Sarah Connolly
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Born in County Durham, mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly studied piano and singing at the Royal College of Music, of which she is now a Fellow.
In opera, her recent appearances have included Purcell’s Dido at La Scala, Milan; the title role in ‘Giulio Cesare’ at the Glyndebourne Festival; Gluck’s Orfeo at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich and Octavian (Der Rosenkavalier) for Scottish Opera. Other engagements in Europe have included Purcell’s Dido at La Monnaie, Brussels; Nerone (L’Incoronazione di Poppea) at the Maggio Musicale in Florence; Sesto (Giulio Cesare) at the Paris Opera and the title role in ‘The Rape of Lucretia’ at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich. In the U.S. she has sung Annio (La clemenza di Tito) at the Metropolitan Opera, New York; the title role of Ariodante and Romeo (I Capuleti e i Montecchi) for New York City Opera and Ino and Juno (Semele) in San Francisco.
A favourite at the English National Opera, her roles there have included Handel's Agrippina, Xerxes, Ariodante and Ruggiero (Alcina); the title role in ‘The Rape of Lucretia’; Ottavia (L'Incoronazione di Poppea); Dido (Dido and Aeneas / The Trojans); Romeo, Susie (The Silver Tassie) and Sesto (La clemenza di Tito) - for which she was nominated for an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera.
Her future engagements include her debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as Purcell's Dido; her debut at the Liceu in Barcelona as Nerone; Octavian for the ENO; Romeo at Opera North and returns to both the Metropolitan Opera and to the Glyndebourne Festival.
She has appeared in recital in London and New York and her many concert engagements include appearances at the Salzburg Festival, Tanglewood Festival, BBC Proms, Vienna Konzerthaus, Berlin Philharmonie and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, with such conductors as Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Roger Norrington, Edo de Waart, Philippe Herreweghe and Daniel Harding. She has sung ‘The Dream of Gerontius’ with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis; Mahler’s 'Das Lied von der Erde' with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Daniel Harding; the ‘St Matthew Passion’ and ‘Des Knaben Wunderhorn’ with Philippe Herreweghe and Mozart’s ‘Requiem’ with Ivor Bolton in Salzburg.
Committed to promoting new music, her world premiere performances include Mark-Anthony Turnage’s ‘Twice through the heart’ with The Schoenberg Ensemble conducted by Oliver Knussen; Jonathan Harvey’s ‘Songs of Li Po’ at the Aldeburgh Festival and, most recently, Sir John Tavener’s ‘Tribute to Cavafy’ at the Symphony Hall, Birmingham.
She is a prolific recording artist, twice nominated for a Grammy Award.
Contents |
[edit] Operatic rôles
[edit] English National Opera
- I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Romeo)
- Les Troyens (Dido)
- The Rape of Lucretia (Lucretia)
- L'incoronazione di Poppea (Empress Ottavia) (Nero)
- La clemenza di Tito (Sesto) – 2006 Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Opera[2][3]
- Dido and Aeneas (Dido)
- Der Rosenkavalier (Octavian)
- The Silver Tassie (Susie)
[edit] Scottish Opera
- Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier (Octavian)
[edit] Glyndebourne Festival Opera
- George Frideric Handel: Giulio Cesare (Giulio Cesare)[4]
- Johann Sebastian Bach: St. Matthew Passion
[edit] La Scala
- Dido and Aeneas (Dido)
[edit] Rôles in the USA
- Vincenzo Bellini: I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Romeo)
- George Frideric Handel: Ariodante (Ariodante)
- George Frideric Handel: Xerxes (Xerxes)
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: La clemenza di Tito (Sesto)
- George Frideric Handel: Semele (Ino and Juno)
[edit] Concert performances
Amongst many concert performances, Connolly has premièred the following:
- Jonathan Harvey: Songs of Li Po
- John Tavener: Tribute to Cavafy
- Mark-Anthony Turnage: Twice Through the Heart
[edit] Recordings
Recordings include:
- Frank Bridge Orchestral Songs Chandos, 2005
- Edward Elgar: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Simon Wright The Music Makers / Sea Pictures Naxos 8.557710
- Edward Elgar: The Very Best of Elgar 8.552133-34
- George Frideric Handel: Giulio Cesare (Glyndebourne, 2005) OA0950D
- George Frideric Handel: Heroes and Heroines – The Sixteen / Harry Christophers, Coro
- George Frideric Handel: Solomon (Solomon) Harmonia Mundi (2007 release)
- Gustav Mahler Des Knaben Wunderhorn – OCE / Herreweghe Harmonia Mundi, 2006
- Felix Mendelssohn: Songs and Duets Vol. 3 Hyperion, 2004
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Mass in C Minor and Haydn – Scena di Bernice – Gabrieli Consort / McCreesh DG, 2006
- Arnold Schoenberg: BBC Voices - Blood Red Carnations: Songs by Arnold Schoenberg Black Box, 2002
- John Tavener: Children of Men
- The Exquisite Hour – Recital Disc: Songs by Brahms, Britten, Hahn, Haydn (Eugene Asti) Signum Classics, 2006[5]
[edit] References
- ^ English National Opera Announces the 2006/07 Sky & Artsworld Season
- ^ 2006 Laurence Olivier Award nominations announced
- ^ Mozart, La Clemenza di Tito English National Opera
- ^ PROM 52: Handel, ‘Julius Caesar’
- ^ Sarah Connolly - The Exquisite Hour