AUTHORITATIVE | CURATED | First 500 words Free

• Personalities
• Classical
• Conductor
• Modern Era

1878–1968 Italian conductor Serafin was principal conductor at La Scala, Milan, 1909–14 and 1917–18, and conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, 1924–34. After World War II he returned to La Scala, where he conducted the Italian premiere of Britten’s Peter Grimes. At Covent Garden in 1959 he conducted Joan Sutherland in her triumphant performance ...

• Personalities
• Classical
• Composer
• Late Romantic
• Librettist

(Ar-i’-go Bo-e’-to) 1842–1918 Italian composer and librettist Boito furnished the librettos for two of Verdi’s greatest Shakespearean masterpieces, Otello (1884–86) and Falstaff (1893). The premiere of his own operatic masterpiece Mefistofele, at La Scala, Milan (1868), was greeted with whistles due to the work’s extreme length (over five hours) and Germanic influences. As a result Boito for a while ...

• Personalities
• Classical
• Composer
• Late Romantic

(Ja’-ko’mo Poot-che’-ne) 1858–1924 Italian composer Puccini wrote 12 operas, three of which rank among the most popular in the world: La bohème, Tosca and Madama Butterfly. The composer came from a long line of musicians. His great-great-grandfather, the first Giacomo Puccini (1712–81), was organist and choirmaster at the cathedral of S Martino in the Tuscan town of Lucca. His ...

• Personalities
• Modern Era
• Opera

1926–2010, Australian Dubbed ‘La Stupenda’ in Milan, this great coloratura soprano was capable of flawless trills and vocal pyrotechnics that were best suited to the bel canto repertoire, especially Bellini and Donizetti heroines. Sutherland’s musical engagements began at a young age in Sydney and culminated in her winning Australia’s foremost voice competition. Thereafter she studied at London’s Royal ...

• Personalities
• Modern Era
• Opera

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 ...

• Personalities
• Classical
• Conductor
• Modern Era

1892–1967 Italian conductor After an early career as a composer, de Sabata became conductor of the Monte Carlo Opera. In 1930 he began his association with La Scala, Milan, which lasted beyond his retirement in 1957. He conducted fiery performances of Wagner and Verdi, and made an outstanding recording of Tosca. Introduction | Modern Era | Classical ...

• Personalities
• Classical
• Composer
• Early Romantic

(Ven-chant’-zo Bel-le’-ne) 1801–35 Italian composer One of the most important opera composers of the nineteenth century, Bellini cultivated a bel canto (literally ‘fine singing’) melodic style that influenced not only other opera composers but also Chopin and Robert Schumann. He studied first with his grandfather, composing youthful sacred works, ariettas and instrumental pieces, and in 1819 moved to ...

• Personalities
• Classical
• Contemporary Classical
• Singer

1926–2010 Australian soprano Sutherland studied in Sydney and sang in public there before travelling to London for further study at the Royal College of Music. She joined the Covent Garden company in 1952 and sang many roles, including Jenifer in the premiere of Tippett’s The Midsummer Marriage. Her performance as Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor under Serafin in 1959 launched her ...

• Personalities
• Classical
• Modern Era
• Singer

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, ...