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January 20, 2010 · Mezzo-soprano and 2010 Gramophone Artist of the Year Joyce DiDonato is releasing her new recording, "Divo/Diva."
The playfully-conceived collection of operatic works is united by a gender-bending theme. DiDonato takes full advantage of the vocal and gender range of the mezzo repertoire, voicing not only the eager young men of her many “trouser” roles — when a female singer plays a male character — but also passionate heroines.
In the album's liner notes, DiDonato remarks on how her mezzo range has defined her singing career.
"This genetic blessing has allowed me to portray a wealth of characters from young boys to princesses, from ardent young men to demented, murderous wives. A richer tapestry of human emotions would be hard to find, and that translates into sheer fun for me! It is this exploration of our world, both external and internal, that continually sets me on fire."
The gender trancendence found in "Divo/Diva" is reinforced by DiDonato's selection of arias, many of which are culled from operas with significant cross-dressing elements, such as Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro."
Along with DiDonato’s dizzying characterizations, the album explores the same stories in operatic treatments by different composers, so we hear the Figaro story as conceived by both Mozart and Massenet, Faust by Berlioz and Gounod, and Cinderella by Massenet and Rossini.
Gramophone encapsulated DiDonato’s appeal, describing her “feistiness – in the sense of ebullience, of being willing to push, of being able to throw herself entirely into a role with all guns blazing, of being able to project a unique personality at the same time as vivid characterizations.”
She is considered a favorite among both lovers of opera and the art form's luminaries, including Renee Flemming. During her recent Kennedy Center recital, the famed soprano declared her enthusiastic admiration for DiDonato.
This weekend, DiDonato brings her vibrant vocal talents to the region as she portrays Sister Helen Prejean in Houston Grand Opera's production of "Dead Man Walking."
Performance Information
Houston Grand Opera: "Dead Man Walking" | January 22, 2011 | 7:30 p.m.
A story of compassion and redemption, Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking has played to sold-out houses across the U.S. and Europe in the decade since its premiere.Joseph De Rocher (Philip Cutlip) leads a lonely life on death row until Sister Helen Prejean (Joyce DiDonato) arrives as his spiritual advisor. Legendary mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade marks her farewell to the operatic stage with these appearances as De Rocher’s mother and Measha Brueggergosman makes her HGO debut as Sister Rose. Patrick Summers—who conducted the opera’s world premiere a decade ago as well as the acclaimed recording on Erato—conducts Houston Grand Opera’s performances, Leonard Foglia directs.
Venue: Brown Theater (Houston)
Price: $31-317 | houstongrandopera.org |
