Composer Biographies
b. Leipzig, 22 May 1813; d. Venice, 13 February 1883
A one-man artistic movement – as much theatrical visionary as composer of genius – Richard Wagner took 19th-century Romantic opera and...
b. La Côte Saint-André, France, 11 December 1803; d. Paris, 8 March 1869
The most self-consciously Romantic of all Romantic composers, and author of one of the most entertaining if unreliable autobiographies ever...
b. Cremona, Italy, 15 May 1567; d. Venice, 29 November 1643
Though not the inventor of opera, Monteverdi was the new genre’s first great master. Only three of his 19 stage works survive but their power...
b. Paris, 17 June 1818; d. Saint-Cloud, 18 October 1893
Initially destined for a career in the Church and always strongly attracted to sacred subjects despite a scandal-prone private life, Charles...
b. London, 13 May 1842; d. London, 22 November 1900
Composer of the hymn-tune Onward, Christian Soldiers and the once-popular ballad The Lost Chord, Arthur Sullivan hoped to...
b. Tîrnăveni, Romania, 28 May 1923.; d. Vienna, 12 June 2006
Known to a wider public as the composer of some of the most memorable music used on the soundtrack of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space...
b. Sînnicolau Mare, Hungary, 25 March 1881; d. New York, 26 September 1945
Hungary’s leading composer of the early 20th century, Bartók wrote just one opera, Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, but it...
b. Salzburg, 27 January 1756; d. Vienna, 5 December 1791
The only major composer to produce as many great symphonies as stage works, Mozart is widely regarded as not only the greatest of all opera...
b. Baltimore, Maryland, 31 January 1937
One of the founders of American 'Minimalism' and a prolific composer in all genres – from solo piano pieces to symphonic works, operas and...
b. Gütersloh, Germany, 1 July 1926
Though his style has undergone many changes, Henze has created some of the most approachable music written since 1945, and his operas occupy a...
b. Busseto, Italy, October 9, 1813; d. Milan, January 27, 1901
The story of Italian opera from 1850 to 1900 is the story of Giuseppe Verdi. Born into one of the most exciting periods in Italian musical...
b. Paris, 25 October 1838; d. Bougival, 3 June 1875
Acclaimed in his lifetime as a composer of concert music who had regrettably dabbled with the theatre, Bizet tragically died before his final...
b. Lucca, Italy, 22 December 1858; d. Brussels, 11 November 1924
Puccini was the leading Italian composer of the generation after Verdi and his highly developed theatrical sense and uncanny facility for...
b. Halle an der Saale, Germany, 23 February 1685; d. London, 14 April 1759
Handel was one of the greatest composers of the eighteenth century, yet his operas have only recently commanded as much enthusiasm as his...
b. Bergamo, Italy, 29 November 1797; d. Bergamo, 8 April 1848
'Music for the Italians', noted Berlioz, 'is a sensual pleasure and nothing more. For this noble expression of the mind they have hardly more...
Members area
Already a member?
Sign in now to access the members only area
Not a member?
Join now to receive priority booking, invitations to dress rehearsals and members-only events and much more.
