Billington, Elizabeth
Billington, Elizabeth (b London, 1765; d Venice, 1818). Eng. soprano with European reputation. Daughter of Carl Weichsel, Ger.-born oboist at King's Th., London. Child prodigy as pianist and composer. Studied with J. C. Bach. In 1783 married James Billington, db. player, with whom she also studied. Began opera career in Dublin, 1783, as Polly in The Beggar's Opera. Sang in Naples 1794 in Bianchi's Ines di Castro. Paisiello, Paër, and Himmel wrote operas for her. First Eng. Vitellia in La clemenza di Tito, London 1806. Retired 1817, living in Venice from 1817. Painted by Reynolds.
More From encyclopedia.com
John Anthony Quitman , Besch, Anthony (John Elwyn) (b London, 1924; d London, 2002). Eng. opera producer for Glyndebourne, ENO, Scottish Opera, NY City Opera, S. Francisco… Lucia Elizabeth (bartolozzi) Vestris , Vestris, Lucia Elizabeth (née Bartolozzi) (b London, 1797; d London, 1856). Eng. cont. Opera début London 1815. Sang at It. Opera, Paris, and King's… Opera Seria , Skip to main content
opera seria
opera seria (It.). Serious opera. In the 17th and 18th cents., opera seria was the chief operatic genre, becoming ve… English National Opera , English National Opera. English opera company with policy of usually performing operas in English. It assumed this name in 1974, six years after havi… Mirella Freni , Freni, Mirella
Opera singer
Mirella Freni is not as instantly recognizable as opera stars Luciano Pavarotti or Maria Callas, but she is among the gre… Lawton, Jeffrey , Lawton, Jeffrey
Lawton, Jeffrey, English tenor; b. Oldham, 1939. He studied with Elsie Thurston at the Royal Manchester Coll. of Music (1954–58) and…
You Might Also Like
NEARBY TERMS
Billington, Elizabeth