Composers | Librettists | Singers | Playwrights | Directors | Conductors | Choreographers | Designers | Oberlin Biography Bibliography

 

Composers 

Classical Composers Archive
Here, composer biographies and catalogued by nationality (28 total).  Each entry contains a short bio, a picture, and (sometimes) a works list.  The site also provides timelines and birth year listings to better put composers in perspective. The opening page of this site also lists composer birthdays for the particular day you visit the site.

Naxos' Composers Biographies
Probably one of the most complete collections of composer biographies on the internet.  Classical recording great, Naxos has compiled this biography site, which many other sites link to as their composer information page.

Duke University's Composer Reference Site
A massive compilation of links to pages about classical composers divided by musical era.  Each composer is indexed with numerous links to sites about their work and life.

Opera Glass' Opera Composers
An extensive catalog of opera composer biographies as well as partial works listings.

Operastuff.com's Opera Composers Biographies
A thorough listing of many opera composers from Purcell to the Adams.

American Opera Composers
A list of American opera composers, with more detailed information on 62 composers.

G. Schirmer's Composer Biographies
A biography collection of most of the composers in the vast G. Schirmer library.  Contains many contemporary, hard-to-find composer information.

The Mozart Project
A site devoted to the life and music of the prolific opera (among other things) composer, W.A. Mozart.  Also contains brief bios of Mozart's relatives.

Verdiana
Like The Mozart Project, this site devotes itself to one of opera's greatest contributors, Giuseppe Verdi.

Naxos' Composer Portraits
A gallery of portraits of many composers.  Find the usual, discover someone new.

Operas by Women
A new page devoted to operas composed by women.  It is still very much under construction, but check back frequently.

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Librettists

Verdi's Librettists
Biographies of the various poets who worked with Verdi.

Opera Glass' Opera Librettists
Nine romantic-era librettists are featured on this site; primarily Verdi/Puccini collaborators.

Metastasio
A rather lengthy biography of the pillar of opera seria libretti.

Lorenzo Da Ponte
The Columbia Encyclopedia's entry on Mozart's librettist turned bookseller, turned Columbia University professor.

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Singers

OperaStuff's Opera Singers
A database of singer websites, both official and unofficial, divided by voice type.

Google's Opera Singer Links
A links list for opera singer websites as compiled by Google.com.

Grandi Tenori
Provides biographical information on number of operatic tenors, historical as well as contemporary.

Google's Classical Singer Links
A links list for classical singer websites as compiled by Google.com.  This list is a bit broader than the opera singer list, as it includes some singers better known for their work on the recital stage.

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Playwrights

Playwright Links
A collection of links for sites pertaining to influential dramatists, poets, and some composers.

The Theatre of Tennessee Williams- A Virtual Fact File
Detailed information about each Williams work: premiers, casts, significant production facts, etc.

Eugène Ionesco
Soren Olsen's page in French (with some English) on the absurdist playwright.
Harold Pinter Society
For Pinter aficionados, this page includes information on the Society's activities, subscription information to the print journal The Pinter Review, and news about Pinter.

International Brecht Society
The International Brecht Society Homepage is maintained as a service to scholars, critics, students, and theater people round the world who are interested in the works and thought of Bertolt Brecht.

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Directors

Yahoo's Opera Director Links
A links list for opera stage director websites as compiled by Yahoo.com.

Yahoo's Stage Director Links
A links list for non-opera stage director websites as compiled by Yahoo.com.

Robert Wilson
The official site of cutting-edge director/designer Robert Wilson.  Contains images from his productions, a biography, design sketches, among other items.

Franco Zeffirelli
A short biography of the Italian opera director from Encyclopedia Brittanica.

Peter Sellars
A short biography on the controversial American director known best for his updated productions.

Frank Corsaro
L.A. Opera's short biography of America's "maverick" director.

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Conductors

Great Conductors
A collection of images and biographies of many of the world's greatest conductors--both old and new.

Google's Conductor Links
A links list for conductor websites as compiled by Google.com.

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Choreographers

List of Choreographers
A fairly new links list of important choreographer sites.

A Tribute to Serge Diaghilev
A site honoring the Russian choreographer who brought movement to many early 20th century Russian masterpieces.

Ballet Composers and Choreographers
A short links list of ballet composers and choreographers from many eras.

Yahoo's Ballet Choreographers List
A small collection of links relating to ballet choreographers from the last two centuries.

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Designers

Robert Wilson
The official site of cutting-edge director/designer Robert Wilson.  Contains images from his productions, a biography, design sketches, among other items.

Maurice Sendak, Children's Book Author
A reference site for Where the Wild Things Are author/illustrator turned set designer.

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Oberlin Biography Bibliography

Bibliography: Biography (Web page)

Bibliography: Biography (Printable PDF file)
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