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Christine Imogen Rice MBE is an English operatic mezzo-soprano. She has performed across Europe at venues including the Royal Opera House, the Bavarian State Opera, the Frankfurt Opera, the Teatro Real and the English National Opera. From 2004 to 2006 she was a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist.
Rice comes from Manchester, England. Her father was a chemistry lecturer and she intended to pursue a career in science. She attended Withington Girls' School and went on to study physics at Balliol College, Oxford before beginning a DPhil which she did not finish. Rice spent a gap year at the Royal Northern College of Music, after which she decided to embark upon a career as a singer.
Her first singing job was as part of the chorus of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera. Soon after, she signed a four-year contract with the English National Opera, also singing at other opera houses such as La Monnaie, where she was spotted by Antonio Pappano. When he became the music director at the Royal Opera House, he invited her to sing there.
Rice's roles include:
Rice was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award in 2009 for Outstanding Achievement in Opera for her performance in Partenope at The English National Opera and The Minotaur at The Royal Opera House. [1] [ circular reference ] She was later nominated for an Olivier Award in the same category in 2022 for her performance in 4/4 at The Royal Opera House. [2]
Rice was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to opera. [3]
A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; Italian: [ˌmɛddzosoˈpraːno]; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above (i.e. A3–A5 in scientific pitch notation, where middle C = C4; 220–880 Hz). In the lower and upper extremes, some mezzo-sopranos may extend down to the F below middle C (F3, 175 Hz) and as high as "high C" (C6, 1047 Hz). The mezzo-soprano voice type is generally divided into the coloratura, lyric, and dramatic mezzo-soprano.
Dame Janet Abbott Baker is an English mezzo-soprano best known as an opera, concert, and lieder singer.
Vesselina Kasarova is a Bulgarian operatic mezzo-soprano.
Ewa Podleś is a Polish coloratura contralto singer who has had an active international career both on the opera stage and in recital. She is known for the agility of her voice and a vocal range which spans more than three octaves.
Dame Sarah Patricia Connolly is an English mezzo-soprano. Although best known for her baroque and classical roles, Connolly has a wide-ranging repertoire which has included works by Wagner as well as various 20th-century composers. She was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours and a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to music.
Arianna Zukerman is an American lyric soprano who has performed with some of the world's finest orchestras and opera companies. Her voice was described in The Washington Post as "remarkable" combining the "range, warmth and facility of a Rossini mezzo with shimmering, round high notes and exquisite pianissimos."
Joyce DiDonato is an American lyric-coloratura mezzo-soprano. She is notable for her interpretations of operas and concert works in the 19th-century romantic era in addition to works by Handel and Mozart.
Christophe Dumaux is a French classical countertenor.
Matthew Rose is an English operatic bass.
Anna Caterina Antonacci is an Italian soprano known for roles in the bel canto and Baroque repertories. She performed as a mezzo-soprano for several years, particularly performing the Rossini canon.
Madeleine Boyd is a British set and costume designer who trained in Theatre Design at Central St. Martins College of Art and Design and graduated in 2001.
Miah Persson is a Swedish soprano, active internationally and in recordings.
Sara Mingardo is an Italian classical contralto who has had an active international career in concerts and operas since the 1980s. Her complete recording of Anna in Hector Berlioz's Les Troyens won a Gramophone Award and both the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording and the Grammy Award for Best Classical Album in 2002. Some of the other roles she has performed on stage or on disc include Andronico in Tamerlano, Mistress Quickly in Falstaff, Rosina in The Barber of Seville, and the title roles in Carmen, Giulio Cesare, Riccardo Primo, and Rinaldo. She has also recorded several Vivaldi cantatas, Bach cantatas, and such concert works as Mozart's Requiem, Rossini's Stabat Mater, and Vivaldi's Gloria among others.
Sonia Prina is an Italian operatic contralto who has had an active career in concerts and operas since the mid-1990s. She is particularly known for her appearances in Baroque operas and for her performances of the Baroque concert repertoire. She has recorded works by composers George Frideric Handel and Antonio Vivaldi.
Maria Grazia Schiavo is an Italian classical soprano who is particularly known for her performances of music from the baroque period. She has performed with major opera houses in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, and has appeared in concerts throughout Europe.
Diana Montague is an English mezzo-soprano, known for her performances in opera and as a concert singer.
Christine Weidinger is an American operatic soprano who has had an active international career in operas and concerts since the early 1970s. Her career started at the Metropolitan Opera, after which she was active as a resident artist with opera houses in Germany during the late 1970s and 1980s. From the 1970s through the 1990s she worked as a guest artist with many leading opera houses throughout Europe, South America, and the United States.
Lawrence Zazzo is an American countertenor. His repertoire includes roles in many Baroque operas and oratorios, as well as works of the 20th century. He lives in England.
Hervey Alan was an English operatic bass and voice teacher. During his career he sang leading roles with most of Great Britain's major opera institutions, including the Edinburgh Festival, the Glyndebourne Festival, the Royal Opera House, the Sadler's Wells Opera, and the Welsh National Opera. He is best known for creating the role of Mr. Redburn in the world premiere of Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd at the Royal Opera House, London, on 1 December 1951. Music critic Elizabeth Forbes wrote that his voice was "dark toned, resonant", and "especially effective as Zaccaria in Nabucco.
Silvia Tro Santafé is a Spanish lyric-coloratura mezzo-soprano. In her early career she was best known for her interpretations of Handel and became notable for her performances of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, and in recent years Verdi.
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