Bonaventura Bottone
Encyclopedia
Bonaventura Bottone is an operatic tenor who has performed at many of the world's leading opera house
s. He trained at the Royal Academy of Music
in London. The Academy awarded him a Fellow
ship in 1998. He is described by the New Grove Dictionary of Opera as "a superb actor with a strong, lyrical voice" who "excels in comic roles".
with Welsh National Opera in 1973. He subsequently sang Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor
in Belfast, a Servant in Richard Strauss
's Capriccio
with Glyndebourne Festival Opera
and Bardolfo in Verdi's Falstaff
for Glyndebourne Touring Opera in 1976. He appeared at the Wexford Festival for three consecutive seasons (1977–1979) in Smetana
's The Two Widows
, Luigi and Federico Ricci
's Crispino e la comare
and Montemezzi's L'amore dei tre re
.
. He has created more than twenty roles with the company in divers repertoire. His roles with the company include: Puccini's Rodolfo (La bohème
), Luigi (Il tabarro
), Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly
); Verdi's Duke of Mantua (Rigoletto
); Weill
's Sam Kaplan (Street Scene); Gilbert and Sullivan
's Nanki-Poo (The Mikado
); Offenbach
's Mercury (Orphée aux enfers) and Menelaus (La Belle Helene
); Berlioz' Faust (La Damnation de Faust) and Tchaikovsky's Lensky (Eugene Onegin
).
(Italian Singer); Die Fledermaus
(Alfred); Les Huguenots
(Raoul); Otello
(Cassio); Il viaggio a Reims
(Count Libenskof); Capriccio
(Italian Singer); Sweeney Todd
(Pirelli), L'heure espagnole
(Torquemade)and La fanciulla del West
(Nick). Bottone also took part in Dame Joan Sutherland
's farewell appearance at Covent Garden.
, where his roles have included Turridu (Cavalleria rusticana
) and Le comte Ory
; Opera North
, where his roles have included Vana (Katya Kabanova), Pedrillo (Die Entführung aus dem Serail
) and Nemorino (L'elisir d'amore
); and Scottish Opera
, where his roles have included Jack (The Midsummer Marriage
), Narraboth (Salome
) and Loge (Das Rheingold
). For Glyndebourne Festival Opera
, Bonaventura Bottone has sung Alfed (Die Fledermaus
), and the Italian Tenor (Capriccio
).
(Alfred) at the Opéra National de Paris Bastille; Der Rosenkavalier
(Italian Singer) and Die Fledermaus
(Alfred) at the Bayerische Staatsoper München; and The Mikado
(Nanki-Poo) at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice.
(Italian Singer) and Andrea Chénier
(Incredibile) at the Metropolitan Opera
; Capriccio
(Italian Tenor), Die Fledermaus
(Alfred), Das Rheingold
(Loge) and Sweeney Todd
(Pirelli) at the Lyric Opera of Chicago
; and Die Entführung aus dem Serail
(Pedrillo) at Houston Grand Opera
. In 2008, he was selected by Plácido Domingo
and James Conlon
to recreate the role of Licht in the forgotten Viktor Ullmann
opera Die Zerbrochne Krug.
Loge - Bottone first performed the role of the fire god
in Wagner's Das Rheingold
in Richard Jones
' ground-breaking production for Scottish Opera. Writing in the New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Elizabeth Forbes described his performance as magnificent. Bottone revived the role for the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2004 and 2005, receiving critical acclaim from the Associated Press/New York Times http://www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=25367, the Chicago Tribune
and the Chicago Sun-Sentinnel.
Alfred - The amorous tenor from Strauss' 1874 comic opera
Die Fledermaus
has taken Bottone to houses as diverse as the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (DVD available)http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00004Z4VP, the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Opéra de Paris, Glyndebourne
, Santiago di Chile and the Lyric Opera of Chicago
. He is renowned for his arch, perfectly-timed performance as the ageing roue.http://www.musicomh.com/opera/gfo-fledermaus_0606.htm
Nanki-Poo - Bottone performed 98 performances as the 'amorous second trombone' and son of the Mikado in the renowned Jonathan Miller
production for English National Opera
. The production is available both as an audio recording http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00000J7XS and as a DVD http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000BB150W.
Captain/Governor/Vanderdendur/Ragotski - Leonard Bernstein
edited his original score
of Candide
for Scottish Opera, performed at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow
in 1988. The four portmanteau roles provide a villainous thread, a continual frustration to Candide's advancement. The roles were re-written specifically for Bottone. He has performed the roles at the Royal Festival Hall
, La Scala
Milan and the English National Opera
to critical acclaim. http://www.musicomh.com/opera/eno-candide_0608.htm http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/candide-coliseum-london-855276.html
, Sir Andrew Davis
, Jacques Delacote
, Sir Edward Downes
, Sir Mark Elder
, Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos
, Bernard Haitink
KBE CH, Richard Hickox
, Vladimir Jurowski
, James Levine
, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Neville Marriner, Carlo Rizzi
and Jeffrey Tate
.
(31 Dec 1993) Label: TER ASIN: B000003QTI
Boulanger Vocal and Choral Works Audio CD (1 Oct 1999) Label: Chandos ASIN: B00000JWIU
Donizetti Lucia di Lammermoor Audio CD (1 Oct 1999) Label: EMI ASIN: B00000DOC6
Forrest Kismet Audio CD (16 April 1995) Label: Madacy ASIN: B000000KAF
Forrest Kismet Audio CD (24 Sep 2007) Label: Golden Operetta Highlights ASIN: B000025HZ3
Gilbert and Sullivan The Mikado Audio CD (22 Jan 2001) Label: TER ASIN: B000025HY6
Gilbert and Sullivan The Mikado Audio CD (24 Nov 2008) Label: TER ASIN: B000025HXV
Gilbert and Sullivan The Best of Gilbert and Sullivan Audio CD (16 April 1995) Label: Madacy ASIN: B000000KAL
Offenbach Orpheus in the Underworld Audio CD (24 Sep 2007) Label: Golden Operetta Highlights ASIN: B000025HXC
Romberg The Student Prince Audio CD (30 Jul 2001) Label: TER ASIN: B000003QTM
Strauss, Johan Die Fledermaus DVD (19 Dec 2000) Studio: Image Entertainment
ASIN: B00004Z4VP
Tippett The Ice Break Audio CD (1 Nov 1991) Label: Virgin Classics ASIN: B000027KNF
Vaughan-Williams Hugh the Drover Audio CD (27 Sep 1994) Label: Hyperion ASIN: B000002ZYJ
Verdi Otello Audio CD (10 Sep 2001) Label: Chandos ASIN: B00005OBRW
Weill Street Scene Audio CD (30 Jul 2001) Label: Classics ASIN: B000025HXK
Various An Evening of Operetta Audio CD (1 Jan 1991) Label: Koch ASIN: B000023YW8
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
s. He trained at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
in London. The Academy awarded him a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
ship in 1998. He is described by the New Grove Dictionary of Opera as "a superb actor with a strong, lyrical voice" who "excels in comic roles".
Early career
Bonaventura Bottone made his professional debut as Count Almaviva in The Barber of SevilleThe Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...
with Welsh National Opera in 1973. He subsequently sang Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
in Belfast, a Servant in Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
's Capriccio
Capriccio (opera)
Capriccio is the final opera by German composer Richard Strauss, subtitled "A Conversation Piece for Music". The opera received its premiere performance at the Nationaltheater München on October 28, 1942. Clemens Krauss and Strauss himself wrote the German libretto...
with Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...
and Bardolfo in Verdi's Falstaff
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
for Glyndebourne Touring Opera in 1976. He appeared at the Wexford Festival for three consecutive seasons (1977–1979) in Smetana
Smetana
Smetana is a Slavic loanword in English for a dairy product that is produced by souring heavy cream. Smetana is from Central and Eastern Europe, sometimes perceived to be specifically of Russian origin. It is a soured cream product like crème fraîche , but nowadays mainly sold with 15% to 30%...
's The Two Widows
The Two Widows
The Two Widows is a two-act Czech opera by Bedřich Smetana based on the libretto of Emanuel Züngel. The libretto is based on Jean Pierre Felicien Mallefille's one-act play "Les deux veuves." The opera was composed between June 1873 and January 1874, with its first première on March 27th, 1874 at...
, Luigi and Federico Ricci
Federico Ricci
Federico Ricci , was an Italian composer, particularly of operas.Born in Naples, he was the younger brother of Luigi Ricci, with whom he collaborated on several works....
's Crispino e la comare
Crispino e la comare
Crispino e la comare is an opera by Luigi Ricci and Federico Ricci with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave.-Performance history:The premiere took place on 28 February 1850 at the Teatro San Benedetto in Venice....
and Montemezzi's L'amore dei tre re
L'amore dei tre re
L'amore dei tre re is an opera in three acts by Italo Montemezzi. Its Italian-language libretto was written by playwright Sem Benelli who based it on his own play of the same title.-Performance history:...
.
English National Opera
Bonaventura Bottone has enjoyed a long and creatively rich partnership with English National OperaEnglish National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
. He has created more than twenty roles with the company in divers repertoire. His roles with the company include: Puccini's Rodolfo (La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
), Luigi (Il tabarro
Il tabarro
Il tabarro is an opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on Didier Gold's play La houppelande. It is the first of the trio of operas known as Il trittico...
), Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
); Verdi's Duke of Mantua (Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
); Weill
Weill
Weill is an educational institution affiliated with Cornell University, named after Sanford I. Weill and may refer to:* Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, research institute located on Cornell University's Ithaca, NY campus...
's Sam Kaplan (Street Scene); Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
's Nanki-Poo (The Mikado
The Mikado
The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...
); Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
's Mercury (Orphée aux enfers) and Menelaus (La Belle Helene
La belle Hélène
La belle Hélène , opéra bouffe in three acts, is an operetta by Jacques Offenbach to an original French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy...
); Berlioz' Faust (La Damnation de Faust) and Tchaikovsky's Lensky (Eugene Onegin
Eugene Onegin (opera)
Eugene Onegin, Op. 24, is an opera in 3 acts , by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Konstantin Shilovsky and the composer and his brother Modest, and is based on the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin....
).
Royal Opera House Covent Garden
Bonaventura Bottone's numerous appearances at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden include: Der RosenkavalierDer Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
(Italian Singer); Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
(Alfred); Les Huguenots
Les Huguenots
Les Huguenots is a French opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer, one of the most popular and spectacular examples of the style of grand opera. The opera is in five acts and premiered in Paris in 1836. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps....
(Raoul); Otello
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
(Cassio); Il viaggio a Reims
Il viaggio a Reims
Il viaggio a Reims, ossia L'albergo del giglio d'oro is an operatic dramma giocoso, originally performed in three acts, by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Balocchi, based in part on Corinne, ou L'Italie by Mme de Staël.Rossini's last opera in the Italian language Il viaggio a...
(Count Libenskof); Capriccio
Capriccio (opera)
Capriccio is the final opera by German composer Richard Strauss, subtitled "A Conversation Piece for Music". The opera received its premiere performance at the Nationaltheater München on October 28, 1942. Clemens Krauss and Strauss himself wrote the German libretto...
(Italian Singer); Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as then antagonist of the Victorian penny dreadful The String of Pearls and he was later introduced as an antihero in the broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and its film adaptation...
(Pirelli), L'heure espagnole
L'heure espagnole
L'heure espagnole is a one-act opera, described as a comédie musicale, with music by Maurice Ravel to a French libretto by Franc-Nohain, based on his play of the same name first performed at the Théâtre de l'Odéon on 28 October 1904...
(Torquemade)and La fanciulla del West
La fanciulla del West
La fanciulla del West is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarini, based on the play The Girl of the Golden West by the American author David Belasco. Its highly-publicised premiere occurred in New York City in 1910...
(Nick). Bottone also took part in Dame Joan Sutherland
Joan Sutherland
Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s....
's farewell appearance at Covent Garden.
Career in Britain
Bonaventura Bottone has also sung with: Welsh National OperaWelsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera is an opera company founded in Cardiff, Wales in 1943. The WNO tours Wales, the United Kingdom and the rest of the world extensively. Annually, it gives more than 120 performances of eight main stage operas to a combined audience of around 150,000 people...
, where his roles have included Turridu (Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro...
) and Le comte Ory
Le comte Ory
Le comte Ory is an opéra written by Gioachino Rossini in 1828. Some of the music originates from his opera Il viaggio a Reims written three years earlier for the coronation of Charles X...
; Opera North
Opera North
Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and the Theatre Royal, Newcastle...
, where his roles have included Vana (Katya Kabanova), Pedrillo (Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner with adaptations by Gottlieb Stephanie...
) and Nemorino (L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore is an opera by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. It is a melodramma giocoso in two acts...
); and Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies funded by the Scottish Government...
, where his roles have included Jack (The Midsummer Marriage
The Midsummer Marriage
The Midsummer Marriage is an opera in three acts, with music and libretto by Michael Tippett. The work's first performance was at Covent Garden, 27 January 1955, conducted by John Pritchard...
), Narraboth (Salome
Salome (opera)
Salome is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann’s German translation of the French play Salomé by Oscar Wilde. Strauss dedicated the opera to his friend Sir Edgar Speyer....
) and Loge (Das Rheingold
Das Rheingold
is the first of the four operas that constitute Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen . It was originally written as an introduction to the tripartite Ring, but the cycle is now generally regarded as consisting of four individual operas.Das Rheingold received its premiere at the National Theatre...
). For Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...
, Bonaventura Bottone has sung Alfed (Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
), and the Italian Tenor (Capriccio
Capriccio (opera)
Capriccio is the final opera by German composer Richard Strauss, subtitled "A Conversation Piece for Music". The opera received its premiere performance at the Nationaltheater München on October 28, 1942. Clemens Krauss and Strauss himself wrote the German libretto...
).
Career in Europe
Bonaventura Bottone's European engagements include: Die FledermausDie Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
(Alfred) at the Opéra National de Paris Bastille; Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
(Italian Singer) and Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
(Alfred) at the Bayerische Staatsoper München; and The Mikado
The Mikado
The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...
(Nanki-Poo) at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice.
Career in North America
Bonaventura Bottone's North American engagements include: CapriccioCapriccio (opera)
Capriccio is the final opera by German composer Richard Strauss, subtitled "A Conversation Piece for Music". The opera received its premiere performance at the Nationaltheater München on October 28, 1942. Clemens Krauss and Strauss himself wrote the German libretto...
(Italian Singer) and Andrea Chénier
Andrea Chénier
Andrea Chénier is a verismo opera in four acts by the composer Umberto Giordano, set to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica. It is based loosely on the life of the French poet, André Chénier , who was executed during the French Revolution....
(Incredibile) at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
; Capriccio
Capriccio (opera)
Capriccio is the final opera by German composer Richard Strauss, subtitled "A Conversation Piece for Music". The opera received its premiere performance at the Nationaltheater München on October 28, 1942. Clemens Krauss and Strauss himself wrote the German libretto...
(Italian Tenor), Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
(Alfred), Das Rheingold
Das Rheingold
is the first of the four operas that constitute Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen . It was originally written as an introduction to the tripartite Ring, but the cycle is now generally regarded as consisting of four individual operas.Das Rheingold received its premiere at the National Theatre...
(Loge) and Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as then antagonist of the Victorian penny dreadful The String of Pearls and he was later introduced as an antihero in the broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and its film adaptation...
(Pirelli) at the Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
; and Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner with adaptations by Gottlieb Stephanie...
(Pedrillo) at Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
. In 2008, he was selected by Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
and James Conlon
James Conlon
James Conlon is an American conductor and the current Music Director of the Los Angeles Opera.-Early years:Conlon grew up in a family of five children on Cherry Street in Douglaston, Queens, New York. His mother, Angeline L. Conlon, was a freelance writer. His father was an assistant to the New...
to recreate the role of Licht in the forgotten Viktor Ullmann
Viktor Ullmann
Viktor Ullmann was a Silesia-born Austrian, later Czech composer, conductor and pianist of Jewish origin.- Biography :...
opera Die Zerbrochne Krug.
Notable Roles
Four major roles amongst Bonaventura Bottone's wide repertoire have brought him international recognition and acclaim:Loge - Bottone first performed the role of the fire god
Fire worship
Worship or deification of fire is known from various religions. Fire has been an important part of human culture since the Lower Paleolithic...
in Wagner's Das Rheingold
Das Rheingold
is the first of the four operas that constitute Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen . It was originally written as an introduction to the tripartite Ring, but the cycle is now generally regarded as consisting of four individual operas.Das Rheingold received its premiere at the National Theatre...
in Richard Jones
Richard Jones
-Artists and entertainers:* F. Richard Jones , American filmmaker* Dick Clair , born Richard Jones, American producer, actor and TV writer* Richard Jones , British bass guitarist...
' ground-breaking production for Scottish Opera. Writing in the New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Elizabeth Forbes described his performance as magnificent. Bottone revived the role for the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2004 and 2005, receiving critical acclaim from the Associated Press/New York Times http://www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=25367, the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
and the Chicago Sun-Sentinnel.
Alfred - The amorous tenor from Strauss' 1874 comic opera
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
has taken Bottone to houses as diverse as the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (DVD available)http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00004Z4VP, the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Opéra de Paris, Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne is a country house, thought to be about six hundred years old, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England. It is also the site of an opera house which, with the exception of its closing during the Second World War, for a few immediate post-war years, and in 1993 during the...
, Santiago di Chile and the Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
. He is renowned for his arch, perfectly-timed performance as the ageing roue.http://www.musicomh.com/opera/gfo-fledermaus_0606.htm
Nanki-Poo - Bottone performed 98 performances as the 'amorous second trombone' and son of the Mikado in the renowned Jonathan Miller
Jonathan Miller
Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE is a British theatre and opera director, author, physician, television presenter, humorist and sculptor. Trained as a physician in the late 1950s, he first came to prominence in the 1960s with his role in the comedy revue Beyond the Fringe with fellow writers and...
production for English National Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
. The production is available both as an audio recording http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00000J7XS and as a DVD http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000BB150W.
Captain/Governor/Vanderdendur/Ragotski - Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
edited his original score
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
of Candide
Candide
Candide, ou l'Optimisme is a French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best ; Candide: or, The Optimist ; and Candide: or, Optimism...
for Scottish Opera, performed at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow
Theatre Royal, Glasgow
The Theatre Royal is the oldest theatre in Glasgow, located at 282 Hope Street in Cowcaddens. The theatre originally opened in 1867, changing its name to the Theatre Royal in 1869, and is the longest running theatre in Scotland...
in 1988. The four portmanteau roles provide a villainous thread, a continual frustration to Candide's advancement. The roles were re-written specifically for Bottone. He has performed the roles at the Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
, La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
Milan and the English National Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
to critical acclaim. http://www.musicomh.com/opera/eno-candide_0608.htm http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/candide-coliseum-london-855276.html
Concert Performances
Bonaventura Bottone has an extensive concert repertoire, which has taken him to many of the world's leading concert halls. He has sung with numerous prominent international conductors, including: Richard BonyngeRichard Bonynge
Richard Alan Bonynge, AO, CBE is an Australian conductor and pianist.Bonynge was born in Sydney and educated at Sydney Boys High School before studying piano at the Royal College of Music in London. He gave up his music scholarship, continuing his private piano studies, and became a coach for...
, Sir Andrew Davis
Andrew Davis (conductor)
Sir Andrew Frank Davis CBE is a British conductor.Born in Ashridge, Hertfordshire to Robert J. Davis and his wife Florence J. née Badminton, Davis grew up in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, and in Watford. Davis attended Watford Boys' Grammar School, where he studied classics in his sixth form years...
, Jacques Delacote
Jacques Delacôte
Jacques Delacôte is a French conductor. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris and the Vienna Music Academy. In 1971, he was chosen the first winner of the Dimitri Mitropoulos Contest. He also served as an assistant to Leonard Bernstein and Darius Milhaud...
, Sir Edward Downes
Edward Downes
Sir Edward Thomas "Ted" Downes, CBE was an English conductor, specialising in opera.He was associated with the Royal Opera House from 1952, and with Opera Australia from 1970. He was also well known for his long working relationship with the BBC Philharmonic and for working with the Netherlands...
, Sir Mark Elder
Mark Elder
Sir Mark Philip Elder, CBE is a British conductor. He is the music director of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, England.-Biography:Elder was born in Hexham, Northumberland, England, the son of a dentist...
, Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos is a Spanish conductor and composer.Frühbeck studied violin, piano, and composition at the conservatories of Bilbao and Madrid...
, Bernard Haitink
Bernard Haitink
Bernard Johan Herman Haitink, CH, KBE is a Dutch conductor and violinist.- Early life :Haitink was born in Amsterdam, the son of Willem Haitink and Anna Haitink. He studied music at the conservatoire in Amsterdam...
KBE CH, Richard Hickox
Richard Hickox
Richard Sidney Hickox CBE was an English conductor of choral, orchestral and operatic music.-Early life:Hickox was born in Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire into a musical family...
, Vladimir Jurowski
Vladimir Jurowski
Vladimir Mikhailovich Jurowski is a Russian conductor. He is the son of conductor Mikhail Jurowski.Jurowski began his musical studies at the Moscow Conservatory...
, James Levine
James Levine
James Lawrence Levine is an American conductor and pianist. He is currently the music director of the Metropolitan Opera and former music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Levine's first performance conducting the Metropolitan Opera was on June 5, 1971, and as of May 2011 he has...
, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Neville Marriner, Carlo Rizzi
Carlo Rizzi (conductor)
Carlo Rizzi is an Italian conductor.Rizzi studied music at the Milan Conservatory. He later was a conducting student of Vladimir Delman, in Bologna, and with Franco Ferrara in Siena. His opera conducting debut was in 1982, with Donizetti's L'ajo nell'imbarazzo...
and Jeffrey Tate
Jeffrey Tate
Dr Jeffrey Tate CBE is an English conductor.Tate was born with spina bifida, and also has kyphosis. His family moved to Farnham, Surrey when he was young and he attended Farnham Grammar School between 1954 and 1961 gaining a State Scholarship to Cambridge University, where he directed theatre...
.
Current Activities
Bottone is unusual amongst modern-day tenors in retaining much of his original repertoire well into his sixth decade. To this has been added a wide range of character repertoire, such as Loge, Bob Boles, Von Aschebach and Shuisky.Discography
Bernstein Candide Audio CDCompact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
(31 Dec 1993) Label: TER ASIN: B000003QTI
Boulanger Vocal and Choral Works Audio CD (1 Oct 1999) Label: Chandos ASIN: B00000JWIU
Donizetti Lucia di Lammermoor Audio CD (1 Oct 1999) Label: EMI ASIN: B00000DOC6
Forrest Kismet Audio CD (16 April 1995) Label: Madacy ASIN: B000000KAF
Forrest Kismet Audio CD (24 Sep 2007) Label: Golden Operetta Highlights ASIN: B000025HZ3
Gilbert and Sullivan The Mikado Audio CD (22 Jan 2001) Label: TER ASIN: B000025HY6
Gilbert and Sullivan The Mikado Audio CD (24 Nov 2008) Label: TER ASIN: B000025HXV
Gilbert and Sullivan The Best of Gilbert and Sullivan Audio CD (16 April 1995) Label: Madacy ASIN: B000000KAL
Offenbach Orpheus in the Underworld Audio CD (24 Sep 2007) Label: Golden Operetta Highlights ASIN: B000025HXC
Romberg The Student Prince Audio CD (30 Jul 2001) Label: TER ASIN: B000003QTM
Strauss, Johan Die Fledermaus DVD (19 Dec 2000) Studio: Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment, Inc. is an independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming and film & television productions in North America, with approximately 3,000 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 250 exclusive CD titles in domestic release, and approximately 450...
ASIN: B00004Z4VP
Tippett The Ice Break Audio CD (1 Nov 1991) Label: Virgin Classics ASIN: B000027KNF
Vaughan-Williams Hugh the Drover Audio CD (27 Sep 1994) Label: Hyperion ASIN: B000002ZYJ
Verdi Otello Audio CD (10 Sep 2001) Label: Chandos ASIN: B00005OBRW
Weill Street Scene Audio CD (30 Jul 2001) Label: Classics ASIN: B000025HXK
Various An Evening of Operetta Audio CD (1 Jan 1991) Label: Koch ASIN: B000023YW8