Opera singer

Marietta Alboni (March 6 1826 – June 23 1894) was a contralto opera singer and pupil of Antonio Bagioli of Cesena Romagna, and later of Gioachino Rossini. She was born at Città di Castello, in the Umbria, and made her début at the age of 15 at Bologna as Orsini in Lucrezia Borgia, and her success led to an engagement at La Scala, Milan. In 1846-47 she sang in all the principal cities of Europe; in London, at Covent Garden, in rivalry with Jenny Lind, who was at Her Majesty's Theatre. She toured...

Christina Nilsson, Countess de Casa Miranda, (August 20, 1843 – November 20, 1921) was a Swedish opera soprano. She was born Kristina Jonasdotter in the village of Sjöabol, near Växjö, Småland, to the peasants Jonas Nilsson and Cajsa-Stina Månsdotter. She was discovered by a prominent civil servant when, aged fourteen, she was playing the violin at a market in Ljungby. He soon became her patron, enabling her to have vocal training. In 1860 she gave concerts in Stockholm and Uppsala. After...

Luigi Lablache (6 December 1794 - 23 January 1858) was an Italian bass singer of French and Irish heritage, born in Naples. He was most noted for his comic performances, with a powerful bass voice, a wide range, and adept acting: Leporello in Don Giovanni was one of his signature roles. Lablache studied initially at Naples, and had a professional career as a boy alto before he became a bass. He sang in 1809 in a Requiem commemorating Haydn's death.On 15 August 1821 he made his debut at La...

Lorenzo Salvi was a tenor, born in Italy. He, along with several other Italians, took part in the first performance of the Mexican national anthem on September 15, 1854.

The English mezzo-soprano Carolyn Watkinson (born March 19, 1949) is a well-known singer of baroque music. Watkinson was born in Preston and studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music and in The Hague. In 1978 she sang Rameau's Phèdre at the English Bach Festival at London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. In 1979 she appeared as Monteverdi's Nero with De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam. Also in 1979 she was featured as the contralto soloist in Christopher Hogwood's landmark recording...

Soprano Anne Wiggins Brown, born August 9, 1912, created the role of Bess in George Gershwin's folk opera Porgy and Bess in 1935. She was also a radio and concert star. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she trained at Morgan College and then continued on to the esteemed New Institute of Musical Art (now known as the Juilliard School) in New York. After her appearance as the first Bess, she appeared in the Broadway play Mamba's Daughters and in the film Rhapsody in Blue. She appeared in various...

Francesca Cuzzoni (2 April 1696 – 19 June 1778), was an Italian operatic soprano of the Baroque era. Cuzzoni was born in Parma. Her father, Angelo, was a professional violinist, and her singing teacher was Francesco Lanzi. She made her debut in her home city in 1714, singing in La virtù coronata, o Il Fernando by an unknown composer. In 1716-17 she sang at Bologna in operas by Bassani, Buini, Gasparini and Giuseppe Maria Orlandini. By the 1717-18 season she had been appointed ("chamber...

Franz Nachbaur (1835 – 1902) was a famous German opera tenor. He created the role of Walther von Stolzing in Wagner's Die Meistersinger on 21 June 1868.

Adele Addison (born July 24, 1925) is an African American opera singer. She is a soprano. She was the singing voice for Bess (played by Dorothy Dandridge) in the 1959 movie Porgy and Bess. She studied at Westminster Choir College, Princeton University, the Juilliard School and the Berkshire Music School at Tanglewood, as well as training with Povla Frijsh. Her recital debut was in Boston, in 1948. In 1952, she made her New York debut at Town Hall. She sang with the New York City Opera, the New...

Frances Alda (born Fanny Jane Davis) (May 31, 1879 - September 18, 1952) was a New Zealand-born soprano. She achieved fame as an operatic diva during the first three decades of the 20th Century due to her outstanding singing voice and colourful personality. Alda was born in Christchurch into a musical family and raised as a child in Melbourne, Australia. She sang in productions of Gilbert and Sullivan in Melbourne before leaving the Antipodes for Europe at the age of 22 in order to undertake...

Carol Plantamura (b. February 8, 1941, Los Angeles, California) is an American soprano specializing in 17th and 20th century music. She graduated from Occidental College and was an original member of the Rockefeller Foundation-funded Creative Associates at SUNY Buffalo, under the direction of Lukas Foss. She has collaborated with such composers as Luciano Berio, Pierre Boulez, Vinko Globokar, Pauline Oliveros, Lukas Foss, Betsy Jolas, Will Ogdon, Bernard Rands, Frederic Rzewski, and Robert...

Matthias Goerne (born 1967) is a German baritone. Born in Weimar, he studied with Hans-Joachim Beyer, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. His repertoire spans a wide range of music, from baroque to contemporary, but above all he is a celebrated lied singer. His discography includes award-winning recordings of Mahler and Schubert song cycles.

Harold Blair AM (13 September 1924 – 21 May 1976) was an Australia tenor and Aboriginal activist. Blair was born at the Cherbourg Aboriginal Reserve, 5km from Murgon in Queensland. His mother was Esther Quinn, a teenage Aboriginal woman. He surname, Blair, came from the family that had “adopted” his mother. He and his mother then went to the Salvation Army Purga Mission near Ipswich. His mother entered domestic service, leaving Harold, then aged two, at the mission, where he received an...

Valentin Adamberger, also known by his Italian name Adamonti, (1743, Munich – 1803, Vienna) was a German tenor. Adamonti was a scholar of Valesi (Johannes Walleshauser). Beginning in 1760 he was in attendance on the Bavaria court. In 1762 he sang in different Italian theatres. Later, around 1777 he returned to Munich. After a visit to London, he is recorded as a tenor at the Viennese opera, where he was well esteemed. Even Mozart composed various pieces for him. He was married to Maria Anna...

Kurt Böhme (May 5, 1908 – December 20, 1989) was a German bass. He was born in Dresden, Germany, where he studied with Adolf Kluge at the Dresden Conservatory. He made his debut in 1930 in Bautzen as Kaspar, one of his most important roles further on. From 1930 till 1950 he was member of the Dresden State Opera, 1949 he became member of the Munich State Opera an in 1955 member of the Vienna State Opera. In the 1950s and 1960s he gets known worldwide because of his acting talents, as Bass...