Catherine Malfitano (born April 18, 1948) is an American operatic soprano and opera director. Malfitano was born in New York City, the daughter of a ballet dancer mother, Maria Maslova, and a violinist father, Joseph Malfitano. She attended the High School of Music and Art and studied at the Frank Corsaro Studio and Manhattan School of Music, graduating in 1971. She often mentions that she was rejected from The Juilliard School. [1] [2]
Malfitano made her professional singing debut in 1972 at the Central City Opera in the role of Nannetta in Verdi's Falstaff . She soon appeared with Minnesota Opera, where she sang in the world premiere of Conrad Susa's Transformations and, in 1974 at the New York City Opera, in Puccini's La bohème , as Mimi. She then appeared with the Lyric Opera of Chicago (1975) and at the Royal Opera House (1976) and in other major European opera houses. She performed in 1974 as Susanna in a new production of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at the Holland Festival, and in 1976 as Servilia in a new production of Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito at the Salzburg Festival. In 1978, Malfitano achieved wider recognition in a telecast of Menotti's The Saint of Bleecker Street from NYCO, playing Annina., [3] as well as Rose in Kurt Weill's Street Scene on Live from Lincoln Center in 1979.
Since then, Malfitano has sung at the major opera houses throughout the world, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Royal Opera House in London, Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, La Monnaie in Brussels, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Teatro Comunale Florence, Liceu in Barcelona, Berlin State Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Paris Opéra, Hamburgische Staatsoper, De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam as well as the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the San Francisco Opera, the Los Angeles Opera, and the Houston Grand Opera. [4]
One of Malfitano's best-known roles is the title role of Puccini's Tosca , for which she won an Emmy Award in 1992, performing alongside Plácido Domingo and Ruggero Raimondi. The opera was broadcast live from the actual Roman settings and viewed worldwide. She is also associated with the title role in Strauss's Salome , notably for performing the "Dance of the Seven Veils" ending the dance completely nude, a rarity in opera. [5] She was also Jenny in Kurt Weill's Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny (Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny).
Throughout her career, Malfitano has championed the music of American composers, including Carlisle Floyd, William Bolcom, Conrad Susa and Thomas Pasatieri. [3]
In 2005, Malfitano started a second career as an opera director, with a production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly for Central City Opera (the company with which she made her professional singing debut in 1972). Since then, she has created productions for La Monnaie, Florida Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, San Francisco Opera's Merola programme, English National Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Canadian Opera Company. [6]
She is a member of the voice faculty at Manhattan School of Music. [7]
She has sung over 70 roles throughout her career and continues to add more in her repertoire. Her repertory includes:
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 You may hear Catherine Maltifano as Salome in Richard Strauss's opera Salome, Op. 54 with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Christoph von Dohnányi and Bryn Terfel in 1995 Here on archive.org |
Teresa Stratas is an operatic soprano and actress from Canada of Greek descent. She is especially well known for her award-winning recording of Alban Berg's Lulu. She has now formally retired.
Phyllis Curtin was an American soprano and academic teacher who had an active career in operas and concerts from the early 1950s through the 1980s. She is known for her creation of roles in operas by Carlisle Floyd, such as the title role in Susannah and Catherine Earnshaw in Wuthering Heights. She was a dedicated song recitalist, who retired from singing in 1984. She was named Boston University's Dean Emerita, College of Fine Arts in 1991.
Jane Eaglen is an English dramatic soprano particularly known for her interpretations of the works of Richard Wagner and the title roles in Bellini's Norma and Puccini's Turandot. Her career at the Metropolitan Opera started with her Brunhilde in the Ring Cycle. Eaglen has performed at all major houses globally such as La Scalla, the Metropolitan Opera House and many others. She currently resides in Boston, MA as a voice teacher at the famous New England Conservatory where she is training the next generation of world class singers. She is the President and founder of the Boston Wagner Society. Eaglen spends her summers instructing at the prestigious Merola opera training program for emerging artists. She is very active in her community. Every year she judges several voice competitions including the Laffont-Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
Katiuscia Maria Stella "Katia" Ricciarelli is an Italian soprano and actress.
Anja Silja Regina Langwagen is a German soprano singer.
Dame Gwyneth Jones is a Welsh dramatic soprano, widely regarded as one of the greatest Wagnerian sopranos in the second half of the 20th century.
Keri-Lynn Wilson is a Canadian conductor of operatic and symphonic repertoire. She is the founder and music director of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra.
Ruggero Raimondi is an Italian bass-baritone opera singer who has also appeared in motion pictures.
Neil Shicoff is an American opera singer and cantor and known for his lyric tenor singing and his dramatic, emotional acting.
Andrea Gruber is an American dramatic soprano particularly admired for her interpretations of the works of Puccini, Verdi, and Wagner.
Anna Tomowa-Sintow is a Bulgarian soprano who has sung to great acclaim in all the major opera houses around the world in a repertoire that includes Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, Heinrich Marschner,Wagner, and Strauss. She enjoyed a particularly close professional relationship with conductor Herbert von Karajan from 1973 until his death in 1989.
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James Valenti is an American operatic tenor with an active international career specializing in leading roles in the Italian and French repertoire. Born and raised in New Jersey, in the United States, he attended St. Helena School and North Hunterdon High School before becoming a graduate of West Virginia University and the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Valenti also holds a Master of Voice Pedagogy degree from Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Valenti made his professional debut in 2003 as Rodolfo in La bohème at the Rome Opera, and was the 2010 winner of the Richard Tucker Award.
Svetla Vassileva is a Bulgarian opera singer (soprano).
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