With Rolando Panerai we lose a star of opera that we will not see the like of again, and many of his performances have shaped the history of La Scala’s opera house. La Scala left these words today, reflecting on the career of the great baritone, who died on Tuesday at 95. Maybe some of Panerai's most memorable performances at La Scala were in Lucia di Lammermoor with Callas … [Read more...] about Rolando Panerai dies at 95 – a career of tradition and adventure
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf’s 100th birthday celebrated with remastered recordings
The 100th birthday of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf falls on 9 December 2015. She died in 2006, but her recordings are a timeless treasure of the Warner Classics catalogue, like those of her contemporary and friend, Maria Callas. The 31-CD deluxe box set, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf: The Complete Recitals 1952-1974, to be released on 6 November, gathers together all the recital programmes … [Read more...] about Elisabeth Schwarzkopf’s 100th birthday celebrated with remastered recordings
Great conductor Wolfgang Sawallisch dies at 89
The conductor Wolfgang Sawallisch died yesterday, 23 February 2013, at the age of 89. He was born in Munich on 26 August 1923. Success came immediately, and he become the youngest conductor to perform at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus with Tristan und Isolde in 1957. For a decade he was the Principal Conductor of the Vienna Symphony until 1970. Then from 1971 to 1992 Sawallisch … [Read more...] about Great conductor Wolfgang Sawallisch dies at 89
Great American soprano Evelyn Lear dies at 86
Great American soprano Evelyn Lear died yesterday at 86. She was one of the twentieth century's most celebrated American 0pera and concert singers, enjoying a long and remarkable career spanning 5 decades and including 7,500 operatic and concert performances. Between 1959 and 1992, she appeared in more than forty operatic roles, appeared with every major opera company in … [Read more...] about Great American soprano Evelyn Lear dies at 86
Soprano Sena Jurinac dies at 90
Sena Jurinac has died in southern Germany at age 90. The Vienna State Opera confirmed the death today, saying it is mourning the loss of a “legendary artist who shaped not only the Vienna State Opera but also the entire opera world.” Austrian news agency APA reported that Jurinac died yesterday, November 22, at her home near Augsburg. November 22 is, appropriately, Saint … [Read more...] about Soprano Sena Jurinac dies at 90
Christa Ludwig talks about Mahler and Brahms, Schwarzkopf and Hampson, Bernstein and Klemperer
Italy's most respected classical music magazine "Musica" sent Stefano Pagliantini to talk with Christa Ludwig. Here is a selection from a long interview which can be found in the July/August issue. This year is the centenary of Mahler's death, a composer that you have dedicated numerous performances with some of the greatest conductors of the 20th Century. When did your … [Read more...] about Christa Ludwig talks about Mahler and Brahms, Schwarzkopf and Hampson, Bernstein and Klemperer