Opera Singers in the Movies
From the book Opera on Film by Richard Fawkes, c. 2000.
Not found:
Alexander Pirogov (b. 1899)
Josef Schmidt (b. 1904)
Leonard Sobinov (b. 1872)
Ganne Walska (b. 1891)
Then started adding my own. "Movies" includes television.
Tap here to view alphabetically.
Not found:
Alexander Pirogov (b. 1899)
Josef Schmidt (b. 1904)
Leonard Sobinov (b. 1872)
Ganne Walska (b. 1891)
Then started adding my own. "Movies" includes television.
Tap here to view alphabetically.
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- Donald Adams was born on 20 December 1928 in Bristol, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Mikado (1967), Patience (1965) and Patience (1982). He was married to Muriel Harding. He died on 8 April 1996 in Norwich, England, UK.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Mathieu Ahlersmeyer was born on 29 June 1896 in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He was an actor, known for The Marriage of Figaro (1949), Die Dubarry (1951) and Das Fräulein von Scuderi (1955). He was married to Marcia Otten. He died on 23 July 1979 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, Germany.- Actress
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Licia Albanese was born on 23 July 1909 in Bari, Apulia, Italy. She was an actress, known for Otello (1948), Serenade (1956) and Great Performances (1971). She was married to Joseph A. Gimma. She died on 15 August 2014 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Gitta Alpar was born on 5 February 1900 in Budapest, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]. She was an actress, known for The Loves of Madame Dubarry (1935), Gitta entdeckt ihr Herz (1932) and She, or Nobody (1932). She was married to Niels Wessel Bagge and Gustav Fröhlich. She died on 17 February 1991 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Luigi Alva was born on 10 April 1927 in Lima, Peru. He is an actor, known for Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1967), Falstaff (1956) and Der Barbier von Sevilla (1973).
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Lucine Amara was born on 1 March 1925 in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. She is an actress, known for Carmen (1952), The Great Caruso (1951) and The Bell Telephone Hour (1959).- Pasquale Amato was born on 21 March 1878 in Naples, Italy. He was an actor, known for Glorious Betsy (1928). He died on 12 August 1942 in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City, New York, USA.
- Actress
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June Anderson was born on 30 December 1952 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. She is an actress, known for Manchester by the Sea (2016), Candide (1991) and Luisa Miller (1988).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Spanish actress. Parents: Antonio Nile (guitar player) and Rosario del Río. She was born during an artistic tournee of her parents in Argentina. She lived in Málaga till she the age of 12. There she studied dance. When she was 12 years old, she debuted in the comedy theatre of Buenos Aires with the help of Pastora Imperio who calls her Petite Imperio. That was her artistic name during the next years, when she had a great success in several countries in southAmerica. In 1926 she came back to Spain and adopted the artistic name of Imperio Argentina, singing in the main theaters of the country. The film director Florián Rey discovered her in the Romea theater in Madrid and then she played La hermana San Sulpicio (1927).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Salvatore Baccaloni was born on 14 April 1900 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. He was an actor, known for Rock-a-Bye Baby (1958), Fanny (1961) and The Desert Song (1955). He was married to Elena Svilarova. He died on 31 December 1969 in New York City, New York, USA.- Actor
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Gabriel Bacquier was born on 17 May 1924 in Béziers, Hérault, France. He was an actor, known for Manon of the Spring (1986), Falstaff (1979) and The Metropolitan Opera Presents (1977). He was married to Sylvie Oussenko. He died on 13 May 2020 in Lestre, Normandy, France.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Fedora Barbieri was born on 4 June 1920 in Trieste, Italy. She was an actress, known for Rigoletto (1987), Falstaff (1956) and Cavalleria rusticana (1982). She was married to Luigi Barlozzetti. She died on 4 March 2003 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.- Actor
- Soundtrack
John Barclay was born on 12 May 1892 in Bletchingly, Surrey, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Soylent Green (1973), The Mikado (1939) and Peter's Friends (1992). He died on 21 November 1978 in Los Angeles County, California, USA.- Josephine Barstow was born on 27 September 1940 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Gloriana (2000), Macbeth (1972) and Owen Wingrave (2001). She was previously married to Ande Anderson and Terry Hands.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Michael Bartlett was born on 25 August 1903 in North Oxford, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for The Lilac Domino (1937), Love Me Forever (1935) and She Married Her Boss (1935). He died on 16 February 1979 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.- Gino Bechi was born on 16 October 1913 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. He was an actor, known for Come Back to Sorrento (1945), Music on the Run (1943) and The Lovers (1946). He died on 2 February 1993 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.
- Emile Belcourt was born on 27 June 1926 in Lafleche, Saskatchewan, Canada. He was an actor, known for Pushing Tin (1999), In Performance (1978) and Carmen (1989). He was married to Norma Burrowes and Margaret Eagle . He died on 3 August 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Teresa Berganza was born on 16 March 1933 in Madrid, Spain. She was an actress, known for Don Giovanni (1979), ¡Buen viaje, excelencia! (2003) and Carmen (1980). She was married to José Rifá and Felix Lavilla. She died on 13 May 2022 in Madrid, Spain.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Erna Berger was born on 19 October 1900 in Dresden, Germany. She was an actress, known for The Marriage of Figaro (1949), Mozart's Don Giovanni (1955) and Falstaff in Vienna (1940). She was married to Sverre Wiull. She died on 14 June 1990 in Essen, Germany.- Actor
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Carlo Bergonzi was born on 13 July 1924 in Vidalenzo, Polesine Parmense, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. He was an actor, known for Moonstruck (1987), Son of Rambow (2007) and No Reservations (2007). He was married to Adele Aimi. He died on 25 July 2014 in Milan, Italy.- Vincenzo Bettoni was born on 1 July 1881 in Melegnano, Italy. He was an actor, known for La serva padrona (1934) and Pergolesi (1932). He died on 4 November 1954 in Milan, Italy.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Jussi Björling was born on 2 February 1911 in Stora Tuna, Dalarnas län, Sweden. He was an actor, known for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), Atonement (2007) and Funny Games (2007). He was married to Anna-Lisa Berg. He died on 9 September 1960 in Siarö, Stockholms län, Sweden.- Actor
- Producer
Michael Bohnen was born on 2 May 1887 in Cologne, Germany. He was an actor and producer, known for Victoria and Her Hussar (1931), The Knight of the Rose (1925) and Viennese Waltz (1932). He was married to Mary Lewis (singer), Ingeborg Behrend (singer) (first) and La Jana. He died on 26 April 1965 in Berlin, Germany.- Actor
- Director
- Composer
Spanish-born Josep Lluis Moll studied music in Madrid and at the Paris Conservatoire. Having changed his name to Fortunio Bonanova (which, at the time, would have sounded more becoming of a budding musical star), he went on to make his international opera debut as a baritone in 1922. A protégé of the famous Russian bass Feodor Chaliapin Sr., he was hailed as a major talent and launched on a successful tour of Europe and South America in 1923. For most of the 1920's, he was based in Paris, performing and writing plays and short stories.
His first fling with the movies took place in 1922, when he starred in the title role of Don Juan Tenorio (1922), a Spanish production filmed in Barcelona. During the late 20's and early 30's, he ran his own repertory company in South America. Bonanova subsequently moved to the United States, settling down permanently after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. While in the U.S., he divided his time between appearing on stage (including two performances on Broadway) and acting in small supporting roles in Hollywood. His looks and temperament inevitably got him typecast as excitable, or pompous Latin Americans, Spaniards or Italians. He often played aristocratic dons, opera singers, managers or police chiefs, either humorous and serious.
Many of his appearances on screen were all too brief. At his most memorable, he was the exasperated opera coach Signor Matiste, desperately trying not to lose patience with his talentless pupil, the wife of Citizen Kane (1941). He was also effective as down-on-his-luck Sam Galopis, clumsily attempting insurance fraud in Double Indemnity (1944); and as Carmen Trivago, a sad wannabe opera star, who sees his priceless collection of Caruso recordings smashed to pieces by a brutish Mike Hammer, in the process of coercing him to divulge information in Kiss Me Deadly (1955).
Bonanova played a multitude of similar roles until his retirement in the mid-1960's. He died in Woodland Hills, California, in April 1969 at the age of 74.- Actor
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Richard Bonelli was a major opera star in the 1930s and 1940s. His film career was incidental to his career as one of America's most prominent operatic baritones. He starred in San Francisco, Chicago, the Metropolitan in NYC and in other venues and had a very successful stint as star of his own radio program. Bonelli was not fond of commercial recordings so there are few. A significant group of selections can be found on Delos 5502, a 2-disc group of studio recordings, a live Town Hall concert from 1947 and radio broadcasts from the artists personal collection. In the 1950s Bonelli became a prominent teacher at the Curtis Institute. "Richard Bonelli" was the baritone's stage name. He was born George Richard Bunn in New York State in 1889 and passed away in Los Angeles in 1980 at age 91. Richard Bonelli was the uncle of actor Robert Stack who discussed his uncle with Johnny Carson one night on the "Tonight Show."- Actor
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Franco Bonisolli was born on 25 May 1937 in Rovereto, Italy. He was an actor, known for Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), La Traviata (1967) and Il trovatore (1985). He died on 30 October 2003 in Vienna, Austria.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Webster Booth was born on 21 January 1902 in Birmingham, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Waltz Time (1945), George Bizet, Composer of Carmen (1938) and The Robber Symphony (1936). He was married to Anne Ziegler. He died on 21 June 1984 in Llandudno, Wales, UK.- Actor
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Sesto Bruscantini was born on 10 December 1919 in Porto Civitanova, Macerata, Italy. He was an actor, known for Closer (2004), The Lost City of Z (2016) and On Such a Night (1956). He was married to Sena Jurinac. He died on 4 May 2003 in Civitanova Marche, Macerata, Marche, Italy.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Renato Bruson was born on 13 January 1936 in Granze, Veneto, Italy. He is an actor, known for Quartet (2012), La Traviata (2006) and Nabucco (1987). He was previously married to Tita Tegano.- Actress
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Grace Bumbry was born on 4 January 1937 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), Carmen (1968) and Aïda (1977). She was married to Erwin Jaeckel. She died on 7 May 2023 in Vienna, Austria.- Actress
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Her childhood was shaped by the Spanish Civil War and the modest means of her working-class family. Her musical talent developed early and she was already singing classical cantatas at the age of seven. From 1942 she trained in singing at the Conservatorio Superior de Musica in Barcelona. She was able to study thanks to a scholarship. In 1954 she finished with the best award. The following year, Montserrat Caballé made his debut in Reus, southern Catalonia, in the leading female role in the comic opera "La serva padrona" by the Italian composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. She then received a three-year engagement at the theater in Basel from 1956. From 1959 to 1962 she worked at the theater in Bremen. During this time in German-speaking countries, she learned to speak the local language fluently. 1965 was the beginning of her great international career. On April 20th of this year, she briefly replaced her pregnant colleague Marilyn Horne in the opera "Lukrezia Borga" by Gaetano Donizetti, which took place as a concert performance at Carnegie Hall in New York.
Montserrat Caballé was enthusiastically celebrated by the audience, highly praised by the press and mentioned alongside renowned personalities such as Maria Callas and Joan Sutherland. With this event she became a star and the doors of the most important international houses opened to her. Immediately afterwards, the Metropolitan Opera contacted her with a permanent contract. There she started in the role of Marguérite in the master opera "Faust" by the French composer Charles Gounod. This was followed by a record contract with the music label RCA Records in New York City. In 1962 she met her future husband, the tenor Bernabé Marti. This year she appeared with him in the opera production of Giacomo Puccini's "Madame Butterfly" at the Teatro del Liceo in Barcelona. Two years later, the two married in the Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat in the mountains of the same name near Barcelona. From 1971, the soprano performed regularly at the State Opera in Hamburg. Her favorite composers include Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi and Puccini. In addition, Caballé often worked as a concert singer.
In 1986, she was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor. She became known to a wider, more operatic audience through her legendary performance on the rock crossover title "Barcelona" on the occasion of the 1992 Olympic Games there, which she sang together with Freddie Mercury and which comes from the 1987 album of the same name. This and other engagements show the versatility of the artist Caballé. The solo title was written by Mercury. Her album "Friends For Life" was released in 1997 with the participation of Bruce Dickinson, Johnny Hallyday, Johnny Logan, Gino Vannelli and Helmut Lotti. A year later, Caballé was awarded the Bambi. The singer celebrated her comeback as an opera diva in 2002 at the Gran Teatro des Liceo in Barcelona after ten years away from the stage. In 2007 she was awarded the Echo Klassik Music Prize for her life's work. In the same year on April 1st she returned to the stage of the Vienna State Opera after 18 years. She played and sang the role of Duchesse de Crakentorp in Gaetano Donizetti's opera "La Fille du Régiment", an international production between the Vienna State Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the Metropolitan Opera New York.
The diva's other awards include the Order of Doña Isabel La Católica as the highest title of the Spanish government, R.SH Gold for pop music from Radio Schleswig-Holstein, the Federal Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Cross of Honor for Arts and Science. Montserrat Caballé also volunteers as a United Nations ambassador. With her excellent bel canto interpretations, she is one of the greatest singers in the field and its innovators. In addition to her exceptional artistic qualities, her more than 90 opera roles and her around 4,000 performances made her popular as one of the greatest opera singers. In addition to the opera stage and musical theater, she delighted audiences with her heartwarming appearances in talk shows, galas and film documentaries.- Actress
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This volatile opera diva was born Sophie Cecilia Kalos in New York City to Greek émigrés on December 2, 1923. Her father set up a pharmacy and changed the family name from Kalogeropoulos to Callas. As a child Maria studied the piano. When her parents separated (she was 14 at the time), her mother returned to Athens with Maria and her sister.
The budding singer was quickly accepted into the National Conservatoire where she was taught singing lessons by Maria Trivella. She performed her first recital within the year and in 1939 won a prize for her stage debut in the Conservatoire's production of "Cavalleria Rusticana." In 1941, the soprano dramatico d'agilita made her professional debut in "Boccaccio" with the Lyric Theatre Company. While there she made a semi-name for herself with performances of "Tosca" and "Fidelio."
Impending war led her back to the United States in 1944 where she reclaimed the name of Maria Callas. She was offered a contract from the Met which she turned down because among the three roles she was offered to sing there was Butterfly and she believed that she was too obese to sing the fragile 14 year-old Butterfly, her friends considered her to be crazy turning down the Met while she was so unknown.
Maria performed elsewhere (Chicago, etc.) before returning to Europe in the post-war years where she met Giovanni Battista Meneghini, a wealthy industrialist and avid opera fan. They married in 1949 and he immediately took control of her career. She reached her zenith at La Scala (1951-1958), also recording during that time. In 1956, she finally made her debut at the Met as "Norma" with performances of "Tosca" and "Lucia" following.
Within a couple of years her temperamental outbursts and excessive demands began to rise full force, resulting in a number of dismissals and walkouts. After meeting Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis through her husband, a torrid affair erupted and her marriage ended. Maria gave up the stage in the early 1960s for the jet-set life with Onassis, but continued with occasional concerts. Despite experiencing vocal problems, she made one unforgettable comeback on stage in 1964-1965 when she toured with her personal favorites ("Norma" in Paris and "Tosca" at the Met). Weak and tired, her final curtain on stage rang down in July of 1965 in Covent Garden.
With her career over, she renounced her American citizenship and expected to marry Onassis. But their relationship was a stormy one and it eventually tapered off with Onassis instead marrying Jacqueline Kennedy in 1968. Maria was completely devastated and those around her say she never recovered. The following year she filmed an unsuccessful production of Medea (1969) and eventually set up master classes at Juilliard. In one last comeback, she attempted a European tour of recitals but her voice completely failed her. Her last public performance was on November 11, 1975.
Riddled by sadness and despair, and by now firmly addicted to sleeping pills, Maria turned reclusive in her last year and died of a heart attack in 1977 at age 53. Despite a career that flourished less than two decades, Callas must be respected as one of the more important and recognizable opera legends. She was certainly one of the most emotive and visually dramatic. What also carries her today is, of course, her grandly turbulent and tragic image -- an Édith Piaf of opera.- Giuseppe Campanari was born on 17 November 1859 in Rovigo, Veneto, Italy. He was married to Mary. He died on 31 May 1927 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy.
- Actress
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Maria Caniglia was born on 5 May 1905 in Naples, Campania, Italy. She was an actress, known for Tosca (1956), La primadonna (1943) and Household Saints (1993). She died on 16 April 1979 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.- Actor
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Josep Maria Carreras i Coll was born on December 5, 1946, in Barcelona, Spain. His father was the owner of a small chemical plant. Young Carreras showed early interest in music after seeing Mario Lanza in the film The Great Caruso (1951) at the age of 6. He gave his first public performance on the Spanish National Radio at the age of 8. At that time, he began his piano and solfeggio studies. His parents had a season subscription at the Liceo Opera, and young Carreras with his brother became regular opera goers. He studied chemistry on the insistence of his father. At the age of 17, he started taking voice lessons from Jaime Francisco Puig in Conservatorio Superior de Musica del Liceo in Barcelona. He also excelled in sports having tennis as a hobby. Jose Carreras and his wife Mercedes were married in Barcelona cathedral In May of 1971, the couple has two sons.
Carreras made his debut at the age of 18, as Flavio in Norma by Vincenzo Bellini , where his stage partner was Montserrat Caballé in the title role. The two singers made a steady duet for the next fifteen opera productions. Caballe invited Carreras to sing the part of Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia by Gaetano Donizetti in Teatre Liceo. That role became the first major breakthrough for the young tenor. Carreras won the International Verdi Lyrical song contest in Parma in 1971. He made his London debut in 1971 with Caballe. In 1976, he was invited by Herbert von Karajan to appear at the Summer and Winter Festivals of Salzburg. Carreras made notable recordings under the baton of Herbert von Karajan, including the Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi. He made an acclaimed recording of the 'West Side Story' with Leonard Bernstein.
Jose Carreras' lyrical tenor had its finest quality during the 1970s and early 1980s. He sung the lead tenor in 24 different operas by the age of 28. He performed the total of over 60 roles during the years of intense singing career from 1964-1987, making over a thousand performances in various formats: operas, concerts, recordings and festival recitals. In the 1980s, Carreras' voice started to show some signs of strain, especially detectable when he pushed or forced his voice to harmful open notes.
In 1987, at the peak of his career, Jose Carreras collapsed in Paris while a recording performance opposite Kiri Te Kanawa in Manon Lescaut by Giacomo Puccini. He was diagnosed with leukemia and was given low chance of survival. He underwent a year-long treatment of radiation, chemotherapy and an autologus bone marrow transplant in Seattle. In 1988, Carreras returned to singing and was greeted by a crowd of 150,000 at an open air performance in Barcelona. In 1990, he made the acclaimed Three Tenors performance at the opening of the World Cup in Rome. It was originally planned as a fund-raiser for the Jose Carreras International Leukaemia Foundation. A series of "The Three Tenors" concerts during the 1990s followed by the record-breaking sales of their recordings.
Jose Carreras made a remarkable comeback after his treatment and recovery from leukemia. He maintains a busy concert schedule and his performance calendar is booked through the year 2007.- Actor
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Enrico Caruso (b. Errico Caruso) was born on February 25, 1873, in Naples, Italy. He was the third of seven children to a poor alcoholic father. He received little primary education and briefly studied music with conductor Vicenzo Lombardini. His early income was from singing serenades.
Caruso made his operatic debut on March 15, 1895 at a back street theatre in Naples. After a two-year stint on the South Italian circuit he auditioned for Giacomo Puccini in the summer of 1897. Puccini was looking for a leading tenor for a performance of 'La Boheme' in Livorno. Puccini was so impressed with the range and tone of the young Caruso's voice, that he reportedly mumbled in awe, "Who sent you to me? God himself?" After an unfriendly reception of his performance in Naples, Caruso vowed to never sing in Naples again, and he never did.
His first major role creations were in operas 'Il Voto', composed by Umberto Giordano, on November 10, 1897, and 'L'Arlesiana' by Francesco Cilea on November 27, 1897, at the Teatro Lirico di Milano. Next season Caruso started with a role creation in 'Fedora', composed by Umberto Giordano, performed on the same stage on November 17, 1898. His first recording contract was signed in 1902, in London, with the Gramophone and Typewriter Company for ten arias at the rate of 10 pounds per take. In May, 1902, Caruso debuted at the Covent Garden Opera in 'Rigoletto' by Giuseppe Verdi. With the help of the banker Pasquale Simonelli, he went to New York. There Caruso made his Metropolitan Opera debut in November 1903. He performed for the Met the next eighteen seasons, making 607 appearances in 37 different operatic productions.
Caruso was the first recording star in history, who sold more than a million records with his 1902 recording of 'Vesti le gubba' from 'Pagliacci' (Clowns) by 'Leoncavallo'. His voice had a combination of the full baritone-like character with the smooth and brilliant tenor qualities. His range was broadened into baritone at the expense of the higher tenor notes, Caruso never sang the high C, and often transposed in order to avoid it. He was a master of interpretation, having a rare gift of portamento and legato, and a superior command of phrasing. His legendary 1904 Victor recording of 'Una furtiva lagrima', by Gaetano Donizetti is used in many film soundtracks.
He contracted pneumonia and developed a complication in the form of pleural inflammation (plerisy), followed by abscesses in his lungs. After a series of unsuccessful surgeries Enrico Caruso died on August 2, 1921, in Naples, Italy. He was laid to rest in Naples, Italy.- Actress
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Anna Case was born on 29 October 1889 in Clinton, New Jersey, USA. She was an actress, known for The Hidden Truth (1919), La Fiesta (1926) and Hearst-Pathé News, No. 54 (1917). She was married to Clarence H. Mackay. She died on 7 January 1984 in New York City, New York, USA.- Lina Cavalieri was born on 25 December 1874 in Viterbo, Lazio, Italy. She was an actress, known for Manon Lescaut (1914), The Eternal Temptress (1917) and The Two Brides (1919). She was married to Lucien Muratore, Robert W. Chanler, Giovanni Campari and Aleksandr Beriatinskij. She died on 7 February 1944 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.
- Miss Maria Cebotari complained about horrible pain during her opera performance the Figaro (music by Mozart) in Milano. She complained about her tiredness, and tried to fight against her unknown illness. Doctors discovered she had gallbladder infection. The diet she was on did not help at all. Miss Cebotari finally went for a medical examination under the direction of primarius doctor Strasser. An infected gallbladder was found, and gall stones needed to be removed. Miss Cebotari thought about her pain and tiredness, however she had no time to be ill at all. In March she played Laura in the operette 'The Beggar Student'. Furthermore she sang for an American movie company in Vienna 'L'Habanera' from the opera Carmen. Miss Cebotari was still performing in the operette which turned out to be a huge success; however her health was declining rapidly. The premiere of 'The Beggar Student' took place on March 27 in Vienna, Austria. Her last performance on stage ever was on March 31, while she was tortured by a lot of pain. Finally a surgery was performed on April 4 by primarius doctor Stradal. The doctor also discovered that Miss Cebotari suffered from Pankreas-Leberkarzinom, however did not inform her about this. The surgery came too late. After the surgery Miss Cebotari continued to have severe pains. However she made plans for the coming year and continued her schedule. Heavy painkillers relieved Miss Cebotari in her last days. After a long life in agonay Miss Cebotari died in her Villa in Vienna, Austria on June 9, 1949. Only the good die young.
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Feodor Chaliapin Sr. was born on February 13, 1873, in Omet Tawi, near Kazan, Russia. His childhood was full of suffering, hunger, and humiliation. From the age of 10-16, he was working jobs at river ports, restaurants, and tried acting on stage with various Russian provincial troupes. In 1890, Chaliapin was hired to sing in a choir at the Semenov-Samarsky private theatre in Ufa. There he began singing solo parts. In 1891, he toured Russia with the Dergach Opera. In 1892, he settled in Tiflis (Tbilisi), because he found a good teacher, Usatov, who gave Chaliapin free professional opera training for one year. He also sang at the St. Aleksandr Nevsky Cathedral in Tbilisi during the years 1892-1893.
In 1893, Chaliapin began his career at the Tbilisi Opera. On February 4, 1894, he had his final 'Benefith' night. It was a triumphal performance attended by the elite of the city of Tbilisi, where Chaliapin gave a total of 72 Opera performances. In 1894, he moved to Moscow upon recommendation of his teacher Usatov. While working at the Mamontov Opera and the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Chaliapin also had regular repertoire performances at the Imperial Mariinsky Opera in St. Petersburg. In 1901 he made his debut at La Scala in the role of Mefistofele in Faust by Jules Massenet under the baton of Arturo Toscanini. His most famous roles were Boris Godunov in the eponymous opera by Modest Mussorgsky, and Ivan the Terrible in the Maid of Pskov by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
In 1896, Mamontov introduced Chaliapin to a young Italian ballerina Iola Tornagi, who came to Moscow for a stage career. She quit dancing and devoted herself to family life with Chaliapin. He was very happy in this marriage. They settled in Moscow and had six children. Their first boy died at the age of 4, causing Chaliapin a nervous breakdown. His son Boris Chaliapin became a famous painter. His son Feodor Chaliapin Jr. became a famous film actor. Their mother Iola Tornagi was living in Soviet Russia until 1959, when Nikita Khrushchev brought the "Thaw". Iola Tornagi was allowed to leave and reunited with her son 'Feodor Chaliapin Jr,' in Rome, Italy.
In 1906, Chaliapin started a civil union with Maria Valentinovna Petzhold in St. Petersburg, Russia. She had three daughters with Chaliapin in addition to 2 other children from her previous family. He could not legalize his second family, because his first wife would not give him a divorce. Chaliapin even applied to the Emperor Tsar Nicholas II with a request of registering his 3 daughters under his last name. His request was not satisfied. Chaliapin was torn between his two families for many years, living with one in Moscow, and with another in St. Petersburg. Finally with Maria Petzhold and their 3 daughters he left Russia for good.
Emigration from Russia in 1922, was painful. Soviet government stripped Chaliapin of all his titles and honors. He settled in Paris, France. There he performed at the Paris Opera, as well as at numerous private concerts for Sergei Diaghilev. His acting and singing was sensational. He made many sound recordings between the 1900 and 1938, of which the 1913 recordings of the Russian folk songs 'Vdol po Piterskoi' and 'The Song of the Volga Boatmen' are best known. The only sound film which shows his acting style is 'Don Quixote' (1933). Chaliapin worked for impresario Sol Hurok and sang for 8 seasons at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where he had an immense success.
Chaliapin collaborated with Maxim Gorky, who wrote and edited his memoirs, which he published in 1933. Chaliapin revolutionized opera by bringing serious acting in combination with great singing. Chaliapin Sr. was the undisputed best basso in the first half of the 20th century. In the late 1930's he suffered from leukemia and kidney ailment. Feodor Chaliapin Sr. died on April 12, 1938, in Paris, France. He was laid to rest is the Novodevichy Monastery Cemetery in Moscow.- Actress
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Nadine Conner was born on 20 February 1907 in Compton, California, USA. She was an actress, known for General Electric Theater (1953), Omnibus (1952) and Carmen (1952). She was married to Laurance Hugh Heacock and ? Conner. She died on 1 March 2003 in Los Alamitos, California, USA.- Actor
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Franco Corelli was born on 8 April 1921 in Ancona, Marche, Italy. He was an actor, known for Angel Heart (1987), The Immigrant (2013) and The Killing Fields (1984). He was married to Loretta Di Lelio. He died on 29 October 2003 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy.- Emilio Cossira is known for Romeo and Juliet (1900) and Cossira (1900).
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American lyric soprano and actress, best known on screen as the voice of Princess Aurora in Walt Disney's animated feature Sleeping Beauty (1959). A beautiful blue-eyed blonde, Mary was born of Italian ancestry, the daughter of John and Hazel Costa. She trained at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music, made a few early radio appearances on Edgar Bergen's show and was 'discovered' at the age of 22 by the composer Walter Schumann, who recruited her for the part of Princess Aurora. The film took six years to make and was released in 1959. Schumann never got to see the finished product. He had died the year before, aged just 44.
Costa married Hollywood director Frank Tashlin in 1953 and appeared that same year in his screwball farce Marry Me Again (1953) at RKO. She did a couple of TV guest spots and then played a gangster's moll opposite Rory Calhoun in the entertaining film noir The Big Caper (1957). Her last noted performance on screen was as Henrietta 'Jetty' Treffz (1818-1878), the first wife of composer Johann Strauss (played by Horst Buchholz) in the biopic The Great Waltz (1972).
Costa made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Violetta in La Traviata in 1964. She went on to international stardom as a famous diva, performing at many of the great concert halls and opera houses throughout the U.S. and Europe.
Named a Disney Legend in 1999, Costa was awarded a National Medal of Arts at the White House in January 2021 "for her extraordinary talent, inspiration, and contribution to the operatic arts. Her stellar career includes performances in 38 operatic roles."- Richard Cowan was born on 24 December 1957 in Euclid, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for La Bohème (1988), Madame Butterfly (1995) and Boris Godounov (1989). He was married to Uliana Kozhevnikova. He died on 16 November 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
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Toti Dal Monte was born on 27 June 1893 in Mogliano Veneto, Veneto, Italy. She was an actress, known for Cuore di mamma (1954), Fiori d'arancio (1944) and A Good Woman (2004). She was married to Enzo De Muro Lomanto. She died on 26 January 1975 in Pieve di Soligo, Veneto, Italy.- Karl Daymond is known for Great Performances (1971), Trouble in Tahiti (2001) and Claude Vivier: Rêves d'un Marco Polo (2006).
- Although many people are under the impression that Pedro de Cordoba was Mexican, his mother was French and his father was Cuban, and he was born in New York City. De Cordoba's career began in silent films, where he established himself as a solid character actor, and his career carried over into talkies. A tall, somewhat frail-looking man, he often played wealthy, aristocratic Latins, usually (but not always) kind-hearted and benevolent.
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Lisa della Casa was born on 2 February 1919 in Burgdorf, Kanton Bern, Switzerland. She was an actress, known for Mozart's Don Giovanni (1955), Mir lönd nüd lugg (1940) and Füsilier Wipf (1938). She was married to Dragan Debelevic and Ernst Robert Geiser. She died on 10 December 2012 in Münsterlingen, Kanton Thurgau, Switzerland.- Actor
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Mario Del Monaco was born on 27 July 1915 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. He was an actor, known for The Untouchables (1987), Wall Street (1987) and The Warrior's Way (2010). He was married to Rina Filippini. He died on 16 October 1982 in Mestre, Venice, Veneto, Italy.- Giuseppe De Luca was born on 25 December 1876 in Rome, Italy. He was married to Giulia (sister of Olympia) and Olympia. He died on 26 August 1950 in New York, New York, USA.
- Alessio De Paolis is known for La cantante dell'opera (1933) and Omnibus (1952).
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Emmy Destinn was born on 26 February 1878 in Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. She was an actress and writer, known for The Lion's Bride (1914), Mignon (1909) and Ave Maria (1910). She died on 28 January 1930 in Budweis, Czechoslovakia [now Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic].- Actor
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Justino Díaz was born on 29 January 1940 in Puerto Rico. He is an actor, known for Otello (1986), Carmen (1968) and Callas Forever (2002). He is married to Ilsa Rodriguez.- Adam Didur was born on 24 December 1873 in Wola Sekowa, Galicia, Austria-Hungary [now Wola Sekowa, Podkarpackie, Poland]. He was an actor, known for American Adventure (1936). He died on 7 January 1946 in Katowice, Slaskie, Poland.
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Giuseppe Di Stefano was born on 24 July 1921 in Motta Sant'Anastasia, Sicily, Italy. He was an actor, known for 22 Bullets (2010), Goodfellas (1990) and Wall Street (1987). He was married to Maria Di Stefano (Girolami) and Monika Curth. He died on 3 March 2008 in Santa Maria Hoè, Lombardy, Italy.- Actor
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Willy Domgraf-Fassbaender was born on 19 February 1897 in Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He was an actor, known for The Marriage of Figaro (1949), Invitation to the Dance (1934) and Theodor Körner (1932). He was married to Sabine Peters. He died on 13 February 1978 in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany.- Actor
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Although born in Madrid, Spain, Placido Domingo spent a major portion of his life living in Mexico City where he graduated from the Mexico City Conservatory. His first operatic performance was in a staging of La Traviata in Monterrey playing Alfredo. He was then a Tenor for the Israel National Opera and subsequently moved to Europe.- Actress
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Todd Duncan was the original Porgy in the first run of Porgy & Bess, which opened on 10 October 1935 in New York. Prior to that, he obtained a master's degree in voice from Columbia University Teachers College. He was also Professor of Voice at Howard University in Washington D.C.. He also sang in London, and was the first black artist to appear at the New York City Opera, in 1945. He retired from show business in 1951, but continued a teaching and singing career which included over 2,000 performances in 56 countries. His work as a teacher continued until just before his death.- Actor
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Considered the fourth tenor (behind Carreras, Domingo & Pavarotti), Peter Dvorsky is the most internationally famous Slovak star. He performs concerts all over the world. He resigned from the Slovak National Theatre in October 1996 (after a 24-year stint) in protest to Slovak Culture Minister Ivan Hudec's firing of the director and replacing him with a director more sympathetic to his political agenda.- Omar Ebrahim was born on 6 September 1956 in Greasbrough, South Yorkshire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Angels in America: The Opera (2004), The Vampyr: A Soap Opera (1992) and TV Operas (1993).
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The only career Nelson Eddy ever considered was singing. His parents, Isabel (Kendrick) and William Darius Eddy, were singers, his grandparents were musicians. Unable to afford a teacher, he learned by imitating opera recordings. At age 14 he worked as a telephone operator in a Philadelphia iron foundry. He sold newspaper advertising and performed in amateur musicals. Dr. Edouard Lippe coached him and loaned him the money to study in Dresden and Paris. He gave his first concert recital in 1928 in Philadelphia. In 1933 he did 18 encores for an audience that included an assistant to MGM studio chief Louis B. Mayer, who signed him to a seven-year contract. After MGM acting lessons and initial trials, his first real success came as the Yankee scout to Jeanette MacDonald's French princess in Naughty Marietta (1935), a huge box-office success made on a small budget. Eddy and MacDonald were paired twice more (Rose-Marie (1936), Maytime (1937)) when metropolitan Opera star Grace Moore was unavailable; they became an institution. Their last work together was in 1942. Critics nearly always panned his acting. He did have a large radio following (his theme song: "Short'nin Bread"). In 1959 Eddy and MacDonald issued a recording of their movie hits which sold well. In 1953 he had a fairly successful nightclub routine with Gale Sherwood which ran until his death in 1967. He and his wife Anne Denitz had no children.- Actor
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Otto Edelmann was born on 5 February 1917 in Brunn am Gebirge, Austria. He was an actor, known for Mozart's Don Giovanni (1955), Der Rosenkavalier (1961) and Magic Fire (1956). He was married to Ilse-Maria Straub. He died on 14 May 2003 in Vienna, Austria.- Actress
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From the day she was born Martha lived in a world of music. For sure her father was a banker but he was also an amateur pianist. As for her mother, she was a housewife but also a very talented opera singer who had given up her career for the joys of matrimony and motherhood. It does not come as a surprise, under such circumstances, that the little girl's singing capacities were soon discovered. At eight she was already on a scene singing an aria from "The Barber of Seville". A critic attended the show and was impressed by her performance. He introduced her to the director of the Magyar Theater, where she landed her first contract. As of the age of 10 she was hailed as Hungary's "national idol". And it was not long before her triumph became international. An operetta, "Pogasza", was written specially for the crystal-clear-voiced little singer. Among others, she played the role of the doll in "Tales of Hoffmann" and starred in "Das Veilchen vom Montmartre" by Kalman. With the advent of sound films, she found herself very much in demand in the 1930s, bringing her beautiful voice and looks to yet more delighted viewers. It is on the set of "Mein Herz ruft nach dir" that she met Jan Kiepura, another successful opera and operetta singer. Although it was not love at first sight, Jan and Martha gradually fell in love, married two years later, had two sons and were separated only by death with the demise of Jan in 1966. In 1938, the couple fled Austria after its annexation by Hitler and settled down in the South of France first then in the USA. Martha made fewer movies but kept on singing. For instance she co-starred in "The merry Widow" in Broadway for three years with Jan Kiepura. She became an American citizen in the fifties and currently lives in Rye, new York.- Irene Eisinger was born on 8 December 1903 in Cosel, Silesia, Germany [now Kedzierzyn-Kozle, Opolskie, Poland]. She was an actress, known for Die Försterchristl (1931), Arlecchino (1939) and Zwei Herzen im Dreiviertel-Takt (1930). She died on 8 April 1994 in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England, UK.
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A promising star first with the Metropolitan Opera than on the Broadway and London stages, soprano Mary Ellis had little chance to prove herself as either a musical or dramatic film star with only a few creaky vehicles left for audiences to ponder. Her versatility on stage, however, was extensive, ranging from heavy doses of Shakespeare and Eugene O'Neill to the Restoration comedies of Sheridan and the light operettas of Oscar Hammerstein.
Born May Belle Elsas on June 15, 1897 of humble means in New York City, her family had emigrated to the States earlier from Alsace. Her father eventually prospered as a successful paper merchant. Mary inherited any artistic leanings from her mother who was a gifted pianist. She initially delved into painting before the desire to dedicate herself to song took hold. Studying with Madame Ashworth, Mary's had the makings of a great classical singer and was offered a multiple year contract with the Metropolitan Opera company at the age of 21. Given the stage name of Mary Ellis by the company, she made her debut with Puccini's "Suor Angelica" (1918) and went on to appear in "The Blue Bird" and "Boris Gudunov", among others. Arguably the highlights of her brief operatic career include her appearances opposite the legendary tenor Enrico Caruso in his final performance (Christmas Eve, 1920) of "The Elixir of Love" (he died the following year of pneumonia), and the renowned prima donna Geraldine Farrar in "Louise". However, in 1922, Mary's burgeoning desire to act on the legitimate stage took over and, against all advice, left the Met in 1922 to pursue her "new dream".
Already a name in opera, Mary joined the David Belasco theatre company. Belasco produced and directed her in her first Broadway production "The Merchant of Venice". A lovely, vibrant presence on stage, she subsequently appeared in "Casanova" and "The Merry Wives of Gotham", but did not become a full-fledged star until playing the titular heroine in Hammerstein's operetta "Rose-Marie". Career-threatening problems incurred when the impulsive Mary decided to leave the show before her tightly binding contract with Hammerstein was completed. As a result, she was prevented from ever performing again as a singer in America. She was now forced to return to high drama in straight plays. She subsequently appeared in a series of Broadway productions co-starring British actor Basil Sydney, which included her playing of Katherine to his Petruchio in "The Taming of the Shrew". Sydney became her third husband (following two short-lived marriages) in 1929.
Unable to escape her career restrictions, she and Sydney moved to England in 1931. She met with instantaneous success in O'Neill's epic drama "Strange Interlude" the following year. She also became a lovely muse for Ivor Novello on the 30s British stage, as noted in their successful teaming of "Glamorous Night" (1935) and "The Dancing Years" (1939). England gave her the opportunity to try films and she starred in two in 1934, the drama Bella Donna (1934) with John Stuart, Cedric Hardwicke and Conrad Veidt, and in the musical All the King's Horses (1935) in which she played the Queen of Langenstein. She also managed to return to America to star in the films Paris in Spring (1935) and Fatal Lady (1936). After filming her stage triumph Glamorous Night (1937) co-starring Otto Kruger back in England, she retired from the screen, unable to gain a strong footing.
Her marriage to Basil Sydney lasted but a few years. Her fourth and last husband, Jock Muir Stewart Roberts, a Scotsman, was a happy one until his tragic death twelve years later in a 1950 mountain-climbing accident. A volunteer nurse during WWII, Mary appeared sporadically on the post-war stage (notably the Old Vic) in such successful productions as "John Gabriel Borkman", "The School for Scandal", "The Browning Version" and "Hattie Stowe" in which she portrayed Harriet Beecher Stowe. After her husband's death she was seen less and less and took her last curtain call in "Mrs. Warren's Profession" in 1970. Isolated film appearances included The Magic Box (1951) and The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960).
Mary was seen briefly as late as the 1990s playing octogenarian roles, and during her twilight years published two autobiographies: Those Dancing Years (1982) and Moments of Truth (1986. Mary, who was childless, died in London at the ripe old age of 105 on January 30, 2003.- Cloe Elmo was born on 9 April 1910 in Lecce, Puglia, Italy. She was an actress, known for La forza del destino (1950). She died on 24 May 1962 in Ankara, Turkey.
- Maria Ewing was born on 27 March 1950 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She was an actress, known for The Marriage of Figaro (1976), Great Performances (1971) and Carmen (1989). She was married to Peter Hall. She died on 9 January 2022 in Detroit, Michigan, USA.
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Famed singer and author Geraldine Farrar was educated in public schools and then became a music student of Mrs. J.H. Long, Trabadello, Emma Thursby, Lilli Lehman and Graziani. Her 1901 debut was at the Royal Opera House in Berlin, in the role of Marguerite in "Faust". From 1906-22 she was a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. During World War II she was active in the Red Cross and the AWVS, and also made many lecture tours. She wrote two autobiographies. Joining ASCAP in 1936, her songwriting credits include "Ecstasy of Spring", "Here Beauty Dwells", "The Tryst", "The Alder Tree", "The Mirage", "Oh, Thou Field of Waving Corn", "Morning", "The Fountain", "The Dream", and "Love Comes and Goes" (all based on the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff), "The Whole World Knows", "Dear Homeland", "Fair Rosemarin" (all based on Fritz Kreisler themes") and "Tears" (based on a theme by Modest Mussorgsky).- Actress
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Brigitte Fassbaender was born on 3 July 1939 in Berlin, Germany. She is an actress, known for Da 5 Bloods (2020), Hänsel und Gretel (1981) and Der Rosenkavalier (1979).- Greg Fedderly is known for The Metropolitan Opera HD Live (2006), Tom Jones (1996) and Dulce Rosa (2015).
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Wilhelmenia Fernandez was born on 5 January 1949 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She was an actress, known for Diva (1981), Someone to Watch Over Me (1987) and La Bohème (1980). She was married to Ormon Fernandez and Andrew William Smith . She died on 2 February 2024 in Lexington, Kentucky, USA.- Actor
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Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau was born on 28 May 1925 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor, known for Children of Men (2006), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) and The Marriage of Figaro (1976). He was married to Julia Varady, Christina Pugel-Schule, Ruth Leuwerik and Irmgard Poppen. He died on 18 May 2012 in Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany.- Actress
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Born in Stranstuen, Hamar, Norway, Norwegian soprano Kisten Flagstad's father was a conductor, and her mother was a singing coach and pianist as well as her first teacher. Flagstad continued her studies in Oslo with Ellen Schyte-Jacobsen and in Stockholm with Dr. Gillis Bratt. While still a student, she made her début at the National Theater in Oslo in 1913 as Nuri in D'Albert's Tiefland. For the next 18 years she sang exclusively in Scandinavia, performing in opera, operetta and musical comedy. Flagstad's first Isolde in Oslo in 1932 led to Bayreuth engagements in minor parts in 1933 and to roles as Sieglinde and Gutrune in 1934. Later in 1934, Flagstad turned her sights on North America and auditioned at the Metropolitan Opera to succeed the reigning Wagnerian soprano Frida Leider. Her unheralded Met début as Sieglinde, broadcast nationwide on February 2, 1935, created a sensation. Four days later, she sang Isolde, and later that month, performed Brünhilde in Die Walküre and Die Götterdämmerung for the first time. Almost overnight she was regarded as the pre-eminent Wagnerian soprano of her generation. Later that season, Flagstad also sang Elsa, Elisabeth, and her first Kundry. Fidelio (1936) was her only non-Wagnerian role at the Met before the war. She sang the same repertory in San Francisco in 1935-38 and in Chicago in 1937.
In 1936 and 1937 she performed the roles of Isolde, Brünhilde and Senta at Covent Garden under Sir Thomas Beecham, Fritz Reiner and Wilhelm Furtwängler, arousing as much enthusiasm there as in New York. In 1941 Flagstad returned to Nazi-occupied Norway to join her second husband, whose collaboration with the Nazis led to his arrest after World War II. Although her own wartime record was free from controversy, her return to Norway during the war and a certain political naïvété in her nature created much ill-feeling towards her, particularly in the USA.
During four consecutive Covent Garden seasons, from 1948 to 1951, Flagstad repeated all her regular Wagnerian roles, including Kundry and Sieglinde. She returned to San Francisco in 1948 but was not invited back to the Metropolitan Opera until Sir Rudolph Bing became manager. In the 1950-1951 season, although she was well into her 50s, she showed herself still in remarkable form as Isolde, Brünnhilde and Fidelio. Flagstad's final role at the Metropolitan Opera was as Alceste in Gluck's opera. Her final operatic performances were as Purcell's Dido at the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1953. Flagstad continued to record and sing concerts, and was director of the Norwegian National Opera from 1958-1960.
The enduring purity, beauty and power of Flagstad's tone probably owed much, not only to natural gifts and sound training, but to the enforced repose of the war years and the fact that she had undertaken no heavy roles until middle life. She was regarded as an impeccable musician in matters of rhythm and intonation. While she was not the most dramatic or magnetic of Wagnerian heroines, no one within living memory surpassed her sheer beauty and consistency of line and tone. Of her many records, the complete Tristan und Isolde with Furtwängler undoubtedly offers the finest memorial to her interpretive art in its maturity. Her pre-war recordings, however, showcase her voice in its freshest brilliance and clarity.- Actor
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Born in Cogorno, Liguria to a Neapolitan father and a Genoese mother, Franchi made his singing debut at age 10 as a hunchback in a school play. He sang with jazz groups in Italy, but immigrated to South Africa in 1947, after he completed his compulsory military service. He worked as a draftsman and designed commercial interiors working for his father's furniture business. Within a few years, his amateur singing led to leading roles in operetta and opera.
Having experienced local fame, Franchi was encouraged to return to Italy and pursue an operatic career. Fate intervened as opportunities opened instead in popular music and television. Discovered on a BBC TV show, he accepted an RCA recording contract and a Sol Hurok 1962-63 concert tour. Sergio Franchi quickly rose to multi-media stardom in America, and became an American citizen in 1972.- Actress
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Mirella Freni was born on 27 February 1935 in Modena, Italy. She was an actress, known for Fatal Attraction (1987), Copycat (1995) and Awakenings (1990). She was married to Nicolai Ghiaurov and Leone Magiera. She died on 9 February 2020 in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.- Actor
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Gottlob Frick was born on 28 July 1906 in Ölbronn-Dürrn, Kingdom of Württemberg [now Baden-Württemberg], Germany. He was an actor, known for Don Juan (1955), The Life and Loves of Mozart (1955) and Automatic at Sea (2016). He was married to Margarete. He died on 18 August 1994 in Mühlacker, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.- Actress
Opera soprano Mary Garden was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, on February 20, 1874. Her family emigrated to the US in 1880, eventually settling in Chicago, Illinois. She showed an aptitude for music at an early age, studying the violin and piano and taking voice lessons while still a young girl. In 1895 she went to Paris, France, to further her voice training. She made her public debut five years later in Gustave Charpentier's "Louise" at the Opera-Comique in Paris. In 1902 composer Claude Debussy personally chose her to sing the female lead in his opera "Pelleas et Melisande", and this became her most famous and celebrated role. She was so highly regarded among composers that Jules Massenet specifically rewrote the lead part in his "Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame"--which he had originally written to be a man--for her.
She made her New York debut in 1907, in Massenet's "Thais". She was acclaimed by critics not only for her superb singing but for what many deemed her remarkable dramatic ability as well. She toured extensively in Europe and the US and joined the Chicago Civic Opera in 1910, being their featured singer until 1931. In addition, she served as general director of the Chicago Opera Association from 1921-1922.
Although she retired from the stage in 1934, she remained active in operatic circles, making many lecture and recital tours over the next 20 years and serving as audition judge for the National Arts Foundation.
She died in her birthplace of Aberdeen, Scotland, on January 3, 1967.- Actress
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Gohar Gasparyan was born in 1924 in Egypt. She was an actress, known for V etot prazdnichnyi vecher (1959), Karine (1969) and Lernayin ltchi gaghtniqe (1954). She died on 15 April 2007 in Yerevan, Armenia.- Actress
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Alice Gentle was born on 30 June 1885 in Chatworth, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for The Song of the Flame (1930), Golden Dawn (1930) and A Scene from Carmen (1929). She was married to Jacob Robinson Proebstel and Robert Bruce Gentle. She died on 28 February 1958 in Oakland, California, USA.- Actor
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Beniamino Gigli was born in Recanati, Italy, on March 20, 1890, into a poor family. He possessed a fine singing voice and, after struggling to make a living for many years, he eventually made his operatic debut as a tenor on October 15, 1914, appearing in "La Giaconda" in Rovigo, Italy. Over the following years his reputation and stature grew. His first recordings were issued in 1918, and he was invited to sing at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York in 1920, where the greatest singers of the time performed. He appeared there every year for the next 12 seasons until 1932; he got into a wage dispute with the management and, even though it was in the middle of the Great Depression, he quit and left to return to Europe. During the 1920s and 1930s he was often called the World's Greatest Tenor and Enrico Caruso's successor. He began touring and performing all around the world, on the way becoming an especial favorite of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and their cliques. His autobiography, like many, can touch around subjects that are very sensitive to its author, and his was somewhat reticent regarding his ties to Hitler and Mussolini, but overall it showed him to be human and as capable of making mistakes as anyone else.
He had a short film career, much to his surprise, but he did reach new audiences. For a while after the war he was labeled a traitor by many Italians because of the Hitler-Mussolini connection, but eventually he cleared his name and resumed his career to critical success. However, when he felt his powers were starting to wane he decided to retire; his last performance was in Washington, DC, on May 25, 1955, after a professional career of nearly 41 years. He returned to Recanati and died at 67 years old in Rome on November 30, 1957.- Olive Gilbert was born on 22 November 1898 in Carmarthen, Wales, UK. She was an actress, known for The Dancing Years (1950), This Is Your Life (1955) and Ivor Novello (1956). She died on 19 February 1981 in Hove, East Sussex, England, UK.
- Peter Glossop was born on 6 July 1928 in Wadsley, Sheffield, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Le trouvère (1972), Otello (1974) and Pagliacci (1968). He was married to Michèle Amos and Joyce Blackham. He died on 7 September 2008 in London, England, UK.
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Tito Gobbi was one of the greatest Italian baritones of the 20th century. His most memorable roles were Scarpia (in Puccini's Tosca) and Verdi's Falstaff, among dozens of Italian operas that he recorded. He was also one of the best actors among opera singers, a talent which enabled him to both act in a dramatic role and sing in the 1949 movie 'The Glass Mountain'.- Actor
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Composer, singer and actor. He came to the USA in 1933 and became a US citizen in 1939. Educated at the Vienna Conservatory (on scholarship) with Victor Fuchs, he debuted as a singer with the Czech State Opera. His American debut came in 1939 at the Hollywood Bowl, and he also sang on films and radio. Joining ASCAP in 1941, his popular-song compositions include "Lament", "Caucasian Song", "Safe by de Lawd", "Lullaby", and "Within My Dreams".- Actress
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Kathryn Grayson was born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick in Winston-Salem, NC, on February 9, 1922. This pretty, petite brunette with a heart-shaped face was discovered by MGM talent scouts while singing on the radio. The studio quickly signed her to a contract, and she was given acting lessons along and had to pose for countless publicity photos. Kathryn, a coloratura soprano, made her first film in 1941, a "B" picture called Andy Hardy's Private Secretary (1941). She soon was cast opposite some of MGM's top musical stars of the 1940s, such as Gene Kelly and Mario Lanza. She was paired with Lanza a few times, but the two never got along due mostly to Lanza's hot temper and alcohol abuse. The pairing of Lanza and Grayson would never match the success of lyrical soprano Jeanette MacDonald and baritone Nelson Eddy, although Kathryn and MacDonald did become great friends. Jeanette became a mentor and an older sister figure for Kathryn.
Grayson's most memorable roles came in the early 1950s. They were Show Boat (1951), where she played "Magnolia", opposite Ava Gardner and Howard Keel; Kiss Me Kate (1953), playing actress "Lilli Vanessi", who portrayed "Katherine" in the movie's "show within a show", a musical version of "The Taming of the Shrew". In 1953 she exited MGM, then made only one more film, The Vagabond King (1956), at Paramount. She later worked in nightclubs and on stage.- Actress
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Edita Gruberova was born on 23 December 1946 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia [now Slovak Republic]. She was an actress, known for Hänsel und Gretel (1981), Rigoletto (1987) and Manon (1983). She was married to Stefan Klimo . She died on 18 October 2021 in Zurich, Switzerland.- Actress
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Elisabeth Grümmer was born on 31 March 1911 in Niederjeutz, Alsace-Lorraine, Germany [now Yutz, Thionville, Moselle, France]. She was an actress, known for Mozart's Don Giovanni (1955), Don Giovanni (1961) and Civilisation (1969). She was married to Detlef Grümmer. She died on 6 November 1986 in Warendorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Actor
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Håkan Hagegård was born on 25 November 1945 in Sweden. He is an actor, known for The Magic Flute (1975), The Ghosts of Versailles (1992) and Don Giovanni (1987).- Actor
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Thomas Hampson was born on 28 June 1955 in Elkhart, Indiana, USA. He is an actor, known for Mozart 22 (2006), What Other Couples Do (2013) and Macbeth (2002).- Actress
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Hope Hampton was born on 19 February 1897 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She was an actress and producer, known for The Light in the Dark (1922), The Gold Diggers (1923) and Lawful Larceny (1923). She was married to Jules Brulatour. She died on 23 January 1982 in New York City, New York, USA.- Aage Haugland was born on 1 February 1944 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was an actor, known for Parsifal (1982), Sirup (1990) and Der Rosenkavalier (1994). He was married to Anette Haugland. He died on 23 December 2000 in Denmark.
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Cynthia Haymon was born on 6 September 1958 in Jacksonville, Florida, USA. She is an actress, known for American Playhouse (1980), Breakfast with the Arts (1991) and L'incoronazione di Poppea (1994).- Actress
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Barbara Hendricks was born on 20 November 1948 in Stephens, Arkansas, USA. She is an actress, known for La Bohème (1988), Little Women (1994) and Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995).- Actor
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Hans Hotter was born on 19 January 1909 in Offenbach am Main, Hesse, Germany. He was an actor, known for Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993), Der Barbier von Sevilla (1959) and Die Sehnsucht des Herzens (1951). He was married to Helga Fischer. He died on 6 December 2003 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.- Actor
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- Soundtrack
This movie cowboy was actually born in New Jersey just before the turn of the 20th century, the son of a Protestant minister. He sang in his father's church choir, and after graduating high school he attended the private Blair Academy and then continued his musical training at New York's famous Julliard School (then known as the Institute of Musical Arts). Upon graduation he enlisted in the army and saw combat during World War I in France. After his discharge he taught music for a time in Bernards (NJ) High School.
His musical career picked up some steam and he was hired by the American Opera Company, but after a while decided he was just spinning his wheels there and tried his luck on Broadway. He fared better on The Great White Way, and by the mid-'30s he had made enough of a name for himself that Hollywood came calling, and he headed west to make musicals. He appeared in about a half-dozen of them, then branched out to other genres, showing up in some dramas and even a western or two. He bounced around the lower-level studios for a while, then in 1941 he landed a job with bottom-rung Producers Releasing Corp. (PRC) for a series of singing westerns in which he would star as "The Lone Rider". PRC was not, to be charitable, noted for its lavish production values and the films were pretty threadbare. In 1942 "B" western star Robert Livingston became available after his contract with Republic Pictures ended. Houston was reportedly unhappy with the paltry pay scale at PRC and PRC was unhappy that his "Lone Rider" series wasn't doing better than it was. Livingston, who had been part of the well-received "Three Mesquiteers" series at Republic, was considered by PRC to be a bigger box-office draw than Houston. The combination of all these factors did not bode well for Houston's career, and after his 11th picture for PRC in 1942 he was let go and replaced by Livingston.
Houston left the movie business after that, and in 1944 he collapsed on a street in Hollywood, dead of a heart attack.- Actress
- Writer
Kathleen Howard was born on 27 July 1884 in Clifton, Ontario, Canada. She was an actress and writer, known for It's a Gift (1934), Ball of Fire (1941) and Death Takes a Holiday (1934). She was married to Edward Kellogg Baird (lawyer). She died on 15 August 1956 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Composer
- Actress
Ying Huang is known for Madame Butterfly (1995), The Metropolitan Opera HD Live (2006) and Animated Tales of the World (2000).