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. [1]
Born in Las Vegas, Nevada, Costa-Jackson was raised in Palermo, Italy. She studied voice privately with Ariel Bybee and briefly at Utah State University before entering the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) in Philadelphia. [2] At the AVA she was a pupil of William Schuman and appeared in several of the school's opera productions; including appearances as Amelia in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera , Mimì in Puccini's La Bohème , Marguerite in Gounod's Faust , Fiora in L'amore dei tre re , and the title role in Iolanta . [3] [4]
Costa-Jackson has won several international singing competitions. In 2014 she won first prize at the Giulio Gari Foundation International Competition, received second place in the Marcello Giordani Foundation Vocal Competition, and was a finalist in the International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition. In 2015, she won both the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation International Vocal Competition. [5] [6] Also in 2015, she made her professional opera debut in 2015 as Musetta in La Bohème with the Michigan Opera Theatre. [7] Later that year she performed the role of Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore with Musica Viva in Hong Kong, and appeared in concert with Andrea Bocelli. [8] In February 2016 she sang in a concert of Puccini's music with the Allentown Symphony Orchestra. [9] In March 2016 she was the soprano soloist in Verdi's Requiem at the Municipal Theatre of Santiago. [10] In 2017, she is scheduled to make her debut at the Welsh National Opera as Mimì. [11]
Angela Gheorghiu is a Romanian soprano, especially known for her performances in the operas of Puccini and Verdi, widely recognised by critics and opera lovers as one of the greatest sopranos of all time.
Renata Scotto is an Italian soprano and opera director.
Marie Te Hapuku is an operatic soprano from Gisborne, New Zealand, and is a direct descendant of the Māori chief, Te Hapuku., of the Ngāti Kahungunu tribe.
Cheryl Ruth Barker is an Australian operatic soprano who has had an active international career since the late 1980s. She has sung on several complete opera recordings with Chandos Records, including the title roles in Dvořák's Rusalka, Janáček's Káťa Kabanová and Puccini's Madama Butterfly, and Emilia Marty in Janáček's The Makropulos Case. She has also made two solo recordings of opera arias, one with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor David Parry and the other with Orchestra Victoria and conductor Richard Bonynge. On the stage she has had partnerships with the English National Opera (ENO) and Opera Australia.
Audrey Schuh is an American operatic soprano. She studied at Loyola University of the South.
Nuccia Focile is an Italian operatic soprano.
Gabriella Tucci was an Italian operatic soprano who was particularly associated with the Italian repertory and performed at notable opera houses worldwide. She appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in 11 Verdi roles across 13 seasons, including Violetta in La traviata and Desdemona in Otello.
Sonya Yoncheva is a Bulgarian operatic soprano.
Kelly Kaduce is an American soprano. She was born in Winnebago, Minnesota, United States of America. A graduate of St. Olaf College and Boston University, Kaduce won the 1999 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
Michael Fabiano is an American operatic tenor. Born in Montclair, New Jersey, he has performed in leading opera houses throughout the world, including the San Francisco Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opera, Sydney Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Canadian Opera Company, The Royal Opera, and Teatro Real de Madrid among many others. Fabiano is the 2014 Richard Tucker Award winner and the 2014 Beverly Sills Artist Award winner, making him the first singer to win both awards in the same year.
Dinara Alieva is an Azerbaijani and Russian opera singer (soprano). She is currently a soloist at the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre of Russia, where she made her debut in 2009 as Liù in Puccini's opera Turandot. People's Artist of Azerbaijan (2018).
Nino Machaidze is a Georgian operatic soprano. She performs in 19th-century Romantic repertoire, primarily in operas by Rossini and Verdi as well as French operas. Beginning her career at La Scala, she gained international attention after being cast as Juliette in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette at the 2008 Salzburg Festival, after which she earned the nickname "Angelina Jolie of Opera" from the Austrian press.
Ailyn Pérez is an American operatic soprano known for her interpretation of Violetta, Mimì and Thaïs. She is a 2019 Opera News Awards Honoree, and the winner of the 2012 Richard Tucker Award. In 2016, she received the $50,000 Beverly Sills Award and the 2017 Sphinx Medal of Excellence from the Sphinx Organization.
Pretty Yende is a South African operatic soprano. She has performed leading roles at opera houses internationally, including La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera.
Marina Rebeka is a Latvian soprano, active on both opera and concert stages. Associated with Violetta in Verdi's La traviata, she performs primarily in the 19th-century Italian and French repertoire, most notably works by Gioachino Rossini, in addition to Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni, another frequent role.
Anita Hartig is a Romanian operatic soprano.
Maria Pellegrini is a Canadian operatic soprano of Italian birth who has had an active international career since the 1960s. She is particularly associated with the operas of Giacomo Puccini and Giuseppe Verdi. In 1965 she became a naturalized Canadian citizen.
Joyce El-Khoury is a Lebanese-Canadian opera singer performing with leading opera companies and symphony orchestras around the world. She is a soprano praised for her bel canto singing.
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 Marguerite de Valois in Don Carlos, and the title roles in Luisa Miller and Thaïs.
Maria Mudryak is a Kazakh operatic soprano.