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soprano

(Encyclopedia)soprano [Ital.,=above], female voice of highest pitch. The three basic types of solo soprano are coloratura, lyric, and dramatic. The coloratura has a great range and impressive vocal agility; the lyr...

Bontempelli, Massimo

(Encyclopedia)Bontempelli, Massimo mäsˈsēmō bōntĕmpĕlˈlē [key], 1878–1960, Italian writer and critic. One of the first of the intellectuals to support fascism, he was also a convert to futurism for a tim...

Brentano, Clemens

(Encyclopedia)Brentano, Clemens brĕntäˈnō [key], 1778–1842, German poet of the romantic school; brother of Bettina von Arnim (see under Arnim, Achim von). While studying at Halle and Jena he met Wieland, Herd...

Frost, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Frost, Robert, 1874–1963, American poet, b. San Francisco. Perhaps the most popular and beloved of 20th-century American poets, Frost wrote of the character, people, and landscape of New England in ...

Barrie, J. M.

(Encyclopedia)Barrie, J. M. (Sir James Matthew Barrie) bârˈē [key], 1860–1937, Scottish playwright and novelist. He is best remembered for his play Peter Pan (1904), a supernatural fantasy about a boy who refu...

Legionaries of Christ

(Encyclopedia)Legionaries of Christ, Roman Catholic order est. 1941 in Mexico by Father Marcial Maciel Degollado. The conservative order, which became wealthy and influential, was noted for successfully recruiting ...

Antheil, George

(Encyclopedia)Antheil, George ănˈtīl [key], 1900–1959, American composer, b. Trenton, N.J. He went to Europe in 1920 and became known for his iconoclastic approach to music. In 1927 a performance of his Ballet...

Humphreys, David

(Encyclopedia)Humphreys, David, 1752–1818, American diplomat and poet, b. present Ansonia (then in Derby), Conn. His military talents and patriotism won the friendship of General Washington and a place on his sta...

Huntington, Henry Edwards

(Encyclopedia)Huntington, Henry Edwards, 1850–1927, American financier, b. Oneonta, N.Y. He was prominent in railroad and other enterprises. Until the death of his uncle, Collis P. Huntington, the two were busine...

Evans, Oliver

(Encyclopedia)Evans, Oliver, 1755–1819, American inventor, b. near Newport, Del. He joined his brothers in a flour-milling business in Wilmington, and after studying similar earlier devices, he developed, install...