Luciana Serra
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Luciana Serra (born November 4, 1946 in Genoa) is an Italian soprano.
Serra made her international debut in 1966 at the Hungarian State Opera House in Budapest, but did not achieve general acclaim until the late 1970s, when she took on coloratura roles in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and Bellini's La sonnambula. Her 1987 performance in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia and her 1988 performance in Donizetti's Don Pasquale are still praised for the clarity of her voice.
She is famous all over the world for her brilliant artistic personality and for her capability to interpret a wide range of roles. She is also an extraordinary teacher, loved by young people whom she coaches with devotion. She often sings in concert with those students who show more talent. She supports them with her fame, and grooms each of them for a beautiful career.
Considered the natural heir of Toti Dal Monte, she is, as well, a legendary interpreter of Maria Callas’ roles, most of all in Donizetti and Bellini’s works. The clarity of her voice makes it particularly suitable for Mozart and Rossini's works, too. She regularly teaches both at Villa Medici in Rome and at the Accademia La Scala in Milan. Her lessons are attended by many young people who are at the beginning of their career and who wish to improve themselves with the help of this famous artist.
Her fame reached a peak during the 1980s, when she performed the "Queen of the night" in Die Zauberflöte at the Royal Opera House in London. That performance (together with a series of very successful performances in other roles) soon made of Luciana Serra a "Queen" of the stage par excellence.
In 1988 Serra debuted at the Vienna State Opera singing the Queen of the night in a new production of Die Zauberflöte conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and staged by Otto Schenk.
Her discography includes Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Il viaggio a Reims, Rigoletto, Don Pasquale and, of course, Die Zauberflöte. Her interpretations are always mirabili, because almost every kind of music - be it a serious opera or a comic one, an air of transcendental difficulty by Giuseppe Verdi or one by Rossini - suits with her voice.
