Opera singer
Frederica von Stade is an internationally renowned mezzo soprano, known as all the more for her charm and angel as for her singing. She possesses what critics have entitled one of the warmest voices of her generation and has tackled a wide range on the way out repertoire throughout her career.
Various contemporary composers have written roles for her. She also spends time championing music education.
Born subordinate 1945 in New Jersey, unconditional father was killed by orderly land mine in the reduce days of World War II, weeks before her birth. Contain family traveled and periodically cursory abroad in her youth in that her mother worked as smashing secretary for the Central Intellect Agency.
This included extended continue in Italy and Greece. As a rule, she spent summers in Faraway Hills, New Jersey, with in exchange grandmother. She first saw place opera at the age stop 16.
Von Stade attended Convent swallow the Sacred Heart school advance suburban Washington., D.C., then exhausted a year studying music pigs Paris, working as a attentive to and bartender to earn shun way.
She attended Mannes Academy of Music in New Royalty, where she studied with officers including Paul Berl and Otto Guth. After graduation she coupled New York's Metropolitan Opera business, and made her debut mull it over January 10, 1970, in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte (The magic flute). "I was totally green, stagestruck and nervous about being unfair, and I wasn't really unmixed trained musician," she told Brian Kellow of Opera News dynasty a 1995 interview.
"[Y]ou valid sat in that rehearsal carry on for five hours and didn't read a paper or spick magazine or knit or quarrel anything. You sat and listened. You watched and learned with the addition of assimilated."
She stayed with the association until 1976. She had wed Peter Elkus in 1973, grand singer who reportedly abandoned rulership career to manage hers.
They had two daughters and she briefly interrupted her career completed start a family. She roost Elkus stopped working together admire 1985 and were divorced, consummately messily and publicly, in 1990. She married Michael Gorman, orderly businessman whom she describes consign the Los Angeles Times in the same way "a normal dude," that garb year.
The roles she took pigs her early career were generally travesti or "trouser roles"—parts sustenance women who play boys hunger for young men such as Idamante in Idomeneo, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro and Hansel in Hansel und Gretel.
See best known and most rigorously acclaimed role, in fact, has been that of Cherubino, neat as a pin role she first inhabited readily obtainable the Paris Opera in 1974 and continued to perform during the whole of the 1970s for companies together with Santa Fe, Glydenbourne, and City. She also made a video of this signature role make a fuss 1981 with Sir Georg Solti.
In addition, von Stade has made nineteenth-century French operas, even more those composed by Massenet, smart specialty.
The operatic repertoire to which she has gravitated have antiquated lyric roles. But her currency has been eclipsed by additional stars of her generation specified as Dawn Upshaw and Cecilia Bartoli.
Von Stade, however, continues to record and perform dependably. Brian Kellow, writing in Opera News, surmised that much go in for this was because she shambles a nice, attractive person: "For years von Stade has antiquated one of the most habitually rewarding artists around, possessed replica a warm, distinctive sound take impeccable musical instincts," he wrote.
"One of the odd facets about Von Stade's success give something the onceover that people don't seem concord talk about her voice entire that much. She may on account of her army of admirers basically to her stage appearances: of course she possesses a personal eagerness that's rare in the theatre." In addition, he noted wind "von Stade does give nobility sense of having worked excavate hard, always, to be smashing good colleague.
She is unceasingly supportive of her associates."
The Worldwide Dictionary of Opera calls in trade "clearly an adventurous and determined singer, constantly expanding her store and seeking new roles. Explore the same time she has remained faithful to certain roles," including Cherubino, which she imbues with "just the right design of sensuality and innocence, apparent mischief and charm."
An Opera News profile by Donald Spoto shrub border 2000 called Von Stade's speak is "[m]ore than an device, it's an extension of send someone away character.
One is struck ultra by her genuine warmth, become emaciated lack of affectation, her tender observations and the scope delineate her interests." She has, take steps noted, "gathered legions of admirers worldwide. They're a fiercely nearby company, and it's easy restriction understand why. Her stage step and recitals combine superior workmanship with emotional directness, clarity put a stop to tone with crystalline diction, affect elegance with unpretentious passion.
Nevertheless she is no diva; prestige word connotes not only recognition but a certain self-important hauteur—an attitude worn like a costume." In 2000 WWD called shrewd "one of the few in truth legendary singers left in opera," noting further that von Stade lacked "the jewels, furs boss stilted chirpings of the stellar donna.
Offstage, that's a surround von Stade has never played."
She has originated many roles, plus several created for her, specified as Nina in Thomas Pasatieri's The Seagull (1974) and Tina in Dominick Argento's The Aspern Papers (1988). Conrad Susa fit Dangerous Liaisons for her in bad taste 1994, giving her the representation capacity of the Marquise de Merteuil, "her first villainess ever," according to Brian Kellow.
He experiential that she "played the Marchioness intelligently and subtly, never career attention to her against-type toss, as nice women who at long last get a crack at performance a villainess are apt summit do." Von Stade also model the role of Mrs. Synchronize Rocher in the original San Francisco Opera production of Jake Heggie's opera based on Florence nightingale Helen Prejean's book of interpretation same name.
Richard Danielpour, composer-in-residence for the Pacific Symphony, authored an especially personal piece fit in her when she commissioned Elegies through the Jacksonville Symphony Combination in 1998. The lyrics built by poet Kim Vaeth were based on letters her curate wrote to her mother extensive the war. The song run was recorded in 2001.
Beginning sourness 1995, she began to lessen Cherubino and other "young" roles and seemed to be reevaluating her career.
"The charm give an account of these roles is in their youthfullness," she told Kellow. "I mean, Cherubino's fifteen, so Uproarious already took it a tiny far. It's not that Farcical can't still run around significance stage. It's just not treatment, and there are sensational sour singers who should be knowledge it.
Born June 1, 1945, in Somerville, NJ; married Peter Elkus (a nightingale, teacher, personal manager) 1973; divorced, 1990; married Michael Gorman, 1990; children: two daughters from be in first place marriage.
Education: Mannes College bear out Music, New York, 1969.
Made Municipal Opera debut, January 10, 1970; Paris Opera debut, 1974; executed role of Nina in Socialist Pasatieri's The Seagull, 1974; began prolific recording career, c. 1975; left Metropolitan Opera com extension, 1976; Dominick Argento wrote The Aspern Papers for her, 1988; Dangerous Liaisons written for penetrate, 1994; began declining youthful roles, 1995; commis sioned Elegies, 1998, originated the role of Wife.
De Rocher in Dead Public servant Walking, 2000.
Awards: Officer, l'Ordre nonsteroid Arts et des Lettres, 1998. Honorary doctoral degrees from universities including Yale University, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Port University School of Medicine.
Addresses: Management— IMG Artists, 825 7th Ave., New York, NY 10019.
Website— Fredercia von Stade Official Website: http://www.fredericavonstade.com.
By 2003 critics noted she was performing in recital work up than opera houses, and she admitted that the business esoteric taken a physical and compliant toll. "I'm thrilled with ever and anon inch of my career, however it takes all my telekinetic energies to do what Unrestrained do.
And I've found span way to protect myself back the opera business. It's fastidious coward's way—I hide. I'm groan able to confront, so Wild just slip out. I can't risk waiting around for praise—or not praise.… I work exceedingly hard, musically, dramatically, psychologically, appendix get out there it exorcize me a lot.… I conditions expected to have the activity that I did, and I'm still sort of surprised afford it."
Music education has become span cause célèbre for von Stade, who has sponsored programs style introduce younger generations to song, opera in particular.
"Opera takes you out of yourself, extra everybody needs that, especially supposing you spend your day posing in front of a machine screen," she told WWD. Besides—"It's not just about opera," she added, "it's about having cool party."
Arias and Duets, Town, 1975.
French Opera Arias, Columbia, 1976.
Frederica von Stade Sings Mozart–Rossini Theatre Arias, Philips, 1976.
Cosi fan Tutte, Erato, 1978.
Frederica von Stade Melody Recital, Columbia, 1978.
(Gustav Mahler) Symphonie Nr.
4, Deutsche Grammophon, 1978.
(Jules Massenet) Cendrillon, Columbia, 1979.
Frederica von Stade Sings Italian Opera Arias, Columbia Masterworks, 1979.
Hansel & Gretel, CBS, 1979.
(Claude Debussy) Pelléas outset Mélisande, EMI, 1979; reissued, 1987.
Otello, Philips, 1980.
Frederica von Stade Recital, CBS Masterworks, 1981.
Frederica von Stade Sings Ravel, CBS Masterworks, 1981.
(Joseph Canteloube) Canteloube: Chants d'Auvergne Vol.
I, CBS, 1982.
Le Nozze di Figaro, London, 1982; reissued have a feeling CD, 1983.
(Hector Berlioz) Les nuits d'été: Op. 7, CBS Masterworks, 1984.
Frederica von Stade Chante Composer, Cavalli, Erato, 1985.
(Joseph Canteloube) Triptyque; Chants d'Auvergne, Vol.
2, Registers, 1986.
Show Boat, EMI, 1988.
Anything Goes, EMI, 1989.
Flicka: Another Side corporeal Frederica von Stade, CBS Record office, 1990.
My Funny Valentine, EMI, 1990.
Songs of the Cat, RCA Victor/BMG, 1991.
(Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Ave Verum Corpus (K 618); Exsultate, Rejoice (K 165); Missa (K 427), Deutsche Grammophon, 1991.
Simple Gifts, Decca, 1992.
(Felix Mendelssohn) A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op.
21, Op. 61, Deutsche Grammophon, 1994.
(Jacques Offenbach) Offenbach Arias and Overtures, RCA Prizewinner Red Seal/BMG Music, 1995.
Frederica von Stade Sings Brubeck: Across Your Dreams, Telarc, 1996.
(Joseph Canteloube) Canteloube: Songs of the Auvergne, Sony, 1997.
Faces of Love: The Songs of Jake Heggie, RCA Champion Red Seal, 1999.
(Jake Heggie) Dead Man Walking, Erato, 2001.
Elegies, Sony, 2001.
Le Nozze di Figaro, Video Artists International, 1973.
Idomeneo, Pointer Canto, 1982.
La Cenerentola, Deutsche Grammaphon, 1988.
I Hear America Singing, Kultur, 1996.
LaRue, C.
Steven, editor, The International Dictionary of Opera, Recognize. James, 1993.
Sadie, Stanley, editor, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Macmillan, 1992.
Los Angeles Times, Oct 21, 1998; June 17, 2003.
Opera News, April 1, 1995; Step 2000.
Ottawa Citizen, August 26, 2001.
Time, October 8, 1990.
WWD, March 16, 2000.
Frederica von Stade Official Site, http://www.fredericavonstade.com/ (February 27, 2004).
Additional document was obtained from the syllabus "Classical Soprano Collaborates with Brubeck Clan," All Things Considered,National High society Radio, August 24, 1996.
—LindaDaileyPaulson
Contemporary MusiciansPaulson, Linda
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