|
Giulio Gatti-Casazza
Giulio Gatti-Casazza (3 February 1869 – 2 September 1940) was an Italian opera manager. He was general manager of La Scala in Milan, Italy, from 1898 to 1908 and later the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1908 to 1935. Biography Gatti-Casazza was born on 3 February 1869 in Udine, in northeastern Italy. In 1893 he succeeded his father as manager of the municipal theatre in Ferrara. He was manager of La Scala from 1898 to 1908, before his move to New York City, when he became general manager of the Metropolitan Opera from 1908 to 1935. Under his leadership the Metropolitan enjoyed a prolonged era of artistic innovation and musical excellence. He brought with him conductor Arturo Toscanini, who became the company's principal conductor and led performances of Verdi, Wagner and others that set high standards for the Metropolitan which have endured to the present day. The Viennese composer Gustav Mahler also was a Met conductor during Gatti-Casazza's first two season ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Udine
Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and ''comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with the urban area. Names and etymology Udine was first attested in medieval Latin records as ''Udene'' in 983 and as ''Utinum'' around the year 1000. The origin of the name ''Udine'' is unclear. It has been tentatively suggested that the name may be of pre-Roman origin, connected with the Indo-European root *''odh-'' 'udder' used in a figurative sense to mean 'hill'. The Slovene name ''Videm'' (with final -''m'') is a hypercorrection of the local Slovene name ''Vidan'' (with final -''n''), based on settlements named ''Videm'' in Slovenia. The Slovene linguist Pavle Merkù characterized the Slovene form ''Videm'' as an "idiotic 19th-century hypercorrection." History Udine is the historical capital of Friuli. The area has been inhabited si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, stemming from the late-Baroque era. Though his early work was firmly rooted in traditional late-19th-century Romantic Italian opera, he later developed his work in the realistic ''verismo'' style, of which he became one of the leading exponents. His most renowned works are ''La bohème'' (1896), ''Tosca'' (1900), '' Madama Butterfly'' (1904), and ''Turandot'' (1924), all of which are among the most frequently performed and recorded of all operas. Family and education Puccini was born Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini in Lucca, Italy, in 1858. He was the sixth of nine children of Michele Puccini (1813–1864) and Albina Magi (1830–1884). The Puccini family was established in Lucca as a local musi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giacomo Lauri-Volpi
Giacomo Lauri-Volpi (11 December 1892 – 17 March 1979) was an Italian tenor with a lyric voice of exceptional range and technical facility. He performed throughout Europe and the Americas in a top-class career that spanned 40 years. Career and assessment Born in Lanuvio, Italy, he was orphaned at the age of 11. After completing his secondary education at the seminary at Albano and graduating from the University of Rome ''La Sapienza'', he began vocal studies under the great 19th-century baritone Antonio Cotogni at the Liceo Musicale (later Conservatorio) Santa Cecilia in Rome. His nascent singing career was put on hold, however, by the outbreak of World War I in 1914, during which he served with the Italian armed forces reaching the rank of captain and emerged as one of Italy's most decorated soldiers. The war over, he made a successful operatic debut as Arturo in Bellini's ''I Puritani'' in Viterbo, Italy, on 2 September 1919—performing under the name Giacomo Rubini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Titta Ruffo
Titta Ruffo (9 June 1877 – 5 July 1953), born as Ruffo Cafiero (double forename) Titta, was an Italian operatic baritone who had a major international singing career. Known as the "Voce del leone" ("voice of the lion"), 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" (although not often published is the second part of De Luca's conclusion "which he uffobawled away..."), and Victor Maurel, the creator of Verdi's Iago and Falstaff. Maurel said that the notes of Ruffo's upper register were the most glorious baritone sounds he had ever heard (see Pleasants, cited below). Indeed Walter Legge, the prominent classical record producer, went so far as to call Ruffo "a genius". Biography Born Ruffo Titta in Pisa (he reversed his forename and surname for the stage), Ruffo was the son of an engineer. He studied voice with several teachers. In Musical America, December 27, 1913, Ruffo wrote the foll ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feodor Chaliapin
Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Шаля́пин, Fyodor Ivanovich Shalyapin, ˈfʲɵdər ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ʂɐˈlʲapʲɪn}; April 12, 1938) was a Russian opera singer. Possessing a deep 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 of his career, Chaliapin endured direct competition from three other great basses: the powerful (1869–1942), the more lyrical (1871–1948), and Dmitri Buchtoyarov (1866–1918), whose voice was intermediate between those of Sibiriakov and Kastorsky. The fact that Chaliapin is far and away the best remembered of this magnificent quartet of rival basses is a testament to the power of his personality, the acuteness of his musical interpretations, and the vividness of his performances. Spelling note He himself spelled his surname, French-style ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beniamino Gigli
Beniamino Gigli ( , ; 20 March 1890 – 30 November 1957) was an Italian opera singer (lyric tenor). He is widely regarded as one of the greatest tenors of his generation. Early life Gigli was born in Recanati, in the Marche, the son of a shoemaker who loved opera. His parents did not, however, view music as a secure career. Benjamino's brother Lorenzo became a well-known painter. Career In 1914, he won first prize in an international singing competition in Parma. His operatic debut came on 15 October 1914, when he played Enzo in Amilcare Ponchielli's '' La Gioconda'' in Rovigo, following which he was in great demand. Gigli made many important debuts in quick succession, and always in ''Mefistofele'': Teatro Massimo in Palermo (31 March 1915), Teatro di San Carlo in Naples (26 December 1915), Teatro Costanzi di Roma (26 December 1916), La Scala, Milan (19 November 1918), Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires (28 June 1919) and finally the Metropolitan Opera, New York City (26 November ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giovanni Martinelli
Giovanni Martinelli (22 October 1885 – 2 February 1969) was an Italian operatic tenor. He was associated with the Italian lyric-dramatic repertory, although he performed French operatic roles to great acclaim as well. Martinelli was one of the most famous tenors of the 20th century, enjoying a long career at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and appearing at other major international theatres. Biography and career Martinelli was born 22 October 1885 in Montagnana, Province of Padua, Veneto in the Kingdom of Italy. After service as a clarinetist in a military band, he studied with Giuseppe Mandolini in Milan, and made his first operatic role in 1908 as the messenger in ''Aida''. On 29 December 1910, Martinelli made his professional debut at the Teatro dal Verme in ''Ernani''. On 12 June 1911, Martinelli debuted in Rome as Dick Johnson in ''La fanciulla del West''; he would continue singing in that role elsewhere in Italy including La Scala in 1912. Martinelli made h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacques Urlus
Jacques Urlus (6 January 1867 in Hergenrath, Rhine Province - 6 June 1935 in Noordwijk, Netherlands), 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 then-German, nowadays Belgian town of Hergenrath (now part of Kelmis) and grew up in Tilburg in The Netherlands. Since the family was poor, they could not afford a musical education for their son who had to work at a steel mill in Utrecht instead, singing in choirs in his free time. During military service an officer recognised his musical talents and offered to pay for his musical lessons. But since this offer did not include money for food and lodging, the young man could not accept. Although Cornelie van Zanten is credited in some reference books as being Urlus' teacher, the young tenor was more or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enrico Caruso
Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyrical tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles (74) from the Italian and French repertoires that ranged from the lyric to the dramatic. One of the first major singing talents to be commercially recorded, Caruso made 247 commercially released recordings from 1902 to 1920, which made him an international popular entertainment star. Biography Early life Enrico Caruso came from a poor but not destitute background. Born in Naples in the via Santi Giovanni e Paolo n° 7 on 25 February 1873, he was baptised the next day in the adjacent Church of San Giovanni e Paolo. His parents originally came from Piedimonte d'Alife (now called Piedimonte Matese), in the Province of Caserta in Campania, Southern Italy. Caruso was the third of seven children and one of only three to survive infancy. There is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lily Pons
Alice Joséphine Pons (April 12, 1898 – February 13, 1976), known professionally as Lily 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 ''Lakmé'' and ''Lucia di Lammermoor''. In addition to appearing as a guest artist with many opera houses internationally, Pons enjoyed a long association with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, where she performed nearly 300 times between 1931 and 1960. She also had a successful and lucrative career as a concert singer, which continued until her retirement from performance in 1973. From 1935 to 1937, she made three musical films for RKO Pictures. She also made numerous appearances on radio and on television, performing on variety programs such as ''The Ed Sullivan Show'', ''The Colgate Comedy Hour'', and '' The Dave Garroway Show' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maria Jeritza
Maria Jeritza (born Marie Jedličková; 6 October 1887 – 10 July 1982) was a dramatic soprano, long associated with the Vienna State Opera (1912–1934 and 1950-1953) and the Metropolitan Opera (1921–1932 and 1951). Her rapid rise to fame, beauty and personality earned her the nickname "The Moravian Thunderbolt". Biography Jeritza was born in Brno, Moravia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in 1887 as Marie Jedličková. She was trained at the Brno Conservatory, and later was a pupil of Estelle Liebling in New York City. In 1910, she made her debut as ''Elsa'', in Wagner's ''Lohengrin'', at Olomouc. The Emperor Franz Josef heard her and immediately ordered that she be offered a contract at the Imperial Hofoper, Vienna. She created the roles of ''Blanchefleur'' in Kienzl's opera '' Der Kuhreigen'' (1911), Ariadne in Strauss's ''Ariadne auf Naxos'' (1912), the Empress in his ''Die Frau ohne Schatten'' (1919), and Hariette/Juliette in Korngold's ''Die tote St ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amelita Galli-Curci
Amelita Galli-Curci (18 November 1882 – 26 November 1963) was an Italian coloratura soprano. She was one of the most popular operatic singers of the 20th century, with her recordings selling in large numbers. Early life She was born as Amelita Galli into an upper-middle-class Italian family of Spanish heritage in Milan, where she studied piano at the Milan Conservatory, winning a gold medal for piano performance, and at the age of 16 was offered a professorship. She was inspired to sing by her grandmother. Operatic composer Pietro Mascagni also encouraged Galli-Curci's singing ambitions. By her own choice, Galli-Curci's voice was largely self-trained at the beginning of her career. She honed her technique by listening to other sopranos, reading old singing-method books, and doing piano exercises with her voice instead of using a keyboard. She later studied regularly with Estelle Liebling for more than a decade in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s. Career Galli-Curci mad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_-_Jacques_Urlus.jpg "Click for more on -> Jacques Urlus")
