Frederica von Stade (June 1, 1945), is an American
mezzo-sopranoA mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
. Born in
Somerville, New JerseySomerville is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 12,423. It is the county seat of Somerset County....
, she acquired the nickname
Flicka in her childhood. Von Stade attended the
Mannes College of MusicMannes College of Music, a division of the New School since 1989, is a music conservatory located in New York City, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.- General :...
in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
. She made her debut with the
Metropolitan OperaThe Metropolitan Opera Association of New York City, founded in April 1880, is a major presenter of all types of opera including Grand Opera. Peter Gelb is the company's general manager. The music director is James Levine....
in 1970 and in 1971 appeared as Cherubino in
The Marriage of FigaroLe nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by Beaumarchais was at first banned in Vienna...
at the
Santa Fe OperaThe Santa Fe Opera is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe in the U.S. state of New Mexico, headquartered on a former guest ranch of . John Crosby, a New York-based conductor, founded SFO in 1956, originally as the Opera Association of New Mexico...
. "It was two of the newcomers who left the audience dazzled: Frederica von Stade as Cherubino and
Kiri Te KanawaDame Kiri Janette Te Kanawa, ONZ, DBE, AC is a New Zealand soprano who had a highly successful international opera career between 1968–2004. Possessing a warm full lyric soprano voice, Te Kanawa sang a wide repertoire that encompassed works from the 17th to the 20th century in Italian, French,...
as the Countess. Everyone knew at once that these were brilliant finds.
Frederica von Stade (June 1, 1945), is an American
mezzo-sopranoA mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
. Born in
Somerville, New JerseySomerville is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 12,423. It is the county seat of Somerset County....
, she acquired the nickname
Flicka in her childhood. Von Stade attended the
Mannes College of MusicMannes College of Music, a division of the New School since 1989, is a music conservatory located in New York City, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.- General :...
in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
. She made her debut with the
Metropolitan OperaThe Metropolitan Opera Association of New York City, founded in April 1880, is a major presenter of all types of opera including Grand Opera. Peter Gelb is the company's general manager. The music director is James Levine....
in 1970 and in 1971 appeared as Cherubino in
The Marriage of FigaroLe nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by Beaumarchais was at first banned in Vienna...
at the
Santa Fe OperaThe Santa Fe Opera is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe in the U.S. state of New Mexico, headquartered on a former guest ranch of . John Crosby, a New York-based conductor, founded SFO in 1956, originally as the Opera Association of New Mexico...
. "It was two of the newcomers who left the audience dazzled: Frederica von Stade as Cherubino and
Kiri Te KanawaDame Kiri Janette Te Kanawa, ONZ, DBE, AC is a New Zealand soprano who had a highly successful international opera career between 1968–2004. Possessing a warm full lyric soprano voice, Te Kanawa sang a wide repertoire that encompassed works from the 17th to the 20th century in Italian, French,...
as the Countess. Everyone knew at once that these were brilliant finds. History has confirmed that first impression." (Eleanor Scott,
The First Twenty Years of The Santa Fe Opera, Santa Fe, New Mexico: The Sunstone Press, 1976).
Trained in the
bel cantoBel canto , along with a number of similar constructions , is an Italian opera term with several possible different meanings that is subject to a wide array of interpretations.The earliest usage of the term bel canto emerged in late 17th-century Italy to refer to the Italian model of singing...
style, von Stade is known for her roles in
RossiniGioachino Antonio Rossini was a popular Italian composer who wrote 39 operas as well as sacred music and chamber music. His best known works include Il barbiere di Siviglia , La Cenerentola, La gazza ladra and Guillaume Tell...
's
The Barber of SevilleThe Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini...
and
La CenerentolaLa Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the fairy tale Cinderella...
. In addition to
operaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, von Stade has also performed a wide range of music including that from
The Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
and
Show BoatShow Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. One notable exception is the song Bill, which was originally written by Kern and author-lyricist P. G. Wodehouse in 1917 but reworked by Hammerstein for Show Boat...
and has appeared on numerous
PBSThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television service with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. However, its operations are largely funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting...
specials, most notably in 1991's
A Carnegie Hall Christmas Concert. She has also appeared in many
Kennedy Center HonorsThe Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for theirlifetime of contributions to American culture. The Honors have been presented annually since 1978 in Washington, D.C., during gala weekend-long events which culminate in a performance for—and...
broadcasts for
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American television network, one of television's original "big three", which also include NBC and ABC. Like NBC, CBS started out as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System...
. Von Stade is also a respected recital artist, performing works ranging from
MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as...
and
Haydn Joseph Haydn was an Austrian composer. He was one of the most important, prolific and prominent composers of the classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these genres...
to
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
show tunes.
Composers, including
Dominick ArgentoDominick Argento is an American composer, best known as a leading composer of lyric opera and choral music...
,
Jake HeggieJake Heggie is an American composer and pianist.Jake Heggie is the composer of the operas Dead Man Walking , The End of the Affair , At The Statue of Venus , and To Hell and Back . He is also the composer of more than 200 art songs as well as chamber and concert works...
and
Richard DanielpourRichard Danielpour is an American composer.-Biography:Danielpour studied at Oberlin College and the New England Conservatory of Music, and later at the Juilliard School of Music, where he received a DMA in composition in 1986. His primary composition professors at Juilliard were Vincent...
, have produced works specifically for von Stade. She originated the role of "Tina" in
Dallas OperaThe Dallas Opera is an opera company located in Dallas, Texas . The company was founded in 1957 as the Dallas Civic Opera by Laurence Kelly and Nicolà Rescigno, both of whom had been active with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the first as administrator, the second as artistic director.-The company's...
's world premiere production of Argento's
The Aspern PapersThe Aspern Papers is a novella written by Henry James, originally published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1888, with its first book publication later in the same year. One of James' best-known and most acclaimed longer tales, The Aspern Papers is based on an anecdote that James heard about a Shelley...
. She has also recorded other works by Argento.
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=9649 Danielpour composed
Elegiesis the Hello! Project 2005 shuffle group consisting of Ai Takahashi and Reina Tanaka of Morning Musume, along with Melon Kinenbi's Ayumi Shibata and Country Musume's Mai Satoda. The name comes from the word elegy. They released the single "" on June 22 2005....
for orchestra, mezzo-soprano, and
baritoneBaritone is a type of classical male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek βαρύτονος, meaning 'deep sounding', music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second G below middle C to the F above...
in memory of von Stade's father, Charles von Stade, who was killed late in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, two months before von Stade's birth.
Elegies premiered in January 1998 with the
Jacksonville SymphonyThe Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Jacksonville, Florida. Widely recognized for its high artistic quality, the JSO ranks among the nation’s top 30 to 40 orchestras in terms of number of performances and population served...
led by Roger Nierenberg and has now been recorded by the
London Philharmonic OrchestraThe London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
.
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=3441 In 2008, she created the role of "Madeline" in the opera
Last ActsLast Acts is a chamber opera in two acts by Jake Heggie to a libretto by Gene Scheerwhich is based on the unpublished play Some Christmas Letters by Terrence McNally...
, a part which the composer Jake Heggie had especially written for her.
Von Stade was the featured performer at the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and also sang with the
Mormon Tabernacle ChoirThe Mormon Tabernacle Choir is a 360-member, all-volunteer choir. The choir is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . However, the choir is completely self-funded, traveling and producing albums to support the organization. The choir's current music director is Mack...
at the Cultural Olympiad held in conjunction with the games. She also sang at the choir's annual Christmas Concert the following year.
http://www.pbs.org/previews/christmas_mormontabernacle/
She currently resides in
Alameda, CaliforniaAlameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on a small island of the same name next to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. An additional part of the city is Bay Farm Island, which is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. The city has a small town feeling...
where she gives performances supporting the arts in local schools.
Recordings
She has made over sixty recordings, including complete operas, aria albums, symphonic works, solo recital programs, and popular crossover albums. She has done humorous recordings, such as
Songs of the CatSongs of the Cat was released by Highbridge Audio in 1991. It is a collection of songs and spoken-word pieces about cats, performed by Garrison Keillor and Frederica von Stade...
with
Garrison KeillorGary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, storyteller, humorist, columnist, musician, satirist, and radio personality...
. Her
Show Boat album was a bestseller. She has also appeared with
Kathleen BattleKathleen Battle is an American soprano known for her agile and light voice and her silvery, pure tone. Battle initially became known for her work within the concert repertoire through performances with major orchestras during the early and mid 1970s. She made her opera debut in 1975...
and
Judi DenchDame Judith Olivia Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English actress.Originally trained as a set designer, Dench began her acting career in the mid 1950s in amateur productions, and made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company...
on
Seiji Ozawais a Japanese conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of large-scale late Romantic works. He is most known for his work as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera.-Biography:...
's recording of
MendelssohnJakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born, and generally known in English-speaking countries, as Felix Mendelssohn was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period....
's
A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare. It was suggested by "The Knight's Tale" from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales and written around 1594 to 1596...
. Her recordings have garnered six Grammy nominations, two
Grand Prix du DisqueThe Académie Charles-Cros, is an organization in France that acts as an intermediary between government cultural policy makers and professionals in music and the recording industry....
awards, the
Deutsche Schallplattenpreis, Italy's
Premio della Critica Discografica, and "Best of the Year" citations by
Stereo ReviewStereo Review was an American magazine first published in 1958 by Ziff-Davis with the title HiFi and Music Review. It was one of a handful of magazines then available for the individual interested in high fidelity. Throughout its life it published a blend of record and equipment reviews, articles...
and
Opera NewsOpera News is an American classical music magazine. Published since 1936 by the , located at Lincoln Center, Opera News was initially focused primarily on the Met, particularly the Saturday afternoon live Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts that have been a feature of the company through the last...
.
Honors
Von Stade was honored with an award in 1983 at The White House by President
ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California .Born in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s...
in recognition of her significant contribution to the arts and by
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
's highest honor in the Arts as an officer of the
Ordre des Arts et des LettresThe Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre National du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
.
Trivia
Von Stade was the idol of a key character in the
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American television network, one of television's original "big three", which also include NBC and ABC. Like NBC, CBS started out as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System...
series
Northern ExposureNorthern Exposure is an American television series that ran on CBS from 1990 to 1995, with a total of 110 episodes. The series was given a pair of consecutive Peabody Awards: in 1991–92 for the show's "depict[ion] in a comedic and often poetic way, [of] the cultural clash between a transplanted New...
(her interpretation of
Bailero from
Canteloube'sMarie-Joseph Canteloube de Malaret was a French composer, musicologist, and author best known for his collections of orchestrated folksongs from the Auvergne region.-Biography:...
Chants d'AuvergneChants d'Auvergne is a collection of folk songs from the Auvergne region of France arranged for soprano voice and orchestra by Joseph Canteloube between 1923-1930. The songs are in the local language, Occitan....
appeared on its original soundtrack album).
A case summary involving a dispute over marital property and earnings (
Elkus v. Elkus, 572 N.Y.S.2d 901 (N.Y. App. Div. 1991)) between von Stade and Peter Elkus, formerly her husband, appears in Dukeminier's Property textbook, commonly used in the first year of law school.
Sources