Melba Ramos is a Puerto Rican- born soprano active in the opera houses and concert halls of Europe. Since 1989 her operatic career has been primarily in Germany and in Austria where she has sung many leading roles at the Vienna Volksoper. In 2002, she created the role of Faustina in the posthumous premiere of Joachim Raff's Benedetto Marcello. [1] [2]
Ramos was born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico and studied voice at the Pablo Casals Conservatory of Music in San Juan. A previous District winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, she made her official debut as Despina in Così fan tutte . From 1989 to 1992 was a member of the Opera Studio at Cologne Opera. She was then engaged by Wuppertal Opera and in 2002 by the Vienna Volksoper. [2] [3] Some of the roles she has portrayed at the Volksoper include, Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly (2011), Giorgetta in Il Tabarro (2011), Leonora in Il trovatore (2013-2014), Liù in Turandot (2011), Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus (2011-2013), and title roles in Tosca (2010-2012) and Turandot (2014). [4]
In 2003 she portrayed Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte at the Salzburg Festival. [5] In 2010 she portrayed Cio-Cio-San at the Staatstheater Nürnberg, and later returned there as Tosca in 2014. In 2011 and 2012 she performed the role of Leonora at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. In 2013 she portrayed Amelia in Un ballo in maschera at the Opernhaus Wuppertal. The following year she portrayed Lady Macbeth in Macbeth at the Saarländisches Staatstheater, [4] and performed the role of Tigrane in Radamisto at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. [6]
Tatiana Borodina is a Russian opera soprano.
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.
Elena Baramova is a Bulgarian-born operatic soprano.
Eliane Coelho is a Brazilian soprano singer. She was a soprano in the Frankfurt Opera and performed dozens of roles at the Vienna Staatsoper.
Ruggero Raimondi is an Italian bass-baritone opera singer who has also appeared in motion pictures.
Sylvie Valayre is a French operatic soprano known for her versatile interpretations of lyric, spinto, and dramatic coloratura soprano parts. She sings grueling roles like Abigaille, Lady Macbeth or Turandot as well as lighter pieces like Giordano's Maddalena, Cio-Cio San, or Verdi's Desdemona at major opera houses around the world.
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.
Anja Harteros is a German soprano. Since winning the 1999 Cardiff Singer of the World competition she has been particularly associated with the Bavarian State Opera and enjoyed an international career.
Anda-Louise Bogza is a celebrated Romanian opera soprano. In 1994, she won both the First Prize and the Audience Prize at the Vienna International Singing Competition. In 2007, she was honored with the Thalia Award.
Elinor Ross was an American opera singer, a dramatic soprano particularly associated with the Italian repertory. She made an international career, appearing regularly at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and at major opera houses in Europe and the Americas, in roles such as Puccini's Tosca and Turandot.
Antoinette Halloran is an Australian operatic soprano.
Naděžda Kniplová was a Czech operatic soprano who had an active international career from the 1950s through the 1980s. Kniplová possessed a large voice with a sonorous, metallic, dark timbre that was particularly well suited to the dramatic soprano repertoire. While she was most admired in Czech operas and as Wagnerian heroines, she sang a wide repertoire that also encompassed Italian, Russian, and Hungarian language roles. A fine actress, her performances were praised for their intensity and pathos. However, some critics commented on a certain lack of steadiness or purity in her singing. Her voice is preserved on a number of recordings made on the Supraphon and Decca labels.
Milada Šubrtová was a Czech operatic soprano who had a lengthy career at the National Theatre in Prague from 1948 through 1991. She was part of an instrumental group of the post-World War II Czech opera singers that was responsible for popularizing Czech opera internationally. She drew particular acclaim for her portrayals of the title heroines in Leoš Janáček's Jenůfa and Antonín Dvořák's Rusalka. Her voice is preserved on a few complete opera recordings made on the Supraphon label. In 1998 she was honored with a Thalia Award.
He Hui, is a Chinese operatic lirico-spinto soprano known in the West and on record covers as Hui He.
Tatjana Gürbaca is a German opera director.
Amarilli Nizza is an Italian operatic soprano.
Vittoria Yeo is a South Korean soprano.
Dragana Radakovic is an operatic soprano, conductor and academic. With a flexible voice, she is able to sing bel canto as well as dramatic soprano roles. She has appeared at major opera houses in title and leading roles, including Bellini's Norma, Verdi's Aida, and Puccini's Turandot.
Christine Mielitz is a German theatre and opera director.
Mirjam Tola is an Albanian operatic soprano and voice teacher. She is also an Austrian citizen.