Michael Chioldi | |
---|---|
Born | Pennsylvania, U.S. | May 24, 1970
Education | |
Occupation | Opera singer (baritone) |
Michael Chioldi (born May 24, 1970) is an American opera singer who has performed leading baritone roles in the opera houses and festivals of North and South America, Europe and Asia. He first appeared at New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1995 when he was a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition. [1]
Chioldi grew up in Avonmore, Pennsylvania, where his father was a steelworker. He received his bachelor's degree from West Virginia University and his Master of Music degree from Yale where he studied singing under Richard Cross. Following his graduation from Yale in 1994, he received further training at the Houston Grand Opera Studio and San Francisco Opera's Merola Opera Program. Chioldi's first appearance at the Metropolitan Opera was in April 1995 in the National Council Winners Concert. He made his official opera debut there as Fléville in Andrea Chénier in April 1996, and subsequently appeared as Pâris in Roméo et Juliette (1996), Wagner in Faust (1997), Yamadori in Madama Butterfly (1997), and Moralès in Carmen (1997). During his last year at the Met, Chioldi was awarded a study grant from the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation. [2] [3] [4] In 2022 he sang Rigoletto in a new production at the Metropolitan Opera to wide acclaim.
Chioldi made his debut with the Washington National Opera in December 1995 as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia . He went on to appear with the company as Fléville in Andrea Chenier , First Mate in Billy Budd , the title role of Hamlet , Sharpless in Madama Butterfly , Enrico Ashton in Lucia di Lammermoor , and Giorgio Germont in La traviata . He made his San Francisco Opera debut as Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus in 1996 and the following year appeared as Schaunard in La bohème and in the roles of Jack, Supervisor Kopp, and Stonewall Girl in the West Coast premiere of Stewart Wallace's opera Harvey Milk , based on the life of the San Francisco politician and gay rights activist Harvey Milk, who was assassinated in 1978. Chioldi also appears on the world premiere recording of the opera. [5] [6] [7] [8]
Chioldi's debut with New York City Opera came in 1999 as Le chat in L'enfant et les sortilèges . He became a regular performer with the company, most notably as Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro , Escamillo in Carmen , Doctor Malatesta in Don Pasquale , Belcore in L'elisir d'amore , Peter in Hansel and Gretel , Sharpless in the 2008 Emmy Award-winning Madama Butterfly, and Baron Scarpia in Tosca . He also sang in New York City with the Opera Orchestra of New York as Ottakar in their 2005 concert performance of Der Freischütz . [9] [10] [11] [12]
Chioldi first appeared with Palm Beach Opera in 2003 as Enrico Ashton in Lucia di Lammermoor. He went on to perform with the company in roles that included Doctor Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Giorgo Germont in La traviata, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, the title role of Macbeth (his role debut), Baron Scarpia in Tosca, and the title role in Rigoletto . In Texas, he has performed with Austin Opera as Renato in Un Ballo in Maschera , Sharpless in Madame Butterfly, Giorgio Germont in La traviata , Iago in Otello , Rodrigo in Don Carlo , and the title role in Rigoletto. He also appeared as Baron Scarpia with San Antonio Opera, as Ford in Falstaff with Fort Worth Opera, and as Abimelech in Samson and Delilah with Dallas Opera. [13] [14]
Chioldi's appearances with other American opera companies include: Virginia Opera (High Priest of Dagon in Samson and Delilah, Jochanaan in Salome and Tonio in Pagliacci ); Chicago Opera Theatre (Giacomo in Giovanna d'Arco ); New Orleans Opera (Enrico Ashton in Lucia di Lammermoor and the title role in Macbeth); Chautauqua Opera (title role in Macbeth); Lyric Opera Baltimore (title role in Nabucco ); Utah Opera (Baron Scarpia in Tosca); (Giorgio Germont in La traviata); Chicago Opera Theater (title role in Gianni Schicchi ); Opera Las Vegas (title role in Rigoletto); Opera Saratoga (Ford in Falstaff); and Ópera de Puerto Rico (Baron Scarpia in Tosca). [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]
Chioldi has appeared in Canada with Toronto's Opera Atelier as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, as Méduse in Lully's Persée , and in the title role in Don Giovanni . In Asia and the Middle East, he has appeared in concerts at the Shenzhen Belt & Road International Music Festival and the Qingdao International Music Festival; as Papageno in a touring production of Die Zauberflöte with the New Japan Philharmonic conducted by Seiji Ozawa; as Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with the San Francisco Opera at the Macau International Music Festival; and the title role in Macbeth at the Royal Opera House Muscat. In Latin America, Chioldi has appeared as Lord Dunmow in the South American premiere of Lennox Berkeley's A Dinner Engagement in São Paulo; as Iago in Otello with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco in Guadalajara; and as the baritone soloist in Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde at the Festival Internacional de Piano En Blanco & Negro in Mexico City. His European appearances include Metifio in the concert performance and recording of Cilea's L'arlesiana at the Opéra National de Montpellier; Scarpia in Tosca with Ópera de Oviedo; Gerard in Andrea Chénier and Miller in Luisa Miller at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona; the title role of Macbeth at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste; Marcello in La bohème at London's Royal Albert Hall; and the title role in Der fliegende Holländer at Pforzheim Opera in Germany. [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26]
In addition to his appearances in Harvey Milk and A Dinner Engagement , Chioldi has sung in a number of other contemporary operas and operatic rarities during his career. In 1993, while still a student at Yale, he appeared as The Third Player in The Protagonist, Kurt Weill's first opera, in its American premiere at Santa Fe Opera. In 1999 he created the role of Lucius Harney in the world premiere of Stephen Paulus's opera Summer based on Edith Wharton's novel of the same name. He appears as Jean Sorel in the first commercial recording of Gian Carlo Menotti's The Consul with Berkshire Opera in 1998 and reprised the role in 2009 with Glimmerglass Opera. In 2002, he sang in the world premiere of Charles Wuorinen's The Haroun Songbook and in 2004 sang John Proctor in Toledo Opera's production of Robert Ward's The Crucible . The role of The Man in Anthony Brandt's chamber opera The Birth of Something was written especially for Chioldi's voice. He sang the role in the opera's first staged performance and on its 2009 recording. [27] [26] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32]
With Odyssey Opera, a Boston-based company specializing in rarely performed operas, Chioldi sang the cavaliere di Belfiore in Verdi's Un giorno di regno (2014), Ford in Vaughan Williams's Sir John in Love (2015), and the title role in Saint-Saëns's Henry VIII (2019). He appeared in 2011 as Jim Thompson in an UrbanArias production of Glory Denied, Tom Cipullo's opera based on the life of Jim Thompson, the longest-held American prisoner of war in U.S. history. In 2017, he was the baritone soloist in Vermont Opera Project's production of The Andrée Expedition, Dominick Argento's monodrama based on S. A. Andrée's ill-fated 1897 Arctic expedition. In New York City, he sang with Dicapo Opera in its 2008 production of The Dangerous Liaisons , Opéra Français de New York in its 2009 program "Debussy & Poe: Fall of the House of Usher & Devil in the Belfry ", and with the revived New York City Opera as L'Ondino in Respighi's La campana sommersa in 2017. [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39]
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the Greek βαρύτονος (barýtonos), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C (i.e. F2–F4) in choral music, and from the second G below middle C to the G above middle C (G2 to G4) in operatic music, but the range can extend at either end. Subtypes of baritone include the baryton-Martin baritone (light baritone), lyric baritone, Kavalierbariton, Verdi baritone, dramatic baritone, baryton-noble baritone, and the bass-baritone.
Tito Gobbi was an Italian operatic baritone with an international reputation.
Louis Quilico, was a Canadian opera singer. One of the leading dramatic baritones of his day, he was an ideal interpreter of the great Italian and French composers, especially Giuseppe Verdi. He was often referred to as "Mr Rigoletto" in reference to the Verdi opera. During his 45-year-long career he shared performing credits with opera's greatest stars. He spent 25 consecutive years at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. After his retirement from the stage in 1998 he continued to perform and record, most often with his second wife, pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico,, with whom he made four CDs. The couple also toured together extensively in concerts until Quilico's death in 2000. Quilico received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts, in November 1999 for his lifetime contribution to classical music.
Piero Cappuccilli was an Italian operatic baritone. Best known for his interpretations of Verdi roles, he was widely regarded as one of the finest Italian baritones of the second half of the 20th century. He was enormously admired within the field of opera for his rich and abundant voice, fine vocal technique and exceptional breath control. In the great Italian tradition he fused words and music into elegant phrases. He focused on Italian repertory, particularly the operas of Verdi, singing 17 major roles.
Antonio Scotti was an Italian baritone. He was a principal artist of the New York Metropolitan Opera for more than 33 seasons, but also sang with great success at London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and Milan's La Scala.
Giuseppe Taddei was an Italian baritone, who, during his career, performed multiple operas composed by numerous composers.
Boris Trajanov is Macedonian operatic baritone.
Rolando Panerai was an Italian baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertoire. He performed at La Scala in Milan, often alongside Maria Callas and Giuseppe Di Stefano. He was known for musical understanding, excellent diction and versatile acting in both drama and comic opera. Among his signature roles were Ford in Verdi's Falstaff and the title role of Puccini's Gianni Schicchi.
Giuseppe Valdengo was an Italian operatic baritone. Opera News said that, "Although his timbre lacked the innate beauty of some of his baritone contemporaries, Valdengo's performances were invariably satisfying — bold and assured in attack but scrupulously musical."
Karl Gustaf Ingvar Wixell was a Swedish baritone who had an active international career in operas and concerts from 1955 to 2003. He mostly sang roles from the Italian repertory, and, according to The New York Times, "was best known for his steady-toned, riveting portrayals of the major baritone roles of Giuseppe Verdi — among them Rigoletto, Simon Boccanegra, Amonasro in Aida, and Germont in La traviata".
Robert Savoie, was a French-Canadian operatic baritone.
Richard Fredricks is an American opera singer, and was one of the leading dramatic baritones of both the New York City Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. He has also appeared on network television, performing a number of times on NBC's The Tonight Show and guest-starred once in a 1971 episode of ABC's The Odd Couple.
Anthony Michaels-Moore is an English operatic baritone and the first British winner of the Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition. Michaels-Moore has since performed in many of the world's major opera houses across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. He has distinguished himself as a specialist in Verdi and Puccini roles, most renowned for his portrayals of Falstaff, Nabucco, Rigoletto, Simon Boccanegra, Iago in Otello, Germont in La traviata, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, and Scarpia in Tosca. In addition to the standard repertoire, he has sung and recorded the baritone roles of some of the less-known 19th Century Italian operas, as well as the popular English art song cycles by Stanford and Vaughan Williams.
Željko Lučić, is a Serbian operatic baritone who has had an active international career since 1993. He was a member of the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad from 1993 to 1998 and at the Frankfurt Opera from 1998 to 2008. He is particularly well known for his performances in the operas of Giuseppe Verdi; having portrayed a total of 23 leading roles from the great composer's works.
Giovanni Polese was an Italian operatic baritone who had an active international singing career from 1894-1928. He achieved the height of his success in the United States in the years 1908-1916 in the cities of Boston, Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia, and again from 1926-1928 in Chicago. While he sang a broad repertoire from the French, German, and Italian repertoires, he was most celebrated for his performances in the operas of Giuseppe Verdi. His voice is preserved on more than 20 recordings made by Edison Records.
Robert Edward Joseph Allman was an Australian operatic bass-baritone.
Andrzej Dobber is a Polish baritone, honored with the title of Kammersänger by the Senate of the City of Hamburg and awarded the silver medal for Merit to Culture - Gloria Artis by the Polish Minister of Culture.
Giovanni Meoni is an Italian operatic baritone.
Quinn Kamakanalani Kelsey is a Hawaiian baritone, who is particularly noted for his performances in operas by Verdi. He has been featured in leading roles by the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, as well as other major opera companies in America and Europe.
Alfredo Gandolfi, sometimes given as Alfred Gandolfi, was an Italian-born American cinematographer, operatic baritone, and librettist. He should not be confused with the Alfredo Gandolfi who co-founded Ambrosio Film with Arturo Ambrosio in 1906.