Ruggero Leoncavallo, born on April 23, 1857, is renowned today because of the success of his very first opera. The composer showed great abilities as a pianist from a young age and spent some time in Egypt as a pianist and teacher. However, he quickly departed to Paris when revolts broke out. In France’s capital city, Leoncavallo secured work as {…}
Soprano Natalie Dessay was likely one of the greatest opera actors that the world has ever known. Born on April 19, 1965, she had always intended to be an actress and ballet dancer, but then turned her attention to singing and studied at the Université de Bordeaux. Thereafter, she won the International Mozart Competition in Vienna and was subsequently engaged {…}
Tenor Gianni Raimondi, born on April 17, 1923, had a solid career. Born in Bologna, he studied at the Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini and made his stage debut in “Rigoletto” at the Teatro Conorziale in Budrio in 1947. He also debuted at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna the following year. He appeared at La Scala in 1956, singing alongside Maria {…}
Aprile Millo is one of the great spinto sopranos of the late 20th century. Born in New York City to two singers on April 14, 1958, she became interested in music from an early age. She was invited to the San Diego Opera Center as an apprentice upon graduating from highly school and it was here that she started her {…}
“Oberon” is an opera in English by Carl Maria von Weber. The work had its world premiere on April 12, 1826, just two months before the composer’s death. Weber was actually advised by his doctor against taking on the opera and the composer actually went to great lengths to learn English so that he could follow the libretto. It ultimately {…}
Mariella Devia, born on April 12, 1948, is one of the supreme bel canto interpreters of the late 20th century. Born in Chiusavecchia, she trained at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia before making her stage debut in 1973 in the title role of “Lucia di Lammermoor.” She would become a fixture throughout Italy, eventually making her debut at the {…}
Lily Pons was one of the great opera stars of the early 20th century. Born on April 12, 1898 in Draguignan, France, she started to study the piano at the Paris Conservatory, winning the top prize at age 15. During World War I, she played the piano and sang for soldiers. In 1925, she was encouraged to take singing lessons, {…}
Montserrat Caballé is one of the greatest Spanish singers of all time. Born on April 12, 1933 in Barcelona, Spain, she studied at the Liceu Conservatory and graduated with a gold medal in 1954. She moved to Basel where she made her professional debut in 1956; she became a major part of the company the following year. In 1962, she {…}
Leos Janacek is one of the most prolific Czech opera composers, many of his becoming major staples of the canon. For many, his most iconic work is “From the House of the Dead,” which had its world premiere on April 12, 1930 at the National Theatre Brno. Incidentally, the work also was his last. Because the composer died before the {…}
Sondra Radvanovksy is one of the great sopranos of the 21st century. Born on April 11, 1969 in Berwyn, Illinois, she moved to Richmond, Indiana in her youth. She sang her first full-length opera at age 21 and then studied theater and voice at the University of South California and UCLA. In 1995, she won the First Prize at the {…}
Tenor Luigi Alva is one of the great Rossini and Mozart interpreters of the mid 20th century. Born in Peru on April 10, 1927, Alva served in the Peruvian Navy before focusing on singing. His opera debut came in 1949 in Lima and in 1953, he headed to Milan where he would make his debut in 1954 at the Teatro {…}