Neglected giant George Enescu
The Romanian composer George Enescu is one of the neglected …
Mario Lanza reassessed
Mario Lanza possessed “one of the truly great natural tenor voices of the past century – a voice of beauty, passion, and power!” So declares Placido Domingo in his preface to Armando Cesari’s 2004 biography, Mario Lanza: An American Tragedy. Crediting Lanza’s films
Meetings onstage – Lauri-Volpi
I first met Lauri-Volpi in Rome, but started singing with him later, in Monte Carlo. Having just finished one exhausting tour, I suddenly knew that my impresario had made an agreement, according to which I would have to perform in the capital of Monaco during several forthcoming months…
The aesthetics of Beniamino Gigli’s singing
A generation of the musical public grew up and had its taste shaped under the influence of Beniamino Gigli’s recordings; and among them a generation of young tenors blossomed under this same influence into artistic maturity…
Bellini, Norma and Bartoli
Bellini’s musical training was first within the family then continued under Nicola Zingarelli at the Naples Conservatory when he became thoroughly familiar wwith the works of Haydn, Mozart and…
