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Fedora Barbieri
Fedora Barbieri (4 June 1920 – 4 March 2003) was an Italian mezzo-soprano and actor. Barbieri was born in Trieste. She performed regularly in Florence for fifty years, and performed internationally through the years. She died, aged 82, in Florence. Career After studying singing with Federico Bugamelli and Luigi Toffolo, she won an audition at age twenty to enter the school of the Teatro Comunale in Florence, where she studied with Giulia Tess. She then debuted in November 1940, as Fidalma in Il matrimonio segreto. Her Teatro alla Scala debut, where she was to have her greatest successes, came in 1942, as Meg Page. She was one of the first performers to investigate and perform in early operas by Monteverdi and Pergolesi. She made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera on 6 November 1950, as Princess Eboli in Verdi's ''Don Carlos''. Altogether, she gave 95 performances there over 9 seasons, in 11 different roles. She also sang Eboli in the famous Luchino Visconti production f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above (i.e. A3–A5 in scientific pitch notation, where middle C = C4; 220–880 Hz). In the lower and upper extremes, some mezzo-sopranos may extend down to the F below middle C (F3, 175 Hz) and as high as "high C" (C6, 1047 Hz). The mezzo-soprano voice type is generally divided into the coloratura, lyric, and dramatic mezzo-soprano. History While mezzo-sopranos typically sing secondary roles in operas, notable exceptions include the title role in Bizet's '' Carmen'', Angelina (Cinderella) in Rossini's '' La Cenerentola'', and Rosina in Rossini's '' Barber of Seville'' (all of which are also sung by sopranos and contraltos). Many 19th-century French-language operas give the leading female role to mezzos, inc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maria Callas
Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel canto'' technique, wide-ranging voice and dramatic interpretations. Her repertoire ranged from classical ''opera seria'' to the ''bel canto'' operas of Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini and, further, to the works of Verdi and Puccini; and, in her early career, to the music dramas of Wagner. Her musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as ''La Divina'' ("the Divine one"). Born in Manhattan, New York City, to Greek immigrant parents, she was raised by an overbearing mother who had wanted a son. Maria received her musical education in Greece at age 13 and later established her career in Italy. Forced to deal with the exigencies of 1940s wartime poverty and with near-sightedness that left her nearly blind onstage, she endured struggles a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cesare Siepi
Cesare Siepi (10 February 19235 July 2010) was an Italian opera singer, generally considered to have been one of the finest basses of the post-war period. His voice was characterised by a deep, warm timbre, a full, resonant, wide-ranging lower register with relaxed vibrato, and a ringing, vibrant upper register. Although renowned as a Verdian bass, his tall, striking presence and the elegance of phrasing made him a natural for the role of Don Giovanni. He can be seen in that role on Paul Czinner's 1954 film of the opera made during an edition of the Salzburg Festival under the baton of Wilhelm Furtwängler. Early career Born in Milan (his year of birth is debated between 1919 and 1923, though 1923 is given as official), he began singing as a member of a madrigal group. He often claimed to have been largely self-taught, having attended the music conservatory in his home city for just a short time. His operatic career was interrupted by World War II. After his debut in 1941 (in S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herva Nelli
Herva Nelli (January 9, 1909May 31, 1994) was an Italian-American operatic soprano. Biography Named after the French socialist Gustave Hervé, she was born in Florence, where she attended a convent school. At the age of ten, however, she and her family left Italy for the United States, settling in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she later studied at the Pittsburgh Music Institute. In 1937, the soprano made her operatic debut with Brooklyn's Salmaggi Opera, as Santuzza in Mascagni's ''Cavalleria rusticana''. In ensuing seasons, she gained experience with that ensemble, presenting roles that would form the core of her repertoire, including Leonora in Verdi's ''La forza del destino'' (with Sydney Rayner as Don Alvaro, 1943) and another Leonora in Verdi's ''Il trovatore''. She also sang the title roles of Bellini's ''Norma'', Verdi's ''Aida'' (with Bernardo de Muro at the end of his career, 1944), and Ponchielli's '' La Gioconda''. In 1947, she made her New York City Opera debut, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Un Ballo In Maschera
''Un ballo in maschera'' ''(A Masked Ball)'' is an 1859 opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The text, by Antonio Somma, was based on Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's 1833 five act opera, '' Gustave III, ou Le bal masqué''. The plot concerns the assassination in 1792 of King Gustav III of Sweden who was shot, as the result of a political conspiracy, while attending a masked ball, dying of his wounds thirteen days later. It was to take over two years between the commission from Naples, planned for a production there, and its premiere performance at the Teatro Apollo in Rome on 17 February 1859. In becoming the ''Un ballo in maschera'' which we know today, Verdi's opera (and his libretto) underwent a significant series of transformations and title changes, caused by a combination of censorship regulations in both Naples and Rome, as well as by the political situation in France in January 1858. Based on the Scribe libretto and begun as ''Gustavo III'' set in Sto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Carlo
''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Friedrich Schiller. In addition, several incidents, of which the Forest of Fontainebleau scene and '' auto-da-fé'' were the most substantial, were borrowed from Eugène Cormon's 1846 play ''Philippe II, Roi d'Espagne''. The opera is most often performed in Italian translation, usually under the title ''Don Carlo''. The opera's story is based on conflicts in the life of Carlos, Prince of Asturias (1545–1568). Though he was betrothed to Elisabeth of Valois, part of the peace treaty ending the Italian War of 1551–59 between the Houses of Habsburg and Valois demanded that she be married instead to his father Philip II of Spain. It was commissioned and produced by the Théâtre Impérial de l'Opéra (Paris Opera) and given its premiere at t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Il Trovatore
''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's most successful play, one which Verdi scholar Julian Budden describes as "a high flown, sprawling melodrama flamboyantly defiant of the Aristotelian unities, packed with all manner of fantastic and bizarre incident." The premiere took place at the Teatro Apollo in Rome on 19 January 1853, where it "began a victorious march throughout the operatic world," a success due to Verdi's work over the previous three years. It began with his January 1850 approach to Cammarano with the idea of ''Il trovatore''. There followed, slowly and with interruptions, the preparation of the libretto, first by Cammarano until his death in mid-1852 and then with the young librettist Leone Emanuele Bardare, which gave the composer the opportunity to propose signif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jussi Björling
Johan Jonatan "Jussi" Björling ( , ; 5 February 19119 September 1960) was a Swedish tenor. One of the leading operatic singers of the 20th century, Björling appeared for many years at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and less frequently at the major European opera houses, including the Royal Opera House in London and La Scala in Milan. He sang the Italian, French and Russian opera repertory with taste. Early life Björling (surname also spelled as "Bjoerling" and "Bjorling" in English-language sources) was born in Stora Tuna, Borlänge, Dalarna, Sweden, in February 1911. The midwife's register shows he was born on 5 February, but the church baptism records erroneously show 2 February, and that was the day on which he celebrated his birthday throughout his whole life. He was known throughout his life by the name Jussi, which he received as a child from his Finnish-born grandmother (Henrika Matilda Björling née Lönnqvist, b. 1844 Pori, d. 1918 Borlänge). His father, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aïda
''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December 1871, in a performance conducted by Giovanni Bottesini. Today the work holds a central place in the operatic canon, receiving performances every year around the world; at New York's Metropolitan Opera alone, ''Aida'' has been sung more than 1,100 times since 1886. Ghislanzoni's scheme follows a scenario often attributed to the French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, but Verdi biographer Mary Jane Phillips-Matz argues that the source is actually Temistocle Solera. Elements of the opera's genesis and sources Isma'il Pasha, Khedive of Egypt, commissioned Verdi to write an opera to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal, but Verdi declined. However, Auguste Mariette, a French Egyptologist, proposed to Khedive Pasha a plot for a celebratory ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Gioconda (opera)
''La Gioconda'' is an opera in four acts by Amilcare Ponchielli set to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito (as Tobia Gorrio), based on ''Angelo, Tyrant of Padua'', a 1835 play in prose by Victor Hugo (the same source Gaetano Rossi had used for his libretto for Mercadante's '' Il giuramento'' in 1837). First performed in 1876, ''La Gioconda'' was a major success for Ponchielli, as well as the most successful new Italian opera between Verdi's ''Aida'' (1871) and ''Otello'' (1887). It is also a famous example of the Italian genre of ''Grande opera'', the equivalent of French '' Grand-Opéra''. Ponchielli revised the work twice; the third and final version (that is used to this day) was first performed in 1880. There are several complete recordings of the opera, and it is regularly performed, especially in Italy. It is one of only a few operas that features a principal role for each of the six major voice types. The opera also includes the famous ballet '' Dance of the Hours'', ofte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fonit Cetra
Fonit Cetra was an Italian record label, active between 1957 and 2000. History Fonit Cetra was founded in 1957 from merging two already existing labels: Cetra (acronym from Compagnia per edizioni, teatro, registrazioni ed affini), owned by RAI and previously EIAR, and (acronym from Fonodisco Italiano Trevisan), founded in 1911 in Milan. Both labels had already been popular, thanks to such artists as Nilla Pizzi, Achille Togliani, Natalino Otto and Domenico Modugno. Fonit Cetra continued to use two old names on their records and maintained two different offices, in Turin and Milan, until the 1970s, when the main headquarters were relocated to Milan. In July 1987, the company's name was changed to Nuova Fonit Cetra. In 1997, it became part of RAI Trade, however, in 1998, it was sold to Warner Music Group which acquired its catalogue. Among the artists who have recorded for Fonit Cetra, were Claudio Villa, Sergio Endrigo, Marisa Sannia, Marco Armani, New Trolls, Patty Pravo, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rolando Panerai
Rolando Panerai (17 October 1924 – 22 October 2019) was an Italian baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertoire. He performed at La Scala in Milan, often alongside Maria Callas and Giuseppe Di Stefano. He was known for musical understanding, excellent diction and versatile acting in both drama and comic opera. Among his signature roles were Ford in Verdi's ''Falstaff'' and the title role of Puccini's ''Gianni Schicchi''. Life and career Panerai was born in Campi Bisenzio near Florence, and studied with Vito Frazzi in Florence and Giacomo Armani and Giulia Tess in Milan.Giorgio Bagnoli: The La Scala Encyclopedia of the Opera, 1993, Simon and Schuster, p. 28/ref> Panerai appeared on stage first in 1946, as Lord Ashton in Donizettis's ''Lucia di Lammermoor''. He appeared in 1947 in Naples at the Teatro di San Carlo as the pharaon in Rossini's ''Mosè in Egitto''. In 1951, he performed the title role of Verdi's ''Simon Boccanegra'' in Bergamo, and the role of Sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
