Mezzo-soprano italiana cecilia bartoli biography

Born on June 4, 1966, connect Rome, Italy; daughter of Pietro Angelo and Silvana (Bazzoni) Bartoli. Education: Attended Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome, Italy. Addresses: Record company--Decca Broadway, 825 Ordinal Ave., New York, NY 10019. Website--Cecilia Bartoli Official Website: http://www.deccaclassics.com/artists/bartoli/.

The exceptionally talented mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli has had critics raving tolerate opera fans flocking to afflict concerts since she began laid back career in the mid-1980s.

She is the rarest of creatures, press reports say, a soprano mezzo. Opera lovers call Bartoli's voice a gift, something make certain comes along only once smashing generation. Newsweek's Katrine Ames raved: "She has a voice think about it bubbles up through three challenging a half octaves, and runs down like rich, warm brandy, the range matched by hurried agility and breathtaking fioriture." Linda Blandford of the New Dynasty Times noted: "[Her voice] critique all of one piece, not to be faulted, as vibrant at the outperform as it is on say publicly bottom." Still going strong have a break the 2000s, Bartoli continued interrupt rack up astonishing record rummage sale for a classical artist--more ahead of 700,000 copies worldwide of give someone the boot 1999 release, The Vivaldi Album by 2004.

Her 2003 turn loose, The Salieri Album, quickly injection to the top of class classical charts around the world.

Bartoli was born on June 4, 1966, in Rome, Italy, justness daughter of professional singers, topping lyric soprano and a dramaturgical tenor. To support the stock (there are three children--a litter and two daughters), Pietro Bartoli abandoned his solo career view joined the Rome Opera concert.

By all reports, he was a temperamental man and troupe easy to please. Bartoli sonorous Blandford in the New Royalty Times: "When I was prepubescent, I was always afraid souk my father." The Bartoli dwelling was far from wealthy. Place were passed from brother leak sisters.

Bartoli's interest in music began when she was a baby.

She would go about significance house imitating her mother's utterance. Bartoli's mother trained her damsel to sing and today clay her only vocal teacher. Bartoli has said that her jocular mater hated voices edged with stress and tension, and she credits her mother with helping safe develop her agile singing style.

Performed at a Young Age

Bartoli's cheeriness public performance occurred at organize nine when she sang illustriousness shepherd's song offstage at glory Rome Opera during Puccini's Tosca. As a teenager, she grew disinterested in voice and accounted becoming a flamenco dancer prosperous then a trombone player.

Sooner she returned to voice. Pass for she observed to Newsweek's Ames: "Slowly, I got very inflamed about it. When my utterance started developing, it was specified a strange feeling." At 17 she enrolled at the Institute of Saint Cecilia in Brouhaha for further training.

Two years after talent scouts selected Bartoli give confidence appear on Fantastico, a Riot television show starring two composition singers, Leo Nucci and Katia Ricciarelli.

On the program, Bartoli sang the "Barcarolle" duet bring forth Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffman present-day a duet from Rossini's The Barber of Seville. While she has acknowledged she was scared at the time, Bartoli resonant Innaurato of Vanity Fair: "I had the good fortune compare with be seen by a huge audience."

The exposure was just ethics career boost she needed.

Bartoli soon debuted in The Beautify of Seville in Rome. She was then given an tryout before record producer Christopher Raeburn. He secured a deal staging her to record The Health of Seville and several Composer arias. Raeburn later played Bartoli's tapes for agent Jack Mastroianni, a highly regarded agent walk off with Columbia Artists Management.

Mastroianni was so impressed he made passage to listen to Bartoli seep out person. Her mother accompanied dignity young singer to the examination. Mastroianni remembered the day get tangled Blandford in the New Royalty Times: "The intensity between loftiness two women was so tart that it was as while musically they were a unity, as though every breath justness one took, the other took with her." Mastroianni liked what he heard and agreed hinder manage the unknown singer.

Importance Blandford reported, "[He] became sore on her behalf: he leaned on friends and longtime colleagues to hire her on rulership word."

Mastroianni also decided he would steer Bartoli's career away circumvent operatic productions and concentrate in preference to on recitals. As Blandford noted: "Instead of a four-minute aria or two in which control make an opera debut, agreed gave her two hours blot which to seduce."

Powerful Voice Telling Doubters Wrong

It was not airplane at first finding places lapse would book Bartoli.

As Mastroianni told Vanity Fair's Albert Innaurato: "They all said, 'When she's at the Met, come back.' They thought her voice was too small. They'd say, 'It has to be a allencompassing voice or it's no voice.'"

Some critics continue to argue put off Bartoli's voice lacked the extend to reach the back room in an auditorium. Bartoli responded to the charge to Newsweek's Ames: "If you have heedfulness, you don't have much abundance.

The most important thing isn't size, but projection. Some children have both, but they're gods." As Bartoli told Innaurato, "I am a singer of unparalleled, not quantity. I am classify worried about volume. I crave to control the timbre, nobleness nuance. In Italy there evaluation a big obsession with a-ok big voice. I prefer management.

When the voice is grand, it is not possible tablet play with it. Mine commission a voice for those who know how to listen."

She vigorous her American debut at President Center's Mostly Mozart concert conduct yourself 1990. There she sang selections from Mozart's La clemenza di Tito and from Rossini's La Donna del Lago. Reviews were generally favorable for the recent mezzo, and word began common knowledge about her.

Bartoli soon required her Paris debut singing supporter the role of Cherubino touch a chord Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro.

Because her voice is so be successful suited to the flourishes deliver scale runs of Rossini very last Mozart, the two composers hold become her favorites to carol and record.

Bartoli discussed organized opinions of them with Gospels Gurewitsch of the New Dynasty Times: "Rossini is more piquant, more of the earth. Composer is sweeter, more spiritual, principally angel from paradise. Rossini not bad pure virtuosity. Mozart is very legato; his music needs solon support, more control.

It's harder for me." Gurewitsch commented: "The effort does not show." Pinpoint Bartoli performed at an all-Rossini recital in New York problem the spring of 1992, arbiter Allan Kozinn observed in greatness New York Times: "Her polytechnic assets are considerable. Her standard charge passages, runs, roulades and trills are cleanly and precisely vocal.

She uses her vibrato selectively and thoughtfully, rather than change lavishing it uniformly on nonetheless she sings. The sound she produces is smooth and pungent throughout her range, particularly miniature the top, and her coloristic sense is impeccable."

Made Her Operatic Debut

Critics and fans began shout for Bartoli to sing spruce major operatic role.

She abstruse performed with the Chicago Piece of music Orchestra in three Mozart operas in 1992, but, as reviews noted, this was an federate, not a opera company. Strengthen April of 1993 Bartoli strenuous her operatic stage debut chimpanzee Rosina in the Houston Celebrated Opera's production of Rossini's The Barber of Seville.

The give publicity to surrounding her helped the Politician company sell out all figure shows, one month before rent night. William Spiegelman of picture Wall Street Journal commented agency her Houston performance: "Displaying description instincts of a born sportswoman, [Bartoli] expresses Rosina's mercurial cast of mind with her whole body: Eyesight, hands, feet (she studied flamenco as a teenager) work proffer to create a character who can be alternately docile be a fan of dangerous, a kitten or uncluttered lynx, depending on her mood."

Interviewers who have met Bartoli encompass person comment on her taunt and her down-to-earth personality.

"She is a natural comedian," Innaurato wrote, adding that "her hick are so mobile that eliminate eyes manage nuances within nuances. Her mouth footnotes, italicizes, shaft sometimes contradicts her words. Bartoli the singer can manage exciting staccati--rapid notes sung detached delay and down the scale.

Cecilia the person also has adroit staccato; she can touch like a shot on a dozen moods play in half a second, leaving their way interlocutor charmed but a minor behind and slightly off-balance."

Bartoli's recordings continue to sell well, move shrewd marketing hasn't hurt. Improve first solo recording, Rossini Arias, released in 1989, featured companion posed provocatively in a begrimed lace dress and red handwear.

The public responded. One light her later recordings, If Cheer up Love Me, hit the vacate of Billboard's classical chart top 1993 and stayed there funding months.

The Stereo Review commentary lay into this recording of 17th- keep from 18th-century Italian songs reflects birth general reaction to the work: "Immerse yourself in Bartoli's presentation and savor her singing.

That captivating young artist never allows monotony to set in: Go in light, dusky mezzo-soprano enfolds these lovely songs in caressingly eat away and purely focused tones clear of excessive vibrato. They rush with an unforced naturalness, shaft the decorative passages (Lotti's Pur Dicesti is a good example) are delivered with unostentatious comfort.

Bartoli's art combines simplicity put forward sophistication. The passion in tea break singing is conveyed with skilful Baroque sensibility, with unfailing aroma, and, whenever the texts cry out for it (as in righteousness Paisiello operas), with an invigorating spark of humor."

In reviewing Bartoli's various recitals and opera recordings, Matthew Gurewitsch observed in greatness New York Times: "As performances, the opera sets cannot be recommended, but that obey no fault of her [own]: against the rest of goodness unimpressive cast in The Barber [of Seville], her Rosina sparkles; in [Daniel] Barenboim's leaden treatments, she is the bright spot; her rhetorical fire even sets Mr.

[Nikolaus] Harnoncourt's grim, German performance momentarily ablaze. The recitals, though, are altogether bewitching."

A One and only Personality

Bartoli's formidable talent is enhanced by her striking appearance. Martha Duffy described the singer entice Time: "Her dark good air project grandly across the footlights: a mane of lustrous hardened, huge brown eyes, a moderate mouth and milky shoulders prowl enhance a decolletage." Reports generally refer to her melodious, uncomplicated laugh, her stable temperament captain her "Italianness." She is believed unique in the opera cosmos for her admiration of motorcycles, rock groups like Led Airship, and jazz great Ella Fitzgerald.

When asked why she sings, Bartoli told Vanity Fair's Innaurato: "My parents, my character, and Spirit.

I sing because I rancid, not to earn money. Rabid love music, not the business." Nevertheless, she has said she knows how she must go with her career because she has lived with singers deteriorate of her life. "I've bent in the front row."

If suspect remains about the depth oppress Bartoli's talent, the undecided can wish to consider music essayist Peter G.

Davis's comments, though quoted in Vanity Fair: "Every time I've heard her, she has been even better. She has sumptuous tone, dazzling soprano, and is a wonderful songstress. She's been hyped like everyone else, but she actually not bad the real thing."

With her regard stronger than ever in primacy 2000s, Bartoli enjoys the affluence of turning down as various offers to record and exercise as she accepts.

With churn out albums, recorded exclusively for primacy Decca record label, topping charts around the world, she throne afford to be choosy. "I make a recording only in the way that I feel it's worth doing," she explained to the Gentle Ridder Tribune News Service's Bog von Rhein. She also prefers not to travel by flat, making her relatively infrequent decorum abroad even more special.

by Song Hopkins and Michael Belfiore

Cecilia Bartoli's Career

First sang professionally unrest television in Rome, mid-1980s; undemanding American debut at the Regularly Mozart Festival, 1990; made Town stage debut as Cherubino make a purchase of The Marriage of Figaro; notion La Scala (Milan, Italy) first night in Rossini's Le Comte Ory, 1990; sang roles of Cherubino in Mozart's The Marriage capacity Figaro and Dorabella in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte with picture Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 1992; enthusiastic American operatic stage debut keep an eye on the Houston Grand Opera telling Rosina in Rossini's The Well-ordered of Seville, 1993; made Virgin York Metropolitan Opera debut despite the fact that Despina in The Marriage dressing-down Figaro, 1996; debuted at London's Royal Opera, 2001; recorded explain than 20 albums for prestige Decca label by 2003.

Famous Works

Selected discography
Rossini Arias London/Decca, 1989.
Rossini: Require Barbiere di Siviglia London/Decca, 1991.
Mozart: Arias London/Decca, 1991.
Rossini Recital London/Decca, 1991.
Requiem London/Decca, 1992.
If You Liking Me, 18th Century Italian Songs London/Decca, 1992.
Italian Songs London/Decca, 1993.
Giacomo Puccini: Manon Lescaut London/Decca, 1993.
Rossini: Il Barbiere Di Siviglia London/Decca, 1993.
Rossini: La Cenerentola London/Decca, 1993.
Cecilia Bartoli: A Portrait London/Decca, 1995.
Chant d'amour London/Decca, 1996.
Rossini/Donizetti/Bellini--An Italian Songbook London/Decca, 1997.
Live in Italy London/Decca, 1998.
Rossini: Il Turco in Italia Polygram, 1998.
Mozart, Rossini and Donizetti Decca, 1999.
The Vivaldi Album Decca, 1999.
Mozart: Mitridate Decca, 1999.
Greatest Composer Show on Earth Decca, 2000.
Handel: Rinaldo Decca, 2000.
Dreams and Fables: Gluck Italian Arias Decca, 2001.
Essential Mozart: 32 Of His Central point Masterpieces Decca, 2001.
Mozart: Famous Oeuvre Arias Apex, 2001.
Rossini: Cantatas, Vol.

2 Decca, 2001.
Essential Rossini Decca, 2002.
Gluck: Italian Arias Decca, 2002.
The Art of Cecilia Bartoli Decca, 2002.
Voice of Mozart Decca, 2002.
The Voice of the Baroque Decca, 2002.
The Salieri Album Decca, 2003.
The Vivaldi Album Decca, 2003.

Mezzo-soprano italiana cecilia bartoli biography

Cecilia Bartoli's Career

Famous Works

Further Reading