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Lee Venora
Lee Venora (born February 16, 1932) is an American operatic soprano and musical theater actress. She was highly active with the New York City Opera between 1957 and 1967 and a regular performer at the San Francisco Opera between 1961 and 1966. She also appeared in a few Broadway musicals, Lincoln Center revivals, and national tours of musicals during her career. Composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein was an admirer of her voice, and she performed with him and the New York Philharmonic on a number of occasions during the late 1950s and early 1960s. She also sang with the orchestra on a couple of recordings and appears on a few musical recordings as well. Biography Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, as Elena Sinaguglia, Venora studied singing at the Hartt School of Music. She made her first appearance at the New York City Opera (NYCO) on April 6, 1958, as The Girl in the first professional production of Mark Bucci's ''Tale for a Deaf Ear'' with Patricia Neway as Laura Gates, William ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librettist and incorporates a number of the performing arts, such as acting, scenery, costume, and sometimes dance or ballet. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble, which since the early 19th century has been led by a conductor. Although musical theatre is closely related to opera, the two are considered to be distinct from one another. Opera is a key part of the Western classical music tradition. Originally understood as an entirely sung piece, in contrast to a play with songs, opera has come to include numerous genres, including some that include spoken dialogue such as '' Singspiel'' and '' Opéra comique''. In traditional number opera, singers employ two styles of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arnold Gamson
Arnold U. Gamson (December 30, 1926 – January 17, 2018) was an American conductor who is particularly known for his work within the field of opera. He notably co-founded and served as the Music Director and principal conductor of the American Opera Society from 1950–1960. His work with the AOS was highly influential in sparking and perpetuating the post-World War II bel canto revival, particularly through a number of highly lauded productions of rarely heard works by Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini. He is the husband of renowned dancer and choreographer Annabelle Gamson. Their daughter, Rosanna Gamson, is also a celebrated choreographer and their son, David Gamson is composer of platinum-selling popular songs. Biography Raised in Port Chester, New York, Gamson studied at the Juilliard School( M.S 1953) and while there founded the American Opera Society (AOS) with Allen Sven Oxenburg in 1950. The company was initially envisioned as an organization to perform Renaissan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mack Harrell
Mack Kendree Harrell, Jr. (October 8, 1909 — January 29, 1960) was an American operatic and concert baritone vocalist who was regarded as one of the greatest American-born lieder singers of his generation. Growing up Harrell was born in Celeste, Texas, to Asbury Mack Kendree Harrell (1857–1915) and Mollie Harrell, ''(née'' Virginia Marr Kelly; 1863–1935). The youngest of two brothers and a sister, he was raised and educated in Greenville, Texas. He studied violin from the age of ten and continued for twelve years. One of his brothers, Lynn Mozart Harrell (1902–1987), had been a big band pianist with the Jimmy Joy Orchestra while a student at The University of Texas at Austin in the 1920s. Post baccalaureate education Harrell studied the violin at Oklahoma City University. Later, he was awarded a scholarship to attend Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music where he studied violin under Emanuel Zetlin. He met his wife, violinist Marjorie Fulton, while they ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Triumph Of St
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with pronouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of pronoun ''thee'') when followed by a v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman Dello Joio
Norman Dello Joio (January 24, 1913July 24, 2008) was an American composer active for over half a century. He won a 1957 Pulitzer Prize#Letters, Drama, Pulitzer Prize in 1957. Life Dello Joio was born Nicodemo DeGioio in New York City to Italian people, Italian immigrants. He began his musical career as organist and choir director at the Star of the Sea Church on City Island, Bronx, City Island in New York at age 14. His father, Casimiro, was an organist, pianist, part-time composer, and vocal coach and coached many opera stars from the Metropolitan Opera. He taught Norman piano starting at the age of four. In his teens, Norman began studying organ with his godfather, Pietro Yon, who was the organist at Saint Patrick's Cathedral. In 1939, he received a scholarship to the Juilliard School, where he studied composition with Bernard Wagenaar. While he was a student, he worked as organist at St. Anne's Church, but he soon decided that he didn't want to make his living as an orga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joshua Hecht
Joshua Hecht (March 4, 1928 – March 29, 2019) was an American operatic bass. Biography Born in New York City, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, he received a Bachelor of Arts from New York University, in 1951. Hecht was a student of Rosa Ponselle, and made his formal debut with her company, the Baltimore Civic Opera, in 1953, as the Comte des Grieux in ''Manon''. Two years later, he first appeared with the New York City Opera, as Monterone in ''Rigoletto'', with Cornell MacNeil in the name part. From 1955 to 1960, the bass sang with that ensemble, as Colline in ''La bohème'', Cesare Angelotti in ''Tosca'', Sparafucile in ''Rigoletto'' (with Aldo Protti, later Louis Quilico, as the jester), Ferrando in ''Il trovatore'' (conducted by Julius Rudel), Oronte in Rolf Liebermann's ''School for Wives'', the Elder Ott in the New York premiere of Carlisle Floyd's ''Susannah'' (with Phyllis Curtin and Norman Treigle, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf), Alonso in the American premiere of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Susannah
''Susannah'' is an opera in two acts by the American composer Carlisle Floyd, who wrote the libretto and music while a member of the piano faculty at Florida State University. Floyd adapted the story from the Apocryphal tale of Susanna (Book of Daniel), Susannah and the Elders, though the latter story has a more positive ending. The story focuses on 18-year-old Susannah Polk, an innocent girl who is targeted as a sinner in the small mountain town of New Hope Valley, in the Southern American state of Tennessee. The opera was awarded the New York Music Critics Circle Award for Best New Opera in 1956 and was chosen to represent Music of the United States, American music and culture at the World's Fair at Brussels in 1958, with a production (by Frank Corsaro) that featured Phyllis Curtin and Norman Treigle. It received its Metropolitan Opera premiere in 1999, with Renée Fleming singing the title role, Jerry Hadley singing Sam and Samuel Ramey singing Blitch. Ramey also recorded the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carlisle Floyd
Carlisle Sessions Floyd (June 11, 1926September 30, 2021) was an American composer primarily known for his operas. These stage works, for which he wrote the librettos, typically engage with themes from the American South, particularly the Post-civil war South, the Great Depression and rural life. His best known opera, '' Susannah'', is based on a story from the Biblical Apocrypha, transferred to contemporary rural Tennessee, and written for a Southern dialect. It was premiered at Florida State University in 1955, with Phyllis Curtin in the title role. When it was staged at the New York City Opera the following year, the reception was initially mixed; some considered it a masterpiece, while others degraded it as a 'folk opera'. Subsequent performances led to an increase in ''Susannah'''s reputation and the opera quickly became among the most performed of American operas. In 1976, he became M. D. Anderson professor at the University of Houston. He co-founded the Houston Opera Stu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frances Bible
Frances Lillian Bible (January 26, 1919 – January 29, 2001) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano who had a thirty-year career at the New York City Opera between 1948 and 1978. She also made a number of opera appearances with other companies throughout the United States, but only made a limited number of appearances abroad. Martin Bernheimer wrote in ''Opera News'' that, "Frances Bible was cheated by destiny. She never quite achieved the international recognition she deserved. Bible had it all—a mellow, wide-ranging mezzo-soprano, an attractive stage presence, genuine theatrical flair, a probing mind and a technique that allowed her to sing bel canto, bel-canto coloratura, filigree one night, Verdian drama the next. She was one of the rare American singers who savor the English language. She understood the value of economy, never stooping to easy effects. Perhaps she was too versatile, too tasteful and — dare one say it? — too intelligent for her own good." Biography Bibl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Rape Of Lucretia
''The Rape of Lucretia'' (Op. 37) is an opera in two acts by Benjamin Britten, written for Kathleen Ferrier, who performed the title role. Ronald Duncan based his English libretto on André Obey's play '. Performance history The opera was first performed at Glyndebourne in England on 12 July 1946. It is the first work to which Britten applied his term "chamber opera." The opera debuted in the United States on Broadway at the Ziegfeld Theatre in a production staged by Agnes de Mille which opened on 29 December 1948 and closed on 15 January 1949 after 23 performances. The cast notably included Giorgio Tozzi as Tarquinius, Kitty Carlisle as Lucretia, Lidija Franklin as Bianca, Brenda Lewis as the Female Chorus, and Adelaide Bishop as Lucia. In 1996 the opera was presented at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis directed by Britten expert and friend, Colin Graham. It also appeared in the Opera Company of Philadelphia's 2009 season. In 2013, the opera was performed for the first time ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other vocal music, orchestral and chamber pieces. His best-known works include the opera '' Peter Grimes'' (1945), the '' War Requiem'' (1962) and the orchestral showpiece ''The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra'' (1945). Born in Lowestoft, Suffolk, the son of a dentist, Britten showed talent from an early age. He studied at the Royal College of Music in London and privately with the composer Frank Bridge. Britten first came to public attention with the '' a cappella'' choral work '' A Boy was Born'' in 1934. With the premiere of ''Peter Grimes'' in 1945, he leapt to international fame. Over the next 28 years, he wrote 14 more operas, establishing himself as one of the leading 20th-century composers in the genre. In addition to large-sca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Cassilly
Richard Cassilly (December 14, 1927 – January 30, 1998) was an American operatic tenor who had a major international opera career between 1954–90. Cassilly "was a mainstay in the heldentenor repertory in opera houses around the world for 30 years", and particularly excelled in Wagnerian roles like Tristan, Siegmund and Tannhäuser, and in dramatic parts that required both stamina and vocal weight, such as Giuseppe Verdi's ''Otello'' and Camille Saint-Saëns's ''Samson''. He was an admired Don José in ''Carmen'' and sang almost all of the leading Puccini tenor roles. Standing at 6'3" and possessing a 250-pound frame ''The New York Times'' described him as "a burly tenor with a bright ping on the top notes who had a supple lyric quality o his voice, and "was known to bring a musical intelligence and uncommonly clear diction to his work." Cassilly spent the early years of his opera career singing primarily with the New York City Opera between 1955–1966, often portraying rol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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