Boris Christoff was born on May 18, 1914, and would go on to enjoy a historic career. The Bulgarian artist was a member of a boys choir as a youth but would go on to study law and initiate a career as a magistrate. He would sing in his spare time and when he received a grant from the government, {…}
Born on May 17, 1924, French baritone Gabriel Bacquier would be one of the greatest of his country to step onto the opera stage. His interest in music started from his youth and he would enter the Paris Conservatoire in 1945, before graduating in 1950. His opera career would kick off in style when he joined the company of José {…}
Librettist often get overlooked in the opera world. A lot of it has to do with the perception of opera plots, in many cases, being lesser than the quality of the music attached to them. And the result is that the composer gets the credit for the work. This is what happened with Francesco Maria Piave. We don’t know “La {…}
There aren’t many well-known Croatian opera stars. But there is Zinka Milanov. Born on May 17, 1906, the Croatian diva would go on to one of the most stable careers at the Metropolitan Opera. She studied in Milan and Berlin during her youth, making her opera debut in Slovenia at age 21. Her role? Leonora in “Il Trovatore.” It was {…}
Swedish soprano Birgit Nilsson is arguably the ultimate Wagnerian soprano. Born on May 17, 1918, Nilsson grew up on a farm with parents who had hoped she would grow up to perpetuate this lifestyle. But music came early to her at the age of three and she noted herself in interviews that she could sing before she could walk. She {…}
Tenor John Osborn, born on May 16, 1972, has enjoyed a prolific career specializing in opera repertoire that few other tenors venture to take on. The artist, who hails from Sioux Falls, Iowa, studied at Simpson College and made his professional debut at the Des Moines Metro Opera in 1993. He would then go on to win the Metropolitan Opera {…}
Ferruccio Furlanetto is one of opera’s great Verdi basses, though his repertoire has vastly evolved throughout his successful career. Born on May 16, 1949, Furlanetto made his professional debut at age 25 in Lonigo. Five years later he was at La Scala in Verdi’s “Macbeth.” His Met debut came in 1981, where he has been a fixture throughout his career. {…}
Claudio Monteverdi is by many considered to be the “father of opera.” His greatest works in the genre are among the first to survive, with one of them a major fixture of the standard repertoire. Monteverdi was baptized on May 15, 1567, and developed an extensive career first at the Court of Mantua and then at the Republic of Venice. {…}
Soprano Daniela Dessì, born on May 14, 1957, enjoyed a tremendous career that was unfortunately cut short by an untimely death in 2016. Dessì studied at the Conservatory of Parma and Accademia Chigiana of Siena. She made her operatic debut in 1979 at the Teatro dell’Opera Giacosa in the opera “La Serva Padrona. From there, her career took off with {…}
Jules Massenet, born on May 12, 1842, is arguably the chameleon of all opera composers, his style evolving to suit the text rather than imposing a specific musical style to every work. This ability makes him, for many, the greatest French composer of opera to ever live. He studied under Ambroise Thomas in his youth, won the country’s top musical {…}
Donizetti’s “L’Elisir d’Amore,” which the exception of Rossini’s “Barbiere di Siviglia,” might be the most famous opera comedy of all time. The work, which premiered on May 12, 1832, was written in just six weeks and went on to be a runaway success for the ensuing decade. It was the most performed opera in Italy between 1838-48 and not much {…}