Mattiwilda Dobbs (July 11, 1925 – December 8, 2015) was an American coloratura soprano and was one of the first black singers to enjoy a major international career in opera. She was the first black singer to perform at La Scala in Italy, the first black woman to receive a long-term performance contract and to sing a lead role at the Metropolitan Opera, New York and the first black singer to play a lead role at the San Francisco Opera.
Cecilia Gasdia (Italian: [tʃeˈtʃiːlja ɡaˈzdiːa]; born 14 August 1960, Verona) is an Italian operatic soprano.
Ashley Putnam (born 10 August 1952) is an American soprano from New York City. Her professional singing career began in 1976 and has spanned over 30 years.
Carol Theresa Vaness (born July 27, 1952) is an American lirico-spinto soprano and university professor.
Stefano Satta Flores (14 January 1937 – 22 October 1985) was an Italian actor and voice actor.
Renato Bruson (born 13 January 1936) is an Italian operatic baritone. Bruson is widely considered one of the most important Verdi baritones of the late 20th and early 21st century.
Mirella Freni, OMRI (Italian: [miˈrɛlːa ˈfreːni], born Mirella Fregni, 27 February 1935 – 9 February 2020) was an Italian operatic soprano who had a career of 50 years and appeared at major international opera houses. She received international attention at the Glyndebourne Festival, where she appeared as Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni and as Adina in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore.
Freni is associated with the role of Mimì in Puccini's La bohème, which featured in her repertoire from 1957 to 1999 and which she sang at La Scala in Milan and the Vienna State Opera in 1963, conducted by Herbert von Karajan. She also performed the role in a film of the production and as her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1965. In the earliest opera DVDs, she portrayed her characters convincingly in both acting and singing. Freni was married for many years to the Bulgarian bass Nicolai Ghiaurov, with whom she performed and recorded. Her obituary from The New York Times describes her as a "matchless Italian prima donna".
Benita Valente (born October 19, 1934) is an American soprano whose career has encompassed the operatic stage as well as performance of lieder, chamber music and oratorio. She is especially lauded for her interpretations of Mozart and Handel, but she also excelled in certain Verdi roles. The New York Times once referred to her as "as gifted a singer as we have today, worldwide."
