1874–1967, American Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, Garden moved to America when she was six. She studied in Chicago and then Paris, where she debuted as Charpentier’s Louise at the Opéra-Comique. Perhaps her most historically significant role was creating Mélisande in Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande in 1902. It was in this part that she made her American debut ...
(Trombone, vocals, 1905–64) Arguably the greatest trombonist in jazz history, Jack Teagarden might have been the dominant player of the 1930s. He made his reputation in the late 1920s with Ben Pollack and Red Nichols, but a lack of ambition and desire for security led him to decline the invitation of an obscure clarinetist launching a new ...
(Vocals, songwriter, b. 1958) As a teenager, New Jersey-born Carpenter moved to Washington, D.C., where music became an integral part of her life. Establishing herself on the local folk circuit, she signed with Columbia, resulting in her 1986 debut album, Hometown Girl. Produced by guitarist John Jennings, it marked the beginning ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1961–71) This merger of three solo artists from New York – Mary Travers (vocals), Paul Stookey (guitar, vocals) and Peter Yarrow (guitar, vocals) – resulted in the first Top 40 appearances of a ‘New Left’ act. Yet, after an inaugural flush of success with ‘Lemon Tree’, ‘If I Had A Hammer’, self-penned ‘Puff The Magic ...
(Vocals, 1943–92) One of Motown’s first female superstars, Wells was signed when she demo’d a song she had written for Jackie Wilson. Instead it became her own 1961 debut single ‘Bye Bye Baby’, and reached No. 8 in the R&B chart. Although only her 1964 US pop No. 1 ‘My Guy’ charted in Britain, she had many more ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1983–98) This irascible, much-lauded Scottish crew featured the Reid brothers, William and Jim (both vocals, guitar) and, for a while, Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream (drums). They took The Velvet Underground’s art rock and overlaid surprisingly poppy melodies. Their early gigs turned into riots, but 1985’s Psychocandy was a very good debut ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1984–97, 2010–present) Like Mudhoney, Soundgarden were another early signing to the Seattle-based Sub Pop label. Chris Cornell (vocals, guitar), Kim Thayil (guitar), Hiro Yamamoto (bass) and Matt Cameron (drums) came on like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath chewing metal on early releases like Badmotorfinger (1991) and gained success. When Nirvana broke into the big league ...
1888–1976 English soprano Teyte started in Paris, where she appeared at the Opéra-Comique. In 1908 she was chosen by Debussy to succeed Mary Garden as Mélisande, a part she sang in England and, though not until 1948, in New York. She sang with the Beecham Opera Company as well as in Chicago and Boston. Introduction | Modern ...
1884–1970, Italian Librettist Forzano found his métier in writing and was a follower of Arrigo Boito. Forzano also worked with several other leading Italian composers, particularly those representative of verismo such as Mascagni and Leoncavallo. Forzano also worked as a stage director, producing Puccini’s Turandot in 1926. Introduction | Turn of the Century | Opera Personalities | Mary ...
‘Renaissance’ is a French word meaning ‘rebirth’. It has been used since the nineteenth century to describe the period between c. 1300 and 1600. Three hundred years is a long time for a single historical or cultural period, and the strain shows in any attempt to define the term ‘Renaissance’. The cultural phenomenon central to the Renaissance was a revival ...
The history of opera is dominated by Italian and Austro-German composers. It is in Italy and Germany that we find the greatest number of opera houses. La Scala in Milan lays claim to be the most famous opera house in the world, and its opening night every season is a major event in the country’s social calendar. The theatre, ...
An important aspect of Romanticism was its focus on individual feeling and expression, in contrast to the universal strictures of classical form and style. This led inevitably to a concept of the artist as a misunderstood genius, battling against the world. The second generation of English Romantic poets, including Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron, contributed significantly ...
Once hailed by the Pope as ‘Defender of the Faith’ against Martin Luther, Henry VIII made an about-face when he declared himself primate of the Church of England in order to grant himself a divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. The political, religious and social results of Henry’s action are well-known; the impact on music was ...
Opposing tastes in opera have often provoked minor wars. One of them was the guerre des bouffons, which took place in Paris between 1752 and 1754 and ranged the supporters of French serious opera against the advocates of Italian opera buffa. On the French side were King Louis, his influential mistress Madame de Pompadour, his court and the ...
Literary clubs that were established in seventeenth-century Italy were commonly known as ‘academies’, taking their name from the Athenian garden where Plato was thought to have met with his followers. One of the most important such groups in the early eighteenth century was the Roman ‘Arcadian Academy’. It was formally established in 1690 to honour the late Queen Christina of Sweden ...
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David Bowie
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