Ana James (born 1976) [1] is a New Zealand-born operatic soprano who has appeared with The Royal Opera, the Glyndebourne touring ensemble, and Opera Holland Park as well as with opera companies in France and New Zealand.
James was born in Dunedin, New Zealand and trained at the Manhattan School of Music and the Royal College of Music's Benjamin Britten International Opera School. In 2004 she was the inaugural recipient of the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation Award, which supports young operatic artists at the start of their careers. From 2005 to 2007 she was a member of the Jette Parker Young Artists programme at the Royal Opera House. [2] [3]
While a member of the Jette Parker programme, her appearances with the Royal Opera included Barbarina in David McVicar's production of The Marriage of Figaro and Serpina in La serva padrona . [4] [5] Her performance in The Marriage of Figaro at the Royal Opera House is preserved in the 2006 live recording released on DVD by Opus Arte. [6] After leaving the programme, her performances with other opera companies have included Pamina in The Magic Flute with the Glyndebourne touring company (2008), [7] Gretel in Hansel and Gretel with New Zealand Opera (2008), [1] Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Opera Holland Park (2010), [8] and Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse (2013). [9] In 2013 she also sang Konstanze in a concert version of Die Entführung aus dem Serail in the Theatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro with the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra under Alejo Pérez. [10]
Ana James sang Ygraine in a 2007 recording of Ariane et Barbe-bleue with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leon Botstein. [11] In a 2012 live recording of I quatro rusteghi she sang Felice with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vasily Petrenko. [12] [13] In the 2013 live recording of Parsifal at the Proms, she sang a flower maiden with the Hallé Orchestra conducted by Mark Elder. [14]
Paul Abraham Dukas was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, having abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions. His best-known work is the orchestral piece The Sorcerer's Apprentice, the fame of which has eclipsed that of his other surviving works. Among these are the opera Ariane et Barbe-bleue, his Symphony in C and Piano Sonata in E-flat minor, the Variations, Interlude and Finale on a Theme by Rameau, and a ballet, La Péri.
Hansel and Gretel is an opera by nineteenth-century composer Engelbert Humperdinck, who described it as a Märchenoper. The libretto was written by Humperdinck's sister, Adelheid Wette, based on the Grimm brothers' fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel". It is much admired for its folk music-inspired themes, one of the most famous being the "Abendsegen" from act 2.
Ariane et Barbe-bleue is an opera in three acts by Paul Dukas. The French libretto is adapted from the symbolist play of the same name by Maurice Maeterlinck, itself loosely based on the French literary tale La Barbe bleue by Charles Perrault.
Simon John O'Neill is a New Zealand-born operatic tenor. In 1998, his image appeared on the New Zealand one-dollar performing arts postage stamp.
Nuccia Focile is an Italian operatic soprano.
Deborah Polaski is an American opera and concert singer (soprano). She has specialized in dramatic soprano roles and also sings mezzo-soprano roles occasionally.
Siegmund Nimsgern is a German bass-baritone, born in Sankt Wendel, Saarland, Germany.
Vincent Monteil is a French conductor. He was born in Angers.
Tereza Gevorgyan is an Armenian soprano.
Franz Grundheber is a German operatic baritone. At the Hamburg State Opera, he performed over 150 roles from 1966. His voice is flexible enough to sing Italian opera as well as Wagner roles and contemporary opera; he is a stage presence in acting and singing. He has performed at major international opera houses and is known for his performance of the title role of Alban Berg's Wozzeck, filmed for DVD in 1994 in a production staged by Patrice Chéreau.
Alessandra Marianelli is an Italian soprano. She made her professional debut in 2002 as Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro and went on to sing leading roles in the opera houses of her native country and internationally. Her recordings include Amour in Orphée et Eurydice for Decca Records and Fiorilla in Il turco in Italia for Naxos Records. She also appeared in Carlos Saura's 2009 film Io, Don Giovanni.
Pumeza Matshikiza is a South-African operatic soprano. A graduate of the Royal College of Music and a member of the Royal Opera's Jette Parker Young Artists Programme from 2007 to 2009, she made her début as a flower maiden in Parsifal and has gone on to sing leading soprano roles with Stuttgart Opera. Matshikiza has released two solo albums on the Decca Classics label.
Andrew Gourlay is a British conductor.
Louise Alder is a British lyric soprano. She won the Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize at the 2017 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition and the Young Singer award at the 2017 International Opera Awards. Her debut album of Strauss Lieder titled 'Through Life and Love' with pianist Joseph Middleton, was released in July 2017 with Orchid Classics.
Suzanne Berchut, called Suzanne Balguerie was a French operatic singer. Admired by Fauré, Dukas, Poulenc, and Messiaen, she was one of the greatest sopranos of the interwar period.
Anja Augustin is a German soprano in opera and concert, oratorio and lied. She appeared in the title roles of musicals, such as My Fair Lady and Evita.
Catherine Julie "Ketty" Lapeyrette was a French contralto opera singer. She remained with the Paris Opera for 30 years, seldom performing outside France. From 1944, she taught at the Paris Conservatory.
Ruthild Engert-Ely was a German operatic mezzo-soprano and alto.
Kwangchul Youn is a South Korean operatic bass and academic voice teacher. He made an international career based in Germany, from 1994 to 2004 at the Berlin State Opera. He has performed leading roles at international opera houses and festivals, such as Gurnemanz in Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival, Mephisto in Faust at the Vienna State Opera, and King Marke in Tristan und Isolde at the Metropolitan Opera.
Dominika Zamara is a Polish operatic soprano, with artistic training in Italy.