April 1966. Prior to taking up the repertory for which he became famous, he was notable in operetta....
(1890–1966)
Heldentenors: Richard Schubert (1885–1969), Walter Kirchhoff (1879–1951),
Lauritz MelchiorLauritz Melchior was a Danish and later American opera singer. He was the pre-eminent Wagnerian tenor of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, and has since come to be considered the quintessence of his voice type.-Biography:...
(1890–1973)
The German School
Lauritz MelchiorLauritz Melchior was a Danish and later American opera singer. He was the pre-eminent Wagnerian tenor of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, and has since come to be considered the quintessence of his voice type.-Biography:...
, Max Lorenz,
Franz VölkerFranz Völker was a dramatic tenor who enjoyed a major European career...
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Helge RosvaengeHelge Rosvaenge , Helge Anton Rosenvinge Hansen, was a famous Danish operatic tenor whose career was centred on Germany and Austria, before, during and after World War II....
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Torsten RalfTorsten Ralf , was a Swedish operatic tenor, particularly associated with Wagner and Strauss roles, one of the leading dramatic tenors of the inter-war period....
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Richard TauberRichard Tauber was an Austrian tenor acclaimed as one of the greatest singers of the 20th century. Some critics commented that "his heart felt every word he sang".-Early life:...
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Marcel WittrischMarcel Wittrisch was a popular German operatic tenor.Wittrisch was born in Belgium to a German family, and subsequently studied in Munich, Leipzig and Milan. His career began in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt in 1925 in a production of Hans Heiling by Marschner at the Halle Opera House...
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Herbert Ernst GrohHerbert Ernst Groh was a popular Swiss tenor.Groh was born in Lucerne and subsequently studied in Zurich and Milan. One of his teachers was Carl Beines, who also taught Richard Tauber....
, Joseph Schmidt,
Julius PatzakJulius Patzak was an Austrian tenor distinguished in operatic and concert work. He was particularly noted in Mozart, Beethoven and in early 20th century German repertoire.-Biography:...
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Karl ErbKarl Erb was a German tenor vocalist who made his career first in opera and then in oratorio and lieder recital. He excelled in all these genres, and before 1920 gave classic performances of key roles in modern works, and created lead roles in those of Hans Pfitzner...
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Leo SlezakLeo Slezak was a world-famous Moravian tenor. He was associated in particular with German opera as well as the title role in Verdi's Otello.- Beginnings :...
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Gerhard HüschGerhard Heinrich Wilhelm Fritz Hüsch was one of the most important German singers of modern times. A lyric baritone, he specialized in Lieder but also sang, to a lesser extent, German and Italian opera.-Career:...
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Heinrich SchlusnusHeinrich Schlusnus was Germany's foremost lyric baritone of the period between World War I and World War II. He sang opera and lieder with equal distinction.-Career:...
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Herbert JanssenHerbert Janssen was a leading German operatic baritone who had an international career in Europe and the United States.- Biography :...
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Willi Domgraf-FassbaenderWilli Domgraf-Fassbaender was a German operatic baritone, particularly associated with Mozart and Verdi roles...
, Karl Hammes, Rudolf Bocklemann,
Friedrich SchorrFriedrich Schorr , was a renowned Austrian-Hungarian bass-baritone opera singer of Jewish origin. He later became a naturalized American....
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Hans-Hermann NissenHans-Hermann Nissen was a German operatic bass-baritone, particularly associated with Wagner roles, one of the leading Wotan and Hans Sachs of the inter-war period....
, Alfred Jerger, Leo Schützendorf, Wilhelm Strienz,
Ivar F. AndresenIvar Frithiof Andresen , was a Norwegian opera singer who pursued a successful international career in Europe and the United States....
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Alexander KipnisAlexander Kipnis , was a Ukrainian-born operatic bass of great artistry and vocal endowment.Having initially established his artistic reputation in Europe, Kipnis became an American citizen in 1931, following his marriage to an American...
Sigrid OnéginSigrid Onégin was a Franco-German operatic contralto who enjoyed a major international career prior to World War II . She was born in Stockholm, Sweden to a German father and a French mother....
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Karin BranzellKarin Branzell was a Swedish operatic contralto , who had a prominent career at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, and in Europe. Her very wide range enabled her to sing both contralto roles and the occasional soprano role...
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Kerstin ThorborgKerstin Thorborg Born in Venjan, Sweden, the contralto Kerstin Thorborg was one of the best dramatic Wagnerian singers in the two decades between 1930 and 1950. She made her debut in 1924 singing the difficult role of Ortrud. Eight years later, the famed conductor Bruno Walter engaged her for the...
, Maria Olczewska,
Margarete KloseMargarete Klose, , was a German operatic mezzo-soprano. Her 'official' year of birth was 1902.- Life :...
, Rosette Anday,
Marta FuchsMarta Fuchs was a German operatic soprano.She was born in Stuttgart. In 1923 she had her first concert, and from 1928 she made her operatic debut in Aachen. In 1930 she switched to the Staatsoper in Dresden...
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Elena GerhardtElena Gerhardt was a German mezzo-soprano singer associated with the singing of German classical lieder, of which she was considered one of the great interpreters...
, Lula Mysz-Gmeiner, Jo Vincent, Ria Ginster, Ursula van Diemen,
Elisabeth SchumannElisabeth Schumann was a German lyric soprano who sang in opera, operetta, oratorio, and lieder. She left a substantial legacy of recordings.-Career:...
, Lotte Schöne, Fritzi Jokl, Adele Kern,
Miliza KorjusMiliza Elizabeth Korjus was an Estonian coloratura soprano opera singer, who later appeared in Hollywood films.-Early life:...
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Erna BergerErna Berger , was a prominent German coloratura lyric soprano. She is most famous for her Queen of the Night and her Konstanze....
, Emmy Bettendorf,
Felicie Huni-MihacsekFelicie Hüni-Mihacsek was an Hungarian operatic soprano, largely based in Germany, one of the greatest Mozart singer of the inter-war period....
, Margherita Perras, Luise Helletsgruber,
Meta SeinemeyerMeta Seinemeyer was a German opera star with an exceptionally fine spinto soprano voice....
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Margarete TeschemacherMargarete Teschemacher was a German operatic soprano, particularly associated with the German repertory, although she sang a wide range of roles. She possessed a warm lyrico-dramatic voice and a good stage presence.- Life :...
, Delia Reinhardt,
Tiana LemnitzTiana Lemnitz was a German operatic soprano with a beautiful lyric voice. Her major operatic career took place between the two world wars .-Life and career:...
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Maria CebotariMaria Cebotari was a celebrated Moldavian soprano and actress born in Bessarabia, Russian Empire , who made her career in Germany & Austria.-Biography:...
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Elisabeth RethbergThe German soprano Elisabeth Rethberg was an opera singer of international repute active from the period of the First World War through to the early 1940s. Some hailed her as the greatest soprano of her day...
, Rose Pauly,
Göta LjungbergGöta Ljungberg was a major Swedish Wagnerian soprano of the 1920s who sang throughout American and Europe and left an important recorded legacy.-Biography:...
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Lotte LehmannCharlotte "Lotte" Lehmann was a German soprano who was especially associated with German repertory. She gave memorable performances in the operas of Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Ludwig van Beethoven, Puccini, Mozart and Massenet. The Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier was considered her greatest...
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Maria MüllerMaria Müller was a Czech-Austrian operatic soprano.Müller was born in Terezín, Bohemia. She studied in Vienna with Erik Schmedes, and debuted in Linz in 1919 as Elsa in Lohengrin...
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Maria NemethMaria Nemeth was an Hungarian soprano, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, one of the leading dramatic sopranos of the inter-war period.-Life and career:Nemeth was born in Körmend...
, Elisabeth Ohms,
Nanny Larsén-TodsenNanny Larsén-Todsen was a Swedish soprano, renowned for her performances in works by Richard Wagner and counted as one of the most notable Wagner-singers of the 20th-century. She was particularly popular at the Bayreuth Festival as Brunnhilde and Isolde...
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Frida LeiderFrida Leider was a German opera singer.Leider was one of the most important dramatic sopranos of the 20th century. Her most famous roles were Wagner's Isolde and Brünnhilde, Beethoven's Fidelio, Mozart's Donna Anna, and Verdi's Aida and Leonora...
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Kirsten FlagstadKirsten Målfrid Flagstad was a Norwegian opera singer and a highly regarded Wagnerian soprano...
The Italian School
Conchita SupervíaConchita Supervía was a highly popular Spanish mezzo-soprano singer who appeared in opera in Europe and America and also gave recitals....
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Gianna PederziniGianna Pederzini was an Italian mezzo-soprano.Pederzini studied in Naples with Fernando de Lucia, and made her stage debut in Messina, as Preziosilla, in 1923...
, Irene Minghini-Cattaneo,
Ebe StignaniEbe Stignani was an Italian opera singer, who was pre-eminent in the dramatic mezzo-soprano roles of the Italian repertoire during a stage career of more than thirty years.-Career:...
, Florica Christoforeanu,
Pia TassinariPia Tassinari was an Italian soprano and later mezzo-soprano, particularly associated with the Italian and French repertories....
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Giannina Arangi-LombardiGiannina Arangi-Lombardi was a prominent spinto soprano, particularly associated with the Italian operatic repertory....
, Bianca Scacciati,
Dusolina GianniniDusolina Giannini was an Italian-American soprano, particularly associated with the Italian repertory....
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Maria CanigliaMaria Caniglia was one of the leading Italian dramatic sopranos of the 1930s and 1940s.- Life and career :...
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Lina Bruna RasaLina Bruna Rasa was an Italian operatic soprano. She was particularly noted for her performances in the verismo repertoire and was a favourite of Pietro Mascagni who considered her the ideal Santuzza...
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Gina CignaGina Cigna was a French-Italian opera singer, one of the leading dramatic soprano of the inter-war period.- Biography :...
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Iva PacettiIva Pacetti was an Italian operatic soprano who had an active international career from 1920-1947. Trained in Florence and Milan, she made her professional opera debut in her native city at the age of 21 as the title heroine in Giuseppe Verdi's Aida at the Teatro Metastasio...
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Margaret SheridanMargaret Elizabeth Sheridan was an American actress of the early 1950s, and protégée of director Howard Hawks. The raven-haired beauty is best remembered for her role as Nikki Nickolson opposite Kenneth Tobey in the 1951 science fiction classic The Thing from Another World.-Career:She was born in...
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Rosetta PampaniniRosetta Pampanini was an Italian soprano, particularly associated with Puccini roles, especially Madama Butterfly....
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Claudia MuzioClaudia Muzio was an Italian operatic soprano, whose international career was among the most successful of the early 20th century.-Early years:...
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Hina SpaniHina Spani was an Argentine soprano. Her real name was Higinia Tuñón and she enjoyed a major opera career centred on Italy during the 1920s and '30s.- Overview :...
, Maria Farneti,
Maria ZamboniMaria Zamboni was an Italian operatic soprano who had a prolific career in Italy and South America between 1921 and 1936. Admired for her vivid character portrayals and expressive singing, Zamboni was a popular and frequent performer at both La Scala and the Teatro Costanzi...
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Mafalda FaveroMafalda Favero was an Italian operatic soprano.Mafalda Favero was born in Portomaggiore, near Ferrara. When she was 17, she started studying with Alessandro Vezzani at the Conservatory in Bologna and attracted the notice of Franco Alfano...
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Licia AlbaneseLicia Albanese is an Italian-born American operatic soprano. Noted especially for her portrayals of the lyric heroines of Verdi and Puccini, Albanese was a leading artist with the Metropolitan Opera of New York from 1940 to 1966...
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Magda OliveroMagda Olivero is a soprano of the verismo-school of singing. She was born in Saluzzo, Italy. Olivero made her operatic debut in 1932 on Turin radio in Cattozzo’s oratorio I misteri dolorosi. She performed widely and increasingly successfully until 1941, when she married and retired from performing...
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Bidú SayãoBidú Sayão was a Brazilian opera soprano. One of Brazil's most famous musicians, Sayão was a leading artist of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1937 to 1952.-Life and career:...
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Conchita BadíaConcepción Badía de Agustí was a Spanish soprano and pianist. Admired for her spontaneity, expressiveness, and clear diction, she was considered one the greatest interpreters of 20th century Spanish and Latin American art song...
, Adelaide Saraceni,
Mercedes CapsirMercedes Capsir was a Catalan Spanish opera singer, a high coloratura soprano, particularly associated with light Italian roles, such as Lucia and Gilda.- Life and career :...
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Toti Dal MonteAntonietta Meneghel , better known by her stage name Toti Dal Monte, was a celebrated Italian operatic soprano with a sweet and limpid lyric voice. She was a favourite artist of the celebrated conductor Arturo Toscanini...
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Lina PagliughiLina Pagliughi was an Italian-American opera singer. Based in Italy for the majority of her career, she made a number of recordings and established herself as one of the world's finest lyric coloratura sopranos of the 1930s and '40s.-Career:Pagliughi was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian...
Ezio PinzaEzio Pinza was an Italian basso opera singer with a rich, smooth and sonorous voice. He spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 750 performances of 50 operas...
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Tancredi PaseroTancredi Pasero was an Italian bass who enjoyed a long and distinguished singing career in his native country and abroad.-Career & recordings:...
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Nazzareno De AngelisNazzareno De Angelis was an Italian operatic bass, particularly associated with Verdi, Rossini and Wagner roles.-Career:...
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Salvatore BaccaloniSalvatore Baccaloni was an Italian operatic bass, often regarded as the greatest buffo artist of the 20th century.- Life and career :Baccaloni was born in Rome...
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Afro PoliAfro Poli was an Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory.-Life and career:...
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Mariano StabileMariano Stabile was an Italian baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially the role of Falstaff.- Career :...
, Mario Basiola,
Apollo GranforteApollo Granforte was an Italian opera singer and one of the leading baritones active during the inter-war period of the 20th century.-Life and career:...
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Cesare FormichiCesare Formichi was a prominent Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory....
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Carlo GaleffiCarlo Galeffi was a leading Italian baritone, particularly associated with the operatic works of Giuseppe Verdi and the various verismo composers.- Life and career :...
, Benvenuto Franci, Giovanni Inghilleri,
Carlo TagliabueCarlo Tagliabue was an Italian baritone.After studies with Leopoldo Gennai and Annibale Guidotti he made his debut in Lodi, Lombardy, in Loreley and Aida. His debuts in Genoa , Torino, La Scala , Rome , and Naples were all in Tristan und Isolde...
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Riccardo StracciariRiccardo Stracciari was a leading Italian baritone. His repertoire consisted mainly of Italian operatic works, with Rossini's Figaro and Verdi's Rigoletto becoming his signature roles during a long and distinguished career which stretched from 1899 to 1944.- Life and career :Born near Bologna,...
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Dino BorgioliDino Borgioli was an Italian lyric tenor. Praised by critics for his musicianship, he was particularly associated with roles in operas composed by Mozart, Rossini, and Donizetti....
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Enzo de Muro LomantoEnzo de Muro Lomanto was an Italian operatic tenor, particularly associated with the lyric repertory....
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Tito SchipaTito Schipa was an Italian tenor. He is considered one of the finest tenori di grazia in operatic history...
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Tino FolgarTino Folgar was a Spanish operatic tenor, primarily active in Spain and Italy.Born Juventino Folgar Ascaso in Barcelona, on January 25, 1892, he studied in his native city with Esteban Pasqual and made his stage debut at the Liceu as Rodolfo in La bohème, in 1922...
, Luigi Fort, Alessandro Ziliani,
Galliano MasiniGalliano Masini was a leading Italian operatic tenor, particularly associated with the spinto roles of the Italian repertory.Masini was born in Livorno in humble circumstances...
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Francesco MerliFrancesco Merli was an Italian opera singer, particularly associated with heavy roles such as Otello, Canio and Calaf. He ranks as one of the finest dramatic tenors of the inter-war period....
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Renato ZanelliRenato Zanelli was a Chilean operatic baritone and later tenor, particularly associated with heroic Italian and German roles, notably Verdi's Otello.-Life and career:...
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Beniamino GigliBeniamino Gigli was an Italian opera singer. The most famous tenor of his generation, he was renowned internationally for the great beauty of his voice and the soundness of his vocal technique. Music critics sometimes took him to task, however, for what was perceived to be the over-emotionalism...
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Jussi BjörlingJohan Jonatan "Jussi" Björling was a Swedish tenor. One of the leading operatic singers of the 20th Century, Björling appeared frequently at the Royal Opera House in London, La Scala in Milan, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York City as well as at other major European opera...
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Antonio CortisAntonio Cortis was a Spanish tenor with an outstanding voice. He was acclaimed by audiences on both sides of the Atlantic for his exciting performances of Italian operatic works, especially those by Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini and the verismo composers.- Career :Cortis was born at sea but his...
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Giacomo Lauri-VolpiGiacomo Lauri-Volpi was an Italian tenor with a lyric-dramatic voice of exceptional range and technical facility. He performed throughout Europe and the Americas in a top-class career that spanned 40 years....
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Aureliano PertileAureliano Pertile was an Italian lyric-dramatic tenor. He is considered to have been one of the most exciting operatic artists of the inter-war period, and one of the most important tenors of the entire 20th century.- Life and career :Pertile was born in Montagnana, Northern Italy, 18 days after...
The French School
Lily PonsLily Pons was a French-American operatic soprano and actress who had an active career from the late 1920s through the early 1970s. As an opera singer she specialized in the coloratura soprano repertoire and was particularly associated with the title roles in Léo Delibes' Lakmé and Gaetano...
, Leila Ben Sedira,
Emma LuartEmma Luart was a Belgian operatic soprano. A graduate of the Brussels Conservatory, she made her official stage début at The Hague in 1914. She was committed to La Monnaie in Brussels from 1918-1922 where she excelled in lyric soprano roles like Louise, Mélisande, and Manon...
, Germaine Feraldy, Eidé Norena,
Ninon VallinNinon Vallin was a French soprano who achieved considerable popularity in opera, operetta and classical song recitals during an international career which lasted for more than four decades. [Note: Vallin's birthday is sometimes given as September 7 or September 9.]-Career:Ninon Vallin was born...
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Povla FrijshPovla Frijsh was a Danish classical soprano and voice teacher. She mainly sang in concerts and recitals; although she did make a few opera appearances at the Paris Opera and the Royal Danish Theatre...
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Jane BathoriJane Bathori was a French opera singer. Born in Paris, France, she was famous on the operatic stage and important in the development of contemporary French music....
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Madeleine GreyMadeleine Grey was a French classical singer whose voice is usually described as soprano but which also encompassed a mezzo-soprano repertoire.-Early life:...
, Germaine Martinelli, Suzanne Cesbron-Viseur, Suzanne Balguerie,
Germaine LubinGermaine Lubin was a French dramatic soprano best known for her association with the music of Richard Wagner...
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Germaine CernayGermaine Cernay, born Germaine Pointu Le Havre 28 April 1900, died Paris, 1943 was a French alto who was active both in the opera house and on the concert platform.-Life and career:...
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Claire CroizaClaire Croiza was a French mezzo-soprano and an influential teacher of singers.-Career:Claire Croiza was born in Paris, the daughter of an expatriate American father and an Italian mother, and as a child she excelled at piano and singing...
, Alice Raveau
Georges ThillGeorges Thill was a French opera singer, often considered to be his country's greatest lyric-dramatic tenor...
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René MaisonRené Maison was a prominent Belgian operatic tenor, particularly associated with heroic roles of the French, Italian and German repertories.-Career:...
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José LuccioniJosé Luccioni was a French operatic tenor of Corsican origin. He possessed one of the best dramatic voices of the 1930s and 1940s....
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César VezzaniCésar Vezzani was a French/Corsican operatic tenor who became a leading exponent of French grand opera through several decades. -Career:...
, René Verdière, Gaston Micheletti, Miguel Villabella, André d'Arkor, Giuseppe Lugo, Joseph Rogatchewsky, Jean Planel,
Charles PanzéraCharles [Auguste Louis] Panzéra was a Swiss operatic and concert baritone.-Overview:Panzéra's studies at the Paris Conservatory under the tuition of Amédée-Louis Hettich were interrupted by his volunteering into the French Army during World War I...
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Pierre BernacPierre Bernac was a French baritone.Born Pierre Bertin in Paris on January 12, 1899, he studied with Reinhold von Wahrlich in Salzburg. he came to music relatively late and gave his first recital in 1921....
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Martial SingherMartial Singher was a French baritone opera singer born in Oloron-Sainte-Marie, Pyrénées-Atlantiques.Initially singing only as a hobby, he was encouraged by then French education minister Édouard Herriot to pursue singing professionally...
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Roger BourdinRoger Bourdin was a French baritone, particularly associated with the French repertory. His career was largely based in France.- Life and career :...
, Arthur Endrèz, Robert Couzinou, André Balbon,
Lucien FugèreLucien Fugère was a French baritone, particularly associated with the French repertory and Mozart roles, he enjoyed an exceptionally long career, singing into his 80s.- Life and career :...
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Vanni MarcouxJean-Émile Diogène Marcoux was a French operatic bass-baritone, known professionally as Vanni Marcoux . He was particularly associated with the French and Italian repertories...
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Yvonne PrintempsYvonne Printemps was a French singer and actress.-Biography:Born Yvonne Wigniolle, she made her debut at the age of 12 in a revue at La Cigale in Paris. She was dancing at the Folies Bergère at age 13...
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Reynaldo HahnReynaldo Hahn was a Venezuelan, naturalised French, composer, conductor, music critic and diarist. Best known as a composer of songs, he wrote in the French classical tradition of the mélodie....
The Anglo-American School
Lawrence TibbettLawrence Mervil Tibbett was a great American opera singer and recording artist who also performed as a film actor and radio personality. A baritone, he sang with the New York Metropolitan Opera company more than 600 times from 1923 to 1950...
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John Charles ThomasJohn Charles Thomas was a popular American opera, operetta and concert baritone.-Birth, schooling and stage debut:...
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Dennis NobleDennis Noble was a noted British baritone and teacher. He appeared in opera, oratorio, musical comedy and song, from the First World War through to the late 1950s. He was renowned for his enunciation and diction, and for the metallic timbre of his voice...
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John BrownleeJohn Donald Mackenzie Brownlee was an Australian operatic baritone.-Biography:John Brownlee was born in Geelong, Victoria. As a boy, he became a junior naval cadet in the Royal Australian Navy, serving during World War I. Following service, he studied accounting...
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Harold WilliamsHarold John Williams MBE was a leading Australian baritone and music teacher. Born in Sydney, he enjoyed a long and successful career in England and his native country, performing in opera, oratorio and concerts and giving radio broadcasts.-Early years:Williams was born on 3 September 1893 at...
, Peter Dawson, John McCormack,
Roland HayesRoland Hayes was a lyric tenor and is considered the first African American male concert artist to receive wide international acclaim as well as at home...
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Charles KullmanCharles Kullman , originally Charles Kullmann, was an American tenor who enjoyed a wide-ranging career, both in Europe and America.- Life and career :...
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Heddle NashWilliam Heddle Nash was an English lyric tenor who appeared in opera and oratorio in the middle decades of the twentieth century. He also made numerous recordings that are still available on CD reissues....
, Thomas Burke,
Richard CrooksRichard Alexander Crooks was an American tenor and a leading singer at the New York Metropolitan Opera.-Biography:He was born on June 26, 1900 in Trenton, New Jersey...
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Walter WiddopWalter Widdop was a British operatic tenor who is best remembered for his Wagnerian performances. His repertoire also encompassed works by Verdi, Leoncavallo, Handel and Bach.-Career:...
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Norman AllinNorman Allin was a British bass singer of the early and mid twentieth century, and later a teacher of voice...
Marguerite d'AlvarezMarguerite d'Alvarez was an English contralto.Born in Liverpool, d'Alvarez studied in Brussels, and made her debut in Rouen, singing Delilah. She made her first American appearances with the Manhattan Opera in 1909 as Fidès in Giacomo Meyerbeer's Le prophète...
, Madame Charles Cahier,
Muriel BrunskillMuriel Brunskill was an English contralto of the mid-twentieth century. Her career included concert, operatic and recital performance from the early 1920s until the 1950s...
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Clara ButtDame Clara Ellen Butt DBE , sometimes called Clara Butt-Rumford after her marriage, was an English contralto with a remarkably imposing voice and a surprisingly agile singing technique. Her main career was as a recitalist and concert singer.-Early life and career:Clara Butt was born in Southwick,...
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Marian AndersonMarian Anderson was an African-American contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century...
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Susan Metcalfe CasalsSusan Metcalfe Casals, born Susan S. Metcalfe was an American mezzo-soprano singer active in the early part of the twentieth century, who had a stormy marriage to the cellist Pablo Casals. She was highly respected in Lieder and concert recital.-Origins:Susan Metcalfe was born in Florence, the...
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Grace MooreGrace Moore was an American operatic soprano and actress in musical theatre and film. She was nicknamed the "Tennessee Nightingale." Her films helped to popularize opera by bringing it to a larger audience.-Early life:...
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Gladys SwarthoutGladys Swarthout was an American mezzo-soprano opera singer.-Career:...
, Ina Souez,
Maggie TeyteDame Maggie Teyte DBE was an English operatic soprano and interpreter of French art song.-Early years:Margaret Tate was born in Wolverhampton, England, one of ten children of Jacob James Tate, a successful wine and spirit merchant and proprietor of public houses and later lodgings. Her parents...
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Isobel BaillieDame Isobel Baillie DBE was a Scottish soprano, popular in opera, oratorio and lieder. She was regarded as one of the 20th century's great oratorio singers.Isobel Baillie was born in Hawick, Scottish Borders, in 1895...
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Dora LabbetteDora Labbette was an English soprano. Her career spanned the concert hall and the opera house. She conspired with Sir Thomas Beecham to appear at the Royal Opera House masquerading as an Italian singer by the name of Lisa Perli...
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Joan CrossJoan Cross was an English soprano, closely associated with the operas of Benjamin Britten. She also sang in the Italian and German operatic repertoires. She later became a musical administrator, taking on the direction of the Sadler's Wells Opera Company.-Career:Cross was born in London...
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Florence EastonFlorence Easton was a popular English dramatic soprano in the early 20th century. She was one of the most versatile singers of all time. She sang more than 100 parts, covering a wide range of styles and periods, from Mozart, Meyerbeer, Gounod, Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Strauss, Schreker and Krenek...
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Rosa PonselleRosa Ponselle , was an American operatic soprano with a large, opulent voice. She sang mainly at the New York Metropolitan Opera and is generally considered by music critics to have been one of the greatest sopranos of the past 100 years.-Early life:She was born Rosa Ponzillo on January 22, 1897,...
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Marjorie LawrenceMarjorie Florence Lawrence CBE was an Australian soprano, particularly noted as an interpreter of Richard Wagner's operas. She was the first soprano to perform the immolation scene in Götterdämmerung by riding her horse into the flames as Wagner had intended. She was afflicted by polio from 1941...
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Eva TurnerDame Eva Turner DBE was an English dramatic soprano with an international reputation. Her strong, steady and well-trained voice was renowned for its clarion power in Italian and German operatic roles.-Career:...
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Florence AustralFlorence Austral was an Australian operatic soprano renowned for her interpretation of the most demanding Wagnerian female roles, although she never gained the opportunity to appear at the Bayreuth Festival or the New York Metropolitan Opera.She was born Florence Mary Wilson, but adopted the...
The East European/Slavic School
Jarmila NovotnáJarmila Novotná was a celebrated Czech soprano and actress and, from 1940 to 1956, a star of the Metropolitan Opera.-Early career:...
, Nathalie Vechor, Ada Nordenova, Maria Kurenko, Xenia Belmas,
Ada SariAda Sari was a Polish opera singer, actress, and educator. One of the leading coloratura sopranos of her generation, she possessed a large, resonant voice with a clear timbre. Her career took her to the stages of the best opera houses and concert halls in Europe during the first half of the 20th...
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Oda SlobodskayaOda Slobodskaya 1888 - 1970 was a Russian born soprano who later became a British citizen.Her biographer, Maurice Leonard quotes Slobodskaya as having been born on 28 November 1888 in Vilno near the Polish border...
, Maria Krasová, Maria Basilides,
Mark ReizenMark Osipovich Reizen, also Reisen or Reyzen — died November 25, 1992 Moscow, Russia) was a leading Soviet opera singer with a beautiful and expansive bass voice.-Life and career:...
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Feodor ChaliapinFeodor Ivanovich Chaliapin was a Russian opera singer. The possessor of a large and expressive bass voice, he enjoyed an important international career at major opera houses and is often credited with establishing the tradition of naturalistic acting in his chosen art form.During the first phase...
, Imry Palló,
Vladimir RosingVladimir Sergeyevich Rosing , aka Val Rosing, was a Russian-born operatic tenor and stage director who spent most of his professional career in England and the United States...
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Sergei LemeshevSergei Yakovlevich Lemeshev was one of the most well-known and beloved Russian operatic lyric tenors.-Early Life and Career:Lemeshev was born into a peasant family, and his father wanted him to become a cobbler. In 1914, he left a parish school and was sent to be trained to make shoes in St...
The Anglo-American School
Margaret Ritchie,
Gwen CatleyGwen Catley was an English coloratura soprano who sang in opera, concert and revues. She often sang on radio and television, and made numerous recordings of songs and arias, mostly in English...
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Dorothy KirstenDorothy Kirsten was an American operatic soprano.-Biography:...
, Florence Quartararo,
Elsie HoustonElsie Houston was a Brazilian singer.Elsie Houston was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1902. She was the descendent of confederados, southern plantation owners that had come to Brazil after the American Civil War...
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Eleanor SteberEleanor Steber was an American operatic soprano. Steber is noted as one of the first major opera stars to have achieved the highest success with training and a career based in the United States.-Biography:...
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Maggie TeyteDame Maggie Teyte DBE was an English operatic soprano and interpreter of French art song.-Early years:Margaret Tate was born in Wolverhampton, England, one of ten children of Jacob James Tate, a successful wine and spirit merchant and proprietor of public houses and later lodgings. Her parents...
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Dorothy MaynorDorothy Maynor was an American soprano, concert singer, and the founder of the Harlem School of the Arts.-Early life:...
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Joan HammondDame Joan Hilda Hood Hammond, DBE, CMG was an Australian operatic soprano, singing coach and champion golfer.- Early life :...
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Astrid VarnayIbolyka Astrid Maria Varnay was an American dramatic soprano of Hungarian heritage and Swedish birth, who did most of her work in the United States and Germany. She was one of the best-known Wagnerian heroic sopranos of her generation...
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Helen TraubelHelen Francesca Traubel was an American opera and concert singer. A dramatic soprano, she was best known for her Wagnerian roles, especially those of Brünnhilde and Isolde. Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, she began her career as a concert singer and went on to sing at the Metropolitan...
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Rose BamptonRose Bampton was a celebrated American opera singer who had an active international career during the 1930s and 1940s. She began her professional career performing mostly minor roles from the mezzo-soprano repertoire in 1929 but later switched to singing primarily leading soprano roles in 1937...
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Blanche ThebomBlanche Thebom was an American operatic mezzo-soprano, voice teacher, and opera director. She was part of the first wave of American opera singers that had highly successful international careers. In her own country she had a long association with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City which...
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Jennie TourelJennie Tourel was a Russian-American operatic mezzo-soprano, known for her work in both opera and recital performances....
, Flora Nielsen,
Gladys Ripley-Early life:She was born in Forest Gate, Essex, the daughter of Alfred and Amy Ripley, and was educated at St. Edmund Roman Catholic School, East Ham, and at Clark's Business College.- Career :...
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Kathleen FerrierKathleen Mary Ferrier CBE was an English contralto who achieved an international reputation as a stage, concert and recording artist, with a repertoire extending from folksong and popular ballads to the classical works of Bach, Brahms, Mahler and Elgar...
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David LloydDavid George Lloyd was a Welsh singer. Lloyd, a tenor, was noted for being one of the first Welsh solo singers to seek a broader audience beyond Wales, in the concert halls and recording studios of England, mainland Europe, and North America.During his lifetime, Lloyd was renowned in opera,...
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Webster BoothLeslie Webster Booth , better known by his stage name, Webster Booth, was a British tenor. He is largely remembered today as the duettist partner of Anne Ziegler, but he was also one of the finest British tenors of his generation and was a distinguished oratorio soloist.He was a chorister at...
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Peter PearsSir Peter Neville Luard Pears CBE was an English tenor who was knighted in 1978. His career was closely associated with the composer Edward Benjamin Britten....
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Jan PeerceJan Peerce was an American operatic tenor. Peerce was an accomplished performer on the operatic and Broadway concert stages, in solo recitals, and as a recording artist. He is the father of film director Larry Peerce....
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Walter MidgleyWalter Midgley was an English operatic tenor who sang leading roles at the Royal Opera House and elsewhere from the 1930s to the 1950s....
, James Johnston,
Richard TuckerRichard Tucker was an American operatic tenor.-Early life:Tucker was born Rivn Ticker in Brooklyn, New York, into a family of Romanian immigrants from Bessarabia. His father, Shmul Ticker, and mother Fanya-Tsipa Ticker had already adopted the surname "Tucker" by the time their son entered first...
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Alfred DellerAlfred George Deller CBE , was an English singer and one of the main figures in popularizing the return of the countertenor voice in Renaissance and Baroque music during the 20th Century....
, Robert Irwin, Frederick Fuller,
Igor GorinIgor Gorin was an Austrian baritone and music teacher.-Early life:Gorin was born Ignatz Greenberg on October 26, 1904, in the small village of Grodek in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His father, Sholom Greenberg, was a rabbi and a Talmudist who taught religion in Grodek and in the neighboring...
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Mack HarrellMack Harrell was an American baritone who was regarded as one of the greatest concert singers of his generation....
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Leonard WarrenLeonard Warren was a famous American opera singer. A baritone, he was a leading artist for many years with the Metropolitan Opera in New York.-Biography:...
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Robert MerrillRobert Merrill was an American operatic baritone.-Early life:Merrill was born Moishe Miller, later known as Morris Miller, in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York, to tailor Abraham Miller, originally Milstein, and his wife Lillian, née Balaban, immigrants from Warsaw, Poland.His mother...
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Norman WalkerNorman Walker was an English bass singer, distinguished for his work in both opera and oratorio.- Early development :...
, George London,
Oscar Natzka-Early life:Born as Franz Oscar Natzke at Wharepuhunga, North Island, New Zealand, he was the son of August Natzke , who had emigrated to New Zealand and settled in Otorohanga, and Emma Carter Natzke, of Christchurch, New Zealand, who was a singer.As a boy, the young Natzke worked...
The French School
Mado RobinMadeleine Marie Robin, known as Mado Robin , was a French coloratura soprano.She was born in Yzeures-sur-Creuse, Touraine, where she owned the Château Les Vallées. A star of television and radio in the 1950s, she was well known in France...
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Martha AngeliciMartha Angelici , was a French operatic soprano of Corsican origin, particularly associated with the French lyric repertoire....
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Irène JoachimIrène Joachim, born 13 March 1913 in Paris, died 20 April 2001, also in Paris, was a French soprano, and later a vocal teacher.-Early life:Daughter of Herman Joachim and Suzanne Chaigneau, and grand-daughter of the violinist Joseph Joachim, she learnt violin and piano as a child...
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Géori BouéGeorgette "Géori" Boué is a French soprano, particularly associated with the French repertory, especially Thais. She was born in Toulouse.- Life and career :...
, Ginette Guillamat,
Renée DoriaRenée Doria is a French opera singer, one of the leading lyric coloratura soprano of her era in France.- Biography :...
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Victoria de los ÁngelesVictoria de los Ángeles was a Spanish Catalan operatic soprano and recitalist whose career began in the early 1940s and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. Her obituary in The Times noted that she must be counted “among the finest singers of the second half...
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Suzanne DancoSuzanne Danco , was a celebrated Belgian soprano and mezzo-soprano.-Career:Suzanne Danco was born in Brussels and grew up in a Flemish background although French was her native language...
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Suzanne JuyolSuzanne Juyol was a French opera singer, the leading dramatic soprano of her era in France.Suzanne Juyol studied at the Paris Conservatory, and made her professional debut at the Palais Garnier, in 1942, as Margared in Le roi d'Ys, followed by Fauré's Pénélope, Dukas's Ariadne, Marguerite in...
, Irma Kolassi,
Solange MichelSolange Michel was a French classical mezzo-soprano who sang in concerts, recitals, and operas from the 1930s to the 1970s...
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Hélène BouvierHélène Bouvier was a French operatic mezzo-soprano, particularly associated with the French repertoire....
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Rita GorrRita Gorr , is a Belgian operatic mezzo-soprano. She possessed a large, rich-toned voice and was an intense singing-actress, especially in dramatic roles such as Ortrud and Amneris , two of her greatest roles....
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Hugues CuénodHugues-Adhémar Cuénod was a Swiss tenor known for his performances in opera, operetta, both traditional and musical theatre, and on the concert stage, where he was particularly known for his light, romantic and expressive interpretation of mélodie...
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Raoul JobinRaoul Jobin, was a French-Canadian operatic tenor, particularly associated with the French repertory.- Life and career :...
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Pierre BernacPierre Bernac was a French baritone.Born Pierre Bertin in Paris on January 12, 1899, he studied with Reinhold von Wahrlich in Salzburg. he came to music relatively late and gave his first recital in 1921....
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Camille MauraneCamille Maurane, born Camille Moreau , was a French baritone singer. His father was a music teacher and he started singing as a child in the Maîtrise Saint-Evode in Rouen...
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Gérard SouzayGérard Souzay was a French baritone singer, regarded as one of the very finest interpreters of mélodie in the generation after Charles Panzéra and Pierre Bernac.-Background and education:...
The German School
Elisabeth SchumannElisabeth Schumann was a German lyric soprano who sang in opera, operetta, oratorio, and lieder. She left a substantial legacy of recordings.-Career:...
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Erika KöthErika Köth was a German operatic high coloratura soprano, particularly associated with the roles of Zerbinetta and Zerlina....
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Maria StaderMaria Stader was a Hungarian born Swiss lyric soprano, known particularly for her Mozart interpretations.-Biography:...
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Elisabeth SchwarzkopfDame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, DBE was a German-born Austrian/British soprano opera singer and recitalist. She was among the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century, much admired for her performances of Mozart, Schubert, Strauss, and Wolf.-Early life:Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike...
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Irmgard SeefriedIrmgard Seefried was a distinguished German soprano who sang opera and lieder.Maria Theresia Irmgard Seefried was born in Köngetried, near Mindelheim, Bavaria, Germany, the daughter of educated Austrian-born parents. She studied at Augsburg University before making her debut in Aachen as the...
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Maria ReiningMaria Reining was an Austrian soprano and Kammersänger.At first, Reining worked as in a Viennese bank, and didn't commence her signing career until the age of 28, when she started to sing at the Vienna State Opera, mainly in soubrette roles...
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Elisabeth GrümmerElisabeth Schilz Grümmer was a German operatic lyric soprano.She was born at Niederjeutz, near Diedenhofen, Alsace-Lorraine to German parents...
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Sena JurinacSena Jurinac Sena (Srebrenka) Jurinac Sena (Srebrenka) Jurinac ([juˈrinats] (24 October 192122 November 2011) was a Bosnian Croat/Austrian operatic soprano.Born in Travnik, Bosnia-Herzegovina, she studied at the Zagreb Academy of Music, and also with Milka Kostrenčić (whose other well-known...
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Ljuba WelitschLjuba Welitsch was a celebrated Bulgarian, later Austrian, operatic soprano.She studied singing at Sofia Conservatory with professor Georgi Zlatev-Cherkin. After specializing in Vienna, she first appeared in Sofia in 1936...
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Gré BrouwenstijnThe Dutch lyric-dramatic soprano Gré Brouwenstijn was a famous opera singer whose stage career spanned from the early 1940s to the mid-1970s. She was admired for her warm, radiant voice, her stage presence, her dramatic instincts, and her "Ingrid Bergman" looks...
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Leonie RysanekLeopoldine "Leonie" Rysanek was an Austrian dramatic soprano.-Biography:Rysanek was born in Vienna and made her operatic debut in 1949 in Innsbruck. In 1951 the Bayreuth Festival reopened and the new leader Wieland Wagner asked her to sing Sieglinde...
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Inge BorkhInge Borkh is a German soprano.Borkh was born Ingeborg Simon in Mannheim, Germany, in 1921. She was initially an actress and had some training in dance, both of which served her well in opera: she became known both for her voice and for her dramatic intensity - the "singing actress" exemplified,...
, Friedel Beckmann,
Hilde KonetzniHilde Konetzni was an Austrian operatic soprano, particularly associated with Wagner roles, especially Sieglinde, based largely at the Vienna State Opera....
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Elisabeth HöngenElisabeth Höngen was a German operatic mezzo-soprano, particularly associated with Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss roles, and with Verdi's Lady Macbeth....
, Hugo Meyer Welfing,
Anton DermotaKammersänger Anton Dermota was a Slovene tenor.He was born in a poor family Born in the Upper Carniolan village of Kropa, in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire . He went to the Ljubljana Conservatory with the intention of studying composition and organ, but in 1934 he received a scholarship...
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Walther LudwigWalther Ludwig was a German operatic lyric tenor, particularly associated with Mozart roles and Schubert lieder....
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Julius PatzakJulius Patzak was an Austrian tenor distinguished in operatic and concert work. He was particularly noted in Mozart, Beethoven and in early 20th century German repertoire.-Biography:...
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Peter AndersPeter Anders was a German operatic tenor who sang a wide range of parts in the German, Italian, and French repertories...
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Rudolf SchockRudolf Johann Schock was a German tenor.He sang a wide repertory from operetta to Lohengrin, recording among others opera and lieder, doing television, radio and film work. Slim and handsome, he made many films.His voice fell almost into the heldentenor fach but was smaller and more...
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Dietrich Fischer-DieskauDietrich Fischer-Dieskau is a retired German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous lieder performers of the post-war period and "one of the supreme vocal artists of the 20th century"...
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Karl Schmitt-WalterKarl Schmitt-Walter was a prominent German opera singer, particularly associated with Mozart and the more lyrical Wagner baritone roles....
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Erich KunzErich Kunz was an Austrian operatic bass-baritone, particularly associated with the roles of Papageno and Beckmesser....
, Marko Rothmuller,
Paul SchöfflerPaul Schöffler was a German operatic baritone, particularly associated with Mozart, Wagner, Strauss roles....
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Hans HotterHans Hotter was a German operatic bass-baritone, admired internationally after World War II for the power, beauty, and intelligence of his singing, especially in Wagner operas. He was extremely tall and his appearance was striking because of his high, narrow face, wide mouth, and big, aquiline nose...
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Ludwig WeberLudwig Weber was an Austrian bass.Ludwig Weber was born in Vienna in 1899. He initially planned to pursue a career as a teacher and artist when he discovered his vocal promise and decided to pursue an opera career...
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Josef HerrmannJosef Herrmann was a German baritone, notable for his performances in the operas of Richard Wagner.He was born in Darmstadt and made his professional debut at Kaiserslautern...
, Theo Herrmann,
Gottlob FrickGottlob Frick was a German bass who sang in opera. He was known for his wide repertory including Wagner and Mozart roles, as well as those of Nicolai and Lortzing.-Career:...
The Scandinavian School
Kirsten FlagstadKirsten Målfrid Flagstad was a Norwegian opera singer and a highly regarded Wagnerian soprano...
, Lorri Lail, Gjurgja Leppée,
Aksel SchiøtzAksel Schiøtz was a Danish tenor who was considered one of Europe's leading Lieder singer of post World War II, and later baritone....
, Stefán Íslandi,
Nicolai GeddaNicolai Gedda is a Swedish operatic tenor. Having made some two hundred recordings, Gedda is said to be the most widely recorded tenor in history...
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Jussi BjörlingJohan Jonatan "Jussi" Björling was a Swedish tenor. One of the leading operatic singers of the 20th Century, Björling appeared frequently at the Royal Opera House in London, La Scala in Milan, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York City as well as at other major European opera...
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Hugo HassloHugo Hasslo was a Swedish operatic baritone.Hasslo studied in Stockholm with Hjaldis Ingebjart and Joseph Hislop and made his debut at the Stockholm Opera, as Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte, in 1940, where he remained until 1964, quickly establishing himself as first baritone.He was particularly...
, Bernhard Sönnerstedt, Joel Berglund,
Kim BorgKim Borg was a Finnish bass, teacher and composer. He had wide-ranging, resonant, warm voice.-Biography:Kim Borg was born in Helsinki...
The Russian and Slavonic Schools
Mascia Predit,
Zara DolukhanovaZara Dolukhanova was an Armenian mezzo-soprano who achieved fame performing on many lauded radio broadcasts of operas and works from the concert repertoire during the 1940s through the 1960s...
, Claudia Novikova,
Nadezhda ObukhovaNadezhda Andreevna Obukhova was a Russian mezzo-soprano. She was awarded the title People’s Artist of the USSR in 1937. Pianist Heinrich Neuhaus said that "he who even once hears her voice, will never forget it...". Asteroid 9914 Obukhova is named for her.- Childhood :Obukhova came from an...
, Georgi Vinogradov, Ivan Zhadan, Georgi Nelepp,
Beno BlachutBeno Blachut was a lauded Czech operatic tenor. An icon in his own nation, Blachut drew international acclaim through his many commercial recordings of Czech music. He was an instrumental part of the post-World War II school of Czech opera singers that were responsible for popularizing Czech opera...
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Ivan KozlovskyIvan Semyonovitch Kozlovsky was a Soviet lyric tenor of Ukrainian ethnicity, one of the greatest stars of Soviet opera, as well a producer and director of his own opera company, and longtime teacher at the Moscow Conservatory.-Biography:...
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Pavel LisitsianPavel Gerasimovich Lisitsian was a Soviet baritone opera singer who performed in the Bolshoi Opera, Moscow from 1940 until his retirement from stage in 1966....
, Andrei Ivanov,
Boris ChristoffBoris Christoff was a Bulgarian opera singer...
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Mark ReizenMark Osipovich Reizen, also Reisen or Reyzen — died November 25, 1992 Moscow, Russia) was a leading Soviet opera singer with a beautiful and expansive bass voice.-Life and career:...
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Boris GmyryaBoris Romanovich Gmyrya was a Soviet basso cantante singer of opera and art song.During World War II, he stayed in Nazi-occupied Poltava where he performed for the Germans. This kind of behavior was considered to be collaboration with enemy by the Soviet authorities, and Gmyrya would be...
, Endre Koréh
The Italian School
Ferruccio TagliaviniFerruccio Tagliavini was an Italian operatic tenor mainly active in the 1940s and 1950s...
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Beniamino GigliBeniamino Gigli was an Italian opera singer. The most famous tenor of his generation, he was renowned internationally for the great beauty of his voice and the soundness of his vocal technique. Music critics sometimes took him to task, however, for what was perceived to be the over-emotionalism...
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Giuseppe Di StefanoGiuseppe Di Stefano was an Italian operatic tenor who sang professionally from the late 1940s until the early 1990s. He was known as the "Golden voice" or "The most beautiful voice", as the true successor of Beniamino Gigli...
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Luigi InfantinoLuigi Infantino was an Italian operatic tenor, particularly associated with the lyric Italian and French repertories.Luigi Infantino studied at the Parma Conservatory with Italo Brancucci...
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Giovanni MalipieroGiovanni Malipiero was an operatic tenor who enjoyed a prominent career on stage and on radio in his native Italy during the 1930s and '40s.-Career and recorded legacy:...
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Giacinto PrandelliGiacinto Prandelli was an Italian operatic tenor, particularly associated with the Italian and French repertoires.-Life and career:Born in Lumezzane, Italy, Prandelli sang as a boy in a church choir...
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Mario Del MonacoMario Del Monaco was an Italian tenor who is regarded by his admirers as being one of the greatest dramatic tenors of the 20th century....
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Paolo SilveriPaolo Silveri was an Italian baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, one of the finest Verdi baritones of his time....
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Tito GobbiTito Gobbi was an Italian operatic baritone with an international reputation.-Biography:Tito Gobbi was born in Bassano del Grappa and studied law at the University of Padua before he trained as a singer. Giulio Crimi, a well-known Italian tenor of a previous generation, was Gobbi's teacher in Rome...
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Giuseppe ValdengoGiuseppe Valdengo was an Italian operatic baritone. Opera News said that, "Although his timbre lacked the innate beauty of some of his baritone contemporaries, Valdengo's performances were invariably satisfying — bold and assured in attack but scrupulously musical."-Biography:Valdengo first...
, Giampiero Malaspina,
Gino BechiGino Bechi was an Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially in Verdi roles.-Life and career:...
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Raffaele AriéRaffaele Arié was a Bulgarian bass, particularly associated with the Italian and Russian repertories....
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Nicola Rossi-LemeniNicola Rossi Lemeni, , was a basso opera singer of mixed Italian-Russian parentage.Rossi Lemeni was born in Istanbul, Turkey, the son of an Italian colonel and a Russian mother. In his prime he was one of the most respected bassos in Italy...
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Tancredi PaseroTancredi Pasero was an Italian bass who enjoyed a long and distinguished singing career in his native country and abroad.-Career & recordings:...
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Cloe ElmoCloë Elmo was an Italian operatic contralto, particularly associated with the Italian repertory.She was born in Lecce and began singing at an early age. By the age of seventeen, she had begun her studies at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome with Edwige Chibaudo, and later with Rinolfi and...
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Giulietta SimionatoGiulietta Simionato was an Italian mezzo-soprano. Her career spanned from the 1930s until her retirement in 1966.-Life:Born at Forlì, Romagna, she studied in Rovigo and Padua, and made her operatic debut at Montagnana in 1928...
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Fedora BarbieriFedora Barbieri was an Italian mezzo-soprano.Barbieri was born in Trieste. She made her official debut in Florence in 1940, but retired in 1943 because of her marriage. She re-emerged in 1945. She was one of the first performers to investigate and perform in early operas by Monteverdi and Pergolesi...
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Ebe StignaniEbe Stignani was an Italian opera singer, who was pre-eminent in the dramatic mezzo-soprano roles of the Italian repertoire during a stage career of more than thirty years.-Career:...
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Alda NoniAlda Noni was an Italian soprano leggiero, one of the leading soubrette of the immediate postwar period.Born in Trieste, she first studied voice and piano in her native city, and completed her studies in Vienna...
, Elena Arizmendi,
Margherita CarosioMargherita Carosio was an Italian operatic soprano. She was one of the most remarkable light lyric sopranos of her generation. Her warm, expressive and expertly produced voice is preserved in many Parlophone and Ultraphon recordings made before World War II, as well as a memorable series made for...
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Magda LászlóMagda László was a Hungarian operatic soprano particularly associated with 20th century operas.She studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, and made her debut at the Budapest Opera in 1943, as Elisabeth in Tannhäuser, later singing Amelia in Simon Boccanegra.In 1946, she settled in...
, Alba Anzellotti,
Gabriella GattiGabriella Gatti was an Italian operatic soprano, primarily based in Italy and associated with the Italian repertory.Born Gabriella Pesci in Rome, where she studied voice and piano....
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Renata TebaldiRenata Tebaldi was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period...
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Sara ScuderiSara Scuderi was an Italian opera singer. She sang widely in Italy and Europe , having had a seven-year contract at La Scala, "where she received high praise for her intepretations of the most well-known operas" .-Biography:Born in Catania, Sicily, Sara Scuderi made her debut at the Teatro Lirico...
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Margherita GrandiMargherita Grandi was an Australian-born Italian soprano, particularly associated with dramatic Italian roles. She possessed a powerful voice and was a forceful singing-actress in the grand manner.-Life and career:...
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Zinka MilanovZinka Milanov was a Croatian-born operatic spinto soprano who had a major career centred on the New York Metropolitan Opera.-Biography:...
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Maria CallasMaria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...
Wagner singers of the 1950s and early 1960s
Kirsten FlagstadKirsten Målfrid Flagstad was a Norwegian opera singer and a highly regarded Wagnerian soprano...
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Birgit Nilssonright|thumb|Nilsson in 1948.Birgit Nilsson was a celebrated Swedish dramatic soprano who specialized in operatic and symphonic works...
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Elisabeth GrümmerElisabeth Schilz Grümmer was a German operatic lyric soprano.She was born at Niederjeutz, near Diedenhofen, Alsace-Lorraine to German parents...
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Régine CrespinRégine Crespin was a French singer who had a major international career in opera and on the concert stage between 1950 and 1989. She started her career singing roles in the dramatic soprano and spinto soprano repertoire, drawing particular acclaim singing Wagner and Strauss heroines...
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Rita GorrRita Gorr , is a Belgian operatic mezzo-soprano. She possessed a large, rich-toned voice and was an intense singing-actress, especially in dramatic roles such as Ortrud and Amneris , two of her greatest roles....
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Gottlob FrickGottlob Frick was a German bass who sang in opera. He was known for his wide repertory including Wagner and Mozart roles, as well as those of Nicolai and Lortzing.-Career:...
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Ludwig WeberLudwig Weber was an Austrian bass.Ludwig Weber was born in Vienna in 1899. He initially planned to pursue a career as a teacher and artist when he discovered his vocal promise and decided to pursue an opera career...
,
Dietrich Fischer-DieskauDietrich Fischer-Dieskau is a retired German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous lieder performers of the post-war period and "one of the supreme vocal artists of the 20th century"...
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Fritz WunderlichFriedrich "Fritz" Karl Otto Wunderlich was a German lyric tenor, famed for his singing of the Mozart repertory and Italian and German opera and lieder. He died in an accident when he was only 35...
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Astrid VarnayIbolyka Astrid Maria Varnay was an American dramatic soprano of Hungarian heritage and Swedish birth, who did most of her work in the United States and Germany. She was one of the best-known Wagnerian heroic sopranos of her generation...
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Ludwig SuthausLudwig Suthaus was a German opera singer , who was born in Cologne and died in West Berlin.- Biography :...
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Martha MödlMartha Mödl was a German soprano, and later a mezzo-soprano. She specialized in large dramatic roles, most notably Wagnerian roles such as Isolde, Kundry, and Brünnhilde...
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Hans HotterHans Hotter was a German operatic bass-baritone, admired internationally after World War II for the power, beauty, and intelligence of his singing, especially in Wagner operas. He was extremely tall and his appearance was striking because of his high, narrow face, wide mouth, and big, aquiline nose...
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Otto EdelmannOtto Edelmann was an Austrian bass. He was born in Vienna and studied singing in Vienna with Gunnar Graarud. His debut was at Gera as Figaro in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. He later sang the Vienna State Opera, the Edinburgh Festival and the Metropolitan Opera...
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Rudolf SchockRudolf Johann Schock was a German tenor.He sang a wide repertory from operetta to Lohengrin, recording among others opera and lieder, doing television, radio and film work. Slim and handsome, he made many films.His voice fell almost into the heldentenor fach but was smaller and more...
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Ferdinand FrantzFerdinand Frantz , was a German operatic bass-baritone. He was well known in his time for his performances in the operas of Richard Wagner....
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Josef GreindlJosef Greindl was a German operatic bass.Josef Greindl was born in Munich and studied at the Munich Music Academy with Paul Bender. His opera debut was in 1936, as Hunding in Wagner's Die Walküre in the State Theatre in Krefeld. He is remembered mainly for his performances in Wagner at Bayreuth,...
Sopranos and mezzo-sopranos: 1953–1968
Joan HammondDame Joan Hilda Hood Hammond, DBE, CMG was an Australian operatic soprano, singing coach and champion golfer.- Early life :...
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Joan SutherlandDame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s....
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Maria CallasMaria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...
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Rita StreichRita Streich , was one of the most admired and recorded sopranos of the post-war period.Rita Streich was born in Barnaul in Russia, and moved to Germany with her parents during her childhood. She grew up bilingual, something that was extremely helpful during her later career...
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Erika KöthErika Köth was a German operatic high coloratura soprano, particularly associated with the roles of Zerbinetta and Zerlina....
, Renate Holm,
Elsie MorisonElsie Jean Morison is an Australian soprano.Morison was born in Ballarat, Victoria, and studied at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music from 1943-45...
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Antonietta StellaAntonietta Stella is an Italian operatic soprano, one of the finest Italian spinto sopranos of the 1950s and 1960s, possessing a beautiful and ample voice, and particularly associated with Verdi and Puccini roles.Stella studied at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and made her...
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Martha AngeliciMartha Angelici , was a French operatic soprano of Corsican origin, particularly associated with the French lyric repertoire....
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Janine MicheauJanine Micheau was a French singer, one of the leading lyric sopranos of her era in France.Janine Micheau was born in Toulouse, and studied voice at the Paris Conservatoire...
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Graziella SciuttiGraziella Sciutti was an Italian soprano opera singer and later vocal teacher and opera producer.-Career:Sciutti was born in Turin, Italy. Her parents were musical, her father being an organist; her mother was French...
, Aase Nordmo-Lövberg,
Anna MoffoAnna Moffo was an Italian-American opera singer and one of the leading lyric-coloratura sopranos of her generation...
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June BronhillJune Bronhill OBE was an internationally acclaimed Australian soprano opera singer.-Biography:She was born June Mary Gough in the inland Australian city of Broken Hill, New South Wales...
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Hilde GuedenThe Austrian soprano Hilde Gueden, or Güden was one of the most appreciated Straussian and Mozartian sopranos of her days...
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Victoria de los ÁngelesVictoria de los Ángeles was a Spanish Catalan operatic soprano and recitalist whose career began in the early 1940s and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. Her obituary in The Times noted that she must be counted “among the finest singers of the second half...
, Melitta Muszely,
Amy ShuardAmy Shuard CBE was an English operatic soprano renowned in such dramatic roles as Elektra, Turandot and Brünnhilde. She created both title roles in Janáček's Káťa Kabanová and Jenůfa in their respective British premieres. She has been described as "the best English dramatic soprano since Eva...
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Lisa Della CasaLisa Della Casa is a Swiss soprano most admired for her interpretations of major heroines in major operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Richard Strauss, of German lieder, and for her great beauty. She was dubbed “the most beautiful woman on the operatic stage”...
, Hanny Steffek,
Pilar LorengarLorenza Pilar García Seta was a Spanish soprano who used the professional name Pilar Lorengar. She was best known for her interpretations of opera and the Spanish genre Zarzuela, and as a soprano she was known for her full register, a youthful timbre as well as a distinctive vibrato.Pilar was...
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Andrée EspositoAndrée Esposito is a French opera singer, a lyric soprano particularly associated with the French repertory and contemporary works.- Biography :...
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Sari BarabasSari Barabas is a Hungarian operatic soprano, particularly associated with coloratura roles. She was born in Budapest.She planned to be a dancer, but after an injury she turned to singing...
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Lucia PoppLucia Popp was a notable Slovak operatic soprano. She began her career as a soubrette soprano, and later moved into the light-lyric and lyric coloratura soprano repertoire and then the lighter Richard Strauss and Wagner operas. Her career included performances at Vienna State Opera, the...
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Renata ScottoRenata Scotto is an Italian soprano and opera director.Recognized for her sense of style, musicality and as a remarkable singer-actress, Scotto is considered one of the preeminent singers of her generation, specializing in the bel canto repertoire with excursions into the verismo and Verdi...
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Elisabeth SchwarzkopfDame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, DBE was a German-born Austrian/British soprano opera singer and recitalist. She was among the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century, much admired for her performances of Mozart, Schubert, Strauss, and Wolf.-Early life:Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike...
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Mirella FreniMirella Freni, birth name Mirella Fregni, is an Italian opera soprano whose repertoire includes Verdi, Puccini, Mozart and Tchaikovsky...
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Anneliese RothenbergerAnneliese Rothenberger was a German operatic soprano who had an active international performance career which spanned from 1943 to 1983...
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Reri GristReri Grist is an American coloratura soprano, one of the pioneer African-American singers to enjoy a major international career in opera.-Biography:...
, Gwyneth Jones,
Christa LudwigChrista Ludwig is a retired German mezzo-soprano, distinguished for her performances of opera, Lieder, oratorio and other major religious works like masses and passions, and solos contained in symphonic literature...
Tenors: 1953–1968
Jussi BjörlingJohan Jonatan "Jussi" Björling was a Swedish tenor. One of the leading operatic singers of the 20th Century, Björling appeared frequently at the Royal Opera House in London, La Scala in Milan, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York City as well as at other major European opera...
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Henri LegayHenri Legay was a French operatic tenor. He was primarily French-based as his light lyric voice was especially suited to the French operatic repertoire....
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Léopold SimoneauLéopold Simoneau, CC, CQ was a French-Canadian lyric tenor, one of the outstanding Mozarteans of his time. In 1959 he became the first recipient of the Calixa-Lavallée Award.-Life and career:...
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Albert LanceAlbert Lance is a French tenor of Australian origin, based in France from the mid 1950s onwards, where he enjoyed a highly successful career....
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Eugenio FernandiEugenio Fernandi was an Italian tenor, particularly associated with lyric and spinto roles.Eugenio Fernandi was born in Pisa and raised in Turin, where he began his vocal studies with Aureliano Pertile. He later entered the opera school at La Scala in Milan and began appearing there in small roles...
, João Gibin,
Richard LewisRichard Lewis CBE was a Welsh tenor.Born Thomas Thomas in Manchester to Welsh parents, Lewis began his career as a boy soprano and studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music from 1939 to 1941...
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Charles CraigCharles James Craig was an English operatic tenor. He was known as one of "the most Italianate of English operatic tenors". From 1957 to 1980 he performed leading tenor roles at London's Royal Opera House and English National Opera...
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Giuseppe CamporaGiuseppe Campora , was an Italian operatic tenor. Campora was one of the greatest Puccinian tenors of his generation...
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Fritz WunderlichFriedrich "Fritz" Karl Otto Wunderlich was a German lyric tenor, famed for his singing of the Mozart repertory and Italian and German opera and lieder. He died in an accident when he was only 35...
, Ronald Dowd,
Alfredo KrausAlfredo Kraus Trujillo was a distinguished Spanish tenor of partly Austrian descent, particularly known for the artistry he brought to opera's bel canto roles...
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Luigi AlvaLuis Ernesto Alva y Talledo, better known as Luigi Alva is a Peruvian operatic tenor, active in the third quarter of the 20th century. He was admired for his purity of tone, the elegance of his phrasing and the clarity of his diction...
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Wilfred BrownWilfred Brown was an accomplished English tenor.He was born in Horsham, Sussex and educated at Collyer's School, then at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and Trinity College of Music. Brown was a lifelong member of the Religious Society of Friends...
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Jess ThomasJess Thomas was an American operatic tenor, best known for his Wagner singing.-Biography:Jess Floyd Thomas was born in Hot Springs, South Dakota. As a child he took part in various musical activities and later studied psychology at the University of Nebraska and Stanford University. He was...
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Franco CorelliFranco Corelli was a famous Italian tenor who had a major international opera career between 1951 and 1976. Associated in particular with the spinto and dramatic tenor roles of the Italian repertory, he was celebrated universally for his powerhouse voice, electrifying top notes, clear timbre, a...
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Peter SchreierPeter Schreier is a German tenor and conductor.-Early life:Schreier was born in Meissen, Saxony, and spent his first years in the small village of Gauernitz, near Meissen, where his father was a teacher, cantor and organist...
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Nicolai GeddaNicolai Gedda is a Swedish operatic tenor. Having made some two hundred recordings, Gedda is said to be the most widely recorded tenor in history...
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James KingJames King was widely regarded as the finest American heldentenor of the post-war period.-Biography:Born in Dodge City, Kansas, King studied music at Louisiana State University and earned a master's degree in 1952 from Kansas City University. He started singing as a baritone, but noticed in 1955...
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Luciano Pavarottiright|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
Baritones and basses: 1955–1967
Tito GobbiTito Gobbi was an Italian operatic baritone with an international reputation.-Biography:Tito Gobbi was born in Bassano del Grappa and studied law at the University of Padua before he trained as a singer. Giulio Crimi, a well-known Italian tenor of a previous generation, was Gobbi's teacher in Rome...
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Boris ChristoffBoris Christoff was a Bulgarian opera singer...
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Rolando PaneraiRolando Panerai Italian baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, he enjoyed a long and distinguished career in both comic and dramatic roles.Rolando Panerai was born in Campi Bisenzio, near Florence, Italy....
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Nicola Zaccaria Nicola Zaccaria , born Nicholas Angelos Zachariou was a Greek bass.-Career:Born in Piraeus, Zaccaria studied at the Athens Conservatory where he enjoyed his debut in 1949, aged 26. He sang at La Scala in 1953 and his position as a mainstay of the bass operatic repertoire was assured thereafter. He...
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Michel DensMichel Dens was a French baritone, particularly associated with the French repertory, both opera and operetta....
, Eberhard Wächter,
Ernest BlancErnest Blanc was a French opera singer, one of the leading baritones of his era in France.Born in Sanary-sur-Mer, Ernest Blanc studied at the Music Conservatory of Toulon with Sabran, from 1946 to 1949. He made his debut in Marseille, as Tonio, in 1950...
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Hermann PreyHermann Prey was a German lyric baritone. He is most famous for lieder and for light comic baritone roles in opera.-Biography:...
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Nicolai GhiaurovNicolai Ghiaurov was a Bulgarian opera singer and one of the most famous bass singers of the postwar period. He was admired for his powerful, sumptuous voice, and was particularly associated with roles of Verdi.Ghiaurov married the Italian soprano Mirella Freni in 1978...
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Cornell MacNeilCornell MacNeil , was an American operatic baritone known for his exceptional voice and long career with the Metropolitan Opera, which spanned 642 performances in twenty-six roles. F...
Sopranos: 1969–1988
Martina ArroyoMartina Arroyo is an operatic soprano of Puerto Rican and African-American descent who had a major international opera career during the 1960s through the 1980s...
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Mady MespléMady Mesplé is a French opera singer, the leading high coloratura soprano of her generation in France, sometimes heralded as the successor to Mado Robin.-Biography:...
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Elly AmelingElisabeth Sara "Elly" Ameling is a Dutch soprano.-Career:Ameling was born in Rotterdam. She studied with Bodi Rapp, Jo Bollekamp, Sem Dresden and Jacoba Dresden-Dhont and later French art song with Pierre Bernac...
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Montserrat CaballéMontserrat Caballé is a Spanish operatic soprano. Although she sang a wide variety of roles, she is best known as an exponent of the bel canto repertoire, notably the works of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi....
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Helga DerneschHelga Dernesch is an Austrian soprano and mezzo soprano. Her career has taken her through four successive phases: from mezzo-soprano to lyric soprano to dramatic soprano and after about 1980 back to mezzo again...
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Gundula JanowitzGundula Janowitz is an Austrian lyric soprano singer of operas, oratorios and concerts. She is one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century and was pre-eminent in the 1960s and 1970s.-Career:...
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Edda MoserEdda Moser is a German soprano. She was particularly well-known for her interpretations of music by Mozart. Her 1973 recital LP "Virtuoso Arias by W. A...
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Margaret PriceDame Margaret Berenice Price, DBE was a Welsh soprano.-Early years:Price was born in Blackwood, Wales. Born with deformed legs, she was operated on at age four and suffered pain in her legs the rest of her life. She often looked after her younger brother John who was born with a mental handicap...
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Beverly SillsBeverly Sills was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s. In her prime she was the only real rival to Joan Sutherland as the leading bel canto stylist...
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Galina VishnevskayaGalina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya is a Russian soprano opera singer and recitalist who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1966.-Biography:...
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Heather HarperHeather Harper CBE is a Northern Ireland-born British operatic soprano.She was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1930, where she received her early musical training...
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Leontyne PriceMary Violet Leontyne Price is an American soprano. Born and raised in the Deep South, she rose to international acclaim in the 1950s and 1960s, and was one of the first African Americans to become a leading artist at the Metropolitan Opera.One critic characterized Price's voice as "vibrant",...
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Ileana CotrubasIleana Cotrubaş is a Romanian opera soprano whose career spanned from the 1960s to the 1980s. She was much admired for her acting skills and facility for singing opera in many different languages.-Biography:...
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Elisabeth SöderströmElisabeth Anna Söderström CBE was a Swedish soprano, who performed both opera and song. She was particularly well known for her recordings of the lead soprano roles in the three Janáček operas Jenůfa, Káťa Kabanová, and The Makropoulos Affair, all of which received Gramophone Awards...
, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa,
Ghena DimitrovaGhena Dimitrova was a Bulgarian operatic soprano. Her voice was known for its power and extension used in operatic roles such as Turandot in a career spanning four decades.-Early career:...
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Jessye NormanJessye Norman is an American opera singer. Norman is a well-known contemporary opera singer and recitalist, and is one of the highest paid performers in classical music...
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Edita GruberovaEdita Gruberová , is a Slovak soprano who is one of the most acclaimed coloraturas of recent decades. She is noted for her great tonal clarity, agility, dramatic interpretation, and ability to sing high notes with great power, which made her an ideal Queen of the Night in her early years...
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Hildegard BehrensHildegard Behrens was a German soprano with a wide repertory including Wagner, Weber, Mozart, Richard Strauss, and Alban Berg roles.-Biography:...
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Luciana SerraLuciana Serra is an Italian soprano.-Debuts:Serra made her international debut in 1966 at the Hungarian State Opera House in Budapest, but did not achieve general acclaim until the late 1970s, when she took on coloratura roles in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and Bellini's La sonnambula...
Mezzo-sopranos: 1969–1984
Grace BumbryGrace Bumbry , an American opera singer, is considered one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her generation, as well as a major soprano for many years...
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Shirley VerrettShirley Verrett was an African-American operatic mezzo-soprano who successfully transitioned into soprano roles i.e. soprano sfogato...
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Yvonne MintonYvonne Fay Minton CBE is an Australian opera singer. She is variously billed as a soprano, mezzo-soprano or contralto.Yvonne Minton was born in Sydney, New South Wales. She studied voice on a scholarship at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music. She won the National Eisteddfod in Canberra,...
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Frederica von StadeFrederica von Stade is an American mezzo-soprano. Born in Somerville, New Jersey, she acquired the nickname "Flicka" in her childhood. Von Stade attended the Mannes College of Music in New York City. She made her debut with the Metropolitan Opera in 1970 and in 1971 appeared as Cherubino in The...
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Fiorenza CossottoFiorenza Cossotto is an Italian mezzo soprano. She is considered by many to be one of the great mezzo-sopranos of the 20th century.-Life and career:...
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Irina Arkhipova,
Elena ObraztsovaElena Vasiliyevna Obraztsova is a Russian mezzo-soprano, widely recognised as one of the greatest opera singers of all time, thanks to her outstanding stage presence and the vocal abilities....
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Teresa BerganzaTeresa Berganza, born on March 16, 1935), is a Spanish mezzo-soprano. She is most closely associated with the roles of Rossini, Mozart, and Bizet. She is admired for her technical virtuosity, musical intelligence and beguiling stage presence.- Biography :...
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Tatiana TroyanosTatiana Troyanos was an American mezzo-soprano of Greek and German descent.-Early life:...
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Agnes BaltsaAgnes Baltsa is a leading Greek mezzo-soprano.Baltsa was born in Lefkada. She began playing piano at the age of six, before moving to Athens in 1958 to concentrate on singing...
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Janet BakerDame Janet Abbott Baker, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English mezzo-soprano best known as an opera, concert, and lieder singer.She was particularly closely associated with baroque and early Italian opera and the works of Benjamin Britten...
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Marilyn HorneMarilyn Horne is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring a large sound, beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages....
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Ann MurrayAnn Murray DBE is an Irish mezzo-soprano. She was born on 27 August 1949, in Dublin. She studied with Frederic Cox at the Royal Manchester College of Music and made her stage debut as Alcestis in Christoph Willibald Gluck's Alceste in 1974...
Tenors: 1969–1988
Carlo BergonziCarlo Bergonzi is an Italian operatic tenor. Although he performed and recorded some bel canto and verismo roles, he is above all associated with the operas of Giuseppe Verdi, including a large number of the composer's lesser-known works that he helped revive...
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Jon VickersJonathan Stewart Vickers, CC , known professionally as Jon Vickers, is a retired Canadian heldentenor.Born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, he was the sixth in a family of eight children. In 1950, he was awarded a scholarship to study opera at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto...
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René KolloRené Kollo is a German tenor.-Biography:He was born René Kollodzieyski in Berlin and grew up in Wyk auf Föhr. He attended a photography school in Hamburg, although he had always been interested in music, particularly conducting. He did not begin to perform until the mid-50s...
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Ian PartridgeIan Partridge CBE is a retired English lyric tenor, whose repertoire ranged from Monteverdi, Bach and Handel, the Elizabethan lute songs, German, French and English songs, through to Schoenberg, Weill and Britten, and on to contemporary works. He formed a renowned vocal-piano duo with his sister...
, Donald Smith,
Franco BonisolliFranco Bonisolli was an Italian operatic tenor, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, notably as Manrico and Calaf.-Life and career:...
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José CarrerasJosep Maria Carreras i Coll , better known as José Carreras , is a Spanish Catalan tenor particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini...
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Alain VanzoAlain Vanzo was a French opera singer and composer, one of few French tenors of international standing in the postwar era...
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Neil ShicoffNeil Shicoff is an American Jewish opera singer and cantor known for his lyric tenor singing and his dramatic, emotional acting.- Beginnings :...
Baritones and basses: 1966–1986
John Shirley-QuirkJohn Shirley-Quirk CBE is an English bass-baritone.He was born in Liverpool, England, and sang in his high school choir. He played the violin and was awarded a scholarship. While studying chemistry and physics at Liverpool University, he studied voice with Austen Carnegie...
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Piero CappuccilliPiero Cappuccilli was an Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with Verdi roles, especiallyMacbeth and Simon Boccanegra; he was renowned for his extraordinary breath control and smooth legato, and is widely regarded as one of the finest Italian baritones of the second half of the 20th...
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Sir Geraint EvansSir Geraint Llewellyn Evans was a Welsh baritone or bass-baritone noted for operatic roles including Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, and the title roles in Falstaff and Wozzeck...
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Gabriel BacquierGabriel Bacquier is a French operatic baritone. One of the leading baritones of the 20th century and particularly associated with the French and Italian repertories, he is considered a fine singing-actor equally at home in dramatic or comic roles.-Life and career:Gabriel Bacquier was born in...
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Gérard SouzayGérard Souzay was a French baritone singer, regarded as one of the very finest interpreters of mélodie in the generation after Charles Panzéra and Pierre Bernac.-Background and education:...
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Kurt MollKurt Moll is a German operatic bass, now retired.-Biography:Moll was born in Buir, near Cologne, Germany. As a child, he played the cello and hoped to become a great cellist. He also sang in the school choir, and the conductor encouraged him to concentrate on singing...
, Walter Berry,
Peter GlossopPeter Glossop was an English baritone who was the only Englishman to have sung Verdi's great tragic baritone roles at La Scala, Milan...
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Ruggero RaimondiRuggero Raimondi is an Italian bass-baritone opera singer who has also appeared in motion pictures.-Early training and career:Ruggero Raimondi was born in Bologna, Italy, during World War II...
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Sherrill MilnesSherrill Milnes is an American operatic baritone most famous for his Verdi roles. From 1965 until 1997 he was associated with the Metropolitan Opera....
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Martti TalvelaMartti Talvela was a Finnish operatic bass.Born in Hiitola, Finland , he studied in Lahti and Stockholm, and made his operatic debut in Helsinki in 1960 as Sparafucile. At , he was the tallest singer of his century. He trained as a boxer in his youth and developed the stamina necessary for the...
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Aage HauglandAage Haugland was a Danish operatic bass.- Life and career :He was born in Copenhagen and made his professional debut in Oslo in 1968. From 1970 to 1973 he was based in Bremen, and appeared at Den Jyske Opera in Aarhus in 1972...
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José van DamJoseph, Baron van Damme , known as José van Dam, is a Belgian bass-baritone.At the age of 17, he entered the Brussels Royal Conservatory and studied with Frederic Anspach. A year later, he graduated with diplomas and first prizes in voice and opera performance...
, Sir Thomas Allen
Sopranos: 1989–2004
June AndersonJune Anderson is a Grammy Award-winning American coloratura soprano. Originally known for bel canto performances of Rossini, Donizetti, and Vincenzo Bellini, she was the first non-Italian ever to win the prestigious Bellini d'Oro prize...
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Barbara HendricksBarbara Hendricks is an African American operatic soprano and concert singer. Hendricks has lived in Europe since 1977, and in Switzerland on Lake Geneva since 1985, She is a citizen of Sweden.-Early life and education:...
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Cheryl StuderCheryl Studer is a Grammy Award winning American dramatic soprano who has sung at many of the world's major opera houses. A singer with unusual versatility, Studer has performed more than eighty roles ranging from the dramatic repertoire to roles more commonly associated with lyric sopranos and...
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Katia Ricciarelli-Biography:Born at Rovigo, Veneto, to a very poor family, she struggled during her younger years when she studied music.She studied at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice, won several vocal competitions in 1968, and made her professional debut as Mimì in La bohème in Mantua in 1969,...
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Dagmar SchellenbergerDagmar Schellenberger is a German operatic soprano with a large repertoire ranging from Bach to Wagner. She sings Blanche on the critically acclaimed DVD of the La Scala production of Francis Poulenc's opera Dialogues des Carmélites.- External links :*...
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Karita MattilaKarita Marjatta Mattila is a leading opera soprano. She was born in Somero, Finland.Mattila appears regularly in the major opera houses worldwide, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House in London, Théâtre du Châtelet, Opéra Bastille, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco...
, Solveig Kringelborn,
Ruth Ann SwensonRuth Ann Swenson is an American soprano who is renowned for her brilliance in coloratura roles.Born in Bronxville, New York and raised in Commack, New York on Long Island, Swenson studied at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia and briefly at Hartt College of Music in West Hartford, Connecticut...
, Dame Felicity Lott,
Christine BrewerChristine Brewer is an American soprano. She grew up in the Mississippi River town of Grand Tower, Illinois. She attended McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois and concentrated on music education. She was a music teacher for several years before embarking on a professional music performing...
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Jane EaglenJane Eaglen is an English dramatic soprano particularly known for her interpretations of the works of Richard Wagner and the title roles in Bellini's Norma and Puccini's Turandot.-Background:...
Mezzo-sopranos: 1988–2001
Brigitte FassbaenderBrigitte Fassbaender , is a mezzo-soprano opera singer, a stage director and since 1997 Intendant of the Tiroler Landestheater in Innsbruck, Austria...
, Anne Sofie von Otter,
Waltraud MeierWaltraud Meier is a Grammy Award–winning German dramatic soprano and mezzo-soprano singer. She is particularly known for her Wagnerian roles as Kundry, Isolde, Ortrud, Venus and Sieglinde, but has also had success in the French and Italian repertoire appearing as Eboli, Amneris, Carmen and Santuzza...
, Hera Lind,
Michelle DeYoungMichelle DeYoung is an American classical vocalist who has an active international career performing in operas and concerts. Raised in Colorado and California, DeYoung is a graduate of the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artists Development Program...
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Bernarda FinkBernarda Fink Inzko is an Argentinian mezzo-soprano. Born in Buenos Aires to Slovene parents, Bernarda Fink studied at the "Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colón" in Buenos Aires. She won First Prize at the Nuevas Voces Líricas competition in 1985 and moved to Europe...
, Katarina Karnéus, Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson
Tenors: 1989–2001
John AlerJohn Aler is an American lyric tenor who performs in concerts, recitals, and operas. He is particularly known for his interpretations of the works of Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, and Handel....
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Placido DomingoPlácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
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Chris MerrittChris Merritt is an opera singer. He studied piano, singing, dance and drama at Oklahoma City University where he made his first stage appearance in Jacques Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann in a university production. At age 21, he was accepted into the summer season Apprentice Program for...
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Ben HeppnerBen Heppner, CC is a Canadian tenor, specializing in opera and other classical works for voice.Heppner was born in Murrayville, British Columbia, and lived in Dawson Creek...
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Michael SchadeMichael Schade is a Canadian operatic tenor, who was born in Geneva and raised in Germany and Canada. He and his four children live in Oakville, Ontario; a city just outside of Toronto, Canada. The family has a second home in Vienna, Austria.Schade is considered a leading Mozart tenor...
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Roberto AlagnaRoberto Alagna is a French-Italian tenor. He was born in Clichy-sous-Bois, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.-Early years:Alagna was born outside of the city of Paris in 1963 to a family of Sicilian immigrants . As a teenager, the young Alagna began busking and singing pop in Parisian cabarets for tips...
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José CuraJosé Cura is a prominent operatic tenor known for his intense and original interpretations of his characters, notably Verdi’s Otello and Saint-Saëns’ Samson, as well as for his unconventional and innovative concert performances. He is also able to perform high baritone roles with the extended...
Baritones and basses: 1991–1995
Bryn TerfelBryn Terfel Jones CBE is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly Figaro and Leporello, but has subsequently shifted his attention to heavier roles, especially those by Wagner....
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Bernd WeiklBernd Weikl is an Austrian operatic baritone, best known for his performances in the operas of Richard Wagner.- Early career :...
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François Le RouxFrançois le Roux is a French baritone. Le Roux began vocal studies at 19 with François Loup, winning prizes in Barcelona and Rio de Janeiro. He was a member of the Lyon Opera Company from 1980 to 1985, before appearing in many international houses, making his Paris Opéra debut in 1988 as Valentin...
, Thomas Hampson,
Simon KeenlysideSimon Keenlyside CBE is a British baritone who has had an active international career performing in operas and concerts since the mid 1980s.-Early life and education:...
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Thomas QuasthoffThomas Quasthoff is a German bass-baritone. Although his reputation was initially based on his performance of Romantic lieder, Quasthoff has proven to have a remarkable range from the Baroque cantatas of Bach to solo jazz improvisations.-Biography:Quasthoff was born in Hildesheim, Germany, with...
Singers of Baroque and early music and early music 1953–2005
Female:
Montserrat FiguerasMontserrat Figueras García was a Catalan soprano who specialized in early music....
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Helen DonathHelen Jeanette Donath is an American soprano with a career spanning fifty years.- Biography :She was born in Corpus Christi, Texas and studied at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi and with Paola Novikova in New York....
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Arleen AugérJoyce Arleen Auger was an American soprano singer, admired for her coloratura voice and interpretations of works by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Monteverdi, Gluck, and Mozart.-Biography:...
, Emily Van Evera,
Nancy ArgentaNancy Maureen Argenta is a Canadian soprano singer, best known for performing music from the pre-classical era. She has won international acclaim, and is considered by many as the leading Handel soprano of her time.She was born in Nelson, British Columbia, Canada...
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Emma KirkbyDame Carolyn Emma Kirkby, DBE is an English soprano singer and one of the world's most renowned early music specialists. She attended Sherborne School For Girls in Dorset and was a classics student at Somerville College, Oxford, and an English teacher before developing a career as a soloist...
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Catherine KingCatherine King is an English mezzo-soprano, best known for her performances and recordings of mediaeval, renaissance and baroque music and also very active in performing classical oratorio, opera and contemporary music. She is the only female member of Gothic Voices and has made over 30...
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Patricia PetibonPatricia Petibon is a French coloratura soprano who has been acclaimed for her interpretations of French Baroque music.-Biography:...
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Susan GrahamSusan Graham is an American mezzo-soprano.Raised in Midland, Texas, she is a graduate of Texas Tech University and the Manhattan School of Music. She studied the piano for 13 years...
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Véronique GensVéronique Gens is a French soprano. She has spent much of her career recording and performing Baroque music....
Male:
Alfred DellerAlfred George Deller CBE , was an English singer and one of the main figures in popularizing the return of the countertenor voice in Renaissance and Baroque music during the 20th Century....
, James Bowman,
Nigel RogersNigel David Rogers is an English tenor, conductor, and teacher, who has made numerous recordings, mostly of early music.A native of Wellington, Shropshire, Rogers studied at King's College, Cambridge from 1953–1956, in Rome in 1957, in Milan from 1958–1959, and with Gerhard Hüsch at the Munich...
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Paul EsswoodPaul Esswood is an English countertenor. He is best known for his singing in Bach cantatas and the operas of Handel and Monteverdi. Along with his countrymen Alfred Deller and James Bowman, he led the revival of countertenor singing in modern times.Esswood was born in West Bridgford, England. He...
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Aris ChristofellisAris Christofellis is a sopranist who was born in Athens on 5 February 1960. After studying piano in Athens and Paris, he decided to concentrate on developing his singing voice.He made his debut in Bordeaux in 1984...
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Charles BrettSir Charles Edward Bainbridge Brett CBE . Born in Holywood, County Down, was a Northern Irish solicitor, journalist, author and founding member, and first chairman, of the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society...
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René Jacobs,
Michael ChanceMichael Chance CBE is an English countertenor.Chance was born in Penn, Buckinghamshire, into a musical family. After growing up as a chorister he attended Eton College, Berkshire, and later King's College, Cambridge...
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Harry van der KampHarry van der Kamp is a Dutch bass singer in opera and concert.- Singing career :Van der Kamp studied first law and psychology in Amsterdam...
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Dominique VisseDominique Visse is a French countertenor and founder of the Ensemble Clément Janequin. Visse devotes himself to performing of secular and religious music of the Renaissance. He is principally known for his interpretations of the Parisian chansons.He was a chorister in the Cathedral of Notre Dame...
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Derek Lee RaginDerek Lee Ragin is an American countertenor.Ragin studied as a piano major at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. While at Oberlin he took secondary voice lessons with Richard Anderson. He began his operatic career at Oberlin in Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream as Oberon...
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Gérard LesneGérard Lesne is a French countertenor. He also the founder and artistic director of the baroque music ensemble, Il Seminario Musicale...
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Philippe JarousskyPhilippe Jaroussky is a French sopranist countertenor. He began his musical career with the violin, winning an award at the Versailles conservatory and then took up the piano before turning to singing...
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Bejun MehtaBejun Mehta is an American countertenor who performs in operas, recitals, and concerts. He records for Harmonia Mundi.-Early life and family:...
Singers of the new millenium: 2000–2007
Sopranos, mezzo-sopranos and contraltos:
Angela GheorghiuAngela Gheorghiu is a Romanian soprano opera singer. Since her professional debut in 1990, she has sung as soprano leading roles at New York's Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden's Royal Opera House, the Vienna State Opera, Milan's La Scala, and many other opera houses in Europe and the United States...
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Sandrine PiauSandrine Piau is an opera soprano. Trained as a harpist, she studied voice at the Collège Lamartine and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique du Paris....
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Natalie DessayNatalie Dessay is a French coloratura soprano. She dropped the silent "h" in her first name in honor of Natalie Wood when she was in grade school and subsequently simplified the spelling of her surname outside France...
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Violeta UrmanaVioleta Urmana, born Violeta Urmanavičiūtė is a diva who began her career as a mezzo-soprano but has transitioned successfully into soprano roles....
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Patrizia CiofiPatrizia Ciofi, born in Casole d'Elsa, Siena, on June 7, 1967, is an Italian operatic soprano. She is married to the conductor Luciano Acocella....
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Joyce DiDonatoJoyce DiDonato is an award-winning American operatic mezzo-soprano particularly admired for her interpretations of the works of Handel, Mozart, and Rossini...
, Sine Bundgaard,
Deborah VoigtDeborah Voigt is an American operatic soprano. Voigt regularly performs in opera houses and concert halls worldwide.- Early life and education :...
, Christine Rice,
Nina StemmeNina Stemme is an opera singer known for her warm, solid spinto soprano voice, with some qualities of a dramatic soprano....
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Diana DamrauDiana Damrau is a German lyric coloratura soprano of the operatic stage.-Biography:Diana Damrau was born in 1971 in Günzburg, Bavaria, Germany, and began her operatic studies with Carmen Hanganu at the Musikhochschule in Würzburg. After graduating from music conservatory she worked in Salzburg...
, Hyunah Yu,
Kate RoyalKate Royal is an English lyric soprano. She is the daughter of Steve Royal, a singer and songwriter for television, and of Carolyn Royal, a former model and dancer....
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Stephanie BlytheStephanie Blythe is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer.-Biography:Blythe graduated from Monticello High School in 1987 and the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam in 1992. She was the recipient of the prestigious Richard Tucker Award in 1999...
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Vivica GenauxVivica Genaux is an American coloratura mezzo-soprano. Her father, an American of Belgian-Welsh descent, was a biochemistry professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and her mother, Mexican-born of Swiss-German extraction, was a language teacher...
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Marie-Music:* "Marie", a song written by Irving Berlin, that was a hit for Tommy Dorsey , Rudy Vallée , Nat Shilkret , Franklyn Bauer , The Four Tunes and The Bachelors*"Marie" , a hit for Johnny Hallyday*Marie, song by Solveig Sandnes...
Tenors and countertenors: Daniil Shtoda,
Jonas KaufmannJonas Kaufmann is a German operatic tenor. Although he has sung a variety of leading roles including both the Mozart and Wagner repertoire, he is particularly known for his performances in spinto roles such as Don José in Carmen, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Maurizio in Adriana Lecouvreur, and the title...
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Ian BostridgeIan Bostridge CBE is an English tenor, well known for his performances as an opera singer and as a song recitalist.-Early life and education:...
, Yu Qiang Dai, David Daniels,
Lawrence BrownleeLawrence Brownlee is an American operatic tenor particularly associated with the bel canto repertoire. In 2001 he won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He was named Seattle Opera's Artist of the Year in 2008 for his performances as Arturo in Bellini's I puritani. He has also...
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Rolando VillazónEmilio Rolando Villazón Mauleón is a Mexican tenor. He settled in France and in 2007 became a French citizen.-Early life and education:...
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Max Emanuel CencicMax Emanuel Cencic is a countertenor, currently based in Austria.- Early Career as a Boy Soprano :...
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Toby SpenceToby Spence, born London 1969, is a professional and internationally renowned tenor active on the concert platform, in the opera house and in recordings across a wide range of classical music.-Early life and studies:...
, Franco Fagioli
Baritones and basses:
Laurent NaouriLaurent Naouri is a French bass-baritone. Initially beginning his education at the École Centrale de Lyon, Naouri decided to concentrate on opera in 1986 and continued his musical studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.His professional career in France began in 1992 with...
, Giovanni Furlanetto,
Luca PisaroniLuca Pisaroni is an Italian operatic bass-baritone, known for his Mozartean roles. Although Pisaroni was born in Venezuela, at the age of four his family moved to Busseto, Italy were he grew up attending the musical academy by famous local tenor Carlo Bergonzi...
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Erwin SchrottErwin Schrott is an operatic bass-baritone, particularly known for his interpretation of the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni.-Career:...
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Jonathan LemaluJonathan Fa'afetai Lemalu is a New Zealand opera singer, of Samoan descent. Born in Dunedin, he sings in the bass baritone register....
, Rodion Pogossov,
Ildebrando D'ArcangeloIldebrando D'Arcangelo is an Italian bass-baritone opera singer.-Biography:A Native of Pescara, Abruzzo, D'Arcangelo began his studies in 1985 at the conservatory of Luisa D'Annunzio in Pescara, under Maria Vittoria Romano, honing his skills under Paride Venturi in Bologna.From 1989 to 1991 he...
Personal communication from Vivian Liff
I have become resigned to the compilation of "The Record of Singing" being ascribed to Michael Scott or to Keith Hardwick. Only Volume 2 in its LP issue gives a correct acknowledgement of the fact that the enterprise was my original concept and that the choice of records for the first two volumes was mine. It should also be mentioned that virtually all the recordings used in those volumes came from the Stuart-Liff collection, as did the photographs used in the books accompanying them. I was asked to write these books but the effort of compilation, pitching and taping for Michael Scott (whom I suggested should be asked to write the books) and Bryan Crimp, E.M.I's transfer maestro, occupied every moment of my available free time.
A few critics writing of the initial 2 volumes did give me credit. There was a long article with photos in the August 1978 issue of the American magazine Opera News on the Stuart–Liff collections with special reference to the Record of Singing. Dale Harris writing about all four volumes in the same magazine, a decade or so later, also set the record straight and was highly complimentary of my work. However, unknown and unacknowledged by all, were those innumerable tapes I had to make exclusively for the purpose of giving Michael some experience of the singers he was writing about - many of whom he had never previously heard. His often highly critical views on many favourite singers did not go down well with some reviewers but Michael's controversial writing certainly made readers want to return to the recordings, if only to disagree with his judgements.
The appearance of volume 1 occasioned real sadness when it was discovered that many selections had been transferred at the wrong speed. Unknown, either to Michael or to me, was the fact that Bryan Crimp was seriously unwell at the time. We were not given the promised pre-issue run-through during which we could have corrected many grievous errors. In fact, the first volume should have been withdrawn and money refunded to purchasers. Unfortunately this was not done, but a corrected edition was issued a year or two later, still on LP, using a slightly changed name. This was probably to overcome the difficulties caused by the fact that the original issue was a limited one.
Not long after the appearance of the second volume, we moved from England to the Isle of Man and the Stuart-Liff collection was sold. Keith Hardwick took over the project for the final volumes, in which I had no say. Although personally my relationship with Keith remained friendly until his death, he had such a strong antipathy to Michael Scott that he felt unable to collaborate with any of his friends. Unfortunately, to this day, the first two volumes still await transfer to CD.
Vivian Liff. 2 March 2006
Discography
External links