Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu has cemented her legacy as one of the finest divas of the late 20th and early 21st century. Born on Sept. 7, 1965, she was an opera star very early on. She made her international debut in 1990 as Mimì in “La Bohème” at the Cluj-Napoca Romanian National Opera. Two years later she made her international debut at {…}
Born on Sept. 7, 1940, Giuseppe Giacomini would go on to become one of the great Italian tenors of the 20th century. He had some solid success with song competitions prior to his professional debut in 1966 in Vercelli. In 1969, he was also performing around Italy, before finally making his international debut in 1970 in Berlin. Debuts in Lisbon, Barcelona, {…}
I had never gone to the Berkshire Opera Festival. It had a strong reputation, built over a few seasons. And so, on my first visit to see its “Rigoletto,” I expected to enjoy it. Classics like “Rigoletto” — even when not every element is perfect, still, somehow are able to work. And what happened instead is that I was blown {…}
Ramón Vinay is one of the greatest dramatic tenors to ever live. Born on August 31, 1911 in Chile, the tenor would actually kickstart his career as a baritone in Mexico in 1938. His tenor debut came in 1943 and he would go on to perform all around the world at such houses as the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, {…}
Richard Tucker is one of America’s great operatic gems. The tenor, born on August 28, 1913, in Brooklyn was actually born Rivn Ticker, though his parents adopted “Tucker” as their official last name by the time their son was of school age. He was a musical natural from an early age and throughout his teenage years, he was singing in {…}
Over the past few years, the Berkshire Opera Festival has seen tremendous expansion at the hands of Artistic Director Brian Garman and General Director Jonathon Loy. “The festival has grown in several different ways even though we continue to produce one MainStage show,” Loy told OperaWire in a recent interview. “The growth is both internal and in the community. I {…}
We are aware that we have done our fair share of movie related opera quizzes (Don’t know what we’re talking about? Click here or here). And here we are again. Of course, it’s just fun to look into the two great art forms and see how they correspond with another. But we also wanted to bring this quiz into the {…}
There are a ton of great Spanish artists throughout the history of opera. Juan Pons is one of them. Born in Ciutadella, Spain on August 8, 1946, Pons (or Joan Pons Álvarez as he was born), would really kickstart his career in the 1980s when he made his international debut at La Scala. That kicked off a career that featured {…}
Few conductors have had such enduring and impactful careers as Italian maestro Riccardo Muti. Born on July 28, 1941, the conductor studied composition and conducting at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan and would eventually work his way to principal conductor and music director of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Since then Muti has been everywhere. He was the music director {…}
Last year, rising Verdi star Russell Thomas spoke to OperaWire about his strategy for easing into such a titanic role the title role in Verdi’s “Otello.” “I always thought if I would try to take on such a monumental task, the first outing would have to be in concert so I can focus only on the singing and not have to {…}
Carlo Bergonzi was one of the leading Italian tenors of the Golden era of the 20th century. Known for his elegant phrasing, Bergonzi built up his career dominating in the repertoire of one particular composer (more on that later). Born on July 13, 1924, Bergonzi’s career actually started off as a baritone before he eventually realized that he was a {…}