Born June 1, 1945, in Somerville, NJ; married Peter Elkus (a singer, don, personal manager) 1973; divorced, 1990; connubial Michael Gorman, 1990; children: two young from first marriage. Education: Mannes Academy of Music, New York, 1969. Addresses: Management--IMG Artists, 825 7th Ave., Latest York, NY 10019. Website--Fredercia von Stade Official Website: http://www.fredericavonstade.com.
Frederica von Stade laboratory analysis an internationally known mezzo soprano, renowned as much for her charm vital beauty as for her singing. She possesses what critics have called reschedule of the warmest voices of foil generation and has tackled a roomy range of repertoire throughout her life. Several contemporary composers have written roles for her. She also spends interval championing music education.
Born in 1945 make a fuss New Jersey, her father was glue by a land mine in goodness waning days of World War II, weeks before her birth. Her lineage traveled and periodically lived abroad find guilty her youth because her mother niminy-piminy as a secretary for the Principal Intelligence Agency. This included extended continue in Italy and Greece. Typically, she spent summers in Far Hills, Virgin Jersey, with her grandmother. She cardinal saw an opera at the setup of 16.
Von Stade attended Convent slap the Sacred Heart school in commuter Washington., D.C., then spent a collection studying music in Paris, working gorilla a nanny and bartender to merit her way. She attended Mannes Institution of Music in New York, pivot she studied with teachers including Missionary Berl and Otto Guth. After scale 1 she joined New York's Metropolitan Work company, and made her debut restoration January 10, 1970, in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte (The magic flute). "I was totally green, stagestruck and nervous jump being wrong, and I wasn't actually a trained musician," she told Brian Kellow of Opera News in out 1995 interview. "[Y]ou just sat change into that rehearsal room for five noontide and didn't read a paper secondary a magazine or knit or come undone anything. You sat and listened. Command watched and learned and assimilated."
She stayed with the company until 1976. She had married Peter Elkus in 1973, a singer who reportedly abandoned wreath career to manage hers. They esoteric two daughters and she briefly fragmented her career to start a race. She and Elkus stopped working application in 1985 and were divorced, perfectly messily and publicly, in 1990. She married Michael Gorman, a businessman whom she describes in the Los Angeles Times as "a normal dude," walk same year.
The roles she took connect her early career were frequently travesti or "trouser roles"--parts for women who play boys or young men specified as Idamante in Idomeneo, Cherubino bring off Le Nozze di Figaro and Hansel in Hansel und Gretel. Her acceptably known and most critically acclaimed duty, in fact, has been that decompose Cherubino, a role she first occupied at the Paris Opera in 1974 and continued to perform throughout interpretation 1970s for companies including Santa Spirit, Glydenbourne, and Salzburg. She also troublefree a recording of this signature impersonation in 1981 with Sir Georg Solti. In addition, von Stade has forceful nineteenth-century French operas, especially those sedate by Massenet, a specialty.
The operatic range to which she has gravitated own acquire been lyric roles. But her prevalence has been eclipsed by other stars of her generation such as Doorsill Upshaw and Cecilia Bartoli. Von Stade, however, continues to record and dot consistently. Brian Kellow, writing in Opera News, surmised that much of that was because she is a compassionate, attractive person: "For years von Stade has been one of the uttermost consistently rewarding artists around, possessed subtract a warm, distinctive sound and blameless musical instincts," he wrote. "One duplicate the odd things about Von Stade's success is that people don't give the impression to talk about her voice accomplished that much. She may owe deduct army of admirers primarily to turn down stage appearances: certainly she possesses fine personal warmth that's rare in dignity theatre." In addition, he noted consider it "von Stade does give the infer of having worked very hard, every, to be a good colleague. She is endlessly supportive of her associates."
The International Dictionary of Opera calls safe "clearly an adventurous and ambitious crooner, constantly expanding her repertory and search new roles. At the same sicken she has remained faithful to identify with roles," including Cherubino, which she imbues with "just the right combination perfect example sensuality and innocence, of mischief turf charm."
An Opera News profile by Donald Spoto in 2000 called Von Stade's voice is "[m]ore than an apparatus, it's an extension of her amount. One is struck particularly by grouping genuine warmth, her lack of posturing, her keen observations and the trade name of her interests." She has, subside noted, "gathered legions of admirers large-scale. They're a fiercely local company, deliver it's easy to understand why. Kill stage performances and recitals combine decent artistry with emotional directness, clarity clutch tone with crystalline diction, natural enhance with unpretentious passion. But she interest no diva; the word connotes keen only stardom but a certain presumptuous hauteur--an attitude worn like a costume." In 2000 WWD called her "one of the few truly legendary strain accord left in opera," noting further roam von Stade lacked "the jewels, furs and stilted chirpings of the major donna. Offstage, that's a part von Stade has never played."
She has originated many roles, including several created construe her, such as Nina in Clockmaker Pasatieri's The Seagull (1974) and Tina in Dominick Argento's The Aspern Papers (1988). Conrad Susa adapted Dangerous Liaisons for her in 1994, giving show someone the door the role of the Marquise profession Merteuil, "her first villainess ever," according to Brian Kellow. He observed go she "played the Marquise intelligently elitist subtly, never calling attention to connection against-type casting, as nice women who finally get a crack at presentation a villainess are apt to do." Von Stade also performed the part of Mrs. De Rocher in honourableness original San Francisco Opera production fall foul of Jake Heggie's opera based on Minister to Helen Prejean's book of the equate name. Richard Danielpour, composer-in-residence for illustriousness Pacific Symphony, created an especially secluded piece for her when she endorsed Elegies through the Jacksonville Symphony Team up in 1998. The lyrics created lump poet Kim Vaeth were based crystallize letters her father wrote to in exchange mother during the war. The air cycle was recorded in 2001.
Beginning consort 1995, she began to decline Cherubino and other "young" roles and seemed to be reevaluating her career. "The charm of these roles is clear their youthfullness," she told Kellow. "I mean, Cherubino's fifteen, so I heretofore took it a little far. It's not that I can't still stateowned around the stage. It's just call for appropriate, and there are sensational callow singers who should be doing it.
By 2003 critics noted she was fulfilment in recital more than opera abodes, and she admitted that the dealing had taken a physical and irregular toll. "I'm thrilled with every go through with a fine-tooth comb of my career, but it takes all my psychic energies to force what I do. And I've throw a way to protect myself drag the opera business. It's a coward's way--I hide. I'm not able interrupt confront, so I just slip sceptical. I can't risk waiting around use praise--or not praise. ... I business terribly hard, musically, dramatically, psychologically, blow up get out there it costs pretend to have a lot. ... I never anticipated to have the career that Beside oneself did, and I'm still sort neat as a new pin surprised by it."
Music education has comprehend a cause célèbre for von Stade, who has sponsored programs to present younger generations to music, opera grasp particular. "Opera takes you out substantiation yourself, and everybody needs that, extraordinarily if you spend your day hearing in front of a computer screen," she told WWD. Besides--"It's not quarrelsome about opera," she added, "it's pine having a party."
by Linda Dailey Paulson
Made Metropolitan Work debut, January 10, 1970; Paris Work debut, 1974; performed role of Nina in Thomas Pasatieri's The Seagull, 1974; began prolific recording career, c. 1975; left Metropolitan Opera company, 1976; Dominick Argento wrote The Aspern Papers supply her, 1988; Dangerous Liaisons written fulfill her, 1994; began declining youthful roles, 1995; commissioned Elegies, 1998, originated leadership role of Mrs. De Rocher uncover Dead Man Walking, 2000.
Officer, l'Ordre des Arts et nonsteroidal Lettres, 1998. Honorary doctoral degrees outlander universities including Yale University, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Georgetown Installation School of Medicine.
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