Frederica von Stade

Trained in the bel canto style, von Stade is known for her roles in Rossini's The Barber of Seville and La Cenerentola. In addition to opera, von Stade has also performed a wide range of musicals, from Show Boat to The Sound of Music to A Little Night Music and has appeared on numerous PBS specials, most notably in 1991's A Carnegie Hall Christmas Concert. She has also appeared in many Kennedy Center Honors broadcasts for CBS. Von Stade is also a respected recital artist, performing works ranging from Mozart and Haydn to Mahler to Broadway show tunes. Her LP album of Mahler songs was praised as "cherishable" by Peter G. Davis of The New York Times.

Composers, including Dominick Argento, Jake Heggie and Richard Danielpour, have produced works specifically for von Stade. She originated the role of "Tina" in Dallas Opera's world premiere production of Argento's The Aspern Papers. She has also recorded other works by Argento. Danielpour composed Elegies for orchestra, mezzo-soprano, and baritone in memory of von Stade's father, Charles von Stade, who was killed late in World War II, two months before von Stade's birth. Elegies premiered in January 1998 with the Jacksonville Symphony led by Roger Nierenberg and has now been recorded by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2008, she created the role of "Madeline" in the opera Last Acts, a part which the composer Jake Heggie had especially written for her.

Von Stade was the featured performer at the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and also sang with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at the Cultural Olympiad held in conjunction with the games. She also sang at the choir's annual Christmas Concert the following year.

She currently resides in Alameda, California where she gives performances supporting the arts in local schools.

Recordings

Honors

Trivia

A case summary involving a dispute over marital property and earnings (Elkus v. Elkus, 572 N.Y.S.2d 901 (N.Y. App. Div. 1991)) between von Stade and Peter Elkus, formerly her husband, appears in Dukeminier's Property textbook, commonly used in the first year of law school.

Von Stade appeared in the finale of We Are Most Amused, the Charity Gala thrown for the 60th birthday of Prince Charles. She performed as a Valkyrie accompanying Eric Idle in singing a modified version of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life".

References

Sources

Category:American female singers Category:Operatic mezzo-sopranos Category:American opera singers Category:1945 births Category:Living people Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Category:Mannes College of Music alumni Category:People from Somerville, New Jersey