On first glance, you would never find the commonalities between Monserrat Caballé and Lily Pons. The two sopranos, one Spanish and the other French-American, are known for distinctly different repertoire. The former had a wide range that saw her dominate both bel canto and dramatic repertoire while the latter was best known for more delicate roles, particularly in her native {…}
Every opera singer has an interesting story to tell, but few can boast of the unique circumstances that have led Danielle De Niese’s establishment as one of opera’s international stars. Born on April 11, 1979, De Niese has established a foothold in the repertoire of Mozart and Handel with forays into the Bel Canto and modern repertoire. Here is a {…}
Happy Siblings day for all of you who have the fortune of having loving brothers and sisters. Opera is filled with brother-sister pairings that either work together toward common goals or fight with one another to disastrous effect. Let’s take a look at some of opera’s most famous and unique sibling pairings. The Mozart Sisters Dorabella and Fiordiligi are as {…}
Before Juan Diego Flórez stormed on the scene, Peru’s most famous tenor was none other than Luigi Alva. The lyric tenor actually sang a number of the same roles that his compatriot would take on decades later, but his legacy is ultimately far different. Alva, born in Paita on April 10, 1927, served in the Peruvian Navy for some time {…}
When you look at the body of work of the great tenor Franco Corelli, you might well imagine that Ponchielli’s “La Gioconda” to be a prominent role in his repertoire. The tenor role of Enzo is substantial and his dramatic weight is suitable to Corelli’s vocal talents. And you would be right, to a certain extent. But the tenor, whose {…}
Herbert Von Karajan is one of greatest musicians to ever live. Born on April 5, 1907, the famed conductor left a massive recorded legacy after a career that included prominent performances with the top orchestras in the world. While most would likely identify the Austrian maestro with the works of Beethoven or Tchaikovsky or Verdi or Wagner (among many others), {…}
April Fools Day is the day to prank fellow friends and enjoy watching them suffer under false assumptions. Of course, the clincher of a true April Fool’s joke is that you let the person know they have been fooled once it is all over. Opera’s greatest works are filled with characters playing massive pranks on one another, to the audience’s {…}
Sergei Rachmaninoff’s claim to fame is the piano. His virtuosic ability as a performer was always admired, but his piano concertos are the legacy that keeps on giving. Today, his second and third piano concertos are fixtures of the instrument’s repertoire and have been for the past century. But Rachmaninoff was also a composer of other works, including several orchestral {…}
Dvorak’s “Rusalka,” which premiered back on March 31, 1901, is among the most popular Czech operas in the standard repertoire. Unbeknownst to many, the work was not actually an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid or “Undine” by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué. In fact, librettist Jaroslav Kvapil based his libretto on the work of Karel Jaromir Erben {…}
