Bernadette Manca di Nissa

Bernadette Manca di Nissa (born 27 September 1954) is an Italian operatic contralto who has sung leading roles in the principal opera houses of Italy as well as internationally.[1] She has appeared at La Scala in Milan, La Fenice in Venice, Teatro San Carlo in Naples, and the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence as well as at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.

Born in Cagliari and a descendant of a noble family,[2][3] she studied singing privately and later at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg. Initially specializing in Baroque music and Rossini's works (Tancredi), she developed a wide-ranging repertoire that includes works by Monteverdi, Handel, Jommelli, Mozart, Gluck (Orfeo ed Euridice), Salieri, Donizetti, Verdi (Falstaff), Puccini, Stravinsky and the 20th-century composer Luigi Nono.[4] She has appeared in the world premières of several of Nono's works, including Quando stanno morendo (1982), Guai ai gelidi mostri (1983), and Prometeo, Tragedia dell'ascolto (1984).[5]

During the later years of her stage career, she also taught singing in master classes and courses at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Associazione Musicale Scaligera and the Accademia Musicale Chigiana, amongst others.[4] She retired from the stage in 2007, after which she has devoted herself to her teaching career. Nowadays, she is professor of Singing at Conservatorio di Cagliari[6]

Repertory

Recordings

Studio recordings include:

Anno Compositore Titolo Ruolo Cast Orchestra e Coro Direttore Etichetta
1989 Gaetano Donizetti Anna Bolena Smeton Joan Sutherland, Samuel Ramey, Giorgio Surjan Welsh Opera Orchestra and Chorus Richard Bonynge Decca
1990 Igor Stravinsky Pulcinella contralto David Gordon, John Ostendorf The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Christopher Hogwood Decca
1991 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Weisenhaus-Messe K. 139 e Credo-Messe K. 257 contralto King's College Choir e English Chamber Orchestra Stephen Cleobury Decca
1999 Giacomo Puccini Suor Angelica La zia Principessa Angela Gheorghiu, Maria Guleghina, Roberto Alagna, Neil Schicoff, London Symphony Orchestra Antonio Pappano EMI

Live recordings include:

References

  1. ↑ Stinchelli, Enrico, Les stars de l'opéra. Grands artistes lyriques de l'histoire de l'opéra, Gremese Editore, 2002, p. 197 (in French). ISBN 88-7301-499-2
  2. ↑ araldicasardegna.org, Genealogy of the Manca family. Retrieved 2011-12-5.
  3. ↑ She has the titles of Noblewoman (by birth), Noble of the Marquesses of Nissa (by birth) and Noble of the Marquesses of Villahermosa e Santa Croce (by birth) and she is styled Donna Bernadette: http://www.araldicasardegna.org/indice.htm, by entering and clicking on Statuto e Elenco Nobiliare Sardo, then on Elenco nobiliare sardo aggiornato, then on the second Manca family. Retrieved 2011-12-5.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Associazione Musicale Scaligera, Bernadette Manca di Nissa (in Italian)
  5. ↑ Fondazione Archivio Luigi Nono, Quando stanno morendo; Guai ai gelidi mostri; Prometeo, Tragedia dell'ascolto (in Italian)
  6. ↑ http://www.conservatoriocagliari.it/organismi/docenti/dettaglio-docente215.html

External links