The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C₃, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C (A₄) in choral music, and up to tenor C (C₅) in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B♭2 (two B♭s below middle C). At the highest extreme, some tenors can sing up to two Fs above middle C (F₅).^[1]

The term tenor is also applied to instruments, such as the tenor saxophone, to indicate their range in relation to other instruments of the same group.

Within opera, the lowest note in the standard tenor repertoire is A₂ (Mime, Herod), but few roles fall below C₃. The high extreme: a few tenor roles in the standard repertoire call for a "tenor C" (C₅, one octave above middle C). Some (if not all) of the few top Cs in the standard operatic repertoire are either optional (such as in "Che gelida manina" in Puccini's La bohème) or interpolated (added) by tradition (such as in "Di quella pira" from Verdi's Il trovatore). Some operatic roles for tenor require a darker timbre and fewer high notes. In the leggero repertoire the highest note is an F₅ (Arturo in "Credeasi, misera" from Bellini's I puritani),^[2] therefore, very few tenors can have this role in their repertoire.^[3] A shift in pitch since the mid 19th century means that the few written top Cs (such as in "Salut demeure" from Gounod's Faust) would have in fact demanded a note at least a semitone lower than today's standard pitch.

Within musical theatre, most tenor roles are written between B♭₂ and A♭₄, especially the romantic leads, although some fall as low as A♭₂ and others as high as G₅.

Origin of the term[link]

The name "tenor" derives from the Latin word tenere, which means "to hold". In medieval and Renaissance polyphony between about 1250 and 1500,^{[citation needed]} the tenor was the structurally fundamental (or 'holding') voice, vocal or instrumental. All other voices were normally calculated in relation to the tenor, which often proceeded in longer note values and carried a borrowed Cantus firmus melody. Until the late 15th century introduction of the contratenor bassus, the tenor was usually the lowest voice, assuming the role of providing a harmonic foundation. It was also in the 15th century that "tenor" came to signify the male voice that sang such parts. Thus, for earlier repertoire, a line marked 'tenor' indicated the part's role, and not the required voice type. Indeed, even as late as the eighteenth century, partbooks labelled 'tenor' might contain parts for a range of voice types.^[4]

Tenor in choral music[link]

In four-part choral music, the tenor is the second lowest voice, above the bass and below the soprano and alto. While certain choral music does require the first tenors to ascend the full tenor range, the majority of choral music places the tenors in the range from approximately B₂ up to A₄. The requirements of the tenor voice in choral music are also tied to the style of music most often performed by a given choir. Orchestra choruses require tenors with fully resonant voices, but chamber or a cappella choral music (sung with no instrumental accompaniment) can rely on light baritones singing in falsetto.^[5]

Even so, one nearly ubiquitous facet of choral singing is the shortage of tenor voices.^[6][7][8] Most men tend to have baritone voices and for this reason the majority of men tend to prefer singing in the bass section of a choir (however, true basses are even rarer than tenors). Some men are asked to sing tenor even if they lack the full range, and sometimes low altos are asked to sing the tenor part.^[5] The late 19th century saw the emergence of male choirs or TTBB (Tenor1, Tenor2, Bass1, Bass2). In the USA these are sometimes called Glee Clubs. The Welsh choirs are perhaps the best personification of this type of choir. Male Choirs sing specially written music for male choirs, music adapted from mixed sex choirs and in most genres including classical, sacred, popular and show. Male choirs differ from Barbershop choirs in that they are usually accompanied, often by but not restricted to a piano. Male choirs are often larger than the Barbershop style partly because the foundation of the Barbershop style is the solo quartet sound. In Male Choirs, tenors will often sing both in chest tone and falsetto. As a result, a male choir has a wider pitch range than one consisting only of females. Some examples of male choirs are: The Morriston Orpheus Welsh Male Voice Choir, the Sydney Male Choir and the Treorchy Male Choir. There are some impressive male ensembles in the Russian Orthodox Church choral tradition and also there are some excellent Jewish ensembles. The UK's largest male voice choir, the London Gay Men's Chorus, for example, exhibits an extraordinary pitch range from counter tenor to basso profundo.

Other uses[link]

There are four parts in Barbershop harmony: bass, baritone, lead, and tenor (lowest to highest), with "tenor" referring to the highest part. The tenor generally sings in falsetto voice, corresponding roughly to the countertenor in classical music, and harmonizes above the lead, who sings the melody. The barbershop tenor range is B♭-below-middle C (B♭₃) to D-above-high C (D₅), though it is written an octave lower. The "lead" in barbershop music is equivalent to the normal tenor range.^[9]

In bluegrass music, the melody line is called the lead. Tenor is sung an interval of a third above the lead. Baritone is the fifth of the scale that has the lead as a tonic, and may be sung below the lead, or even above the lead (and the tenor), in which case it is called "high baritone."^[10]

Though strictly not musical, the Muslim call to prayer (azan) is always chanted by tenors, possibly due to the highly placed resonance of the tenor voice which allows it to be heard from a longer distance than baritones or basses during pre-amplification times. Some such chanters (termed bilals) may modulate up to E₃ in certain passages, while incorporating a distinctive Middle-Eastern coloratura run.

Tenor voice classification[link]

Within choral and pop music, singers are classified into voice parts based almost solely on vocal range with little consideration for other qualities in the voice. Within classical solo singing, however, a person is classified as a tenor through the identification of several vocal traits, including range, vocal timbre, vocal weight, vocal tessitura, vocal resonance, and vocal transition points (lifts or "passaggio") within the singer's voice. These different traits are used to identify different sub-types within the tenor voice sometimes referred to as fächer (sg. fach, from German Fach or Stimmfach, "vocal category"). Within opera, particular roles are written with specific kinds of tenor voices in mind, causing certain roles to be associated with certain kinds of voices.^[11]

Here follows the operatic tenor fächer, with examples of the roles from the standard repertory that they commonly sing. It should be noted that there is considerable overlap between the various categories of role and of voice-type; and that some singers have begun with lyric voices but have transformed with time into spinto or even dramatic tenors. (Enrico Caruso is a prime example of this kind of vocal development.) It must be said that in the operatic canon the highest top note generally written by composers is B. Top Cs are rare (they are either given as oppure that is, up to the singer to interpolate or are traditional additions). An ability to sing C and above, therefore, is musically superfluous. Indeed, many famous tenors never even attempted C at least on record—for example, in Caruso's 1906 recording of "Che gelida manina", the whole aria is transposed to avoid the oppure top C. This is a normal transposition.

Leggero tenor[link]

Also known as the "tenore di grazia", the leggero tenor is essentially the male equivalent of a lyric coloratura. This voice is light, agile, and capable of executing difficult passages of fioritura. The typical leggero tenor possesses a range spanning from approximately C₃ to D₅, with a few being able to sing up to F₅ or higher in full voice. In some cases, the chest register of the leggero tenor may extend below C₃. Voices of this type are utilized frequently in the operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and in music dating from the Baroque period.

Leggero tenor roles in operas:^[3]

Notable leggero tenor singers include:

Lyric tenor[link]

A warm graceful voice with a bright, full timbre that is strong but not heavy and can be heard over an orchestra. Lyric tenors have a range from approximately the C one octave below middle C (C₃) to the D one octave above middle C (D₅) with some able to sing up to E♭₅ and higher. Similarly, their lower range may extend a few notes below the C₃. There are many vocal shades to the lyric tenor group, repertoire should be selected according to the weight, colors, and abilities of the voice.

Lyric tenor roles in operas:^[3]

Notable lyric tenor singers include:

Spinto tenor[link]

This voice has the brightness and height of a lyric tenor, but with a heavier vocal weight enabling the voice to be "pushed" to dramatic climaxes with less strain than the lighter-voice counterparts. (They are also known as "lyric-dramatic" tenors.) Spinto tenors have a darker timbre than a lyric tenor, without having a vocal color as dark as many (not all) dramatic tenors. The German equivalent of the Spinto fach is the Jugendlicher Heldentenor and encompasses many of the Dramatic tenor roles as well as some Wagner roles such as Lohengrin and Stolzing. The difference is often the depth and metal in the voice where some lyric tenors age or push their way into singing as a Spinto giving them a lighter tone and Jugendlicher Heldentenors tend to be either young heldentenors or true lyric dramatic voices giving them a dark dramatic tenor like tone. Spinto tenors have a range from approximately the C one octave below middle C (C₃) to the C one octave above middle C (C₅).

Spinto tenor roles in operas:^[3]

Notable spinto tenor singers include:

Dramatic tenor[link]

Also "tenore di forza" or "robusto" – an emotive, ringing and very powerful, clarion, heroic tenor sound. The dramatic tenor has an approximate range from the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the C one octave above middle C (C5).^[3] Many successful dramatic tenors have historically avoided the coveted high C in performance. Their lower range tends to extend into the baritone tessitura or, a few notes below the C3, even down to A♭2. Some dramatic tenors have a rich and dark tonal colour to their voice (such as the mature Enrico Caruso) while others (like Francesco Tamagno) possess a bright, steely timbre.

Dramatic tenor roles in operas:^[3]

Notable dramatic tenor singers include:

Heldentenor[link]

A rich, dark, powerful and dramatic voice. As its name implies, the Heldentenor (English: heroic tenor) vocal fach features in the German romantic operatic repertoire. The Heldentenor is the German equivalent of the tenore drammatico, however with a more baritonal quality: the typical Wagnerian protagonist. The keystone of the heldentenor's repertoire is arguably Wagner's Siegfried, an extremely demanding role requiring a wide vocal range and great power, plus tremendous stamina and acting ability. Often the heldentenor is a baritone who has transitioned to this fach or tenors who have been misidentified as baritones. Therefore the heldentenor voice might or might not have facility up to high B or C. The repertoire, however, rarely calls for such high notes. A Heldentenor is sometimes less a true tenor than a baritone with an unusually strong top register. Lauritz Melchior epitomises the Heldentenor sound in this regard.

Heldentenor roles in operas:^[3]

Notable Heldentenor singers include:

Mozart tenor[link]

In Mozart singing, the most important element is the instrumental approach of the vocal sound which implies: flawless and slender emission of sound, perfect intonation, legato, diction and phrasing, capability to cope with the dynamic requirements of the score, beauty of timbre, secure line of singing through perfect support and absolute breath control, musical intelligence, body discipline, elegance, nobility, agility and ability for dramatic expressiveness within the narrow borders imposed by the strict Mozart style, being this Mozart style the most important requirement to fulfill.

The German Mozart tenor tradition goes back to end of the 1920s when Mozart tenors started making use of Caruso's technique to achieve and improve the required dynamics and dramatic expressiveness.

Mozart tenor roles in Mozart Operas:^[3]

Mozart tenor reference singers include:

• Francisco Araiza^[12][13][14]
• Anton Dermota^[15][16]
• Peter Schreier^[17][18]
• Gösta Winbergh^[19][20]
• Fritz Wunderlich^[21][22]

Tenor buffo or Spieltenor[link]

A tenor with good acting ability, and the ability to create distinct voices for his characters. This voice specializes in smaller comic roles. The range of the tenor buffo is from the C one octave below middle C (C₃) to the C one octave above middle C (C₅). The tessitura of these parts lies lower than the other tenor roles. These parts are often played by younger tenors who have not yet reached their full vocal potential or older tenors who are beyond their prime singing years. Only rarely will a singer specialize in these roles for an entire career.^[3] In French opéra comique, supporting roles requiring a thin voice but good acting are sometimes described as 'trial', after the singer Antoine Trial (1737–1795), examples being in the operas of Ravel and in The Tales of Hoffmann.^[23]

Tenor buffo or Spieltenor roles in operas:^[3]

Notable tenor buffo or Spieltenor singers include:

Operetta[link]

All of the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas have at least one lead lyric tenor character; other notable roles are:

• Candide, (Candide)
• Eisenstein, (Die Fledermaus)
• Camille, Count de Rosillon, (The Merry Widow)
• Prince Karl, (The Student Prince)
• Captain Dick, (Naughty Marietta)

See also[link]

• List of tenors in non-classical music

References[link]

Ryan Lewis
Ryan Lewis (back) performing with Macklemore (front) at Sasquatch! Music Festival
Background information
Born	(1988-03-25) March 25, 1988 (age 24) Spokane, Washington, U.S.
Origin	Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Producer, DJ
Years active	2006–present
Associated acts	Macklemore
Website	rlewis.com

Ryan Lewis (born March 25, 1988) is an American music producer, musician, music video director, photographer, graphic designer, rapper and DJ currently based in Seattle. He is best known for his collaboration with American rapper Macklemore (Ben Haggerty) producing Macklemore & Ryan Lewis — The VS. EP (2009), The Heist (2012) and a handful of other singles. Since the beginning of their collaboration in late 2008, Ryan has produced, recorded, engineered and mixed all of the music, directed music videos ("Same Love", "Thrift Shop", "And We Danced", "Otherside (Remix)"), designed visuals (album art, web design, posters) and DJed the live show.

In a recent mini-documentary, Lewis recalled meeting Macklemore for the first time. "When I met him, it was a really different time. It was less than a year after [2005's] Language of My World had come out. So he had buzz. For me being a young kid, it was very exciting to link with him. The bulk of our original relationship was photo shoots. I became kind of his photographer."^[1]

[edit] The Heist

On October 9, 2012, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis released The Heist. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts and #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums, selling 78,000 copies in the first week.^[2] The album also debuted at #1 on iTunes Digital Albums chart.^[3] The duo's album has received more than 1 million plays on SoundCloud, 70 million YouTube views and was accompanied by a sold-out 50-date U.S. and Canadian tour.^[4]

Discography[link]

(All credited to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis)

Studio albums[link]

EPs

Singles[link]

Notes[link]

• A ^ "Wing$" did not enter the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 7 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, which acts as an extension to the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.^[27]
• B ^ "Same Love" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 25 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, which acts as an extension to the Hot 100.^[28]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

de:Ryan Lewis

Saint Juan Diego
Juan Diego by Miguel Cabrera
Born	c. (1474-07-12)July 12, 1474[1] Calpulli of Tlayacac, Cuauhtitlan, Mexico
Died	May 30, 1548(1548-05-30) (aged 73) Tenochtitlan, Mexico City, Mexico
Honored in	Roman Catholic Church
Beatified	April 9, 1990, Vatican City, Rome by Pope John Paul II
Canonized	July 31, 2002, Basilica of Guadalupe, Mexico City, Mexico by Pope John Paul II
Major shrine	Basilica of Guadalupe, Mexico City, Mexico
Feast	December 9
Attributes	tilma

Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin or Juan Diego (1474–May 30, 1548) was, according to Mexican Catholic tradition, an indigenous Mexican who reported a Marian apparition, Our Lady of Guadalupe, in 1531. The apparition has had a significant impact on the spread of the Catholic faith within Mexico. The Roman Catholic Church canonized him in 2002, as its first indigenous American saint.

The reality of Juan Diego's existence has been questioned by a number of experts on the early religious history of New Spain including Bernardino de Sahagun, Joaquin Garcia Icazbalceta, Stafford Poole, Louise Burkhart and David Brading, who argue that there is a complete lack of sources about Juan Diego's existence prior to the publication of the Nican Mopohua a century later, in 1649 (they do not accept the validity of the Codex Escalada as historical evidence).^[2] Notwithstanding these doubts, the findings of an interdisciplinary study, by nearly two dozen experts involving a prominent Mexican university and a noted American scholar of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican linguistics and anthropology, all indicated authenticity of the document and 16th century origin.^[3][4]

Sources[link]

This section cites its sources but does not provide page references. You can help to improve it by introducing citations that are more precise.

The two primary sources to the life of Juan Diego are from 1648 and 1649. The first account, Imagen de la Virgen Maria, Madre de Dios de Guadalupe, Milagrosamente aparecida en la Ciudad de México, was written in Spanish by the priest Miguel Sánchez. It relates how Juan Diego witnessed the apparitions, how he informed Bishop Zumárraga, the miracles of the tilmahtli and the roses, the apparition to Juan Bernardino (Juan Diego's uncle), and how the shrine to Guadalupe was instated. According to contemporary sources this was the first time the apparition story was told to a wide audience.^[5] Some historians have suggested that Sánchez built his account on an indigenous oral tradition local to the area, a variant of the earlier legend of the appearance of the Virgin of Los Remedios.^[6] The Virgin of Remedios was a popular saint to whom several miraculous curings were attributed, among them the curing of an indigenous herdsman near Tepeyac and of a construction worker in Tacuba. The stories of the Virgen de Guadalupe and Virgen de Los Remedios have several similarities, and have often been confused. Historians have suggested that the Nican Mopohua can be understood as a variation of the legend of the miracle of the Virgin de los Remedios.^[7]

The second source which is more famous than Sánchez' and goes into more detail about Juan Diego is the Huei tlamahuiçoltica (which include "Nican Mopohua") written in Classical Nahuatl by Mexican priest and lawyer Luis Laso de la Vega and published in 1649.

The historic veracity of both sources are considered questionable by many historians.^[8] The primary doubts arise in the dearth of sources about the apparition and consequently about Juan Diego in the 117 years between the time given for the apparition and the first publication of the story. Also the fact that the story was described as being previously unknown by those who read its first publication. Furthermore the fact that Bishop Zúmarraga who figures as a prominent character in the account has not left any mention of either Juan Diego or the apparition in his otherwise ample correspondence is a problem for the credibility of the accounts.^[9] The problems with the historicity of Juan Diego was recognized as early as 1883 by Joaquín García Icazbalceta historian and the biographer of Archbishop Juan de Zumárraga, in private letter to the Mexican Bishop Icazbalceta concluded that there was no historical basis for the character of Juan Diego.

In 1995 a deer skin codex pictorially demonstrating the apparition and the life of Juan Diego appeared in the possession of Xavier Escalada, a Jesuit writing an encyclopedia of the Guadalupan tradition. This unprovenanced document, previously unknown to historians and archivists, became referred to as the Codex Escalada. This was at a time when the process of canonization was at a halt and historians and theologians were beginning to voice doubts about the veracity of the legend. The Codex seemed to provide ineffable proof of the historicity of the accounts of Sánchez and Laso de la Vega. To further strengthen its force of proof it bore the signatures of the important historical figures Antonio Valeriano and Bernardino de Sahagún which seemed to date it unequivocally to the mid 16th century around the time of the apparition. The sheer timing of the Codex' appearance was seen by some historians as suspicious, and the source is not regarded by them as an historical document but rather a fabrication.^{[page needed][10]} The Codex, however, was studied by approximately twenty experts in various specialties, including the Physics Institute of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and anthropologist, linguist, and scholar of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures, Charles E. Dibble of the University of Utah, as well by experts in graphology from the Bank of Mexico; the findings all indicate authenticity of the document and 16th century origin.^[3][4]

Life[link]

According to the Nican Mopohua, Juan Diego was born in 1474 in the calpulli of Tlayacac in Cuautitlán, a small Indian village some 20 km (12mi) to the north of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City). Another source indicated that Juan Diego was born on July 12, 1474.^[11]

His original or birth name was Cuauhtlatoatzin^[12] (alternately rendered as Quauhtatoatzin, Guauhtlatoatzin, or Cuatliztactzin), which has been translated as "Talking Eagle" in the Nahuatl language.

Conversion to Catholicism[link]

A farmer, landowner and weaver of mats, he witnessed the Spanish conquest of Mexico by Hernán Cortés in 1521, when he was 47 years old. Following the invasion, in 1524, the first 12 Franciscan missionaries arrived in what is now Mexico City.

Cuauhtlatoatzin and his wife welcomed the Franciscans in 1524 or 1525 and were among the first to be baptized — he taking the Christian name of Juan Diego; she, Maria Lucia. Later, they moved to Tolpetlac to be closer to Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) and the Catholic mission that had been set up by the Franciscan friars.

According to his legend, after hearing a sermon on the virtue of chastity, they reportedly decided to live chaste lives^{[citation needed]} . This decision was later cited as a possible reason for which the Virgin Mary chose to appear to Juan Diego^{[citation needed]} . In 1529, a few years after her baptism, Maria Lucia became sick and died. According to Sánchez' account Juan Diego and his wife had lived in celibacy for their entire lives; this would be extraordinary since he lived the first 47 years of his life according to pre-Columbian indigenous customs that only prescribed celibacy for the highest priesthood. The Nican Mopohua adds the detail about his celibacy beginning after his first sermon. Juan Diego found the Virgin Mary when he was 57.^[9]

Apparition on Tepeyac Hill[link]

As a widower, Juan Diego walked every Saturday and Sunday to church, and on cold mornings, wore a woven cloth called a tilma, or ayate made with coarse fibers from the maguey cactus for cotton was only used by the upper class Aztec.

On Saturday morning, December 9, 1531, he reported the following: As he was walking to church, he heard the sound of birds singing on Tepeyac hill and someone calling his name. He ran up the hill, and there saw a Lady, about fourteen years of age, resembling an Aztec princess in appearance, and surrounded by light. The Lady spoke to him in Nahuatl, his native tongue. She called him “Xocoyte,” her little son. He responded by calling her “Xocoyote,” his youngest child. The Lady asked Juan Diego to tell the bishop of Mexico, a Franciscan named Juan de Zumárraga, that she wanted a “teocalli,” a shrine, to be built on the spot where she stood, in her honor, where:

"I will demonstrate, I will exhibit, I will give all my love, my compassion, my help and my protection to the people. I am your merciful mother, the merciful mother of all of you who live united in this land, and of all mankind, of all those who love me , of those who cry to me, of those who seek me, of those who have confidence in me. Here I will hear their weeping, their sorrow and will remedy and alleviate all their multiple sufferings, necessities and misfortunes."

Recognizing the Lady as the Virgin Mary, Juan Diego went to the bishop as instructed, but the Spanish bishop, Fray Juan de Zumárraga was doubtful and told Juan Diego he needed a sign. Juan Diego returned to Tepeyac hill and explained to the Lady that the bishop did not believe him. He implored the Lady to use another messenger, insisting he was not worthy. The Lady however insisted that it was of the utmost importance that it be Diego speaking to the bishop on her behalf. On Sunday, Juan Diego did as the Lady directed, but again the bishop asked for a sign. Later that day, the Lady promised Juan Diego she would give him a sign the following day.

According to the Nican Mopohua, he returned home that night to his uncle Juan Bernardino’s house, and discovered him seriously ill. The next morning, December 12, Juan Diego decided not to meet with the Lady, but to find a priest who could administer the last rites to his dying uncle. When he tried to skirt around Tepeyac hill, the Lady intercepted him, assured him his uncle would not die, and asked him to climb the hill and gather the flowers he found there. It was December, when normally nothing blooms in the cold. There, Diego's miracle of the roses occurred: he found roses from the region of Castille in Spain, former home of bishop Zumárraga. The Lady re-arranged the roses carefully inside the folded tilma that Juan Diego wore and told him not to open it before anyone but the bishop. When Juan Diego unfolded his tilma before the Bishop roses cascaded from his tilma, and an icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe was miraculously impressed on the cloth, bringing the bishop to his knees.

According to the Nican Mopohua Zumárraga acknowledged the miracle and within two weeks, ordered a shrine to be built where the Virgin Mary had appeared. The bishop then entrusted the image to Juan Diego, who chose to live, until his death at about the age of 73 — on May 30, 1548 — as a hermit near the spot where the Virgin Mary had appeared. From his hermitage he cared for the chapel and the first pilgrims who came to pray there, propagating the account of the apparitions in Mexico.

No records prior to 1648 exist showing that Bishop Zumárraga acknowledged the miracle or that he even knew of it.^[13]

Impact on Mexico and the Catholic Church[link]

This article's factual accuracy is disputed. Please help to ensure that disputed facts are reliably sourced. See the relevant discussion on the talk page. (September 2007)

According to the traditional account, the original image of Our lady of Guadalupe miraculously appeared on the cloak of Juan Diego, on the hill of Tepeyac near Mexico City on December 12, 1531.

News of the apparition on Tepayac Hill spread quickly through Mexico; and in the seven years that followed, 1532 through 1538, the Indian people accepted the Spaniards and 8 million people were converted to the Catholic faith.

According to Daniel Lynch, director of the Apostolate of the Missionary Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, “An amazing thing happened. Indians became reconciled to Spaniards. And we had a new race of people. Mixed blood. We called them "Mestizos". Our Lady of Guadalupe had appeared as a Mestiza. They call her the dark virgin, the little brown one.”

Our Lady of Guadalupe, as the Virgin Mary came to be known in this context, still underpins the faith of many Catholics in Mexico and the rest of Latin America, and she is recognized as patron saint of all the Americas.

Interestingly, the years 1532 to 1538 which saw a large number of people join the Roman Catholic Church in Mexico based on Juan Diego's vision, were right in the midst of the period of Protestant Reformation in Europe. Hence as a large number of people left the Catholic Church in Europe, a large number of new Catholics appeared in Mexico, maintaining the overall strength of the Catholic Church. To this day, Latin America remains a major pillar of the Catholic Church.

Investigations, canonization and symbolism[link]

Juan Diego was recognized by the Church soon after the apparition. He expressed a deep love for the Holy Eucharist, and by special permission of the Bishop he received Holy Communion three times a week, a highly unusual occurrence in those times.

In 1667, a Church investigation into the establishment of a feast day produced a document known as the Informaciones Jurídicas de 1666, purporting to gather information from informants whom had had some connection with Juan Diego. In 1723 a formal investigation into his life was ordered by Archbishop Lanziego y Equilaz.

Veneration[link]

On January 9, 1987, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints declared Juan Diego venerable. Pope John Paul II beatified him on May 6, 1990, during a Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, declaring December 9 Juan Diego's feast day, one day after Immaculate Conception and invoking him as “protector and advocate of the indigenous peoples.”

Controversy over the historical authenticity of Juan Diego was stirred in 1996 by Father Guillermo Schulenburg, a longtime abbot of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who called Juan Diego a mythical character.

The Vatican subsequently established a commission of 30 researchers from various countries to investigate the question. The commission's view was that Juan Diego had indeed existed, and the results of their research were presented to the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints on October 28, 1998. Among research documents submitted at that time were 27 Guadalupe Indian documents.

Canonization[link]

Juan Diego was canonized by Pope John Paul II on July 31, 2002.^[14] Pope John Paul II praised Juan Diego for his simple faith nourished by catechesis and pictured him (who said to the Blessed Virgin Mary: "I am a nobody, I am a small rope, a tiny ladder, the tail end, a leaf") as a model of humility.

Symbolism[link]

By 1820, when the Mexican War of Independence from Spanish colonial rule ended, Our Lady of Guadalupe had come to symbolize the Mexican nation. The armies of both Miguel Hidalgo in 1810 and Emiliano Zapata in 1914 flew Guadalupan flags. The first president of Mexico adopted the name "Guadalupe Victoria" during the fight for independence from Spain. Today, the Virgin of Guadalupe remains a strong national and religious symbol in Mexico.

Many Mexicans also see the canonization of Juan Diego as a symbolic victory in the movement for greater recognition of their heritage reflected in the Catholic religion; Pope John Paul II held a Mass in Mexico that borrowed from Aztec traditions, including a reading from the Bible in Nahuatl. The Pope urged the Catholic Church in Mexico to be respectful of indigenous traditions and to incorporate them into religious ceremonies when appropriate.

Controversy over official depiction[link]

There was controversy over the official image of Juan Diego selected by the Archdiocese of Mexico City in 2002. Critics feel that it depicts Juan Diego as having European features rather than the features of a Mexican Indian. Church officials responded that the depiction reflected the current ethnic make-up of Mexico.^[15]

See also[link]

• Our Lady of Guadalupe
• Miracle of the roses

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Sancta.org: Saint Juan Diego
• Biography from the Holy See for Juan Diegos Canonization
• Juan Diego at the Rosary Workshop
• Latin America's Indigenous Saint Stirs Anger, Pride, LA Times, July 30, 2002

Emilio Rolando Villazón Mauleón (born February 22, 1972) is a Mexican tenor. He settled in France and in 2007 became a French citizen.^[1][2]

Early life and education[link]

He was raised in Fuentes de Satélite, a suburban area of Greater Mexico City, Mexico. In an interview for Mexican television, Villazón told the story of how he was discovered as a tenor. He said that one day, as he was getting out of the shower in his apartment in Mexico City, somebody came knocking on his door; it was baritone Arturo Nieto, a friend of his neighbour, who had heard him singing while in the shower. He told Rolando he had an amazing voice and invited him to his music academy to develop his voice, there Rolando fell in love with opera.^[3]

Career[link]

Late 1990s and early 2000s[link]

He came to international attention in 1999 when he won both first prizes awarded in the Operalia international competition - both for opera and zarzuela. The same year he sang for the first time in Italy as des Grieux in Manon at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. In 2000 he appeared for the first time at the Berlin State Opera - as Macduff in Macbeth. Over the years he has presented many of his best roles there, among them José in Carmen and des Grieux in Manon.

In Munich in 2000 he sang Rodolfo in La bohème and in 2002 in Los Angeles, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi. In 2003 he sang Rodolfo at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in England. He also enjoyed a huge success in the title role of Les Contes d'Hoffmann at Covent Garden, London. The following year he appeared, again singing the role of Alfredo in La traviata at the Metropolitan Opera, New York and in 2005, both at St. Petersburg and the Salzburg Festival.

In addition to his appearances on the opera stage, he has an active recording career. He has recorded four solo CDs with Virgin Classics and is additionally featured, along with Patrizia Ciofi and Topi Lehtipuu, on the recording of Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda by Claudio Monteverdi, conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm.

2005-2010[link]

In August 2005, he sang a highly regarded Alfredo in Verdi's La traviata at the Salzburg Festival, conducted by Carlo Rizzi, directed by Willy Decker. Co-starring was Anna Netrebko as Violetta. They have also appeared together in a video version of Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore.

In 2007, Villazón switched his recording company and signed an exclusive long-term contract with Deutsche Grammophon. An album of zarzuelas (Gitano, Virgin Classics) conducted by Plácido Domingo, was released in Spring 2007. The U.S. version of his album Viva Villazón (Virgin Classics) was released in September 2007. In early 2010 he was a mentor and judge in the ITV show Popstar to Operastar.^[4]

Vocal surgery and the return to the stage[link]

In 2007, Villazón cancelled many of his scheduled engagements in order to diagnose and remedy a persistent vocal issue.^[5][6] In May 2009, Rolando Villazón announced that he had to undergo surgery in order to remove a congenital cyst in one of his vocal cords.^[7] After completing his rehabilitation, he returned to the stage in March 2010 singing Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore at the Vienna State Opera in March 2010, and then embarked on a series of recitals.^[8][9] He made his debut as a stage director with a new production of Werther at the Opéra de Lyon in January 2011.^[10]

Discography[link]

• Romeo y Julieta CD (2002), Radio Televisión Española
• Der Fliegende Holländer CD (2002), Teldec Classics
• Berlioz: La Révolution Grecque CD (2004), EMI Classics
• Italian Opera Arias CD (2004), Virgin Classics
• Gounod & Massenet Arias CD (2005), Virgin Classics
• Tristan und Isolde CDs and DVD (2005), EMI Classics
• Don Carlo 2 DVDs (2005), Opus Arte
• La Traviata CD (2005), Deutsche Grammophon
• Merry Christmas (Soundtrack) CD (2005), Virgin Classics
• Opera Recital CD; bonus edition with DVD (2006), Virgin Classics
• La Traviata DVD; premium 2-DVD edition (behind the scenes, rehearsals, introduction to the opera etc.) (2006), Salzburger Festspiele 2005, Deutsche Grammophon
• La Bohème DVD (2006), Bregenzer Festspiele 2002, ORF + Capriccio
• Monteverdi: Il Combattimento CD; bonus edition with DVD (2006), Virgin Classics
• Donizetti: L'elisir d'amore DVD (2006), Virgin Classics
• The Berlin Concert: Live from the Waldbühne DVD (2006), Deutsche Grammophon
• Gitano CD; bonus edition with DVD (February 2007), Virgin Classics
• Duets featuring Rolando Villazón and Anna Netrebko CD; bonus edition with DVD (March 2007), Deutsche Grammophon
• Viva Villazón - Rolando Villazón - Best Of CD (2007), Virgin Classics
• La Bohème Live recording CD (two disk set) (2008), Deutsche Grammophon
• Romeo et Juliette" 2 DVDs (Salzburger Festspiele 2008) (2009), Deutsche Grammophon
• Georg Friedrich Händel" CD/CD+DVD,(2009) Deutsche Grammophon
• La Bohème DVD (2009)

References[link]