b. 1941 Spanish tenor Domingo was brought up in Mexico, where he made his debut as a baritone in 1957. He appeared as a tenor in Dallas in 1961, and was a member of the Israeli National Opera 1962–65. He sang Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) at the New York City Opera in 1965, Maurizio in Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur at ...
b. 1941, Spanish Domingo holds a unique place in the world of opera as a singer, conductor and administrator. He is the most recorded tenor in history, which has allowed him to sing a wide variety of roles. Early in his career, his voice was light and lyrical, but over time it has acquired tremendous expression ...
‘The Troubadour’ Of all Verdi’s operas, Il trovatore (‘The Troubadour’) provides the fullest panorama of melodies, each of them memorable in its own right. Il trovatore did not have the subtle characterization of Rigoletto, and suffered from an all but impenetrable plot, but nonetheless became as frequently played. The Miserere (meaning ‘Have Mercy’) sung by a chorus ...
‘The Tales of Hoffmann’ Premiered: 1881, Paris Libretto by Jules Barbier after the play by Barbier and Michel Carré Act I Hoffmann has neglected poetry in his search for love. His muse is transformed into a companion named Nicklausse in order to protect him. Hoffmann’s latest love, Stella, an opera singer, is also admired by Counsellor Lindorf. ...
Verdi’s three-act opera Rigoletto, based on Victor Hugo’s play Le roi s’amuse (‘The King Amuses Himself’, 1832), was originally entitled La maledizione (‘The Malediction’) – a reference to the curse placed on the superstitious court jester Rigoletto, which fulfills itself in the final scene. The first performance of Rigoletto took place at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice on ...
‘A Masked Ball’ In 1857, Verdi was virtually asking for censorship trouble when he chose Gustavuse III, ou Le bal masqué (‘Gustavus III, or The Masked Ball’) for his next work. In 1792 King Gustavusus III of Sweden had been shot dead at a masked ball in Stockholm. Regicide was a taboo subject and the Neapolitan censors immediately ...
b. 1969 American mezzo-soprano She completed the studio programme at Houston Grand Opera before making her debut there in 1999. Her European debut came at La Scala the following year, quickly followed by first appearances at the Opéra Bastille, Covent Garden and the Metropolitan Opera. While she has received particular acclaim for bel canto Rossini roles (notably Rosina in ...
b. 1972 Mexican-French tenor After studies in Mexico City, he joined the Merola Opera Programme at San Francisco in 1998. His success at Plácido Domingo’s Operalia competition a year later was quickly followed by appearances at Genoa (his European debut), the Paris Opéra and the Berlin Staatsoper. Equally at home in French and Italian repertoire, he made his debuts ...
b. 1957 Chinese-American composer Tan grew up in Hunan province during the Cultural Revolution, encountering Western classical music only on entering the Beijing Central Conservatory at 19. Encouraged there by visiting teachers such as Goehr, Henze and Takemitsu, he moved to New York in 1986 to continue his studies at Columbia University. His early works integrated elements of ...
The opera house and, more specifically, opera audiences, were among the last to be receptive to the new musical language that developed during the twentieth century. Slow, as well as reluctant to vary their traditional musical tastes, perceptions and expectations, many viewed the opera house with nostalgia; as a symbol of the establishment, holding ...
1797–1848, Italian Gaetano Donizetti, who was born in Bergamo, wrote seven operas, some of them while still a student in Bologna, and several of them unproduced, before he scored his first success with Zoraide di Grenata (‘Zoraide of Granada’, 1822), which was performed in Rome. Zoraide attracted the attention of impresario Domenico Barbaia, who ...
1911–2007, Italian One of the most important opera composers during the 1950s, Menotti had already written two operas by the time he entered the Milan Conservatory aged 13, and he would go on to write 23 more. He later moved to America and studied at the Curtis Institute, where he met his lifelong companion and inspiration, ...
b. 1969, American A lyric coloratura mezzo-soprano, DiDonato is known especially for her interpretation of Handel, Mozart, and an increasing number of bel canto roles. An example of the resurgent trend towards ‘personalities’ in the opera world, DiDonato has embraced the internet and social networking, regularly recounting her performance experiences and career developments online, ...
1935–2007 Italian tenor After winning the international competition at the Teatro Reggio Emilia in 1961, Pavarotti made his debut there as Rodolfo (La bohème), the role of his Covent Garden debut in 1963. In 1964 he sang Idamante (Idomeneo) at Glyndebourne. His many roles at Covent Garden included Tonio in La fille du régiment (‘The Daughter of the Regiment’), Verdi’s ...
1935–2007, Italian Pavarotti became a commodity that often belies his profound vocal gifts as one of the greatest-ever tenors. His career commenced as soon as he began to sing, for he possessed an extraordinary, effortless voice with ringing high notes. Early roles such as Rodolfo (La bohème) and Tonio (La fille du régiment) amounted to near vocal perfection. ...
AUTHORITATIVE
An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...
CURATED
Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.
David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.