Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky was born in Berwyn, Illinois, on April 11, 1969. She lived and attended high school in Richmond, Indiana, a small city which, despite its size, had its own opera company. She started her career early, at the age of 11, and has been taught by several well-known teachers including Martial Singher, Ruth Falcon and Diana Soviero (current). She studied at the University of Cincinnati's College Conservatory of Music, Tanglewood Music Center and the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. In 1995 she was a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Her dynamic stage presence and stunning vocal gifts have firmly established her as one of the leading stars on the international stage today. Her rich vibrato and expressive timbre have captivated the attention of audiences and critics alike, drawing praise from The New York Times, The Times (UK), and the San Francisco Chronicle, among many others. She is widely esteemed as one of the prominent Verdian sopranos of her
"Tu che le vanita" Don Carlo
generation. The extraordinary versatility of her voice lends itself to a remarkable range of repertoire. She possesses the unusual flexibility demanded in such roles as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and the title role of Lucrezia Borgia, but the power and intensely plaintive quality of her sound allow her to include in her repertoire more dramatic characters such as Tatiana in Eugene Onegin and the title role of Rusalka. Many of her most memorable performances have come in the classics of the 19th century Italian repertoire, especially the iconic soprano roles of Giuseppe Verdi. In addition to her signature role of Leonora in Il trovatore, Ms. Radvanovsky's Verdi repertoire includes Elvira in Ernani, the title role of Luisa Miller, and Lina in Stiffelio, as well as Elisabetta in Don Carlo and Elena in I vespri Siciliani in both their French and Italian versions. In addition to Verdi, Ms. Radvanovsky has had triumphs in verismo repertoire, including Puccini's Manon Lescaut, conducted by Ricardo Chailly, and Suor Angelica, in a production by
"Era desso il figlio mio" Lucrezia Borgia
noted film director William Friedkin. She has appeared as Roxanne in Alfano's Cyrano de Bergerac numerous times opposite the great Plácido Domingo, in new productions at La Scala, Covent Garden, the Met, and other theaters (a DVD from the Palau des Arts in Valencia was published on the Naxos label). This season, Ms. Radvanovsky sings the title role of Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera after receiving accolades for her debut performances at Opera Colorado. In addition to Tosca, another major appearance at the Met this season will be a reprisal of Leonora in David McVicar's acclaimed production of Il trovatore, which will be transmitted live as a part of the Met's internationally syndicated HD broadcast series. Ms. Radvanovsky will have important role debuts as two of Verdi's heroines, Aïda at the Canadian Opera Company and Amelia in Un ballo in maschera at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Other highlights include Il trovatore at the Arena di Verona and Elena in I vespri siciliani at the Teatro Regio di Torino. Ms. Radvanovsky has performed in every
"Ernani, Ernani involami" Ernani
major opera house in the world, including Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Vienna State Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera and numerous others. Her home theater is the Metropolitan Opera, where she began her training in the late 1990s. After performances in smaller roles there, Ms. Radvanovsky came to attention as Luisa in Luisa Miller, and was singled out as a soprano to watch by critics and the public alike. Ms. Radvanovsky's first solo recording, Verdi Arias, was released last season on the Delos label. About the disc, NPR's "All Things Considered" host Tom Huizenga remarked, "She blew me away…the voice is really big…yet she knows how to harness all that power!" A second disc, Verdi Opera Scenes, with acclaimed baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky, was recorded live in Russia and will be released in the 2010-11 season. On the concert platform, Ms. Radvanovsky has performed Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Verbier Festival Orchestra, both with James Levine. She has sung Rossini's Stabat Mater with the Orchestra of the Age of
"D'amor sull'ali rosee" Il Trovatore
Enlightenment and Verdi's Requiem with the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Chicago Symphony with David Zinman, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra with Fabio Luisi, and at the Cincinnati May Festival with James Conlon. She currently lives with her husband near Toronto, Canada. [Source, Source]
