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Schumann-Heink, Ernestine

(Encyclopedia)Schumann-Heink, Ernestine sho͞oˈmən-hīngk [key], 1861–1936, Austrian-American contralto, b. near Prague. Her voice was distinguished for its richness and wide range. She studied with Marietta Le...

Tebaldi, Renata

(Encyclopedia)Tebaldi, Renata rānäˈtä tābälˈdē [key], 1922–2004, Italian lyric soprano. She received early musical training at home and at the Boito Conservatory, Parma. In 1944 she made her professional ...

Herbert, Victor

(Encyclopedia)Herbert, Victor, 1859–1924, Irish-American cellist, composer, and conductor, studied at the Stuttgart Conservatory. In 1886 the Metropolitan Opera Company engaged his wife, Therese Herbert-Föster, ...

Dance Theatre of Harlem

(Encyclopedia)Dance Theatre of Harlem, the first black classical ballet company. The group was founded in Harlem, New York City, by Arthur Mitchell, then of the New York City Ballet, the first African-American prin...

Zeffirelli, Franco

(Encyclopedia)Zeffirelli, Franco frängˈkō zāf-fērĕlˈlē [key], 1923–2019, Italian opera, stage, and film director and designer, b. Florence as Gianfranco Corsi Zeffirelli. Zeffirelli had his first successe...

Garden, Mary

(Encyclopedia)Garden, Mary, 1874–1967, Scottish-American operatic soprano, b. Aberdeen, Scotland, studied in Paris. Her debut (1900) occurred when she replaced, without rehearsal, the star of Charpentier's Louise...

San Francisco Ballet

(Encyclopedia)San Francisco Ballet, America's first classical ballet company, est. 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet by the dancer Adolph Bolm. Based at the War ...

Bori, Lucrezia

(Encyclopedia)Bori, Lucrezia bôˈrē [key], 1887–1960, Spanish soprano, whose real name was Borja (Ital. Borgia). She made her debut (1908) in Rome as Micaela in Carmen, later sang Manon Lescaut opposite Caruso ...

Battle, Kathleen

(Encyclopedia)Battle, Kathleen, 1948–, African-American soprano, b. Portsmouth, Ohio. She studied voice at the Conservatory of Music at the Univ. of Cincinnati and made her debut at the Spoleto Festival in 1972. ...

Pogány, Willy

(Encyclopedia)Pogány, Willy vĭlˈē pōˈgänyə [key], 1882–1955, American artist, b. Hungary, studied in Budapest, Munich, and Paris. Arriving in New York City in 1914 from England, he soon achieved renown as...