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Philadelphia Lyric Opera
The Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company was an American opera company located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was active between 1958 and 1974. The company was led by a number of Artistic Directors during its history, beginning with Aurelio Fabiani. Other notable Artistic Directors include Julius Rudel and Anton Guadagno (1966–1972). The company produced between four and six of their own operas every year in addition to sponsoring numerous traveling productions from the New York City Opera. In 1975 the company merged with the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company but retained its original name. With the combined resources of both companies, the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company began producing higher quality productions with name artists such as Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, Roberta Peters, Montserrat Montserrat Caballé, and others. For the bicentennial year 1976, the company commissioned famed opera composer Gian Carlo Menotti to create a new opera. The work, The Hero, premie ... [...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] |
Verismo Opera
In opera, ''verismo'' (, from , meaning "true") was a post-Romantic operatic tradition associated with Italian composers such as Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Umberto Giordano, Francesco Cilea and Giacomo Puccini. ''Verismo'' as an operatic genre had its origins in an Italian literary movement of the same name. This was in turn related to the international literary movement of naturalism as practised by Émile Zola and others. Like naturalism, the ''verismo'' literary movement sought to portray the world with greater realism. In so doing, Italian ''verismo'' authors such as Giovanni Verga wrote about subject matter, such as the lives of the poor, that had not generally been seen as a fit subject for literature. History A short story by Verga called ' (), then developed into a play by the same author, became the source for what is usually considered to be the first ''verismo'' opera: ''Cavalleria rusticana'' by Mascagni, which premiered on 17 May 1890 at the Teatr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Franco Corelli
Franco Corelli (8 April 1921 – 29 October 2003) was an 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, passionate singing and remarkable performances. Dubbed the "prince of tenors", audiences were enchanted by his handsome features and charismatic stage presence. He had a long and fruitful partnership with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City between 1961 and 1975. He also appeared on the stages of most of the major opera houses in Europe and with opera companies throughout North America. Biography Early life and education: 1921–1950 Corelli was born Dario Franco Corelli in Ancona into a family some say had little or no musical background. While his parents were not particularly musical, his paternal grandfather Augusto had actually quit working at 35 ... [...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] |
Elisabeth Carron
Elisabeth Carron (born Elisabetta Caradonna; February 12, 1922 – December 1, 2016), was an American operatic soprano from Newark, New Jersey, who had an active international career from the 1940s through the 1980s. In 1954 she portrayed the Young Woman in the world premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti's ''The Saint of Bleecker Street''. From 1988 to 1996 she taught on the voice faculty at the Manhattan School of Music in New York. Carron was a regular performer at the New York City Opera from 1958 to 1973 where her roles included Anna Maurrant in Kurt Weill's '' Street Scene'', Birdie Hubbard in Marc Blitzstein’s '' Regina'', Cio-Cio San in '' Madama Butterfly'' Cook in '' The Nightingale'', Foreign Woman in ''The Consul'', Liu in ''Turandot'', Mimì in ''La bohème'', Virgin in Arthur Honegger's '' Joan of Arc at the Stake'', and the title role in ''Suor Angelica''. Her final performance with the company was in October 1973 as Cio-Cio San. In 1958 Carron portrayed Glauce op ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
José Carreras
Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Spanish operatic tenor who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Born in Barcelona, he made his debut on the operatic stage at 11 as Trujamán in Manuel de Falla's ''El retablo de Maese Pedro'', and went on to a career that encompassed over 60 roles, performing in the world's leading opera houses and on numerous recordings. He gained fame with a wider audience as one of the Three Tenors, with Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti, in a series of large concerts from 1990 to 2003. He is also known for his humanitarian work as president of the José Carreras International Leukaemia Foundation (La Fundació Internacional Josep Carreras per a la Lluita contra la Leucèmia), which he established following his own recovery from the disease in 1988. Life and career Early years Carreras was born in Sants, a working-class district in Barcelon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montserrat Caballé
Montserrat Caballé i Folch or Folc (full name: María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch (, , ; (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), known simply as Montserrat Caballé, was a Catalan Spanish operatic soprano. She sang a wide variety of roles, but is best known as an exponent of the works of Verdi and of the bel canto repertoire, notably the works of Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti. She was noticed internationally when she stepped in for a performance of Donizetti's ''Lucrezia Borgia'' at Carnegie Hall in 1965, and then appeared at leading opera houses. Her voice was described as pure but powerful, with superb control of vocal shadings and exquisite pianissimo. Caballé became popular to non-classical music audiences in 1987, when she recorded, at the request of the International Olympic Committee, "Barcelona", a duet with Freddie Mercury, which became an official theme song for the 1992 Olympic Games. She received several international awards and also Grammy A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grace Bumbry
Grace Melzia Bumbry (born January 4, 1937), an American opera singer, is considered one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her generation, as well as a major soprano earlier in her career. She is a member of a pioneering generation of African-American opera and classical singers, beginning with Leontyne Price and including Martina Arroyo, Shirley Verrett, Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, and Reri Grist), who succeeded Marian Anderson in the worlds of opera and classical music. They paved the way for future generations of African-American opera and concert singers. Bumbry's voice was rich and dynamic, possessing a wide range, and was capable of producing a very distinctive plangent tone. In her prime, she also possessed good agility and bel canto technique (see for example her renditions of the 'Veil Song' from Verdi's ''Don Carlo'' in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as her ''Ernani'' from the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1984). She was particularly noted for her fiery temperament and drama ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carlo Bergonzi (tenor)
Carlo Bergonzi (13 July 1924 – 25 July 2014) was an Italian operatic tenor. Although he performed and recorded some bel canto and verismo roles, he was above all associated with the operas of Giuseppe Verdi, including many of the composer's lesser known works he helped revive. He sang more than forty other roles throughout his career. Biography Early life Bergonzi was born in Polesine Parmense, near Parma in Northern Italy, on 13 July 1924. He was an only child."Carlo-Bergonzi-obituary" ''The Telegraph'' (London), 27 July 2014 on telegraph.co.uk He later claimed he saw his first opera, Verdi’s '''', when he was six years old. He sang in church, and so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luigi Alva
Luis Ernesto Alva y Talledo, better known as Luigi Alva (born 10 April 1927 in Paíta, Peru) is a Peruvian operatic tenor. A Mozart and Rossini specialist, Alva achieved fame with roles such as Don Ottavio (in ''Don Giovanni''), Count Almaviva (in ''The Barber of Seville'') and Fenton (in Verdi's ''Falstaff''). He retired from the stage in 1989.Bourne, Joyce and Kennedy, Michael (2004)"Alva, Luigi (Alva Talledo, Luis Ernesto)" ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music'' 4th edition, p. 16. Oxford University Press. Biography Alva was born in Paita, Peru, and served for a while in the Peruvian Navy before concentrating on a singing career. He studied at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música in Lima under Rosa Mercedes Ayarza de Morales and made his operatic debut in Federico Moreno Torroba's ''Luisa Fernanda'' in Lima in 1949. Alva went to Milan in 1953 and studied under Emilio Ghirardini and Ettore Campogalliani. He made his European debut at the Teatro Nuovo in Milan as Alfredo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gloria Lane
Gloria Lane Krachmalnick (June 6, 1925 – November 22, 2016, Trenton, New Jersey) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano who had an active international performance career from 1949 to 1976. In her early career she distinguished herself by creating roles in the world premieres of two operas by Gian Carlo Menotti, the Secretary of the Consulate in ''The Consul'' (1950) and Desideria in ''The Saint of Bleecker Street'' (1954); both roles which she performed in successful runs on Broadway and on international tours. For her performance in ''The Consul'' she was awarded a Clarence Derwent Award and two Donaldson Awards. Lane was also a regular performer at the New York City Opera from 1952 to 1960, and was heard as a guest artist with several important American opera companies during the 1950s. After 1960, Lane's career was primarily centered in Europe. She made appearances in leading roles at many of the most important European opera houses during the 1960s, including La Scala, The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicola Rossi-Lemeni
Nicola Rossi-LemeniHis father's last name was Rossi, but his mother wanted her family name added, "Rossi Lemeni" (without a hyphen). However, many publications and recordings hyphenate the name. (November 6, 1920 – March 12, 1991), was a basso opera singer of mixed Italian-Russian parentage. Rossi-Lemeni was born in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire, the son of an Italian colonel and a Russian mother. In his prime he was one of the most respected bassos in Italy. The composer Ildebrando Pizzetti wrote the opera '' Assassinio nella cattedrale'' (1958) specifically for Rossi-Lemeni. He was also a prize-winning poet and a painter. Career The basso made his debut as Varlaam in ''Boris Godunov'' at La Fenice, Venice, in 1946. He sang at the Teatro alla Scala from 1947 to 1960, the Teatro Colón (1949) and Covent Garden (1952). He appeared at the Metropolitan Opera, opening the 1953/54 season, in ''Faust'' (with Jussi Björling, Victoria de los Ángeles and Robert Merrill, conducted by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
