Jennifer Larmore | |
|---|---|
 Larmore in 2013 | |
| Born | June 21, 1958 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Opera singer |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Website | http://www.jenniferlarmore.info/ |
Jennifer Larmore (born June 21, 1958) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer, particularly noted for her performances in coloratura and bel canto roles which she has performed in the world's major opera houses. [1] She has been a professor at the Music College of Seoul National University since March 2021.
Larmore was born in Atlanta, Georgia. She attended Westminster Choir College in New Jersey and trained with Robert McIver, John Bullock and Regina Resnik. In 1982, she attended the Music Academy of the West summer conservatory program. [2] She made her professional debut in 1986, at Opéra de Nice in Mozart's La clemenza di Tito . In 1988, she sang Rosina in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia (Jérôme Savary production in Strasbourg). She made her Carnegie Hall debut as Romeo (Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi) in 1994 and her Metropolitan Opera debut as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia in 1995. [3] She went on to sing at the Met in La Cenerentola (Angelina), Hansel and Gretel (Hansel), Les Contes d'Hoffmann (Giulietta), Giulio Cesare (title role), L'italiana in Algeri (Isabella), Die Fledermaus (Prince Orlofsky), the world premiere of Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy (Elizabeth Griffiths), and Hamlet (Gertrude). [4]
In 2012, Larmore began adding dramatic soprano roles to her repertoire, singing Lady Macbeth in Verdi's Macbeth at the Grand Théâtre de Genève and Kostelnicka in Janáček's Jenufa at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. In 2013, she reprised the role Lady Macbeth for the celebrations of Verdi's bicentenary at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and in Reggio Emilia. In 2013 she also starred in the world premiere of The Fall of Fukuyama, a new opera by Gregoire Hetzel and Camille de Toledo. [5]
Larmore has won the 1994 Richard Tucker Award, [6] a 1992 Gramophone award for Giulio Cesare on Harmonia Mundi in which she sang the title role, [7] and the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for Hansel and Gretel. [8] She sang at the 1996 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Atlanta and hosted a satellite radio show for two years called Backstage with Jennifer Larmore. Also in 1996 she performed during a tribute to Gene Roddenberry on the live TV special Star Trek 30 Years and Beyond. She received the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Government in 2002. [9]
In addition to Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia , Larmore has recorded leading roles in Carmen , Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra , La Cenerentola , L'italiana in Algeri , Bianca e Falliero , Giulio Cesare , La Sofonisba , Orphée et Eurydice , Zanetto , Hansel and Gretel , and I Capuleti e i Montecchi .
She has also appeared in supporting roles in l'Incoronazione di Poppea , Maria Stuarda , Francesca di Foix , Elvida , Adelaide di Borgogna , Il Signor Bruschino , Semiramide , Rigoletto , Carlo di Borgogna , Alessandro nelle Indie and Offenbach's Vert-Vert .
Larmore appears as the mezzo-soprano soloist in recordings of Duruflé's Requiem , Mozart's Great Mass in C minor , Gurre-Lieder , El Amor Brujo , and El sombrero de tres picos .
Her solo CDs are Where Shall I Fly, Born in Atlanta, Jennifer Larmore, A Portrait, Call Me Mister, Amore per Rossini, Rossini Songs, Royal Mezzo, Jennifer Larmore, Great Operatic Arias, Bravura Diva, and My Native Land.
She appears on several DVDs, including Il barbiere di Siviglia (Netherlands Opera), L'italiana in Algeri (Paris Opera), Lulu (Royal Opera House) and Jennifer Larmore in Recital (recorded live at the Performing Arts Center, Purchase College, New York).
The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy The Barber of Seville (1775). The première of Rossini's opera took place on 20 February 1816 at the Teatro Argentina, Rome, with designs by Angelo Toselli.
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.
The German Fach system is a method of classifying singers, primarily opera singers, according to the range, weight, and color of their voices. It is used worldwide, but primarily in Europe, especially in German-speaking countries and by repertory opera houses.
Conchita Supervía was a highly popular Spanish coloratura mezzo-soprano singer who appeared in opera in Europe and America and also gave recitals.
Agni Baltsa is a leading Greek mezzo-soprano singer.
Vivica Genaux is an American coloratura mezzo-soprano. She was born in Fairbanks, Alaska. She has sung in major operas such as The Barber of Seville at the Metropolitan Opera, L'italiana in Algeri at Opéra National de Paris, and La Cenerentola with Dallas Opera and the Bavarian State Opera.
Susanne Marsee is an American mezzo-soprano of note, particularly acclaimed as a singing-actress.
Kate Aldrich is an American mezzo-soprano.
Mario Petri was an Italian operatic bass-baritone particularly associated with Mozart and Rossini roles.
Eugenia Ratti was an Italian soprano, particularly associated with the Italian repertory. A lyric coloratura soprano of considerable charm, she excelled in soubrette roles in works by Cimarosa and Mozart such as Susanna, Zerlina, Despina, and in light Donizetti such as Adina, Norina, as well as Verdi's Oscar and Nannetta.
Lawrence Brownlee is an American operatic tenor particularly associated with the bel canto repertoire. Describing his voice, Speight Jenkins, general director of the Seattle Opera, said: "There are other singers that sing this repertory very well, but I don't think anyone else has quite as beautiful a sound and as rounded a tone," and praise his "incredible top notes", adding about his high F (F5) in "Credeasi, misera": "With him it's not a scream, it's a beautiful sound." Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato adds: "He is always in service of the music. His natural instrument is just incredibly beautiful. The word 'honey' comes to mind. He also has technical prowess and agility."
This list includes opera productions of the Opera Group and Opera Company of Boston from 1958 to 1990.
Antonietta Pastori is an Italian operatic soprano, particularly associated with lighter lyric and coloratura roles.
Raquel Pierotti is a mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in coloratura roles in the Rossini and Handel repertoire.
Anna Goryachova is a Russian operatic mezzo-soprano, known especially for her interpretations of bel canto operas.
Svetlina Stoyanova is a Bulgarian operatic mezzo-soprano.
Vasilisa Berzhanskaya is a Russian operatic mezzo-soprano. Her repertoire encompasses roles of the Italian bel canto of Rossini and Bellini, Mozart, Baroque music such as Vivaldi and Purcell, and roles from Russian opera, by composers such as Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky. Though Berzhanskaya is a mezzo-soprano, in the past she has sung roles ranging from dramatic coloratura soprano to contralto. As such, she has been described as possessing "a huge vocal range in which she display[s] impeccable coloratura."
Margarita Vitalievna Gritskova is a Russian mezzo-soprano in opera and lied singing. A member of the Vienna State Opera since 2012, she is focused on roles by Rossini such as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia and La Cenerentola, but has also performed in Baroque opera and contemporary works such as Tri sestri by Péter Eötvös.
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.
Silvia Hauer is a German operatic mezzo-soprano. A member of the ensemble of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden since 2015, she has performed leading roles such as Cherubino in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Rosina in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Bizet's Carmen, and the title role in Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss. Her concert repertoire includes Oskar Gottlieb Blarr's Jesus-Passion and Verdi's Requiem.
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