Janet Baker
Janet Baker (1933–) is an English mezzo-soprano. In opera, most adulation is given to the tenors and sopranos, for …
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Maria Callas
Maria Anna Sophie Cecilia Kalogeropoulos (1923–77), known to the world as Maria Callas, was a soprano opera singer,…
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Enrico Caruso
'The Great Caruso' or ‘King of Tenors' was born in Naples in 1873. He was his parents' 18th child and the first to …
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Feodor Chaliapin
One of the greatest opera singers of all time, Feodor Chaliapin was born in Russia in 1873 and became famous in the…
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Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo, tenor opera singer, was born in Madrid in 1941. Domingo has sung all over the world and is a major…
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Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti (1935–2007) was probably the most famous opera singer in the world and is known to millions who h…
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Joan Sutherland
Joan Sutherland (1926–2010) was one of the world's most famous soprano opera singers, particularly praised for her …
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Subjects for sculpture: portrait busts
Funerary monuments and portrait busts were the most common ways in which people were commemorated in sculpture. Sometimes the two were combined: a bust was placed on a funerary monument, or a copy of a bust on a church monument was displayed in the family house.
King Phillip costume by unknown designer for 'Don Carlos', 1950
The costume made for the great bass singer Boris Christoff as King Philip, is of the highest quality satin and velvet, which play against each other, creating a textural variety under the lights.
The sacred silver collection
The V&A's collection of objects used in worship is vast. The Sacred Silver collection comprises objects made for Christian worship (Catholic and Protestant, from Britain, Europe and beyond). It also features a small but significant collection of Judaica (objects used in Jewish worship). The collection dates from early medieval times to the present day.
Maria Marten or Murder in the Red Barn
A scene from this Victorian marionette melodrama telling the grim true-life tale of Maria Marten, murdered in the Red Barn by her lover, William Corder. Corder is convicted of the crime after Maria's mother has a dream about her daughter’s disappearance.
Secular spaces and the Baroque
Theatre was important during the Baroque period not only for its magnificence and entertainment, but also for its potential use as propaganda. Rulers vied to outdo each other in the magnificence of their productions.
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Covent Garden Opera House (Custom Print)
Covent Garden Opera House, The Colonnade, by Walter John Bayes (1869 - 1956).
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