Part one There are two great Spanish opera singers of the 20th century: Montserrat Caballé (1933 – 2018) and Victoria de los Ángeles (1923 – …
Giuseppe di Stefano: Serving the Opera
It was not a singing teacher, nor an opera director nor even a family member who discovered the extraordinary vocal talent of the Sicilian-born Giuseppe …
Maria Callas: She brought opera into the modern age
In 2023, the one and only Maria Callas would have turned one hundred: To this day, musicologists, opera critics and fans alike struggle to classify …
Birgit Nilsson: Opera singer with heart and soul (2.)
Continued from part one Birgit Nilsson’s time at the Metropolitan Opera in New York left such a strong mark on her that she devoted a …
Birgit Nilsson: The soprano who had too beautiful a voice (1.)
Part one “They were sent from heaven” wrote Birgit Nilsson in her memoirs, looking back on the fortunate circumstance that one day in the early …
Udo Jürgens: The musical maverick
At the beginning he was a “nobody,” Udo Jürgens said looking back on the start of his career. At the beginning of his career as …
Falco: From “little Mozart” to world star
“You see, I won’t have it to be bossed around. If I had allowed that, we wouldn’t be here today. Then I would be in …
Nikolaus Harnoncourt: The Adequate Sound
There is a unique feeling that flows through you when listening to a recording of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt: on his departure …
Claudio Abbado: He Let the Music Speak
Although he undoubtedly belongs to the very great conductors, he never counted himself among the “greats”: for him, there was no such thing as a …
Virginia Zeani: From Transylvania to the World
She was one of those opera singers of the last century who are very often neglected: Virginia Zeani (1925 – 2023). In her younger years, …