Mary Violet Leontyne Price is an American spinto soprano who was the first African-American soprano to receive international acclaim. From 1961 she began a long association with the Metropolitan Opera. She regularly appeared at the world's major opera houses, including the Royal Opera House, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and La Scala; at La Scala, she was also the first African American to sing a leading role. She was particularly renowned for her performances of the title role in Giuseppe Verdi's Aida.
Renée Lynn Fleming is an American soprano and actress, known for performances in opera, concerts, recordings, theater, film, and at major public occasions. A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, Fleming has been nominated for 18 Grammy Awards and has won five times. In June 2023, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced that Fleming would be one of the five artists recognized at the 2023 Kennedy Center Honors, which she received in December 2023. Other notable honors won by Fleming have included the Crystal Award from the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur from the French government, Germany's Cross of the Order of Merit, Sweden's Polar Music Prize and honorary membership in England's Royal Academy of Music. Unusual among artists whose careers began in opera, Fleming has achieved name recognition beyond the classical music world. In May, 2023, Fleming was appointed by the World Health Organization as a Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Health. On April 9, 2024, Penguin Random House published Fleming's anthology Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness, a collection of essays about the health benefits of music and the arts, by scientists from leading research institutions, practitioners, educators, arts leaders, musicians, artists and writers.
Shirley Verrett was an American operatic mezzo-soprano who successfully transitioned into soprano roles making her a Soprano sfogato. Verrett enjoyed great fame from the late 1960s through the 1990s; she was particularly known for performing works by Giuseppe Verdi and Gaetano Donizetti.
Adele Addison is an American lyric soprano who was a figure in the classical music world during the 1950s and 1960s. Although she did appear in several operas, Addison spent most of her career performing in recital and concert. Her performances spanned a wide array of literature from the Baroque period to contemporary compositions. She is best remembered today as the singing voice for Bess in the 1959 movie, Porgy and Bess. Known for her polished and fluent tone, Addison made a desirable Baroque vocal artist. She can be heard on numerous recordings, of which her Baroque performances are perhaps her best work. Many of her recordings were made with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Leonard Bernstein.
Warushavithana Upul Tharanga, commonly known as Upul Tharanga is a former professional Sri Lankan cricketer. A former limited-overs captain, Tharanga played all formats of the game. He was a left-handed opening batsman and an occasional wicket-keeper. On 23 February 2021, Upul announced his retirement from international cricket. He is the current national chief selector of both Sri Lanka men's and women's cricket teams.
Stephanie Blythe is an American mezzo-soprano who has had an active international career in operas and concerts since the early 1990s. She is particularly associated with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, with whom she has performed annually since her debut with the company in 1995. In 2014 she starred as Gertrude Stein in the world premiere of 27, an opera composed by Ricky Ian Gordon with libretto by Royce Vavrek, and commissioned for her by the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.
Regina Resnik was an American opera singer who had an active international career that spanned five decades. She began her career as a soprano in 1942 and soon after began a lengthy and fruitful relationship with the Metropolitan Opera that spanned from 1944 until 1983. Under the advice of conductor Clemens Krauss, she began retraining her voice in the mezzo-soprano repertoire in 1953 and by 1956 had completely removed soprano literature from her performance repertoire.
Isabel Leonard is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer based in New York City. She is of Argentine ancestry on her mother's side.
Rosemary Kuhlmann was an American operatic mezzo-soprano and Broadway musical actress best known for originating the role of the Mother in Gian Carlo Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors, the first opera commissioned for television. Kuhlmann portrayed the role on the annual live NBC broadcast of the production from 1951 through 1962.
The Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka (SOSL) is based in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and is one of the oldest orchestras in South Asia.
Uswatta Liyanage Ivor Sylvester Sunil Perera was a Sri Lankan vocalist, guitarist, songwriter and composer. Described as one of the most influential musicians in Sri Lankan music history, Perera was the leader and the lead vocalist of The Gypsies. He was associated with Sri Lanka's baila genre, and gained the nickname "Baila Chakravarthy".
Mariazelle Goonetilleke is a Sri Lankan singer and musician.
Camille Zamora is an American soprano recognized for her performance of opera, zarzuela, oratorio, art song and American songbook. She performs repertoire ranging from the early Baroque to 21st century premieres by composers including Grammy Award winners Robert Aldridge and Herschel Garfein as well as Prix de Rome winner Christopher Theofanidis.
Edith WiensOC is a Canadian opera, recital and concert singer with a soprano voice.
Ying Fang is a Chinese operatic soprano. A principal soprano at the Metropolitan Opera, she won the Golden Bell Award at the Guangdong Singing Competition in China in 2009, first prize at the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition in 2013, and the Lincoln Center Segal Award in 2015. Her performances have been featured on the television program Great Performances at the Met and in movie theaters for the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD. In 2015 Opera News stated that "Ying Fang sings with exquisite simplicity and directness. The twenty-eight-year-old soprano never forces her sound or indulges in coloratura 'flash'. She is incapable of vulgarity; her dignity is unshakeable, and her powers of persuasion are sovereign."
Korliss Uecker (born April 28, 1956 is an American operatic soprano from Hettinger, North Dakota. With a Masters of Music from the Juilliard School, she performed over 100 times at the Metropolitan Opera singing roles such as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and Papagena in The Magic Flute. She has also appeared with Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center, Dallas Opera, Santa Fe Opera and the Spoleto Festival, among others. In addition to opera, Uecker sings a wide variety of vocal music including lieder, French chansons, cabaret, jazz and American musical theatre.
Morris Denzil Bernard 'Barney' Wijesinghe,, popularly known as Morris Wijesinghe, was a Sri Lankan musician and playback singer. One of the popular pop artists in 1980s of Sri Lankan music with a career spanning more than four decades, Wijesinghe has sung several popular songs including Doowillen Wathsunu Thawara, Nil Ahas Thale Aage, Oba Enna and Peradiga Ahase.
Tharanga is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:
Goonetilleke is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
