Samuel Barber was one of the great American composers of the 1900s. Born on March 9, 1910, he grew up in Pennsylvania and expressed great interest in music from an early age. He composed his first work “Sadness” at age seven and at age 10 attempted his first opera “The Rose Tree.” He became even more serious about composition throughout {…}

First premiering on January 15, 1958, Samuel Barber’s “Vanessa” draws inspiration from Isak Dinesen’s novella “Seven Gothic Tales.” At its premiere, “Vanessa” was praised for being a grand opera penned by an American composer, though later critics, comparing it to more famous works, insist that the work is American only insofar as Barber himself was born in the country. The {…}