1923–77 American soprano Callas left the US for Greece in 1937, and made her debut as Tosca in Athens in 1942. Her early post-war repertory included Wagner’s Brünnhilde and Isolde, but under the guidance of Serafin she concentrated on the Italian repertory. She was a singing actress of great power who made an indelible impression as Bellini’s Norma, ...
1923–77, American-Greek Known as ‘La Divina’ (The Divine One), soprano Callas was regarded as the greatest singing actress of the twentieth century. She revitalized forgotten operas and her delivery combined technical precision with dramatic intensity. Born in New York City, Callas’s family returned to Greece when she was 13. She made her debut in Athens at the age of ...
(Kârl Ma-re’-a fun Va’-ber) 1786–1826 German composer Weber was a central figure in the growth of the Romantic movement in Germany, and one of its most important composers. He resuscitated and spread an enthusiasm for German opera, to which his own three-act opera Der Freischütz (‘The Free-shooter’, 1812) contributed. A gifted Kapellmeister and astute critic, he raised standards of ...
(Composer, arranger, bandleader, b. 1960) Schneider studied several instruments and composition prior to an internship with arranger Gil Evans in New York City in 1985. After further work with Bob Brookmeyer and Mel Lewis, she established a jazz orchestra that performed weekly in Greenwich Village from 1993–98 and recorded three albums. In 2004 she self-produced Concert In ...
active 1719–40, Italian The exceptional soprano Strada is known to have sung in Vivaldi’s La verità in cimento (‘The Truth Tested’, 1720) in Venice in 1721. Between 1724 and 1726 she sang for Vinci, Porpora and Leo at Naples, where she also married the theatre manager Aurelio del Pò. She arrived in London in 1729, where she ...
1690–1756, Italian The Italian mezzo-soprano castrato Antonio Maria Bernacchi earned fame throughout Europe for his impressive technical virtuosity. Bernacchi performed in operas by most of the important composers of his time, including Handel. In 1716 and 1717, Bernacchi sang at the Haymarket, London, in parts previously sung by women, including Goffredo in Handel’s Rinaldo. However ...
1808–36, Spanish Mezzo-soprano Maria Malibran was the elder daughter of Manuel Garcia and made her debut at age 17 singing in the chorus of the King’s Theatre in London. Shortly afterwards, she replaced the indisposed Giuditta Pasta as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia. Malibran was a brilliant, charismatic performer and was so successful as Rosina that she ...
1786–1826, German Carl Maria von Weber was a teenage prodigy who wrote his first opera aged 14. By 1804 Weber, still only 18, was musical director in Breslau. By the time he had moved on to Stuttgart, Weber had reworked his first opera, Das Waldmädchen (‘The Forest Girl’, 1810), and gave it the new title of ...
‘The Free-shooter’ The Faustian theme, with its connotations of the black arts, was not new to opera when Weber wrote Der Freischütz. Since 1796 there had already been eight operas based on the sixteenth-century legend as composers responded to one of the most seductive themes of the early Romantic era: a pact with the devil for personal gain or ...
1810–76, Italian Although Francesco Maria Piave’s fame rests on his libretti written for Verdi, he produced texts for several other composers of the Romantic era. These included Michael Balfe, Antonio Cagnoni (1828–96), Saverio Mercadante (1795–1870) and Giovanni Pacini (1796–1867): Piave supplied Pacini with the libretto for his Lorenzino de’ Medici (1845), which was first performed in Venice. By ...
1887–1982, Czech-Moravian The most highly paid German-speaking soprano between the wars, Jeritza sang mainly at the Vienna State Opera between 1912 and 1935. She debuted numerous roles, including Ariadne in both versions of Ariadne auf Naxos and the empress in Die Frau ohne Schatten by Richard Strauss. She also sang Marietta in Korngold’s Die tote Stadt and the ...
1888–1968, Italian What Stabile did not possess vocally, he made up for with a complete mastery of character. His imagination and timing made him unparalleled among his contemporaries. Toscanini coached him for the role of Falstaff, which he would sing nearly 1,200 times. During his 1926 debut season at Covent Garden, Stabile sang Falstaff, Iago ...
1914–2005 Italian conductor Giulini first conducted at La Scala, Milan in 1952, and was principal conductor 1953–56. He conducted Verdi’s Falstaff at the Edinburgh Festival in 1955 and Don Carlos at Covent Garden in 1958. He returned to Covent Garden for Il barbiere di Siviglia (1960), Il trovatore (1964) and La traviata (1967), but shortly after abandoned opera until ...
(Vocals, b. 1947) After 1964’s ‘As Tears Go By’ – written by Rolling Stones Mick Jagger (her then-boyfriend) and Keith Richards – climbed high in the UK and US charts, a winning streak was protracted with songs of like lightweight persuasion until Faithfull’s innocent schoolgirl image was tarnished for ever by frank and public opinions on free love and ...
(Singer-songwriter, b. 1970) Along with Whitney Houston, Carey (New York-born of Irish/African-American/Venezuelan descent) is one of the most successful female singers in American pop history. Her eponymous debut (1990) showcased her five-octave range and songwriting talent. Gorgeously sexy promotional videos meant songs like ‘Vision Of Love’ and ‘Love Takes Time’ were soon topping the charts. Emotions (1991) and Music ...
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.