Frances Pappas (born 27 June 1964) is a Canadian-Greek operatic

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

Life

Pappas was born in Toronto. After completing her studies at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

she continued her studies with a scholarship from the Arts Council of Ontario at the

University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university established in 1817 located in Vienna. With a student body of over three thousand, it is the largest institution of its kind in Austria, and one of t ...

. She had her first permanent engagement at the

Stadttheater Gießen Stadttheater (Eng: "municipal theatre") may refer to: Austria *Stadttheater Grein *Stadttheater Klagenfurt * Stadttheater Leoben *Wiener Stadttheater, now Ronacher Germany * Altes Stadttheater Eichstätt, Bavaria * Frankfurter Stadttheater, now C ...

. Afterwards, she gave guest performances as a freelance artist, among others at the

Wiener Festwochen The Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) is a culture festival that takes place in Vienna for five or six weeks in May and June every year. The Vienna Festival was established in 1951, when Vienna was still occupied by the Participants in World W ...

, at the

Theater an der Wien The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prim ...

and at the Konzerthaus Wien. After a guest performance at the Nuremberg State Opera, where she sang Dorabella in ''

Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, 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 ...

'', she became a permanent ensemble member in Nuremberg. There, she sang the title roles in ''

La Cenerentola ("Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant") is an operatic 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'' with music by Nico ...

'' and in '' Hansel and Gretell''. For the role of Mélisande in '' Pelléas et Mélisande'' she was awarded Best Young Singer by the professional journal ''

Opernwelt ''Opernwelt'' (''Opera World'') is a monthly German magazine for opera, operetta and ballet. It includes news about current performances, portraits of composers and performers, articles about opera houses, performance spaces, and contemporary and ...

''. Pappas made her debut in 2005 at the

Wigmore Hall The Wigmore Hall is a concert hall at 36 Wigmore Street, in west London. It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and opened in 1901 as the Bechstein Hall; it is considered to have particularly good building acoustics, acoustics. It specialis ...

in London with Lieder by

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

. Further concert appearances with the

Toronto Symphony Orchestra The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toron ...

, the

Barcelona Symphony and Catalonia National Orchestra The Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and National Orchestra of Catalonia (; ) is a symphony orchestra based in Barcelona, Spain. Since April 1999, the Orchestra has had its headquarters at L'Auditori. Prior to that, from its foundation to 1998, the o ...

, the

Gewandhausorchester The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...

and the

MDR MDR may refer to: Biology * MDR1, an ATP-dependent cellular efflux pump affording multiple drug resistance * Mammalian diving reflex * Medical device reporting * Multiple drug resistance, when a microorganism has become resistant to multiple drugs ...

-Rundfunkchor followed. In 2008 she was appointed

Kammersänger Kammersänger (male; ) or Kammersängerin (female; ), abbreviated Ks. or KS, is a German Title of honor, honorific title for distinguished singers of opera and classical music. It literally means "chamber singer". Historically, the title was besto ...

in by the Bavarian State Government. Since the 2011/12 season, Pappas has been a member of the ensemble of the

Salzburger Landestheater The Salzburg State Theatre (''Salzburger Landestheater'') is a theatre situated in Salzburg, Austria, a venue for opera, theatre, and dance, contemporary and older works, with resident companies of actors, singers and dancers. The theatre present ...

. In 2016, Pappas made her debut at the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...

in 2015 and in 2016 in the world

premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...

of the opera ''

The Exterminating Angel ''The Exterminating Angel'' () is a 1962 Mexican surrealism, surrealist black comedy film written and directed by Luis Buñuel. Starring Silvia Pinal and produced by Pinal's then-husband Gustavo Alatriste, the film tells the story of a group of ...

'' by British composer

Thomas Adès Thomas Joseph Edmund Adès (born 1 March 1971) is a British composer, pianist and conductor. Five compositions by Adès received votes in the 2017 Classic Voice poll of the greatest works of art music since 2000: ''The Tempest (opera), The T ...

.''Thomas Adès - The Exterminating Angel'' in the programme of the Salzburg Festival
retrieved 11 August 2020 Pappas is married to the actor . The couple has two children.

References

External links

France Pappas on Operabase

Frances Pappas' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pappas, Frances 1964 births Living people Canadian mezzo-sopranos Greek mezzo-sopranos Singers from Toronto