Ginger Costa-Jackson | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Ginger Emilia Jackson |
Born | Palermo, Sicily, Italy | September 10, 1986
Genres | Opera |
Occupation(s) | musician, operatic mezzo-soprano |
Instrument | Vocals |
Years active | 2007–present |
Website | www |
Ginger Costa-Jackson (born 10 September 1986, and named Ginger Emilia Jackson) is an Italian-American operatic mezzo-soprano who performs often with the Metropolitan Opera since entering its Lindemann Young Artist Development Program in 2007. [1] [2] The Met: Live in HD global broadcasts feature her frequently, as do other major theaters and concert venues worldwide. [3] Costa-Jackson has performed in her native Italian as well as English, French, and Spanish; she speaks these languages fluently, along with limited German. While her signature role is Carmen , [4] [5] Costa-Jackson [6] also performs comic roles, as in her Marchesa di Poggio (Glimmerglass Festival's 2013 adaptation of Verdi's King for a Day /Un giorno di regno), [7] [8] [9] and also her 2009 Celia in Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe with the San Francisco Symphony. [10] [11]
Ginger Costa-Jackson was born in Palermo, Italy, to an American father, Walt Jackson, and an Italian mother, Emilia Costa. [12] Relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada, the couple had two more daughters (also opera singers): Marina and Miriam. Italian was the children's mother tongue. [13] The family then moved to Salt Lake City, Utah.
Music was a consistent part of Costa-Jackson's early family life. Her maternal grandmother, Lucia Frontini Costa, taught the children Italian lullabies and folk tunes. [13] Emilia, like her mother before her, had a strong singing voice, although neither sang professionally. [14] [15] As a youth, Emilia had piano training at the Palermo Conservatory, and some private voice lessons. Walt sang in high school and college groups, including Brigham Young University's barbershop quartet. Each of the children took up orchestral instruments as part of their public school education. Costa-Jackson chose the violin, and eventually became first violinist in her school orchestra. [11]
Miriam was the first of the Jackson children to study voice. [3] Her interest sprang from listening to the family's opera CDs, especially The Three Tenors. Costa-Jackson's interests were more academic. [13] She had a perfect record of top grades in school, and thought of becoming a professor of English Literature. [11] [13] When Costa-Jackson heard her sister was singing after beginning lessons, Costa-Jackson determined to study voice as well. However, Costa-Jackson found her voice cracked during lessons. This did not deter her from the decision to study voice. [11]
In 2003, the family took all three daughters to Palermo, where Costa-Jackson and her youngest sister studied privately with Maria Argento Rancatore. The teacher insisted Costa-Jackson see a doctor to ensure her vocal problem was not a medical condition. She received a clear bill of health, and lessons began in earnest. [3] Costa-Jackson then auditioned for a place with the Conservatorio Vincenzo Bellini, and gained entrance there. When the family returned to Utah after five months, Costa-Jackson and Miriam were invited to audition for the Utah Festival Opera. General Director Michael Ballam contracted them to sing for the 2004 season, and they became the youngest opera singers to be hired by the company (ages 17 and 15 respectively). [12]
At 17, Costa-Jackson left public school and went to Italy to live with her aunt and continue private vocal studies. Costa-Jackson completed her high school education via correspondence courses. At 18 she attended one semester at Brigham Young University, but found it suited her better to focus on music, rather than pursue a liberal arts education. Therefore, she returned to Italy. At 19 she began a tour of Italian singing competitions. She won first place in her first competition—the 2006 Leoncavallo Festival International Competition in Montalto Uffugo. Later, as a finalist in the Ottavio Ziino International Lyric Competition (Concorso Lirico Internazionale "Ottavio Ziino"), Costa-Jackson met Lenore Rosenberg, who was a judge on that occasion, and the Director of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera. Rosenberg invited Costa-Jackson to audition for James Levine, which resulted in Costa-Jackson's becoming a Met Young Artist in 2007. [2] [3] [11]
The 2007 jump from private student to the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program was the pivotal point in Costa-Jackson's career. [11] The young singer had no degree, nor had she participated in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. [16] Being a young artist gave her access to the Met's considerable resources, world-class teachers and coaches, and on-stage experiences. [17] [18]
Costa-Jackson made her first appearance with the Metropolitan Opera in its 2008 Opening Night Gala as Rosette in Massenet's Manon. [19] Her singing debut came that same year in a new production of Massenet's Thaïs, which starred Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson. Costa-Jackson was Myrtale. [20] From 2008 to 2013, Costa-Jackson had 15 contracts with the Metropolitan Opera (see Repertory below). General Manager Peter Gelb explained how the Met's young artists are typically assigned small roles with the company. [18] The company develops young artists, often giving them cover assignments before launching them into main roles. [21] This pattern is evident in Costa-Jackson's placement in increasingly demanding cover roles since she graduated from the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program in 2010. Her 2012 and 2013 cover roles included Cherubino ( Le nozze di Figaro ), Meg Page ( Falstaff ), and Dorabella ( Così fan tutte ). Her debut in the title role of Carmen came in 2011 with Glimmerglass Opera, when Francesca Zambello cast Costa-Jackson as the gypsy temptress. [22] Scheduling conflicts required Costa-Jackson to turn down offers to sing Carmen with Opera Hong Kong and Opera Hamilton in Canada. [23] The Met released her from a contract to sing Bersi in Andrea Chénier , so that Costa-Jackson could sing Carmen with Virginia Opera in 2014. [24] Carmen became her signature role and she has performed it all over the world. By March 2019 she had performed it thirteen times, in venues ranging from Seattle and San Diego to Mexico City and Tokyo. [25]
2012 saw Costa-Jackson's debut with San Francisco Opera in the role of Nancy T'ang ( Nixon in China ), a role she had previously sung under the baton of the composer, John Adams, at the Met. [26] Costa-Jackson's first professional role in Europe was Lola (Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana ) with the Gran Teatre del Liceu in 2011. She was "Puss" in the 2010 U.S. premiere of Montsalvage's El gato con botas produced by the Gotham Chamber Opera. [27] Costa-Jackson sang Wowkle in the 2010 Metropolitan Opera centennial production of Puccini's La fanciulla del West . [28]
Costa-Jackson married Spencer Burk M.D. on August 31, 2013. [29] The couple live in Sarasota, Florida. [25]
LYADP – Lindeman Young Artist Development Program; HD – The Met: Live in HD series
Alice Geraldine Farrar was an American lyric soprano who could also sing dramatic roles. She was noted for her beauty, acting ability, and "the intimate timbre of her voice." In the 1910s, she also found success as an actress in silent films. She had a large following among young women, who were nicknamed "Gerry-flappers".
Roberto Alagna is a French operatic tenor. He obtained French citizenship in 1981, while also retaining his previous Italian citizenship.
Angela Gheorghiu is a Romanian soprano, especially known for her performances in the operas of Puccini and Verdi.
Renata Scotto was an Italian soprano, opera director, and voice teacher. Recognised for her sense of style, her musicality, and as a remarkable singer-actress, Scotto is considered to have been one of the preeminent opera singers of her generation.
Anna Moffo was an American opera singer, television personality, and actress. One of the leading lyric-coloratura sopranos of her generation, she possessed a warm and radiant voice of considerable range and agility. Noted for her physical beauty, she was nicknamed "La Bellissima".
Stephanie Blythe is an American mezzo-soprano who has had an active international career in operas and concerts since the early 1990s. She is particularly associated with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, with whom she has performed annually since her debut with the company in 1995. In 2014 she starred as Gertrude Stein in the world premiere of 27, an opera composed by Ricky Ian Gordon with libretto by Royce Vavrek, and commissioned for her by the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.
The Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation is a musical organisation founded in 1974 whose scope is to provide assistance to young American and international artists by means of scholarships, study grants, and master classes.
Barbara Frittoli is an Italian operatic soprano, specializing in operas by Verdi and Mozart. She has sung leading roles in opera houses throughout Europe and in the United States, such as La Scala in Milan and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Her signature roles include Mimì in La bohème, the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Desdemona in Otello.
Sondra Dee Radvanovsky is an American and Canadian soprano. Specializing in 19th-century Italian opera, Radvanovsky is widely regarded as a leading interpreter of bel canto, verismo, and works by Giuseppe Verdi. Her repertoire includes the title roles in Médée, Norma, Tosca, and Rusalka, Leonora in Il trovatore, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, and Donizetti's "Tudor Queens": the title roles in Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, and Elizabeth I in Roberto Devereux.
Christine Goerke is an American dramatic soprano.
Kate Lindsey is a mezzo-soprano opera singer from the United States. She is married to the documentary filmmaker Olly Lambert.
Marina Poplavskaya is a Russian operatic soprano. Her repertoire includes leading roles in operas of the Romantic era; she is particularly known for her performances in the operas of Verdi.
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.
Pretty Yende is a South African operatic coloratura soprano. She has performed leading roles at opera houses internationally, including La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera. She performed at the coronation of Charles III and Camilla.
Marina Costa-Jackson is an American soprano. One of three daughters to Walt Jackson and Emilia Costa, her sisters, Miriam and Ginger Costa-Jackson, are also singers.
Norah Amsellem is a French opera singer who has appeared in leading soprano roles in both North America, Europe, Asia since her debut in 1995. Her discography of complete opera recordings includes Carmen for Decca, La traviata for Opus Arte, and La bohème for Telarc.
Nicole Car is an Australian operatic soprano. She has performed leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Vienna State Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Semperoper Dresden, Opéra national de Paris, The Dallas Opera, and Opera Australia. Car is particularly associated with the roles of Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, Mimì in La bohème, Marguerite in Faust, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and Micaëla in Carmen, and has also given noted performances as Elisabeth de Valois in Don Carlos, and the title roles in Luisa Miller and Thaïs.
Isabelle Kabatu is a Belgian operatic soprano with a father from Belgian Congo and a Belgian mother. She has appeared internationally, with a focus on the Italian repertoire such as Verdi's La traviata and Aida, and Puccini's Manon Lescaut and Tosca. She appeared as Bess in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess beginning at the Houston Grand Opera and touring the world. In 2012, she appeared in the world premiere of Franck's early work Stradella.
Rihab Chaieb is a Tunisian-Canadian mezzo-soprano.
Nikki Li Hartliep is a Japanese-born American soprano who has performed with major opera companies and orchestras around the world.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)