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Bergonzi, Carlo

(Encyclopedia)Bergonzi, Carlo, 1924–2014, Italian opera singer. He began his career as a baritone, debuting in 1948, but he made a second debut as a tenor in 1951 after realizing his voice was better suited to th...

Stritch, Elaine

(Encyclopedia)Stritch, Elaine, 1925–2014, American actress and singer, b. Detroit. Forthright and witty, with a commanding stage presence and a raspy singing voice, she had a long career in show business, and num...

Grieg, Edvard Hagerup

(Encyclopedia)Grieg, Edvard Hagerup ĕdˈvär häˈgəro͞op grēg [key], 1843–1907, Norwegian composer. Grieg developed a strongly nationalistic style which made him known as “the Voice of Norway.” He receiv...

Anderson, Marian

(Encyclopedia)Anderson, Marian, 1897–1993, American contralto, b. Philadelphia. She was the first African American to be named a permanent member of the Metropolitan Opera Company, as well as the first to perform...

Masekela, Hugh

(Encyclopedia)Masekela, Hugh măsˌəkĕlˈə [key], 1939–2018, South African singer, composer, band leader, and trumpet player. After working with several South African jazz bands, he and his then-wife Miriam Ma...

Asawa, Brian Laurence

(Encyclopedia)Asawa, Brian Laurence äsäˈwä [key], 1966–2016, American countertenor, b. Fullerton, Calif., B.A., Univ. of Calif., Los Angeles. Known for the the clear, silvery fluidity of his voice and his ele...

baritone

(Encyclopedia)baritone or barytone both: bărˈĭtōn [key], male voice, in a lighter and higher range than a bass but lower than a tenor. The term also designates a bass stringed instrument, fretted, with six or s...

Scott-Heron, Gil

(Encyclopedia)Scott-Heron, Gil, 1949–2011, American poet, musician, and songwriter, b. Chicago. Often considered “the godfather of rap music,” he rejected that ...

octave

(Encyclopedia)octave ŏkˈtĭv [key] [Lat.,=eighth], in music, the perfect interval between the 1st and 8th tones of the diatonic scale. The upper note of a perfect octave has a frequency of vibration twice that of...

Disney, Walt

(Encyclopedia)Disney, Walt (Walter Elias Disney) dĭzˈnē [key], 1901–66, American movie producer and pioneer in animated cartoons, b. Chicago. He grew up in Missouri, in the small town of Marceline and in Kansa...