Portland SummerFest brings back soprano Angela Meade for ‘Otello’
August 1st, 2013OregonLive | Angela Meade is coming back, and that is magic to the ears of opera fans. Meade, a super-soprano from Centralia, has a knack for singing soft, high notes – the kind that made her interpretation of Norma a standout role – but she also has the big, ringing notes that soar over orchestras. In short order, she’s become a regular at Carnegie Hall, the Vienna State Opera and other world stages.
On Friday, Meade returns to Washington Park to sing the poignant role of Desdemona in Verdi’s Otello at SummerFest’s Opera in the Park. In 2010, she sang Leonora in Il Trovatore and drew record crowds to the park. She should make an affecting Desdemona, wrongly accused wife of the misguided Moor.
You might think an up-and-comer like Meade wouldn’t have time for a Portland park at the height of festival season, but Meade regularly performs in the Northwest. She’s a huge draw to the Astoria Music Festival, for example. The fact she comes from Centralia, which she presumably visits when she’s in the area, benefits opera fans big time.