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1939–1993 Slovak-Austrian soprano Popp was invited by Karajan to the Vienna State Opera shortly after making her debut in Bratislava in 1963 singing Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute), a role she later took to the Metropolitan Opera and recorded under Klemperer. Over two decades, she moved from light coloratura to lyric soprano, eventually taking on heavier dramatic ...

Source: Classical Music Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

ranged from Peter Grimes (1945) to Death in Venice (1973). His recordings included the War Requiem and nearly all the Britten operas. Introduction | Contemporary | Classical Personalities | Lucia Popp | Contemporary | Classical ...

Source: Classical Music Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

‘The Coronation of Poppea’ L’incoronazione di Poppea, composed in 1642, has been called Monteverdi’s greatest opera. It was one of the first operas to be based on history rather than mythology. The action takes place in Rome in ad 65. The eponymous heroine is the mistress and, later, wife of the Emperor Nero. The libretto was by ...

Source: Definitive Opera Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

c. 1620–c. 1660, Italian Singer Anna Renzi created the part of Ottavia, the neglected wife of Emperor Nero in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, in 1642, and she sang many other operatic roles in Venice. Renzi was one of the first female opera singers and also one of the first, if not the first, singers to ...

Source: Definitive Opera Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

Alternative-rock guitarist Billy Corgan (b. 1967) was born in Chicago, Illinois. Shortly after starting high school, Corgan began to learn guitar on an imitation Gibson Les Paul. His father, a musician, suggested that Billy listen to Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix but refused to teach him to play; consequently, Corgan was self-taught. His early influences were ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin

(Vocal/instrumental group, 1988–present) This New York jam band initially favoured the extended blues rock format made popular by The Grateful Dead. John Popper (vocals, harmonium), Chan Kinchla (guitar), Bobby Sheehan (bass) and Brendan Hills (drums) built a solid following that was vastly amplified when aptly named fourth album – Four (1995) – sold four million copies on the back ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley

1567–1643, Italian Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi was born in Cremona and began his illustrious career as a choirboy in the town’s cathedral. By the time he was 20, he had already published the first of his eventual nine books of secular madrigals. He was also a skilled composer of motets. Monteverdi’s horizons expanded in 1591 when he joined the ...

Source: Definitive Opera Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

(Klou’-dyo Mon-ta-ver’-de) 1567–1643 Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi stands as one of the last great composers of the Renaissance and one of the first of the Baroque. He studied composition with the madrigalist Marc’Antonio Ingegneri (c. 1547–92) in his home town of Cremona. When he took his first professional post in his mid-twenties, he had already published six books of music and ...

Source: Classical Music Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

(Vocal/instrumental group, 1977–present) The band appropriately formed in Sheffield, erstwhile home of the British steel industry. Their fresh brand of poppy heavy metal, led by Joe Elliott (vocals) and Pete Willis (lead guitar), soon won them fans. An early B-side ‘Hello America’ hinted at their ambitions. Debut album On Through The Night (1980) just missed the US Top ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley

Elvis Aaron Presley was born in his family’s shot-gun shack in Tupelo, Mississippi, on 8 January 1935. His twin brother died at birth, and his mother doted on her sole son. He showed musical aptitude early, and loved to sing at the local First Assembly of God church. His mother, Gladys and father, Vernon, ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley

1598–1659, Italian Venetian-born librettist Gian Francesco Busenello had a particular talent for the commercial operas that became fashionable in Italy in the first half of the seventeenth century. Busenello possessed a certain cynical realism about life that served him and his composers well when it came to insights into human behaviour. Busenello was never judgemental in his treatment of his ...

Source: Definitive Opera Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

Alternative-rock guitarist Joey Santiago (b. 1965) was born in Manila, Philippines, to a wealthy family, who emigrated to the United States when President Marcos declared martial law. The family eventually settled in Massachusetts. Joey first played guitar at the age of nine, becoming a fan of Seventies punk and David Bowie. At the University of Massachusetts, ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin

John McLaughlin (b. 1942) led the Mahavishnu Orchestra and a series of other bands that stretched the boundaries of jazz-rock fusion and world music, as he inspired guitarists worldwide with his inventiveness and devotion to exotic sounds and spirituality. McLaughlin started on guitar when he was 11 and was initially inspired by blues and swing players. McLaughlin worked with Alexis ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin

(Vocals, 1972–97) Born Christopher Wallace in New York, he sold crack to make ends meet which ended up in a jail term. Because of his large size he began rapping under the name of Biggie Smalls and an early demo eventually found its way to Sean Combs, a.k.a. Puff Daddy, who signed him to his ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley

(Vocals, b. 1953) Brooklyn-born Benatar established herself as queen of arena rock with a trio of fine albums. Her poppier debut In The Heat Of The Night (1979) was followed by heavier, Grammy-winning Crimes Of Passion (1980) and her only No. 1 Precious Time (1981). Her expressive tones powered several hit singles including ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot’, ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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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...

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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.

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