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Lists that rank the greatest works, composers, and musicians by instrument. 

Opera

Jussi Björling

Opera isn’t a genre with which the average person is very familiar. In modern entertainment, opera and theatrical drama has drawn smaller audiences than it once did years ago. However, opera can be a beautiful experience, there’s nothing quite the raw power of the skilled human voice filling an entire room, communicating <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-romance-drama-movies/ranker-film?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">drama and romance</a>. It takes an incredibly well-trained voice to sing opera, but the musicians on this list have mastered the craft.Who are the best opera <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/rolling-stones_-100-greatest-vocalists-of-all-time/rolling-stone-lists?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">singers of all time</a>?&nbsp;The opera singers on this list are history’s all time best performers. They come from a variety of backgrounds and time periods, but the effect they had on the world of music and opera is incredible. An opera singer is a finely-tuned, highly skilled musician who has a unique, powerful voice, and can deliver a breathtaking live performance.This list features the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/notable-opera-singer_s)/reference?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">best opera singers</a> in the world's history, ranked by the community. Some of <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-operas/bustermcdermott?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">the great opera</a> singers on this list include Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli, Maria Callas, Pl&aacute;cido Domingo, and Mario Lanza. Vote up the best opera singers in history below, or add a talented opera singer who isn't already on the list.

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Elisabeth Swarzkopf

When a soprano sings, it is so elegant, yet powerful, that it’s hard to imagine anything sounding more incredible. Soprano is the highest of the four standard singing voices. It is a rare ability to not only have the talent to become an opera singer, but to also have such a high singing range. Sopranos are highly sought after and are some of the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-female-singer-of-the-year?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">most famous female singers</a> in history – and true divas in the world of opera. Who are the best sopranos of all time?&nbsp;The greatest sopranos of all time are featured on this list, and all had such unique voices that they have helped shape opera as we know it.This list has been ranked by the community and includes the best sopranos of all time such as&nbsp;Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland, Victoria De Los Angeles, Leontyne Price, Birgit Nilsson, Montserrat Caball&eacute;, Lucia Popp, and Margaret Price.Vote up the best sopranos of all time below, or add the opera singing soprano you think is the greatest if she isn't already on the list.

Anna Netrebko

While modern entertainment is drastically different than it was in history, art forms like ballet, theatre, and the opera are still some of the most moving experiences in live entertainment. Opera is a powerful performance that typically combines incredible singing and drama. It is still a popular form of entertainment today, and there are many highly skilled performers singing opera for modern audiences.Who are the best living opera singers?&nbsp;This list features the most popular current opera singers in the world, ranked by the community. Some of the great, modern opera singers on this list are also among the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-opera-singers-of-all-time/bustermcdermott">best opera singers of all time</a>.The best living opera singers on this list range every voice type and include talented musicians like Roberto Alagna, Pl&aacute;cido Domingo, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Angela Gheorghiu, Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman, and Cecilia Bartoli. Vote up the best living opera singers below or add an opera singer you think is great, who is still alive, but isn't already on the list.

Nicolai Gedda

When a tenor sings, it sounds so crystal clear and powerful it’s hard to imagine anything sounding more profound. Tenor is the singing voice between baritone and alto, and is the highest voice of the ordinary adult male range. Since it is such a rare gift to not only have the ability to become an opera singer, but to also have such a high singing range, tenors are highly sought after and are some of the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-opera-singers-of-all-time/bustermcdermott">greatest opera singers in history</a>.Who are the best tenors of all time?&nbsp;This list features the greatest tenors of all time, and they have all forever shaped the world of opera. Many of them also ended up recording music other than just opera and some of them have bestselling records as well.The great and famous tenors on this list have been ranked by the community and include Pl&aacute;cido Domingo, Enrico Caruso, Luciano Pavarotti, Fritz Wunderlich, Jussi Bjorling, Lauritz Melchior, and Beniamino Gigli.Vote up the top operatic tenors you think are the best below or add a tenor who isn't already on the list.

Classical

What are the best opera songs of all time? With so many possibilities and choices, it's hard to come up with a definitive list, but that's exactly what's going on here. This list includes some of the most popular opera arias from <a href="/list/best-operas/bustermcdermott" target="_blank">the best operas</a> ever, complete with videos, wherever possible. Vote for the opera songs you love the most, vote down any you don't like and please, do add any choices that might be missing. You can also re-rank this list of the best opera songs any way you like. From classic opera to Italian operatic songs, this list has them all!&nbsp;If you're an opera aficionado, most if not all of these great opera songs will be instantly familiar to you. If you're sitting there thinking, &quot;I don't know the first thing about opera,&quot; you might be wrong. Many of the most famous opera arias are used in popular culture. Some are used as background music for commercials and certainly for movie trailers.One big example of an opera song used in pop culture is &quot;The Flower Duet,&quot; from the <a href="/list/french-operas/reference" target="_blank">French opera</a>&nbsp;Lakme. This song can be found in several commercials and movies, including ads for British Airways and the films The Hunger, The American President and Meet the Parents, among others. And <a href="/list/richard-wagner-operas/reference" target="_blank">Richard Wagner's</a> &quot;Ride of the Valkyries,&quot; from his famous opera Die Walk&uuml;re, can be heard in several major films, including Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now.See? Even if you think you don't know opera, you do, sort of. You will after perusing this list and watching some of the videos, too.No list of the best opera songs would be complete without songs from one of the most famous operas ever, George Bizet's Carmen. Of those songs, &quot;Habanera&quot; is probably the most well-known, but there are many others. If your favorite Carmen aria isn't listed, again, feel free to add it.A truly outstanding opera song is memorable, emotional and very personal. Not everyone likes the same things – that's part of what makes music so wonderful, after all. Everyone has differing opinions, so enjoy giving yours with your votes here.

Lucia di Lammermoor

List of the best operas of all time - a comprehensive greatest opera list that includes work that includes works from all over the world by Italian, French, German, Austrian, Russian, Czech, and American composers, and many more. This list features a variety of operatic genres and styles, including opera seria, opera buffa, opera comique, as well as bel canto and Singspiel styles of singing. Be sure to vote for the famous operas you believe are the greatest of all time, and vote down any you don't like. You can also re-rank this list in any order you want.What makes a great opera so great? A compelling storyline is certainly important, but it's the music that keeps us enraptured. Some of the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-opera-songs/bustermcdermott" target="_blank">best opera songs</a> of all time are included in these operas listed here, including &quot;Habanera&quot; from 'Carmen,' &quot;Nessun dorma&quot; from <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/giacomo-puccini-operas/reference" target="_blank">Giacomo Puccini's</a> 'Turandot' and &quot;Celeste Aida&quot; from <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/giuseppe-verdi-operas/reference" target="_blank">Guiseppe Verdi's</a> 'Aida.' The operas listed here are classics. Many have been enjoyed by opera lovers for centuries, in fact. Some are tragedies, and they'll <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/operas-that-will-bring-tears-to-even-the-driest-of-eyes/sarahmarie" target="_blank">bring tears to even the driest of eyes</a> (Puccini's 'La boheme' comes to mind, as does his 'Madame Butterfly' and Verdi's 'La traviata'). Wipe those tears away, and start voting for the best operas, right here and right now.

Martha Argerich

Classical music forever shaped the future of music. Most of contemporary music has influences from classical music in some way. Becoming a professional pianist is much more than just hitting the right note. It involves comprehensive music theory, having an ear for rhythm, and the passion for music that simply can't be taught. &nbsp; The piano is one of the most powerful instruments in the music world. Classical composers like Bach and Beethoven used the piano to build the parts for all of the other instruments in their symphonies and other works. Who are the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/greatest-pianists-of-all-time/ranker-music?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">greatest classical pianists of all time</a>? &nbsp; This list features the all time greatest classical pianists, ranked by the community's votes and including Aaron Copland, Jacques Abram, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lang Lang, and George Frideric Handel. Vote up the best classical pianists below or add one you think is the greatest who isn't already on the list.

Composers

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

The best classical composers of all time ranked from best to worst. These classical composers are some of the best musicians in history, and are responsible for some of the greatest works of classical music the world has ever heard. Though these were men of a classical era of music, their concertos, sonatas, and movements are present in everything from rock concerts to blockbuster movies and are some of the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/classical-music-most-popular-top-100/kickassclassical">most popular classical songs</a>.These top classical composers have written some of the most relaxing music, the most inspirational music, and the most beautiful music in the world. They are the greatest composers who ever have lived. Who are the greatest classical composers? What are the characteristics of the best classical composers? Who wrote the best classical music? This list of the top classical composers aims to answer these questions and others that have to do with determining who the best composers of classical music were and are. If your favorite classical composer isn't on the list of the best If classical music is your thing (and you're checking out a list of the best classical composers, so it probably is), check out the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/hottest-male-classical-musicians/barbara-gaston">hottest men in classical music</a> and the hottest <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/hottest-female-classical-musicians/dude?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">women in classical music</a>.

Anton Rubinstein

Is there any sound more beautiful than a piano composition? Almost every piece from composers in early classical music featured this powerful instrument to strike the perfect chords. The piano is extremely versatile, and unlike the guitar, cello, or violin, the strings on the piano are located inside and played with the keys. Many musicians have some knowledge of the piano, even if it isn't their primary instrument. But who are the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/greatest-pianists-of-all-time/ranker-music?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">greatest pianists of all time</a>? Classical and Baroque periods of music history definitely increased the popularity of the piano and almost every genre of music in today’s culture also uses it! It’s no wonder that mastering the art of playing the piano is such a desirable goal. It is also an instrument that once learned, makes it easier to learn other instruments and is popular among young music students. This list features the all time greatest piano players, includin, Fr&eacute;d&eacute;ric Chopin, Franz Liszt, and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Vote up the best pianists below, and see where the musicians you think are the greatest of all time rank!

While opera isn’t a genre too many people are very familiar with, opera can be the most amazing experience of in the world; there’s nothing quite like the passion of the well-trained human voice filling an entire room such a powerful way. Some great, well-known operas are in Italian, but what are the best Italian operas of all time? &nbsp; The operas on this list include some of history’s <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-operas/bustermcdermott?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">greatest operas of all time</a>. Many well-known composers wrote these incredible Italian operas, including Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, and Vincenzo Bellini. All of these composers were of Italian birth and forever changed the course of music history in their time periods. In fact, their works are still being celebrated and performed across the globe today. &nbsp; This list features the best Italian operas, ranked by voters, including: Aida, Cavalleria Rusticana, Il Barbiere De Siviglia, La Gioconda, La Traviata, L’elisir D’amore, Madama Butterfly, La boh&egrave;me, and Turandot. Vote up the best Italian operas below.

Krystian Zimerman

The piano is one of the most popular and most diverse musical instruments in the world. The instrument has permeated through dozens of genres of music, lending itself to help create some of the most moving and emotional pieces of music in history. The people on this list are masters of the piano and are considered giants in the musical world.&nbsp;&nbsp;Whether you recognize these musicians or not, they've all carved a place out for themselves in the classical music world and have become influential and prominent figures in the industry. If you love geeking out on music, we definitely recommend finding some of their music.&nbsp;This list is votable and rerankable, so take a look through and vote up your favorite <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/famous-classical-pianists/stevie-wonder-on-a-keytar">famous classical pianists</a> in the world. If you don't see someone on here who should be, feel free to add them, but this list is for living musicians only.

A list of absolute best symphonies of all time, ranked as the best by music lovers and the Ranker community. Featuring some of the best pieces of classical music ever written, this list hass the best symphonies of all time, with video of great performances of each symphony. What are the absolute best symphonies of all time?This list features the best symphonies from history’s <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/my-favorite-classical-composers-of-all-time">greatest classical composers</a>, such as Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Mozart, and Sibelius. Musicians such as <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/greatest-violinists-of-all-time/ranker-music"></a><a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/greatest-classical-violinists-of-all-time/ranker-music">great violinists</a> and the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/greatest-classical-pianists-of-all-time/ranker-music">best classical pianists</a> have performed these symphonies, including&nbsp;Beethoven's 9th (Choral) Symphony, Dvorak's 9th (New World) Symphony, Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony, Mozarts 40th (Great) Symphony, and Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony. Vote up the best symphonies in music history below, or add any famous or popular symphony you think is great if it isn't already on the list.

Janine Jansen

If you’re a music enthusiast you’re probably a huge fan of classical music and you most likely realize the affect that classical music has had on all genres of music, including today’s modern styles. Famous composers and musicians shaped the way we play music, the way we enjoy it and the way music is performed to this day. The violin is one of the most important and well known instruments in classical music. Who are the greatest violinists of all time? &nbsp; It’s truly remarkable to think about how a composer would be able to beautifully and masterfully bring a cello, violin, piano, trumpet, trombone, clarinet, saxophone, and tuba together to produce a sound that could fill an entire room with music! Violin has and will continue to be a key instrument within a symphony; played by itself it can bring tears to the eyes! &nbsp; This list features the absolute greatest violinists in history, ranked by music lovers from best to worst. Vote up the greatest violinists below to see where the musicians you think are the greatest when it comes to violin rank!

Voting is now open for the Virtuoso Channel Hall of Fame: World's Greatest Violinists! 1. User voting changes list order. Vote for your favorite artists - you decide who's the best! 2. User submissions allowed. The list we've drawn up includes about 70 great performers. We'd like you to help us choose a further select group of entrants. Who do you think should join? To add your nomination, please scroll down to the end of this page.

Alexander Dreyschock

These are the greatest piano composers, ranked from best to worst by Classical music fans. When it comes to the best piano composers, their backgrounds and upbringing is as varied as their music. That's the special thing about music more than any other art form. Where you come from plays such an important role in the art you create, and that's what makes lists like this so interesting. Putting together great talents from all over the world, from all different eras. Some of the more famous piano composers on this list gained popularity during the Renaissance while other good piano composers wrote music during the Romantic period and beyond. A few of the people on here even wrote jazz and ragtime music that is still popular today.So, Who is on this list? Perhaps the most iconic piano composer is Ludwig van Beethoven. His ninth symphony contains some of the most recognizable melodies and has been featured in such films as “A Clockwork Orange” and “Immortal Beloved.” Johann Sebastian Bach is another one of the most famous piano composers of all time.More recently, Duke Ellington treated music fans to such hits as “Satin Doll” and “Don't Get Around Much Anymore.” Other musicians who are featured on this top piano composers list include Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert and Frederic Chopin.Who are the best piano composers? Give your favorites a thumbs up to vote them up to the top of this list and share some of your favorite pieces of music in the comments section.

The world of opera isn’t a world that the average person is too familiar with. In the modern world of musicals and movies, singing and modern dance, entertainment like opera and ballet have become less popular than they were decades ago. Still, an opera can be the most beautiful experience of a lifetime; there’s just nothing like the power of the mastered human voice filling an entire room in such an elegant way. France is a country known for great operas, but what are the best French operas?The operas on this list range in genre – some are romance, others drama, and there are even a few comedies featured here. These are the best French operas, and they have been ranked by voters. Even if you haven’t had the luxury of experiencing an opera in person there are several ways to see them online.This list features the best French operas including The Tales of Hoffman, Carmen, Faust, Le Devin Du Village, Guillame Tell, Cadmus Et Hermione, Iphigenie En Tauride, Rom&eacute;o et Juliette, de la Haine &agrave; l'Amour, and Hippolyte Et Aricie. Vote up the best French operas below.

Robert Alexander Schumann

The Romantic Era was a cultural and artistic revival that started in the early 1800s and lasted until the early 20th century (right before WWl). There was a fascination with the past, particularly the Middle Ages and legends of medieval chivalry. This movement was extremely evident in not only literature and painting but also music, with more of an emphasis on originality then tradition and pieces with more of a fantasy theme. This era also produced the great majority of well known and great composers. This list includes the top famous composers of the Romantic period. Upvote your favorite musicians based on their bodies of work from this time.

William Grant Still

Ever since the mid 1800s and the birth of the American culture, America has produced some of the greatest and unique (European Classical mixed with Black Folk) Classical music of all time, here are just some of Americas greatest composers.

Itzhak Perlman

The violin is one of the most classical and most beautiful musical instruments in the world. The instrument has permeated through dozens of genres of music, lending itself to help create some of the most moving and emotional pieces of music in history. The people on this list are masters of the violin and are considered giants in the classical world.&nbsp;Whether you recognize these musicians or not, they've all carved a place out for themselves in the music business and have become influential and prominent figures in the industry. If you love geeking out on music, we definitely recommend finding some of their music.&nbsp;This list is votable and rerankable, so take a look through and vote up your favorite <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/notable-violinist_s)/reference">famous violinists</a> in the world. If you don't see someone on here who should be, feel free to add them, but this list is for living musicians only.

Eliot Fisk

Classical music is just that. Classic. It has been around for centuries and gone through many different periods. Classical music set the state for all different kinds of modern music and remains popular in its own right to this day. The guitar is also an incredibly popular instrument and mastering it for classical music can be tricky. The musicians on this list have done it, but who are the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-classical-guitarists-in-the-world/ranker-music?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">greatest classical guitarists</a> of all time?&nbsp;Becoming a classical guitarist is not an easy task to accomplish. Learning how to master the craft of playing the guitar is hard enough, but a classical guitarist has to take his or her skills to the next level. While the typical guitar uses steel based strings, a classical guitar uses nylon strings which allow the musician to have a softer sound. This list features the all time greatest classical guitarists, ranked by the community's votes and including, Steve Hackett, Andr&eacute;s Segovia, Jim Ferguson, and Julian Bream. Vote up the greatest classical guitarists in history below or add someone who is truly great but isn't already on the list.

Classical Music & Opera

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Vote on these lists of outstanding female vocalists, musicians, songwriters, and performers in every genre.

Who Run the World?

While opera isn't the most popular for of modern entertainment, it is still a significant cultural staple in many countries, and can be an incredibly moving experience. An opera singer is skilled in the art of singing, acting, and most importantly, projecting their voice in a powerful way to a live audience, filling the entire theatre with music. <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/famous-female-opera-singers/reference?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">Female opera singers</a> can hit the high notes with ease.Who are the best female opera singers of all time?&nbsp;The talented women featured on this list have made a significant impact in the world of opera, and are incredibly talented. Female opera singers are usually sopranos or altos. If you’re interested in opera and want to see these female singers in action, but can't afford to attend, there are many operas available on DVD as well.The greatest female opera singers on this list include Maria Callas, Renee Fleming, and Anna Gottlieb. Vote up the best of the best below or add the top female opera singers you think are the best if they aren't already on the list.

The Greatest Female Opera Singers of All Time

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Megan Marie Hart

Megan Marie Hart (born 1983) is an American operatic soprano from Eugene, Oregon. A member of the Landestheater Detmold, she has appeared in leading operatic roles and concerts in America and Europe.

Leontyne Price

Mary Violet Leontyne Price (born February 10, 1927) is an American soprano. Born and raised in Laurel, Mississippi, she rose to international acclaim in the 1950s and 1960s, and was the first African American to become a leading performer, or prima donna, at the Metropolitan Opera, and one of the most popular American classical singers of her generation.One critic characterized Price's voice as "vibrant", "soaring" and "a Price beyond pearls", as well as "genuinely buttery, carefully produced but firmly under control", with phrases that "took on a seductive sinuousness." Time magazine called her voice "Rich, supple and shining, it was in its prime capable of effortless soaring from a smoky mezzo to the pure soprano gold of a perfectly spun high C."A lirico spinto (Italian for "pushed lyric") soprano, she was considered especially well suited to the roles of Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini, as well as several in operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
After her retirement from the opera stage in 1985, she continued to appear in recitals and orchestral concerts until 1997.
Among her many honors are the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1964), the Spingarn Medal (1965), the Kennedy Center Honors (1980), the National Medal of Arts (1985), numerous honorary degrees, and 19 Grammy Awards for operatic and song recitals and full operas, and a special Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989, more than any other classical singer. In October 2008, she was one of the recipients of the first Opera Honors given by the National Endowment for the Arts.



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Joan Sutherland

Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian-born coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s.
She possessed a voice combining extraordinary agility, accurate intonation, "supremely" pinpoint staccatos, a trill and a tremendous upper register, although music critics often complained about the imprecision of her diction.Sutherland was the first Australian to win a Grammy Award, for Best Classical Performance – Vocal Soloist (with or without orchestra) in 1962.

Maria Callas

Maria Callas, Commendatore OMRI (; Greek: Μαρία Κάλλας; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano. She was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century.  Many critics praised her bel canto technique, wide-ranging voice and dramatic interpretations. Her repertoire ranged from classical opera seria to the bel canto operas of Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini and, further, to the works of Verdi and Puccini; and, in her early career, to the music dramas of Wagner. Her musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as La Divina.
Born in Manhattan to Greek immigrant parents, she was raised by an overbearing mother who had wanted a son. Maria received her musical education in Greece at age 13 and later established her career in Italy. Forced to deal with the exigencies of 1940s wartime poverty and with near-sightedness that left her nearly blind onstage, she endured struggles and scandal over the course of her career. She turned herself from a heavy woman into a svelte and glamorous one after a mid-career weight loss, which might have contributed to her vocal decline and the premature end of her career.
The press exulted in publicizing Callas's temperamental behavior, her supposed rivalry with Renata Tebaldi and her love affair with Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis. Although her dramatic life and personal tragedy have often overshadowed Callas the artist in the popular press, her artistic achievements were such that Leonard Bernstein called her "the Bible of opera" and her influence so enduring that, in 2006, Opera News wrote of her: "Nearly thirty years after her death, she's still the definition of the diva as artist—and still one of classical music's best-selling vocalists."

Montserrat Caballe

Montserrat Caballé

María de Montserrat Viviana Concepción Caballé i Folch (UK: , Catalan: [munsəˈrat kəβəˈʎe i ˈfolk]; 12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018) was a Spanish operatic soprano. She sang a wide variety of roles, but is best known as an exponent of the works of Verdi and of the bel canto repertoire, notably the works of Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti. She was noticed internationally when she stepped in for a performance of Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia at Carnegie Hall in 1965, and then appeared at leading opera houses. Her voice was described as pure but powerful, with superb control of vocal shadings and exquisite pianissimo.
Caballé became popular to non-classical music audiences in 1987, when she recorded, at the request of the IOC, "Barcelona", a duet with Freddie Mercury, which became an official theme song for the 1992 Olympic Games. She received several international awards and also Grammy Awards for a number of her recordings.

agapanthus

Renata Tebaldi

Renata Ersilia Clotilde Tebaldi (Italian pronunciation: [reˈnaːta teˈbaldi]; 1 February 1922 – 19 December 2004) was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period. Among the most beloved opera singers, she has been said to have possessed one of the most beautiful voices of the 20th century, a voice that was focused primarily on the verismo roles of the lyric and dramatic repertoires.

Marilyn Horne

Marilyn Horne (born January 16, 1934) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages.  She is a recipient of the National Medal of Arts (1992) and the Kennedy Center Honors (1995).  She has won four Grammy Awards.

Shirley Verrett

Shirley Verrett (May 31, 1931 – November 5, 2010) was an African-American operatic mezzo-soprano who successfully transitioned into soprano roles, i.e. soprano sfogato. Verrett enjoyed great fame from the late 1960s through the 1990s, particularly well known for singing the works of Verdi and Donizetti.

Mirella Freni

Mirella Freni (Italian: [miˈrɛlːa ˈfreːni]; born Mirella Fregni on 27 February 1935) is an Italian soprano whose repertoire includes Verdi, Puccini, Mozart and Tchaikovsky. Freni was married for many years to the Bulgarian bass Nicolai Ghiaurov, with whom she performed and recorded.

Anna Moffo

Anna Moffo (June 27, 1932 – March 9, 2006) was an American opera singer, television personality, and actress. One of the leading lyric-coloratura sopranos of her generation, she possessed a warm and radiant voice of considerable range and agility. Noted for her physical beauty, she was nicknamed "La Bellissima".Winning a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Italy, Moffo became popular there after performing leading operatic roles on three RAI television productions in 1956. She returned to America for her debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on October 16, 1957. In New York, her Metropolitan Opera debut took place on November 14, 1959. She performed at the Met for over seventeen seasons. Although Moffo's earliest recordings were made for EMI Records, she later signed an exclusive contract with RCA Victor, recording for the company until the late 1970s. In the early 1960s, she hosted her own show on Italian television and appeared in several operatic films along with other non-singing roles.
In the early 1970s Moffo extended her international popularity to Germany through operatic performances, TV appearances, and several films, all while continuing her American operatic performances. Due to an extremely heavy workload, Moffo suffered a serious vocal-breakdown from which she never fully recovered. Her final appearance at the Metropolitan Opera was in 1983.

Rosa Ponselle

Rosa Ponselle (January 22, 1897 – May 25, 1981) was an American operatic soprano. 
She sang mainly at the New York Metropolitan Opera and is generally considered to have been one of the greatest sopranos of the 20th Century

Grace Bumbry

Grace Melzia Bumbry (born January 4, 1937), an American opera singer, is considered one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her generation, as well as a major soprano for many years. She was a member of a pioneering generation of African-American opera and classical singers who followed Marian Anderson (including Leontyne Price, Martina Arroyo, Shirley Verrett and Reri Grist) in the world of classical music and paved the way for future African-American opera and concert singers. Bumbry's voice was rich and sizable, possessing a wide range, and was capable of producing a very distinctive plangent tone.
In her prime, she also possessed good agility and bel canto technique (see for example her renditions of the 'Veil Song' from Verdi's Don Carlo in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as her Ernani from the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1984). She was particularly noted for her fiery temperament and dramatic intensity on stage. More recently, she has also become known as a recitalist and interpreter of lieder, and as a teacher. From the late 1980s on, she concentrated her career in Europe, rather than in the US. A long-time resident of Switzerland, she now makes her home in Salzburg, Austria.

JimWisdom

Kiri Te Kanawa

Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa   (; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a New Zealand soprano. She has a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced".Te Kanawa has received accolades in many countries, singing a wide array of works in many languages dating from the 17th to the 20th centuries. She is particularly associated with the works of Mozart, Strauss, Verdi, Handel and Puccini, and has found considerable success in portraying princesses, nobility, and other similar characters on stage.Though she rarely sang opera later in her career, Te Kanawa frequently performed in concert and recital, gave masterclasses, and supported young opera singers in launching their careers. Her final performance was in Ballarat, Australia, in October 2016, but she did not reveal her retirement until September 2017.

Renata Scotto

Renata Scotto (born 24 February 1934) is an Italian soprano and opera director.
Recognized for her sense of style, her musicality, and as a remarkable singer-actress, Scotto is considered one of the preeminent singers of her generation, specializing in the bel canto repertoire with excursions into the verismo and Verdi repertoires.
Since retiring from the stage as a singer in 2002, she has turned successfully to directing opera as well as teaching in Italy and America, along with academic posts at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome and the Juilliard School in New York. She lives in Armonk, New York with her husband Lorenzo Anselmi.

Aprile Millo

Aprile Millo (born April 14, 1958) is an American operatic soprano of Italian and Irish ancestry who is particularly admired for her interpretations of the works of Giuseppe Verdi. Possessing a spinto voice of power, warmth and temperament, Millo became one of the most celebrated opera singers of the late twentieth century. Although she has performed at many of the world's leading opera houses and with many orchestras and ensembles internationally, Millo has spent much of her career appearing in productions at the Metropolitan Opera.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf

Dame Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike Schwarzkopf,  (9 December 1915 – 3 August 2006) was a German-born Austro-British soprano. She was among the foremost singers of lieder, and was renowned for her performances of Viennese operetta, as well as the operas of Mozart, Wagner and Richard Strauss. After retiring from the stage, she was a voice teacher internationally. She is considered one of the greatest sopranos of the 20th century.

Beverly Sills

Beverly Sills (May 25, 1929 – July 2, 2007) was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s.
Although she sang a repertoire from Handel and Mozart to Puccini, Massenet and Verdi, she was known for her performances in coloratura soprano roles in live opera and recordings. Sills was largely associated with the operas of Donizetti, of which she performed and recorded many roles. Her signature roles include the title role in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, the title role in Massenet's Manon, Marie in Donizetti's La fille du régiment, the three heroines in Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann, Rosina in Rossini's The Barber of Seville, Violetta in Verdi's La traviata, and most notably Elisabetta in Roberto Devereux.
The New York Times noted, "In her prime her technique was exemplary. She could dispatch coloratura roulades and embellishments, capped by radiant high Ds and E-flats, with seemingly effortless agility. She sang with scrupulous musicianship, rhythmic incisiveness and a vivid sense of text." NPR commented, her voice was "Capable of spinning a seemingly endless legato line, or bursting with crystalline perfection into waves of dazzling fiorature and thrilling high notes." After retiring from singing in 1980, she became the general manager of the New York City Opera. In 1994, she became the chairwoman of Lincoln Center and then, in 2002, of the Metropolitan Opera, stepping down in 2005. Sills lent her celebrity to further her charity work for the prevention and treatment of birth defects.

Kirsten Flagstad

Kirsten Malfrid Flagstad (12 July 1895 – 7 December 1962) was a Norwegian opera singer and a highly regarded Wagnerian soprano. She ranks among the greatest singers of the 20th century, and many opera critics called hers "the voice of the century." Desmond Shawe-Taylor wrote of her in the New Grove Dictionary of Opera: "No one within living memory surpassed her in sheer beauty and consistency of line and tone."

Lucia Popp

Lucia Popp (born Luzia Poppová; 12 November 1939 – 16 November 1993) was a Slovak operatic soprano. She began her career as a soubrette soprano, and later moved into the light-lyric and lyric coloratura soprano repertoire and then the lighter Richard Strauss and Wagner operas. Her career included performances at Vienna State Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, and La Scala. Popp was also a highly regarded recitalist and lieder singer.

Éva Marton

Éva Marton (born 18  June 1943) is a Hungarian dramatic soprano, particularly known for her operatic portrayals of Puccini's Turandot and Tosca, and Wagnerian roles.

takonyak

Birgit Nilsson

Märta Birgit Nilsson (17 May 1918 – 25 December 2005) was a celebrated Swedish dramatic soprano. Although she sang a wide repertory of operatic and vocal works, Nilsson was best known for her performances in the operas of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. Her voice was noted for its overwhelming force, bountiful reserves of power, and the gleaming brilliance and clarity in the upper register.



Frederica von Stade

Frederica von Stade (born June 1, 1945) is an American singer, teacher, philanthropist and poet. Since her debut in New York in 1970, she has performed in operas, musicals, concerts and recitals in venues throughout the world, including the Met, La Scala, the Opéra de Paris, the Vienna State Opera, the Salzburger Festspielhaus, Covent Garden, Glyndebourne and Carnegie Hall. Conductors with whom she has appeared include Abbado, Bernstein, Giulini, Karajan and Solti. She has also been a prolific and eclectic recording artist, and has made many appearances on television. A high, lyric mezzo-soprano able to sing music more usually undertaken by sopranos, she is especially associated with the bel canto and French repertoires and with contemporary American music, particularly the works of Jake Heggie. Among her signature roles are Penelope, Rosina, Charlotte, Cendrillon and Mélisande, and, in trousers, Cherubino, Hänsel and Octavian.
Her divorce from her first husband, Peter Elkus, was important in the development of American matrimonial case law, helping to establish the principle that the economic value of a performer's career and celebrity status could be marital property subject to equitable distribution.

CotaitCirce

Elina Garanca

Elīna Garanča

Elīna Garanča is a Latvian operatic lyric mezzo-soprano. With a musical family background, she began to study singing in her hometown of Riga in 1996 and continued her studies in Vienna and in the United States. By 1999 she had won First Place in a significant competition in Finland and had begun a career in Europe. Worldwide engagements quickly followed her 2003 Salzburg Festival appearances.

Jessye Norman

Jessye Mae Norman (born September 15, 1945) is an American opera singer and recitalist. A dramatic soprano, Norman is associated in particular with the Wagnerian repertoire, and with the roles of Sieglinde, Ariadne, Alceste, and Leonore. Norman has been inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and is a Spingarn Medalist. Apart from receiving several honorary doctorates and other awards, she has also received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, the National Medal of Arts, and is a member of the British Royal Academy of Music.

Cecilia Bartoli

Cecilia Bartoli, Cavaliere OMRI (Italian: [tʃeˈtʃiːlja ˈbartoli]; born 4 June 1966) is an Italian coloratura mezzo-soprano opera singer and recitalist. She is best known for her interpretations of the music of Bellini, Mozart and Rossini, as well as for her performances of lesser-known Baroque and Classical music. She is known for having the versatility to sing soprano and mezzo roles.

While opera isn't the most popular for of modern entertainment, it is still a significant cultural staple in many countries, and can be an incredibly moving ...