1.
Operetta
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Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. By this time, the part of the genre name had become misleading. With this new connotation, opéra comique had dominated the French operatic stage since the decline of tragédie lyrique, most researchers acknowledge that the credit for creating the operetta form should go to Hervé, a singer, composer, librettist, conductor, and scene painter. In 1842 he wrote the little opérette, LOurs et le pacha, based on the vaudeville show by Scribe. In 1848, Hervé made his first notable appearance on the Parisian stage, with Don Quichotte et Sancho Pança, hervés most famous works are the Gounod-parody Le Petit Faust and Mamzelle Nitouche. Jacques Offenbach further developed and popularized operetta, giving it its enormous vogue during the Second Empire, Offenbachs earliest one-act pieces included Les deux aveugles, Le violoneux and Ba-ta-clan, and his first full-length operetta success was Orphée aux enfers. Offenbachs tradition was carried on by Robert Planquette, André Messager. What characterizes Offenbachs operettas is both the way they portray life, and the extremely frivolous way this is done. The character was modeled after Offenbachs female star Hortense Schneider. Considering how Zolas Nana describes an Offenbach-style operetta performance in Paris, it is not surprising that the mostly male, upper-class audiences in other cities like Vienna and Berlin longed to see these shows in their home towns as well, which inspired worldwide performance of Offenbachs works. The highly erotic way Offenbachs operettas were originally played, with stars like Hortense Schneider created a reaction from certain parts of the general public. Operetta was considered an art form. Indeed, together with its grotesque qualities, frivolity is one of the elements of authentic operetta à la Offenbach. It was only later, when audiences widened and became more middle and lower class, the most significant composer of operetta in the German language was the Austrian Johann Strauss II. His first operetta was Indigo und die vierzig Räuber and his third operetta, Die Fledermaus, became the most performed operetta in the world, and remains his most popular stage work. Its libretto was based on a written by Offenbachs librettists. In all, Strauss wrote 16 operettas and one opera, most with great success when first premiered, many of his lesser operettas are now largely forgotten, since his later librettists were less talented and he often composed independently of the plot. Strausss operettas, waltzes, polkas, and marches often have a strongly Viennese style, the Theater an der Wien never failed to draw huge crowds when his stage works were first performed
2.
Komische Oper Berlin
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The Komische Oper Berlin is an opera company in Berlin, Germany, which specializes in German language productions of opera, operetta and musicals. The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, just a few steps from the famous Berlin street Unter den Linden. Since 2004 the Komische Oper Berlin, like the Berlin State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Berlin State Ballet, the theatre was built between 1891 and 1892 by architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer for a private society. It first opened on 24 September 1892 as Theater Unter den Linden with Adolf Ferrons operetta Daphne and Gaul, the theatre was primarily a vehicle for operetta, but was also used for various other events and balls. Around 800 people could be seated in the stalls, and the balconies and its directors went bankrupt in 1896 and the theatre was forced to close its doors. On 3 September 1898 the theatre was reopened as Metropol-Theater with Julius Freunds revue Paradies der Frauen and it then grew to become one of Berlins most famous and successful variety theatres. During the 1920s and early 1930s, it was leased by the brothers [Alfred, under their management, it saw the premieres of two operettas by Franz Lehár - Friederike in 1928 and Das Land des Lächelns in 1929, both starring Richard Tauber. However, due to a decline of variety and music hall entertainment the theatre was closed in 1933. In 1934 the theatre was nationalised and renamed Staatliches Operettentheater and it operated as part of the Nazi Kraft durch Freude entertainment and leisure programmes. During World War II, the auditorium was damaged by Allied bombing on 7 May 1944, the façade, entrance hall, and auditorium ceiling murals were destroyed by bombs on 9 March 1945. After the war, the theatre was in East Germany, being that the building was in the part of Berlin. Following repair works and provisional rebuilding, the theatre reopened on 23 December 1947, the 1950s saw various further alterations and extensions. The theatre was rebuilt in 1965/1966 by Architektenkollektiv Kunz Nierade, adding functional extensions. The theatre reopened again on 4 December 1966, with Mozarts Don Giovanni, the auditorium underwent further restoration in 1986, and the stage technology was further modernised by 1989. In 1947, Walter Felsenstein founded and led the resident opera company, götz Friedrich was an assistant to Felsenstein at the company. Joachim Herz became general director after Felsensteins death and served until 1981, subsequently, Harry Kupfer directed the company for 21 seasons, until 2002. The company specializes in German language productions of opera, operetta, in 2007 the company won, jointly with Oper Bremen, the Opera house of the year award by the German magazine Opernwelt. Since 2002, the chief director and Intendant has been Andreas Homoki
3.
Libretto
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A libretto is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term libretto is also used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as the Mass, requiem and sacred cantata. Libretto, from Italian, is the diminutive of the word libro, sometimes other language equivalents are used for libretti in that language, livret for French works and Textbuch for German. A libretto is distinct from a synopsis or scenario of the plot, in that the libretto contains all the words and stage directions, while a synopsis summarizes the plot. The relationship of the librettist to the composer in the creation of a work has varied over the centuries, as have the sources. In the context of a modern English language musical theatre piece, Libretti for operas, oratorios and cantatas in the 17th and 18th centuries generally were written by someone other than the composer, often a well-known poet. Metastasio was one of the most highly regarded librettists in Europe and his libretti were set many times by many different composers. Another noted 18th-century librettist was Lorenzo Da Ponte, who wrote the libretti for three of Mozarts greatest operas, as well as for other composers. Eugène Scribe was one of the most prolific librettists of the 19th century, providing the words for works by Meyerbeer, Auber, Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini and Verdi. The French writers duo Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy wrote a number of opera and operetta libretti for the likes of Jacques Offenbach, Jules Massenet. Arrigo Boito, who wrote libretti for, among others, Giuseppe Verdi and Amilcare Ponchielli, the libretto is not always written before the music. Some composers wrote their own libretti, Richard Wagner is perhaps most famous in this regard, with his transformations of Germanic legends and events into epic subjects for his operas and music dramas. Hector Berlioz, too, wrote the libretti for two of his works, La Damnation de Faust and Les Troyens. Alban Berg adapted Georg Büchners play Woyzeck for the libretto of Wozzeck, sometimes the libretto is written in close collaboration with the composer, this can involve adaptation, as was the case with Rimsky-Korsakov and his librettist Belsky, or an entirely original work. In the case of musicals, the music, the lyrics, thus, a musical such as Fiddler on the Roof has a composer, a lyricist and the writer of the book. In rare cases, the composer writes everything except the dance arrangements - music, lyrics and libretto, Other matters in the process of developing a libretto parallel those of spoken dramas for stage or screen. A famous case of the latter is Wagners 1861 revision of the original 1845 Dresden version of his opera Tannhäuser for Paris, since the late 19th century some opera composers have written music to prose or free verse libretti. The libretto of a musical, on the hand, is almost always written in prose
4.
Richard Tauber
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Richard Tauber was an Austrian tenor. After he was adopted by his father in 1913, his name became Richard Denemy-Tauber. Richard accompanied his mother on tour to theatres, but she found it difficult to cope. In 1897–98 he was sent to school in Linz, and then his father took over his upbringing, moving him to Graz, Prague, Berlin, Salzburg and finally Wiesbaden. His father, who was born Jewish but had converted to Roman Catholicism, the boy missed the excitement of the theatre and instead joined his father in Prague and, subsequently, in 1903 at the theatre in Wiesbaden. Richard hoped to become a singer but failed to any of the teachers he auditioned for, probably because he chose to sing Wagner. His father entered him at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt to study piano, composition and he made rapid progress but he still hoped to become a singer. After an intensive period of training under Carl Beines, he made his public debut at a concert at Freiburg on 17 May 1912. That year his father was appointed Intendant of the Municipal Theatre in Chemnitz and was therefore in a position to arrange for Richard to appear as Tamino in The Magic Flute on 2 March 1913, the Baron encouraged Tauber to take small roles with other companies to broaden his experience. People started to call him the SOS Tenor, following some guest appearances at the Wiener Volksoper in 1920, he made his Vienna State Opera debut on 16 June in La bohème, substituting for an indisposed Alfred Piccaver. It was in June 1919 that he made the first of seven hundred gramophone records. All his vocal recordings were made for the Odeon Records label, Tauber had a lyrical, flexible tenor voice, and he sang with a warm, elegant legato. His excellent breath control gave him a wonderful head voice and messa di voce with a superb pianissimo. He was elegant in appearance too – although he had a slight squint in his eye, he disguised it by wearing a monocle which. Tauber first performed in an operetta by Franz Lehár at the Volksbuhne in Berlin in 1920 and this was Zigeunerliebe, in which he also appeared in Linz and Salzburg in 1921. In 1922 he was offered the role of Armand in Lehárs Frasquita at the Theater an der Wien, and this excursion into operetta was looked down on by some, but did Tauber no harm. It gave him a new audience. It revived Lehárs flagging career as a composer of operetta, the hit songs usually occurred in the second act and were informally known as Tauberlieder. Tauber appeared in a number of films, both in Germany and later in England and he provided a voice-over, singing the title song in the otherwise silent film I Kiss Your Hand, Madame
5.
Theater an der Wien
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The Theater an der Wien is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, since 2006, it has served primarily as an opera house, hosting its own company. Although Wien is German for Vienna, the Wien in the name of the theatre is actually the name of the Wien River, which flowed by the theatre site. In modern times, the river has been covered over in this location and the riverbed now houses the Naschmarkt. The theatre is operated in cooperation with Vereinigte Bühnen Wien which also operates the Raimund Theater, the theatre was the brainchild of the Viennese theatrical impresario Emanuel Schikaneder, who is best known as Mozarts librettist and collaborator on the opera The Magic Flute. Schikaneders troupe had already been performing for several years in Vienna in the smaller Theater auf der Wieden. As the troupes performances often emphasized spectacle and scenery, the librettist felt ready to move to a larger and better equipped venue. He had already granted an imperial licence to build a new theatre in 1786. The building was designed by the architect Franz Jäger in Empire style, the theatre has been described as the most lavishly equipped and one of the largest theatres of its age. The theatre opened on 13 June 1801 with a written by Schikaneder followed by a performance of the opera Alexander by Franz Teyber. The new theatre proved to be a sensation, adolf Bäurle, a local critic, wrote if Schikaneder and Zitterbarth had had the idea. To charge admission simply for looking at the glories of their Theater an der Wien, the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung called it the most comfortable and satisfactory in the whole of Germany. In 1807 the theatre was acquired by a group of nobles that included Count Ferdinand Palffy von Erdöd. He is accompanied by the Three Boys, characters in the same opera, in the late 19th to early 20th centuries, the theatre experienced a golden age during the flourishing of Viennese operetta, as referenced in the list below. From 1945 to 1955, it was one of the homes of the Vienna State Opera. However, in 1955, the theatre was closed for safety reasons and it languished unused for several years, and by the early 1960s, the threat had emerged that it would be converted to a parking garage. Fortunately, in 1962 the theatre found a new and successful role for itself as a venue for musical theatre. Many English-language musicals had their German premieres there, the musical Cats directed and choreographed by Gillian Lynne played successfully for seven years
6.
1923 in music
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This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1923. February – Joseph Samuels Tampa Blue Jazz Band records the George Washington Thomas number The Fives for Okeh Records, november 11 – Première of John Fouldss World Requiem at the Royal Albert Hall in London. It is repeated on that date each year until 1926, George Enescu makes his debut as a conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra in New York City. Henri Pawl-Pleyel, Roger Désormière, Maxime Jacob and Henri Sauguet form the Ecole dArcueil, augustus John completes his portrait of cellist Guilhermina Suggia. Japanese composer Michio Miyagi introduces an 80-string koto or or hachijugen and it proves less popular than the 17-string koto he had invented two years earlier. Ray Henderson Back To Croa-Jingo-Long w. m, pat Dunlop Bambalina w. Otto Harbach & Oscar Hammerstein II m. Herbert Stothart & Vincent Youmans. Introduced by Edith Day in the musical Wildflower Barney Google w. m, Billy Rose & Con Conrad Beside A Babbling Brook w. Gus Kahn m. Walter Donaldson Charleston w. m. Cecil Mack & James P. Johnson, chimes Blues m. Joe King Oliver Come On, Spark Plug. w. m. Billy Rose & Con Conrad Covered Wagon Days w. m, will Morrisey & Joe Burrows Dizzy Fingers m. Franz Lehár Gulf Coast Blues w. m. Clarence Williams Horsey, Walter Hirsch & Bert Kaplan I Cried For You w. Arthur Freed m. Gus Arnheim & Abe Lyman I Love Life w. Irwin M. Cassel m, mana-Zucca I Love You w. Harlan Thompson m. Harry Archer. Introduced by John Boles and Margaret Wilson in the musical Little Jessie James I Wont Say I Will But I Wont Say I Wont w. B. G. De Sylva & Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin. Introduced by Irene Bordoni in the play Little Miss Bluebeard Im Goin South w. m, abner Silver & Harry Woods Im Sitting Pretty In A Pretty Little City w. m. Lou Davis, Henry Santly & Abel Baer Indiana Moon w. Benny Davis m. Isham Jones It Aint Gonna Rain No Mo w. m, wendell Hall Ive Got The Yes. We Have No Bananas Blues w. Lew Brown m. James F. Hanley & Robert King Just A Girl That Men Forget w. Al Dubin & Fred Rath m. Joe Garron Just One More Chance m. Steiger King Porter Stomp m. Ferdinand Jelly Roll Morton Last Night On The Back Porch w. Lew Brown m, carl Schraubstader Linger Awhile w. Harry Owens m. Vincent Rose Louisville Lou w. Jack Yellen m, milton Ager Mama Goes Where Papa Goes w. Jack Yellen m. Milton Ager Mama Loves Papa w. m, cliff Friend & Abel Baer March Of The Cameron Men w. m
7.
Vienna State Opera
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The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria and it was originally called the Vienna Court Opera. In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian Republic, the members of the Vienna Philharmonic are recruited from its orchestra. The opera house was the first major building on the Vienna Ringstrasse commissioned by the Viennese city expansion fund, work commenced on the house in 1861 and was completed in 1869, following plans drawn up by architects August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll. It was built in the Neo-Renaissance style by the renowned Czech architect, the somewhat coarser-grained Kelheimerstein was intended as the main stone to be used in the building of the opera house, but the necessary quantity was not deliverable. Breitenbrunner stone was suggested as a substitute for the Kelheimer stone, the staircases were constructed from polished Kaiserstein, while most of the rest of the interior was decorated with varieties of marble. The decision was made to use dimension stone for the exterior of the building, due to the monumental demand for stone, stone from Sóskút, widely used in Budapest, was also used. Three Viennese masonry companies were employed to supply enough masonry labour, Eduard Hauser, Anton Wasserburger, the foundation stone was laid on 20 May 1863. The building was, however, not very popular with the public, on the one hand, it did not seem as grand as the Heinrichshof, a private residence which was destroyed in World War II. Eduard van der Nüll committed suicide, and barely ten weeks later Sicardsburg died from tuberculosis so neither architect saw the completion of the building, the opening premiere was Don Giovanni, by Mozart, on May 25,1869. Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elisabeth were present, towards the end of World War II, on March 12,1945, the opera was set alight by an American bombardment. The front section, which had been walled off as a precaution, remained intact including the foyer, with frescoes by Moritz von Schwind, the stairways, the vestibule. The auditorium and stage were, however, destroyed by flames as well as almost the entire décor, the State Opera was temporarily housed at the Theater an der Wien and at the Vienna Volksoper. Eventually the decision was made to rebuild the house as it had been. The Austrian Federal Chancellor Leopold Figl made the decision in 1946 to have an opera house again by 1949. An architectural competition was announced, which was won by Erich Boltenstern, in order to achieve a good acoustic, wood was the favoured building material, at the advice of, among others, Arturo Toscanini. In addition, the number of seats in the parterre was reduced, and the fourth gallery, the façade, entrance hall and the Schwind foyer were restored and remain in their original style. In 1947, the company went on tour to London, due to the appalling conditions at Theater an der Wien, the opera company leadership tried to raise significant quantities of money to speed up reconstruction of the original opera house
8.
English National Opera
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English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martins Lane. It is one of the two opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera, Covent Garden. ENOs productions are sung in English, Baylis subsequently built up both the opera and the theatre companies, and later added a ballet company, these evolved into ENO, the Royal National Theatre and The Royal Ballet, respectively. Baylis acquired and rebuilt the Sadlers Wells theatre in north London, the opera company grew there into a permanent ensemble in the 1930s. During the Second World War, the theatre was closed and the company toured British towns, after the war, the company returned to its home, but it continued to expand and improve. By the 1960s, a theatre was needed. In 1968, the moved to the London Coliseum and adopted its present name in 1974. Among the conductors associated with the company have been Colin Davis, Reginald Goodall, Charles Mackerras, Mark Elder, the current music director of ENO is Martyn Brabbins. Noted directors who have staged productions at ENO have included David Pountney, Jonathan Miller, Nicholas Hytner, Phyllida Lloyd, ENOs current artistic director is Daniel Kramer. In addition to the operatic repertoire, the company has presented a wide range of works, from early operas by Monteverdi to new commissions, operetta. In 1889, Emma Cons, a Victorian philanthropist who ran the Old Vic theatre in a area of London. Although the theatre licensing laws of the day prevented full costumed performances, Cons presented condensed versions of well-known operas, among the performers were noted singers such as Charles Santley. These operatic evenings quickly became more popular than the dramas that Cons had been staging separately, in 1898, she recruited her niece Lilian Baylis to help run the theatre. At the same time she appointed Charles Corri as the Old Vics musical director, Baylis and Corri, despite many disagreements, shared a passionate belief in popularising opera, hitherto generally the preserve of the rich and fashionable. They worked on a budget, with an amateur chorus. By the early years of the 20th century, the Old Vic was able to present semi-staged versions of Wagner operas, Emma Cons died in 1912, leaving her estate, including the Old Vic, to Baylis, who dreamed of transforming the theatre into a peoples opera house. In the same year, Baylis obtained a licence to allow the Old Vic to stage performances of operas. In the 1914–1915 season, Baylis staged 16 operas and 16 plays, the opera, however, remained her first priority
9.
The Merry Widow
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The Merry Widow is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The operetta has enjoyed international success since its 1905 premiere in Vienna. Film and other adaptations have also been made, well-known music from the score includes the Vilja Song, Da geh ich zu Maxim, and the Merry Widow Waltz. The play was adapted into German as Der Gesandschafts-Attaché and was given several successful productions. In early 1905, Viennese librettist Leo Stein came across the play and he suggested this to one of his writing collaborators, Viktor Léon and to the manager of the Theater an der Wien, who was eager to produce the piece. They asked Richard Heuberger to compose the music, as he had a hit at the Theatre an der Wein with a Parisian-themed piece. He composed a draft of the score, but it was unsatisfactory, the theatres staff next suggested that Franz Lehár might compose the piece. Lehár had worked with Léon and Stein on Der Göttergatte the previous year, although Léon doubted that Lehár could invoke an authentic Parisian atmosphere, he was soon enchanted by Lehars first number for the piece, a bubbly galop melody for Dummer, dummer Reitersmann. The score of Die Lustige Witwe was finished in a matter of months, both stars were so enthusiastic about the piece that they supplemented the theatres low-budget production by paying for their own lavish costumes. During the rehearsal period, the theatre lost faith in the score and asked Lehár to withdraw it, the piece was given little rehearsal time on stage before its premiere. It was a success, receiving good reviews and running for 483 performances. The production was toured in Austria in 1906. The operetta originally had no overture, Lehár wrote one for the 400th performance, the Vienna Philharmonic performed the overture at Lehárs 70th birthday concert in April 1940. The embassy in Paris of the poverty-stricken Balkan principality of Pontevedro is holding a ball to celebrate the birthday of the sovereign, Baron Zeta has in mind Count Danilo Danilovitsch, the First Secretary of the embassy, but his plans are not going well. Danilo is not at the party, so Zeta sends Njegus, Danilo finally arrives and meets Hanna. It emerges they were in love before her marriage, but his uncle interrupted their romance because Hanna had absolutely nothing to her name. Although they still love each other, Danilo refuses to court Hanna because of her fortune, meanwhile, Baron Zetas wife Valencienne has been flirting with the French attaché to the embassy, Count Camille de Rosillon, who writes I love you on her fan. Valencienne puts off Camilles advances, saying that she is a respectable wife, however, they lose the incriminating fan, which is found by embassy counsellor Kromow, who jealously fears the fan belongs to his wife, Olga, and gives it to Baron Zeta
10.
June Bronhill
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Bronhill was born June Mary Gough in the inland Australian city of Broken Hill, New South Wales to George Francis Gough, born in Essex, England and Mary Isobel Daisy Hall. Her European vocal teacher misheard Broken Hill as Bro-n-hill and she won third prize in the Sun Aria, now known as the Sydney Eisteddfod McDonalds Operatic Aria, in 1949 and first prize in 1950. She used her money to fund a trip to London to further her studies. Bronhill trained in London and gained exposure with the English National Opera company in Mozarts The Marriage of Figaro. She also sang leading roles in Die Fledermaus, The Gypsy Baron, Menottis The Telephone, Flotows Martha and her roles in Offenbachs operas, with the Sadlers Wells company, included Eurydice in Orpheus in the Underworld and Gabrielle in La Vie parisienne. In 1961 and 1962, she appeared as Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music on the Australian stage. In 1964 she appeared as Elizabeth in the musical Robert and Elizabeth at the Lyric Theatre, London alongside Keith Michell as Robert Browning, a show she took to Australia in 1966. She also appeared in England in tours of two Ivor Novello musicals, Glamorous Night and The Dancing Years, the playing a season at the Saville Theatre in London. She also appeared as the Mother Abbess in the 1981 London revival of Rodgers, Bronhill was perhaps best known for the title role of Hanna Glawari in Franz Lehárs The Merry Widow, with the Sadlers Wells Opera, with Thomas Round as Danilo in 1958 and revised in 1960. She sang the role more than 200 times, capturing a faithful following, Bronhill made frequent visits back to her homeland, singing in operas such as The Merry Widow, Orpheus in the Underworld, Die Fledermaus and Rigoletto at the Sydney Opera House in 1975. In 1976, she decided to back to Australia permanently. She played operetta roles such as Josephine, Phyllis and Ruth, Bronhill also appeared in the role of Mrs Crawford in the television comedy series Are You Being Served. The Australian version of the British comedy series, as well as in Lipton Tea television advertisements singing an adaption of Fugue for Tinhorns, Bronhill was a patron of the Australian Girls Choir from the choirs beginning. There is a scholarship in her name, the June Bronhill Encouragement Scholarship, a portrait of Bronhill, painted by Andrew Sibley, was entered into the 1966 Archibald Prize. In 1976 she was awarded the Order of the British Empire for her contributions to the music industry, in Broken Hill a street and an auditorium are named after her. Her voice was chartacterised as a crystal clear, diamond bright coloratura soprano with absolutely impeccable diction. Opera News noted that Bronhills crisp, bright prettiness and crystalline diction made her an ideal exponent of operetta heroines, Bronhill married twice, first to Brian Martin in 1951 in Sydney, New South Wales and second to Richard Milburn Champion de Crepigny Finny, in January 1953. She had a daughter, Carolyn Jane Finney in May 1963 by her second marriage, Bronhill died on 24 January 2005, aged 75, in her sleep at a Sydney nursing home
11.
Voice type
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Other considerations are physical characteristics, speech level, scientific testing, and vocal register. A singers voice type is identified by a known as voice classification, by which the human voice is evaluated. The discipline of voice classification developed within European classical music and is not generally applicable to other forms of singing, voice classification is often used within opera to associate possible roles with potential voices. Voice classification is a tool for singers, composers, venues, while useful, voice classification systems have been used too rigidly, i. e. a house assigning a singer to a specific type and only casting him or her in roles they consider belonging to this category. A singer will choose a repertoire that suits his or her instrument, many different voice types are used in vocal pedagogy in a variety of voice classification systems. Most of these types, however, are grouped into seven major categories that are, for the most part. Women are typically divided into three groups, soprano, mezzo-soprano, and alto, men are usually divided into four groups, countertenor, tenor, baritone, and bass. Some women fall into the tenor or baritone groups, while men identified as countertenors can be grouped as contralto, mezzo-soprano, when considering the pre-pubescent voice, an eighth term, treble, is applied. Within each of these categories, subcategories identify specific vocal qualities such as coloratura facility. The vocal range of classical performance covers about five octaves, from a low G1 to a high G6, any individuals voice can perform over a range of one and a half to more than two octaves. Vocal ranges are grouped into overlapping types that each span two octaves. Many singers fall between groups and can perform some parts in either type, soprano range, The soprano is the highest singing voice. The typical soprano voice lies between C4 and C6, the low extreme for sopranos is roughly A3. Most soprano roles do not extend above C6 although there are several standard soprano roles that call for D6, at the highest extreme, some coloratura soprano roles may reach to F6. Soprano tessitura, The tessitura of the soprano voice lies higher than all the other voices except the sopranino, in particular, the coloratura soprano has the highest tessitura of all the soprano subtypes. Soprano subtypes, As with all types, sopranos are often divided into different subcategories based on range, vocal color or timbre, the weight of voice. Sopranos are often broken down into five subcategories, coloratura soprano, soubrette, lyric soprano, spinto soprano, two types of soprano especially dear to the French are the Dugazon and the Falcon, which are intermediate voice types between the soprano and the mezzo soprano. A Dugazon is a darker-colored soubrette, a Falcon a darker-colored soprano drammatico
12.
Soprano
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A soprano is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The sopranos vocal range is from approximately middle C =261 Hz to high A =880 Hz in choral music, in four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody. The soprano voice type is divided into the coloratura, soubrette, lyric, spinto. The lyric soprano is the most common female singing voice, the word soprano comes from the Italian word sopra, as the soprano is the highest pitch human voice, often given to the leading female roles in operas. The term soprano is also based on the Latin word superius which, like soprano, the word superius was especially used in choral and other multi-part vocal music between the 13th and 16th centuries. The soprano has the highest vocal range of all voice types, a soprano and a mezzo-soprano have a similar range, but their tessituras will lie in different parts of that range. The low extreme for sopranos is roughly A3 or B♭3, within opera, the lowest demanded note for sopranos is F3. Often low notes in higher voices will project less, lack timbre, however, rarely is a soprano simply unable to sing a low note in a song within a soprano role. The high extreme, at a minimum, for non-coloratura sopranos is soprano C, a couple of roles have optional E♭6s, as well. In the coloratura repertoire several roles call for E♭6 on up to F6, in rare cases, some coloratura roles go as high as G6 or G♯6, such as Mozarts concert aria Popoli di Tessaglia. Or the title role of Jules Massenets opera Esclarmonde, while not necessarily within the tessitura, a good soprano will be able to sing her top notes full-throated, with timbre and dynamic control. In opera, the tessitura, vocal weight, and timbre of voices, a singers tessitura is where the voice has the best timbre, easy volume, and most comfort. Within the soprano voice type category are five generally recognized subcategories, coloratura soprano, soubrette, lyric soprano, spinto soprano, the coloratura soprano may be a lyric coloratura or a dramatic coloratura. The lyric coloratura soprano is a very agile light voice with a high upper extension capable of fast vocal coloratura, Light coloraturas have a range of approximately middle C to high F with some coloratura sopranos being able to sing somewhat higher or lower. Dramatic coloraturas have a range of approximately low B to high F with some coloratura sopranos being able to sing higher or lower. In classical music and opera, a soubrette soprano refers to both a type and a particular type of opera role. A soubrette voice is light with a bright, sweet timbre, a tessitura in the mid-range, the soubrette voice is not a weak voice, for it must carry over an orchestra without a microphone like all voices in opera. The voice, however, has a lighter weight than other soprano voices with a brighter timbre
13.
Vera Schwarz
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Vera Schwarz was an Austrian Soprano, known primarily for her operetta partnership with Richard Tauber. Vera Schwarz was born in Agram, Croatia, as the daughter of Hungarian-Croatian aviation pioneer David Schwarz and she studied in Vienna with Philipp Forstén and gave her debut in 1908 at the Theater an der Wien. 1908 to 1912 she was a member of the opera in Graz, after performing in Karlsbad she came to the Hamburger Stadttheater in 1914. From 1918 to 1922 she was an member of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin. It was during this time that she taught her Vienna Staatsoper colleague Leo Slezaks daughter, in her book Der Apfel fällt nicht weit vom Stamm Margarete Slezak recounts her meeting Vera Schwarz, I paid Vera Schwarz a visit, and asked her to test my voice. Frau Schwarz found it would be worthwhile to train my voice and she lived with her mother, a delicate yet unbelievably energetic lady. Mama Schwarz missed no performance of her daughter and she sat in the middle of the parquet and influenced the audiences applause particularly loudly. While doing so she would turn left and right claiming loudly, Charming, one time an acquaintance sat behind, unseen by her. He bent forward and said, for everyone to overhear, But, gnädige Frau,1929 to 1933 she was a member of the Metropol-Theater Berlin ensemble, returning from 1931 to 1933 to the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. She became well known as Richard Taubers operetta partner, and sang often in this genre, some respected sources claim that she also appeared with Tauber in Lehars Der Zarewitsch, but this is incorrect. The 1927 operetta has only two soprano singing roles, one a role, played originally by de, Rita Georg. There is simply no part in this operetta for a singer of Schwarzs voice and it was here they last appeared together in Das Land des Lächelns in February 1938, shortly before the Nazi Anschluss. She appeared in the houses of Amsterdam, Budapest, London, Munich, and Paris. In 1929 she sang Octavian in Rosenkavalier at the Salzburger Festspiele, one of her last roles was as Verdis Lady Macbeth at the 1939 Glyndebourne Festival. Here she coached the American Sopranos Rise Stevens, and Marni Nixon, Vera Schwarz returned to Vienna in 1948, teaching and giving masterclasses in the Salzburg Mozarteum. She died in Vienna in 1964, and is buried at the Urnenhain der de, in 2011 a street in Viennas 23rd district was named Vera-Schwarz-Gasse in her honour
14.
Tenor
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Tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is one of the highest of the male voice types. The tenors vocal range lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, and A4, the A above middle C, in solo work, this range extends up to C5, or tenor high C. The low extreme for tenors is roughly A♭2, at the highest extreme, some tenors can sing up to two Fs above middle C. The tenor voice type is divided into the leggero tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor. The name tenor derives from the Latin word tenere, which means to hold, in medieval and Renaissance polyphony between about 1250 and 1500, the tenor was the structurally fundamental voice, vocal or instrumental. All other voices were normally calculated in relation to the tenor, until the late 16th century introduction of the contratenor singers, the tenor was usually the highest voice, assuming the role of providing a foundation. It was also in the 18th century that tenor came to signify the male voice that sang such parts, thus, for earlier repertoire, a line marked tenor indicated the parts role, and not the required voice type. Indeed, even as late as the century, partbooks labelled tenor might contain parts for a range of voice types. The vocal range of the tenor is one of the highest of the voice types. Within opera, the lowest note in the tenor repertoire is probably A♭2 in Rossinis rarely performed La donna del lago in the role of Rodrigo di Dhu. Within more frequently performed repertoire, Mime and Herod both call for an A2, a few tenor roles in the standard repertoire call for a tenor C. Some of the few top Cs in the operatic repertoire are either optional or interpolated by tradition. However, the highest demanded note in the standard operatic repertoire is D5. Some operatic roles for tenors require a darker timbre and fewer high notes, in the leggero repertoire, the highest note is F5, therefore, very few tenors can, given the raising of concert pitch since its composition, have this role in their repertoire without transposition. Within the tenor voice type category are seven generally recognized subcategories, leggero tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor, Mozart tenor, Also known as the tenore di grazia, the leggero tenor is essentially the male equivalent of a lyric coloratura. This voice is light, agile, and capable of executing difficult passages of fioritura, the typical leggero tenor possesses a range spanning from approximately C3 to E♭5, with a few being able to sing up to F5 or higher in full voice. In some cases, the chest register of the leggero tenor may extend below C3, voices of this type are utilized frequently in the operas of Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini and in music dating from the Baroque period. Leggero tenor roles in operas, The lyric tenor is a warm voice with a bright, full timbre that is strong but not heavy
15.
Baritone
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A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice types. It is the most common male voice, the baritone voice type is generally divided into the baryton-Martin baritone, lyric baritone, Kavalierbariton, Verdi baritone, dramatic baritone, baryton-noble baritone, and the bass-baritone. The first use of the term baritone emerged as baritonans, late in the 15th century, at this early stage it was frequently used as the lowest of the voices, but in 17th-century Italy the term was all-encompassing and used to describe the average male choral voice. Baritones took roughly the range as it is today at the beginning of the 18th century. Indeed, many works of the 18th century have roles marked as bass that in reality are low baritone roles. Examples of this are to be found, for instance, in the operas, the greatest and most enduring parts for baritones in 18th-century operatic music were composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. They include Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Papageno in The Magic Flute and these included the likes of Filippo Galli, Giovanni Inchindi, and Henri-Bernard Dabadie. The basse-taille and the bass were commonly confused because their roles were sometimes sung by singers of either actual voice part. The bel canto style of vocalism which arose in Italy in the early 19th century supplanted the castrato-dominated opera seria of the previous century and it led to the baritone being viewed as a separate voice category from the bass. More often than not, however, baritones found themselves portraying villains, the principal composers of bel canto opera are considered to be, Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti, Vincenzo Bellini, Giacomo Meyerbeer, and the young Giuseppe Verdi. Figaro in Il barbiere is often called the first true baritone role, however, Donizetti and Verdi in their vocal writing went on to emphasize the top fifth of the baritone voice, rather than its lower notes—thus generating a more brilliant sound. The major international baritone of the first half of the 19th century was the Italian Antonio Tamburini and he was a famous Don Giovanni in Mozarts eponymous opera as well as being a Bellini and Donizetti specialist. Commentators praised his voice for its beauty, flexibility and smooth tonal emission, Tamburinis range, however, was probably closer to that of a bass-baritone than to that of a modern Verdi baritone. His French equivalent was Henri-Bernard Dabadie, who was a mainstay of the Paris Opera between 1819 and 1836 and the creator of several major Rossinian baritone roles, including Guillaume Tell. Dabadie sang in Italy, too, where he originated the role of Belcore in Lelisir damore in 1832, the most important of Tamburinis Italianate successors were all Verdians. In France, Paul Barroilhet succeeded Dabadie as the Paris operas best known baritone, like Dabadie, he also sang in Italy and created an important Donizetti role, in his case, Alphonse in La favorite. Antonio Pini-Corsi was the standout Italian buffo baritone in the period between about 1880 and World War I, reveling in comic roles by Rossini, Donizetti and Paer. In 1893, he created the part of Ford in Verdis last opera, notable among their contemporaries were the cultured and technically adroit French baritones Jean Lassalle, Victor Maurel, Paul Lhérie, and Maurice Renaud
16.
Marta Eggerth
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Marta Eggerth was a Hungarian-born American actress and singer from The Silver Age of Operetta. Many of the 20th centurys most famous composers, including Franz Lehár, Fritz Kreisler, Robert Stolz, Oscar Straus and Paul Abraham. Eggerth was born in Budapest, the daughter of Tilly, a coloratura soprano, and Paul Eggerth. Eggerth began singing during her early childhood and her mother dedicated herself to her daughter, who was called a Wunderkind at the age of 11 making her theatrical debut in the operetta Mannequins. It was during time and the years that followed that Eggerth began singing the most demanding coloratura repertoire by composers including Rossini, Meyerbeer, Offenbach. While still a teenager, Eggerth embarked on a tour of Denmark, Holland, Kálmán invited her to Vienna to understudy Adele Kern, the famous coloratura of the Vienna State Opera, in his operetta Das Veilchen vom Montmartre. Eggerth eventually took over the role to great critical acclaim after Kern suddenly became indisposed. Subsequently, Eggerth performed the role of Adele in Max Reinhardts famous 1929 Hamburg production of Die Fledermaus at the age of 17, during the early 1930s, Eggerth was discovered by the film industry, and her career took off resulting in international fame. She made more than 40 films in five languages, Hungarian, English, German, French and it was on the set of the 1934 film Mein Herz ruft immer nach dir that she met and fell in love with the young Polish tenor, Jan Kiepura. They were married in 1936 and together known as Europes Liebespaar causing a sensation wherever they appeared. On February 10,1938, Jan Kiepura made his debut at New Yorks Metropolitan Opera, singing the role of Rodolfo in Puccinis La bohème. He went on to sing leading roles in Tosca, Rigoletto, Carmen, Manon, while Kiepura toured the United States, Eggerth was signed by the Shubert Theatre on Broadway to appear in Richard Rodgers musical Higher and Higher. She subsequently signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Hollywood and, during the early 1940s, in Chicago, Eggerth and Kiepura performed together on the operatic stage in La bohème to rave reviews. In 1943, they starred together on Broadway at the Majestic Theater in a production of Lehárs The Merry Widow, with Robert Stolz conducting. They would eventually perform The Merry Widow more than 2,000 times, in five languages throughout Europe, in 1945, they were back on Broadway together in the musical Polonaise. After World War II, they returned to France touring and making films, such as Valse Brillante and The Land of Smiles, kiepuras equally active recital schedule often meant that the couple would be temporarily separated. But the couples international tours often brought together in the same city. In London, they gave two sold out concerts in one week at the Royal Albert Hall in 1956, the couple continued singing throughout the 1950s and 1960s with more productions of The Merry Widow in the United States, concerts and other productions in Europe
17.
Jan Kiepura
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Jan Wiktor Kiepura was an acclaimed Polish singer and actor. Jan Kiepura was born in Sosnowiec, Poland, the son of Miriam, a professional singer, and Franciszek Kiepura. During 1916-1920, he attended the Junior School in Sosnowiec where he graduated high school. In 1921 he studied law at the University of Warsaw and he learned singing from Wacław Brzeziński and Tadeusz Leliwa. In 1923 he performed his first concert in the Sphinx cinema in Sosnowiec, in 1924, Jan Kiepura was admitted by Emil Młynarski to the local choir. He played the role of Góral in Moniuszkos opera Halka and he also took part in a production of Gounods Faust Faust in the Polish city of Lwow. In 1926, Jan Kiepura left Poland for a career in Germany, Hungary, France. When he returned to Poland, with the money he had earned from his performances, he built the well-known hotel Patria in the Polish border town of Krynica-Zdrój, some Polish movies were made there. Kiepura played in twelve Polish musicals, including O czym się nie myśli, Die Singende Stadt, Tout Pour Lamour, kiepuras return to Warsaw in 1934 caused a sensation in the Polish capital, and his musical shows were received with huge enthusiasm. Apart from his performances in concert halls, he sang to a crowd gathered under the balcony of the Warsaw hotel Bristol. He also sang while standing on his cars roof, or from a carriages window, however, he was not a frequent guest in Poland. He signed contracts with Convert Garden in London, Opéra Comique in Paris, Kiepura also started a film career, working with Berlins UFA and then with the Motion Picture Industry in Hollywood. He played in films, of which the most famous are, The Singing City, The Song of Night, Ich liebe alle Frauen, The Charm of La Boheme. On October 31,1936, Kiepura married the Hungarian-born lyric soprano Marta Eggerth, the two often sang together in operettas, in concerts, on records, and in films until his death. In 1937 Kiepura and Eggerth were forced to flee Europe due to the rise of German Nazism and they emigrated to the United States. He died at the age of 64 in New York and was buried in Powązki Cemetery,1927, performances in Budapest, Berlin, Vienna, London, Stuttgart, Munich and Prague. Faust, Calaf, and Stranger in Vienna, Cavaradossi in Paris with a team of the Vienna Staatsoper. Concerts in Kraków, Warsaw and Poznan,1929, performances in Budapest, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Frankfurt
18.
Fritz Wunderlich
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Friedrich Fritz Karl Otto Wunderlich was a German lyric tenor, famed for his singing of the Mozart repertory and various lieder. He died in an accident when he was only 35, Wunderlich was born in Kusel in the Palatinate, Germany. His mother was a violinist and his father was a choirmaster, for a short time, the family kept the inn Emrichs Bräustübl. Fritzs father lost his job due to pressure imposed upon him by local Nazis and he committed suicide when Fritz was five years old. The story regarding Wunderlichs discovery parallels many of his contemporaries, as a young man, Wunderlich worked in a bakery. At the insistence of neighbors and passers-by who had witnessed his musical gifts and beautiful voice and he managed to obtain a scholarship in order to pursue his studies at the Freiburg Music Academy where he studied French horn and voice. Wunderlich was soon noted as a brilliant young tenor, especially in Mozartian roles and he occasionally sang and recorded minor Wagner roles such as the steersman in The Flying Dutchman, Walther von der Vogelweide in Tannhäuser, and the shepherd in Tristan und Isolde. He sang and recorded the role of the Italian Tenor in Der Rosenkavalier. It was the fashion during Wunderlichs career for German theatres to perform operas in the rather than original language. Therefore, most of his recordings of the operatic repertoire are sung in German, including Verdis La Traviata. Wunderlich achieved the highest distinction within the German repertory, there is also a live performance of The Magic Flute recorded in 1960 at the Salzburg Festival, and several recordings as Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail. His famous recording of Schumanns Dichterliebe remains a standard of this genre. Many tenors since have emulated Wunderlichs interpretation of this cycle, another notable recording he left is J. S. Bachs Christmas Oratorio, with fellow singers Gundula Janowitz, Christa Ludwig, and Franz Crass, conducted by Karl Richter. He recorded an album of sacred songs, featuring music of Schütz, Telemann, Buxtehude. With Christa Ludwig he recorded Gustav Mahlers Das Lied von der Erde with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Otto Klemperer, Wunderlich had completed recording his arias, but Werner Krenn was hired to record the recitatives. Several recorded live performances of Wunderlich singing the part, under Karajan. Numerous anthology albums of him singing arias from opera and operetta are available, available videos include a full-length performance as Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville, and a recital of operatic arias. Wunderlich sang at the 1966 Salzburg Festival, but two weeks later his career was cut short by an accident while he was on a hunting vacation
19.
Dagmar Koller
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Dagmar Koller is an Austrian actress and singer. Born in Klagenfurt, she is recognized as the leading German language musical star of her time and she married Austrian journalist and politician, Helmut Zilk, in 1978, and became the first lady of Vienna while he served as mayor. During this time she maintained her career as a musical star, playing the roles of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady and Dulcinea in Man of La Mancha. She is credited with having saved her husbands life after a bomb explosion in their private residence. Official site Dagmar Koller at the Internet Movie Database Media related to Dagmar Koller at Wikimedia Commons
20.
Paul Dessau
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Paul Dessau was a German composer and conductor. Dessau was born in Hamburg into a musical family, from 1909 he majored in violin, studying under Florian Zajic at the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory in Berlin. In 1912 he became répétiteur at the City Theatre in Hamburg, there he studied the work of the conductors Felix Weingartner and Arthur Nikisch and took classes in composition from Max Julius Loewengard. He was second Kapellmeister at the Tivoli Theatre in Bremen in 1914 before being drafted for service in 1915. After World War I he became conductor at the Intimate Theatre, Hamburg, in 1923 he became Kapellmeister in Mainz and from 1925 Principal Kapellmeister at the Städtische Oper Berlin under Bruno Walter. In 1933 Dessau emigrated to France, and 1939 moved further to the United States, Dessau returned to Germany with his second wife, the writer Elisabeth Hauptmann, and settled in East Berlin in 1948. Starting in 1952, he taught at the Public Drama School in Berlin-Oberschöneweide where he was appointed to a professorship in 1959 and he became a member of the DDR Academy of Arts, Berlin in 1952 and was vice-president of this institution between 1957 and 1962. He taught many master classes, his pupils including Friedrich Goldmann, Reiner Bredemeyer, Jörg Herchet, Hans-Karsten Raecke, Friedrich Schenker, Luca Lombardi, from 1954 he was married to the choreographer and director Ruth Berghaus. Their son Maxim Dessau is a film director, Dessau died on 28 June 1979 at the age of 84, in the then East German city of Königs Wusterhausen, on the outskirts of Berlin. Dessau composed operas, scenic plays, incidental music, ballets, symphonies and other works for orchestra, from the 1920s on, he was fascinated by film music. He composed music for early movies of Walt Disney, as well as music for silent pictures. While in exile in Paris he wrote the oratorio Hagadah shel Pessach after a libretto by Max Brod, in the 1950s in collaboration with Bertolt Brecht he focused on the musical theatre. During that time several of his operas were produced and he also wrote Gebrauchsmusik for the propaganda of the German Democratic Republic. At the same time he lobbied for the musical avant-garde, la Forêt enchanté and LHorloge Magique. With melodies by Franz Lehár and Bronislaw Kaper 400 cm^3 documentary Stürme über dem Montblanc, Der weiße Rausch, eisberg by Arnold Fanck White Cargo, Yoshiwara, The Novel of Werther See also the extensive filmography in the IMD Movie Database, at http, //www. imdb. Category 1965 Vaterländischer Verdienstorden in Gold 1965 Karl-Marx-Orden 1969 National Prize I, notizen zu Noten, ed. Fritz Henneberg. Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, Das Verhör in der Oper, Die Debatte um die Aufführung Das Verhör des Lukullus von Bertolt Brecht und Paul Dessau. Paul Dessau in the German National Library catalogue Biography
21.
WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne
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The WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne is a German orchestra based in Cologne. The orchestra was founded in 1947 by Allied occupation authorities after World War II, the orchestra was named Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester and from the 1990s WDR Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra is known for its performances of 20th-century and contemporary music. It has commissioned and premiered works from composers as Luciano Berio, Hans Werner Henze, Mauricio Kagel, Krzysztof Penderecki, Karlheinz Stockhausen. The orchestras current principal conductor is Jukka-Pekka Saraste, as of the 2010-2011 season, the orchestra has recorded commercially for such labels as Avie, Hänssler, Kairos and CPO. WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln Christoph von Dohnányi Zdeněk Mácal Hiroshi Wakasugi Gary Bertini Hans Vonk Semyon Bychkov Jukka-Pekka Saraste Official orchestra homepage Article at allmusic. com
22.
Willi Boskovsky
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Willi Boskovsky was an Austrian violinist and conductor, best known as the long-standing conductor of the Vienna New Years Concert. Willi Boskovsky was born in Vienna, and joined the Vienna Academy of music at the age of nine and he was the concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic from 1936 to 1979. He was also, from 1955, the conductor of the Vienna New Years Concert, along with the Vienna Philharmonic, he was also the chief conductor of the Wiener Johann Strauss Orchester up until his death. A forerunner of this ensemble was the 19th-century Strauss Orchestra founded by Johann Strauss I in 1835, in chamber ensemble he led the Boskovsky Quartet with Philipp Matheis, Gunther Breitenbach and Nikolaus Hübner. The Boskovsky Quartet, together with Johann Krump, Alfred Boskovsky, Josef Veleba and he played in Brahms Double Concerto in A minor, Op.102, with Wilhelm Furtwängler conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. His style appealed to many Strauss listeners as he directed Strauss music in the manner of the Vorgeiger and this tradition was also carried on by Johann Strauss II and Josef Strauss after their fathers death. Boskovsky was sympathetic to the Strauss style, apart from the Strauss family waltzes, Boskovsky recorded a 10-album cycle of the complete Mozart Dances and Marches, leading what Decca Records called the Vienna Mozart Ensemble. Many of these recordings were included on the Philips/Polygram Complete Mozart series of CDs issued in the 1990s, boskovskys New Years Day 1979 concert was recorded live by Decca, the first commercial use of their proprietary PCM digital system. The resulting 2-LP set was well received, quoting Gramophone magazine, This is a riotous issue. The first recording to be manufactured and released in the UK utilizing digital recording, the album was most recently released as part of the Decca Legends series, remastered in 96k/24-bit PCM. The Boskovsky Quartet and Vienna Octet made a number of recordings for Decca Records, among which are the following, Dvořák, schubert, Octet in F major op 166. Schubert, Trout Quintet, with Walter Panhoffer, schubert, Trout Quintet, with Clifford Curzon. Beethoven, Septet in E flat major op 20, mendelssohn, Octet in E flat major op 20. Kreutzer, Grand Septet in E flat major op 62, Mozart, Clarinet Quintet in A major K581. Mozart, Quintet in E flat major K452, Mozart, Trio in E flat major K498, with Walter Panhoffer. Mozart, Divertimento in F major K247, Mozart, Divertimento in B flat major K287. Mozart, Divertimento in D major K334, Boskovsky plays the solo violin line in the Clemens Krauss recording of Richard Strausss Ein Heldenleben
23.
Helen Donath
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Helen Jeanette Donath is an American soprano with a career spanning fifty years. She was born in Corpus Christi, Texas and studied there at Del Mar College in New York with Paola Novikova and she debuted as a concert and Lieder singer in New York in 1958. In 1961, she became a member of the Opernstudio in Cologne and she met her future husband, choir master and conductor Klaus Donath, in Hanover. Their son, Alexander Donath, is a stage and opera director, in 2000, all three were involved in Michigan Opera Theatres production of Der Rosenkavalier. In 1967, she sang Pamina in Mozarts The Magic Flute at the Salzburg Festival, from 1970-90, she was a regular member of the Vienna State Opera. She has performed all over the world including at the Vienna State Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Salzburg Festival, Covent Garden, La Scala, Barcelona, Paris, Florence, Tokyo, Berlin, Munich. In 2006, she had performances as Despina in Così fan tutte at the Vienna State Opera, Salzburg Festival and she was awarded in 2005 the Verdienstkreuz I. Klasse des Niedersächsischen Verdienstordens, in 1990 the Niedersächsischer Staatspreis and made Kammersängerin of Bavaria, Donath has made many opera and operetta recordings with various companies
24.
Richard Bonynge
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Richard Alan Bonynge AC, CBE is an Australian conductor and pianist. He is the widower of Australian dramatic coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland, Bonynge conducted virtually all of Sutherlands operatic performances from 1962 until her retirement in 1990. He gave up his scholarship, continuing his private piano studies. One of these was Joan Sutherland, whom he had accompanied in Australia and they married in 1954 and became a duo, performing operatic recitals until 1962. His debut as a conductor took place in 1963 in Vancouver. The same year, also in Vancouver, he conducted Norma for the first time, starring Sutherland and he also conducted the English Chamber Orchestra in many recordings. By doing some research and reading up on Massenet and Italian bel canto composers and this filled Bonynge with curiosity, even more because Esclarmonde had sunk into almost total oblivion and had hardly been performed at all since the end of the 19th century. He obtained a vocal score of it in Paris. Although Sutherland was initially skeptical about Esclarmonde, Bonynge became an enthusiast of the work, the San Francisco Opera and the Metropolitan Opera premieres of Esclarmonde took place in 1974 and 1976 respectively. In 1977 he was the founding Music Director of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, Bonynge made his Metropolitan Opera debut on 12 December 1966, and his last performance there was on 6 April 1991. Most of those performances he conducted there between 1966 and 1987 were with Sutherland singing, from the 1960s until the early 1970s, his speciality was music of 18th and early 19th century, mostly in bel canto repertoire of Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti. Bonynge then gradually added also middle Verdi, Offenbach, then also Massenet, commencing in 2007, he has conducted a series of performances in a few opera houses around the U. S. and now is mostly involved with the Opera Australia company. He lives in Les Avants, Switzerland and also maintains a home in Sydney and his recordings also include some works with no operatic associations, such as the Harp Concerto in E-flat by Reinhold Glière, with harpist Osian Ellis. Richard Bonynge was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his services to music in 1977, in 1983, he was made Officer of the Order of Australia, and in 1989 a Commandeur de lOrdre des Arts et des Lettres. In 2009, Bonynge was awarded the Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award, presenting the couple, Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge. Index page to the Dame Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge ephemera collection – held in the National Library of Australia Colbert Artists Management Inc
25.
Jerry Hadley
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Jerry Hadley was an American operatic tenor. He received three Grammy awards for his performances in the recordings of Jenůfa, Susannah, and Candide. Hadley was a leading American tenor for two decades. He was a protégé of soprano Dame Joan Sutherland and her husband, a versatile singer, Hadley was equally at home in opera and operetta and on Broadway. Hadley was born and raised in Manlius, Illinois, of Italian and he attended Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, where he was a member of the Delta Nu chapter of Phi Mu Alpha, a mens music fraternity. Hadley first studied to become a conductor, but after four years turned to singing and he studied voice under Dr. John Davis while at Bradley, ultimately earning his masters degree in voice at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. At Illinois he studied voice with Grace Wilson and James Bailey, Hadleys early years as a professional singer were spent in regional opera houses in the U. S. He was then snapped up by Beverly Sills, who had him in the National Opera Institute auditions in 1978. He also commenced training in New York with vocal teacher Thomas Lo Monaco. Hadley became a member of the roster of the New York City Opera after his debut there as Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor in 1979. In 1982 he made his first appearance at the Vienna State Opera as Nemorino in Donizettis Lelisir damore, Hadley was known for his interpretations of lyric tenor opera roles as well as his performances of Broadway musicals, operetta, and popular music. One of his recordings was the EMI three-CD recording of the complete score of Show Boat. Hadley sang the role of Gaylord Ravenal, Hadley sang the tenor roles of the bel canto repertory as well as Mozart and the French Romantics. He also sang the tenor soloist in Handels Messiah and Verdis Requiem and he sang the role of Tom Rakewell in Stravinskys The Rakes Progress for much of his career, first performing it while a graduate student at the University of Illinois. In 1996, Jerry Hadley commissioned the composer Daniel Steven Crafts to create music for selected poems by Carl Sandburg, outside opera, he created the tenor part in Sir Paul McCartneys 1991 Liverpool Oratorio. At the 1998 Salzburg Festival, Hadley sang the tenor role in Weills Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. As a recitalist, Hadley gave concerts in Europe and the United States, Hadley also performed frequently with pianist Eric Dalheim. Following his divorce from pianist Cheryll Drake Hadley in 2002, Hadley in large part abandoned singing, a few months before his death, he had begun a major comeback, with the public and critics noting a renewed freshness, control and vibrancy to his voice
