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Archer, William

(Encyclopedia)Archer, William, 1856–1924, English author, critic, and translator, b. Scotland. Throughout his life he worked as drama critic on several London newspapers. He influenced the direction of English an...

pastoral

(Encyclopedia)pastoral, literary work in which the shepherd's life is presented in a conventionalized manner. In this convention the purity and simplicity of shepherd life is contrasted with the corruption and arti...

Nathan, George Jean

(Encyclopedia)Nathan, George Jean, 1882–1958, American editor and drama critic, b. Fort Wayne, Ind. He left the New York Herald to join H. L. Mencken in editing Smart Set (1914–23), which they made into a guide...

Dionysus

(Encyclopedia)Dionysus dīənīˈsəs [key], in Greek religion and mythology, god of fertility and wine. Legends concerning him are profuse and contradictory. However, he was one of the most important gods of the G...

Milnes, Sherrill Eustace

(Encyclopedia)Milnes, Sherrill Eustace, 1935–, American operatic baritone, b. Downers Grove, Ill., stud. with Boris Goldovsky and Rosa Ponselle. Famous for his powerful yet lyrical voice and his large, seemingly ...

Kodály, Zoltán

(Encyclopedia)Kodály, Zoltán zôlˈtän kôˈdī [key], 1882–1967, Hungarian composer and collector of folk music. In 1906 he began to teach at the Budapest Hochschule, of which he became assistant director in ...

Brustein, Robert Sanford

(Encyclopedia)Brustein, Robert Sanford, 1927–, American educator and drama critic, b. New York City. As dean of the Yale Univ. Drama School (1966–78), he made it one of the major American training grounds for t...

Baker, Dame Janet

(Encyclopedia)Baker, Dame Janet, 1933–, English mezzo-soprano. She made her singing debut in 1956 with the Glyndebourne Chorus. In 1966 she made her American debut at Town Hall in New York City, winning critical ...

theater of the absurd

(Encyclopedia)theater of the absurd: see drama, Western. ...

Hanson, Howard

(Encyclopedia)Hanson, Howard, 1896–1981, American composer, teacher, and conductor, b. Wahoo, Nebr. In 1921, Hanson won the Prix de Rome, becoming the first composer to enter the American Academy there. From 1924...