Jennifer Larmore
Encyclopedia
Jennifer Larmore is an American mezzo-soprano
opera
singer, noted for coloratura
and bel canto
.
She began her career at Opera de Nice in 1986 with Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito
and went on to sing at virtually every major opera house in the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Paris Opera, Berlin Deutsche Oper, and London Covent Garden.
Jennifer Larmore has recorded widely for the Teldec, RCA, Harmonia Mundi, Deutsche Grammophon, Arabesque, Opera Rara, Bayer, Naive, Chandos, VAI and Cedille labels in over one hundred CDs to date.
With her frequent collaborator Antoine Palloc, she has made many International recital tours, including appearances in Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Vietnam, Vienna, London, San Juan, Prague, Melbourne, Brussels, Berlin, Rio de Janeiro, Lisbon, Sao Paolo, Athens and Copenhagen, as well as all the major American venues.
Symphonic repertoire plays a large role in this mezzo’s career with the works of Mahler, Schoenberg, Mozart, de Falla, Debussy, Berlioz and Barber featuring prominently. Miss Larmore has enjoyed great collaborations with world orchestras under the direction of Muti, Lopez-Cobos, Bernstein, Runnicles, Sinopoli, Masur, von Dochnanyi, Jacobs, Mackarras, Spinosi, Guidarini, Kalmar, Rudel, Barenboim, Queler, Bonynge, Maazel , Osawa and Hengelbrock.
Jennifer Larmore's upcoming schedule takes her to the Théatre des Champs-Elysees, London’s Barbican Hall, Venice, Budapest and Paris Opera Bastille as “Alcina” in Vivaldi’s ORLANDO FURIOSO with Jean-Chrsitophe Spinosi; to Paris’ Opera Bastille for the “Countess Geschwitz” in Berg's Lulu which she debuted in June 2009 to great success at Covent Garden in the Christof Loy production with Tony Pappano; to Brussels La Monnaie as Dulcinée in Massenet's Don Quichotte with Marc Minkowski; to Berlin Deutsche Oper for Kostelnichka in Janacek's Jenufa with Donald Runnicles; to Washington Concert Opera for “Charlotte” in WERTHER; to Geneva for the role of “Lady Macbeth” in a new Christof Loy production of Verdi’s opera MACBETH.
Miss Larmore, in collaboration with the double bass player Davide Vittone has created a new ensemble called Jennifer Larmore and OpusFive. The three programs they offer are entertaining and varied with Songs and Arias, Cabaret/Operetta and Movies and Broadway which feature string quintet and voice. They give concerts all over Europe, including in Seville, Pamploma, Valencia, Las Palmas, Venice, Amiens and Aix en Provence and Paris.
In addition to her many activities, travels, performances and causes, author Jennifer Larmore is working on books that will bring a wider public to the love of opera!
Statistics:
Larmore attended Westminster Choir College
in New Jersey
and trained with John Bullock
and Regina Resnik
. She made her professional debut in 1986, at Opéra de Nice
in Mozart's
La clemenza di Tito
. In 1988, she sang Rosina in Rossini's The Barber of Seville
(Jérôme Savary
production in Strasbourg
)
She made her Carnegie Hall
debut as Romeo (Bellini's
I Capuleti e i Montecchi
) in 1994 and her Metropolitan Opera
debut in 1995. She appeared as Gertrude in the Met's Hamlet
in 2010.
Larmore has won the Richard Tucker Award and a Grammophon Best Baroque Opera award for singing Giulio Cesare
on Harmonia Mundi
. She has had eight Grammy Award
nominations and sang at the 1996 Summer Olympics closing ceremony
in Atlanta. Larmore also hosted a satellite radio show for two years called Backstage With Jennifer Larmore. She received knighthood (Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
) from the French Government in 2002.
, Larmore has recorded leading roles in Carmen
, Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra
, La Cenerentola
, L'italiana in Algeri
, Bianca e Falliero
, Giulio Cesare
, La Sofonisba, and I Capuleti e i Montecchi
.
She has also appeared in supporting roles in Orphée et Eurydice
, Maria Stuarda
, Francesca di Foix
, Elvida
, Adelaide di Borgogna
, and Alessandro nelle Indie
.
Mezzo-soprano
A 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...
opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singer, noted for coloratura
Coloratura
Coloratura has several meanings. The word is originally from Italian, literally meaning "coloring", and derives from the Latin word colorare . When used in English, the term specifically refers to elaborate melody, particularly in vocal music and especially in operatic singing of the 18th and...
and bel canto
Bel canto
Bel canto , along with a number of similar constructions , is an Italian opera term...
.
Career
Jennifer Larmore is an American mezzo-soprano, well known for her versatility, natural beauty and stage craft. This artist has a wide ranging repertoire, excelling in the coloratura roles of the Baroque and bel canto, in addition to music from the Romantic and Contemporary periods.She began her career at Opera de Nice in 1986 with Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito
La clemenza di Tito
La clemenza di Tito , K. 621, is an opera seria in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Metastasio...
and went on to sing at virtually every major opera house in the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Paris Opera, Berlin Deutsche Oper, and London Covent Garden.
Jennifer Larmore has recorded widely for the Teldec, RCA, Harmonia Mundi, Deutsche Grammophon, Arabesque, Opera Rara, Bayer, Naive, Chandos, VAI and Cedille labels in over one hundred CDs to date.
With her frequent collaborator Antoine Palloc, she has made many International recital tours, including appearances in Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Vietnam, Vienna, London, San Juan, Prague, Melbourne, Brussels, Berlin, Rio de Janeiro, Lisbon, Sao Paolo, Athens and Copenhagen, as well as all the major American venues.
Symphonic repertoire plays a large role in this mezzo’s career with the works of Mahler, Schoenberg, Mozart, de Falla, Debussy, Berlioz and Barber featuring prominently. Miss Larmore has enjoyed great collaborations with world orchestras under the direction of Muti, Lopez-Cobos, Bernstein, Runnicles, Sinopoli, Masur, von Dochnanyi, Jacobs, Mackarras, Spinosi, Guidarini, Kalmar, Rudel, Barenboim, Queler, Bonynge, Maazel , Osawa and Hengelbrock.
Jennifer Larmore's upcoming schedule takes her to the Théatre des Champs-Elysees, London’s Barbican Hall, Venice, Budapest and Paris Opera Bastille as “Alcina” in Vivaldi’s ORLANDO FURIOSO with Jean-Chrsitophe Spinosi; to Paris’ Opera Bastille for the “Countess Geschwitz” in Berg's Lulu which she debuted in June 2009 to great success at Covent Garden in the Christof Loy production with Tony Pappano; to Brussels La Monnaie as Dulcinée in Massenet's Don Quichotte with Marc Minkowski; to Berlin Deutsche Oper for Kostelnichka in Janacek's Jenufa with Donald Runnicles; to Washington Concert Opera for “Charlotte” in WERTHER; to Geneva for the role of “Lady Macbeth” in a new Christof Loy production of Verdi’s opera MACBETH.
Miss Larmore, in collaboration with the double bass player Davide Vittone has created a new ensemble called Jennifer Larmore and OpusFive. The three programs they offer are entertaining and varied with Songs and Arias, Cabaret/Operetta and Movies and Broadway which feature string quintet and voice. They give concerts all over Europe, including in Seville, Pamploma, Valencia, Las Palmas, Venice, Amiens and Aix en Provence and Paris.
In addition to her many activities, travels, performances and causes, author Jennifer Larmore is working on books that will bring a wider public to the love of opera!
Statistics:
Larmore attended Westminster Choir College
Westminster Choir College
Westminster Choir College is a residential college of music, part of Rider University, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States.Westminster Choir College educates men and women at the undergraduate and graduate levels for musical careers in music education, voice performance, piano...
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and trained with John Bullock
John Bullock
John Bullock O.S.A. was an Augustinian canon and prelate active in the 15th century Kingdom of Scotland. While earning a university degree between 1409 and 1417, Bullock gained several benefices in Scotland, and claimed the headship of St Andrews Cathedral Priory before becoming Bishop of Ross in...
and Regina Resnik
Regina Resnik
Regina Resnik is an American operatic singer.Regina Resnik, the American mezzo-soprano, started a dramatic career ten months after earning her B.A. in Music at Hunter College. The role was Lady Macbeth under Fritz Busch in December, 1942 with the New Opera Company. A few months later, she sang...
. She made her professional debut in 1986, at Opéra de Nice
Opéra de Nice
The Opéra de Nice is the principal opera venue in Nice, France.The théâtre municipal of Nice was inaugurated 7 February 1885 with a performance of Verdi's Aida. In 1902 the théâtre municipal became the Opéra de Nice.-References:...
in Mozart's
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
La clemenza di Tito
La clemenza di Tito
La clemenza di Tito , K. 621, is an opera seria in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Metastasio...
. In 1988, she sang Rosina in Rossini's The Barber of Seville
The 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...
(Jérôme Savary
Jérôme Savary
Jérôme Savary is a French theater director and actor. His work has democratized and widened the appeal of musical theater in France, drawing together and blending such genres as opera, operetta, and musical comedy.- Biography :...
production in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
)
She made her Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
debut as Romeo (Bellini's
Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani...
I Capuleti e i Montecchi
I Capuleti e i Montecchi
I Capuleti e i Montecchi is an Italian opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini.The libretto by Felice Romani was a reworking of the story of Romeo and Juliet for an opera by Nicola Vaccai called Giulietta e Romeo. This was based on Italian sources rather than taken directly from Shakespeare...
) in 1994 and her 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...
debut in 1995. She appeared as Gertrude in the Met's Hamlet
Hamlet (opera)
Hamlet is an opéra in five acts by the French composer Ambroise Thomas, with a libretto by Michel Carré and Jules Barbier based on a French adaptation by Alexandre Dumas, père and Paul Meurice of Shakespeare's play Hamlet.- Ophelia mania in Paris:...
in 2010.
Larmore has won the Richard Tucker Award and a Grammophon Best Baroque Opera award for singing Giulio Cesare
Giulio Cesare
Giulio Cesare in Egitto , commonly known simply as Giulio Cesare, is an Italian opera in three acts written for the Royal Academy of Music by George Frideric Handel in 1724...
on Harmonia Mundi
Harmonia Mundi
Harmonia Mundi is an independent music record label founded in 1958 by Bernard Coutaz in Arles . The Latin phrase means "world harmony"....
. She has had eight Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nominations and sang at the 1996 Summer Olympics closing ceremony
1996 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony
The Closing Ceremony of the 1996 Summer Olympics took place on August 4, 1996 at the Centennial Olympic Stadium in Atlanta, United States at approximately 8:00 PM EDT...
in Atlanta. Larmore also hosted a satellite radio show for two years called Backstage With Jennifer Larmore. She received knighthood (Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The 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...
) from the French Government in 2002.
Recordings
In addition to Il barbiere di SivigliaThe 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...
, Larmore has recorded leading roles in Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
, Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra
Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra
Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra, is a dramma per musica or opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Giovanni Schmidt, from the play The Page of Leicester by Carlo Federici...
, La Cenerentola
La Cenerentola
La 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...
, L'italiana in Algeri
L'italiana in Algeri
L'italiana in Algeri is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli, based on his earlier text set by Luigi Mosca...
, Bianca e Falliero
Bianca e Falliero
Bianca e Falliero, ossia Il consiglio dei tre is a two-act operatic melodramma by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani. The libretto was based on Antoine-Vincent Arnault's play Les Vénitiens, ou Blanche et Montcassin.-Performance history:The opera premiered on December 26,...
, Giulio Cesare
Giulio Cesare
Giulio Cesare in Egitto , commonly known simply as Giulio Cesare, is an Italian opera in three acts written for the Royal Academy of Music by George Frideric Handel in 1724...
, La Sofonisba, and I Capuleti e i Montecchi
I Capuleti e i Montecchi
I Capuleti e i Montecchi is an Italian opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini.The libretto by Felice Romani was a reworking of the story of Romeo and Juliet for an opera by Nicola Vaccai called Giulietta e Romeo. This was based on Italian sources rather than taken directly from Shakespeare...
.
She has also appeared in supporting roles in Orphée et Eurydice
Orfeo ed Euridice
Orfeo ed Euridice is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck based on the myth of Orpheus, set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the azione teatrale, meaning an opera on a mythological subject with choruses and dancing...
, Maria Stuarda
Maria Stuarda
Maria Stuarda is a tragic opera, , in two acts, by Gaetano Donizetti, to a libretto by Giuseppe Bardari, based on Friedrich Schiller's 1800 play Maria Stuart....
, Francesca di Foix
Francesca di Foix
Francesca di Foix is a melodramma giocoso or opera in one act by Gaetano Donizetti from a libretto by Domenico Gilardoni, based on Françoise de Foix by Jean-Nicolas Bouilly and Emmanuel Mercier-Dupaty....
, Elvida
Elvida
Elvida is a melodramma or opera in one act by Gaetano Donizetti. Giovanni Schmidt wrote the Italian libretto. The opera was written as a pièce d'occasion for the birthday of Queen Maria of the Two Sicilies. The choice of subject matter was no doubt intended as an elegant acknowledgement of the...
, Adelaide di Borgogna
Adelaide di Borgogna
Adelaide di Borgogna, ossia Ottone, re d'Italia is a two-act opera composed by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Giovanni Schmidt...
, and Alessandro nelle Indie
Alessandro nelle Indie
Alessandro nelle Indie is an opera seria in two acts by Giovanni Pacini, with libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, based on Alessandro nell'Indie by Pietro Metastasio...
.