Angela to make Oper Frankfurt debut in concert performances of Puccini’s Edgar this February

Following a triumphant return to the Metropolitan Opera this fall in Bellini’s Norma and Verdi’s Falstaff, the “next great Verdian soprano” (Baltimore Sun) crosses the Atlantic for her debut at Germany’s Oper Frankfurt next month (Feb 16 & 18). Angela brings the role of Fidelia to life in a concert version of Puccini’s Edgar at the famed opera house, opposite fellow Beverly Sills Award winner and Academy of Vocal Arts alum Bryan Hymel.  Marc Soustrot conducts the rarely heard early Puccini work.

Later in the month, the soprano travels to the sunshine state for performances of Verdi’s Requiem with the Jacksonville Symphony and Chorus (Feb 27 & 28). Click here for a full list of upcoming appearances.

Angela Meade to give intimate performance for Classical Action: Performing Arts Against AIDS on Dec 12

Classical Action: Performing Arts Against AIDS continues its 2013-14 Michael Palm Series of benefit house concerts in New York City with an intimate performance by rising-star soprano Angela Meade on Thursday December 12. The event – held at the magnificent TriBeCa loft of Simon Yates and Kevin Roon – begins with wine and hors d’oeuvres at 6:30 p.m., with the concert starting at 7:30 p.m. Recipient of the Richard Tucker Award and the Beverly Sills Award, Angela has appeared regularly at the Metropolitan Opera since her professional debut in 2008. Last month she wowed critics and audiences in her first Met performances in the title role of Bellini’s Norma. She was paired in that production with fellow Met National Council Auditions winner Jamie Barton, causing “some old-school pandemonium in the house” (New Yorker critic Alex Ross), and moving the New York Times to proclaim “they are a duo that every opera lover should hear.” In December Meade will make her role debut as Alice Ford in a new-to-the-Met production of Falstaff, conducted by James Levine. Two days after her Classical Action recital, her performance in Falstaff will be beamed to movie theaters worldwide in the Met: Live in HD series. Tickets for her Classical Action benefit performance on December 12 can be purchased online at classicalaction.org or by calling 212-997-7717.

Angela performs first Met Norma this week

This week, Angela launches the 2013-14 season with her first Met performances in the title role of Norma (Oct 24 & 28), having demonstrated “her nearly mind-blowing mastery of Bellini’s most challenging music” (Washington Times) in the same part earlier this year. For her company role debut, Meade will be joined by mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton and tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko in a production by veteran British director John Copley. Riccardo Frizza will conduct. Meade recently scored a resounding success in her first staged performances as Norma at Washington National Opera. The company honored her as “Artist of the Year,” and the reviews were glowing and heartfelt; Anne Midgette declared: “Of the four Normas I’ve heard live in the last ten years, Angela Meade is by far the best” (Washington Post). Click here for a full list of Angela’s performances this fall.

Angela returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Norma this fall

On October 24, Angela takes her portrayal of Bellini’s Norma to the Met for the first time. After her first staged performances as the Druid priestess at Washington National Opera last season, she was honored as the company’s Artist of the Year, having “thrilled WNO devotees with her nearly mind-blowing mastery of Bellini’s most challenging music.” (Washington Times) Later in the season, Angela portrays Alice Ford in the Met’s new production of Verdi’s Falstaff, under the baton of James Levine. Verdi is a staple in the young American soprano’s fast-rising career. The December 14 performance will be transmitted to movie theaters worldwide as part of the “Met: Live in HD” series. Visit Angela’s schedule for a full list of performances.

Angela celebrates Verdi’s bicentennial this summer at Caramoor

On June 27, Angela sings Verdi’s Ave Maria, volgarizzata da Dante for soprano and strings at Caramoor’s unique and evocative Spanish Courtyard. The following week she brings the role of Duchess Hélène to life in the French version of the composer’s opera Les vêpres siciliennes (July 6). These performances mark Angela’s first time at Caramoor since she received raves for her portrayal of Bellini’s Norma. In its review of her performance, Opera News exclaimed, “the evening’s knockout – soprano Angela Meade, whose ‘Casta Diva’ was nothing less than revelation,” while the New York Times declared, “Angela Meade powered out a ‘Casta Diva’ from Bellini’s  Norma that left everyone breathless.” In celebration of the composers birth, last week WQXR’s Operavore and Caramoor presented a special sneak peak at “Verdi in Paris,” the theme of this year’s Bel Canto at Caramoor.  The program included rarely-heard songs as well as duets and arias from Les vêpres siciliennes in their original French, highlighting the influence of the time Verdi spent in Paris on his music. Click here to watch.

Angela stars at Cincinnati Opera, Caramoor, Bravo! Vail and in Spain this summer

Angela, who earlier this month added Washington National Opera’s Artist of the Year honor to her 2012 Beverly Sills Artist Award and her 2011 Richard Tucker Award, is looking forward to a starry summer. The soprano portrays Donna Anna in the Cincinnati Opera production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni (June 13, 15), with Verdi performances to follow at the Caramoor International Music Festival in Katonah, NY (June 27, July 6), Bravo! Vail with the Philadelphia Orchestra led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin (July 13), and the Grand Tetons Music Festival under Donald Runnicles (July 26-27). Meade, whom the Baltimore Sun has called “the next great Verdian soprano,” also returns to the Festival Castell de Peralada in Spain this summer, where she will perform a recital centering on Verdi and Bellini with pianist Danielle Orlando (July 19) and to Portland’s SummerFest for a concert performance of Desdemona in Verdi’s Otello (August 2, 4).

Angela is Washington National Opera’s Artist of the Year

Angela has just been named Artist of the Year by the Washington National Opera (WNO). The May 13 announcement comes on the heels of the soprano’s triumphant company debut, in which she “thrilled WNO devotees with her nearly mind-blowing mastery of Bellini’s most challenging music” (Washington Times) in the title role of Norma. Previous recipients of the Artist of the Year award, which carries a $5,000 cash prize, include mezzo-sopranos Frederica von Stade and Denyce Graves, tenor Jerry Hadley, and conductor John Mauceri.

“I’m so honored to be chosen as Washington National Opera’s Artist of the Year and I appreciate their generosity with this award,” Meade responded when she heard the news. “I had such a wonderful time in Washington, DC this winter, and performing the role of Norma for the first time in a staged production was thrilling for me.”

“It was a privilege for the entire company to work with Angela as she performed her first staged performances of Norma,” said WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello. “Our audiences were riveted and thrilled by her fearless delivery, and many people told me they came back for multiple performances. As Angela garners worldwide acclaim for this role in the coming seasons, we will remain proud that she debuted it here in Washington.”

This coming October, the soprano – who is also the winner of the 2012 Beverly Sills Artist Award and 2011 Richard Tucker Award – will reprise Bellini’s heroine at the Metropolitan Opera. In the meantime, she looks forward to appearances as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at Cincinnati Opera (June 13 & 15) and to her return to the Caramoor International Music Festival to celebrate the Verdi bicentennial. Besides performing the Italian composer’s Ave Maria, volgarizzata da Dante with string quartet (June 27), Meade will headline a semi-staged performance of Les vêpres siciliennes in the original French, with Will Crutchfield and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s (July 6).

Angela “ruled the stage as Norma” at Washington National Opera

In March Angela enjoyed a runaway success in her first full staging of the opera Norma at Washington National Opera, where she “thrilled WNO devotees with her nearly mind-blowing mastery of Bellini’s most challenging music” (Washington Times). “Of the four Normas I’ve heard live in the last ten years, Angela Meade is by far the best,” declared Anne Midgette in the Washington Post. The Associated Press agreed, finding that even in “perhaps the most daunting role in the bel canto repertoire,” Meade’s “vocal range and technique [were] awesome, especially when she’s spinning out a ravishing high note.” DC Theatre Scene noted, “People in the opera world travel miles to hear a voice like Angela Meade’s. … Spectacular,” while the Baltimore Sun stated, “Meade was clearly born to sing the role of the Druid priestess.” The Huffington Post concluded, “Angela Meade ruled the stage as Norma. … It’s no wonder she’s often compared to those iconic divas, Sutherland and Caballé, who excelled at bel canto.”

Angela Headlines Her First Staged Norma in Washington National Opera’s New Production (March 9–24)

Following her sold-out recital debut at Washington’s Kennedy Center last November, Angela Meade returns to the venue to headline her first fully-staged Norma in a new Washington National Opera production from Anne Bogart (March 9–24). In concert, the young soprano has already been hailed as “a brilliant new interpreter of Norma” (New York Post), whose “stunning Norma was the big news” (New York Times) of the 2010 Caramoor International Music Festival. For her return to Caramoor this summer, Meade – a “true Verdian spinto” (Opera News) – graces Verdi’s Les vêpres siciliennes, while his I Lombardi is the vehicle for her upcoming Lincoln Center performance with the Opera Orchestra of New York (April 8). Appearances as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at Cincinnati Opera (June 13 & 15) and as soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Pittsburgh Symphony under Manfred Honeck (April 26–28) round out the soprano’s spring and early summer line-up.

Angela steps in for Patricia Racette at the Met for January 12 radio broadcast of “Il Trovatore”

Angela will sing the role of Leonora in the January 12 matinee of Verdi’s Il Trovatore, replacing Patricia Racette, who is ill.  The performance will be broadcast worldwide over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera Radio Network and it is Angela’s first staged production of Il Trovatore. As scheduled, Angela will also sing the role on Wednesday, January 16.