Peter Pears Longtime Collaborator Julian Bream Passes Away

Julian Bream (left) accompanies Peter Pears on the lute. The two performed in concert and recorded together.

"The British guitarist and lutenist Julian Bream has died peacefully at his home in rural Wiltshire. He was 87. From unassuming suburban London beginnings in which he learned jazz guitar with the help of his father, Bream rose to become one of the very finest modern exponents of the classical instrument. His talents attracted composers of the stature of Britten, Walton, Tippett, and Hans Werner Henze. Bream’s ardour for the playing of jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt started early and never died, but he decided in an instant that classical guitar would be his future on hearing a recording of the great Andrés Segovia in the later 1940s. After studies at the Royal College of Music (majoring in fact on piano) Bream swiftly gained recognition on his 

Baroque Jam: Bream and Pears rehearsing

chosen instrument. From early days, concert appearances were supplemented by BBC appearances and then by commercial recordings. Somehow he managed to integrate guitar-playing into his National Service, not least via army dance band appearances. Bream’s discovery of the lute and its repertoire in the early 1950s resulted in a lifelong devotion to the instrument, explored not just in solo repertoire but, for example, in his duo partnership with the tenor Peter Pears and via his own Julian Bream Consort. Among other significant collaborations were those with harpsichordist George Malcolm and fellow guitarist John Williams, both preserved for posterity on disc." Guitarist Julian Bream and tenor Peter Pears recorded several albums together including tracks with composer Benjamin Britten on piano. During his career, the world-famous instrumentalist also worked with The Golden Age Singers and soprano Victoria de los Angeles. His collaborations extended to other artists including three albums of duets with John Williams. Influenced by the stylings of Andrés Segovia and Francisco Tárrega, Bream went on to win four Grammy Awards recording for RCA, Decca, and EMI. "Bream was born in Battersea, London, England, but at the age of two moved with his family to Hampton in London, where he was brought up in a musical environment.Bream described his parents as both 'conventional suburban,' but in another way 'very unusual.' His father was a commercial artist, with an 'extraordinary talent for drawing'

Both artists worked often on Dowland and Bach

and a 'natural musician' according to Bream. Bream would lie under the piano in 'ecstasy' when his father played. His mother, of Scottish descent, was a very beautiful woman who was often, according to Bream, 'not always there' mentally and did not like music, but was a warm-hearted person. His grandmother owned a pub in Battersea, and Bream spent much time there during his youth. His father played jazz guitar and the young Bream was impressed by the playing of Django Reinhardt, he would later call his dog 'Django.' Bream began his lifelong association with the guitar by strumming along on his father's jazz guitar at an early age to dance music on the radio. He became frustrated with his lack of knowledge of jazz harmony,so read instruction books by Eddie Lang to teach himself. His father taught him the basics. The president of the Philharmonic Society of Guitarists, Dr Boris Perott, gave Bream further lessons, while his father became the society librarian, giving young Bream access to a large collection of rare music. On his 11th birthday, Bream was given a small gut-strung Spanish guitar by his father. He became something of a child prodigy, at 12 winning a junior exhibition award for his piano playing, enabling him to study piano and composition at the Royal College of Music. Aged 13, he made his debut guitar recital at Cheltenham on 17 February 1947; in 1951, he debuted at Wigmore Hall. Leaving the RCM in 1952, Bream was called up into the army for  national service. He was originally drafted into the Pay Corps, but managed to sign up for the Royal Artillery Band after six months. This required him to be stationed in Woolrich,

Duet: Pears and Bream reviewing a score

which allowed him to moonlight regularly in London with the guitar. After two years in the army, he took any musical jobs that came his way, including background music for radio plays and films. Commercial film, recording sessions and work for the BBC were important to Bream throughout the 1950s and the early 1960s. He played part of a recital at the Wigmore Hall on the lute in 1952, and later did much to bring music written for the instrument to light. 1960 saw the formation of the Julian Bream Consort, a period-instrument ensemble with Bream as lutenist. The consort led a great revival of interest in the music of the Elizabethan era. Bream pursued a busy career playing around the world. His first European tours took place in 1954 and 1955, followed (beginning in 1958) by extensive touring in the Far East, India, Australia, the Pacific Islands and many other parts of the world. Bream performed for the Peabody Mason Concert series in Boston, first solo, in 1959, and later with the US debut of his Consort. In addition to master classes given in North America, Bream conducted an international summer school in Wiltshire,England." See album covers of Julian Bream with Peter Pears and The Golden Age Singers after the jump.

[Source, Source] 

Leading Ladies Of The Late Jon Vickers In Opera Performances

Jon Vickers (center) and Leontyne Price (right) are seen talking with producer Richard Mohr
during the recording of Verdi's Aida for RCA in 1961 at the Rome Opera.

With the most recent passing of the heroic tenor Jon Vickers, we look back at the outstanding roster of female partners he had on the opera stage and in the recording studio. During an era when operatic pairings like Callas & Di Stefano, Tebaldi & Del Monaco, and Nilsson & Corelli were commonplace, the Canadian powerhouse voice of Jon Vickers sang with voices as far-ranging as Teresa Stratas to Gré Brouwenstijn. Find more astounding clips featuring Katia Ricciarelli, Renata Scotto, Joan Sutherland, Montserrat Caballé, Maria Callas, Jessye Norman, and many more, after the jump.

Tribute: Margaret Juntwait Interviewed By Deborah Voigt At The MET

Margaret Juntwait (left) gets interviewed by Deborah Voigt.

"As the Met’s beloved radio host for more than ten years, Margaret Juntwait interviewed countless operatic artists for the company’s Saturday Matinee Radio Broadcasts and for Metropolitan Opera Radio on Sirius XM. A few months before Juntwait died, soprano Deborah Voigt turned the tables on her, interviewing her about what it means to be the voice of the Met. Listen to the interview from December, 2014." Read the Metropolitan Opera's full statement on the passing of Margaret Juntwait, and see a video of her singing 'I Dreamed a Dream' from Les Miserables, after the jump. Funeral services for Margaret Juntwait will be held Saturday, June 6, 11:15 a.m. at Church of the Presentation (271 West Saddle River Road Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. A memorial service in New York will take place at a date TBD. The family requests in lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Save the Met Broadcast Fund, the Manhattan School of Music, or New York Public Radio.

Renée Fleming & Matthew Polenzani Perform At Cardinal Funeral

Longtime friend to Cardinal Egan, opera star Renée Fleming pays him honor in song
during the funeral Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City today.

The Mass of Christian Burial took place today for Edward Michael Cardinal Egan. As a musician himself, he was a great lover of opera. One of the singers most associated with His Eminence was soprano Renée Fleming. She sang at the Midnight Mass Christmas Eve service and the Mass of Installation for then Archbishop Egan in 2000. He also was by her side when the Richard Tucker Park was inaugurated in 2012. It was only fitting that she would perform at his funeral services. She sang a stirring rendition of Schubert's "Ave Maria" and César Franck's "Panis Angelicus." She was joined on the latter by fellow Metropolitan Opera star, tenor Matthew Polenzani. Other music during the service included Chopin's Prelude in E minor, Op. 28, No. 4, Schubert's Stabat Mater, Perosi's “Introito” from Messa di Requiem, and Barber's Adagio for Strings. View the entire program for the services by clicking here. More pictures of Renée Fleming and Cardinal Egan together, after the jump.

Kenneth Pigott, Lyric Opera Of Chicago President And CEO, Has Died

Kenneth G. Pigott is seen in the upper right with 
singers Renée Fleming and Anna Netrebko, as well
 as Anthony Freud and Sir Andrew Davis of the LOC 
(Photo: Todd Rosenberg)

"Kenneth G. Pigott, Lyric Opera of Chicago's president and CEO, died Friday afternoon, according to a statement from Lyric opera. A cause of death and other details were not immediately available. Pigott was a member of the Lyric Opera's board of directors for 13 years before becoming president and CEO in 2011, according to the statement. 'We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn and to share the news of the death of Ken Pigott, president and CEO of Lyric Opera. In the few hours since his passing, we have only begun to grasp the depth and breadth of this unimaginable loss,' Anthony Freud, Lyric Opera's general director, said in the statement. 'Ken was a truly unique man. He was a visionary whose wisdom and passion transformed the lives of everyone at Lyric, and at the many organizations with which he was associated. He is irreplaceable.' The statement said Pigott was 'instrumental' in discussions leading to Renee Fleming's appointment as the company's creative consultant in 2010 and led the search for the company's general director in 2011." [Source] Watch a recent video of the Lyric Opera of Chicago that gives an insider view of the tight community, and Renée Fleming invites you to the new season, after the jump.

"60 Minutes" Correspondant, And Opera Lover, Bob Simon Dies

UPDATE (02/14/15): "A private memorial for '60 Minutes' correspondent Bob Simon was set for 150 friends and colleagues on Monday in one of his favorite venues: The Metropolitan Opera House. The Lincoln Center sendoff, five days after Simon’s shocking death in a West Side Highway car wreck, was detailed in a Friday internal CBS memo obtained by the Daily News. A much larger public service was planned for 'the coming months, details to follow,' the memo said. Simon, 73, the award-winning international correspondent for CBS News, was a fan of German composer Richard Wagner and covered several music-related stories for the news magazine. Simon was a regular patron at the opera house, where his widow Francoise and their daughter Tanya were spotted Friday morning." [Source]
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Bob Simon arriving at The Metropolitan
Opera's Opening Night in September 2007.

"On February 11, 2015 Simon was killed in a car crash in Manhattan, New York City. The New York Police Department said the accident occurred around 6:45 p.m. at 30th Street and 12th Avenue. He was a passenger in a Lincoln Town Car when it struck the driver's side of a 2003 Mercedes Benz that was stopped at a red light. 'He swerved into me,' said the driver of the Mercedes 'He hit me and he looked like he lost control of the car.' Simon's vehicle then veered off and collided with a metal barrier separating the two lanes of traffic. Simon went into cardiac arrest and was taken to St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital, where he died. Simon is survived by his wife, Françoise, and their daughter, Tanya, who is a producer for 60 Minutes." More information about the late television personality is after the jump. Watch Bob Simon's report on 60 Minutes, "Reinventing Opera at the MET," by clicking here. Listen to an archived interview of him discussing his love of opera with Marilyn Horne on WQXR by clicking here. In the interview, he discusses his initial encounter with opera (Il Trovatore in A Night at the Opera with the Marx Brothers); attending his first performance (going to Mexico City to hear Giuseppe di Stefano in Andrea Chénier and Carmen, as well as hanging out with the tenor afterwards); his love of La Gioconda; seeing Aida in Luxor; hearing Birgit Nilsson and Wolfgang Windgassen sing Götterdämmerung during the late 1960s; attending two performances of Parsifal in one week; how he would like to play Don Giovanni; and that "Ella giammai m'amò" from Don Carlo is the aria that moved him the most 

Elena Obraztsova Has Passed Away In Germany At 75

"Prominent Russian opera singer Elena Obraztsova passed away on Monday in Germany at the age of 75. Details about the cause of Obraztsova’s death have not been made public. Representatives of Obraztsova’s charitable organization told RIA Novosti that she was recently undergoing treatment at a German clinic. Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his condolences to the family and friends of Obraztsova, Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Monday. Elena Obraztsova was born on July 7 in Leningrad (Saint Petersbrurg), USSR. Thanks to her outstanding vocal abilities, she was widely recognized as one of the greatest opera singers of all time." [Source] More about the mezzo-soprano, as well as an extensive gallery, after the jump.

Opera-Loving Civil Rights Senator Edward Brooke Dies

Before the Obamas: Edward Brooke, seen with his wife
and two daughters, paved the way for many.

"Edward W. Brooke III, who in 1966 became the first African-American elected to the United States Senate by popular vote, winning as a Republican in overwhelmingly Democratic Massachusetts, died on Saturday at his home in Coral Gables, Fla. He was 95. Ralph Neas, a family spokesman, confirmed the death....Edward William Brooke III was born on Oct. 26, 1919, in Washington. He was the third child and only son of the former Helen Seldon and Edward W. Brooke II, a lawyer for the Veterans Administration and a Republican, as most blacks were then. He grew up in 'a cocoon,' he wrote in his autobiography, Bridging the Divide: My Life (2007). He had a stable home, firm religious guidance — he was an Episcopal altar boy — and a good education, attending Dunbar High School, a prestigious black school in Washington. Surrounded by middle-class blacks, he wrote, he rarely encountered direct racial discrimination, although when the Washington opera was closed to blacks his mother took him to the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Mr. Brooke earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Howard University in 1941. A reservist during college, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant after Pearl Harbor in 1941 and joined the all-black 366th Combat Infantry Regiment. The regiment was assigned to guard duty in Italy; combat was reserved for whites. 'An insult to our dignity,' Mr. Brooke wrote. Put in charge of special events, he brought opera and the heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis to his troops." "He loved opera and served as president and chairman of the Boston Opera Company."[Source, Source]

English Conductor Christopher Hogwood Dies at 73

Hit Maker: The late conductor made over 200
 recordings with the Academy of Ancient Music.

"Christopher Jarvis Haley Hogwood CBE (September 10, 1941 – September 24, 2014) was an English conductor, harpsichordist, writer, musicologist and founder of the Academy of Ancient Music. Born in Nottingham, Hogwood studied music and classical literature at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He went on to study performance and conducting under Raymond Leppard, Mary Potts and Thurston Dart; and later with Rafael Puyana and Gustav Leonhardt. He also studied in Prague with Zuzana Ruzickova for a year, under a British Council scholarship. In 1967, Hogwood founded the Early Music Consort with David Munrow, and in 1973 he founded the Academy of Ancient Music, specializing in performances of Baroque and early Classical music with period instruments. The Early Music Consort was disbanded following Munrow's death in 1976, but Hogwood continued to perform and record with the Academy of Ancient Music. From 1981, Hogwood conducted regularly in the United States. He was Artistic Director of Boston's Handel and Haydn Society from 1986 to 2001, and for the remainder of his life held the title of Conductor Laureate. From 1983 to 1985 he was artistic director of the Mostly Mozart Festival in the Barbican Centre in London. From 1988 to

An early portrait of Christopher Hogwood.

1992, he was musical director of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in Minnesota. Hogwood conducted a considerable amount of opera. He made his operatic debut in 1983, conducting Don Giovanni in St. Louis, Missouri. He worked with Berlin State Opera; La Scala, Milan; Royal Opera Stockholm; the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, Chorégies d'Orange and Houston Grand Opera. With Opera Australia, he performed Idomeneo in 1994 and La Clemenza di Tito in 1997. In 2009, he returned to the Royal Opera House to conduct the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, and Handel's Acis and Galatea. 2009 also saw him conducting Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress at the Teatro Real in Madrid, in a production directed by Robert Lepage. In late 2010 and early 2011, he conducted a series of performances of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro at

Constant Collaborators: Soprano Emma Kirby and countertenor
 James Bowman with Maestro Hogwood. 

Zurich Opera House. On September 1, 2006, harpsichordist Richard Egarr succeeded Hogwood as Music Director of the Academy of Ancient Music and Hogwood assumed the title of Emeritus Director. Hogwood said he expected to conduct 'at least one major project' with the Academy each year. He conducted the Academy in a series of concert performances of Handel operas which began in 2007 with Amadigi. 2008 saw performances of Flavio, and the series concluded in May 2009, the Handel anniversary, with Arianna in Creta. In 2013 he conducted the Academy in Imeneo. Although Hogwood was best known for the baroque and early classical repertoire, he also performed contemporary music, with a particular affinity for the neo-baroque and neoclassical schools including many works by Stravinsky, Martinů and Hindemith. He made many solo recordings of harpsichord works, including (Louis Couperin, J. S. Bach, Thomas Arne, William Byrd's My Lady Nevells Booke) and did much to promote the clavichord in the Secret Bach/Handel/Mozart series of recordings, which puts in historical context the most

(Photo: Marco Borggreve)

common domestic instrument of that epoch. He owned a collection of historical keyboard instruments. By the end of his life, Hogwood was Honorary Professor of Music in the University of Cambridge, Consultant Visiting Professor of historical performance in the Royal Academy of Music and visiting professor at King's College London. He was an Honorary Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge and Pembroke College, Cambridge. In July 2010, he was appointed Professor of Music at Gresham College, London, for a four-year term of office. In 2012, he was appointed Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University, for a six year term of office. He was a member of Lowell House Senior Common Room in Harvard University. In 1989 Hogwood was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). He was the recipient of the Halle Handel Prize in 2008. In 2011, Hogwood was a juror for the Westfield International Fortepiano Competition hosted at Cornell University. This was the first fortepiano competition in the United States and only the second competition of its kind in the world. Hogwood died in Cambridge on 24 September 2014, aged 73." [Source] Listen to Christopher Hogwood conduct Luba Orgonasova in "Vo'far guerra" from Händel's opera Rinaldo, Emma Kirkby in "But Who May Abide" from Händel's Messiah, and Cecilia Bartoli in "L'anima del filosofo ossia" from Haydn's Orfeo ed Euridice, after the jump.

Remembering Joan Rivers And Her Operatic Connections

Joan Alexandra Molinsky (born June 8, 1933), widely known as Joan Rivers, was an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and television host noted for her often controversial comedic persona — where she was alternately self-deprecating or sharply acerbic, especially toward celebrities and politicians. Rivers came to prominence in 1965 as a guest on The Tonight Show. Hosted by her mentor, Johnny Carson, the show established Rivers' comedic style. In 1986, with her own rival program, The Late Show with Joan Rivers, Rivers became the first woman to host a late night network television talk show. She subsequently hosted The Joan Rivers Show (1989-1993), winning a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show Host. As the author 12 best-selling memoir and humor books and numerous comedy albums, Rivers was nominated in 1984 for a Grammy Award for her album What Becomes a Semi-Legend Most? and was nominated in 1994 for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance of the title role in Sally Marr...and her escorts. Having become widely known for her red carpet interviews, Rivers co-hosted the E! celebrity fashion show Fashion Police (2010- 2014) and starred in reality series Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best? (2011-2014) with daughter Melissa Rivers. Rivers marketed a line of jewelry and apparel on the QVC shopping channel, and was the subject of the documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010). In 1968, noted New York Times television critic Jack Gould (1914–1993) called Rivers 'quite possibly the most intuitively funny woman alive.'" Joan Rivers passed away on September 4, 2014. [Source] Check out the connections this great star had with opera, after the jump.

Legendary Italian Soprano Licia Albanese Dies At Age 105

For audio clips featuring the late Licia Albanese, as well as biographical information about her life and career, click here. The complete New York Times obituary can be read here.

Remembering Robin Williams At The Metropolitan Opera House

"A Night at the Met is the third official album release by Robin Williams in 1986. It features segments recorded live at Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. The album won the 1988 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Performance Single or Album, Spoken or Musical. The album was released the year before Williams' critically acclaimed performance in the motion picture Good Morning, Vietnam (1987). He had been shifting his focus from stand-up comedy to film making for several years, and A Night at the Met would be one of his last major concerts during the 1980s. The show is a mix of Williams' rapid-fire humor and voice work, with riffs on the topics of drugs, sex, world affairs and children. References to the events and people of the 1980s are strewn heavily

throughout; U.S. President Ronald Reagan, Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi, and President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev are central to many of the jokes." [Source] Watch the complete performance from the opera house (including the "opera rap") after the jump, along with a bonus of the comedian's rendition of "Largo al factotum" from his film Mrs. Doubtfire.

Dutch Soprano Cristina Deutekom Is Dead At 82

"Cristina Deutekom, één van Nederlands grootste opera-zangeressen, is donderdag na een kort ziekbed overleden in het VU-ziekenhuis in haar geboorteplaats Amsterdam. Dat heeft haar voormalig manager bekendgemaakt. De wereldberoemde sopraan is 82 jaar geworden. Deutekom kwam zaterdag ongelukkig ten val, raakte in een coma en overleed afgelopen avond in het ziekenhuis. Volgens haar oud-manager Pieter Alferink was ze tot het einde van haar leven' geestelijk goed bij'. Deutekom kreeg internationale bekendheid met een optreden in de Staatsopera van München in 1966. Drie jaar later was ze als Koningin van de Nacht te horen in de Metropolitan in New York, met een lovende recensie van The New York Times na afloop. Critici prezen haar om haar grote bereik en soepele stem, maar ze stond ook bekend om haar passie en overgave tijdens het zingen. Gedurende haar loopbaan werkte ze met beroemde dirigenten en zangers als Riccardo Muti, Renato Bruson, Nicolai Gedda, Placido Domingo, Ruggero Raimondi, Luciano Pavarotti, Alfredo Kraus, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf en José Carreras. Na een zangcarrière van bijna 25 jaar zette ze op de laatste dag van 1986 abrupt een punt achter haar loopbaan. Ze had problemen met haar gezondheid. In oktober 2011 kreeg 'La Deutekom' met een galaconcert een eerbetoon in Koninklijk Theater Carré in Amsterdam." [Source]

Cristina Deutekom (August 28, 1931 - August 7, 2014) was a Dutch coloratura soprano opera singer. She sang with all the leading tenors of her time, including Carlo Bergonzi, José Carreras, Franco Corelli, Plácido Domingo, Nicolai Gedda, Alfredo Kraus, Luciano Pavarotti, and Richard Tucker. Deutekom was born in Amsterdam as Christine (Stientje) Engel. After some smaller roles, her breakthrough came in 1963, portraying the Queen of the Night in Mozart's The Magic Flute at the Dutch National Opera. She then sang the same role at all major European opera houses and also at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1968. In 1974 she opened the Met season as Elena in I vespri siciliani alongside Plácido Domingo. Besides the Queen of the Night, her Mozart roles included Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte and Vitellia in La clemenza di Tito. She sang the great

bel canto roles, specifically in Rossini's Armida, in Bellini's Norma and I puritani, and in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. She went on to the great dramatic Verdi roles including Abigaile in Nabucco, Lady Macbeth, Leonora in Il trovatore, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera, and Elena in I vespri siciliani. Other roles which were captured in commercial recordings include Giselda in I Lombardi and Odabella in Attila. Finally, she sang the title role in Puccini's Turandot. Deutekom's stage career ended in 1986, when she suffered a heart attack. She turned to giving master classes internationally. She made a return in November 1996 at the Concertgebouw Operafeest, at the age of 65 singing the Bolero from I vespri siciliani and Anna Elisa's aria 'Liebe, du Himmel auf Erden' from the operetta Paganini, reportedly 'bringing the house down.' As of 2001, she was a guest teacher at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, but after suffering a stroke in 2004, she retired from public life. She died on August 7, 2014 after a fall in her home." [Source]

More photos and musical selections after the jump.

Legendary New York Conductor Julius Rudel Is Dead At 93

The maestro (left) with Beverly Sills (center)

"Julius Rudel, the Austrian-born conductor who raised the New York City Opera to a venturous golden age with highbrow music for the masses and a repertory that, like him, bridged the Old and New Worlds, died on Thursday at his home in Manhattan. He was 93. His death, announced by his son, Anthony, came eight months after his beloved and financially struggling City Opera filed for bankruptcy and closed its doors. 'I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would outlive the company,' he told The New York Times shortly afterward. Mr. Rudel was the maestro and the impresario, the principal conductor and the director of City Opera for 22 years (1957-79), working in the orchestra pit while running the company on shoestring budgets, signing contracts, casting productions and nurturing young singers like José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes and Beverly Sills." [Source] Watch a video of the National Endowment for the Arts paying tribute to Julius Rudel in 2010, and see more pictures of the conductor with opera singers, after the jump.

Singer, Dancer, Poetess: Maya Angelou Dead At Age 86

Maya Angelou seen here with President Obama in 2011 when she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

"After graduation, she and her brother rejoined their mother, who had moved to San Francisco. She attended George Washington High School and won a scholarship to study drama and dance at the California Labor School. To earn pocket money, she worked as a streetcar conductor and was, by her account, the first African American woman to hold the job. At 16, after a clumsy sexual encounter with a neighborhood boy, she became pregnant and gave birth to her son, Clyde Bailey Johnson, nicknamed Guy. She graduated from San Francisco's Mission High School and struggled to raise her son on her own through a succession of jobs, including 'a shake dancer in nightclubs, fry cook in hamburger joints, dinner cook in a Creole restaurant and once had a job in a mechanic's shop, taking the paint off cars with my hands.' In San Diego, she was a madam who managed a couple of prostitutes. For a period of time, she was addicted to drugs. In 1949, she married a white ex-sailor, Tosh Angelos, but they divorced after three years. Commandingly tall at 6 feet, with a deep voice and theatrical manner, she moved to New York to study dance, then returned to San Francisco, sharing billing as a singer at the Purple Onion cabaret with comedian Phyllis Diller, who would become a close friend. Riffing off her ex-husband's last name and her brother's nicknames for her, she began performing as Maya Angelou. She won a role in a touring production of Porgy and Bess and performed in 22 countries from 1954 to 1955." [Source] Rare photos after the jump of this wonderful human.

Arthur Gelb, Father of Peter Gelb, Is Dead At Age 90

Peter Gelb, left, with his parents Barbara and Arthur Gelb at the Metropolitan Opera in 2010.

"Arthur Gelb, who by sheer force of personality was a dominant figure at The New York Times for decades, lifting its metropolitan and arts coverage to new heights and helping to shape the paper in its modern era, died on Tuesday at his home in Manhattan. He was 90. His son Peter Gelb, the general manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, said the cause was complications of a stroke. Hired as a copy boy in 1944, Mr. Gelb rose to become a singular Times figure in the second half of the 20th century, leaving a large stamp as critic, chief cultural correspondent, metropolitan editor, deputy managing editor and managing editor, the post he held when he retired at the end of 1989. Mr. Gelb, writing for the culture pages, discovered stars in an expanding Off Broadway universe. His reviews and news coverage helped propel the fledgling careers of, among others, Woody Allen, Barbra Streisand, Dick Gregory, Lenny Bruce, Jason Robards, Joseph Papp and Colleen Dewhurst." [Source]

Bulgarian Bass Nicola Ghiuselev Dead At The Age Of 78

"Nicola Ghiuselev (August 17, 1936 – May 16, 2014) was a Bulgarian operatic bass, particularly associated with the Italian and Russian repertories. Ghiuselev was born in Pavlikeni. He studied painting at the Academy of Arts in Sofia, and later voice at the school of the National Opera of Sofia, with Christo Brambarov. He made his stage debut with that company, as Timur in Turandot, in 1960. In 1965, with the Sofia Opera, he toured Germany, the Netherlands and France, and made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera of New York, as Ramfis in Aida, quickly followed by King Philip II in Don Carlo, and the title role in Boris Godunov. In two seasons with the Met, he sang as Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Colline in La Bohème. Important debuts followed at the Berlin State Opera, La Scala in Milan, the

Vienna State Opera, the Monte Carlo Opera, the Palais Garnier in Paris, the Liceo in Barcelona, the San Carlo in Naples, the Royal Opera House in London, the Verona Arena, the Salzburg Festival, the Holland Festival, he also appeared in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Prague, Budapest, Warsaw, Marseille, Toulouse, Chicago, Houston, among others. Other notable roles include; Mephisto in Faust, Creon in Medea, Padre Guardiano in La forza del destino, Banquo in Macbeth, Zaccaria in Nabucco, Silva in Ernani, Enrico in Anna Bolena, Galitzky in Prince Igor, the four villains in The Tales of Hoffmann, Mosè in Mosè in Egitto, Marcel in Les Huguenots, and Gremin in Eugene Onegin. He died on 16 May 2014, aged 77." [Source]

Remembering Maestro Claudio Abbado And His Opera Stars

Claudio Abbado backstage with Renata Scotto after I Capuleti e i Montecchi at Teatro alla Scala in 1967

Conductor Claudio Abbado passed away on Monday, January 20, 2014, at the age of 80. He left an immaculate legacy of live musical performances and countless recordings on a variety of labels. He conducted a great majority of opera throughout his career and subsequently had many friendships with singers from around the globe. Check out some spectacular photos of the Maestro with singers from the past 50 years, along with some biographical information, after the jump.

American Coloratura Gianna D'Angelo Is Dead At Age 74

"Gianna D'Angelo (18 November 1929, some sources say 1934- 27 December 2013), was an American coloratura soprano, primarily active in the 1950s and 1960s. Born Jane Angelovich in Hartford, Connecticut, she studied first at The Juilliard School in New York City with Giuseppe De Luca. In the early 1950s, she moved to Venice, Italy, where she became a pupil of Toti Dal Monte, who also advised her to italianize her name. She made her debut in 1954 at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome as Gilda in Rigoletto, a role she would remain closely associated with throughout her career. She was rapidly invited at all the major opera houses of Italy, Naples, Florence, Bologna, Trieste, Parma, Milan, etc. She also made appearances at the Paris Opéra and the Glyndebourne Festival as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia and at the Edinburgh Festival as Norina in Don Pasquale. She made her American debut at the Cosmopolitan Opera in San Francisco, in March 1959, in the title role

As Gilda, with Renato Capecchi, for
the recording of Rigoletto

of Lucia di Lammermoor (opposite Giuseppe Campora and Norman Treigle), and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, on April 5, 1961 as Gilda (with Robert Merrill as Rigoletto), and remained there for eight seasons, appearing in roles such as: Lucia, Amina, Rosina, Norina, Zerbinetta, the Queen of the Night. She also appeared in Philadelphia, Houston, New Orleans, etc. D'Angelo made few commercial recordings. The most notable was Musetta in La bohème with Renata Tebaldi, Carlo Bergonzi and Ettore Bastianini under Tullio Serafin, recorded in 1959 in Rome. Other recordings include Il barbiere di Siviglia and Rigoletto both with baritone Renato Capecchi, as well as

the doll Olympia in Les contes d'Hoffmann, opposite Nicolai Gedda. A live performance of I puritani from Trieste in 1966, has also been recently released on DVD. After retiring from singing, she became a voice teacher at the Jacobs School of Music, where she remained from 1970 until 1997. She died on December 27, 2013, at the age of 84, in Lawyers Glenn Asisted Living, in Mint Hill." [Source] Videos after the jump of the soprano singing "A vos jeux, mes amis" (Hamlet by Thomas) and "Il dolce suono" (Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti).

Finnish Bass-Baritone Tom Krause Is Dead At 79

Portrait of an Artist: Tom Krause

"Tom Gunnar Krause (July 5, 1934 − December 5, 2013) was a Finnish operatic bass-baritone, particularly associated with Mozart roles. Born in Helsinki, he first studied medicine, while singing and playing the guitar in a jazz band. His vocal talent led him to leave his medical studies for serious voice studies at the Vienna Music Academy where he was a pupil of Margot Skoda, Sergio Nazor, and Rudolf Bautz. He made his operatic debut in Berlin, as Escamillo, in 1959, and quickly gained a reputation in opera and concert throughout Germany and Scandinavia. He joined the Hamburg State Opera, where he sang mostly Mozart, Verdi, and Wagner roles, but also such rarities as Rossini's La pietra del paragone and Handel's Jephtha. He began making guest appearances in Munich, Amsterdam, and Brussels, and made his debut in Bayreuth, as the Herald in Lohengrin, in 1962. His English debut took place in 1963, at the Glyndebourne Festival as the Count in Capriccio. His American debut in 1967, at the Metropolitan Opera as the Count in The Marriage of Figaro, received an ovation. From 1968 on, he appeared regularly at the Salzburg Festival, notably as Don Giovanni and Guglielmo. The year 1973 saw him making

A multitude of recordings is left as Mr. Krause's legacy

debut at the Opéra de Paris, the Royal Opera House in London, and La Scala in Milan. His wide repertory included lead baritone roles in opera such as L'elisir d'amore, Don Pasquale, Rigoletto, La traviata, Fidelio, Tannhäuser, Tristan und Isolde, La bohème, Andrea Chénier, Faust, and Carmen. He took part in the premiere of Krenek's Der Goldene Brock in 1964, and of Searle's Hamlet, in 1968, both in Hamburg. Krause was also very active as a recitalist of German Lieder, as well as songs by Mussorgsky, Sibelius, and Mahler. He has released many recordings, including an acclaimed collection of the complete songs of Sibelius. He was a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity. He died in December 2013, aged 79." [Source] Listen to sound clips of the bass-baritone singing Schumann, Bizet, Verdi, and Sibelius, after the jump.