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Léon Escalaïs
Léon Escalaïs was born in 1859 in the south of France, making his operatic debut in Paris at the age of 23. One of his signature roles was Arnold in Rossini’s Guillaume Tell which he sang in his first appearance with the Paris Opera in 1883. Escalaïs possessed …
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Antonio Cortis
Spain has produced some of the most compelling and brilliant tenors of the 20th Century; Miguel Fleta, Francesco Vignas, Hipolíto Lazáro, and of course Antonio Cortis. Cortis’ story is one that proves that at one time it certainly was possible to start your career as a chorus singer, progress …
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Francesco Tamagno
Francesco Tamagno was known as a strong clarion-like voice, a tenor who benefited from the disciplinary teachings of the “Italian old school voice lineage”. Tamagno created Otello under supervision of Giuseppe Verdi himself. Unfortunately, Tamagno’s vocal prime falls into a period where in recording of …
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Jan Kiepura
The “simple boy” from Sosnowiec, as Jan Kiepura kept calling himself, became an opera as well as a movie star. One might say he had come a long way. Born on the 16th of May 1902 in Sosnowiec, a quite small yet industrial town in …