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𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗮 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗽𝘂𝗿, 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝟭𝟳𝟳𝟬 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗣𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗫𝗜𝗩 𝗶𝗻 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝟭𝟳𝟳𝟳 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸. This…

𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗮 𝟭𝟳𝟴𝟬, 𝗯𝘆 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗡𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗺𝘂𝗸 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲. 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: 𝗡𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗹, 𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗱. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮, 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁’𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻…

𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘂𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗽𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗹𝗲𝘆 (𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗲), 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻, 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗶𝗻 𝟭𝟳𝟳𝟬. It is an 𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘃𝗮𝘀, measuring 𝟭𝟯𝟬 × 𝟭𝟱𝟵 𝗰𝗺, attributed…

𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻, 𝟭𝟴𝟬𝟰 (𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿'𝘀) The portrait known as 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻, 𝟭𝟴𝟬𝟰 was painted by 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗠ä𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 around 𝟭𝟴𝟬𝟰–𝟭𝟴𝟬𝟱, when Beethoven was approximately 𝟯𝟰 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗹𝗱. It is one of the composer’s 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁…

𝗟𝗨𝗗𝗪𝗜𝗚 𝗩𝗔𝗡 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡 - 𝟭𝟴𝟬𝟲 — 𝗕𝗬 𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗢𝗥 𝗡𝗘𝗨𝗚𝗔𝗦𝗦. The painting is catalogued as 𝗟𝘂𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗴 𝘃𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻, 𝟭𝟴𝟬𝟲, 𝗯𝘆 𝗜𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗼𝗿 𝗡𝗲𝘂𝗴𝗮𝘀𝘀. The strongest source I found, the illustrated biography from Beethoven-Haus Bonn / BTHVN2020,…

𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝗻 — 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝗟𝘂𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗴 𝘃𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻 — 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗻𝘆𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴.- 1788

𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗬 Although we have an early silhouette portrait of Beethoven made when he was 𝗢𝗡𝗟𝗬 𝟭𝟲 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗟𝗗, the first truly recognizable likeness of him is an 𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝟭𝟴𝟬𝟭, created…

𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡 - 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗡-𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥-𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗟𝘂𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗴 𝘃𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗴𝘆. 𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝟭𝟯 𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁, 𝗽𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁/𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗽𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆: 𝗟𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻; 𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗽𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗹 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝘆 𝗟𝗼𝘂𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲, 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗮 𝟭𝟳𝟲𝟯. The work shows the 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 during one of…

𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘂𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝗟𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝟭𝟳𝟲𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻, 𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗣𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗼 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗼 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘇𝗼𝗻𝗶. The painting is often attributed, although not with absolute certainty,…

𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗔 𝗧𝗘𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗗𝗜 — 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 — 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗲𝘀𝗮𝗿𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗧𝗲𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗱𝗶 was born on 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟭, 𝟭𝟵𝟮𝟮, in 𝗣𝗲𝘀𝗮𝗿𝗼, the same Adriatic city that had once…

Eugenio Giraldoni (Scarpia) 1871-1924

Hariclea Darclée (Tosca) 1860-1939

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗔 𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗔𝗦 — 𝗔 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗬𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘀 did not leave the world suddenly in the ordinary sense. Her physical death came on 𝟭𝟲 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟵𝟳𝟳, in her Paris apartment, but…

Portrait of Pauline Garcia Viardot, by Ary Scheffer (1840)

𝗣𝗔𝗨𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗩𝗜𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗢𝗧 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝟮𝟱 𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗣𝗮𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗼𝘁 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗰í𝗮 𝗩𝗶𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗼𝘁 was far more than one of the greatest mezzo-sopranos of the nineteenth century. She was a 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲, a singer whose intelligence, dramatic instinct,…

𝗟𝗘𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗬𝗡𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗘 — 𝗔 𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗟𝗲𝗼𝗻𝘁𝘆𝗻𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 did not simply sing; she seemed to 𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 with a rare emotional coherence and an almost spiritual authority. Her artistry never felt…

𝗟𝗲𝗼𝗻𝘁𝘆𝗻𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗭𝘂𝗯𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝗵𝘁𝗮

𝗦𝗼𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗼 𝗟𝗲𝗼𝗻𝘁𝘆𝗻𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗹 𝗕ö𝗵𝗺, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁’𝘀 𝗗𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝗶𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶, 𝟭𝟵𝟲𝟲–𝟭𝟵𝟲𝟳.

Leontyne Price with bass-baritone Paul Robeson at joint concert, Dayton, Ohio, 1948

Leontyne Price in front of La Scala, 1960