Italian soprano Herva Nelli, born on Jan. 9, 1909, may not be a major household name the way other sopranos of the early 20th century have become, but she surely had an adventurous and prolific career that kicked off in the United States. Born in Italy, her family moved to the States when she was but 10, eventually studying at {…}
June Anderson, born on December 30, 1952, authored one of the unique opera careers of the 20th century. The lyric soprano seemed destined for the path often taken, but wound up moving in diverse directions with regards to repertoire. This very aspect was revealed in her becoming the first non-Italian to ever win the prestigious Bellini d’Oro Prize. She sang {…}
Piotr Beczala is one of the world’s premier tenors. Born on Dec. 28, Beczala has become one of the go-to leading men around the world, amassing a plethora of diverse roles and an enviable repertoire to boot. He straddles Italian opera as well as he does German or Polish or Russian or French. Speaking of said repertory, he has also {…}
At just the age of 36, Sonya Yoncheva has risen quickly to the peak of the opera world. Born on Christmas day in 1981, the soprano is already a household name in opera circles and is just days away from what might be her most essential Metropolitan Opera assignment. The soprano was born in Bulgaria and is said to have {…}
Everyone knows the composer. Verdi’s “Otello.” Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia.” Etc. But few pay attention to the writer, the person who actually provides these great geniuses with the text for their music. Eugene Scribe, born on Dec. 24, 1791, is one of the most notable librettist in all of opera, and yet he doesn’t quite come up in conversations {…}
Puccini, born on Dec. 22, 1858, has provided the entire world with some of the greatest operas ever conceived by mankind. With his lush melodies that pull on anyone’s heartstrings and his incredible sense of drama, the composer became the Italian heir to Verdi and essentially the end of the formal line of Italian tradition. After Puccini’s death in the {…}
Fernando Corena, born on Dec. 22, 1916, had a long-standing association with the Metropolitan Opera. In fact, he sang over 700 times with the company between 1954 and 1978. His first ever performance with the company was as Leporello in “Don Giovanni,” that debut coming on Feb. 6, 1954. On Dec. 30, 1978, he finished off his Met career in {…}
Conductor Fritz Reiner was one of the prominent maestros of the 20th century. Born on Dec. 19, 1988, he most famously led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for a great number of years. He worked with some of the world’s finest musicians, famously recording concertos with Jascha Heifetz, but was also noted for his work in the opera house. At the {…}
Beethoven only ever finished one opera – “Fidelio.” But this wasn’t the only work he attempted to create. In fact, the famed composer did intend to make a name for himself on the stage, but it never came to fruition outside of “Fidelio.” One other attempt was “Vestas Feuer.” With a libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder,” Beethoven made his attempt at {…}
James McCracken, born on Dec. 16, 1926, is known today as one of the great American tenors of the 20th Century. Shockingly, he wasn’t always viewed that way. In fact, a great portion of his early career, spent at the Metropolitan Opera, was spent in the shadows of other things. He sang a whopping 596 performances with the company, but {…}
Bulgaria soprano Raina Kabaivanska was born on Dec. 15, 1934 and would go on to a prominent opera career that saw her sing with such companies as the Royal Opera House, Vienna State Opera, the Budapest Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the San Francisco Opera, the Dallas Opera, the Paris Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera, among many other places. {…}