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Singers on Singing: Great Artists in Conversation is an interview archive, featuring interviews created and executed by award-winning documentarian Jon Tolansky. Tolansky’s interviews profile the lives and artistry of some of the most acclaimed opera singers in musical history. In this archive, you will be able to find interviews with and musical clips of some of the most distinguished singers of the past century.
The Singers on Singing pantheon of great artists in conversation was launched in the fall of 2012 with two generations of legendary singers who were born in the same country: Romania. Sopranos Virginia Zeani and Angela Gheorghiu collectively span in their careers a 65 year compass of operatic history, from 1947 to the present time. In each of their documentary profiles they recall their lives going back to their earliest beginnings studying singing, and they discuss artistic and technical elements of some of their most highly acclaimed roles. Their profiles were followed by documentary portraits of Jon Vickers and Mirella Freni, recalling their histories and discussing their most celebrated roles. The canon has grown in early 2013 with Ruggero Raimondi, Marilyn Horne, Sir John Tomlinson, and Sophie Koch, and will continue with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (May 2013), Giuseppe di Stefano (June 2013) and Thomas Hampson (July 2013) in the coming months.
In December of 2012, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Debussy’s birth, Singers on Singing carried in text form a special feature on Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, in which several of the most distinguished interpreters of the opera discuss their roles. In November 2013, Singers on Singing will publish another special project of this nature. Titled “Singers on Britten,” this will be have the first annual Singers on Singing Composer Profile.
We acknowledge with gratitude the generosity of the WFMT Radio Network and Opera Magazine for agreeing that some materials originally commissioned by them can be included in Singers on Singing. Other materials are appearing here for the first time.
Singers on Singing Archive:
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
COMING in Late May 2013!
The late, legendary baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau has a unique position in the history of musical interpretation.
Sophie Koch
Sophie Koch has won special distinction and admiration for her vocal and stylistic mastery and also her subtle, imaginative and powerful acting in the vastly differing stylistic worlds of German and French opera as well as French opéra-comique.
Sir John Tomlinson
The weight, range, and dynamic impact of Sir John Tomlinson’s voice and the intensity, power and deep intelligence of his vocal and acting characterisation have made him one of the most sought after operatic basses.
Marilyn Horne
The virtuoso mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne first made a major international impact in opera when Igor Stravinsky invited her to perform at the Venice Festival in 1956.
Ruggero Raimondi
The bass-baritone Ruggero Raimondi rose to fame both as an actor and a singer not long after making his debut in Spoleto in 1964 in the role of Colline in Puccini’s La Bohème.
Mirella Freni
One of the very most highly sought after artists of her generation, the great soprano Mirella Freni performed on the operatic stage for a remarkable 50 years, from 1955 to 2005.
Thoughts on Pelléas
A special feature in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Debussy’s birth, including interviews with Frederica Von Stade, François Le Roux, José van Dam and Colette Alliot-Lugaz
Jon Vickers
From early engagements in 1957 up to his retirement in 1988, dramatic tenor Jon Vickers held audiences spellbound with the huge dynamic and expressive range of his singing and his powerfully gripping acting.
Angela Gheorghiu
Before the virtuoso soprano Angela Gheorghiu launched her international career, she had for some years already been singled out in her home country, Romania, as an exceptional talent.
Virginia Zeani
From her early days as a brilliant lyric coloratura to her later years as a resonant dramatic spinto, Virginia Zeani (b. 1925) sang 68 roles in Italian, French, German and Russian operas.
Schubert’s Journey
Teaser
Thomas Hampson and Jon Tolansky discuss EMI’s box set of Schubert Lieder as well as Schubert’s development from his earliest songs to the composition of “Winterreise.”
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NEA Opera Honors Interviews
The National Endowment for the Arts’ YouTube Channel features interviews with NEA Opera Honors recipients, such as Leontyne Price, James Lavine, and Marilyn Horne, and their peers. Check it out here.
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