Sonia Prina

Last updated
Sonia Prina
Sonia Prina-IMG 1129bis.jpg
Born (1975-11-30) 30 November 1975 (age 45)
Education
OccupationClassical contralto

Sonia Prina (born 30 November 1975) is an Italian operatic contralto who has had an active career in concerts and operas since the mid-1990s. She is particularly known for her appearances in Baroque operas and for her performances of the Baroque concert repertoire. She has recorded works by composers George Frideric Handel and Antonio Vivaldi.

Contents

Career

Born in Magenta, Prina studied singing and the trumpet at the Music Conservatoire "Giuseppe Verdi", Milan and then pursued further studies at the La Scala Academy. She began performing in operas in the mid-1990s, first in the Italian repertoire of Rossini and Donizetti. By 1997 she had established herself as an artist in the Baroque repertoire. Some of the roles she has performed are Amastre in Serse , Bradamante in Alcina , Carilda in Arianna in Creta , Cornelia in Giulio Cesare , Ottone in L’Incoronazione di Poppea , Penelope in Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria , Polinesso in Ariodante , Valentiniano in Ezio , and the title roles in Orlando , Ottone in villa , Partenope , Rinaldo , Tamerlano , and Tolomeo .

In 2000 she appeared in Cremona as Smeton in Donizetti's Anna Bolena . [1] In 2006 she performed Cornelia in the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris with Andreas Scholl in the title role. [2] In 2010 she appeared in the title role of Vivaldi's Orlando furioso in the Frankfurt Opera, conducted by Andrea Marcon, the mad Roland staged as an Italo-Rocker by David Bösch. [3] [4] She sang the part of Amastre at the Houston Grand Opera. [5]

Prina's extensive list of performance credits also include appearances at the Barbican Centre, the Bavarian State Opera, the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, La Fenice, the Liceu, Opera Australia, the Paris Opera, the Salzburg Festival, the San Francisco Opera, the Teatro Comunale Alighieri, the Teatro di San Carlo, the Teatro Real, and the Vienna State Opera among others.

Sources

Related Research Articles

A contralto is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type.

Europa Galante

Europa Galante is an Italian period-instrument Baroque orchestra founded by violinist Fabio Biondi in 1990 and directed by him.

<i>LOlimpiade</i>

L'Olimpiade is an opera libretto in three acts by Metastasio originally written for an operatic setting by Antonio Caldara of 1733. Metastasio’s plot vaguely draws upon the narrative of "The Trial of the Suitors" provided from Book 6 of The Histories of Herodotus, which had previously been the base for Apostolo Zeno's libretto Gli inganni felici (1695). The story, set in Ancient Greece at the time of the Olympic Games, is about amorous rivalry and characters' taking places to gain the loved one. The story ends with the announcement of two marriages.

Eliane Coelho is a Brazilian soprano singer. She was a soprano in the Frankfurt Opera and performed dozens of roles at the Vienna Staatsoper.

William Matteuzzi is an Italian operatic tenor renowned for his impressive vocal range and prominent upper register, reaching a high F in full voice, which enabled him to participate in the recent revival of the tenore contraltino repertoire. He is also admired as a fine musician and elegant vocalist.

<i>Ottone in villa</i>

Ottone in villa is an opera in three acts by Antonio Vivaldi to an Italian libretto by Domenico Lalli. It was Vivaldi's first opera and premiered on 17 May 1713 at the Teatro delle Grazie in Vicenza. Lalli's pastoral drama is set in ancient Rome and was a condensed adaptation of Francesco Maria Piccioli's satirical libretto for Carlo Pallavicino's opera Messalina (1679). However, Lalli changed several of the characters in Piccioli's libretto. Messalina became an invented character, Cleonilla. Emperor Claudius became another Roman emperor, Otho (Ottone), who had already appeared as a protagonist in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea (1642) and in Handel's Agrippina (1709).

<i>Orlando finto pazzo</i>

Orlando finto pazzo is an opera in three acts composed by Antonio Vivaldi to a libretto by Grazio Braccioli. The plot is based on an episode in Matteo Boiardo's unfinished epic poem Orlando Innamorato. The second of Vivaldi's known operas, Orlando finto pazzo premiered in November 1714 at the Teatro Sant'Angelo in Venice. Vivaldi acted as impresario as well as composer. Apparently the opera did not meet much approval from the audience and was billed only on few dates, just to be replaced, on 1 December, by a reworking of Giovanni Alberto Ristori’s Orlando furioso, an opera that the Vivaldi "impresa" had very successfully staged in 1713.

Lorenzo Regazzo, is an opera singer. His voice can be categorised as bass, bass-baritone or basso cantante. He is especially well known for interpreting Baroque, Classical, and bel canto repertoire. Among the qualities frequently noted by the critical press are his virtuosic coloratura technique, sumptuous tone, and vivid stage presence.

Marie-Nicole Lemieux

Marie-Nicole Lemieux, C.M., C.Q. is a Canadian coloratura contralto. She first came to the world's attention in 2000 when she became the first Canadian to win first prize at the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition in Belgium. Since then Lemieux has established herself as one of the finest contraltos currently singing on the classical music stage, appearing with some of the world's best orchestras and singing with many great opera companies. Lemieux is admired for possessing an unusually flexible and beautiful contralto voice that does not have the heaviness that is often associated with her particular voice type. For this reason, Lemieux has become a favourite among lovers of Baroque opera and she is noted for her portrayal of characters in the operas of Handel and Vivaldi in particular. Her voice is admired for its richness, warmth and resonance and for its expressiveness and use of many different tone colours. Lemieux is also praised by critics for her stage presence and communicative power.

Luca Pisaroni is an Italian operatic bass-baritone, known for his roles in Mozart's operas, but who has steadily expanded his repertoire into the Baroque as well as moving beyond into Rossini.

Jean-Christophe Spinosi Musical artist

Jean-Christophe Spinosi is a French conductor and violinist, the founder of French orchestra Ensemble Matheus.

Elisa Orlandi (1811–1834) was an Italian opera singer who was active at major opera houses in Italy from 1829 until her sudden death in 1834. Possessing a wide vocal range with a significant amount of coloratura facility, she tackled roles from both the mezzo-soprano and soprano repertoires. She is best remembered today for portraying the role of Giovanna Seymour in the world premiere of Gaetano Donizetti's Anna Bolena in 1830.

Erminia Frezzolini Italian soprano

Erminia Frezzolini was an Italian operatic soprano. She excelled in the coloratura soprano repertoire, drawing particular acclaim in the bel canto operas of Gaetano Donizetti and Vincenzo Bellini. She was married to tenor Antonio Poggi from 1841-1846.

Maria Grazia Schiavo Italian classical soprano

Maria Grazia Schiavo is an Italian classical soprano who is particularly known for her performances of music from the baroque period. She has performed with major opera houses in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, and has appeared in concerts throughout Europe.

Anna Girò, also known as l'Annina del Prete Rosso, la Nina del Prete Rosso, or l'Annina della Pietà, was the stage name of Anna Maria(?) Maddalena Tessieri, an Italian mezzo-soprano/contralto of the 18th century. She is best remembered for her numerous collaborations with composer Antonio Vivaldi who wrote operatic roles for her. She is the singer who performed the greatest number of Vivaldi's operas, the one who kept them in her repertoire the longest time and who made them known across the largest geographical area.

Ann Hallenberg Swedish mezzo-soprano (born 1967)

Ann Hallenberg is a Swedish mezzo-soprano. She has a busy career on the stage and concert platform around Europe embracing roles by Rossini, Mozart, Gluck, Handel, Vivaldi, Monteverdi, and Purcell.

Delphine Galou is a French contralto. She was born in Paris, and studied philosophy at the Sorbonne while also studying piano and singing. She was the "Discovery of the Year" of the French Association for the Promotion of Young Artists in 2004.

Lawrence Zazzo American countertenor (born 1970)

Lawrence Zazzo is an American countertenor. His repertoire includes roles in many Baroque operas and oratorios, as well as works of the 20th century. He lives in England.

Maria Caterina Negri

Maria Caterina Negri was an Italian contralto who created numerous roles in 18th-century operas, including many by George Frideric Handel. She primarily portrayed male characters en travesti or female warriors such as Bradamante. Negri was born in Bologna and made her debut there at the age of 15. Her last known performance was in 1744. The date and place of her death are unknown. In its prime, her voice was known for its agility and wide vocal range.

Zuzana Marková (soprano) Czech coloratura soprano (born 1988)

Zuzana Marková is a Czech coloratura soprano who appears in leading roles internationally, with a focus on Italian belcanto roles, such as Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and Bellini's Elvira.

References

  1. Alexander Weatherson (2001). "Anna Bolena riconosciuta". donizettisociety.com. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  2. "When did Scholl sing at...?". andreasschollsociety.org. 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  3. "Orlando furioso". Oper Frankfurt. 2010. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  4. "Roland ein Italo-Rocker" (in German). op-online.de. 16 February 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  5. "Sonia Prina". Houston Grand Opera. 2010. Archived from the original on 6 July 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2010.