Angela to perform benefit concert at Centralia College this December

On December 22, Angela returns to her alma mater, Centralia College, for a special benefit concert honoring her late mother, Deborah. Net proceeds of the program, a family-friendly selection of beloved opera arias and holiday songs, will benefit music scholarships at the college. A native of Centralia, Washington, Angela first discovered her love of opera while taking music classes at Centralia College. To learn more about the concert and to make a donation, click here.

Angela steps in to perform Verdi’s Requiem with Philadelphia Orchestra

This past Sunday, October 21, Angela was called in to perform Verdi’s Requiem on less than 24 hours notice with the Philadelphia Orchestra, replacing soprano Marina Poplavskaya, who was suffering from severe allergies. The occasion marked the orchestra’s first subscription concerts with its new music director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin.  Angela made her Philadelphia Orchestra debut this past summer with Nézet-Séguin at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in an “Italian Opera Night” of arias and duets. She continues her season of debuts with an already sold out recital at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC on November 10, presented by the Washington National Opera.

Angela ushers in new season with triumphant debut at Vienna State Opera

Angela kicked off the new season with a critically acclaimed debut at the Vienna State Opera as Elena in I Vespri Siciliani, which the Kronen Zeitung called “high-voltage Verdi.” In its review of the performance the Kurier exclaimed, “Angela Meade portrays the Duchess Elena with her generously endowed soprano, including elegant coloratura and a remarkable range in a memorable house debut” and the Die Presse stated, “She encompassed with astonishing mastery the extreme vocal range of the role, with the required breadth of both lyrical and dramatic coloratura.”

The day after her final performance in Vienna, Angela participated in a panel discussion entitled “Vocal Competitions: Strategy and Presentation” at Opera America’s National Opera Center in Manhattan. This panel marked the first public event at the new center. Next month, Angela brings the role of Donna Anna to life in Mozart’s Don Giovanni at LA Opera.

Angela’s 2012-13 season: her first staged Norma, Met Trovatore, and more

Critically acclaimed and adored by fans, Angela, winner of the 2011 Richard Tucker Award and the 2012 Beverly Sills Award from the Metropolitan Opera, has a number of notable “firsts” during the 2012-13 season. Her talent will be on full display this year in a variety of roles that have critics calling her “the next great Verdian soprano.” First she will be seen as Elena in I vespri siciliani (Sept 9 – 18) in her house debut at the Vienna Staatsoper followed by her first staged Il Trovatore at the Metropolitan Opera (Jan 16) as Leonora. In March, Angela will sing her first staged Norma (March 9 – 24) at the Washington National Opera under the direction of the illustrious Anne Bogart. Her season is rounded out by more exciting engagements at LA Opera, Cincinnati Opera, and with the Collegiate Chorale. Click here for more information on Angela’s thrilling 2012-13 season.

Opera News names Angela part of Opera’s “Next Wave”

Angela has been chosen as one of twenty six rising stars of opera in a special 24-page spread titled “Opera’s Next Wave” in August’s issue of Opera News.  In describing her voice, Opera News writes, “There’s no question that [Angela Meade] has a voice to be reckoned with: it’s beautiful, it’s sizable, and it moves.” The August issue of Opera News is currently available to subscribers and at the Met Opera Shop.

Angela can next be seen this August when she makes her Blossom Music Festival debut on August 5.

Angela’s Star Turn in Ernani to be Broadcast on PBS

In February of this year, Angela made her first star turn at the Met playing Elvira in Verdi’s Ernani and garnered rave reviews. Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times praised her “plush and penetrating” voice, and Ronald Blum of the Associated Press said “her cavatina, ‘Ernani, Ernani, involami (Ernani, Ernani, save me)’ was among the moments of the Met season.” Those who missed the performance live now have another chance to see Angela on June 17, when PBS airs a full broadcast of the opera. Watch a clip from the upcoming broadcast here.

Angela’s Successful German Debut in I Due Foscari

Earlier this month, Angela made a supremely successful role debut in Verdi’s early opera I Due Foscari, singing the role of Lucrezia Contarini at Berlin’s Deutsche Oper. Audiences and critics alike loved Angela’s performance, with Horst Rodiger praising her “dramatic middle range, with the astonishing head voice of a coloratura soprano, one that has earned her not only the enthusiasm of the audience but also the gallant admiration of her colleagues.” Musical America was similarly effusive, noting her “warm, powerful tone, sensitive dynamic shading and velvety legato that did justice to the emotional range of Verdi’s deceptively simple melodies.”

Angela’s Summer of Debuts

Starting this month and continuing throughout the summer, Angela will be making high-profile debuts in opera houses and festivals around the US and Europe. On May 9, she sings her first Lucrezia Contarini, the female lead in Verdi’s I due Foscari, debuting with Deutsche Oper Berlin in the company’s premiere presentation of the opera.

In August, Angela makes a trio of major U.S. music festival debuts in Cleveland, Ohio; Saratoga, New York; and Aspen, Colorado. First, on August 5, is the Blossom Music Festival‘s “Night at the Opera” — an evening celebrating beloved arias by Verdi, Puccini, and Donizetti — with tenor Michael Fabiano, the Cleveland Orchestra and conductor Johannes Debus. On August 9, Meade debuts at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center under conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin with an “Italian Opera Night” that features fellow AVA alumnus Bryan Hymal. The program consists of arias and duets by Rossini, Donizetti, Puccini, Verdi, Mascagni, and Cilea, and is crowned by the final duet from Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta. And finally, on August 19, Angela makes her debut at the Aspen Music Festival as a soloist in Mahler’s Symphony no. 8 (“Symphony of a Thousand”) under conductor Robert Spano.

See Angela on the Cover of This Month’s Classical Singer

Angela graces the March 2012 cover of Classical Singer magazine, available at the Met Opera Shop and online at http://www.classicalsinger.com. In the cover story, written by Daniel Vasquez, Angela details her triumph at the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, as well as the trajectory of her career since that momentous win.

Angela Makes Her BOCA Debut with “Opera Goes to the Movies”