GMHC Presents:
Aprile Millo, Soprano
Aprile Millo holds the distinction of being considered today's
true Verdi soprano. Critics worldwide have confirmed this unique
position comparing her to such legendary artists as Renata Tebaldi,
Claudia Muzio, Zinka Milanov, and Maria Callas for her seamless
legato, Italianate color and beauty of voice wed to dramatic
commitment.
One critic wrote of a recital in Spain: "There is no mistaking the
real thing. Millo is all about communication, immediate and intense,
a beguiling mix of the spiritual and the carnal...breathtaking piani
and gorgeous sounds become a bridge on which the public is transported
to another place and time..."
Millo burst upon the operatic scene, at the Metropolitan Opera,
in a dramatic, last minute replacement for an ailing colleague, as
Amelia in Verdi's Simone Boccanegra. Hailed as "the New Verdi star,"
she fulfilled the highest hopes of all the leading critics and music
lovers, heading the Verdi Wing at the Metropolitan and going on to
star in nine Verdi roles as well as Andrea Chenier, Turandot, and
Mefistofole. Her acclaim worldwide in Verdi includes Aida, Otello,
Luisa Miller, Un Ballo in Maschera, Il Trovatore, Don Carlo, Ernani,
and La Forza Del Destino, to name a few.
Millo added Adriana Lecouvrer to her repertory, singing it with
The Opera Orchestra of New York, Eve Queler, at Carnegie Hall. This
sold-out performance was greeted by a pandemonium of cheering, as
reported by even by the European press in these days of lack luster
performances and public indifference. Millo's association with The
Opera Orchestra of New York has encompassed triumphs in I Lombardi
with Carlo Bergonzi, La Wally, Il Pirata, and, most recently, sold
out performances of her first La Gioconda and the acclaimed Minnie
of La Fanciulla del West, in 2004.
Outside New York, Mme. Millo has triumphed in the theaters of
Frankfurt, Barcelona, Parma, Rome, Bologna, Torino, the Arena of
Verona, The Baths of Caracalla, Munich, Berlin, Vienna, Paris,
Orange, Moscow, Rio de Janero, Sao Paolo, Santiago, the Teatro
Colón in Buenos Aires, and, of course, La Scala, Milan. She has
collaborated with such great conductor as Herbert von Karajan and
Riccardo Muti, both at La Scala, as well as James Levine and
Giuseppe Sinopoli, and has sung in productions by the greatest
stage directors, including Liu in Turandot, collaborating with
Franco Zeffirelli. She was also chosen by Maestro Zefferelli
to be the voice of Elizabeth Taylor for the film Young Toscanini.
Millo's recordings include Verdi arias, and the best selling
classical recordings of the year, Aida, Don Carlo, Luisa Miller,
and Il Trovatore, all for Sony Classical under the direction of
James Levine. The records have elicited the most enthusiastic
reviews. Alan Blyth of London's prestigious GRAMMAPHONE Magazine
writes of her Leonora: "Millo's account of the aria 'Tacea La Notte'
matches some of the very best on disc...Throughout, her part is
replete with right kind of Verdian spinto sound, the correct
phraseology and inner feeling for the role. A reading to please
the ear and move the heart."
Millo has been seen and heard on world-wide television, in
the Emmy award winning broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera of
Aida with Domingo and Levine, and the live broadcast of Un Ballo
in Maschera for The Great Performances series on PBS with Luciano
Pavarotti and James Levine from the Metropolitan Opera, both now
available on DVD.
Of Millo's Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera, the critcs wrote
"...thunderous ovation after ovation for the return of this artist
to her artistic home…Gleaming high notes...opulent sound."
Miss Millo's first performances of the 21st Century included
performances of Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera for her debut in Lisbon,
Portugal, and for performances of Tosca for the Teatro Dell'Opera
in Rome.
In May of 2002, Miss Millo made her symphonic debut with The
Mahler Fourth Symphony in Mexico City, for her debut in the famous
Capitol with the Philharmonic.
Miss Millo returned to the historic Chicago Lyric Opera in
February and March, 2005, for performances of Tosca under Maestro
Bruno Bartoletti. Millo returns to The Metropolitan Opera in her
21st season for performances of Un Ballo in Maschera and Tosca
opposite internationally acclaimed Italian tenor Marcello Giordani.
This summer she will record an aria disc of Rare Handel arias
under the direction of leading Handel expert Randolph Mickelson
and Maestro Richard Bonygne.
Millo is the recipient of numerous prizes and awards. In 1978,
by unanimous decision, The First Prize in The Voci Verdiane Concorso
in Busetto, Italy, the birthplace of Giuseppe Verdi. The Francisco
Vinas Prize in Spain followed in 1978, The Montserrat Caballe-Bernabe
Merti Special Verdi Prize, The Geraldine Farrar Award in San Diego
in 1979, The Richard Tucker Foundation Award in 1985, and the very
special award in 1986 from The Maria Callas Foundation Award.
Millo is a native New Yorker, born to two opera singers with whom
she studied exclusively until she met Rita Patané, wife of Giuseppe
Patané, with whom she collaborated on her first recording. Miss Millo
returns each year to Milan to research and study with this most accomplished
teacher.
© 2005 Gay Men's Health Crisis |
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