Voice

(b Brockton, MA, USA, Nov 4, 1925). Albanian tenor and pedagogue. Born in the large Albanian immigrant colony in New England (USA), Athanasi returned as a child to his parents’ hometown of Korça, where he participated in its vibrant prewar choral, theatre, and sports scenes. During World War II, he performed with resistance groups singing patriotic and partisan songs and, in 1948, he was selected as a soloist in the newly formed National Army Ensemble by director Gaqo Avrazi. Athanasi was among a handful of young men in this ensemble to receive a scholarship to study in the Soviet Union, and following the completion of his degree in vocal performance at the Moscow State Conservatory in 1958, he was appointed soloist at Tirana’s Theatre of Opera and Ballet. He performed leading roles in premières of Albanian operas, and was active as a recitalist, performing a broad range of art music works from the Western European and Albanian repertories as well as arranged folk songs into the 1980s. In ...

(b Oceanside, NY, 21 June 1972). American soprano.

After graduating from the Eastman School of Music she studied at the Juilliard Opera Center. She then joined the Houston Grand Opera Studio, where she sang the role of Amy in the world premiere of Adamo’s Little Women in 1998. She has subsequently sung a wide range of lyric soprano roles, including Mozart’s Susanna and Pamina, Norina (Don Pasquale), Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier), Helena (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), and the Governess (The Turn of the Screw), in companies throughout the United States. With Austin Lyric Opera, Aylmer has performed Gilda in Rigoletto and Stella in Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire. She sang Cynthia Read in the world premiere of Rands’s Belladonna at Aspen in 1999, and in 2005 created the role of Bella in Picker’s An American Tragedy in her Metropolitan Opera debut. She returned to the Metropolitan, as Papagena, the following season. In ...

(b Herceg Novi, Montenegro, Dec 5, 1921; d Sarajevo, Bosnia, April 17, 2012) Bosnian baritone and opera soloist of Montenegrin origin. He made his début at the National Theatre in Sarajevo (1946), and after that, except for short engagements at the Zagreb Opera (1955–7), his artistic work was tied to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Before beginning his musical education he attended the Maritime Trade Academy, after which he enrolled in solo singing at the Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro. He also worked as a member of the Ivo Lola Ribar ensemble in Belgrade.

His début in the role of Rigoletto (Rigoletto, G. Verdi) enabled him to gain the status of first soloist at the Sarajevo Opera, which was the decisive moment in his career. During his artistic career he interpreted the roles of Papageno (The Magic Flute, W.A. Mozart), Sima (Ero s onog svijeta...

(b Mostar, 1953). Bosnian-Herzegovinian soprano. Bakšić graduated from the Secondary Music School in Mostar. In 1976 she graduated from the Department for Music Theory and in 1979 from the Department for Solo-Singing at the Academy of Music in Sarajevo. She studied solo-singing in the class of the famous opera singer and professor Milica Buljubašić-Zečević. As a student she began to sing at the Music Scene of Sarajevo, first at the student concerts and then on the opera stage. In 1979 she made her début as Rosette in Manon. In 1981, at the very beginning of her career, she performed her first leading role as Floramye in the operette Little Floramye by Ivo Tijardović.

After graduating from the Department for Solo-Singing Bakšić passed the audition at the National Theatre Opera in Sarajevo and has since become a permanent soloist in the opera and operetta repertoire. Some of her leading roles include Rosette in ...

(b Madrid, March 16, 1933; d San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Madrid, May 13, 2022). Spanish mezzo-soprano. She studied in Madrid with Lola Rodriguez Aragon, a pupil of Elisabeth Schumann. She made her début in 1957 as Dorabella at Aix-en-Provence, returning as Rosina, Purcell’s Dido, Cherubino, Octavia (L’incoronazione di Poppea), and Ruggiero (Alcina). In 1958 she sang Isolier (Le comte Ory) at the Piccola Scala and Cherubino at Glyndebourne, and made her American début at Dallas as Isabella (L’italiana in Algeri). She first appeared at Covent Garden in 1960 as Rosina, then sang Cherubino and, during La Scala’s 1976 visit, the title role of La Cenerentola. She sang at Chicago, the Metropolitan (1967–8), Vienna, Paris, and Salzburg; her roles included Cesti’s Orontea, Mozart’s Sextus, and Cherubini’s Neris (Médée). Her rich creamy voice with its great agility, perfect for the Rossini mezzo-soprano roles, developed a heavier tone and a more dramatic style appropriate to Carmen, which she sang at Edinburgh (...

(Thomas)

(b Oxford, Nov 6, 1941; d Redhill, March 27, 2023). English countertenor. He studied at Oxford University and made his stage début in 1967 at Aldeburgh as Britten’s Oberon, a role he sang at Covent Garden, Strasbourg, Sydney, with the WNO, and at Glyndebourne, where he made his début in 1970 as Endymion in Cavalli’s Calisto. He created the Priest-Confessor in Maxwell Davies’s Taverner (1972), his Covent Garden début; the voice of Apollo in Death in Venice (1973, Aldeburgh Festival); and Astron (with Anne Wilkens) in Tippett’s The Ice Break (1977, Covent Garden); and sang Ridout’s Phaeton for BBC Radio. Britten dedicated his fourth Canticle, Journey of the Magi, to him, Pears, and Shirley-Quirk. Bowman was a noted Handelian, and for the Handel Opera Society sang Otho, Scipio, Xerxes, and Justinian, as well as Polinesso (Ariodante), which he repeated at Geneva and Buxton. His other Handel roles include Julius Caesar (Barber Institute), Ptolemy (San Francisco and the ENO), Goffredo in ...

(b Grand Tower, IL, 26 Oct 1955). American soprano.

After graduation from McKendree College in Lebanon, Illinois, she worked for several years as a schoolteacher while taking private singing lessons. She subsequently studied for a short period in Germany with Birgit Nilsson, whom she cites as a major influence on her vocal development. Having joined the chorus of the Opera Theatre of St. Louis in 1980, she progressed, via small roles, to the part of Ellen Orford, her major operatic debut (1989). Other leading roles followed at St. Louis, including Donna Anna, Ariadne, Haydn's Armida, and Gloriana. Brewer made her New York City Opera debut, as the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, in 1993, and her Covent Garden debut, in the same role, in 1994. Her sumptuous, soaring tone and gleaming top notes drew critical superlatives when she sang Ariadne at her ENO debut in ...

(b Baltimore, MD, Aug 9, 1912; d Oslo, Norway, March 13, 2009). American soprano. Born to a music-loving mother and prominent physician father whose grandparents were slaves, Brown premiered the role of Bess in the original production of Porgy and Bess (1935). She studied music, first at Morgan State College and then the Juilliard School, where she was the first African American to win the Margaret McGill scholarship. Brown learned of Gershwin’s new opera, then titled Porgy, while at Juilliard, and immediately requested an audition. She sang for Gershwin a few days later and left their meeting as Bess. Gershwin frequently invited Brown to his apartment to sing parts of the opera as he composed. As a result, Bess grew from a secondary character into one of the opera’s leading roles.

After the original Broadway run and tour of Porgy and Bess ended in 1936, Brown continued with her career in the DuBose Heyward musicals ...

(Melzia Ann)

(b St. Louis, MO, Jan 4, 1937; d Vienna, May 7, 2023). American mezzo-soprano and soprano. Bumbry started singing in church and youth choirs. She won a scholarship to a local music school through a talent contest organized by the St. Louis radio station KMOX. However, the school was segregated and refused to admit the African American Bumbry. KMOX executives then arranged for an appearance on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts (CBS). Bumbry’s break came in the form of scholarships to Boston University, Northwestern University in Chicago, and then the Music Academy of the West with Lotte Lehmann, and in Paris with Bernac. Bumbry made her début in 1960 at the Paris Opéra as Amneris in Aida. She then joined Basle Opera in 1960, performing for four seasons. Bumbry explored Europe’s superior artistic opportunities—she was the first black artist to appear as Venus in Tannhäuser at Bayreuth in 1961...

(b Korça, Albania, Jan 24, 1935). Albanian tenor and pedagogue. Identified early as a talented singer in his hometown of Korça, he attended the Arts Lyceum ‘Jordan Misja’ in Tirana where he received his first formal training, with the pedagogue Mihal Ciko. In 1957 he received a scholarship to study at the Moscow State Conservatory, where he remained until 1961. On his return to Tirana, Çako was named soloist to the Theater of Opera and Ballet, where he performed a number of leading roles in foreign and Albanian operas during the 1960s and 1970s. Chief among his roles in Albanian operatic works were Dhimitër in Lulja e Kujtimit (by P. Jakova, 1961), Doda in Mrika (by P. Jakova, 1966), and Muji in Vjosa (by T. Daija, 1980). In addition to art music, he interpreted light popular songs and arrangements of folk songs throughout his career. Named as a pedagogue to Tirana’s State Conservatory in ...

Ronald)

(b Littleborough, Lancs., Nov 10, 1941; d July 6, 2023). English tenor. At first a sports teacher, he studied with Bruce Boyce, then in 1973 took small roles in The Gambler and A Life for the Tsar at Wexford. In 1975 he joined Scottish Opera, singing Brighella (Ariadne auf Naxos), Malcolm, Jaquino, Ernesto, Pedrillo, the Italian Singer (Rosenkavalier), Zorn, and David (Die Meistersinger). He performed the title role in the British première of Ginastera's Bomarzo for the ENO (1976), followed by Rinuccio, Ramiro, Almaviva, Hoffmann, Rodolfo, and, for Opera North, Count Ory. Realizing that conventionally romantic parts were not for him, Clark took roles at the ENO such as the Pretender (Boris Godunov), Hermann (Queen of Spades), Aleksey (The Gambler), Busoni's Mephistopheles, Don Juan (Dargomïzhsky's The Stone Guest), and Mr Brouček. He sang for 12 consecutive seasons at Bayreuth (...

(b Columbus, OH, June 23, 1943; d Königstein im Taunus, Jan 16, 2022). American tenor. Educated at Wesleyan University, he studied singing at the Curtis Institute with Martial Singher. In 1969 he sang Froh with the San Francisco Opera in Los Angeles. After winning the Lauritz Melchior Heldentenor Foundation Award in 1969, he became a member of the Frankfurt Opera (1970) and the Vienna Opera. He sang in many other European houses as well as in concert with the New York PO (1971), the Boston SO, and a number of other American orchestras. He made his Covent Garden début in 1974 as Laca (Jenůfa) and returned to San Francisco in 1977 (having sung Froh in Das Rheingold there in 1968) to sing Tichon (Kát′a Kabanová). In addition to all the Wagnerian heroic tenor roles, his repertory included Idomeneus, Jason (Cherubini’s ...

(b Kuršumlija, Serbia, 1966). Bosnian and Herzegovinian composer. She graduated with a degree in composition from the Academy of Music in Sarajevo (1991), in the class of Josip Magdić, after which she gained the Master of Composition (2004) under the mentorship of composer Dejan Despić. Her first position was at the Srednja muzička škola (‘music high school’) in Valjevo, Serbia (1992–2000). She returned to Eastern Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to work as an Associate Professor of Harmony and Harmonic Analysis.

Dutina’s compositions reflect her interest in Balkan folklore, mostly of a rural-vocal type, and in the formal and harmonic devices associated with neoclassicism. She has composed solo songs, chamber music, symphonic works, vocal-instrumental music, choral music, music for children, and film music.

Dutina also cherishes folkloric vocal traditions through her engagement as founder and artistic director of the female vocal ensembles Rusalke (...

(b Sydney, Feb 8, 1943; d Oct 10, 2021). Australian baritone. He studied in Sydney, where he made his début in 1966, and then in London before joining Scottish Opera (1972), with which he sang Count Almaviva, Malatesta, the Music-Master (Ariadne auf Naxos), James Stewart (Musgrave’s ...

(b Fort de France, Martinique, March 24, 1932; d New York, Sept 16, 2020). Martinique soprano. She studied in Paris, making her début in 1958 at Nice as Leïla (Les pêcheurs de perles). She sang Pamina at Aix-en-Provence (1959), Lakmé at the Opéra-Comique (1961), and made her début at the Paris Opéra (1962) as Fatima (Rameau’s Les Indes galantes). In 1964 she took part in the first public performance of Rameau’s Les boréades at La Maison de la Radio, Paris. In Chicago (1966–76) she sang Leïla, Stravinsky’s Nightingale, and Antonia (Les contes d’Hoffmann), and at Wexford Lakmé (1970) and Imogene in Il pirata (1976). Having sung Countess Almaviva with the Paris Opéra at the Metropolitan (1976), she made her début with the Metropolitan company as Konstanze (1980), and in Brussels (...

(Louise)

(b Detroit, MI, March 27, 1950; d Detroit, Jan 9, 2022). American mezzo-soprano and later soprano. Of Dutch, Sioux, Scottish, and African American ancestry, she studied at the Cleveland Institute (1968–70) with Eleanor Steber, and later with Jennie Tourel and O.G. Marzolla. While still a student, Ewing came to the attention of James Levine, which led to a dramatic debut under his direction at the Ravinia Festival in 1973. After appearances at Miami, Boston, Cologne, Chicago, and Santa Fe, Ewing performed Cherubino in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro at Salzburg in 1976, followed by her Metropolitan debut in the same role. Ewing developed strong determined characters in her repertoire, including Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Mélisande in Debussy’s Pellias et Milisande, Blanche in Poulenc’s Dialogues des carmélites, Dorabella in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, and, perhaps most famously, the title role in Bizet’s Carmen. She also interpreted several complex 20th-century operatic roles, including Marie in Berg’s ...

(b Residence, LA, Nov 2, 1946; d New York, Oct 9, 2020). American soprano. She studied at Tulane University and in New York, and made her début in 1974 as Micaëla with the New York City Opera. She sang in Mayr’s Medea in Corinto at Berne in 1975, then joined the Bayerische Staatsoper; she also sang in Berlin, Brussels, Houston, Boston, Toronto, Venice, Florence, Strasbourg, Lyons, Toulouse, Aix-en-Provence, and at the Paris Opéra. Her repertory includes Countess Almaviva, Electra (Idomeneo), Donna Anna, Agathe, Desdemona, Leonora (Il trovatore and La forza del destino), Amelia (Il duca d’Alba), Norma, Julia (La vestale), Salome (Hérodiade), Anne Boleyn, Elsa, and Ariadne. She first sang at Covent Garden in 1987 as the Empress (Die Frau ohne Schatten), the role of her Metropolitan début in 1989, and returned to Covent Garden as Chrysothemis in ...

(b Sarajevo, Bosnia, June 30, 1947). Bosnian soprano, opera soloist, and music pedagogue. She graduated in 1973 from the Music Academy Sarajevo (class of Bruna Špiler), where she also took the master’s degree in the field of solo singing in 1977. During her artistic career she achieved notable success singing the main soprano roles in the operas Il trovatore (G. Verdi), Ero s onog svijeta (J. Gotovac), The Bartered Bride (B. Smetana), The Marriage of Figaro (W.A. Mozart), and Madam Butterfly and La Boheme (G. Puccini). Her artistic activity was interrupted due to the wartime events in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995. Her actions were diverted to performances within small artistic ensembles, which corresponded to the conditions of the social and cultural life of that time. She distinguished herself in appearances at the concerts of the Sarajevo Winter Festival, Summer Chamber Music (1993), and Days of Culture of the Czech Republic in Bosnia and Herzegovina (...

(b Sigourney, IA). American mezzo-soprano. She took voice lessons from Jocelyn Reiter at the University of Iowa, where she received her bachelor’s degree. She continued her studies with Paul von Schilhawsky at the Salzburg Mozarteum, focusing on German lieder. She has appeared widely on the concert stage and with the world’s premiere opera troupes, including the Metropolitan Opera and the New York City Opera. Her Metropolitan debut was in 2002 as the wardrobe mistress/schoolboy in Berg’s Lulu. She has also appeared there as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Ascanio in Benvenuto Cellini, Nicklausse in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette, and the Page of Herodias in Salome. Her many appearances at the New York City Opera have garnered her both the Betty Allen and Diva awards; with the company, she has performed the roles of Erika in Vanessa, Suzuki in ...