1806–96, French Gilbert Duprez, the French tenor, made his debut aged 19 as Count Almaviva in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia. He went to Italy in 1829 to further his operatic studies, and remained there for six years. During this time, Duprez created the role of Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. He had arrived as ...
Too often, the music created by so-called ‘shred’ guitarists comes across as too cerebral and serious to elicit enjoyment from any but the most die-hard shred fan. Fortunately for all other fans of instrumental guitar, Paul Gilbert (b. 1966) prefers to dish out his hungry-man portions of notes with humour and irreverence matched only by his technical ferocity. Gilbert ...
(Vocals, guitar, b. 1931) João Gilberto came to the notice of the wider jazz public in the wake of saxophonist’s Stan Getz’s successful Jazz Samba (1962). Gilberto had earlier been working with composer Antonio Carlos Jobim on a development of the samba known as ‘bossa nova’, and Getz translated that form into a popular success. The subsequent Getz/Gilberto (1963) ...
1836–1911, English It was Gilbert’s dry, satirical wit that first gained him literary attention when, in the early 1860s, he began contributing to the comic journal Fun. Thereafter he acquired a name for himself through a succession of caustic plays before being introduced to Arthur Sullivan. The combination of Gilbert’s acerbic verse and Sullivan’s felicitous music made ...
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 ...
On Rossini’s advice, the already established tenor Adolphe Nourrit (1802–39) took singing lessons in order to acquire an Italianate flexibility of tone. His subsequent performance in the premiere of Rossini’s Le siège de Corinthe at the Paris Opéra in 1826 was a triumph, and in the same year he was made principal tenor of the Opéra. He appeared in ...
Composed: 1889 Premiered: 1889, London Libretto by W. S. Gilbert Act I Marco and Giuseppe, two gondoliers of proud republican descent, choose Gianetta and Tessa as their brides. The Duke and Duchess of Plaza-Toro arrive in Venice with their daughter Casilda and their servant Luiz. Casilda is told that she was married when a baby to the infant ...
Composed: 1884–85 Premiered: 1885, London Libretto by W. S. Gilbert Act I The Mikado’s son, Nanki-Poo, has fled from court to avoid marrying Katisha and is now wandering Japan as a second trombone. He has returned to Titipu on hearing that Ko-Ko, his rival for Yum-Yum, has been condemned to death for flirting. Ko-Ko, however ...
1842–1900 English composer Sullivan was a Chapel Royal chorister, the first-ever Mendelssohn scholar and a student of William Sterndale Bennett. He was already a composer of distinction when, in 1867, he collaborated with the playwright W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) in Cox and Box (1866). Their Trial by Jury (1875) set the seal on a historic partnership that spawned ...
1842–1900, English Sullivan’s name is synonymous with that of librettist W. S. Gilbert in England. It is their association with Richard D’Oyly Carte and the succession of operettas written for the Savoy Theatre that continue to ensure that Gilbert and Sullivan remain household names. Sullivan’s aim, however, after education at the Royal Academy of Music in London and ...
New-wave guitarist Bernard Sumner (b. 1956) was born in Salford, Manchester. Seeing the Sex Pistols in Manchester in June 1976 inspired Sumner and Peter Hook to acquire their first instruments, guitar and bass respectively. Originally called Warsaw, later Joy Division, they recruited drummer Stephen Morris and singer Ian Curtis for their band, making some self-produced records ...
Billy F. Gibbons (b. 1949), also known as the Reverend Willie G, led his Texas boogie band, ZZ Top, to international superstardom in the early days of MTV, combining a unique image with driving Southern rock and a series of eye-catching videos. At the music’s core was Gibbons’ tasteful blend of rhythmic crunch and fiery soloing, ...
(Fran-swa’ Koo-per-an’) 1668–1733 French composer Couperin, known as le grand, was the most gifted member of an illustrious French musical family. He lived and worked in Paris where, at the age of 18, he inherited the post of organist at St Gervais, which had previously been held by his father and uncle. In 1693 he was appointed ...
1847–1906, Italian Under Arrigo Boito’s influence, Giacosa developed into the leading Italian playwright of the time. His most striking operatic work was made in conjunction with Puccini. Initially brought in by Giulio Ricordi to smooth the troubled relationship between Puccini and Luigi Illica, Giacosa soon became indispensable. It was Giacosa’s responsibility to take the detailed scenario worked out ...
January The Bookmobile And European Tour ‘It was a travelling library that was found in Phoenix, Arizona, and converted into an RV [recreation vehicle],’ Billie Joe told a TV interviewer in 1994 when discussing the Bookmobile inside the vehicle. ‘A lot of people come up to us and say, “Do you have books for sale in there ?”. ...
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