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Boito, Arrigo

(Encyclopedia)Boito, Arrigo ärrēˈgo bôˈētō [key], 1842–1918, Italian composer and librettist. His opera Mefistofele (1868, rev. 1875), influenced by Wagner's music-drama, helped to bring about a new dramat...

Sills, Beverly

(Encyclopedia)Sills, Beverly, 1929–2007, American coloratura soprano, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Belle Silverman. Her childhood career as a radio singer (when she was first nicknamed “Bubbles”) led to voice studie...

McCracken, James Eugene

(Encyclopedia)McCracken, James Eugene, 1926–88, American dramatic tenor, b. Gary, Ind. He was noted for his robust voice, his intense singing style, and his prominent vibrato. McCracken made his debut (1952) at t...

Shirley-Quirk, John Stanton

(Encyclopedia)Shirley-Quirk, John Stanton, 1931–2014, British bass-baritone. He began his career as a chemistry teacher, turning permanently to music in 1961. Acclaimed for his fine tone, diction, and phrasing, h...

Ludwig, Christa

(Encyclopedia)Ludwig, Christa lo͞otˈvĭkh [key], 1928–, German mezzo-soprano, b. Berlin. The daughter of opera singers, she debuted (1946) as Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus at the Frankfurt State Opera and ...

Kipnis, Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Kipnis, Alexander kĭpˈnĭs [key], 1891–1978, Russian-American operatic bass. He studied conducting at the Warsaw Conservatory and voice in Berlin. He made his operatic debut (1915) in Hamburg. Imp...

Tetrazzini, Luisa

(Encyclopedia)Tetrazzini, Luisa lwēˈzä tāträt-tsēˈnē [key], 1871–1940, Italian coloratura soprano. She made her debut in Florence in 1890. After appearances in Spain, Portugal, Russia, and Latin America, ...

Witherspoon, Herbert

(Encyclopedia)Witherspoon, Herbert wĭᵺˈərspo͞on [key], 1873–1935, American basso, b. Buffalo, N.Y.; grad. Yale, 1895, studied music with Edward MacDowell. He studied both painting and singing in New York Ci...

Damrosch, Walter Johannes

(Encyclopedia)Damrosch, Walter Johannes, 1862–1950, German-American conductor and composer; son of Leopold Damrosch. At his father's death in 1885, he finished the season as conductor of the Metropolitan Opera, N...

Calvé, Emma

(Encyclopedia)Calvé, Emma kälvāˈ [key], 1858–1942, French operatic soprano; pupil of Mme Marchesi. She sang in the principal opera houses of Europe and between 1893 and 1904 sang often at the Metropolitan Ope...