Initial message to our readers

LS.

Thank you for visiting Operanostalgia. We hope that you will find items of interest and that you will come back often.

What is this site about?
Well, the name says it all. We will remember singers from the past but we will also note today’s operatic news and discuss future plans of interest.
Nostalgia items is what we mainly offer though ranging from reviews of cd’s, books, dvd’s, photos, singer profiles, discographies and much more dealing with legendary and not so legendary singers of yesteryear and yes, today as well.
We firmly believe that singing, especially great singing, is what opera is essentially about. There are billions of shellack-records, LP’s and CD’s around. There doesn’t exist even one operatic video or DVD with everything in place except the singing.
That proves which aspect of opera is preponderant though this doesn’t mean we are nostalgic for the times of stand and deliver (if these times ever existed, because many visual documents now prove the contrary).
We firmly believe there’s still a place for this kind of material on the worldwideweb.

Operanostalgia will try to offer information not available elsewhere.
A good start to illustrate what our site is about is to have a look at the cd reviews and the book reviews. As far as we know operanostalgia offers a first in several cases.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with requests, helpful comments or constructive criticisms. All these are welcomed.

PS 1
Artists shown on the home page are from left to right:
Maria Callas - Mario Lanza - Joseph Schmidt - Mario Del Monaco -Renata Tebaldi - Paul Robeson - Cesar Vezzani.

PS 2

This site is a non-professional site and for educational purposes only and thus we pay for maintenance ourselves which also means limited webspace. Therefore some things have to go with every new issue.

Rudi Van den Bulck, Editor
Jan Neckers, Assistant editor
Leslie Mickelson, Contributor
Charles Mintzer, Consultant

NOTE from now it has been decided to add new additions directly on the homepage.

THOSE WHO LEFT US :

2008 :

John CARGHER (radio b'caster, author, 1919-2008)

Francis YEEND (28 January 1913 - 27 April 2008)

Evelyn SACHS (Brooklyn 1924 - October NY Presbetarian hospital 20008)

Gianni RAIMONDI (Italian tenor Bologna 17 April 1923 - Pianoro 19 Oct. 2008)

2009 :

Nicola FILACURIDI (Greek tenor Alexandria 1920 - 2009)

Vivianne DELLA CHIESA (American soprano 9 Oct. 1915 - Huntington 6 Jan. 2009)

Robert ILOSFALVY (Hungarian tenor 18 June 1927 - 6 Jan. 2009)

Deborah RIEDEL (Australian soprano, 31 July 1958 - 8 January 2009)

Hermann WINKLER (German tenor 3 March 1923 - January 2009)

Hermann BECHT (German baritone, 19 March 1939 - 12 Feb. 2009)

Ezio FLAGELLO (American bass, NYC 28 Jan. 1931 - Florida 19 March 2009)

Aldo BOTTION (Italian tenor)

William DIARD (American tenor, died 8 March 2009)

Betty ALLEN (American mezzo, Campbell 17 March 1930 - Valhalla NY 22 June 2009)

Jeanette VAN DIJCK (Dutch soprano, Utrecht 29 January 1925 - Baarn 3 May 2009)

Heather BEGG (mezzo, New Zealand, 1 Dec. 1932 - 12 May 2009)

Arjan BLANKEN (Dutch tenor, Den Haag 25 July 1934 - 27 June 2009)

Christian JEAN (French tenor 14 Sep. 1948 - 29 June 2009)

Annagul ANNAKULYEVA (Soprano, Turkemistan, died 18 July 2009)

Huberte VECRAY (Belgian soprano 16 Sept.1923 -Membach 3 July 2009)

Helmut BERGER-TUNA (Austrian basso)

Ira MALANIUK (Ukranian mezzo 29 Jan. 1923 - Graz 27 Feb. 2009)

Hildegarde BEHRENS (German soprano, Varel 8 Feb. 1937 - Tokyo 18 Aug. 2009)

Bruno SEBASTIAN (Italian tenor Povoletto 19 - Udine September 2009)

Erika MECHERA (Austrian soprano, Wien 31 Oct. 1931 - Wien 2 Oct. 2009)

Helen WATTS (British mezzo Wales 9 Dec. 1927 - Pembrokeshire 7 Oct. 2009)

Erik SAEDEN (Swedish baritone, 1924 - 3 November 2009)

Margreta ELKINS (Australian mezzo, Brisbane 16 Oct. 1930 - 1st April 2009)

Anneke VAN DER GRAAF (Dutch soprano 1920 - 2009)

Gene FERGUSON (American tenor, 4 June 1930 - 3 June 2009)

Sandra WARFIELD (American mezzo, Kansas City 8 June 1921 - NY 29 June 2009)

David HILLMAN (British tenor, 21 Nov. 1934 - 8 Aug. 2009)

Alfredo MARIOTTI (Italian bass, 1932- 23 August 2009)

Alfredo COLOSIMO (Brazilian tenor, Rio 30 Sep. 1923 - Rio 27 Aug. 2009)

Alfred WERNER (Viennese baritone 1949 - 31 August 2009)

Paulette MERVAL (French soprano 3 Nov.1920 - 21 June 2009)

Maria MURANO (French mezzo , 14 July 1918 - Limoges 10 Jan. 2009)

Ian WALLACE (British bass-baritone London 10 July 1919 - London 12 Oct. 2009)

Herbert FLIETHER (German bass baritone Velbert 29 Oct. 1911 - Hamburg 3 Sept. 2009)

Barry SEROTA (Legendary Cantorial music collector/producer from Chicago , 16 Nov.2009)

Jacques STROUK (legendary French 78 rpm collector, Oran 1913 - Agen 18 Sept.2009)

Pamela RUSSELL (former editor of the Record Collector, died 9 Sept. 2009)

Norman PELLEGRINI (radio b'caster, author, 1929-2009)

Anny DELORIE (Dutch mezzo, 17 January 1925 - 19 November 2009)

Elisabeth SODERSTROM (Swedish soprano, 27 May 1927 - 20 November 2009)

Volker HORN (German tenor, Klagenfurt 1943 - Berlin 20 November 2009)

Gyorgy MELIS (Hungarian baritone, Szarvas 1923 - 27 November 2009)

Vjekoslav SUTEJ (Croatian conductor, Rijeka 31 July 1951 - Zagreb 2 Deccember 2009)

Mary CURTIS-VERNA (American soprano, Salem 9 May 1921 - 4 December 2009)

Walter RAFFEINER (Austrian tenor, Karinthien 8 April 1947 - Frankfurt 25 December 2009)

Isaac SCHWARTZ (Russian composer, 13 May 1923 - 27 December 2009)

Juan ONCINA (Spanish tenor, Barcelona 15 April 1921 - Barcelona 29 December 2009)

Ude KREKOW (German bass, aged 69)

2010

Alexandru IONITZA (Rumanian tenor 1949(?) - 2 January 2010)

Lila DEIS (American soprano, 7 january 2010)

John DICKIE (British tenor London 5 September 1953 - Vienna 7 January 2010)

Otmar SUITNER (Austrian conductor/pianist, Innsbruck 16 May 1922 - Berlin 8 January 2010)

Wladimiro GANZAROLLI (Italian bass, 9 January 1932 - 14 January 2010)

George JELLINEK (Radio b'caster, Budapest 1919 - NY 16 January 2010)

Andrej KUCHARSKY (Czech tenor 6 January 1932 - 17 January 2010)

Mary DAVENPORT (American mezzo, 1919 - 17 January 2010)

Camille MAURANNE (French baritone 29 January 1911 - 21 January 2010)

Alfons HERWIG (German baritone, 1 February 1919 - January 2010)

Irina ARKHIPOVA (Russian mezzo, Moscow 2 January 1925 - 11 February 2010)

John REED (British character baritone, Close House 13 February 1916 - Halifax 13 February 2010)

Michel GLOTZ (French record producer, 1931 - 16 February 2010)

Kathryn GRAYSON (American movie soprano, 9 February 1922 - 16 February 2010)

Karola AGAY (Hungarian soprano, 19 November 1936 - 22 February 2010)

Wyn MORRIS (Welsh conductor, 4 February 1929 - 23 February 2010)

Bernard COUTAZ (record producer and founder of Harmonia Mundi 1922 - 28 Feb. 2010)

Philip LANGRIDGE (British tenor, Hawkhurst 16 December 1939 - London 5 March 2010)

Marius MARE (Rumanian baritone, 19 August 1958 - Timisoara 13 March 2010)

Alva TRIPP (American tenor, Washington 11 November 1937 - Milton,Kentucky 18 March 2010)

Blanche THEBOM (American mezzo, 19 September 1918 - 23 March 2010)

Carlos PIANTINI (conductor 5 May 1927 - 26 March 2010)

Eva ILLES (Hungarian soprano 1929 - Vienna April 2010)

Morag BEATON (Scottish soprano, 2 July 1926 - Sydney 1 April 2010)

Kenneth McKELLAR (Scottish tenor, Paisley 23 June 1927 - Lake Tahoe, California 9 April 2010)

William WALKER (American baritone, Waco 29 October 1931 - Forth Worth 10 April 2010)

Bozena RUK-FOCIC (Croatian soprano, Zagreb 31 october 1931 - Zagreb 21 April 2010)

Thomas G. KAUFMAN (opera chronologer and author, Vienna 6 July 1930 - Baltimore 22 April 2010)

Willy CARON (Dutch tenor, Venlo 15 June 1934 - The Hague 26 April 2010)

Franz BAUER-THEUSSL (Austrian conductor 25 September 1928 - Salzburg 30 April 2010)

Raimund GRUMBACH (German baritone Eibelstadt 1934 - Munich 5 May 2010)

Giulietta SIMIONATO (Italian mezzo, Forli 12 May 1910 - Rome 5 May 2010)

Benno KUSCHE (German basso, Freiburg 30 January 1916 - 14 May 2010)

Rudolf MAZZOLA (Swiss basso, Basel 22 April 1941 - Vienna 18 May 2010)

Anneliese ROTHENBERGER (German soprano Mannheim 19 June 1921 - Munsterlingen 24 May 2010)

Jarmila PAVLICOVA (Czech mezzo, 1925 - Brno 22 May 2010)

Giuseppe TADDEI (Italian baritone, Genova 26 June 1916 - Rome 2 June 2010)

Evgenij RAIKOV (Russian tenor 25 March 1937 - June 2010)

Fuat MANSUROV (Russian/Kazakh conductor 10 January 1928 - Moscow 11 June 2010)

Hanny STEFFEK (Austrian soprano, Bielitz 12 December 1927 - 11 June 2010)

Giacinto PRANDELLI (Italian tenor 1914 - Milan 14 June 2010)

Christine JOHNSON (American mezzo, Hopkinsville - 16 June 2010)

Maureen FORRESTER (Canadian contralto, Montreal 25 July 1930 - Toronto 16 June 2010)

Eva TRENKA (Hungarian soprano 1922 - 16 June 2010)

Ferenc SZILAGYI (Hungarian tenor 31 October 1925 - 18 June 2010)

Herta TALMAR (Austrian soprano, Salzburg 4 July 1920 - Salzburg 24 June 2010)

Peter-Christophe RUNGE (German baritone, Luebeck 12 April 1933 - Verviers 25 June 2010)

Yon DE MURGUIA (Spanish tenor, Brussels 30 June 2010)

Cesare SIEPI (Italian bass, Milan 10 February 1923(?) - Atlanta 5 July 2010)

Eva JABLONKAY (Hungarian mezzo (1939 - 12 July 2010)

Charles MACKERRAS (Australian conductor Schenectady NY 1925 - London 15 July 2010)

Henk SMIT (Dutch bass-baritone, Surhuisterveen 25 May 1932 - Paris 17 July 2010)

Anthony ROLFE JOHNSON (British tenor, Tackley 5 November 1940 - London 21 July 2010)

Carla MARTINIS (Croation soprano, Danculovice 19 January 1922 - Vienna 9 August 2010)

Franco TAGLIAVINI (Italian tenor, Novellara 29 October 1934 - Novellara 15 August 2010)

Jurgen E. SCHMIDT (Record producer Preiser label, Berlin 1937 - Vienna 19 August 2010)

Robert BAXTER (Philadelphia based music critic, 25 August 2010)

Eduardo AYAS (Argentinean tenor, Buenos aires 11 November 1957- Buenos Aires 26 August 2010)

Bogdan PAPROCKI (Polish tenor, Torun 23 September 1919 - Warsaw 3 September 2010)

Laszlo POLGAR (Hungarian bass, Budapest 31st December 1946 - Zurich 19 September 2010)

Jorn W. WILSING (German baritone, 25 November Hamm 1940 - 19 September 2010)

Bruno SEBASTIAN (Italian tenor, Povoletto 28 February 1935 - Udine 24 September 2010)

Dolores WILSON (American soprano/mezzo, Philadelphia 9 August 1928 - Englewood NJ 28 September 2010)

Joan SUTHERLAND (Sydney 7 November 1926 - Geneva 10 October 2010)

Ulrik COLD (Danish basso, Copenhagen 15 May 1939 - October 13, 2010)

Vera ROSZA (mezzo/singing teacher, Budapest 1917 - London October 15, 2010)

Richard GILL (American basso, Long Branch 30 November 1927 - Providence 25 October, 2010)

Rudolf BARSHAI (Russian violinist-conductor 28 September 1924 - Basel 2 November 2010)

Shirley VERRETT (American mezzo, New Orleans 31 May 1931 - Ann Arbor Michigan 5 November 2010)

Stina Brita MELANDER (Swedish soprano 12 June 1924 - 12 November 2010)

Roxana BRIBAN (Rumanian soprano, 1971 - 20 November 2010)

Peter HOFMANN (German tenor Marienbad 22 Augustus 1944 - 30 November 2010)

Hugues CUENOD (Swiss tenor, 1902 - Vevey 3 December 2010)

Maria Liusa GAVIOLI (Italian soprano, Ferrara 1928 - Milano 3 December 2010)

Elena DIMA (Rumanian soprano 1926 - 9 December 2010)

Herrad WEHRUNG (German concert singer, 1925 - Tubingen 11 December 2010)

Solange MICHEL (French mezzo, 1912 - 15 December 2010)

Hilde ROSSL-MAJDAN (Austrian mezzo, 1921 - 15 December 2010)

Gianna GALLI (Italian soprano, 1935 - Monte Carlo 22 December 2010)

Ernest BLANC (French baritone, Sanary sur mere 1 November 1923 - Entre deux meres/Gironde 23 December 2010)

Francis GINSBERG (American soprano, 11 March 1955 - Riverdale NY 24 December 2010)

Michael BARCLAY (American 'opera educator', 26 December 2010)

Maureen LEHANE (British mezzo, London 18 September - 27 December 2010)

Dorothy WARENSKJOLD (American soprano, 11 May 1921 - Kansas 27 December 2010)

Franz-Muller HEUSER (German baritone, 8 March 1921 - Cologne 30 December 2010)

Cecilia Nunez ALBANESE (26 November 1931 Caracas - Catania 2010)

2011

Kurt REHM (German baritone, Hannover 19 April 1915 - early 2011)

Ruth SCHOB-LIPKA (German mezzo, Leipzig 31 March 1928 - early 2011)

Gertrud STILO (German mezzo, Hamburg 20 July 1916 - early 2011)

Paula LENCHNER (Austrian soprano, Vienna 30 March 1925 - Saarbrucken 6 January 2011)

John MODINOS (Cypriot baritone Limassol Cyprus 25 May 1930 - Athens 11 January 2011)

Georgy ANDRJUSHENKO (Russian tenor 19 November 1933 - 12 January 2011)

Caterina MANCINI (Italian soprano, 1920 - Rome 23 (?) January 2011)

Margaret PRICE (Welsh soprano, Blackwood Wales 13 April 1941 - Cardigan 28 January 2011)

Armando CHIN YONG (Malaysian tenor, 6 July 1958 - kuala Lumpur 2 February 2011)

Beatrice KREBS (American contralto 12 March 1924 - Golden Valley, Minn, 5 February 2011)

Per GRUNDEN (Swedish tenor 1922 - Trosa 6 February 2011)

Peter ALEXANDER (Austrian operetta singer Wien 30 June 1930 - 12 February 2011)

Jaroslav HORACEK (Czech bass, 29 April 1926 - 16 February 2011)

Antonin SVORC (Czech baritone 12 February 1934 - 21 February 2011)

Odon ALONSO (Spanish conductor/composer, Léon 28 February 1925 - Madrid 21 February 2011)

Roald REITAN (American bariton 1928 - near Tacoma 21 February 2011)

Margrit CASPARI (German contralto, 5 January 1928 - 12 March 2011)

Hans CHRISTIAN (Austrian baritone, Vienna 4 October 1929 - Vienna 13 March 2011)

Yakov KREIZBERG (Russian conductor, Leningrad 24 October 1924 - Monte Carlo 15 March 2011)

Kurt FLEMING (Flemish tenor, Liedekerke 22 March 1941 - Antwerp 19 March 2011)

Harold NEUKICH (German tenor, Doebeln 4 August 1928 - Tunesia Spring 2011)

Karl-Heinz LIPPE (German baritone, Hagen 12 October 1927 - Duisburg 25 March 2011)

Robert TEAR (Welsh tenor 8 March 1928 - London 29 March 2011)

Anneliese MULLER (German mezzo, 8 August 1920 - 5 April 2011)

Roger BEARDSLEY (recording engineer - 7 April 2011)

Donald SHANKS (Australian bass, 1940 - 8 April 2011)

Daniel CATAN (Mexican composer, Mexico City 3 April 1949 - Austin Texas, 9 April 2011)

Vincenzo LA SCOLA (Italian tenor Palermo 25 January - Mersin/Turkey 11 April 2011)

Andy KARZAS (radio host 1934 - 2011)

Peter LIEBERSON (American composer 25 October 1946 - Israel 23 April 2011)

Alessandro GALUZZI (Italian tenor, Tortona 1931 - Novi Liguri 23 April 2011)

Anita VAELKKI (Finnish soprano, Saaksmaki 25 October 1926 - Helsinki 27 April 2011)

Jane RHODES (French mezzo, Paris 13 March 1929 - Neuilly-Paris 7 May 2011)

Eric RAES (Flemish tenor, Gent 30 November 1943 - Brussels 9 May 2011)

Elisabeth ROSE (German soprano, Erfurt 6 February 1918 - Berlin 16 May 2011)

Alda NONI (Italian soprano, Trieste 30 April 1916 - Cipro 17 May 2011)

Dietfried BERNET (Austrian conductor, Vienna 14 May 1940 - Hohenems 23 May 2011)

Rian DE WAAL (Dutch pianist, 8 May 1958 - 25 May 2011)

Riccardo CASSINELLI (Argentinian tenor, Buenos Aires 27 February 1936 - Cordoba/Argentina 26(?) May 2011)

Garbis BOYAGIAN (Naturilised Italian baritone of Lebanese-Armenian descent, Beirut 1946 - Ferrara 4 June 2011)

Ottavio TADDEI (Italian tenor , San Miniato 15 July 1926 - 26 June 2011)

Gerhard UNGER (German tenor, Bad Salzungen 29 November 1916 - Stuttgart 4 July 2011)

Pierrette ALARIE (Canadian soprano, Montreal 9 November 1921 - Victoria British Columbia 10 July 2011)

George Lascelle/LORD HAREWOOD (British opera connaisseur, 7 February 1923 - 11 July 2011)

Cornell McNEIL (American baritone, Minneapolis 24 September 1922 - Charlottesville, Va15 July 2011)

Gianna IAIA (Italian tenor, Brindisi 7 October 1920 - 15 July 2011)

Martine MAHE (French mezzo, 1951 - 17 July 2011)

Graciela RIVERA (Puerto Rican soprano, Ponce 17 April 1921 - New Jersey 17 July 2011)

Paul FRANKE (American tenor, Boston 23 December 1917 - Queens 21 July 2011)

David AIKEN (American baritone, Benton Illinois 4 October 1917 - Linton Indiana 23 July 2011)

Denise SCHARLEY (French mezzo, 15 February 1917 - Versailles 26 July 2011)

Milada SUBRTOVA (Lhota ù Kralovic 24 May 1924 - Prague 1 August 2011)

Anne SHARP (Scottish coloratura soprano, Motherwell 24 October 1916 - Edinburgh 25 August 2011)

Salvatore LICITRA (Swiss tenor, Bern 10 August 1968 - Catania 5 September 2011)

Helga PILARCZYK (German mezzo, 12 March 1925 Schoningen - Hamburg 15 September 2011)

Kurt SANDERLING (German conductor, Arys, East Prussia 19 September 1922 - Berlin 17 September 2011)

Ingvar WIXELL (Swedish baritone, Lulea 7 May 1931 - Malmo 8 October 2011)

Christopher DOIG (New Zealand tenor, Christchurch 4 April 1948 - Christchurch 13 October 2011)

Paul ETHUIN (French conductor, Bruay-sur-l'Escaut 24 September 1924 - Reims 30 October 2011)

Gisela SCHROTER (German mezzo, Dorf Sodehner, East Prussia 19 August 1928 - Radebeul (?) 5 November 2011)

Margaret ROGGERO (American mezzo, Manhattan 4 August 1918 - Deerfield Florida 10 November 2011)

Jan JORIS (Flemish baritone, Mechelen 8 November 1927 - 20 November 2011)

Sena JURINAC (Croatian Soprano, Travnik - Bosnia 24 October 1921 - near Augsburg 22 November 2011)

Montserrat FIGUERAS (Catalan soprano, Barcelona 7 March 1948 - Barcelona 23 November 2011)

Frank HAMILTON (American opera chronologer , 13 June 1953 - Dalton Georgia 7 December 2011)

Anthony AMATO (Italian-American founder of Amato opera, Minori Italy21 July 190 - NY 13 December 2011)

René TERRASSON (French bass / theatre director, 1924 - 13 December 2011)

Gurli LEMON-BERNHARD (Swedish soprano, 12 April 1916 Djursholm - Lidingo 15 December 2011)

Vaclav ZITEK (Czech baritone, Tisa 24 March 1932 - Prague 20 December 2011)

Nina MULA (Russian-Albanian soprano, born in Izevski 23 November 1931 - Tirana 22 December 2011)

Johannes HEESTERS (Dutch operetta tenor and film actor, Amersfoort 5 December 1903 - 24 December 2011)

Martin ISEPP (pianist, Vienna 30 September 1920 - London 25 December 2011)

Meral MENDERES (Turkish soprano 1933 Istanbul - Matlepe/Istanbul 27 December 2011

2012

Helmut MULLER-BRUHL (German conductor, Bruhl 28 June 1933 - Bruhl 2 January 2012)

Alexis WEISSENBERG (Bulgarian born pianist, Sofia 26 July 1929 - Sofia 8 January 2012)

Margot PATIN (American soprano, Hannover 1914 - NY 11 January 2012)

Gustav LEONHARDT (Dutch musician, 's Graveland 30 May 1928 - Amsterdam 16 January 2012)

Ruthilde BOESCH (Austrian soprano, 9 January 1918 - Vienna 20 January 2012)

Rita GORR (Flemish mezzo, Zelzate (Flanders) 18 February 1926 - Denia (Spain) 21 January 2012)

Patricia NEWAY (American soprano, Brooklyn 30 September 1919 - Corinth/Vermont 24 January 2012)

Paavo BERGLUND (Finnish conductor, Helsinki 14 April 1929 - 25 January 2012)

Camilla WILLIAMS (American soprano, Danville Virginia18 October 1922 - Bloomington Indiana US, 29 February 2012)