Ramón Vargas (born 11 September 1960) is an award-winning Mexican operatic tenor. Since his debut in the early '90s, he has developed to become one of the most acclaimed tenors of the 21st century. Known for his most expressive and agile lyric tenor voice, he is especially successful in the bel canto repertoire.

Biography[link]

Born in Mexico City, the seventh of nine children. Ramón Vargas began singing at the age of 9, joining the boys' choir of the Basilica of Guadalupe in his home town. He then studied at the Cardenal Miranda Institute in México City, with Antonio Lopez and Ricardo Sanchez.

In 1982, after winning the Carlo Morelli National Vocal Competition, he made his debut in Haydn's Lo Speziale, in Monterrey, Mexico. His breakthrough came in 1983, when the Mexican conductor Eduardo Mata hired him to sing Fenton in Verdi's Falstaff, and then Don Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni. Upon winning the Enrico Caruso Tenor Competition in Milan, Italy, in 1986, he moved to Austria where he completed his vocal studies at the school of the Vienna State Opera, under the guidance of Leo Müller.

After deciding to become a freelancer in 1990, he met the renowned teacher, Rodolfo Celletti, in Milan, who became^{[citation needed]} his vocal coach.

Ramón Vargas' international debut took place in 1992, when the New York Metropolitan Opera asked him to sing Edgardo opposite June Anderson, substituting Luciano Pavarotti. This was soon followed by a debut on the stage of La Scala, in 1993, where he sung Fenton in Strehler's new production celebrating the centenary of Falstaff, conducted by Riccardo Muti. He now regularly performs at all the major opera houses all over the world to great acclaim:

Buenos Aires Teatro Colón (La Favorita), London Royal Opera House (Un ballo in maschera, La bohème, Rigoletto, La traviata), Milan La Scala (Falstaff, Rigoletto, La traviata), New York Metropolitan Opera (Attila, La bohème, Il barbiere di Siviglia, La Cenerentola, L'elisir d'amore, Lucia di Lammermoor, Rigoletto, Der Rosenkavalier), Madrid Teatro Real (Werther), Paris Opéra-Bastille (Rigoletto, La traviata), San Francisco Opera (Un ballo in maschera, L'elisir d'amore, Lucia di Lammermoor), Vienna State Opera (La bohème, L'elisir d'amore, La Favorita, Lucia di Lammermoor, Manon, Maria Stuarda, Rigoletto, Roberto Devereux, Werther), Verona Arena (Il barbiere di Siviglia, Rigoletto), and others.

In addition to his operatic career, he is also an accomplished concert singer, with an extensive repertoire ranging from Italian classical songs to romantic German Lieder and melodies by French, Mexican and Spanish composers from the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1998, he offered a memorable recital at La Scala and his renditions of popular Mexican songs have been met with enthusiasm at massive concerts across Europe and Mexico.

He was awarded the Lauri-Volpi Award for the Best Opera Singer of the 1993 Italian season, and in 1995 Italian critics were unanimous in awarding him the Gino Tani Award for the Arts. In 2000, British Opera Now declared Ramón Vargas Artist of the Year. Each year, since 1999, Austrian Festspiele Magazine has given him the first place among the best tenors in the world. In 2001, he received the ECHO Klassik - Singer of the Year Award from the German Phono Academy.

He lives with his wife Amalia, and his two sons Fernando and Rodrigo in Vienna, Austria.^[1]

Charity work[link]

In 1993, Eduardo, the first son of Ramón Vargas and his wife, was born in a hospital in Italy. Unfortunately, due to the negligence of the doctors attending the childbirth, the baby suffered a hypoxic encephalopathy, causing a nonreversible injury to his brain. During the following few months doctors in Europe and the United States confirmed a hopeless prognosis of brain paralysis, in the degree of quadriplegia. In the beginning of January 2000, Eduardo's life reached its end.

Nonetheless, his parents decided that they did not wish to isolate themselves from their experience, on the contrary, they chose to perpetuate the memory and the example of Eduardo to help other special children like him, by setting up the Eduardo Vargas Memorial Fund.

The creation and basic aims of the memorial fund were publicly announced by means of a gala concert with Ramón Vargas and the young American soprano Noëlle Richardson, accompanied on the piano by Mzia Bachtouridze, at the villa of the Rothschild Foundation in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, on 1 July 2000.

The initial proceeds were channeled through Vamos, a foundation with large experience in social development activities amongst the most vulnerable population in Mexico, towards some programmes of support that cover the following aspects:

• Training promoters and community therapists
• Providing information and support to the parents of children with special needs
• Giving direct attention to disabled children and young people.

In addition to contributions made by friends and generous anonymous donors, the Eduardo Vargas Memorial Fund is supported by the proceeds from concerts performed by Ramón Vargas.

Repertoire[link]

Vincenzo Bellini

• Beatrice di Tenda (Orombello)
• I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Tebaldo)
• La sonnambula (Elvino)
• Zaira (Corasmino)

Hector Berlioz

• La Damnation de Faust (Faust)

Luigi Cherubini

• Médée (Jason)

Domenico Cimarosa

• Il Matrimonio Segreto (Paolino)

Gaetano Donizetti

• L'elisir d'amore (Nemorino)
• Lucia di Lammermoor (Edgardo)
• La Favorita (Fernando)
• Maria Stuarda (Leicester)
• Roberto Devereux (Roberto Devereux)

Charles Gounod

• Faust (Faust)

Joseph Haydn

• Lo Speziale (Sempronio)

Jules Massenet

• Manon (Le Chevalier des Grieux)
• Werther (Werther)

Simon Mayr

• Medea in Corinto (Giasone)

Claudio Monteverdi

• L'incoronazione di Poppea (Nerone)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

• La clemenza di Tito (Tito)
• Don Giovanni (Don Ottavio)
• Idomeneo (Idiamante, Idomeneo)
• Die Zauberflöte (Tamino)

Jacques Offenbach

• Les contes d'Hoffmann (Hoffmann)

Giacomo Puccini

• La bohème (Rodolfo)

Gioachino Rossini

• Adina (Selimo)
• Il barbiere di Siviglia (Il Conte d'Almaviva)
• La Cambiale del Matrimonio (Milfort)
• Elisabetta Regina d´Inghilterra (Leicester)
• La Cenerentola (Don Ramiro)
• La Donna del Lago (Rodrigo)
• Maometto secondo (Paolo Eriso)
• Mosè in Egitto (Amènofi)
• L'occasione fa il ladro (Alberto)
• La Scala di seta (Dorvil)
• Tancredi (Agirio)
• Il Turco in Italia (Don Narciso)
• Il viaggio a Reims (Belfiore)

Antonio Salieri

• Axur, re d'Ormus (Atar)

Richard Strauss

• Der Rosenkavalier (The Italian Singer)

Igor Stravinsky

• The Rake's Progress (Tom Rakewell)

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

• Eugene Onegin (Lensky)

Giuseppe Verdi

• Alzira (Zamoro)
• Attila (Foresto)
• Don Carlos (Don Carlos)
• I due Foscari (Jacopo)
• Falstaff (Fenton)
• I Lombardi (Oronte)
• Messa da Requiem (Tenor)
• La traviata (Alfredo)
• Luisa Miller (Rodolfo)
• Rigoletto (Il Duca di Mantova)
• Simon Boccanegra (Gabriele Adorno)
• Un ballo in maschera (Riccardo)

Discography[link]

Opera

• Manon Lescaut, Puccini. Decca, 1993 (Edmondo)
• Zaira, Bellini. Nuova Era, 1993
• Falstaff, Verdi. Sony, 1994
• Il barbiere di Siviglia, Naxos, 1994
• Otello, Verdi. Deutsche Grammophon, 1994 (Cassio)
• Goyescas, Granados. Auvidis, 1996
• La Scala di Seta, Rossini. Claves, 1996
• Tancredi, Rossini. RCA, 1996
• I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Bellini. RCA Red Seal, 1998
• Il Turco in Italia, Rossini. Decca, 1998
• Maometto II, Rossini. BMG Ricordi, 1999
• Werther, Massenet. RCA, 1999
• La Favorite, Donizetti. RCA, 2000
• Alzira, Verdi. Philips, 2001

Oratario and Sacred Music

• Christmas with Ramón Vargas. Claves Records, 1996
• Messa da Requiem. Verdi, 2007

Recital

• Navidad desde México. Sony Music, 1996 (Popular Mexican songs)
• Suite Española De Águstin Lara. PolyGram, 1996 (Popular Mexican songs)
• Corazón Mexicano. Gobierno de la Ciudad de México, 1998 (Popular Mexican songs)
• L'amour, l'amour. RCA, 1999
• Rossini & Donizetti Opera Arias. Claves Records, 2000
• Canzoni. Delta, 2000 (Italian Art songs)
• México Lindo. BMG Classics, 2000 (Popular Mexican songs)
• Verdi Arias. RCA, 2001
• Nel Mio Cuore. RCA, 2003 (Arie Antiche)
• Between Friends. RCA, 2004
• The Opera Gala Live from Baden-Baden. Deutsche Grammophon, 2008
• (Novecento Segreto, Novecento Popolare)

Various

• Lesley Garrett - I Will Wait For You. RCA, 2000
• Possession. RCA, 2002 (Soundtrack)
• RCA Red Seal Century: The Vocalists. RCA, 2002
• Catch a Shining Star. Narm Recordings, 2003
• Inspirations. Trauma, 2004
• Puccini Festival-die Grossen Opern Highlights. Decca, 2008

DVD

• Opera Stars Sing Broadway. St Clair Vision, 2004
• Don Carlo, Verdi. TDK, 2007
• Eugene Onegin Tchaikovsky. Decca, 2007
• Idomeneo, Mozart. Decca, 2007
• Messa da Requiem, Verdi. TDK, 2007
• La Bohème, Puccini. EMI Classics, 2008
• La Traviata, Verdi. Arthaus Musik, 2008 (Also on Blu-ray)
• The Opera Gala: Live from Baden-Baden. Deutsche Grammophon, 2008 (Also on Blu-ray)
• Don Giovanni, Mozart. Opus Arte, 2009 (Also on Blu-ray)
• Medea In Corinto, Mayr. Arthaus Musik, 2011 (Also on Blu-ray)

External links[link]

• Ramón Vargas' Official website
• Schedule on Operabase
• Interview with BBC NEWS
• Interview with Bruce Duffie
• Interview with Dominic McHugh (MusicalCriticism.com)
• YouTube clips
• Wigmore Hall Recital (Video)

References[link]

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (November 2010)

Kathleen Ann Cassello (born 13 August 1958 Wilmington, Delaware USA) is an American-born opera singer. Since winning first prize in the Salzburg Mozart competition in 1985, she has toured extensively throughout Europe, Asia and North America. A graduate of the University of Delaware, she received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in 1980. In the late nineties, Cassello toured with Kallen Esperian and Cynthia Lawrence as “The Three Sopranos.”

References[link]

• Bach Cantatas biography, accessed 28 January 2010
• 'Sopranos' biography, accessed 28 January 2010
• Interview with Karen Lotter on 'Sopranos', accessed 28 January 2010

External links[link]

• MySpace page of Kathleen Cassello

This article about an American opera singer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Sumi Jo
Sumi Jo, 2010
Korean name
Hangul	조수미
Hanja	曺秀美
Revised Romanization	Jo Sumi
McCune–Reischauer	Cho Sumi
Birth name
Hangul	조수경
Revised Romanization	Jo Sugyeong
McCune–Reischauer	Cho Sukyong

Sumi Jo (born (1962-11-22) November 22, 1962 (age 49)) is a Grammy Award winning South Korean lyric coloratura soprano known for her interpretations of the bel canto repertoire.^[1][2]

Early life and education[link]

Jo was born Jo Su-gyeong in Seoul, South Korea. Her mother was an amateur singer and pianist who had been unable to pursue her own professional music studies due to the political situation in Korea during the 1950s. Determined to provide her daughter with opportunities she never had, Jo's mother enrolled her in piano lessons at the age of 4 and later voice lessons at the age of 6. As a child, Jo would often spend up to eight hours a day studying music.^[3] In 1976, Jo entered the Sun Hwa Arts School from which she graduated in 1980 with diplomas in voice and piano.^[4] She continued her music studies at Seoul National University from 1981–1983. While studying at SNU, Jo made her professional recital debut, appeared in several concerts with the Korean Broadcasting System, and made her professional operatic debut as Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro with Seoul Opera.^[1] In 1983 Jo decided to leave SNU in order to study music in Italy at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Among her teachers there were Carlo Bergonzi and Giannella Borelli. While Jo studied in Italy, she was frequently heard in concert in Italian cities and also on national radio broadcasts and telecasts. It was during this time when Jo decided to use 'Sumi' as her stage name in order to make her name more friendly to European language speakers who often found it difficult to pronounce Su-gyeong. She graduated in 1985 with a concentration in keyboard as well as voice. Following graduation, Jo began to study voice with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf^[3] and won several international competitions in Seoul, Naples, Enna, Barcelona, and Pretoria. In August 1986, she was unanimously awarded first prize in the Carlo Alberto Cappelli International Competition in Verona, one of the world's most important contests, open only to first-prize winners of other major competitions.^[5]

Career[link]

Sumi Jo, 1998

In 1986, Jo made her European operatic debut as Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto at the Teatro Comunale Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste. This debut performance attracted the attention of Herbert von Karajan, who proceeded to cast her as Oscar in Un ballo in maschera opposite Plácido Domingo at the Salzburg Festival in 1989.^[6] Due to the death of Karajan during the rehearsals of this planned performance, Jo actually never had the opportunity to sing on stage under the baton of Karajan (Georg Solti conducted the performance) though early that year she had sung in the studio recording of the work for Deutsche Grammophon^[7] In 1988, Jo made her La Scala debut as Thetis in Jommelli's Fetonte.^[8] That same year she also made her debut with the Bavarian State Opera and sang Barbarina in The Marriage of Figaro at the Salzburg Festival. In 1989, Jo made her debut with the Vienna State Opera and returned to the Salzburg Festival to sing Oscar in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera. That same year, she made her debut with the Metropolitan Opera, once again portraying Gilda in Rigoletto. Jo would later reprise this role numerous times with the Met over the next fifteen years.^[9]

In 1990, Jo made her debut with the Chicago Lyric Opera as the Queen of the Night in Mozart's The Magic Flute.^[10] The following year, she returned to the Metropolitan Opera for another performance as Oscar in Un ballo in maschera and made her Royal Opera at Covent Garden debut as Olympia in The Tales of Hoffmann.^[9] She returned to Covent Garden the next year to sing both Adina in L'elisir d'amore and Elvira in I puritani.

In 1993, Jo appeared in the title role of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor with the Metropolitan Opera and sang the role of the Queen of the Night at both the Salzburg Festival and Covent Garden.^[9] The following year she made her debut with Los Angeles Opera as Sophie in Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier.^[6] In 1995 she sang the role of Countess Adèle in Le comte Ory at the Aix-en-Provence Festival.

Over the next decade Jo maintained a busy schedule, singing Lucia in Strasbourg, Barcelona, Berlin, and Paris; La sonnambula in Brussels and Santiago, Chile; I Capuleti e i Montecchi with Minnesota Opera; Olympia in New York; Rosina in New York; the Queen of the Night in Los Angeles; Gilda in Bilbao, Oviedo, Bologna, Trieste, and Detroit among others; Il turco in Italia in Spain; L'enfant et les sortilèges in Boston and Pittsburgh; Le comte Ory in Rome; and Dinorah in New York. She also appeared in performances at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Opéra National de Paris, Washington Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opera Australia, and the Teatro Colón.

In addition, she appeared with numerous symphony orchestras in concert, including the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra,^[11] the Cincinnati Pops, the Orchestra of St. Luke's, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra,^[12] the Vienna Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra among others. Her work led her to sing under such conductors as Sir Georg Solti, Zubin Mehta, Lorin Maazel, James Levine, Kent Nagano, and Richard Bonynge. She also gave recitals throughout Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia.^[13]

In 2007, Jo performed her first Violetta in La traviata with the Toulon Opera and in the 2008/2009 season she was scheduled to perform the role of Zerline in Fra Diavolo at both the Opera Comique and Opéra Royal de Wallonie.^[1]

In 2011 Sumi Jo provided the voice of 'Veda Pierce' in the HBO miniseries 'Mildred Pierce'.

Recordings[link]

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: formatting, laundry list. Please help improve this section if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (April 2012)

Sumi Jo currently has 50 recordings to her credit, including ten solo albums for Erato, French division of Warner Classic. These recordings include complete operas, oratorio, operetta, orchestral works and Broadway standards. Notable recordings include Grammy Award winning Die Frau ohne Schatten with Sir Georg Solti for the London/Decca label and Un ballo in maschera for Deutsche Grammophon under Herbert von Karajan.^[11]

She provided a vocalise for the soundtrack of the 1999 film The Ninth Gate, composed by Wojciech Kilar. The main theme of this film is based on a piece by Camille Saint-Saëns.

Sumi Jo recorded a cover version of the title song of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 2010 musical Love Never Dies.

Several of Sumi Jo's recordings were used as the character Veda's singing voice in the 2011 HBO miniseries version of Mildred Pierce. She also recorded new tracks specifically for the film, including the "Bridal Chorus" from Wagner's Lohengrin and the popular standard "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows."^[14]

Her recording of R. Strauss: Ariadne Auf Naxos, Etc. Virgin Classics (1997) is the first recording of 1912 original version of R. Strauss. Sumi hit the F#6 of Zerbinetta^[15][16]

<International Albums>

• Sumi Jo The Erato Recitals (10 CDs) Erato (January 31, 2012)
• Libera Decca (2011)
• Ich Liebe Dich Decca (August 17, 2010)
• Missing You Decca (August 10, 2010)
• The Sumi Jo Collection Warner Bros UK (January 18, 2010)
• Best Of Sumi Jo Decca (February 4, 2009)
• Baroque Journey Erato (November 13, 2007)
• The Christmas Album Erato (September 18, 2001)
• Prayers Erato (March 20, 2001)
• Only Love Erato (April 11, 2000)
• A Tribute to Johann Strauss ~ Echoes from Vienna Erato (November 9, 1999)
• Les Bijoux / French Arias Erato (August 3, 1999)
• La Promessa: Italian Songs Erato (September 15, 1998)
• Art of Sumi Jo Decca (August 11, 1998)
• Adam - Le Toréador Decca (March 17, 1998)
• Bel Canto Erato (September 16, 1997)
• Sumi Jo Sings Mozart (October 1, 1996)
• Auber - Le Domino Noir (2 CDs) Decca (April 9, 1996)
• Virtuoso Arias Erato (February 7, 1995)
• Carnaval! French Coloratura Arias Decca (November 15, 1994)

<Albums of Various Artists>

• Kenny G 'Rhythm & Romance'

Featuring with Sumi Jo - Mirame Bailar 

• MBC epic drama "Ju-mong" O.S.T.(2006)

Sumi Jo - A Memory of Love

• The #1 Soprano Album (2 CDs)Decca (April 9, 2002)

Sumi Jo - Die Zauberflöte / Act 2 - "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen"

• KBS drama "The Lost Empire" O.S.T. (2CDs) Doremi, Korea (2001.12.03)

Sumi Jo - If I Leave

• DIVA: 30 Great Prima Donnas (2 CDs) Teldec (2001)

Sumi Jo - Faust, Act II: L'air Des Bijoux 

• Jewel Song: 20 Great Soprano Arias (2 CDs) Decca (2000)

Sumi Jo - Die Zauberflöte / Act 2 - "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen"

• MBC drama "Hu-jun" O.S.T.(1999)

Sumi Jo - Elegy of Separation (Bulinbeolgok)

• R. Strauss: Ariadne Auf Naxos, Etc. Virgin Classics (1997)

Sumi Jo - Zerbinetta[15]
       

<Albums in Korea>

• Sumi Jo the 25th Debut Anniversary Memorial Album (10 CDs) Erato (2011) (It is same as The Erato Recitals 10 CDs) [16]
• the 21st Debut Anniversary Memorial Album

 Sumi Jo 101: Favorite Crossover and Classics (6CDs) Warner Music (2007)

• the 20th Anniversary Special Edition

 With Love: Best 20 Songs of Sumi Jo (2 CDs) Warner Music Korea (2006)

• DVD "Sumi Jo in Paris - For my Father" (2006)^[17]
• My Story (2 CDs) Erato/Warner Music Korea (2002)

This album included a vocal version of "Love is just a Dream," whose non-vocal verson was in MBC drama "Hotelier" O.S.T. (2001).

Awards and honors[link]

• 2008 – Sumi Jo received the international Puccini Award
• 2008 – Sumi Jo sang at the International Olympic Games in Beijing^[18]
• 2006 Winner of the Proud Korean Award for Culture and Art
• 2005 7th Winner of KwanAk Award by Alumni Association of Seoul National University
• 2003 – Sumi Jo was elected as an "Artist for Peace" of UNESCO^[12]
• 2002 – Sumi Jo sang at the World Cup in Seoul, Korea^[19]
• 2002 18th Woman of the Year by Korea Women Committee
• 1997 Best Vocal Album by French Cultural Critics
• 1997 Winner of 5th KBS Overseas Korean Award
• 1996 Winner of 1st Korean-Chinese Youth Academic Award
• 1996 The Best Selling Album of the Year award by British Classic
• 1995 Decorated with the Order of Culture Merit, South Korea
• 1995 Grand prize winner of Women Dong-a by Dong-a Daily News, Seoul, South Korea
• 1994 Winner of Best Soprano, Chile
• 1994 Winner of Kim SuGeun Award for Performing Art, Seoul, South Korea
• 1993 Winner of La Siola d'Oro, Forli, Italy
• 1993 Winner of Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording (conducted by sir. Solti, Deca label)
• 1992 Winner of Hong Nanpa Memorial Award
• August 1986 First prize in the Carlo Alberto Cappelli International Competition at Verona
• October 1986 Graduated with honors from the Santa Cecilia Conservatory
• 1986 Winner of Pretoria International Music Competitions, South Africa
• 1986 Winner of 'Francisco Viñas' International Singing Competition,Barcelona, Spain
• 1985 Winner of Viotti International Music Competition (Concorso Internazionale di Musica Viotti), Italy
• 1985 Winner of Sicily Enna International Musical Competition, Italy
• 1985 Winner of Napoli Zonta International Competition, Italy
• 1985 Winner of Viotti International Music Competition, Trieste, Italy (Concorso Internazionale di Musica Viotti)

Personal life[link]

Sumi Jo is the first cousin once removed of Korean actor Yoo Gun (also spelled Yoo Geon). Yoo Gun is the son of one of Sumi's first cousins.^[20]

Sumi Jo is an advocate for animal rights and one of only five Asian celebrities to make People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Asia-Pacific's (PETA) first-ever Best-Dressed 2008 list.^[21]

Her father had died just before she performed Ave Maria at Chatelet, Paris. When she learned that her father died, she wanted to pack up and attend her father's funeral. Her mother reminded her of the promise with her audiences, and said that it was best for her father that she performed and dedicated it to her father.Her performance was dedicated to her father and released as a DVD titled "Sumi Jo in Paris - For my Father"^[22]

Her grandma had a superstition if Sumi knocks something, any bad fortune would go away. Although Sumi's family lived in a rented property, her parents bought a piano for her to play.^[23]

Her mother trained Sumi strictly. Sumi recalled even when her mother went out; she locked the door outside so that Sumi couldn't play hooky.^[24]

In a Korean talk show, "Golden Fishery: Knee-drop Guru," she recalled that the first two years of Seoul National University was the most unique time of her life. She had not studied and felt in love for the first time. In the interview, she said that she could not even afford to buy a ticket to Italy, but there was an unexpected income to her family later. She had only $300 when she went to Italy to pursue further music study.

In an interview with a Korean newspaper, she said if she had the second life, she would like to have an ordinary woman's life as a wife of a man.

She marked the highest score in the history of Seoul National University (SNU) entrance exam, for her vocal performance.

She fainted on the street when she studied in Italy, and later was diagnosed with anemia. She slept only 4 hours to study Italian language and music, and also to tutor to earn money to keep studying in Italy.

She had studied music with a scholarship in Seonwha Arts Junior-High School and Seonwha Arts High School for six years.

She has been claimed as "a voice from above" by Maestro Herbert von Karajan.^[25]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Sumi Jo at Allmusic
• Sumi Jo at the Internet Movie Database

Lesley Garrett CBE (born 10 April 1955) is an English soprano singer, musician, broadcaster and media personality.^[1]

Early life[link]

Garrett was born in the town of Thorne near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, into a musical family. She attended Thorne Fieldside Infant and Junior Schools and Thorne Grammar School, where she performed in school plays and musicals and passed 10 O-levels and an A-level in music.^[2] As she grew up she inherited her family's love of music. Her grandfather Colin Wall was a classical pianist, her father Derek worked as a railway signalman and then as a schoolteacher at Hatfield Woodhouse Primary School, eventually going on to become a headmaster. They lived nearby just South of the village; her mother Margaret (née Wall) was a talented singing seamstress and became the school secretary at Lesley's primary school. She has a sister, Kay. When she was 19, to earn money in the summer, Lesley washed dishes at the officers' mess at nearby RAF Lindholme, where she received two marriage proposals.^[3]

Music[link]

Garrett has had an extensive music career. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, she won the Decca Prize of the Kathleen Ferrier Award in 1979, thereby launching her career.^[4] During her time as principal soprano at English National Opera, she became well known for her performances in productions of the operas Serse, Le Nozze di Figaro, Così fan tutte and Die Fledermaus.^[1]

Garrett has performed across the world, in countries throughout Europe, and also the United States, Australia, Russia, Brazil, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan and South Korea. She has also sung opera and pop classics with Bryan Ferry, The Eurythmics and Mick Hucknall to celebrate the arrival of the new century on Millennium Eve, in the grounds at the Royal Observatory and National Maritime Museum.^[5]

She played the lead role of Hanna Glawari in the Welsh National Opera's production of The Merry Widow, which toured the United Kingdom in 2005. As of November 2006, for six months she is performing as Mother Abbess in Andrew Lloyd Webber's revival of The Sound of Music. In 2008, she joined the cast of Carousel as Nettie Fowler. The production toured the UK and then transferred to the West End's Savoy Theatre.

Garrett created the role of Cathy in the London studio recording of Bernard J. Taylor's operatic version of Wuthering Heights, which also featured Dave Willetts, Bonnie Langford and other leading singers from the British musical stage. Her rendition of "I Belong to The Earth" was included on two of her solo albums.

As a recording artist, Garrett has released eleven solo albums. Many of them have been successful, receiving gold and silver status. Soprano in Red received the Gramophone Award for "Best-selling Classical Artist of the Year". Garrett was also a featured artist on the platinum selling "Perfect Day" single released by the BBC in aid of Children in Need.^[5]

Garrett is a member of the board of the English National Opera. In 2002, she was awarded the CBE for her services to music. She performed at the FA Cup Final final at the new Wembley Stadium alongside Sarah Brightman in 2007, before the match between Manchester United and Chelsea, and in 2008 alongside Katherine Jenkins before the match between Cardiff City and Portsmouth.

Television and radio[link]

In 2004, Garrett was one of the participants in the first series of the celebrity talent contest Strictly Come Dancing, finishing third with her dance partner Anton du Beke. In the same year, she took part in the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are?, a genealogy documentary series, in which she journeyed through her home town of Thorne in search of her family history. Garrett was delighted to discover that the musical gene stretched far back and had run in her family for several generations.^[6] Garrett is a veteran of Dictionary Corner on the Channel 4 game show Countdown and in June 2005 it was thought that she was to become one of the show's rotating guest hosts while Richard Whiteley was recovering from illness. After Whiteley's death, however, the plan for rotating guest hosts was abandoned and Des Lynam took the role for the next fifteen months. Garrett did not appear on Countdown again until October 2009.

In February 2005, Garrett was selected to be one of the judges for BBC's Comic Relief does Fame Academy, and in May she hosted and sang at the 2005 Classical BRIT Awards at the Royal Albert Hall on ITV. In 2006, Garrett was a regular panellist on the ITV daytime show Loose Women, and again in 2009-2010. Garrett also appeared on This Morning and Loose Women in 2007, to perform a song from her latest album When I Fall In Love. She also continued the post as a judge on Comic Relief Does Fame Academy in 2007.^[7] Garrett currently presents a show on the British classical radio station Classic FM.

From February 2008, Garrett presented the show Lesley Garrett's 20 Operas to See Before You Die on Sky Arts.^[8]

Over four weeks, beginning 30 November 2008, she presented the Sunday morning BBC1 programme Christmas Voices ^[9]

In November 2010, she joined a long line of panellists on Five's The Wright Stuff.

Along with Larry Lamb, Garrett presented a short BBC series entitled 'When Royals Wed' to celebrate the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in April 2011.

Personal life[link]

Garrett married in May 1991: her husband, Peter,^[10] is a GP in Muswell Hill. They have a son, Jeremy, and a daughter, Chloe. The family lives in north London. She is a supporter of the Labour Party, attending the 2009 Party Conference.^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

Solo albums[link]

• Prima Donna (1992)
• Simple Gifts (1994)
• Soprano in Red (1995) - UK #59
• Soprano in Hollywood (1996) - UK #53
• A Soprano Inspired (1997) - UK #48
• Lesley Garrett (1998) - UK #34
• I Will Wait For You (2000) - UK #28
• Travelling Light (2001) - UK #75
• The Singer (2002)
• So Deep is the Night (2003)
• The Best of Lesley Garrett (2004)
• When I Fall In Love (2007) — UK #11
• Amazing Grace (2008)^[11]

Solo DVDs[link]

• Lesley Garrett (1998)
• I Will Wait For You (2000)
• Notes From The Heart (2003)
• Desert Dreams (2004)
• Lesley Garrett: Music from the Movies (2006)
• Lesley Garrett Live At Christmas (2008)

Bibliography[link]

• Notes From a Small Soprano - 2000
• Lesley Garrett: My Autobiography* - 2000
• Lesley Garrett Song Collection - 2001

* Reprint of Notes From a Small Soprano with few edits. Also the title of audiobook.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lesley Garrett's Official Website
• Official Record Label Website
• Lesley Garrett's section on ClassicalX
• 2006 article on Lesley Garrett on Theatre.com
• Lesley Garrett's page on Classic FM
• Lesley Garrett at the Internet Movie Database

Agustín Lara
Statue of A. Lara in Madrid (Spain), by sculptor H. Peraza (1975)
Background information
Also known as	El flaco de oro ("The Golden Skinny")
Born	(1897-10-30)October 30, 1897 Tlacotalpan, Veracruz, Mexico
Died	November 6, 1970(1970-11-06) (aged 73) Mexico City, Mexico
Genres	Bolero, ballad, light music, folk
Occupations	Singer, songwriter
Years active	1922–1968
Associated acts	María Félix, Pedro Vargas, Toña la Negra

Ángel Agustín María Carlos Fausto Mariano Alfonso del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Lara y Aguirre del Pino^[1] (October 30, 1897 – November 6, 1970), known as Agustín Lara was a Mexican singer and songwriter.

Biography[link]

Lara was born in Tlacotalpan, Veracruz. Later, the Lara family had to move to Mexico City, establishing their house in the borough of Coyoacán. After their mother died, Agustín and his siblings lived in a hospice run by their aunt, Refugio Aguirre del Pino. It was there that he had his first contact with music.

Lara's first musical composition was "Marucha", written in honor of one of his first loves. In 1927 he already was working in cabarets. He subsequently moved to Puebla, but returned to Mexico City in 1928.^[2] That same year he started working for the tenor Juan Arvizu as composer and accompanist. In September 1930, Lara began a successful radio career. At the same time he acted and composed songs for such films as Santa.

Lara's first tour, to Cuba in 1933, was a failure because of political turmoil on the island. Later, more successful tours in South America, as well as such new compositions as "Solamente Una Vez" (composed in Buenos Aires and dedicated to José Mojica), "Veracruz", "Tropicana", and "Pecadora" increased his fame.

By the beginning of the 1940s, Lara was well known in Spain. In 1965, the Spanish Caudillo, Francisco Franco, gave him a house in Granada to show his appreciation of Lara's songs with Spanish themes, such as "Toledo","Cuerdas de mi Guitarra","Granada", "Seville", and "Madrid". He received additional honors and decorations from around the world.

In 1968, Lara's health began to decline rapidly; an accident that fractured his pelvis further aggravated his condition. On November 6, 1970, Agustín Lara died.^[3] He was buried in the Rotonda de los Hombres Ilustres of the Panteón de Dolores in Mexico City. By the time of his death, Lara had written more than 700 songs.

Some of his most distinguished interpreters[link]

• Hermanas Águila
• Roberto Alagna (French TV5: "Vivement Dimanche". Tenor, husband of Angela Gheorghiu)
• Luigi Alva
• Desi Arnaz
• Juan Arvizu
• Raquel Bitton
• Andrea Bocelli
• Miguel Bosé
• Jose Luis Caballero
• Rodrigo de la Cadena
• Chela Campos
• Luz Casal
• Maestro Dr. Enrique Chia
• Nat "King" Cole
• Bing Crosby
• Xavier Cugat
• Marlene Dietrich
• Plácido Domingo
• Dyango
• Isac Esquivel
• Alejandro Fernández
• Vicente Fernández
• Lola Flores
• Juan Diego Flórez
• Juan Moreno Franco
• Lucho Gatica
• Angela Gheorghiu
• Ana Maria González
• Tito Guízar
• Julio Iglesias
• Pedro Infante
• Alfredo Kraus
• Frankie Laine
• Mario Lanza
• Joe Lopez
• Al Martino
• Lucía Méndez
• Luis Miguel
• José Mojica
• Amparo Montes
• Graciela Naranjo
• Toña la Negra
• Fito Páez
• Trío Los Panchos
• Luciano Pavarotti
• Jan Peerce
• Perez Prado
• Elvira Ríos
• Daniel Santos
• John Serry, Sr.
• Frank Sinatra
• Javier Solís
• The Three Tenors
• Chavela Vargas
• Pedro Vargas
• Caetano Veloso
• Claudio Villa
• Finbar Wright
• Fritz Wunderlich

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

Media related to Agustín Lara at Wikimedia Commons

• Biblioteca Babab (Spanish)
• Agustín Lara discography at Discogs
• Agustín Lara at the Internet Movie Database
• "Agustín Lara". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=18870. Retrieved September 3, 2010.