Joyce DiDonato

[whipped guy]

American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato appears on the cover of the most recent issue of Opera News.

 

Coincidentally, just the other day I listened to a recording of DiDonato’s recent broadcast of Rossini’s La Donna del Lago from La Scala. A while back, xafanndapp mentioned in this forum that he was to see the dress rehearsal for this performance. Shoot! This woman has to be the perfect Rossini singer… at least for the roles that he composed for his “significant other” Isabella Colbran. DiDonato has the ideal voice for such parts… roles, that in addition to the coloratura vocal challenges, have been considered too low for some sopranos and too high for many mezzos. However, they seem to be just the thing for DiDonato’s lyric mezzo. The audience goes wild after the aria Tanti affetti that brings down the final curtain… and rightfully so!

 

She will be performing at the MET this season in the baroque pasticchio The Enchanted Island where her coloratura skills will undoubtedly be put to good use. Catch her if you can as she is indeed the real deal and based on the article in Opera News appears to be a genuinely bright and well-balanced personality as well!

[+ Italiano]

And she just won a Grammy for her solo Album Diva/Divo!

She is a FANTASTIC performer (and a good friend...).

 

She will sing a VERY surprising role at the Met next season!

[+ WilliamM]

I will be in New York for one of the performances of "The Enchanted Forest," but it is the one Met opera this season that I am undecided about. I am thrilled by the cast, but the opera itself is a question mark. Clearly people here know more than I do about "The Enchanted Forest." All opinions are very welcome.

[leigh.bess.toad]

She will sing a VERY surprising role at the Met next season!

 

Simon Boccanegra? I figure if Domingo can, why not? lol

[whipped guy]

Simon Boccanegra? I figure if Domingo can, why not? lol

Mr. Gelb told me that it was the title role in Boris.

 

Clearly people here know more than I do about "The Enchanted Forest." All opinions are very welcome.

I am not sure if I know more, but due to a variety of reasons I could not comfortably fit it into my schedule. The concept is interesting... a baroque pasticcio... pasted together from a variety of baroque composers to an English libretto somehow influenced by Shakespeare... specifically the Tempest with portions of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Other than its "baroque-ness" I think I would be bothered by a disparity of styles... To the average person all baroque music might sound similar I guess... but Vivaldi does not sound like Handel who does not sound like Rameau, etc. Also, I think that new recits were composed for the new libretto... not to mention the possibility that the English words might not exactly fit the contours of the original aria settings. Still, such "pastings" were common in the 17th, 18th and even early 19th centuries. So it will be interesting to see if the results hold together or if it ends up sounding like a mish-mash. Either way from a vocal point of view it should be spectacular.

[leigh.bess.toad]

Mr. Gelb told me that it was the title role in Boris.

 

I am a huge fan of Joyce. And if anyone could pull it off, I'd put my money on her.

[whipped guy]

I am a huge fan of Joyce. And if anyone could pull it off, I'd put my money on her.

... as would I! Shoot! Boris would be a piece of cake... and she could probably throw in the role of Marina as well just to make things interesting!

 

For the record I have not heard her Diva/Divo CD, but it has received excellent reviews. I do have her Rossini/Colbran CD and it is a winner! Also, there is her unbelievable "wheelchair" Il Barbiere di Siviglia about which I wrote in this forum a while back in which she proves to be the ultimate trooper! So yes, Boris would be a piece of cake!