Cecilia Bartoli, Cavaliere OMRI (; born 4 June 1966) is an Italian

coloratura Coloratura is an elaborate melody with runs, trills, wide leaps, or similar virtuoso-like material,''Oxford American Dictionaries''.Apel (1969), p. 184. or a passage of such music. Operatic roles in which such music plays a prominent part, ...

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middl ...

opera singer and recitalist. She is best known for her interpretations of the music of Bellini,

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards ...

and

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widesprea ...

, as well as for her performances of lesser-known music from the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

and Classical period. She is known for singing both

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880& ...

and mezzo roles. Bartoli is considered a coloratura mezzo-soprano with an unusual timbre. According to Nicholas Wroe in 2001, her voice was known for its "fully developed sumptuousness of the lower register, the vibrancy of the middle range...the top was limpid and powerful", and she was one of the most popular opera singers of recent years.

Early life

Bartoli was born in Rome. Her parents, Silvana Bazzoni and Pietro Angelo Bartoli, were professional singers and gave her her first music lessons. She first performed publicly at age nine as the shepherd boy in ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language dramati ...

''. Bartoli later studied at the

Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia The Conservatorio di Musica Santa Cecilia is a state conservatory in Rome. History The institution has its roots dated back to the Congregazione de' musici di Roma named after Saint Cecilia in 1565 (now Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia). Sinc ...

in Rome.Blyth, ''Grove Music Online'' At the age of 19, she made her singing debut on the Italian television show ''Fantastico''. She did not win the competition but was asked to sing with

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

for a homage concert for

Maria Callas Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel cant ...

Career

Bartoli made her professional opera debut in 1987 at the Arena di Verona. The following year she undertook the role of Rosina in Rossini's ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an '' opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was ba ...

'' at the Cologne Opera, the Schwetzingen Festival and the Zurich Opera earning rave reviews. Working with conductors

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...

and

Nikolaus Harnoncourt Johann Nikolaus Harnoncourt or historically Johann Nikolaus Graf de la Fontaine und d'Harnoncourt-Unverzagt; () (6 December 1929 – 5 March 2016) was an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music ...

, Bartoli focused on Mozart roles, such as Zerlina in ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; Köchel catalogue, K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The rake (stock character), Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Pon ...

'' and Dorabella in ''

Così fan tutte (''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte ...

'', and from then on her career developed internationally. In 1990, she made her debut at the Opéra Bastille as Cherubino in

's ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premi ...

'' and her debut at the

Hamburg State Opera The Hamburg State Opera (in German: Staatsoper Hamburg) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''Gener ...

as Idamantes in Mozart's '' Idomeneo,'' followed by her

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

debut as Isolier in '' Le comte Ory'' in 1991, a performance that solidified her reputation as one of the world's leading

singers. In 1996, Bartoli made her debut at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is opera ...

as Despina in ''

'' and returned in 1997 to sing the title role of ''

La Cenerentola ' ('' Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant'') is an operatic ''dramma giocoso'' in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the libretti written by Charles-Guillaume Étienne for the opera ''Cendrillon'' ...

'' and in 1998 to sing the role of Susanna in ''

''. In 2000, she sang in another Mozart soprano role, Donna Elvira in ''

'', at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. In 2001, she made a long-awaited

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...

debut, taking the roles of Euridice and the Genio in the London stage premiere of Haydn's ''

L'anima del filosofo ''L'anima del filosofo, ossia Orfeo ed Euridice'' (''The Soul of the Philosopher, or Orpheus and Euridice''), Hob. 28/13, is an opera in Italian in four acts by Joseph Haydn, the last he wrote. The libretto, by Carlo Francesco Badini, is based o ...

''.

Work in Baroque music

In addition to Mozart and Rossini, Bartoli has spent much of her career performing and recording Baroque and early Classical era music by such composers as

Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he ...

, Haydn and

Salieri Antonio Salieri (18 August 17507 May 1825) was an Italian classical composer, conductor, and teacher. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subject of the Habsburg monarch ...

. In early 2005, she sang Cleopatra in

's '' Giulio Cesare''. She often performs with the Baroque ensemble Il Giardino Armonico. In 2012, Bartoli produced a project entitled ''Mission'', which premiered the works of

Agostino Steffani Agostino Steffani (25 July 165412 February 1728) was an Italian ecclesiastic, diplomat and composer. Biography Steffani was born at Castelfranco Veneto on 25 July 1654. As a boy he was admitted as a chorister at San Marco, Venice. In 1667, ...

, a lesser-known Baroque composer. Bartoli produced the music of the composer in CD form as well as an extended music video that portrays her as the priest-composer Agostino in the palace of Versallies. The video is known for its historic and visual accuracy of the Baroque period. Cecilia Bartoli's performance and production of Mission reflect the music and aesthetic of Steffani's time period through the setting, wardrobe, and cinematography."

Work in bel canto

In 2007/08, Bartoli devoted her time to studying and recording the early 19th-century repertoire – the era of Italian Romanticism and

bel canto Bel canto (Italian for "beautiful singing" or "beautiful song", )—with several similar constructions (''bellezze del canto'', ''bell'arte del canto'')—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing. The phrase was not associat ...

– and especially the legendary singer Maria Malibran, the 200th anniversary of whose birth was celebrated in March 2008. The album ''Maria'' was released in September 2007. In May 2008, Bartoli sang the title role written for Malibran in a revival of Fromental Halévy's 1828 opera '' Clari'' at the Zurich Opera. In June 2010, she sang the title role of Bellini's '' Norma'' for the first time with conductor Thomas Hengelbrock in a concert at the

Konzerthaus Dortmund Theater Dortmund is a theatrical organization that produces operas, musicals, ballets, plays, and concerts in Dortmund, Germany. It was founded as the Stadttheater Dortmund in 1904. Supported by the German Government, the organization owns and ope ...

. In March 2011, Bartoli toured five Australian cities with two programs drawn from ''Sacrificium'' and ''Maria''.

Salzburg

In 2012, Bartoli became the artistic director of the

Salzburg Whitsun Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amad ...

, an extension of the traditional

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Ama ...

, which produces performances during

Whitsun Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the ...

(Pentecost) weekend. Forgoing the academic programming of her predecessors, she reformulated the festival's programming—returning to "the old recipe of organizing beautiful programs and inviting great artists"—resulting in record ticket sales and placing the festival on the international opera calendar. In 2012, she sang Cleopatra in Handel's '' Giulio Cesare'', in 2013 the title role in

Vincenzo Bellini Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was a Sicilian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania". Many years later, in 1898, Gius ...

's '' Norma'', and in 2014 Rossini's ''

''.

Personal life

Bartoli lives with her husband, Swiss baritone

Oliver Widmer Oliver Widmer (born 24 March 1965) is a Swiss operatic bass-baritone whose international career has encompassed lieder, opera, and oratorio. In 1998 he created the role of Jäger in Heinz Holliger's opera '' Schneewittchen''. Widmer was born in Z� ...

, in

Zollikon Zollikon is a municipality in the district of Meilen in the canton of Zürich, Switzerland known for being one of Switzerland's most exclusive districts. Besides the main settlement of Zollikon, which lies on the shore of Lake Zürich, the municip ...

on the Goldcoast shore of

Lake Zurich __NOTOC__ Lake Zurich ( Swiss German/ Alemannic: ''Zürisee''; German: ''Zürichsee''; rm, Lai da Turitg) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zürich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or ''Zürichsee'' can be used t ...

, Switzerland, and in Rome, part of the year. The couple married in 2011 after twelve years together. Bartoli lived in

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

in the early 2010s.

Awards and honours

Bartoli was appointed Chevalier of the French

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

(1995), and Commander of Monaco's Order of Cultural Merit (November 1999) In 2003, she received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music at the

Classic Brit Awards The Classic BRIT Awards (previously Classical BRIT Awards) are an annual awards ceremony held in the United Kingdom covering aspects of classical and crossover music, and are the equivalent of popular music's Brit Awards. The awards are organ ...

. In 2010, she was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Music from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

. In 2011, she won a fifth

Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by man ...

for ''Sacrificium''. In 2012, she was voted into the magazine's ''Gramophone'''s Hall of Fame. She is the 2012 recipient of the

Herbert von Karajan Music Prize The international Herbert von Karajan Music Prize (german: Herbert von Karajan Musikpreis, links=no) was an annual award presented by the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden in honour of the celebrated 20th century Austrian conductor, Herbert von Karaj ...

Discography

Opera

*''Rossini: La scala di seta'' (Fonit Cetra, 1988) *''Rossini:

Il barbiere di Siviglia ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based ...

'' (Decca, 1989) *''Mozart:

'' (Erato, 1990) *''Mozart: Lucio Silla'' (Teldec 1991) *''Rossini:

'' (Decca, 1993) *''Puccini: Manon Lescaut'' (Decca, 1993) *''Mozart:

Le nozze di Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

'' (DG, 1994) *''Mozart: La clemenza di Tito'' (Decca, 1995) *''Haydn: L'anima del filosofo, ossia Orfeo ed Euridice'' (Decca, 1997) *''Rossini: Il turco in Italia'' (Decca, 1998) *''Mozart: Mitridate'' (Decca, 1999) *''Haydn: Armida'' (Teldec 2000) *''Handel: Rinaldo'' (Decca, 2000) *''Mozart: Don Giovanni'' (Arthaus, 2001, DVD) *''Bellini:

La sonnambula ''La sonnambula'' (''The Sleepwalker'') is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the ''bel canto'' tradition by Vincenzo Bellini set to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ''ballet-pantomime'' written by Eu ...

'' (Decca, 2008) *''Halevy: Clari'' (Decca, 2008, DVD) *''Bellini: Norma'' (Decca, 2013)

Recitals with orchestra

*''Rossini Arias'' (1989) *''Mozart Arias'' (1991) *''Rossini Heroines'' (1992) *''Mozart Portraits'' (1994) *''Mozart Arias'' (1996) *''

The Vivaldi Album ''The Vivaldi Album'' is a 1999 recording of Vivaldi opera arias by Cecilia Bartoli with the period instrument ensemble Il Giardino Armonico released by Decca Classics Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lew ...

'' (1999) *''Cecilia and Bryn'' (1999) *''Gluck Italian Arias'' (2001) *''The Salieri Album'' (2003) *''Opera Proibita'' (2005) * ''Viva Vivaldi! Arias & Concertos'' (Arthaus, 2005, DVD) *''Maria'' (A Tribute to Maria Malibran) (2007) *''Sacrificium'' (Arias written for

castrati A castrato (Italian, plural: ''castrati'') is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due to ...

) (2009) *''Mission'' (Arias and duets of

) (2012) *''St. Petersburg'' (2014) *''Antonio Vivaldi'' (2018) *''Farinelli'' (2019)

Recitals with piano

*''Rossini Recital'' (1990) *''If You Love Me – "Se tu m'ami": Eighteenth-century Italian Songs'' (1992) *''The Impatient Lover – Italian Songs by

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

, Haydn'' (1993) *''Chant D'Amour'' (1996) *''An Italian Songbook'' (1997) *''Live in Italy'' (1998)

Recitals with cello

*''Dolce Duello: Cecilia & Sol'' – with Sol Gabetta (

Decca Classics Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...

) released 11 November 2017

Sacred

*''Rossini: Stabat Mater'' (1990) *''Mozart: Requiem'' (1992) *''Scarlatti: Salve Regina'', ''Pergolesi: Stabat Mater, Salve Regina'' (1993) *''Rossini: Stabat Mater'' (1996)

Cantatas

*''Rossini Cantatas Volume 2''

Compilations

*''A Portrait'' (1995) *''The Art of Cecilia Bartoli'' (2002) *''Sospiri'' (2010)

References

Sources

* Blyth, Alan: "Cecilia Bartoli", ''

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and th ...

'' ed. L. Macy (Accessed 20 October 2008)
(subscription access)
*Chernin, Kim, and Renate Stendhal. Cecilia Bartoli: the Passion of Song. Women's, 1999.

External links

*
Bartoli's Record Label
* * Swafford, Jan
"Nature's Rejects, The music of the castrati"
''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

'', 9 November 2009
Cecilia Bartoli infos and photos at cosmopolis.ch

Cecilia Bartoli & Mozart : a portrait and a playlist
All About Mozart {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartoli, Cecilia 1966 births Living people Conservatorio Santa Cecilia alumni Commanders of the Order of Cultural Merit (Monaco) Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Grammy Award winners Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music Italian expatriates in Monaco Italian expatriates in Switzerland Italian operatic mezzo-sopranos Italian performers of early music Women performers of early music 20th-century Italian women opera singers 21st-century Italian women opera singers Handel Prize winners Herbert von Karajan Music Prize winners Decca Records artists