Bollywood Photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha Dies at 61

The legend in an early photo among his collection of Pavarotti,
Chiara, Dimitrova, Callas and Carreras recordings.

"Celebrity photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha died of cardiac arrest here [Mumbai] on Tuesday. He was 61. Rajadhyakasha, who became famous for his candid potrayals of Bollywood stars from Durga Khote to Aishwarya Rai, loved drama, visual - and aural. 'He was a great opera lover,' recounts filmmaker Shyam Benegal, shooting pictures of whom was Rajadhyaksha's first professional assignment. 'Gautam had the finest collection of LPs. He was an absolute walking encyclopedia of opera. He could tell you everything about every singer, Maria Callas to Jose Carreras. He even lectured on opera at various societies.' Rajadhyakasha's passion for the drama that makes opera reflected itself in his photographs, many of people with undoubtedly beautiful faces, but whose personalities came through in his compositions." [Source] Read more about Gautam Rajadhyakasha here.

Riposa in Pace: Salvatore Licitra Dies in Italy

"Dear friends of Salvatore Licitra, here is to announce with great sadness that the wonderful Italian tenor Salvatore Licitra, 43, died today, September 5, 2011 of his severe injuries at Garibaldi Hospital in Catania, Italy. He suffered head and chest injuries during an accident while riding a scooter on August 27, 2011 in the city of Modica near Ragusa. He was flown to the hospital in Catania where he had surgery. He was in a coma from the time the accident happened. He passed away this morning leaving behind his beloved parents, his brother and many other family members. The hospital will hold a press conference on September 6, 2011 at 10:30 am at the Sala Dusmet at the hospital. Salvatore Licitra was one of the leading tenors in the dramatic Italian repertoire where he showed his 'worthiness of the great Italian tradition' (The New York Times). A frequent guest at major opera and concert stages in Europe, the United States and the Far East, his repertory included Verdi’s Aida, Un Ballo in Maschera, La Forza del destino, Ernani, Macbeth, Don Carlos and Il Trovatore as well as Puccini’s Turandot, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La fanciulla del West and Il Tabarro, Bellini’s Norma, Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur, Giordano’s Andrea Chenier, Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci and Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana. Salvatore Licitra

As Manrico in Il Trovatore

was born in Bern, Switzerland, to Italian parents and studied in Parma where in 1998 he made his debut at the Teatro Regio in Un Ballo in Maschera. He garnered international attention later that year when he unexpectedly inaugurated the 1998 Arena di Verona, again in Ballo. The following year Maestro Riccardo Muti brought him to La Scala for a new production of La Forza del Destino. In May 2002, Mr. Licitra had his international breakthrough when he stepped in on short notice for Luciano Pavarotti at the Metropolitan Opera in Tosca and had an overwhelming success. His engagements have taken him to the Vienna State Opera, Opernhaus Zurich, Munich’s Bayerische Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper and Staatsoper Berlin, Teatro alla Scala, Arena di Verona, London’s Royal Opera, Paris Opera Bastille, Tokyo, Taiwan, China, the opera companies of Rome, Naples, Florence, Parma, Palermo, Oslo, Lisbon as well as to the New York Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, San Francisco and Los Angeles Opera." [Source]

Caricaturist Sam Norkin Passes Away at Age 94

The artist once captured Franco Corelli,
Birgit Nisson and Leopold Stokowski in
the opera production of Turandot.

"Sam Norkin, a caricaturist and illustrator who created more than 4,000 published drawings that captured moments in theater, dance, opera, jazz, pop and classical music over seven decades, has died. He was 94. Publicist Lester Schecter says Norkin died Saturday in New York. From 1940 to 1956, Norkin's illustrations were featured in the New York Herald Tribune. During the next 26 years, he covered performing arts for the New York Daily News. His art appeared in newspapers in cities where shows made their debuts, including The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Toronto Star. He also was a member of the Drama Desk Board for more than 40 years and served as its president. An annual special award has been named in his memory." [Source]

Canadian Soprano Pierrette Alarie-Simoneau Dead at 89

Click on the above photo to launch a video retrospective of the singer's career.

La soprano Pierrette Alarie, est décédée à Vancouver le 10 juillet. Considérée comme l'une des voix les plus raffinées du Québec, la soprano était âgée de 89 ans. Avec son mari ténor Léopold Simoneau, elle avait formé un célèbre duo.

Née le 9 novembre 1921 à Montréal, Pierrette Alarie fait ses débuts à la radio à 14 ans comme comédienne avant d’étudier l'art vocal et dramatique. En 1938, elle monte pour la première fois sur la scène du Monument national, à Montréal. Elle y reviendra à de nombreuses reprises, cette fois dans des premiers rôles. En 1943, elle est Barbarina dans Le Mariage de Figaro, sous la direction de Sir Thomas Beecham, à Montréal.

Après avoir obtenu une bourse pour aller étudier aux États-Unis, Alarie fait ses débuts au Met Opera de New York en 1945, dans Un bal masqué de Verdi, dirigé par le grand Bruno Walter. Peu après, elle y chante les Contes d'Hoffman d'Offenbach, aux côtés de deux de ses compatriotes, le ténor Raoul Jobin et le chef d'orchestre Wilfrid Pelletier.

With husband Léopold Simoneau

Elle et Léopold Simoneau, son mari épousé en 1946, sont engagés à la fin des années 1940 par l'Opéra comique de Paris. Le couple se produit en duo partout à travers l'Europe, notamment dans de nombreux festivals, dont Aix-en-Provence, Glyndebourne et Salzbourg. Delibes, Donizetti, Rossini et Richard Strauss sont alors le cœur de son répertoire.

Le couple poursuit aussi sa carrière en Amérique du Nord dans les années 1950 et 1960, et tient la vedette dans de nombreuses productions à la radio et à la télévision de Radio-Canada. Pierrette Alarie participe à la première nord-américaine de La Voix humaine de Francis Poulenc en 1959, en plus d'exceller dans plusieurs rôles mozartiens à Montréal et Toronto (L'Enlèvement au Sérail, Le Mariage de Figaro, Don Giovanni).

Pierrette Alarie fait ses adieux à la scène en 1966 dans La Veuve joyeuse de Franz Lehar, et met fin à sa carrière lyrique en 1970 en chantant en compagnie de son mari dans le Messie de Haendel, avec l'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. En 1972, le couple s'installe en Californie pour y enseigner, puis s'établit en 1982 à Victoria, en Colombie-Britannique. En août 2006, la mort de Léopold Simoneau, à l'âge de 90 ans, la laisse dans le deuil et marque en quelque sorte la fin d'un âge d'or de l'art lyrique au Canada. [Source, Source]

French Opera Singer Jane Rhodes Passes Away at Age 82

"Il va venir" La Juive (Halévy)

Jane Rhodes was born March 13, 1929, in Paris, France. After studying at the Conservatory of Music, she sang in the chorus of the Théâtre du Châtelet in 1953. She made her operatic debut singing the role of Marguerite in La Damnation de Faust by Berlioz at the Grand Tehatre de Nancy. In addition to taking on the repertoire of Puccini's Tosca and Massenet's Werther, she also sang many new works that were adapted from books including Le Fou (Marcel Landowski) in 1956, followed by Le Chevalier de neige (Georges Delerue with a libretto by Boris Vian) in 1957. That same year she sang the role of Renata in the first recording of Prokofiev's The Fiery Angel under the direction of Charles Bruck with the Orchestra of the Paris

"De tous côtés j'aperçois dans
la plaine" Le Roi d'Ys (Lalo)

Opera. The recording was in French and went on to win two Grands Prix du Disque awards. In 1958, she joined the Réunion des Théâtres Lyriques Nationaux and debuted at the Palais Garnier in La Damnation de Faust and Salomé of Richard Strauss at the Palais Garnier and sang Tosca at the l'Opéra-Comique. This led her to be engaged for a gala performance, chaired by Général Charles de Gaulle, at the Palais Garnier in a 1959 Raymond Rouleau production of Bizet's Carmen under a 20-year old conductor named Roberto Benzi who would later become her husband. This role would become synonymous with the singer throughout her career. She quickly became internationally known and was engaged to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in Carmen (1960) & Strauss's Salome (1962), as well as the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence in Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea (1961).

"L'amour est un oiseau rebelle"
Carmen (Bizet)

She was an acting student of Pierre Renoir and went on to make several opera films. The first was in 1961 when conductor Georges Dervaux performed La Damnation de Faust. When CBS made the 1962 movie, The Drama of Carmen, Rhodes was chosen to sing the title role under the direction of Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic, that won the Grand Prix Mondial de la Télévision Award. She also played the role of La Sangria in director Serge Friedman's film Un mari, c'est un mari in 1976 which was filmed in France. After her performances of Carmen at the MET, she toured the Paris production in 11 performances in Japan (Tokyo and Osaka) in 1961. During an evening performance in 1968, she sang La Voix humaine of Francis Poulenc and L'Heure espagnole of Maurice Ravel at the l'Opéra-Comique. Rhodes had a fondness for operetta and on the 150th birthday

"Dis-moi, Vénus" La Belle Hélène
(Offenbach)

celebration of Jacques Offenbach in 1969 she sang La Périchole at the Théâtre de Paris with conductor Jean-Claude Casadesus. She went on to perform many of the composer's works throughout the 1970s, including La Belle Hélène, La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein and La Vie Parisienne, many of which were recorded for EMI with conductor Michel Plasson and singers like Régine Crespin, Mady Mesplé and Alain Vanzo. During the end of that decade she began to focus on the song repertoire of Duparc, Debussy, Fauré, Brahms and Mahler, with collaborator Christian Ivaldi. Because of her great beauty, she earned the nickname "Bardot of the Opera." With a career that lasted over 40 years, the singer had a voice range that span from powerful dramatic soprano to higher mezzo-soprano. Often describe as having a voice of burnished bronze, she was able to sing a vast repertoire including Le Roi d'Ys (Lalo), La Vérité de Jeanne (André Jolivet), Aida (Verdi), Hippolyte et Aricie (Rameau), Le Serment (Tansman), Don Carlos (Verdi), Pique Dame (Tchaikovsky) and La Mort à Bâle (Conrad Beck). After retiring from opera in 1980, she spent the next 10 years giving concerts

and recital. When she stopped performing, she remained passionate about devoting herself to the teaching of her art to future generations. She was decorated with the "Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite" and "Commandeur des Arts et Lettres." After being hospitalized for two weeks, the singer died at the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine from neurological disorders on May 7, 2011. She was 82.
[Source, Source, Source, Source, Source, Source]

A complete discography of Jane Rhodes is after the jump.

DISCOGRAPHY:
L'Ange de feu de Serge Prokofiev (rôle de Renata), avec Xavier Depraz, Irma Kolassi, Jean Giraudeau, Charles Bruck (dir.) - Universal Classics/ Accord 472 723-2, 1957.

Carmen de Georges Bizet (extraits), avec Albert Lance, Robert Massard, Andréa Guiot, orchestre et chœurs de l'Opéra de Paris, Roberto Benzi (dir.) - Philips Classics 446 118-2.

Tosca de Giacomo Puccini (rôle-titre), avec Albert Lance, Gabriel Bacquier, orchestre et chœurs de l'Opéra de Paris, Manuel Rosenthal (dir.) - Véga/Adès, 1960.

Les Adieux de Marcel Landowski (rôle d'Isabelle), avec Claude Nollier (récitante), Fernand Koenig, orchestre et chœurs de Radio-Luxembourg, Louis de Froment (dir.), mise en scène sonore de Marcel Lamy - Orphée/Pacific

La Belle Hélène de Jacques Offenbach (extraits), avec Bernard Plantey, Jean Giraudeau, Michel Hamel, Manuel Rosenthal (dir.) - Philips Classics 442 237-2).

Ave Maria de Gounod, Schubert, Haendel, Alleluia de Mozart, avec Christiane de Lisle à l'orgue - 45t Véga.

L'Art du chant, vol. 1, extraits de Tosca, L'Ange de feu, Ave Maria de Gounod, Schubert, Haendel, Alleluia de Mozart. Orchestres et chefs divers - 33t Véga.

La Juive de Jacques-Fromental Halévy (rôle de Rachel), avec Tony Poncet, Denise Monteil, Gérard Serkoyan, orchestre de l'Opéra de Karlsruhe, Marcel Couraud (dir.) - 33t Philips - Première sélection mondiale

Mignon de Ambroise Thomas (rôle-titre), avec Andrée Esposito, Alain Vanzo, Michel Roux, orchestre du Théâtre national de l'Opéra-Comique, Jean-Claude Hartemann (dir.) - Coffret de 10 CD Les Années Pathé - 10 opéras français, EMI Classics.

La Voix humaine de Francis Poulenc, Jean-Pierre Marty (dir.) - Enregistrement en public réalisé à Paris le 25 octobre 1976 au studio 104 de Radio France- INA Mémoire.
Récital Offenbach, concert public donné au Concertgebouw d'Amsterdam en 1969, Roberto Benzi (dir.) - Gala.

Airs d'opéras français de Gluck, Berlioz, Halévy, Massenet, Bizet et Offenbach - Philips Classics 446 119-2.

Le Roi d'Ys de Edouard Lalo (rôle de Margared), avec Andréa Guiot, Alain Vanzo, Robert Massard, Jules Bastin, orchestre et chœurs de la Radio-Lyrique, Pierre Dervaux (dir.) - Gala, 1973

La Belle Hélène de Jacques Offenbach (rôle-titre), avec Rémy Corazza, Jacques Martin, Jules Bastin, Michel Trempont, Renée Auphan, orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg et chœurs de l'Opéra du Rhin, Alain Lombard (dir.) - Musidisc-Accord 461 954-2, 1978.

Orphée aux enfers de Jacques Offenbach (rôle de l'Opinion publique), avec Mady Mesplé, Jane Berbié, Michel Sénéchal, Charles Burles, Michel Trempont, orchestre et chœurs du Capitole de Toulouse, Michel Plasson (dir.) - EMI Classics.

Mireille de Charles Gounod (rôle de Taven), avec Mirella Freni, Alain Vanzo, Gabriel Bacquier, José Van Dam, orchestre et chœurs du Capitole de Toulouse, Michel Plasson (dir.) - EMI Classics, 1979.

Mélodies de Duparc, intégrale des mélodies de Henri Duparc avec Christian Ivaldi - EMI Classics, 1979.

Airs d'opérette de Jacques Offenbach, orchestre Bordeaux-Aquitaine et ensemble vocal d'Aquitaine, Roberto Benzi (dir.) - EMI Classics, 1979.

Tito Capobianco Loses Wife of 55 Years To Illness

Gigi and Tito Capobianco, known as
a famous duo in the opera world.

The opera world has suffered a devastating loss with the death of Gigi Capobianco. The dancer-turned-opera director and choreographer was the wife of legendary Tito Capobianco. Together the two formed the most memorable opera productions in the United States including the "Three Queens" trilogy of Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda and Roberto Devereux featuring soprano Beverly Sills. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut choreographing Massenet's Thaïs in 1978, also featuring Ms. Sills in the title role.

"Piangete Voi...Al dolce guidami...Coppia iniqua"

Donizetti Anna Bolena (Beverly Sills)

"Elena 'Gigi' Capobianco was a prima ballerina in her youth in her native Argentina, but she graciously put herself second to her husband Tito Capobianco's career as an opera director. Yet "Tito y Gigi" was a better description of the couple who worked together on more than 250 opera productions. Her exacting standards gave him feedback whether informally as an assistant or officially as his stage director and choreographer around the world, including his tenure as general director of the Pittsburgh Opera from 1983 to 1998. 'At his productions, she would sit in the back of the theater watching things and they would go home and trade notes,' said her son, Danilo Capobianco. 'Any arguments and disagreements were for the benefit of the product. My Mom saw things as analytical and he from the heart. It was a good combination.' 'She was an unstoppable inspiration who never gave up in her obsession for excellence and beauty,' said Mr. Capobianco. She died Wednesday in Lutz, Fla., of a long-term fight with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. She was 77."

"Born Elena Denda in Mendoza, Argentina, Mrs. Capobianco was accepted into the National Conservatory of Dance in Buenos Aires when she was 8, and in her late teens was a prima donna for the Teatro Colon School of Dance as well as the Teatro Argentino De La Plata. It was at the latter theater that she met Mr. Capobianco, in a way that typified their passion for theater and their strong opinions. 'My dad was in charge of the stage there and he constantly wrote her up for smoking in the wings,' says her son. That sparked another kind of fire, and the two were married in 1955. In the mid-1960s and early 1970s, Mr. Capobianco's career took off with several productions at New York City Opera starring Beverly Sills. Ms. Capobianco grew close to the renowned soprano and soon became an stage adviser and makeup artist to her, including for Ms. Sill's famous appearance dressed as Queen Elizabeth on the cover of Time Magazine in 1971. 'She had a sharp eye and perfect sense of what could be right or wrong on the stage,' said Jim Agras, a board member of the Pittsburgh Opera. Her background in dance informed her choreography, but she also passed it down as a teacher in numerous schools, including National Conservatory in Madrid, Yale University and Duquesne University. In addition to her husband of 55 years; she is survived by two sons, Danilo of Lutz and Renato Capobianco of Boston; a brother, Jorge Denda of Buenos Aires; and two grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at 9 a.m. April 26 at St. Timothy Catholic Church in Lutz. [Source]

Vincenzo La Scola Is Dead at Age 53

"Ideale" Tosti sung in 2005

The Italian tenor passed away on April 15, 2011, of a heart attack while in Turkey doing master classes. Upon hearing the news, Palermo's Teatro Massimo took a moment of silence where his wife Maria Randazzo was singing in the chorus of Martinů's "The Greek Passion." He was to sing a tribute concert of Frank Sinatra music in July which would have been recorded. Mr. La Scola made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1993 singing Rodolfo in La Bohème under conductor Carlo Rizzi. He went on to sing the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto (1995), Cavarodossi in Tosca (1996), Alfredo in La Traviata (1997) and reprised his Rodolfo in 2003. He gave his last performance at the MET as Cavaradossi in November 2006. A full biography of the tenor is after the jump.

Vincenzo La Scola (25 January 1958 – 15 April 2011) was an Italian tenor who had a successful international opera career for more than 25 years. He was particularly admired for his portrayals in operas by Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, Gaetano Donizetti, and Vincenzo Bellini. He has also achieved success as a crossover artist, particularly in his many collaborations with singer-songwriter Cliff Richard and for his solo crossover album for EMI, Vita Mia (2009). In 2000 he was made a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

La Scola was born in Palermo, Italy, and studied singing with Arrigo Pola, Carlo Bergonzi, and Rodolfo Celletti. In 1982 he won the Alessandro Ziliano Award at the Vico Verdiane Competition. He made his professional opera debut in 1983 at the Teatro Regio in Parma as Ernesto in Gaetano Donizetti's Don Pasquale. His career developed rapidly, and by 1989 he had already performed in leading roles at the Cologne Opera House (debut 1985), the Festival Puccini (debut in 1987 as Rinuccio in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi), La Fenice (debut in 1987 as Tonio in Donizetti's La fille du régiment), La Monnaie (debut in 1984 as Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore), the Kiel Opera House (debut 1985), the Opéra-Comique (debut in 1987 as Rinuccio), the Opéra Royal de Wallonie (debut 1984), the Ravenna Festival (debut in 1989, Alfredo in La Traviata), the Teatro Comunale di Bologna (debut in 1988, Arlecchino Battocchio in Mascagni's Le maschere), the Teatro Regio in Turin (debut in 1988), and La Scala (debut in 1988 as Nemorino). In 1986 he made his first three recordings: the tenor soloist in Rossini's Petite messe solennelle for Erato Records , and two full length opera releases, Franco Barriato's Genesi and Bellini's Beatrice di Tenda.

Several more invitations to appear at other important houses continued in the early 1990s, including the Royal Opera, London (debut in 1990, Rodolfo in La bohème); the Teatro Carlo Felice (debut in 1990, Rodolfo); the Macerata Opera (debut in 1990, Rodolfo); the San Francisco Opera (debut in 1991 as Tebaldo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi); the Teatro di San Carlo (debut 1991 as Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia); the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (debut 1991 as the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto): the Hamburg State Opera (debut 1991); the Arena di Verona Festival (debut 1992); the Vienna State Opera (debut 1992); and the Metropolitan Opera (debut in 1993 as Rodolfo).

Since then, La Scola has continued to appear regularly on the stages of the world's best opera houses. Other roles in his repertoire include Cavaradossi in Tosca, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Gabriele Adorno in Simon Boccanegra, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Pollione in Norma, Radamès in Aida, Riccardo in Un ballo in maschera, and the title roles in Roberto Devereux, Don Carlos, and The Tales of Hoffman among others. [Source, Source, Source, Source]

Tenor Robert Tear Passed Away at Age 72

One of Argo's digital-only releases from Tear's catalog

"Robert Tear was born March 8, 1939 in Barry, Glamorgan, Wales, Uk. He attended Barry Boys' Grammar School and was a choral scholar at King's College, Cambridge, where he studied under Kimbell. He was later elected an Honorary Fellow of the College. His operatic debut was in 1966 as Peter Quint in Benjamin Britten's The Turn of the Screw on the English Opera Group's tour of England and Russia. In 1970, he made his début at Covent Garden as Lensky in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. He made his début as a conductor in 1985 in Minneapolis.Tear was closely associated with the music of British composers Benjamin Britten and Michael Tippett. He created the role of Dov in Tippett's opera The Knot Garden. During the 1989-90 season, he made a highly successful debut with the Glyndebourne Touring Company as the tormented Aschenbach in Britten's Death in Venice. He was well-known for his duets with Benjamin Luxon, reviving many Victorian parlour songs. Tear was an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama (Coleg Brenhinol Cerdd a Drama Cymru). In 1984, he was awarded the CBE. He was married with two daughters and lived in West London. Tear's death was announced on 29 March 2011."

"Tear was one of the most widely recorded singers of recent years, leaving a legacy of some 250 discs that range from Haydn’s Creation to Bach, Beethoven and Bruckner — as well as songs by English composers such as Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Butterworth. He enjoyed performing away from the major opera stages, for example giving recitals of Victorian parlour songs and ballads with the baritone Benjamin Luxon, which were also recorded." [Source, Source]

Composer Lee Hoiby Dies at 85

Hoiby was born February 17, 1926 in Wisconsin. He began playing the piano as a child and became a child prodigy, studying with notable pianists Gunnar Johansen and Egon Petri. He became influenced by a variety of composers, particularly personalities in the twentieth century avant garde, including the Pro Art quartet led by Rudolf Kolisch, son-in-law of Arnold Schoenberg. During his youth, Hoiby played with Harry Partch’s Dadaist ensembles and studied at Mills College with Darius Milhaud. He then studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with Gian Carlo Menotti, who introduced Hoiby to opera, and involved him in the Broadway productions of The Consul and The Saint of Bleecker Street. Though at first he intended to pursue a career as a concert pianist, he eventually became more interested in composing. Lee Hoiby died March 28, 2011, in New York City. [Source] Read more about the composer in the New York Times obituary.

Soprano Leontyne Price was a great champion of his music and often sang his songs in recital. In 1985 Hoiby wrote Songs for Leontyne, a collection of six works for the soprano. The set includes 1. The Doe (John Fandel) 2. Evening (Wallace Stevens) 3. Autumn (Rainier Maria Rilke) 4. Winter Song (Wilfred Owen) 5. In the Wand of the Wind (John Fandel) 6. The Serpent (Theodore Roethke).