Hipólito Lázaro
Gösta Winbergh
Oreste Kirkop
Beniamino Gigli
Giuseppe Bellantoni
Miguel Fleta
Arnoldo Lindi
Icilio Calleja
Emma Calvé
Benvenuto Franci
Enrico Caruso
Franco Corelli
Mattia Battistini
Richard Leech
As a boy, Thill had a powerful voice and on being called into the French Army in 1916 he entertained his fellow soldiers in my own way, with lots of enthusiasm and little technique. After two years of study he went to Naples in 1921 and studied with Fernando De Lucia. In later years, while waiting to go on stage, he would regularly muse what would De Lucia think He made his professional debut in 1924 and went on to continued success in a long career.
Harry Secombe
Julius Patzak
Tito Schipa
Irene Eisinger
Artists

Biographies

  • Germaine Lubin

    Germaine Lubin

    Germaine Lubin, arguably the greatest dramatic soprano France produced, was born on February 1st 1890 in Paris. For a certain time Lubin thought about following her father`s footsteps, who was a doctor, but she soon decided to study voice with de Martini and Isnardon at …

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  • Harry Secombe

    Harry Secombe

    Music played a big part in Harry Secombe’s life, from his childhood in Swansea when he was a choirboy at St Stephen’s, Danygraig, although he never had a singing lesson until 1952. He got his first break during the war, taking part in many concert …

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Articles, Interviews & Memories

  • Gigli

    Beniamino Gigli: The Record of Prejudice

    During the controversial period in his career, in the years leading up to and immediately following World War II, Beniamino Gigli was, above all, the most international of Italian singers, in both his personal orientation and in his arrangement of his itineraries. In effect, Gigli …

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  • Soprano Angel Joy Blue is Liu in San Diego Opera's TURANDOT

    Sitting down with Angel Joy Blue

    Soprano Angel Joy Blue is singing the role of the young slave girl Liù in the San Diego Opera production of Turandot on February 24 and 27, and March 2 and 4, 2018. Lise Lindstrom sings the title role of Turandot and Carl Tanner sings …

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Focus Feature

Le Postillon de Lonjumeau

Le postillon de Lonjumeau 1836

The history of opera is littered with shipwrecks which sail with great success when first launched only to sink into oblivion for one reason or another. Some are lost forever and some are re-floated only to sail out briefly before returning to dry-dock. It seems that ‘Le Postillon de Lonjumeau’ has become something of a pleasure boat which is only given the odd cruise in its home waters of France, kept afloat almost solely by its famous tenor aria of the same title. It is an aria full of verve, humour, melody requiring great vocal skill.

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