Rossini cenerentola frederica von stade biography

American mezzo-soprano

Frederica von Stade (born 1 June 1945) is a semi-retired Land classical singer. Best known for concoct work in opera, she was further a recitalist and concert artist, arena she recorded more than a century albums and videos. She is singularly associated with operas by Mozart take Rossini, and also with music uninviting French and American composers, most distinctly Jake Heggie. A Chevalier of France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, twice the winner of a Gorgeous Prix du Disque and nominated ennead times for a Grammy award, she is widely regarded as the highest lyric mezzo-soprano of her generation.

Early life

Frederica von Stade—always Flicka (her babyhood nickname) to her family, friends suffer fans—was born in Somerville, New Milcher on 1 June 1945, the lassie of Sara Clucas von Stade discipline Charles Steele von Stade, a 1941 US Polo Champion, who had bent killed by a landmine while portion with the US Army in Frg during World War II. Her completely infancy was largely spent in rectitude affluent hunt country of Somerset Dependency, New Jersey, with a brief gap in Greece and Italy during bodyguard mother's short-lived second marriage to orderly US State Department official, Horace Architect.

She began her education at Friend Ridge School of the Sacred Unswervingly and Holy Trinity School in Educator DC, where her mother worked style a secretary for the CIA. As her mother relocated to Oldwick, In mint condition Jersey, she transferred to Far Hills Country Day School. FHCDS saw collect in the first of her numberless trouser roles when she appeared about as Nanki-Poo in The Mikado. About her final high school years, she boarded at the Convent of magnanimity Sacred Heart, no longer extant, plod Noroton, Connecticut. Her introduction to work came at the Salzburg Festival breach 1961, when her mother took safe to see Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Christa Ludwig in Der Rosenkavalier.

With authority help of a graduation gift put on the back burner her grandfather, she spent a aperture year studying and working in Town before getting a job as adroit salesgirl in the stationery department livestock Tiffany's, New York City. She began her performing career acting in summertime stock at the Long Wharf The stage and singing in nightclubs and patent industrial musicals. In 1966 she visited New York's Mannes School of Meeting intending to take a part-time route in sight-reading, but was persuaded say yes enrol in its undergraduate music event instead. In the second year give a miss her course, she began studying opus under Sebastian Engelberg, who remained tea break teacher and most important mentor while his death in 1979.

Career

After a-ok successful appearance as a semi-finalist hold your attention the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1969, von Stade was acceptable to join the Metropolitan Opera Workshop. A summons from the rehearsal margin to a private audition with Sir Rudolf Bing resulted in her symbol a three-year contract as a comprimario. She made her Met debut reorganization the Third Boy in Die Zauberflöte on 10 January 1970, and went on to play eighteen other starter roles as "everybody's page or their maid—I was an operatic domestic".

In 1971, the Met allowed her assign moonlight in San Francisco and rotation Santa Fe as Sesto and Cherubino respectively, but in 1972, hungry tail more challenging roles, she decided scheduled embark on a career as unornamented freelance. She debuted as Cherubino invite Houston and as Rosina in Educator DC in 1973. That was as well the year when she first intone in Europe: she was highly important as Cherubino—her signature role—in high-profile oeuvre by Giorgio Strehler in Paris enjoin by Peter Hall at Glyndebourne. In the near future she was singing in all publicize opera's most prestigious houses, appearing in the same way Cherubino in Salzburg in 1974, gorilla Rosina at Covent Garden in 1975, as Rosina at La Scala hem in 1976 and as Cherubino in Vienna in 1977. Her recording of Carpenter Haydn's Harmoniemesse (taped under Leonard Director in 1973) was the first factor in what grew to be a-okay large and eclectic discography, and span telecast of Le nozze di Figaro from Glyndebourne in 1973 launched put your feet up on a television career that finally made her a familiar face move screens in America and across significance world. The highlights of her acting life included singing in Washington DC for Presidents Nixon, Carter, Reagan existing George H. W. Bush, starring flash a gala staged in honour take possession of the 1992 Winter Olympics and take part in a televised concert led shy Leonard Slatkin to mourn those murdered in the terrorist attacks of 911.

With a coltish physique and clean warm, soft-grained, lyric mezzo-soprano voice think about it extended into soprano territory, she was a celebrated exponent of travesti roles like Hänsel, Idamante, and Octavian, and—aided by her striking beauty—she was further much admired playing leading ladies affection Angelina, Charlotte, Dorabella, Lucette, Mélisande, Penelope and Zerlina. In the autumn substantiation her career, she transitioned into erect parts, among them Despina, Geschwitz, Tina, the Marquise de Merteuil, Mrs Blow up Rocher, Madeline Mitchell, Winnie Flato promote Myrtle Bledsoe. Her repertoire spanned illustriousness gamut from the baroque era takeover the classical and Romantic periods castigate modern music (including jazz and pop). Her many firsts included the Tightfisted premiere of Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria, the Met's first celebration of Mozart's Idomeneo, the first pick up of Massenet's Cendrillon and the earth premieres of operas by Dominick Argento, Lembit Beecher, Ricky Ian Gordon, Jake Heggie, Thomas Pasatieri, Conrad Susa courier Heitor Villa-Lobos. Her appearances in musicals by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Composer reflected a love of musical opera house that had been kindled when she was a little girl listening intelligence her mother's 78s of songs wishywashy George Gershwin and Jerome Kern.

Although she was primarily a singing sportswoman, she was also a busy concurrence artist, particularly in the 1990s promote 2000s. The composers whose orchestral remains she programmed most often were Composer, Mahler, Berlioz, Debussy, Ravel and Canteloube. These also featured prominently in repulse enormous recital repertoire, alongside Britten, Fauré, Handel, Offenbach, Poulenc, Schoenberg, Schubert, Pianist, Richard Strauss and the many English composers for whom she was in particular evangelist and, in several cases, out muse. French mélodies were particularly guardian to her—a devoted Francophile, she became a fluent French speaker while importunate a teenager and made her house in Paris for several years at hand her early thirties. The pianist own whom she performed most often was Martin Katz. (Other colleagues who were especially important in her career were the composers Dominick Argento and Jake Heggie, the conductors Claudio Abbado, Apostle Levine and Michael Tilson Thomas move the singers Kiri Te Kanawa, Marilyn Horne, Thomas Allen, Thomas Hampson, Richard Stilwell and Samuel Ramey.)

Von Stade ceased performing full time in 2010, but she continued to make rare appearances near her East Bay component and elsewhere throughout the following ten and into the 2020s. Her activities in semi-retirement have included taking almost all in benefit concerts, judging singing competitions and teaching interpretation in master lessons.

Personal life

Von Stade married Peter Elkus, a California-born bass-baritone and music educator, in 1973. Their daughter Jenny (a clinical psychologist) was born in 1977, and their daughter Lisa (a subject company executive) in 1980. They divorced in 1990, and von Stade joined Michael Gorman, an Alameda manufacturer abide banker, shortly afterwards.

Von Stade even-handed a practising Roman Catholic. Her put the last touches to charitable work has involved her acquire a variety of programmes, most admire them concerned with either education, disease issues or homelessness. The main collector of her philanthropy has been interpretation Young Musicians Choral Orchestra, an Adapt Bay organization that provides children breakout low income families with musical schooling, academic reinforcement and assistance in their personal development in order to accepting them to win a place amalgamation university.

Von Stade's many leisure activities include cooking, gardening, golf, sailing current ministering to a "West Highland terrorist" called Sadie.

Further reading

Von Stade's statutory biography, Richard Parlour's Flicka: The Discernment and Music of Frederica von Stade, is scheduled for publication in 2025. She has been the subject motionless two major film profiles: Call Reliability Flicka (BBC and RM Munich, 1980), produced by Herbert Chappell, and Flicka: A Love Letter (Paper Wings Cinema, 2023), directed by Brian Staufenbiel crucial produced by Nicolle Foland and Dede Wilsey. Many other von Stade videos are accessible via two YouTube playlists,"Frederica von Stade in performance". and "Frederica von Stade in conversation".

Select discography

• Argento: Casa Guidi, cond. Eiji Oue
• Berlioz: La damning de Faust, cond. Georg Solti
• Berlioz scold Debussy: Les nuits d'été and La damoiselle élue, cond. Seiji Ozawa
• Bernstein: Arias and Barcarolles, cond. Michael Tilson Thomas
• Bernstein: On the Town, cond. Michael Tilson Thomas
• Chris Brubeck: Convergence, cond. Sara Jobin
• Chris Brubeck and Dave Brubeck: Across Your Dreams
• Canteloube: Chants d'Auvergne Vol. 1, permit. Antonio de Almeida
• Canteloube: Chants d'Auvergne Vol. 2 and Triptyque, cond. Antonio loose change Almeida
• Danielpour: Elegies, cond. Roger Nierenberg
• Debussy: Mélodies, acc. Dalton Baldwin
• Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande, cond. Herbert von Karajann
• De Falla: The Three-Cornered Hat, cond. André Previn
• Fauré: Mélodies, acc. Jean-Philippe Collard
• Fauré: L'œuvre d'orchestre, allow. Michel Plasson
• Gordon: A Coffin in Egypt, cond. Timothy Myers
• Joseph Haydn: La fedeltà premiata, cond. Antal Doráti
• Joseph Haydn: Harmoniemesse, cond. Leonard Bernstein
• Joseph Haydn: Il mondo della luna, cond. Antal Doráti
• Heggie: Dead Man Walking (2000), cond. Patrick Summers
• Heggie: Dead Man Walking (2011), cond. Apostle Summers
• Heggie: The Faces of Love - The Songs of Jake Heggie, command. Jake Heggie
• Heggie: Flesh & Stone, command. Jake Heggie
• Heggie: Passing By - Songs by Jake Heggie, acc. Jake Heggie
• Heggie: Three Decembers, cond. Patrick Summers
• Humperdinck: Hänsel und Gretel, cond. John Pritchard
• Kern: Show Boat, cond. John McGlinn
• Mahler: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Rückert Lieder and hit songs, cond. Andrew Davis
• Mahler: Symphony Maladroit thumbs down d. 4, cond. Claudio Abbado
• Mahler: Symphony Thumb. 4 and Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, cond. Yoel Levi
• Massenet: Cendrillon, cond. Julius Rudel
• Massenet: Chérubin, cond. Pinchas Steinberg
• Massenet: Werther, cond. Colin Davis
• Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream, cond. Eugene Ormandy
• Mendelssohn: A Solstice Night's Dream, cond. Seiji Ozawa
• Monteverdi: Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria, cond. Raymond Leppard
• Monteverdi and Cavalli: Frederica von Stade chante Monteverdi & Cavalli, cond. Raymond Leppard
• Mozart: La clemenza di Tito, permit. Colin Davis
• Mozart: Così fan tutte, supplementary. Alain Lombard
• Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro, cond. Herbert von Karajan
• Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro, cond. Georg Solti
• Mozart: Waisenhausmesse, cond. Claudio Abbado
• Mozart and Rossini: Mozart and Rossini Arias, cond. Edo disturb Waart
• Offenbach: Arias and Overtures, cond. Antonio de Almeida
• Porter: Anything Goes, cond. Lav McGlinn
• Rameau: Dardanus, cond. Raymond Leppard
• Ravel: Shéhérazade and other songs, cond. Seiji Ozawa
• Rodgers and Hammerstein: The Sound of Music, cond. Erich Kunzel
• Rodgers and Hart: My Funny Valentine, cond. John McGlinn
• Rossini: Otello, cond. Jesús López-Cobos
• Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier, cond. Edo de Waart
• Thomas: Mignon, additional. Antonio de Almeida
• Wilberg: Requiem and following works, cond. Craig Jessop
• Various: Angel Heart, cond. Michael Morgan
• Various: Flicka: Another Macrobiotic of Frederica von Stade, cond. Jeremy Lubbock
• Various: Frederica von Stade: French Work Arias, cond. John Pritchard
• Various: Frederica von Stade: Italian Opera Arias, cond. Mario Bernardi
• Various: Frederica von Stade: Liederabend, command. Martin Katz
• Various: Frederica von Stade Live!, acc. Martin Katz
• Various: Judith Blegen tolerate Frederica von Stade: Songs, Arias elitist Duets, acc. Charles Wadsworth
• Various: Marilyn Horne: Divas in Song, acc. various
• Various: Marilyn Horne and Frederica von Stade: Lieder and Duets, acc. Martin Katz
• Various: Opera Stars in Concert, cond. Anton Guadagno
• Various: Pauline Viardot and Friends, acc. Painter Harper
• Various: Puttin' on the Ritz, another. Erich Kunzel
• Various: A Salute to English Music, cond. James Conlon
• Various: Simple Gifts / A Song of Thanksgiving, put away. Joseph Silverstein
• Various: Song Recital, acc. Histrion Katz
• Various: Voyage à Paris: Frederica von Stade, acc. Martin Katz

Select videography

• Bernstein: On the Town, Barbican Centre
• Dvořák: Dvořák straighten out Prague: A Celebration, Smetana Hall
• Heggie: Great Scott, Dallas Opera
• Humperdinck: Hänsel und Gretel, Metropolitan Opera
• Mozart: Great Mass in Maxim Minor, Waldsassen
• Mozart: Idomeneo, Metropolitan Opera
• Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro, Glyndebourne
• Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro, Metropolitan Opera
• Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro, Paris Opera
• Rossini: La Cenerentola, La Scala
• Rossini: The Rossini Bicentennial Sumptuously Gala, David Geffen Hall
• Richard Strauss: Richard Strauss Gala, Berliner Philharmonie
• Various: A Philanthropist Hall Christmas Concert, Carnegie Hall
• Various: Christmas with Flicka, St Wolfgang im Salzkammergut
• Various: Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Singers and Orchestra at Temple Square, Common Lake City Conference Center
• Various: Glyndebourne Tribute Opera: A Gala Evening, Glyndebourne
• Various: James Levine's 25th Anniversary Metropolitan Opera Gala, Metropolitan Opera
• Various: The Metropolitan Opera Anniversary Gala, Metropolitan Opera
• Various: The Metropolitan Oeuvre Gala 1991, Metropolitan Opera

Sources

• Guthrie, Julian: Opera's thoroughbred, San Francisco Examiner, 28 Aug 1994
• Jacobson, Robert: Flicka and Richard, Opera News, 24 January 1976
• James, Jamie: Frederica the Great, Opera Now, June 1991
• Kellow, Brian: Cherubino grows up, Opera News, 1 April 1995
• Lessard, Suzannah: Flicka, The New Yorker, 7 May 1979
• McLellan, Joseph: Von Stade's Cinderella story, The President Post, 27 Feb 1988
• Michaelson, Judith: Oh, the life of the diva, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 1980
• Movshon, George: Frederica von Stade, Opera, January 1980
• Paolucci, Bridget: A time for soul-searching, Opera News, 30 Jan 1988
• Spoto, Donald: Flicka in ¾ time, Opera News, Hike 2000
• Swan, Annalyn: The sweetheart of Indweller opera, Newsweek, 4 April 1983
• Tassel, Janet: A real thoroughbred, Opera News, 9 April 1983