New York, NY, April 25, 2007– Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, who is currently starring as Rosina in the Met’s new production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia, has been named the recipient of the second annual Beverly Sills Artist Award for young singers at the Metropolitan Opera. The $50,000 award, the largest of its kind in the United States, is designated for extraordinarily gifted singers between the ages of 25 and 40 who have already appeared in featured solo roles with the Met. The award was established last year by an endowment gift from Agnes Varis, a managing director on the Met board, and Karl Leichtman, her husband, in honor of Beverly Sills. The award’s purpose is to aid recipients in career enhancement, including funding for voice lessons, vocal coaching, language lessons, related travel costs, and other important career assistance. The award winner is chosen by Ms. Sills and Nathan Leventhal. Ms. DiDonato is the second recipient of the Sills Award, following last year’s winner, baritone Nathan Gunn.
In making the announcement with Met General Manager Peter Gelb, Ms. Sills said, “I am so pleased to congratulate Joyce. Having recently seen her fantastic first performance of Rosina at the Met, I am confident that Joyce’s brilliant and successful career will continue to flourish and hope that this award will help in future operatic endeavors. I also want to express my gratitude again to my friend Agnes Varis for her continuing support for this Award. She should be cloned!”
Dr. Varis added, “Karl and I are so pleased that Joyce DiDonato, one of the finest mezzo-sopranos in the world today, is the recipient of the second Beverly Sills Award. Her magnetism and passion stimulates every performance in which she appears. We are honored to support this award, which both celebrates the legacy of our good friend Beverly Sills and supports the careers of our current opera singers.”
Ms. DiDonato continues singing in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Met on April 26, 30, May 5, and May 11. Her performance of Rosina in Bartlett Sher’s hit production of Rossini’s classic comedy can also be seen in a high-definition (HD) presentation transmitted into movie theaters around the United States on Tuesday, May 15 at 7:00 p.m. This is an encore presentation of the March 24 Barbiere performance that was transmitted live in HD to movie theaters throughout the world and broadcast over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.
Ms. DiDonato made her Met debut in November 2005 as Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro and appeared with the company later that season as Stéphano in the new production of Roméo et Juliette.
In accepting the Award, Ms. DiDonato said, “While I was an undergraduate in Kansas, dreaming of perhaps one day being a working singer, a woman came to our school to give a lecture on our ‘Distinguished Speaker’ series. Her name was Beverly Sills. I sat in awe and amazement that this legend was actually in our presence, and I hung on her every word as she taught about dedication, discipline and hard work. Fast-forward a few years, and I pick up my cell phone and hear, ‘This is Beverly Sills. I want to give you my award.’ I knew I wasn't in Kansas anymore. I am truly overwhelmed and humbled by this honor. I am so grateful to the Metropolitan Opera and to Beverly Sills and Agnes Varis for their commitment to the future of opera. I intend to uphold their standards and vision to the very best of my ability and rise to the challenge of joining the great legacy of singers from the past with the exciting and bold possibilities of opera in the future.”
Ms. DiDonato’s engagements for the 2006-07 season include the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos with Madrid’s Teatro Real, Idamante in a new production of Mozart’s Idomeneo at the Paris Opera, and Angelina in Rossini’s La Cenerentola at Houston Grand Opera. She has performed with leading opera companies throughout the world, including the Royal Opera Covent Garden, La Scala, Munich’s Bavarian State Opera, and companies in Amsterdam, Geneva, and Tokyo. A frequent interpreter of modern opera, she sang in the world premieres of Mark Adamo’s Little Women (Meg) and Tod Machover’s Resurrection (Katerina Maslova) with Houston Grand Opera. Other career highlights include the title role in Massenet’s Cendrillon with Santa Fe Opera, Dejanira in Handel’s Hercules at New York’s Brooklyn Academy of Music and London’s Barbican Centre, and Sister Helen Prejean in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking with the New York City Opera.
She has been heard in concert with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Orchestre National de Paris, St. Luke’s Chamber Orchestra, and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, among others.
Ms. DiDonato received her Bachelor of Arts degree in music education from Wichita State University in her native Kansas and studied at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. She resides with her husband, Leonardo Vordoni, in Kansas City, Missouri.