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So You Want to be a Tenor: a Look at Opera America's "Singer Workshop"
I'm not sure one can actually learn to become an opera singer, any more than one can learn to become a great actor. You either have it or you don't. However, hundreds of singers who think they have it, have benefited in some way from OPERA America's Singer Workshop. Think of Opera America as a Master's Course in operatic singing. Kind of like "Opera 101".
Prague - Europe's Unofficial Capital of Blues
During the day, visitors mill around Prague's city-center and feed its ever-growing niche of the tourism industry. But at night, long after the sun has set, Prague more than lives up to its name as Europe’s unofficial capital of Rhythm and Blues.
Molly Hatchett Set to Re-take the South - Musicians
When the self-titled, platinum-selling, debut album of Molly Hatchett hit the streets in 1978, the timing seemed right for a southern rock and roll band that rocked every musical convention known up to that time to its foundations. Simply put, nothing like this had ever been heard before. Formed in 1975, the group's lineup featured three guitarists -- Dave Hlubek, Steve Holland, and Duane Roland -- plus vocalist Danny Joe Brown, bassist Banner Thomas, and drummer Bruce Crump. The band's multi-platinum follow-up, Flirtin' With Disaster, sold over two million copies. The group’s third effort, Beatin’ the Odds sold only a fraction of the others, no doubt to the gap left when vocalist Danny Joe Brown left the group.
CBGB's: Punk Rock Music Mecca - Musicians
For anyone who has listened to and participated in punk rock in the last thirty years, CBGB's is the place that started it all in America. One night some thirty years ago a man named Hilly Kristal gave some kids from New York a chance to play. The group was Television and that night few people showed up and Hilly was not impressed. A couple of weeks later Television brought some friends in to play with them on the same bill. The Ramones shared the stage that night to as many people as Televisions first night and the owner was still not impressed.
The Incredible Rise and Fall and Rise and ABBA - Musicians
Come on, who doesn't cherish the memories of roller skating round and round at a local rink to the pop sounds of ABBA? Sweden may have plenty of popular musicians in its own country, but only ABBA made it passed the border to an undreamed of career. From their first place win in the musical Eurovision competition in 1974 to their last "official" album "The Visitors" in 1982, ABBA (Agnetha Faltskog, Benny Anderrson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid Lyngstad) enjoyed unparalled success that extended far beyond the short-lived hysteria of disco in the 1970’s.
