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Elly Ameling is a Dutch soprano renowned for her performances of art song and oratorio. She is among the few singers to gain worldwide fame without being an operatic star. In fact, though she did sing one staged role (Ilia in Mozart's Idomeneo in 1973 and 1974), she avoided opera almost entirely during her more than 40-year performing career, choosing to focus instead on concert and recital repertory.

Ameling began her vocal studies with Jo Bollekamp and Jacoba Dresden Dhont in Rotterdam, and later coached French song literature with renowned singer Pierre Bernac. She first came to attention by winning the 1956 Hertogenbosch and 1958 Geneva competitions. Debut recitals in Amsterdam (1961), London (1966), and New York (1968) were important milestones in a developing career that eventually took her all over the world. She found special favor with the Japanese public.

As a concert artist, Ameling was especially noted for her Bach and Mozart interpretations. At the same time, her performances in works such as the oratorios of Haydn and Mendelssohn and the Fourth Symphony of Mahler are justly admired. Her concerts also included performances of Alban Berg's Sieben frühe Lieder and Altenberg Lieder, as well as Berlioz's Les Nuits d'été and Ravel's Shéhérazade. Always interested in new music, she sang in the premiere of Frank Martin's Mystère de la Nativité in 1959. She had the honor of singing during the wedding of Princess Christina of the Netherlands in 1975, as well as during the Royal Crowning Ceremony of Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands in 1980.

Ameling's vast repertory includes songs in German, French, Dutch, English, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese. She was most strongly associated with the songs of Franz Schubert, but she was an equally accomplished interpreter of Mozart, Schumann, Brahms, and Hugo Wolf. Her outstanding feel for the French mélodie is on display in EMI's complete recordings of the songs of Debussy, Fauré, Poulenc, and Ravel, with Dalton Baldwin at the piano. Other notable career highlights include a recording of the complete songs of Dutch Baroque composer Constantijn Huygens (with baritone Max van Egmond), recital performances of songs by Joaquin Rodrigo and Xavier Montsalvatge (they do not often appear on her recordings), and performances of Frank Martin, Samuel Barber, and Benjamin Britten. Ameling occasionally gave cabaret evenings in intimate settings, including the Stratford Festival in Canada.

Elly Ameling's voice is a light soprano of great purity, with a wonderful command of the entire dynamic range and a wide variety of expressive colors. She moved very little on-stage, and so even the slightest hand gesture carried great meaning. Having been an audience favorite for over 30 years, Ameling retired from the recital stage in the mid-'90s, following a series of farewell recitals in her favorite cities. However, she continues to share her love of song by giving master classes for young singers.

This tall, comely and aristocratic mezzo-soprano from Australia achieved fame in the 1970s, propelled by the mentoring of Georg Solti (who engaged her for several important recordings) and her cool (but inwardly passionate) and dignified presence on-stage. Yvonne Minton was also a concert artist of the first order, appearing with many of the world's ranking orchestras under leading conductors. She was perhaps the finest Octavian of her time, that role serving as her calling card in several prominent houses. She was a dignified, consoling Angel in Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius, equaled only by Janet Baker.

After studying with Marjorie Walker at the Sydney Conservatory, Minton traveled to London in 1960, where she studied with baritone Henry Cummings and soprano Joan Cross (who had premiered several of Britten's stage works). Minton had already begun to make a name as a concert singer before she made her 1964 stage debut as Britten's Lucretia in a City Literary Institute production. That same year, she participated in the premiere of Nicholas Maw's comic opera, One Man Show, creating the role of Maggie Dempster. In 1965, Minton was engaged by Covent Garden and remained there for 12 seasons, during which she performed more than 30 leading roles. In 1970, she sang Thea in the world premiere of Tippett's The Knot Garden, a role she performed in the recording that followed soon after.

Apart from London, Minton achieved success elsewhere, beginning in Cologne when she sang Sesto in La clemenza di Tito in 1969. Her bold, yet touching Octavian was heard in Chicago in 1970, when critic Claudia Cassidy evoked the name of Kathleen Ferrier in describing her lustrous voice. Minton's Octavian was the only role of hers heard at the Metropolitan Opera; she made her debut there on March 16, 1973. Octavian was again the role for Minton's 1976 Paris debut. Having made her Bayreuth debut as Brangäne in 1974, Minton was engaged for Fricka and Waltraute in the controversial Bayreuth centenary Ring in 1976. London's Royal Opera House heard her Kundry in 1979. That same year, Minton took the part of the Countess Geschwitz in the premiere in Paris of the three-act edition of Berg's Lulu, completed by Friedrich Cerha. That landmark production was preserved on both audio recording and film, where Minton's tragic, beautifully sung Countess rewards both ear and eye. Following a brief retirement, Minton returned to the stage in such roles as Leokadja Begbick (a 1990 performance at Florence), Klytemnestra in 1991 in Elektra in Adelaide, Geneviève (for Chicago's Lyric Opera's Pelléas during the 1992 - 1993 season), and Countess Helfenstein (in a 1995 Mathis der Maler at Covent Garden).

Many of Minton's recordings have preserved her voice and art at their zenith. Her Octavian with Solti remains a treasurable realization, especially paired with the luxuriant Marschallin of Regine Crespin. Her Sesto with Colin Davis keeps impressive company with the likes of Stuart Burrows, Janet Baker, Lucia Popp, and Frederica Von Stade. Her quietly impressive Geneviève is buoyed by Pierre Boulez's clear conducting, while her attractive Dorabella is sunk by Klemperer's plodding pace. Two Elgar works, The Kingdom under Boult and The Dream of Gerontius with Britten conducting, are excellent, for both Minton's work and in toto.

Contralto Helen Watts was a leading member of that school of Welsh singers which came to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s. Nurtured in a British Isles atmosphere that had turned from insularity to international performance, Watts became the leading British contralto (or mezzo-contralto) in the post-Kathleen Ferrier age. Though never wanting in artistic temperament, she was a model colleague, always well-prepared and ready to sing a fully invested performance. Her voice, of medium size though firmly focused, had a plushness that often made it seem larger than its actual size. She began by specializing in Handel and Bach, but grew artistically to become an exemplary singer of Mahler and Wagner. Watts did not neglect the works of Britten and Tippett either, performing and recording them as a part of her exceptionally extensive discography.

Watts studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and made her debut as Didymus in Handel's Theodora in a production mounted by the Handel Opera Society. She followed those performances with both Juno and Ines in Semele. She also sang in Rinaldo, an opera which she repeated at Berlin's Komische Oper and at Halle in 1961. By the early 1960s, she had established a relationship with the English Opera Group and played an important part in performances of Britten's operas, assuming the title role in The Rape of Lucretia during the EOG's 1964 tour of Russia. She sang at Covent Garden from 1965 to 1971, offering her richly vocalized Erda and First Norn, portraying Mrs. Sedley in Britten's Peter Grimes, and offering a commanding Sosostris in a revival of Tippett's The Midsummer Marriage. At the Welsh National Opera, she also performed numerous roles suitable for a contralto, among them Sosostris, Mrs. Sedley, a delicious Dame Quickly, and Lanina. At Salzburg in 1971, she was well received as Farnace in Mozart's Mitridate, Re di Ponto and in 1978, she sang a moving Arnalta in Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea with the Scottish Opera.

However busy she may have seemed in the opera world, Watts was busier still in recital and concert work. Her initial performances in Handel led to a recording of Handel cantatas and then a flood of discs of wide-ranging repertory. She made numerous recordings of Bach, paralleling her live performances throughout the United Kingdom, Europe, and America. Her years at Covent Garden coincided with the musical directorship of Georg Solti. Taken by her sumptuous voice and quality of musicianship, he employed her services for several recording projects and afforded her the international prominence she deserved. Aside from her First Norn in his Decca Götterdämmerung, he engaged her for his recordings of Mahler's Second, Third, and Eighth symphonies, all widely distributed and warmly praised. When Solti assumed the directorship of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, he brought Watts to Chicago for a series of memorable performances, including Mahler's Second Symphony and Bach's St. Matthew Passion.

Watts' Sosostris was recorded following the Tippett revival, the electronic medium greatly clarifying the composer's extremely thick orchestration and allowing her glorious singing to be heard. Watts was virtually on call to recording companies during her prime years, valued for her amazing consistency and unfussy approach to studio work. Her Angel in Elgar's Dream of Gerontius ranked with the best, and her interpretation of the contralto part in the Colin Davis recording of Handel's Messiah (including "But Who May Abide") is regarded by many as unsurpassed. Her recordings of Lieder were likewise exemplary, especially Brahms and Wolf.

One of the most versatile artists of the 20th century's second half, baritone (or bass baritone) Tom Krause excelled in music from Bach to Britten, Mozart to Searle. Though not exceptionally large or sensuous, Krause's cleanly produced instrument never issued unpleasant sounds, and the singer's refined artistic instincts conspired to keep his work at a high level. Even in situations calling for a greater weight of voice than he really commanded, his clear diction and canny sensitivity to the right accents enabled him to give the impression of authority.

Krause intended to pursue a career in medicine in his native city, but found that a taste for light music and later, an interest in singing, were moving him toward a musical career. He entered the Vienna Music Academy in 1956, and upon completion of his studies there, made his debut in 1959 at Berlin's Städtische Oper. The role was Escamillo, an impersonation he was to record on two subsequent occasions. Early international exposure came through the Kurwenal he recorded with Solti and Birgit Nilsson. Numerous engagements followed at opera houses and concert stages throughout Middle Europe, and in 1962, Krause became a member of the company at Hamburg where he endeared himself to the public in Wagner, Verdi, and (especially) Mozart roles. After only five years, he was made a Kammersänger. For his home theater, he participated in the premieres of Ernst Krenek's Der Goldene Bock in 1964 and Humphrey Searle's Hamlet in 1968. Meanwhile, Krause had made his Bayreuth debut as the Herald in Lohengrin (1962) and the following year appeared at the Glyndebourne Festival for the first time as the Count in Strauss' Capriccio.

In the United States, Krause took part in the American premiere of Britten's War Requiem and made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Mozart's Almaviva on October 11, 1967. In six seasons, Krause was heard in 43 performances, including three other roles: Malatesta, Guglielmo, and Escamillo. The later was captured on disc together with Marilyn Horne's Carmen and James McCracken's massive Don José, all under Leonard Bernstein's revisionist eye. Chicago heard Krause as Guglielmo on-stage at the Lyric Opera and as a moving Christus in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performances of Bach's St. Matthew Passion under Solti. Krause later participated in Solti's recording of the work.

Krause's Salzburg debut came in 1968 when he sang the title role in Don Giovanni, beginning a productive relationship with the festival. Thirty years after his first appearance, he sang in Salzburg's widely praised production of Messiaen's Saint François d'Assise. Paris heard Krause for the first time in 1973; La Scala welcomed him two years later. While heard to best advantage on-stage in Mozart, Krause made effective studies of such other roles as Pizzaro, Golaud, Amfortas, and portrayed a light-voiced but vivid Amonasro.

During his lengthy career, Krause made many studio recordings with first-class collaborators. His Pizzaro with Nilsson, McCracken, and a hard-driving Lorin Maazel is intimidatingly nasty. His numerous Bach recordings reveal a mellifluous voice and sympathetic interpretation joined with stylistic keenness. Both of his recorded Escamillos, if not the last word in bravura, show both dramatic flair and the ability to truly voice the many low-lying phrases. Finally, Krause's many recordings of German lieder and Scandinavian and Russian songs are the work of an insightful, engaging artist.

Karl Münchinger was one of those rare conductors whose careers are largely tied to their native city, in his case, Stuttgart. He was also closely identified with Bach, having conducted and recorded many of the Baroque master's compositions, generally with high critical praise. Münchinger also conducted much music from the Classical and Romantic periods and, to a lesser extent, from the twentieth century. The majority of his numerous recordings were made for the Decca label. Münchinger showed musical talent as a child and later began studies at the Hochschule für Musik in Stuttgart. He then studied conducting at the Leipzig Conservatory under Hermann Abendroth. After graduation, he returned to Stuttgart and freelanced as a conductor while primarily supporting himself as an organist and choir director. In 1941, he accepted the post of conductor of the Hanover Symphony Orchestra. This would be the only major appointment in his career outside of his native Stuttgart. He held no post from 1943 until the end of the war. In summer 1945, he founded the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the ensemble he became identified with in much the way Karajan would be with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. He quickly built the orchestra up from modest resources in the postwar era, so that by the late-'40s, they were making their first important tours abroad. Münchinger and the SCO debuted in Paris in 1949, representing the first German ensemble to appear there since the prewar era. That same year, they made successful tours of England and Spain. In 1952, they toured Central and South America. The conductor himself made his American debut in 1953 (San Francisco) and took the SCO back to the U.S. the following year for a successful concert tour there. He would return with his ensemble in 1977, once more receiving generally favorable response from both critics and the public. By the mid-'50s, Münchinger had established a reputation as one of the finest Bach interpreters in Europe. His admirers will assert that he was instrumental in restoring Baroque traditions to Bach interpretation, filtering out errant Romantic elements that had crept in over the years. Also by this time, Münchinger and the SCO were receiving invitations from throughout Europe, Russia, and Japan, and appeared in these various locales over the next couple of decades, scoring particular triumphs at the yearly festivals in Edinburgh, Salzburg, Prague (Prague Spring), and Colmar. In the recording studio, Münchinger was scoring triumphs a well: in 1964, he led the SCO in a recording of Bach's St. Matthew Passion with soloists Peter Pears, Hermann Prey, and Elly Ameling for the Decca label, that was awarded a Grand Prix du Disque. He made numerous other notable recordings of choral works by Bach, as well as the Brandenburg Concertos; symphonies by Beethoven and Mozart; and even music by twentieth century Swiss composer Frank Martin. Münchinger founded the Klassiches Philharmonie Stuttgart in 1966, an offshoot ensemble of the SCO, expanding the membership to 45 musicians in order to accommodate performing larger compositions. Münchinger and the SCO continued a fairly heavy performance and recording schedule in the 1970s and '80s, with many tours abroad. In 1977, they became the first German ensemble to visit the People's Republic of China. Münchinger retired in 1988 and died two years later.