Toto

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Carmen

Carmen (French pronunciation: ​[kaʁmɛn]; Spanish: [ˈkarmen]) is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on a novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, on 3 March 1875, and was not well received, largely due to its breaking of convention and controversial main characters, which shocked and scandalized its first audiences. Bizet died suddenly after the 33rd performance, and therefore was unaware of its outstanding success in Vienna later that year, or that it would win enduring international acclaim within the next ten years. Carmen has since become one of the most popular and frequently-performed operas in the classical canon; the "Habanera" from act 1 and the "Toreador Song" from act 2 are among the best known of all operatic arias.

The opera, written in the genre of opéra comique with musical numbers separated by dialogue, is set in southern Spain, and tells the story of the downfall of Don José, a naïve soldier who is seduced by the wiles of the fiery gypsy, Carmen. José abandons his childhood sweetheart and deserts from his military duties, yet loses Carmen's love to the glamorous toreador Escamillo, after which José kills her in a jealous rage. The depictions of proletarian life, immorality and lawlessness, and the tragic death of the main character on stage, broke new ground in French opera and were highly controversial.

David Paich

David Frank Paich (born June 25, 1954) is an Emmy and Grammy award-winning American keyboardist, singer, composer, recording producer, and arranger, best known for his work with the rock band Toto. With Toto, Paich has released 17 albums and sold over 30 million records. Additionally, Paich has contributed to a host of artists with his songwriting and arrangements including working with Boz Scaggs extensively in the 1970s and Michael Jackson in the 1980s.

He is the son of jazz composer, musician, and arranger Marty Paich.

Biography

Toto

A prolific writer of chart-performing songs, Paich wrote or co-wrote such tracks as "Hold the Line", "99", "Lowdown", "Lido Shuffle", "Georgy Porgy", "Rosanna", "Hydra","Holyanna", "Pamela", "Got To Be Real", and "Lady Love Me (One More Time)". He also performed lead vocals on the Toto hits "Africa", "Lovers in the Night", and "Stranger in Town".

Paich remained with Toto up until their disbandment in 2008, although he did not tour extensively with the band in the last few years. Session keyboardist Greg Phillinganes joined Toto in 2004 as an additional keyboardist for both studio projects and tour dates. In 2010, Paich resumed performing with Toto, and is the current keyboard player alongside Steve Porcaro.

Dennis Frederiksen

Dennis Hardy "Fergie" Frederiksen (May 15, 1951 – January 18, 2014) was an American rock singer best known as the former lead singer of Trillion, Angel, LeRoux and Toto, as well as providing backing vocals for Survivor. He was occasionally credited as Fergie Frederiksen or just Fergie. He contributed to hit singles in three consecutive years, all with different bands: Survivor's "American Heartbeat" in 1982, LeRoux's "Carrie's Gone" in 1983 and Toto's "Stranger in Town" in 1984.

Early life and career

Frederiksen started his musical career at the age of 13, and he played clubs and pubs at the age of 15 with a group called the Common People in Grand Rapids, MI. In 1975, while he was still attending college at Central Michigan, Frederiksen was asked by his friend Tommy Shaw to replace him as the lead vocalist for the band MSFunk, as Shaw was leaving to join Styx. Frederiksen was with MSFunk for a year before disbanding in 1976. While living in Chicago, he helped form a local progressive rock band called Trillion with keyboardist Patrick Leonard. Trillion's debut album was released in 1978 and was produced by Gary Lyons (producer of Foreigner's debut album); all but one of its nine tracks were co-written by Frederiksen. The band went on to tour with Styx and Heart, where Frederiksen began performing his trademark back-flips during live shows to fire up crowds, a gimmick he would continue with later bands. Frederiksen would leave the group after one album, and was replaced by Thom Griffin.