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Ileana Cotrubas was one of the most expressive singing actresses of her era. She specialized in operatic roles calling for a degree of pathos, such as Violetta, Ilia in Idomeneo, Mimì, Gilda, and Mélisande, but she also had a gift for comedy that was well expressed in roles such as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Norina in Don Pasquale, or Adina in L'elisir d'Amore. She held strong beliefs about staging, and more than once caused controversy by walking out of a production which she believed was inappropriate for the opera in question. Her voice and vocal production, too, were somewhat controversial: while her admirers praised it for the undefinable quality of "morbidezza" and for an almost childlike tone of vulnerability, others found it saccharine. Some listeners, too, found her audible breathing to be distracting. While the majority of her career was in opera, she also sang sacred music, particularly Mozart, and gave the occasional lieder recital.

Her family was a musical one, and she began her own singing career when she joined the Children's Chorus of Radio Romania at the age of nine, and by the age of 11 she had graduated to solo parts. Her family moved to Bucharest in 1952, and she enrolled at the Scoala Speciala de Musica, a musical training academy for children. In 1958, she continued her studies at the Ciprian Porumbescu Conservatory. In 1964, she made her operatic debut at the Bucharest Opera as Yniold in Pelléas et Mélisande, a role sung either by a boy soprano or an adult lyric soprano, and continued there, singing lyric and coloratura roles such as Gilda in Rigoletto, Oscar in Un ballo in maschera, Blonde in The Abduction from the Seraglio, and even Siebel in Faust. In 1965, she won the first prize at the International Singing Competition in Hertogenbosch, Holland, followed by similar success at the 1966 Radio Competition in Munich. She made her debut in England at the Glyndebourne Festival in 1969, singing Mélisande, and her Covent Garden debut in 1970 as Tatyana in Eugene Onegin. Throughout her career, she maintained close ties with both the Festival and Covent Garden, and maintained a home in Kent, England. In 1970, she signed a non-exclusive three-year contract with the Vienna State Opera, singing there and also making her U.S. debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Mimì. In 1975, she made her La Scala debut on extremely brief notice, replacing an ill Mirella Freni as Mimì (a role that has been a calling card for both sopranos), and in 1977, made her Met debut in the same role. In 1981, she was named a Kammersangerin by the Austrian government. In 1989, she announced her retirement, and focused her energies on teaching. Her best-known pupil is Angela Gheorghiu, her Romanian compatriot.

In comic opera, her Adina in L'elisir d'Amore is excellent (Sony M2K 79210), and she also made a lovely and touching Violetta in La traviata (Deutsche Grammophon 35417). She also made a fine recital CD on Sony (SMK 60783), which features her in both her core repertoire and some roles she never sang on stage.

Giuseppe Verdi was to opera in the Italian tradition what Beethoven was to the symphony. When he arrived on the scene some had suggested that effective opera after Rossini was not possible. Verdi, however, took the form to new heights of drama and musical expression. Partisans see him as at least the equal of Wagner, even though his style and musical persona were of an entirely different cast. In the end, both Verdi's popular vein -- as heard in the operas Rigoletto, Il trovatore, and La traviata -- and his deeper side -- found in Aida, Otello, and Falstaff -- demonstrate his mastery and far-reaching development of Italian opera.

Verdi showed talent by the age of seven and even played organ at a local church. Around this time he was given an old piano, which he quickly learned to play with proficiency. He moved to Busseto in 1823 and began study the following year with Ferdinando Provesi. By age 15 he had become an assistant church organist and had already started composing. Beginning in 1832, he studied privately with Vincenzo Lavigna in Milan, after the Conservatory there turned him away.

He returned to Busseto and married Margherita Barezzi in 1836. Having achieved publication of some songs, he moved to Milan in 1839 and composed his first opera, Oberto. It was a success, though his next effort, Un giorno di regno, was an abject failure. Worse, Verdi's wife died during its composition. (Their two children had died in the previous two years.) Stunned and depressed, the composer struggled on to rebound with Nabucco (1842) and I lombardi (1843). Macbeth, Luisa Miller, and other operas came in the 1840s, most with great success.

Around 1847, Verdi developed a relationship with soprano Giuseppina Strepponi and the two lived together for many years on Verdi's farm, Sant'Agata, before finally marrying in 1859. In the period 1851-1853, the composer wrote three of his most popular operas. Rigoletto (1851) and Il trovatore (1853) were instant successes, but La traviata (1853) was a disappointment at its premiere, though a year later, with minor revisions, it was warmly received. After an extended excursion to Paris in 1853, Verdi returned to Busseto and turned out Simon Boccanegra (1857) and Un ballo in maschera (1859), both embroiling him in politics, an activity in which he was already immersed, since he served in the local parliament and later in national parliament as senator. In St. Petersburg, Verdi's La forza del destino premiered in 1862 and Don Carlos in Paris in 1867.

Having relocated to Genoa, Verdi composed Aida in the years 1870-1871. Its Cairo premiere in 1871 was a success, but the composer then gave up opera, at least for a time. His String Quartet (1873) and Requiem (1874) showed his creative juices were still very much alive. His next opera, Otello, came finally in 1886, Verdi working slowly and getting sidetracked revising earlier operas. One more opera came from his pen, Falstaff, in 1893, which scored a stunning success. Critical opinion has it that his last three operas are his finest, that the elderly composer became bolder and more imaginative in his later years.

In these later years, Verdi also worked to found a hospital and, in Milan, a home for retired musicians. In 1897, Giuseppina Verdi died and the composer thereafter lived at the Grand Hotel in Milan, finding companionship with retired soprano Teresa Stolz. A year later, his Quatro pezzi sacri premiered in Paris. This would be the composer's last work. On January 21, 1901, Verdi suffered a stroke and died six days later. ~ Robert Cummings

One of the world's most renowned tenors, Plácido Domingo -- along with his frequent collaborators Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras -- is largely responsible for the increasing mainstream popularity of opera among contemporary listeners. He became established quickly as one of the greatest lyric tenors of his time, and one who could also sing dramatic tenor roles with nearly equally fine results. Domingo's forays into Latin and pop music were also successful, earning him Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards as well as silver, gold, platinum, and multi-platinum-selling albums. As his voice deepened with age in the 2010s, he continued to perform as a baritone.

Born March 21, 1941, in Madrid, Spain, Domingo's parents were both singers in the zarzuela, Spain's distinctive national form of musical theater. His family relocated to Mexico in 1950; there he studied vocal technique, as well as piano and conducting, at the Mexico City Conservatory. His operatic debut was in the small role of Borsa in Verdi's Rigoletto with the National Opera in Mexico City in 1959. His first appearance in the leading tenor role was as Alfredo in Verdi's La Traviata in Monterrey, Mexico, in 1960. Subsequently, he spent close to three years with the Israel National Opera, singing 280 performances in a dozen different roles. His debut with the Metropolitan Opera Company was in a Lewisohn Stadium concert performance of Cavalleria Rusticana, as Turiddu, August 9, 1966. His Metropolitan Opera debut was on September 28, 1968, as Maurice de Saxe in Adriana Lecouvreur -- the first of well over 400 performances at the legendary venue.

In the years to follow, Domingo's stature grew on the strength of regular performances at the world's most famed opera houses, among them La Scala, the Vienna State Opera, London's Covent Garden, the Opéra de la Bastille in Paris, the San Francisco Opera, Chicago's Lyric Opera, and the Los Angeles Music Center Opera (which he co-founded). His recordings included performances with sopranos such as Rosalind Plowright, Katria Ricciarelli, and Montserrat Caballe.

During the '80s, Domingo broadened his horizons. He added pop and Latin music to his repertoire, scoring a Top 20 hit with the 1981 John Denver duet "Perhaps Love" from the album of the same name, and winning a Best Latin Pop Performance Grammy in 1985 for Siempre en Mi Corazón (Always in My Heart), a collection of Ernesto Lecuona songs. He also appeared in several filmed operas, including Franco Zeffirelli's La Traviata in 1982, Franco Rossi's Carmen in 1984, and Zeffirelli's Otello in 1986.

However, Domingo's greatest popularity came as one of the Three Tenors, a trio featuring Pavarotti and Carreras, whose albums and live concert videos enjoyed mainstream success not enjoyed by operatic recordings in many decades. The Three Tenors' 1990 debut album became one of the best-selling classical albums of all time, and they continued to perform and record until 2003. In 1992, Domingo began the Christmas in Vienna series of concerts and albums, which featured vocalists such as Carreras, Diana Ross, Charles Aznavour, Tony Bennett, and many others.

During the '90s and 2000s, Domingo's behind-the-scenes work in opera and the arts increased. Having established a relationship with the Washington National Opera in the '80s, he became its Artistic Director in 1996, a position he held until 2011. Meanwhile, he became Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Opera in 2000, ultimately taking on the role of General Director in 2003. He also founded the international opera competition Operalia and became the president of Europa Nostra, a European cultural heritage federation.

Along with these responsibilities, Domingo continued to perform, though his roles were changing. He performed in more Wagnerian operas and Russian-language operas such as Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades. He also added new roles in classic and modern operas including Arrigo in Verdi's La Battaglia di Legnano and Tan Dun's The First Emperor. Domingo earned particular acclaim for his performance as Tristan in the 2005 EMI Classics studio recording of Tristan und Isolde, which featured Operalia winner Nina Stemme in the other lead role. In 2009, Domingo switched to baritone parts, starting with Verdi's Simon Boccanegra and following it with roles in the composer's Rigoletto, I due Foscari, La Traviata, and Macbeth, among others. He also continued to record classical and pop albums. His 2011 collection of Verdi baritone arias won a Latin Grammy Award; other projects included 2012's Songs, which featured collaborations with Josh Groban and Susan Boyle, the 2015 holiday album My Christmas, and an appearance on Il Volo's Notte Magica: A Tribute to the Three Tenors in 2016. Another seasonal collection, Placido Domingo & Friends Celebrate Christmas in Vienna, arrived in 2017. ~ Jason Ankeny

The Verdi baritone is almost a vocal type in and of itself. These roles require outstanding breath control as well as the ability not only to sing strong high notes, but to sing for extended periods in the upper part of the baritone range. Milnes had both of these, and for a while even considered a career as a Wagner tenor rather than a baritone. His timbre was not to all tastes, but his vocal gifts, musicality, and powerful stage presence made him the leading baritone at the Met, where most of his career was focused.

He came from a musical family, and his mother was his first teacher. As often happens in such families, he learned to play not only the piano, but many other instruments, both in the string and the brass families. He studied at Drake and at Northwestern University, anticipating a career as a music teacher rather than as a performer, and sang in the Chicago Symphony Chorus under the legendary Margaret Hiller, also playing bass in a jazz band on the side. He also studied for a period with famed soprano Rosa Ponselle, and was an apprentice at the Santa Fe Opera, known for launching new artists as well as works. In 1960, he successfully auditioned for the Boris Goldovsky Opera Company, one of the most renowned touring companies in the United States, and made his opera debut with them as Masetto in Mozart's Don Giovanni. He remained with them for five years, singing many of the major Verdi baritone roles, as well as graduating to the title role of Don Giovanni, and also appearing at other opera houses such as the Baltimore Opera in 1961. In 1964, he appeared at the New York City Opera as Valentin in Faust, and made his Italian debut at the Teatro Nuovo in Milan. The next year he gave his first performance at the Met as Valentin, opposite Montserrat Caballe in her Met debut role. In 1967, he created the role of Adam Brant in Levy's Mourning Becomes Electra. His Vienna State Opera debut in 1970, in the title role of Verdi's Macbeth, brought him to international fame. He made his Chicago debut in 1971 as Posa in Verdi's Don Carlo as well as his Covent Garden debut as Renato in Un ballo in maschera.

During the 1980s, he underwent a vocal crisis, and made relatively few operatic appearances afterwards (having more or less reached retirement age) though he remained active as an oratorio singer and recitalist, as well as a conductor.

His Iago on the recording of Otello with James Levine (BMG GD 82951) verges on being over the top, but is nonetheless one of the most vivid recordings of that role. A recital CD on Decca (443 929) of materials largely from early in his career shows off his fine top notes as well as strong technical facility.

Carlos Kleiber was an important Austrian conductor from the 20th century. His discography is limited, but he is often regarded as one of the greatest conductors in history.

Kleiber was born in Berlin in 1930, and his father, Erich, was also a respected conductor. To distance themselves from the fascist activities of Hitler and Mussolini, his family relocated to Buenos Aires around the mid-'30s. Kleiber attended schools in Argentina and Chile, where he played the piano and sang. By this time, his musical talents were obvious, but his father wanted him to pursue a non-musical profession. In 1949 he traveled to Switzerland, where he began studying law and chemistry at ETH Zurich. He eventually grew unhappy with this decision, and his father allowed him to return to Buenos Aires in 1950 to study music. After he completed his studies in 1952, Kleiber traveled to Munich, where he started his first professional appointment as a répétiteur at the Theater am Gärtnerplatz. Two years later, he made his conducting debut in a production of Millöcker's Gasparone. He accepted a similar appointment in 1956 at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, and he became the conductor there in 1958. It was also around this time that he met the Slovenian ballet dancer Stanislava Brezovar, and they got married in 1961. Kleiber held conductor appointments with the Zurich Opera from 1964 to 1966, and the Württembergisches Staatstheater in Stuttgart from 1966 to 1968, and then he worked as a guest conductor with the Staatsoper in Munich.

Throughout the '70s, Kleiber had several debuts at major venues including the Vienna Operahouse in 1973, Covent Garden and La Scala in 1974, and he conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1978. The milestones continued through the '80s, and he conducted debut performances with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1981, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 1982, and with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in 1988. During the late '70s, Kleiber gradually became more and more reclusive and reduced his public appearances. However, he continued accepting a limited number of guest conductor appointments and recording contracts until his retirement in the early '90s. All nine of his studio recordings were critically acclaimed, and his interpretations of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 and Symphony No. 7 were especially revered. Along with his reclusiveness, Kleiber had also grown wary about recording. He was worried that listeners would play his recordings at home and follow along in the score to identify every flaw in the performance. Consequently, many unauthorized, unplanned, and bootleg audio and video recordings of his live performances were made. After his retirement, he spent his final years at his home in Slovenia, and he passed away in 2004. The November 2010 issue of the BBC Music Magazine showed Kleiber in the top position on their list of "20 Greatest Conductors of all Time." ~ RJ Lambert