The term Gentile (from Latin gentilis, by the French "gentil", female: "gentille", meaning of or belonging to a clan or tribe) is used by English translators for the Hebrew, גוי (goy) and נכרי (nokhri) in the Hebrew Bible and the Greek word ἔθνη (éthnē) in the New Testament.

The term gentiles is derived from Latin, used for contextual translation, and not an original Hebrew or Greek word from the Bible. The original words Goy and Ethnos refer to "peoples" or "nations". Latin and later English translators selectively used the term gentiles when the context for the base term "peoples" or "nations" referred to non-Israelite peoples or nations in English translations of the Bible.

Following Christianization of the Roman Empire, the general implication of the word gentile became "non-Jew".

Latin etymology[link]

Gentile derives from Latin gens (from which, together with forms of the cognate Greek word genos, also derive gene, general, genus and genesis). The original meaning of "clan" or "family" was extended in post-Augustan Latin to acquire the wider meaning of belonging to a distinct nation or ethnicity. Later still the word came to refer to other nations, 'not a Roman citizen'. After the Christianization of the empire it could also be used of pagan or barbarian cultures.

In the Bible[link]

In Saint Jerome's Latin version of the Bible, the Vulgate, gentilis was used in this wider sense, along with gentes, to translate Greek and Hebrew words with similar meanings when the text referred to the non-Hebrew peoples.

The most important of such Hebrew words was goyim (singular, goy), a term with the broad meaning of "peoples" or "nations" which was sometimes used to refer to Israelites, but most commonly as a generic label for peoples. Strong's Concordance defines goy as "nation, people, usually of non-Hebrew people, or of descendants of Abraham, or of Israel, or of a swarm of locusts or other animals (fig.) Goyim = 'nations'." Strongs #1471^[1]

In the King James Version, Gentile is only one of several words used to translate goy or goyim. It is translated as "nation" 374 times, "heathen" 143 times, "Gentiles" 30 times, and "people" 11 times. Some of these verses, such as Genesis 12:2 ("I will make of thee a great nation") and Genesis 25:23 ("Two nations are in thy womb") refer to Israelites or descendants of Abraham. Other verses, such as Isaiah 2:4 and Deuteronomy 11:23 are generic references to any nation. Typically the KJV restricts the translation to "Gentile" when the text is specifically referring to non-Hebrew people. For example, the only use of the word in Genesis is in chapter 10, verse 5, referring to the peopling of the world by descendants of Japheth, "By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations."^[2]

In the New Testament, the Greek word "ethnos" is used for peoples or nations in general, and is typically translated by the word "people", as in John 11:50 ("Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not."). The translation "gentiles" is used in some instances, as in Matthew 10:5–6 to indicate non-Israelite peoples:

These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.^[3]

In that instance, Gentiles becomes a reference to pagan cultures of the period.

Altogether, the word is used 123 times in the King James Version of the Bible,^[4] and 168 times in the New Revised Standard Version.^[5]

Early Christianity[link]

The Greek ethnos where translated as Gentile in the context of Early Christianity implied non-Israelite. There was a question among the disciples whether receiving the Holy Spirit through proselytization would be restricted to Israelites or whether it would include the gentiles (the Greco-Roman population of the Roman Empire), as in Acts 10:34–47:

And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?"^[6]

Attached to this question was the circumcision controversy in early Christianity, i.e., does a Gentile need to follow all of the Mosaic Laws. The position of the Judaizers was that this was a necessity for salvation, taking Christianity to remain fully within Judaism, including obedience to the Torah Laws. Paul of Tarsus who argued against the Judaizers, on the point that circumcision was necessary for salvation. The Council of Jerusalem decided to give the new converts four things that had to do in order to be able to assemble at the Synagogues every Sabbath to hear Moses read, (Acts 15:1-29). This was done with the understanding that those new believers would go to the Synagogues to hear the Law read every Sabbath and would conform to God's Law after hearing it read to them every Sabbath. This was called the Apostolic Decree (Acts 15:19–29), which may parallel Jewish Noahide Law.

Modern usage[link]

As in the King James Bible, from the 17th century onward Gentile was most commonly used to refer to non-Jews. This was in the context of European Christian societies with a Jewish minority. For this reason Gentile commonly meant persons brought up in the Christian faith, as opposed to the adherents of Judaism, and was not typically used to refer to non-Jews in non-Western cultures.

LDS Church usage[link]

In the terminology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ("LDS Church"; see also Mormon) the word Gentile takes on different meanings in different contexts which may confuse some and alienate others. Members of the LDS church regard themselves as regathered Israelites, and so sometimes use the word Gentile to refer to all non-members. According to John L. Needham of Utah State University, "Mormons in the American West applied gentile, as an adjective as much as a slur, to nearly everyone and everything that did not adhere to their faith or desert kingdom." Because they had suffered persecution, the word gentile was "a call to circle the wagons socially and politically around the fold".^[7] In such usage Jews may be colloquially referred to as "Gentiles" because they are not members of the LDS Church. However, the traditional meaning is also to be found in the introduction to the Book of Mormon, in the statement that it is written to both "Jew" (literal descendants of the House of Israel) and "Gentile" (those not descended from the House of Israel or those of the tribe of Ephraim scattered among the "Gentiles" throughout the earth). Needham writes that Mormons have "outgrown the term."^[7]

In order to avoid confrontation and pejorative connotations, Latter-day Saints in the 21st century avoid using the word Gentile in everyday matters, preferring "non-member". Gentile is usually reserved for discussions of scriptural passages.

British Israelism[link]

In British Israelism, which claims that the Anglo-Saxon nations are direct descendants of the lost tribes of ancient Israel, the word gentiles is used to refer to all nations which are non-Jewish. Some schools of British Israelism consider that most nations of western and Northern Europe are tribes of Israel.^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Look up gentile in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Jewish Encyclopedia: Gentile
• Catholic Encyclopedia: Gentiles

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2010)

Claudio Gentile

120px
Personal information
Date of birth	(1953-09-27) 27 September 1953 (age 58)
Place of birth	Tripoli[1], Kingdom of Libya
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Central Defender, Full back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1971–1972	Arona	34	(4)
1972–1973	Varese	34	(1)
1973–1984	Juventus	283	(9)
1984–1987	Fiorentina	70	(0)
1987–1988	Piacenza	20	(0)
Total		441	(14)
National team
1975–1984	Italy	71	(1)
Teams managed
2000–2006	Italy U-21
Honours Competitor for  Italy Men's Football Bronze 2004 Athens Team Competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Claudio Gentile (Italian pronunciation: [ˈklaudjo dʒenˈtile]; born in Libya, 27 September 1953^[2]) is an Italian football coach and former defender of the 1970s and 1980s. Gentile appeared for Italy in two World Cup tournaments, including playing in the winning Italian team in the 1982 final. His club career was notably spent with Juventus for whom he made almost 300 league appearances, winning six national titles and two major European trophies.

Club career[link]

In 1972–73 he played in Serie B with Varese.^[2]

He then moved to Juventus and first played for them in a Coppa Italia match against Ascoli Calcio on 29 August 1973, with his Serie A debut following on 2 December 1973 against Verona.^[1] In all he played 414 senior matches for Juventus, including 283 in Serie A.^[1] In over a decade in Turin, Gentile won two major European club competitions (1976-77 UEFA Cup and 1983–84 European Cup Winners' Cup), six Serie A championships, and two Coppa Italias.^[2]

In 1984 he moved to Fiorentina where he spent three further years in Serie A, and he then played a final season in Serie B with Piacenza before retiring.^[2]

International career[link]

Gentile was capped on 71 occasions by Italy between 1975 and 1984.^[3]

He man-marked Diego Maradona in a match at the 1982 World Cup, after which he famously quipped, "Football is not for ballerinas!"^[4]

Coach[link]

Gentile later coached the Italy national under-21 football team which won the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship,^[5] and the under-23 team which won a bronze at the Athens Olympic Football 2004.

Playing honours[link]

• FIFA World Cup: 1982
• UEFA Cup: 1976–77
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1983–84
• Serie A: 1974–75, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1983–84
• Coppa Italia: 1978–79, 1982–83

References[link]

External links[link]

• Interview at FIFA.com

Claudio Gentile international tournaments v t e Italy squad – 1978 FIFA World Cup Fourth Place 1 Zoff (c) 2 Bellugi 3 Cabrini 4 Cuccureddu 5 Gentile 6 Maldera 7 Manfredonia 8 Scirea 9 Antognoni 10 Benetti 11 Pecci 12 Conti 13 P. Sala 14 Tardelli 15 Zaccarelli 16 Causio 17 C. Sala 18 Bettega 19 Graziani 20 Pulici 21 Rossi 22 Bordon Coach: Bearzot v t e Italy squad – UEFA Euro 1980 Fourth Place 1 Zoff (c) 2 F. Baresi 3 G. Baresi 4 Bellugi 5 Cabrini 6 Collovati 7 Gentile 8 Maldera 9 Scirea 10 Antognoni 11 Benetti 12 Bordon 13 Buriani 14 Oriali 15 Tardelli 16 Zaccarelli 17 Altobelli 18 Bettega 19 Causio 20 Graziani 21 Pruzzo 22 Galli Coach: Bearzot v t e Italy squad – 1982 FIFA World Cup Winners (3rd Title) 1 Zoff (c) 2 Baresi 3 Bergomi 4 Cabrini 5 Collovati 6 Gentile 7 Scirea 8 Vierchowod 9 Antognoni 10 Dossena 11 Marini 12 Bordon 13 Oriali 14 Tardelli 15 Causio 16 Conti 17 Massaro 18 Altobelli 19 Graziani 20 Rossi 21 Selvaggi 22 Galli Coach: Bearzot v t e Italy squad – 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 1 Rossi 2 Bonera 3 Bellini 4 Ferrari 5 Cannavaro 6 Donati 7 Marchionni 8 Brighi 9 Maccarone 10 Pirlo 11 Bonazzoli 12 Spadavecchia 13 Castellini 14 Dainelli 15 Lucchini 16 Natali 17 Blasi 18 Gatti 19 Pinzi 20 Caracciolo 21 Iaquinta 22 Pelizzoli Coach: Gentile v t e Italy squad – 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Winners (5th Title) 1 Amelia 2 Zaccardo 3 Moretti 4 Gamberini 5 Bonera 6 De Rossi 7 Pinzi 8 Palombo 9 Gilardino 10 Brighi 11 Sculli 12 Agliardi 13 Barzagli 14 Bovo 15 Donadel 16 Potenza 17 Mesto 18 Rosina 19 Del Nero 20 Caracciolo 21 D'Agostino 22 Zotti Coach: Gentile v t e Italy squad – 2004 Olympic Bronze Medalists 1 Amelia 2 Chiellini 3 Moretti 4 Ferrari 5 Bonera 6 De Rossi 7 Pinzi 8 Palombo 9 Gilardino 10 Pirlo 11 Sculli 12 Gasbarroni 13 Barzagli 14 Bovo 15 Donadel 16 Del Nero 17 Mesto 18 Pelizzoli Coach: Gentile

Colonel Gian P. Gentile is a US army officer and a history professor at the United States Military Academy.

Gentile is a prominent critic of the US military's approach to counterinsurgency.^[1][2][3] He believes that the surge was not the primary cause of the post-2006 reduction in violence in Iraq, and effective counterinsurgency tactics were practiced by American troops in Iraq from 2003 on, rather than being introduced in 2006-7.^[1][3][4] He further argues that the US military is now concentrating excessively on counterinsurgency, to the detriment of its capacity to fight conventional wars.^[2] Following Andrew Bacevich, he believes that the prominence of counterinsurgency has led to an unrealistic view of the American military's power and capacity to change the world.^[1]

Gentile graduated from UC-Berkeley, where he joined the ROTC, in 1986.^[2][5] In 2000, he completed a PhD in history at Stanford University.^[5] He served two tours in Iraq, first as the executive officer of a combat brigade in Tikrit in 2003 and then as the commander of the RSTA Squadron, 8-10 Cavalry, in a restive area of southwest Baghdad in 2006.^[2]

Gentile has also written on air power: in 2001 NYU Press published his book How Effective is Strategic Bombing?,^[6] which challenged the conclusions of the Strategic Bombing Survey.^[7] Reflecting on Gentile’s work, the book review editor for The Journal of Conflict Studies wrote that “strategic bombing seems to have adapted itself nicely to the exigencies of democratic government; providing a way of waging limited war at arm's length, minimizing casualties on both sides of the conflict, and satisfying both domestic population and politician” but that “it is left to Gian Gentile… to pose the question US policy-makers should be asking: How effective is strategic bombing?”^[8] The reviewer opined that “Gentile's answers are fresh because he... show(s) the reader that the question has rarely been answered honestly or even, in some cases, competently” and echoed Gentile’s central point that “the US Air Force among others has frequently, and sometimes purposely, failed to distinguish between the effects of strategic bombing and its effectiveness,” emphasizing that the “effects, physically observed and measured, are relatively easy to see and to report--and impress the public with,” but that “the effectiveness of same is wide open for debate.”^[9]

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Gentile's page at the United States Military Academy website

Sumi Jo
Sumi Jo, 2010
Korean name
Hangul	조수미
Hanja	曺秀美
Revised Romanization	Jo Sumi
McCune–Reischauer	Cho Sumi
Birth name
Hangul	조수경
Revised Romanization	Jo Sugyeong
McCune–Reischauer	Cho Sukyong

Sumi Jo (born (1962-11-22) November 22, 1962 (age 49)) is a Grammy Award winning South Korean lyric coloratura soprano known for her interpretations of the bel canto repertoire.^[1][2]

Early life and education[link]

Jo was born Jo Su-gyeong in Seoul, South Korea. Her mother was an amateur singer and pianist who had been unable to pursue her own professional music studies due to the political situation in Korea during the 1950s. Determined to provide her daughter with opportunities she never had, Jo's mother enrolled her in piano lessons at the age of 4 and later voice lessons at the age of 6. As a child, Jo would often spend up to eight hours a day studying music.^[3] In 1976, Jo entered the Sun Hwa Arts School from which she graduated in 1980 with diplomas in voice and piano.^[4] She continued her music studies at Seoul National University from 1981–1983. While studying at SNU, Jo made her professional recital debut, appeared in several concerts with the Korean Broadcasting System, and made her professional operatic debut as Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro with Seoul Opera.^[1] In 1983 Jo decided to leave SNU in order to study music in Italy at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Among her teachers there were Carlo Bergonzi and Giannella Borelli. While Jo studied in Italy, she was frequently heard in concert in Italian cities and also on national radio broadcasts and telecasts. It was during this time when Jo decided to use 'Sumi' as her stage name in order to make her name more friendly to European language speakers who often found it difficult to pronounce Su-gyeong. She graduated in 1985 with a concentration in keyboard as well as voice. Following graduation, Jo began to study voice with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf^[3] and won several international competitions in Seoul, Naples, Enna, Barcelona, and Pretoria. In August 1986, she was unanimously awarded first prize in the Carlo Alberto Cappelli International Competition in Verona, one of the world's most important contests, open only to first-prize winners of other major competitions.^[5]

Career[link]

Sumi Jo, 1998

In 1986, Jo made her European operatic debut as Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto at the Teatro Comunale Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste. This debut performance attracted the attention of Herbert von Karajan, who proceeded to cast her as Oscar in Un ballo in maschera opposite Plácido Domingo at the Salzburg Festival in 1989.^[6] Due to the death of Karajan during the rehearsals of this planned performance, Jo actually never had the opportunity to sing on stage under the baton of Karajan (Georg Solti conducted the performance) though early that year she had sung in the studio recording of the work for Deutsche Grammophon^[7] In 1988, Jo made her La Scala debut as Thetis in Jommelli's Fetonte.^[8] That same year she also made her debut with the Bavarian State Opera and sang Barbarina in The Marriage of Figaro at the Salzburg Festival. In 1989, Jo made her debut with the Vienna State Opera and returned to the Salzburg Festival to sing Oscar in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera. That same year, she made her debut with the Metropolitan Opera, once again portraying Gilda in Rigoletto. Jo would later reprise this role numerous times with the Met over the next fifteen years.^[9]

In 1990, Jo made her debut with the Chicago Lyric Opera as the Queen of the Night in Mozart's The Magic Flute.^[10] The following year, she returned to the Metropolitan Opera for another performance as Oscar in Un ballo in maschera and made her Royal Opera at Covent Garden debut as Olympia in The Tales of Hoffmann.^[9] She returned to Covent Garden the next year to sing both Adina in L'elisir d'amore and Elvira in I puritani.

In 1993, Jo appeared in the title role of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor with the Metropolitan Opera and sang the role of the Queen of the Night at both the Salzburg Festival and Covent Garden.^[9] The following year she made her debut with Los Angeles Opera as Sophie in Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier.^[6] In 1995 she sang the role of Countess Adèle in Le comte Ory at the Aix-en-Provence Festival.

Over the next decade Jo maintained a busy schedule, singing Lucia in Strasbourg, Barcelona, Berlin, and Paris; La sonnambula in Brussels and Santiago, Chile; I Capuleti e i Montecchi with Minnesota Opera; Olympia in New York; Rosina in New York; the Queen of the Night in Los Angeles; Gilda in Bilbao, Oviedo, Bologna, Trieste, and Detroit among others; Il turco in Italia in Spain; L'enfant et les sortilèges in Boston and Pittsburgh; Le comte Ory in Rome; and Dinorah in New York. She also appeared in performances at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Opéra National de Paris, Washington Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opera Australia, and the Teatro Colón.

In addition, she appeared with numerous symphony orchestras in concert, including the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra,^[11] the Cincinnati Pops, the Orchestra of St. Luke's, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra,^[12] the Vienna Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra among others. Her work led her to sing under such conductors as Sir Georg Solti, Zubin Mehta, Lorin Maazel, James Levine, Kent Nagano, and Richard Bonynge. She also gave recitals throughout Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia.^[13]

In 2007, Jo performed her first Violetta in La traviata with the Toulon Opera and in the 2008/2009 season she was scheduled to perform the role of Zerline in Fra Diavolo at both the Opera Comique and Opéra Royal de Wallonie.^[1]

In 2011 Sumi Jo provided the voice of 'Veda Pierce' in the HBO miniseries 'Mildred Pierce'.

Recordings[link]

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Sumi Jo currently has 50 recordings to her credit, including ten solo albums for Erato, French division of Warner Classic. These recordings include complete operas, oratorio, operetta, orchestral works and Broadway standards. Notable recordings include Grammy Award winning Die Frau ohne Schatten with Sir Georg Solti for the London/Decca label and Un ballo in maschera for Deutsche Grammophon under Herbert von Karajan.^[11]

She provided a vocalise for the soundtrack of the 1999 film The Ninth Gate, composed by Wojciech Kilar. The main theme of this film is based on a piece by Camille Saint-Saëns.

Sumi Jo recorded a cover version of the title song of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 2010 musical Love Never Dies.

Several of Sumi Jo's recordings were used as the character Veda's singing voice in the 2011 HBO miniseries version of Mildred Pierce. She also recorded new tracks specifically for the film, including the "Bridal Chorus" from Wagner's Lohengrin and the popular standard "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows."^[14]

Her recording of R. Strauss: Ariadne Auf Naxos, Etc. Virgin Classics (1997) is the first recording of 1912 original version of R. Strauss. Sumi hit the F#6 of Zerbinetta^[15][16]

<International Albums>

• Sumi Jo The Erato Recitals (10 CDs) Erato (January 31, 2012)
• Libera Decca (2011)
• Ich Liebe Dich Decca (August 17, 2010)
• Missing You Decca (August 10, 2010)
• The Sumi Jo Collection Warner Bros UK (January 18, 2010)
• Best Of Sumi Jo Decca (February 4, 2009)
• Baroque Journey Erato (November 13, 2007)
• The Christmas Album Erato (September 18, 2001)
• Prayers Erato (March 20, 2001)
• Only Love Erato (April 11, 2000)
• A Tribute to Johann Strauss ~ Echoes from Vienna Erato (November 9, 1999)
• Les Bijoux / French Arias Erato (August 3, 1999)
• La Promessa: Italian Songs Erato (September 15, 1998)
• Art of Sumi Jo Decca (August 11, 1998)
• Adam - Le Toréador Decca (March 17, 1998)
• Bel Canto Erato (September 16, 1997)
• Sumi Jo Sings Mozart (October 1, 1996)
• Auber - Le Domino Noir (2 CDs) Decca (April 9, 1996)
• Virtuoso Arias Erato (February 7, 1995)
• Carnaval! French Coloratura Arias Decca (November 15, 1994)

<Albums of Various Artists>

• Kenny G 'Rhythm & Romance'

Featuring with Sumi Jo - Mirame Bailar 

• MBC epic drama "Ju-mong" O.S.T.(2006)

Sumi Jo - A Memory of Love

• The #1 Soprano Album (2 CDs)Decca (April 9, 2002)

Sumi Jo - Die Zauberflöte / Act 2 - "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen"

• KBS drama "The Lost Empire" O.S.T. (2CDs) Doremi, Korea (2001.12.03)

Sumi Jo - If I Leave

• DIVA: 30 Great Prima Donnas (2 CDs) Teldec (2001)

Sumi Jo - Faust, Act II: L'air Des Bijoux 

• Jewel Song: 20 Great Soprano Arias (2 CDs) Decca (2000)

Sumi Jo - Die Zauberflöte / Act 2 - "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen"

• MBC drama "Hu-jun" O.S.T.(1999)

Sumi Jo - Elegy of Separation (Bulinbeolgok)

• R. Strauss: Ariadne Auf Naxos, Etc. Virgin Classics (1997)

Sumi Jo - Zerbinetta[15]
       

<Albums in Korea>

• Sumi Jo the 25th Debut Anniversary Memorial Album (10 CDs) Erato (2011) (It is same as The Erato Recitals 10 CDs) [16]
• the 21st Debut Anniversary Memorial Album

 Sumi Jo 101: Favorite Crossover and Classics (6CDs) Warner Music (2007)

• the 20th Anniversary Special Edition

 With Love: Best 20 Songs of Sumi Jo (2 CDs) Warner Music Korea (2006)

• DVD "Sumi Jo in Paris - For my Father" (2006)^[17]
• My Story (2 CDs) Erato/Warner Music Korea (2002)

This album included a vocal version of "Love is just a Dream," whose non-vocal verson was in MBC drama "Hotelier" O.S.T. (2001).

Awards and honors[link]

• 2008 – Sumi Jo received the international Puccini Award
• 2008 – Sumi Jo sang at the International Olympic Games in Beijing^[18]
• 2006 Winner of the Proud Korean Award for Culture and Art
• 2005 7th Winner of KwanAk Award by Alumni Association of Seoul National University
• 2003 – Sumi Jo was elected as an "Artist for Peace" of UNESCO^[12]
• 2002 – Sumi Jo sang at the World Cup in Seoul, Korea^[19]
• 2002 18th Woman of the Year by Korea Women Committee
• 1997 Best Vocal Album by French Cultural Critics
• 1997 Winner of 5th KBS Overseas Korean Award
• 1996 Winner of 1st Korean-Chinese Youth Academic Award
• 1996 The Best Selling Album of the Year award by British Classic
• 1995 Decorated with the Order of Culture Merit, South Korea
• 1995 Grand prize winner of Women Dong-a by Dong-a Daily News, Seoul, South Korea
• 1994 Winner of Best Soprano, Chile
• 1994 Winner of Kim SuGeun Award for Performing Art, Seoul, South Korea
• 1993 Winner of La Siola d'Oro, Forli, Italy
• 1993 Winner of Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording (conducted by sir. Solti, Deca label)
• 1992 Winner of Hong Nanpa Memorial Award
• August 1986 First prize in the Carlo Alberto Cappelli International Competition at Verona
• October 1986 Graduated with honors from the Santa Cecilia Conservatory
• 1986 Winner of Pretoria International Music Competitions, South Africa
• 1986 Winner of 'Francisco Viñas' International Singing Competition,Barcelona, Spain
• 1985 Winner of Viotti International Music Competition (Concorso Internazionale di Musica Viotti), Italy
• 1985 Winner of Sicily Enna International Musical Competition, Italy
• 1985 Winner of Napoli Zonta International Competition, Italy
• 1985 Winner of Viotti International Music Competition, Trieste, Italy (Concorso Internazionale di Musica Viotti)

Personal life[link]

Sumi Jo is the first cousin once removed of Korean actor Yoo Gun (also spelled Yoo Geon). Yoo Gun is the son of one of Sumi's first cousins.^[20]

Sumi Jo is an advocate for animal rights and one of only five Asian celebrities to make People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Asia-Pacific's (PETA) first-ever Best-Dressed 2008 list.^[21]

Her father had died just before she performed Ave Maria at Chatelet, Paris. When she learned that her father died, she wanted to pack up and attend her father's funeral. Her mother reminded her of the promise with her audiences, and said that it was best for her father that she performed and dedicated it to her father.Her performance was dedicated to her father and released as a DVD titled "Sumi Jo in Paris - For my Father"^[22]

Her grandma had a superstition if Sumi knocks something, any bad fortune would go away. Although Sumi's family lived in a rented property, her parents bought a piano for her to play.^[23]

Her mother trained Sumi strictly. Sumi recalled even when her mother went out; she locked the door outside so that Sumi couldn't play hooky.^[24]

In a Korean talk show, "Golden Fishery: Knee-drop Guru," she recalled that the first two years of Seoul National University was the most unique time of her life. She had not studied and felt in love for the first time. In the interview, she said that she could not even afford to buy a ticket to Italy, but there was an unexpected income to her family later. She had only $300 when she went to Italy to pursue further music study.

In an interview with a Korean newspaper, she said if she had the second life, she would like to have an ordinary woman's life as a wife of a man.

She marked the highest score in the history of Seoul National University (SNU) entrance exam, for her vocal performance.

She fainted on the street when she studied in Italy, and later was diagnosed with anemia. She slept only 4 hours to study Italian language and music, and also to tutor to earn money to keep studying in Italy.

She had studied music with a scholarship in Seonwha Arts Junior-High School and Seonwha Arts High School for six years.

She has been claimed as "a voice from above" by Maestro Herbert von Karajan.^[25]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Sumi Jo at Allmusic
• Sumi Jo at the Internet Movie Database

Angela Gheorghiu (Romanian pronunciation: [anˈd͡ʒela ɡe̯orˈɡi.u] ( listen); born Angela Burlacu September 7, 1965) ^[1] is a Romanian soprano. Since her professional debut in 1990, she has performed in the leading roles of several operas at New York's Metropolitan Opera, London's Royal Opera House, the Vienna State Opera, Milan's La Scala, and many other opera houses in Europe and the United States. She has a substantial discography primarily with EMI Classics and Decca.

Angela Gheorghiu, March 2012

Biography[link]

Gheorghiu was born in 1965 in Adjud, Romania. Along with her sister Elena Dan, she sang opera music from an early age.^[2] At age 14, Gheorghiu began to study singing at the National University of Music Bucharest, primarily under Mia Barbu. Her graduation in 1990 coincided with the overthrow and execution of Nicolae Ceaușescu the previous year, enabling her to seek an international career immediately. Her professional opera debut took place at the Cluj-Napoca Romanian National Opera as Mimì in La bohème in 1990, the same year she won the Belvedere International Competition.^[3]

Gheorghiu made her international debut in 1992 at the Royal Opera House as Zerlina in Don Giovanni.^[4] She debuted at the Vienna State Opera as Adina in L'elisir d'amore and at the Metropolitan Opera as Mimì in La bohème.^[5] In 1994, she was auditioned by the conductor Sir Georg Solti for a new production of La traviata at the Royal Opera House. Her debut as Violetta led her to international stardom.

Gheorghiu has concentrated her repertoire on several different roles: Violetta, Mimì, Magda, Adina, and Juliette. In 2003, she debuted as Nedda in Pagliacci and as Marguerite in Faust. A soprano with a large range and a dark coloured voice,^[6] Gheorghiu is also able to sing spinto roles. She has recorded Tosca (also made into a film in 2001, directed by the French director Benoît Jacquot) and Leonora in Il trovatore for EMI and sang in her first Tosca at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 2006. Her performance was an overall success, although because the famous Zeffirelli production of 1964 was replaced by a new production (which premiered with her), there was comparison between the Toscas of Gheorghiu and Maria Callas, for whom the Zeffirelli production was designed.

Gheorghiu took part in many concerts, singing alone or together with her colleagues. Among the most important ones, the reopening of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden (1999) and Teatro Malibran in Venice (2001) and at the opening the new Opera House in Valencia, in the presence of the Queen Sofia of Spain (2005). She sang at the "Prom at the Palace" (2002), the event that marked the Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, a concert that is available on DVD. She also sung at the Queen Beatrix's Jubilee Gala in Amsterdam (2005), at the New Year's Eve Concert at Palais Garnier in Paris (2006), at the "Met Summer Concert" in Prospect Park, New York (2008) or at the Memorial Concert for Luciano Pavarotti in Petra (2008). In 2009, Gheorghiu was invited to honor Grace Bumbry during the 32nd Annual Kennedy Center Honors, in Washington, DC. She performed "Vissi d'arte" from Puccini's Tosca in the presence of Barack Obama, the president of the United States.^[7]

In December 2000, Gheorghiu performed the title role in the film Tosca, directed by Benoit Jacquot, together with Roberto Alagna and Ruggero Raimondi.^[8] One year later, in 2002, Gheorghiu interpreted Juliette in the movie Roméo et Juliette, alongside Roberto Alagna and Tito Beltrán, also released on DVD.^[9]

In November 2010 Gheorghiu made her debut in Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur, a new production of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The Observer wrote: "It's hard to imagine anyone bettering Angela Gheorghiu in this part. Her voice, feather-light and creamy yet with a core of steel, matches the liquid way she moves on stage. She's a natural actress and made the improbable death scene heartbreakingly believable and her signature aria "Poveri fiori" simply unforgettable."^[10] The Telegraph wrote: "Adriana is known as a nice, easy sing for ageing or challenged prima donnas (no difficult top notes, and a tame orchestra), so Gheorghiu, in her vocal prime, should have found it a doddle. But her first aria was bumpy and nervous, and she fudged the end of the second. Elsewhere, in duet and declamation, she often sang exquisitely."^[11]

In July 2011 Gheorghiu sang the title role in Tosca at the Royal Opera House conducted by Antonio Pappano, and the following September returned there for the revival of Faust, which was broadcast live in cinemas all over the world. In April 2012, she appeared for the first time at the Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires, in a concert of duets with Roberto Alagna.^[12]

Awards and honors[link]

She has recorded many recital albums and complete opera recordings and often appears on television and in concerts. The EMI recording of Massenet's Manon with Gheorghiu in the title role won the 2001 Gramophone Award for "Best Opera Recording", was nominated for "Best Opera Recording" in the 2002 Grammy Awards.^[13][14] The EMI recording of Puccini's Tosca with Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna and Ruggero Raimondi in the title roles brought her the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis award in 2002.^[15] She also won Diapason d'Or Awards, Choc du Monde de la Musique in France, Cecilia Prize in Belgium, the Echo Award, the Italian Musica e dischi, Foreign Lyric Production Award, the USA Critics' Award. Gheorghiu won the title of Female Artist of the Year at the Classic Brit Awards in 2001 and 2010.^[16] She was honoured with "La Medaille Vermeille de la Ville de Paris" and she was appointed an Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture and by her native country Romania.^{[citation needed]} In December 2010, Gheorghiu was awarded a Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Arts in Iasi (Romania)^[17] and the Star of Romania, the highest decoration given by the President of Romania.^[18]

Gheorghiu at the Met and elsewhere[link]

On occasion, Gheorghiu has had difficult relationships with opera house managements and directors. Some, but not all, of them have stemmed from her opposition to directors who, as she put it in an interview with ABC "want to express their own fantasies, forgetting about the characters. At times, she says, what they put on stage goes against both the story and the music."^[19] She has attributed her outspokenness to her upbringing in Romania under the totalitarian regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu:

"Because I grew up in a country where there was no possibility of having an opinion, it makes me stronger now. Lots of singers are frightened about not getting invited back to an opera house if they speak out. But I have the courage to be, in a way, revolutionary. I want to fight for opera, for it to be taken seriously. Pop music is for the body, but opera is for the soul.".^[20]

Gheorghiu had a problematic relationship with former Metropolitan Opera General Manager Joseph Volpe after her debut there as Mimì in 1993. In 1996, Gheorghiu was cast as Micaela in a new production of Carmen, opposite Waltraud Meier and Plácido Domingo. The production by Franco Zeffirelli called for Micaela to wear a blonde wig, which Gheorghiu disliked. When the Met toured the production in Japan in 1997, she refused to wear it on the first night to which Volpe famously declared, "The wig is going on, with you or without you" and replaced her with an understudy.^[21][22] She appeared at the Met again in 1998 for six performances of Roméo et Juliette with her husband, tenor Roberto Alagna as Roméo. Volpe had planned to engage Gheorghiu in Violetta Valery for a new production of La traviata, to premiere in November 1998 and directed by Zeffirelli. Alagna was to sing the role of Violetta's lover, Alfredo Germont. According to Volpe, Gheorghiu and Alagna argued with the staff and the director over production details and continually delayed signing the contract. They eventually signed their contracts, and faxed them to the Met one day past their deadline. Volpe refused to accept them. The production opened with Patricia Racette and Marcelo Álvarez as the lovers.^[21]

In September 2007, Gheorghiu was dismissed from Lyric Opera of Chicago's production of La bohème by General Manager William Mason, for missing rehearsals and costume fittings, and generally "unprofessional" behavior. Gheorghiu said in a statement that she had missed some rehearsals to spend time with her husband, who was singing at the Met in Roméo et Juliette and rehearsing for Puccini's Madama Butterfly and added "I have sung 'Boheme' hundreds of times, and thought missing a few rehearsals wouldn't be a tragedy. It was impossible to do the costume fitting at the same time I was in New York.^[23]

Six weeks later, Gheorghiu made her debut at San Francisco Opera receiving favorable reviews for her Magda in that company's new production of La rondine.^[24][25] The San Francisco Opera production originated with London's Royal Opera House, where it premiered on May 7, 2002 with Gheorghiu and Alagna as Magda and her lover Ruggero. It is one which she particularly admires:

"When the curtain opened on La rondine at Covent Garden, the audience gasped and applauded. People want to dream. If directors want to do something new with operas, why not do something beautiful?"^[26]

Despite these issues, Gheorghiu and Alagna returned to the Metropolitan Opera for five performances of L'elisir d'amore in 1999 and for four performances of Faust in 2003. Gheorghiu also performed at the Met as Liù in Turandot in 2000; as Violetta in La traviata opposite Jonas Kaufmann in 2006 and 2007; as Amelia in Simon Boccanegra in 2007; as Mimì in La bohème in 2008; as Magda in the 2008/09 season in the ROH/SFO production of La rondine, the Met's first performance of the opera since 1936; and for the 2009/10 season she appeared as Violetta, replacing her previous engagement as Marie Antoinette in a rare revival of John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles which was replaced due to the recession.

On December 31, 2008, Gheorghiu premiered the new production of La rondine at the Met, together with Roberto Alagna, Marius Brenciu, Lisette Oropesa and Samuel Ramey. The opera was last performed at the house over 70 years ago. She received some favorable reviews for her Magda: "Gheorghiu embodies the part, as actress and singer, with her natural charisma."^[27] The New York Times opinion was more mixed: "Vocally, both leads are somewhat disappointing. Ms. Gheorghiu, as Magda, sings with gleaming sound and wonderfully dusky colorings in the strong top register of her voice. But the earthy richness of her mid-range singing sometimes turns breathy, and her low voice is curiously weak."^[28]

In August 2009, Gheorghiu canceled all her scheduled 2010 Met performances of Carmen, for "personal reasons".^[29] It was to be her first public performance of the title role (normally sung by mezzo-sopranos). She also cancelled other Met performances scheduled near the end of 2010. In March 2011 she cancelled all her scheduled performances of Gounod's Roméo et Juliette at the Met, citing illness. Only days later she cancelled all her performances in the scheduled new production of Faust during the Met's 2011/2012 season. According to her manager the singer felt that "She felt uncomfortable in the concept". Peter Gelb, the Met's general manager, said that her frequent cancellations have become "an increasingly difficult problem for (the Met)." Gelb went on to say that, as of now, plans are still in place for Gheorghiu's return to the Met stage. He also went on the record to say "this has nothing to do with wigs."^[30]