Aprile Millo
Encyclopedia
Aprile Millo is an American opera
tic soprano
of Italian
and Irish
ancestry who is particularly admired for her interpretations of the works of Giuseppe Verdi
. Possessing a spinto
voice of power, warmth and temperament, Millo became one of the most celebrated opera singers of the late twentieth century. Although she has performed at many of the world's leading opera houses and with many orchestras and ensembles internationally, Millo has spent much of her career appearing in productions at the Metropolitan Opera
.
Giovanni Millo (John Hamill) and soprano Margherita Girosi. Millo became interested in music at an early age and received her musical education primarily from her parents. After graduating from Hollywood High School
in 1976 she was invited to join the San Diego Opera Center
as an apprentice, were she took part in the inaugural program and where as a member she sang the High Priestess in Aida
. In several European trips she was to win several important singing competitions including first prize in the Concorso Internazionale di Voci Verdiane in Bussetto, Italy (1978), the Montserrat Caballé
Bernabe Merti Special Verdi Prize Award in Barcelona (1979), and the Geraldine Farrar Award (1980).
After leaving the San Diego Opera, Millo sang her first major role, the title role of Verdi's Aida
, with Utah Opera in the Fall of 1980. She returned to Utah Opera in early 1981 to perform the role of Santuzza in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana
. Millo moved to New York City and auditioned for the New York City Opera where her Father had sung from 1942–1946 and was offered a contract with several roles. The Metropolitan Opera also offered the young singer at 22 years old, to become a member of the Met's Young Artist Program, as well as to cover leading roles. Up until this point, Millo had studied voice exclusively with her parents. While in the Met's program she worked with Dick Marzollo and then only with David Stivender and Rita Patanè. She also had the opportunity to work with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
who took her to Herbert von Karajan
, and with mentors Renata Tebaldi
, Zinka Milanov
and Licia Albanese
.
In November 1982, Millo made her European debut as Aida in Karlsruhe, Germany and in December at La Scala
as Elvira in Ernani
when she replaced soprano Mirella Freni
who had taken ill. In January 1983 she had performances of Ernani at La Scala of her own. She made her New York debut the with Eve Queler
and the Opera Orchestra of New York
in November 1984, singing Matilde in Rossini's Guillaume Tell.
On December 3, 1984, Millo made her Metropolitan Opera
debut in dramatic fashion replacing an ailing soprano as Amelia in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra
with James Levine
on the podium. The critics praised Millo's performance with the New York Times proclaiming that her voice had "a breadth and a shining ring that would have won her a midscene ovation in any Italian opera house". Shortly thereafter Millo won two major award for classical singers: the coveted Richard Tucker Award (1985) and the Maria Callas Foundation Award (1986).
debut with Verdi's I Lombardi alla prima crociata
with tenor Carlo Bergonzi and Eve Queler and the Opera Orchestra of New York. In the intervening years, she has sung over 160 performances of 15 different roles at the Metropolitan Opera, including Leonora in Il trovatore
, Aida, Tosca, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, and Amelia in Un ballo in maschera
.
Millo's debut recording in 1986 was Presenting Aprile Millo, with the London Symphony and Giuseppe Patanè
. She has recorded several Verdi operas with James Levine and the Metropolitan Opera for Sony Classical, including Aida, Il Trovatore, Luisa Miller
, and Don Carlo. In 1989, she opened the Metropolitan Opera season starring as Aida opposite Plácido Domingo
. The performance was recorded live for telecast and DVD release, which won an Emmy. (A CD studio recording was made, with mostly the same singers, the year after.) Her 1991 performance of Un ballo in maschera, with Luciano Pavarotti
, was released on CD and DVD. Millo toured with the Metropolitan Opera to Japan in 1988 and 1993, returning in 1989, 1990 and 1991 for solo recitals.
Millo debuted with the Lyric Opera of Chicago
in 1991 as Margherita in Boito's Mefistofele
. The following year she debuted with the Bavarian State Opera
as Leonora in La forza del destino
and with the San Francisco Opera
as Maddalena de Coigny in Andrea Chénier
. She appeared as Griselda for the Metropolitan Opera's first-ever performance of Verdi's I Lombardi, again with Pavarotti and Levine, in late 1993.
A car accident in Torino briefly sidelined Millo and forced her to cancel Caterina Cornaro in New York; she returned to the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in 1995 and 1996, playing Amelia (Simon Boccanegra) and Desdemona (Otello), opposite Plácido Domingo. That same year, she performed Maddalena in Andrea Chénier, with Luciano Pavarotti in his debut in the title role. She reprised the role of Maddalena in 2002, with Domingo; and in 2007, with Ben Heppner
.
In 1997, Millo sang her first Tosca at the Liceu
, Barcelona, followed by performances of that opera at La Scala and at the Met. Other Metropolitan Opera performances include Mefistofele (1999–2000) and Gioconda in La Gioconda (2006). Millo has also performed several roles with the Opera Orchestra of New York: the title role of Adriana Lecouvreur
(2004), Gioconda (2005), and Minnie in La Fanciulla del West
(2005). In 2005, Millo also appeared for Teatro Grattacielo
in the neglected verismo opera Zazá, which had not been performed in New York since 1927.
Millo has performed in the world's opera houses, including Frankfurt, Barcelona, Parma, Rome, Bologna, Torino, the Arena of Verona, The Baths of Caracalla, Cincinnati Opera
, Munich, Berlin, Vienna, Zurich, Paris, Orange, Moscow, Seville, Bilbao, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Santiago, Colon - Buenos Aires and La Scala, Milan among others.
Millo writes her own blog, called Operavision.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
of Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
ancestry who is particularly admired for her interpretations of the works of Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
. Possessing a spinto
Spinto soprano
A spinto soprano is a category of operatic soprano voice that has the limpidity and easy high notes of a lyric soprano, yet can be "pushed" on to achieve dramatic climaxes without strain. This type of voice may possess a somewhat darker timbre, too, than the average lyric soprano...
voice of power, warmth and temperament, Millo became one of the most celebrated opera singers of the late twentieth century. Although she has performed at many of the world's leading opera houses and with many orchestras and ensembles internationally, Millo has spent much of her career appearing in productions at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
.
Background and early career
Aprile Millo was born in New York City, the daughter of two opera singers, tenorTenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
Giovanni Millo (John Hamill) and soprano Margherita Girosi. Millo became interested in music at an early age and received her musical education primarily from her parents. After graduating from Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School is a Los Angeles Unified School District high school located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California.-History:...
in 1976 she was invited to join the San Diego Opera Center
San Diego Opera
The San Diego Opera Association is a professional opera company located in the city of San Diego, California and is a member of OPERA America. It was founded in 1950 to present productions by San Francisco Opera in the San Diego area...
as an apprentice, were she took part in the inaugural program and where as a member she sang the High Priestess in Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
. In several European trips she was to win several important singing competitions including first prize in the Concorso Internazionale di Voci Verdiane in Bussetto, Italy (1978), the Montserrat Caballé
Montserrat Caballé
Montserrat Caballé is a Spanish operatic soprano. Although she sang a wide variety of roles, she is best known as an exponent of the bel canto repertoire, notably the works of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi....
Bernabe Merti Special Verdi Prize Award in Barcelona (1979), and the Geraldine Farrar Award (1980).
After leaving the San Diego Opera, Millo sang her first major role, the title role of Verdi's Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
, with Utah Opera in the Fall of 1980. She returned to Utah Opera in early 1981 to perform the role of Santuzza in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro...
. Millo moved to New York City and auditioned for the New York City Opera where her Father had sung from 1942–1946 and was offered a contract with several roles. The Metropolitan Opera also offered the young singer at 22 years old, to become a member of the Met's Young Artist Program, as well as to cover leading roles. Up until this point, Millo had studied voice exclusively with her parents. While in the Met's program she worked with Dick Marzollo and then only with David Stivender and Rita Patanè. She also had the opportunity to work with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, DBE was a German-born Austrian/British soprano opera singer and recitalist. She was among the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century, much admired for her performances of Mozart, Schubert, Strauss, and Wolf.-Early life:Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike...
who took her to Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
, and with mentors Renata Tebaldi
Renata Tebaldi
Renata Tebaldi was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period...
, Zinka Milanov
Zinka Milanov
Zinka Milanov was a Croatian-born operatic spinto soprano who had a major career centred on the New York Metropolitan Opera.-Biography:...
and Licia Albanese
Licia Albanese
Licia Albanese is an Italian-born American operatic soprano. Noted especially for her portrayals of the lyric heroines of Verdi and Puccini, Albanese was a leading artist with the Metropolitan Opera of New York from 1940 to 1966...
.
In November 1982, Millo made her European debut as Aida in Karlsruhe, Germany and in December at La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
as Elvira in Ernani
Ernani
Ernani is an operatic dramma lirico in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Hernani by Victor Hugo. The first production took place at La Fenice Theatre, Venice on 9 March 1844...
when she replaced soprano Mirella Freni
Mirella Freni
Mirella Freni, birth name Mirella Fregni, is an Italian opera soprano whose repertoire includes Verdi, Puccini, Mozart and Tchaikovsky...
who had taken ill. In January 1983 she had performances of Ernani at La Scala of her own. She made her New York debut the with Eve Queler
Eve Queler
Eve Queler is an American conductor and the current Artistic Director of the Opera Orchestra of New York . She founded the OONY in 1971 after having worked on the staffs of the Metropolitan Opera and the New York City Opera....
and the Opera Orchestra of New York
Opera Orchestra of New York
The Opera Orchestra of New York specializes in the performance of opera in concert form. It is particularly known for its work in presenting rarely performed repertory...
in November 1984, singing Matilde in Rossini's Guillaume Tell.
On December 3, 1984, Millo made her Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
debut in dramatic fashion replacing an ailing soprano as Amelia in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra
Simon Boccanegra
Simon Boccanegra is an opera with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Simón Bocanegra by Antonio García Gutiérrez....
with James Levine
James Levine
James Lawrence Levine is an American conductor and pianist. He is currently the music director of the Metropolitan Opera and former music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Levine's first performance conducting the Metropolitan Opera was on June 5, 1971, and as of May 2011 he has...
on the podium. The critics praised Millo's performance with the New York Times proclaiming that her voice had "a breadth and a shining ring that would have won her a midscene ovation in any Italian opera house". Shortly thereafter Millo won two major award for classical singers: the coveted Richard Tucker Award (1985) and the Maria Callas Foundation Award (1986).
Career highlights
In 1986 Aprile Millo made her Carnegie HallCarnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
debut with Verdi's I Lombardi alla prima crociata
I Lombardi alla prima crociata
I Lombardi alla prima crociata is an operatic dramma lirico in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on an epic poem by Tommaso Grossi. Its first performance was given at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on 11 February 1843...
with tenor Carlo Bergonzi and Eve Queler and the Opera Orchestra of New York. In the intervening years, she has sung over 160 performances of 15 different roles at the Metropolitan Opera, including Leonora in Il trovatore
Il trovatore
Il trovatore is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto...
, Aida, Tosca, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, and Amelia in Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera , is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with text by Antonio Somma. The libretto is loosely based on an 1833 play, Gustave III, by French playwright Eugène Scribe who wrote about the historical assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden...
.
Millo's debut recording in 1986 was Presenting Aprile Millo, with the London Symphony and Giuseppe Patanè
Giuseppe Patanè
Giuseppe Patanè was an Italian opera conductor.Giuseppe Patané was born in Naples, the son of the conductor Franco Patanè , and studied in his native city. He made his debut there in 1951. He was principal conductor at the Linz opera from 1961–1962...
. She has recorded several Verdi operas with James Levine and the Metropolitan Opera for Sony Classical, including Aida, Il Trovatore, Luisa Miller
Luisa Miller
Luisa Miller is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play Kabale und Liebe by Friedrich von Schiller. The first performance was given at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on December 8, 1849...
, and Don Carlo. In 1989, she opened the Metropolitan Opera season starring as Aida opposite Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
. The performance was recorded live for telecast and DVD release, which won an Emmy. (A CD studio recording was made, with mostly the same singers, the year after.) Her 1991 performance of Un ballo in maschera, with Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
, was released on CD and DVD. Millo toured with the Metropolitan Opera to Japan in 1988 and 1993, returning in 1989, 1990 and 1991 for solo recitals.
Millo debuted with the Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
in 1991 as Margherita in Boito's Mefistofele
Mefistofele
Mefistofele is an opera in a prologue, four acts and an epilogue, the only completed opera by the Italian composer-librettist Arrigo Boito.-Composition history:...
. The following year she debuted with the Bavarian State Opera
Bavarian State Opera
The Bavarian State Opera is an opera company based in Munich, Germany.Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra.- History:The opera company which was founded under Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy has been in existence since 1653...
as Leonora in La forza del destino
La forza del destino
La forza del destino is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino , by Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, with a scene adapted from Friedrich Schiller's Wallensteins Lager. It was first performed...
and with the San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
as Maddalena de Coigny in Andrea Chénier
Andrea Chénier
Andrea Chénier is a verismo opera in four acts by the composer Umberto Giordano, set to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica. It is based loosely on the life of the French poet, André Chénier , who was executed during the French Revolution....
. She appeared as Griselda for the Metropolitan Opera's first-ever performance of Verdi's I Lombardi, again with Pavarotti and Levine, in late 1993.
A car accident in Torino briefly sidelined Millo and forced her to cancel Caterina Cornaro in New York; she returned to the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in 1995 and 1996, playing Amelia (Simon Boccanegra) and Desdemona (Otello), opposite Plácido Domingo. That same year, she performed Maddalena in Andrea Chénier, with Luciano Pavarotti in his debut in the title role. She reprised the role of Maddalena in 2002, with Domingo; and in 2007, with Ben Heppner
Ben Heppner
Ben Heppner, CC is a Canadian tenor, specializing in opera and other classical works for voice.Heppner was born in Murrayville, British Columbia, and lived in Dawson Creek...
.
In 1997, Millo sang her first Tosca at the Liceu
Liceu
The Gran Teatre del Liceu , or simply Liceu in Catalan and Liceo in Spanish, is an opera house on La Rambla in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain...
, Barcelona, followed by performances of that opera at La Scala and at the Met. Other Metropolitan Opera performances include Mefistofele (1999–2000) and Gioconda in La Gioconda (2006). Millo has also performed several roles with the Opera Orchestra of New York: the title role of Adriana Lecouvreur
Adriana Lecouvreur
Adriana Lecouvreur is an opera in four acts by Francesco Cilea to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the play by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé...
(2004), Gioconda (2005), and Minnie in La Fanciulla del West
La fanciulla del West
La fanciulla del West is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarini, based on the play The Girl of the Golden West by the American author David Belasco. Its highly-publicised premiere occurred in New York City in 1910...
(2005). In 2005, Millo also appeared for Teatro Grattacielo
Teatro Grattacielo
Teatro Grattacielo is a professional opera company based in New York City specializing in concert performances of rarely heard verismo operas. The company's past performances have included the North American premieres of Mascagni's Il piccolo Marat and Riccardo Zandonai's I cavalieri di Ekebù and...
in the neglected verismo opera Zazá, which had not been performed in New York since 1927.
Millo has performed in the world's opera houses, including Frankfurt, Barcelona, Parma, Rome, Bologna, Torino, the Arena of Verona, The Baths of Caracalla, Cincinnati Opera
Cincinnati Opera
Cincinnati Opera is an American opera company based in Cincinnati, Ohio and the second oldest opera company in the United States .-History:...
, Munich, Berlin, Vienna, Zurich, Paris, Orange, Moscow, Seville, Bilbao, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Santiago, Colon - Buenos Aires and La Scala, Milan among others.
Millo writes her own blog, called Operavision.
Critical reception
Millo is noted for the beauty of her voice and her nuanced interpretation. On April 4, 1986, Donal Henahan wrote in the New York times of Millo's performance in Don Carlo: "Miss Millo sounds more and more like the Verdi soprano we’ve been waiting for." Later in 1986 (June 18), reviewing a Metropolitan Opera production of Aida in Central Park, Mr. Rockwell wrote, "Miss Millo has a real Verdi sound...her darkly yet delicately colored lower voice, full of urgency in the phrasing, and her overall mastery of this role from a technical and interpretive standpoint, are already very moving. Her performance reached its high point just where it must, in the third act, when Aida grows from a supplicating ingenue into a woman torn by her conflicts. With singing like this, nothing could dull the intensity of Verdi's drama. The concert formality, the populist setting, the amplification, all fell away in the face of real operatic drama embodied in song. If Mr. Domingo and Mr. Pavarotti can match that in the next two parks openers, the Met and its fans will be fortunate indeed."Roles and discography
| Opera | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Aïda | Aïda | 1989 |
| Andrea Chénier | Maddalena di Coigny | 1985 |
| Adriana Lecouvreur | Adriana Lecouvreur | 2002 |
| Cavalleria rusticana | Santuzza | 1981 |
| Don Carlo | Elisabeth of Valois | 1986 |
| Ernani | Elvira | 1982 |
| Il trovatore | Lenora | 1988 |
| Il Lombardi | Giselda | 1986 |
| Il pirata | Imogene | 1990 |
| La fanciulla del West | Minnie | 2004 |
| La battaglia di Legnano | Lida | 1987 |
| La forza del destino | Lenora | 1992 |
| La Gioconda | Gioconda | 2004 |
| La Wally | Wally | 1991 |
| Le Villi | Anna | 2006 |
| Luisa Miller | Luisa Miller | 1988 |
| Otello | Desdemona | 1987 |
| Mefistofele | Margherita/Helena | 1991 |
| Simon Boccanegra | Maria Boccanegra (Amelia Grimaldi) | 1984 |
| Tosca | Tosca | 1997 |
| Turandot | Liu | 1988 |
| Un ballo in maschera | Amelia | 1991 |
| Requiem (Verdi) | Soprano | 1986 |
| William Tell | Mathilde | 1984 |
| Zaza | Zaza | 2005 |
Sources
- Cori Ellison: "Aprile Millo", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed October 19, 2008), (subscription access)
- Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), The Oxford Dictionary of Opera, 782 pages, ISBN 0-19-869164-5