Gianna Rolandi
Encyclopedia
Gianna Rolandi is an American
soprano
. Following a highly successful 20-year national and international operatic career, Rolandi retired from performing in 1994, and is currently director of and principal instructor at the Lyric Opera of Chicago
's Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center, formerly known as Lyric Opera Center for American Artists.
, and grew up in Spartanburg, South Carolina
. Her mother, Jane Frazier, was an American soprano, and met her father, Italian obstetrician-gynecologist Enrico Rolandi, while singing in Italy. Rolandi's father died in a car accident on Long Island
when she was three, and the family moved back to the Carolinas, her mother's home. Rolandi's mother taught voice at Converse College
in Spartanburg, and later became a staff member of the Brevard Music Center
in North Carolina. She remarried in 1959 to John West Coker, chairman of the Music Department at Wofford College
in Spartanburg, and a staff member of the Brevard Music Center.
Rolandi started out as a violin
ist, at the age of 6, yet remembers that "when there was nobody home, I'd turn on opera records and sing along with Tosca
and Madama Butterfly
." By the late 1960s she was studying violin at the Brevard Music Center
, and she attended the North Carolina School of the Arts
as a violin major in her senior year of high school. She took her first voice lessons at the Brevard Music Center, and continued a long association with the Center, where many of her coloratura roles were learned and first performed.
The soprano then trained for four years at the Curtis Institute of Music
in Philadelphia. She was a finalist in the Metropolitan Opera
auditions in 1974, winning the Minna Kaufmann Ruud Competition as one of the youngest winners in its history. She graduated from the Curtis Institute in 1975.
in 1975, before graduating from the Curtis Institute that same year. Her operatic debut, at NYCO, was as Olympia in Les contes d'Hoffmann
and as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos
, for both of which she received critical acclaim. While in New York, Rolandi studied singing with Ellen Faull
.
Appearing regularly with the City Opera since her debut, Rolandi moved beyond soubrette
roles in operetta
s, and was a leading coloratura
soprano
at the NYCO for the next 15 years, singing more than 30 operatic roles, including I puritani
, La traviata
, La fille du régiment
, Rigoletto
, Lucia di Lammermoor
, The Cunning Little Vixen
, Lakmé
, and Giulio Cesare
.
In her early years at the NYCO, Rolandi was able to establish her career firmly without needing to go abroad. In 1982 she said, "I feel like I've grown up here.... The City Opera is a blessing for me, as it is for lots of young singers. You get exposure and you don't have to leave home."
Renowned soprano Beverly Sills
, General Director of the New York City Opera, influenced Rolandi greatly. Sills said of Rolandi in 1981, "Gianna epitomizes all the things I want to see the City Opera stand for." Rolandi's repertory included many of the retired Sills' most famous roles. "Beverly's door is always open," Rolandi stated in 1982. "It's wonderful to have someone who's sung all these roles and to ask her how she solved certain problems."
debut as Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier
. At the Met she also sang Olympia in The Tales of Hoffmann in 1983, the title role of Stravinsky’s Le Rossignol in 1984 (broadcast internationally), and Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos
in 1984/85 (broadcast internationally).
At the Lyric Opera of Chicago
she made her debut as Dorinda in Handel
’s Orlando
(1986), and returned to sing Despina in Così fan tutte
(1993–94), a production that marked her retirement from the stage.
Rolandi also performed with many of the other major North American opera companies, including the San Francisco Opera
, the Canadian Opera Company
, the Washington National Opera
, Florida Grand Opera
, Santa Fe Opera
, and the Spoleto Festival USA
in Charleston, SC.
She debuted in Europe
in 1981 at Glyndebourne
as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, returning in 1984 for her first performances of Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro
and Zdenka in Arabella
, to critical acclaim. Other major European engagements included Ginevra in Ariodante
and Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare
in Geneva
, Constanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail
in Lyon
and Paris, Almirena in Rinaldo
at the Théâtre du Châtelet
in Paris, Amenaide in Tancredi
in Turin
, the breeches role
of Curiatius in Gli Orazi e i Curiazi
in Rome
, and Elcia in Mosè in Egitto
at the Rossini Opera Festival
in Pesaro
, Italy.
Rolandi recorded
Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro
under Bernard Haitink
. On television
, she was the title role in two Live from Lincoln Center
opera broadcasts: Lucia di Lammermoor
(1982) and The Cunning Little Vixen
(1983), and she was Clorinda in an English-language version of La Cenerentola
(1980). And she was Zdenka in the 1984 film
version of Arabella
, in the Glyndebourne production.
Rolandi's concert and recital engagements included appearances with the various major ensembles, including the New York Philharmonic
, the Cleveland Orchestra
, the Philadelphia Orchestra
, the Atlanta Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra
, and the London Philharmonic, with conductors including Leonard Bernstein
, Andrew Davis
, Bernard Haitink
, Erich Leinsdorf
, and James Levine
.
's Ryan Opera Center and its Lyric Opera Center for American Artists (LOCAA) in May 2002, and was then named Director of the Ryan Opera Center and the LOCAA in 2006, succeeding Richard Pearlman
upon his death.
The Lyric Opera Center for American Artists (LOCAA), founded in 1973, is the professional artist-development program for Lyric Opera of Chicago. LOCAA is considered one of the most prestigious vocal programs in America, and has produced many notable singers. Each year a dozen young singers are selected from the 500 who audition annually, and the selectees are in residence for twelve months, receiving an intensive regimen of advanced instruction, master classes, live performances, and even performance in Chicago Lyric's mainstage season operas.
Upon Rolandi's appointment as director, William Mason, General Director of Lyric Opera, said, "Gianna has been part of the decision-making process since coming to Lyric. No one understands the program and how it functions better than she. Richard raised the level of the opera center a great deal, and then Gianna took it up another notch. She's a great colleague, and the [young singers] are very fond of her." Mason continued, "She brings her personal experience as a singer to the program, and has proven herself to be a superb teacher. Many of the young singers she has worked with have already launched distinguished careers."
As director of the LOCAA, Rolandi oversees all aspects of the center's activities and operations, including traveling to all auditions; selecting the dozen participants each year; overseeing each artist's vocal and artistic development; selecting guest teachers and resident faculty; planning concert engagements and recitals; and working closely with Lyric Opera of Chicago
to cast LOCAA members for Lyric Opera's mainstage season. Rolandi also oversees the company's educational outreach programs, "Opera in the Neighborhoods" and "Meet the Artists."
Of her participation in the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists, Rolandi says,
when he conducted her performances of Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, both at the Metropolitan Opera in 1984 and again at Glyndebourne in 1988. They married in 1989, and lived in England until 2000, when Davis was appointed the music director and principal conductor of the Lyric Opera of Chicago
. They now live in Chicago
, where Rolandi is director of the Lyric Opera of Chicago's Ryan Opera Center and its Lyric Opera Center for American Artists. The couple have a son, Edward (born 1989), who is attending Knox College. Since Sir Andrew Davis's knighting
in 1999, Rolandi may be referred to as Lady Davis.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
. Following a highly successful 20-year national and international operatic career, Rolandi retired from performing in 1994, and is currently director of and principal instructor at 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...
's Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center, formerly known as Lyric Opera Center for American Artists.
Early life
Gianna Rolandi was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and grew up in Spartanburg, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. Her mother, Jane Frazier, was an American soprano, and met her father, Italian obstetrician-gynecologist Enrico Rolandi, while singing in Italy. Rolandi's father died in a car accident on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
when she was three, and the family moved back to the Carolinas, her mother's home. Rolandi's mother taught voice at Converse College
Converse College
Converse College is a liberal arts women's college in Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA. It was established by a group of Spartanburg citizens and named after Dexter Edgar Converse.-History:...
in Spartanburg, and later became a staff member of the Brevard Music Center
Brevard Music Center
The Brevard Music Center is a summer institute and festival located in Brevard, North Carolina. It enrolls about four hundred students, age fourteen and older, who participate in orchestra and other large ensembles, an opera program, play chamber music, study composition, and take private lessons....
in North Carolina. She remarried in 1959 to John West Coker, chairman of the Music Department at Wofford College
Wofford College
Established in 1854 and related to the United Methodist Church, Wofford College is an independent, Phi Beta Kappa liberal arts college of 1,525 students located in downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. The historic campus is recognized as a national arboretum and features “The...
in Spartanburg, and a staff member of the Brevard Music Center.
Rolandi started out as a violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist, at the age of 6, yet remembers that "when there was nobody home, I'd turn on opera records and sing along with Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
and Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
." By the late 1960s she was studying violin at the Brevard Music Center
Brevard Music Center
The Brevard Music Center is a summer institute and festival located in Brevard, North Carolina. It enrolls about four hundred students, age fourteen and older, who participate in orchestra and other large ensembles, an opera program, play chamber music, study composition, and take private lessons....
, and she attended the North Carolina School of the Arts
North Carolina School of the Arts
The University of North Carolina School of the Arts , formerly the North Carolina School of the Arts, is a public coeducational arts conservatory in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that grants high school, undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is one of the seventeen constituent campuses of the...
as a violin major in her senior year of high school. She took her first voice lessons at the Brevard Music Center, and continued a long association with the Center, where many of her coloratura roles were learned and first performed.
The soprano then trained for four years at the Curtis Institute of Music
Curtis Institute of Music
The Curtis Institute of Music is a conservatory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that offers courses of study leading to a performance Diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in Opera, and Professional Studies Certificate in Opera. According to statistics compiled by U.S...
in Philadelphia. She was a finalist in 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...
auditions in 1974, winning the Minna Kaufmann Ruud Competition as one of the youngest winners in its history. She graduated from the Curtis Institute in 1975.
Debut at New York City Opera
Rolandi landed a contract with the New York City OperaNew York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
in 1975, before graduating from the Curtis Institute that same year. Her operatic debut, at NYCO, was as Olympia in Les contes d'Hoffmann
Les contes d'Hoffmann
Les contes d'Hoffmann is an opéra by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on short stories by E. T. A...
and as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Bringing together slapstick comedy and consuming beautiful music, the opera's theme is the competition between high and low art for the public's attention.- First version :The opera was originally...
, for both of which she received critical acclaim. While in New York, Rolandi studied singing with Ellen Faull
Ellen Faull
Ellen Hartla Faull was an American operatic soprano and distinguished voice teacher. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she was primarily associated with New York City Opera, where she sang from 1947 until 1978 and created the role of Abigail Borden in Jack Beeson's opera Lizzie Borden in its 1965...
.
Appearing regularly with the City Opera since her debut, Rolandi moved beyond soubrette
Soubrette
A soubrette is a female stock character in opera and theatre. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means "conceited" or "coy".-Theater:...
roles in operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
s, and was a leading coloratura
Coloratura
Coloratura has several meanings. The word is originally from Italian, literally meaning "coloring", and derives from the Latin word colorare . When used in English, the term specifically refers to elaborate melody, particularly in vocal music and especially in operatic singing of the 18th and...
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...
at the NYCO for the next 15 years, singing more than 30 operatic roles, including I puritani
I puritani
I puritani is an opera in three acts by Vincenzo Bellini. It was his last opera. Its libretto is by Count Carlo Pepoli, based on Têtes rondes et Cavaliers by Jacques-François Ancelot and Joseph Xavier Saintine, which is in turn based on Walter Scott's novel Old Mortality. It was first produced at...
, La traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
, La fille du régiment
La fille du régiment
La fille du régiment is an opéra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. It was written while the composer was living in Paris, with a French libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard.La figlia del reggimento, a slightly different Italian-language version , was...
, Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
, Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
, The Cunning Little Vixen
The Cunning Little Vixen
The Cunning Little Vixen is an opera by Leoš Janáček, with a libretto adapted by the composer from a serialized novella by Rudolf Těsnohlídek and Stanislav Lolek, which was first published in the newspaper Lidové noviny.-Composition history:When Janáček discovered Těsnohlídek's...
, Lakmé
Lakmé
Lakmé is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. Delibes wrote the score during 1881–82 with its first performance on 14 April 1883 at the Opéra Comique in Paris. Set in British India in the mid 19th century, Lakmé is based on the 1880 novel...
, and Giulio Cesare
Giulio Cesare
Giulio Cesare in Egitto , commonly known simply as Giulio Cesare, is an Italian opera in three acts written for the Royal Academy of Music by George Frideric Handel in 1724...
.
In her early years at the NYCO, Rolandi was able to establish her career firmly without needing to go abroad. In 1982 she said, "I feel like I've grown up here.... The City Opera is a blessing for me, as it is for lots of young singers. You get exposure and you don't have to leave home."
Renowned soprano Beverly Sills
Beverly Sills
Beverly Sills was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s. In her prime she was the only real rival to Joan Sutherland as the leading bel canto stylist...
, General Director of the New York City Opera, influenced Rolandi greatly. Sills said of Rolandi in 1981, "Gianna epitomizes all the things I want to see the City Opera stand for." Rolandi's repertory included many of the retired Sills' most famous roles. "Beverly's door is always open," Rolandi stated in 1982. "It's wonderful to have someone who's sung all these roles and to ask her how she solved certain problems."
Metropolitan Opera and beyond
In 1979, Rolandi made her Metropolitan OperaMetropolitan 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 as Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
. At the Met she also sang Olympia in The Tales of Hoffmann in 1983, the title role of Stravinsky’s Le Rossignol in 1984 (broadcast internationally), and Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Bringing together slapstick comedy and consuming beautiful music, the opera's theme is the competition between high and low art for the public's attention.- First version :The opera was originally...
in 1984/85 (broadcast internationally).
At 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...
she made her debut as Dorinda in Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
’s Orlando
Orlando (opera)
Orlando is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel written for the Royal Academy of Music . The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Carlo Sigismondo Capece's L'Orlando after Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, which was also the source of Handel's operas Alcina and...
(1986), and returned to sing Despina in Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
(1993–94), a production that marked her retirement from the stage.
Rolandi also performed with many of the other major North American opera companies, including 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...
, the Canadian Opera Company
Canadian Opera Company
The Canadian Opera Company is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and the third largest producer of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.-History:For 40 years until...
, the Washington National Opera
Washington National Opera
The Washington National Opera is an opera company in Washington, D.C., USA. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performances are now given in the Opera House of the John F...
, Florida Grand Opera
Florida Grand Opera
Florida Grand Opera is an American opera company based in Miami, Florida. FGO was created in 1994 from the consolidation of two opera companies in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale region:...
, Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe Opera
The Santa Fe Opera is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe in the U.S. state of New Mexico, headquartered on a former guest ranch of .-General history:...
, and the Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the world's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish a counterpart to the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy...
in Charleston, SC.
She debuted in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in 1981 at Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...
as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, returning in 1984 for her first performances of Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
and Zdenka in Arabella
Arabella
Arabella is a lyric comedy or opera in 3 acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last operatic collaboration. It was first performed on 1 July 1933, at the Dresden Sächsisches Staatstheater....
, to critical acclaim. Other major European engagements included Ginevra in Ariodante
Ariodante
Ariodante is an opera seria in three acts by Handel. The anonymous Italian libretto was based on a work by Antonio Salvi, which in turn was adapted from Canti 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso...
and Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare
Giulio Cesare
Giulio Cesare in Egitto , commonly known simply as Giulio Cesare, is an Italian opera in three acts written for the Royal Academy of Music by George Frideric Handel in 1724...
in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Constanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner with adaptations by Gottlieb Stephanie...
in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
and Paris, Almirena in Rinaldo
Rinaldo
Rinaldo may refer to:*Rinaldo , an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel*Rinaldo , a cantata by Johannes Brahms*Rinaldo , a character in Torquato Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered...
at the Théâtre du Châtelet
Théâtre du Châtelet
The Théâtre du Châtelet is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France.One of two theatres built on the site of a châtelet, a small castle or fortress, it was designed by Gabriel Davioud at the request of Baron Haussmann between 1860 and...
in Paris, Amenaide in Tancredi
Tancredi
Tancredi is a melodramma eroico in two acts by composer Gioachino Rossini and librettist Gaetano Rossi, based on Voltaire's play Tancrède...
in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, the breeches role
Breeches role
A breeches role is a role in which an actress appears in male clothing .In opera it also refers to any male character that is sung and acted by a female singer...
of Curiatius in Gli Orazi e i Curiazi
Gli Orazi e i Curiazi
Gli Orazi e i Curiazi is an opera in three acts composed by Domenico Cimarosa to a libretto by Antonio Simeone Sografi, based on Pierre Corneille's tragedy, Horace.-History:...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and Elcia in Mosè in Egitto
Mosè in Egitto
Mosè in Egitto is a three-act opera written by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, which was based on a play by Francesco Ringhieri, L'Osiride, of 1760....
at the Rossini Opera Festival
Rossini Opera Festival
The Rossini Opera Festival is an opera festival held in August of each year in Pesaro, Italy, the birthplace of the opera composer Gioachino Rossini....
in Pesaro
Pesaro
Pesaro is a town and comune in the Italian region of the Marche, capital of the Pesaro e Urbino province, on the Adriatic. According to the 2007 census, its population was 92,206....
, Italy.
Rolandi recorded
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
under Bernard Haitink
Bernard Haitink
Bernard Johan Herman Haitink, CH, KBE is a Dutch conductor and violinist.- Early life :Haitink was born in Amsterdam, the son of Willem Haitink and Anna Haitink. He studied music at the conservatoire in Amsterdam...
. On television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, she was the title role in two Live from Lincoln Center
Live from Lincoln Center
Live From Lincoln Center is an ongoing series of musical performances produced by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in conjunction with Thirteen/WNET in New York City....
opera broadcasts: Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
(1982) and The Cunning Little Vixen
The Cunning Little Vixen
The Cunning Little Vixen is an opera by Leoš Janáček, with a libretto adapted by the composer from a serialized novella by Rudolf Těsnohlídek and Stanislav Lolek, which was first published in the newspaper Lidové noviny.-Composition history:When Janáček discovered Těsnohlídek's...
(1983), and she was Clorinda in an English-language version of La Cenerentola
La Cenerentola
La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the fairy tale Cinderella...
(1980). And she was Zdenka in the 1984 film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
version of Arabella
Arabella
Arabella is a lyric comedy or opera in 3 acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last operatic collaboration. It was first performed on 1 July 1933, at the Dresden Sächsisches Staatstheater....
, in the Glyndebourne production.
Rolandi's concert and recital engagements included appearances with the various major ensembles, including the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, the Cleveland Orchestra
Cleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1918, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Severance Hall...
, the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
, the Atlanta Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
, and the London Philharmonic, with conductors including Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
, Andrew Davis
Andrew Davis (conductor)
Sir Andrew Frank Davis CBE is a British conductor.Born in Ashridge, Hertfordshire to Robert J. Davis and his wife Florence J. née Badminton, Davis grew up in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, and in Watford. Davis attended Watford Boys' Grammar School, where he studied classics in his sixth form years...
, Bernard Haitink
Bernard Haitink
Bernard Johan Herman Haitink, CH, KBE is a Dutch conductor and violinist.- Early life :Haitink was born in Amsterdam, the son of Willem Haitink and Anna Haitink. He studied music at the conservatoire in Amsterdam...
, Erich Leinsdorf
Erich Leinsdorf
Erich Leinsdorf was a naturalized American Austrian conductor. He performed and recorded with leading orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, earning a reputation for exacting standards as well as an acerbic personality...
, and 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...
.
Directorship at Lyric Opera of Chicago
Following her retirement from vocal performance in 1994, Rolandi has devoted herself to pedagogy and administration. She became Director of Vocal Studies for the Lyric Opera of ChicagoLyric 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...
's Ryan Opera Center and its Lyric Opera Center for American Artists (LOCAA) in May 2002, and was then named Director of the Ryan Opera Center and the LOCAA in 2006, succeeding Richard Pearlman
Richard Pearlman
Richard Pearlman was an American theatre and opera director and educator known for his encyclopedic knowledge on every aspect of opera from stage direction to makeup....
upon his death.
The Lyric Opera Center for American Artists (LOCAA), founded in 1973, is the professional artist-development program for Lyric Opera of Chicago. LOCAA is considered one of the most prestigious vocal programs in America, and has produced many notable singers. Each year a dozen young singers are selected from the 500 who audition annually, and the selectees are in residence for twelve months, receiving an intensive regimen of advanced instruction, master classes, live performances, and even performance in Chicago Lyric's mainstage season operas.
Upon Rolandi's appointment as director, William Mason, General Director of Lyric Opera, said, "Gianna has been part of the decision-making process since coming to Lyric. No one understands the program and how it functions better than she. Richard raised the level of the opera center a great deal, and then Gianna took it up another notch. She's a great colleague, and the [young singers] are very fond of her." Mason continued, "She brings her personal experience as a singer to the program, and has proven herself to be a superb teacher. Many of the young singers she has worked with have already launched distinguished careers."
As director of the LOCAA, Rolandi oversees all aspects of the center's activities and operations, including traveling to all auditions; selecting the dozen participants each year; overseeing each artist's vocal and artistic development; selecting guest teachers and resident faculty; planning concert engagements and recitals; and working closely with 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...
to cast LOCAA members for Lyric Opera's mainstage season. Rolandi also oversees the company's educational outreach programs, "Opera in the Neighborhoods" and "Meet the Artists."
Of her participation in the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists, Rolandi says,
- I really enjoy LOCAA because you have the cream of the crop here. Everything they go through, I have been through. The first thing I want to pass on to them is how to do it. I was fortunate to have a solid technique and could sing standing on my head if I had to, and that's what I want for them — an easy production.... Kids this age have to be careful; they all want to sound like Brunnhildes. Having been a coloratura, I know it is possible to be heard in big houses without screaming your guts out. I want them to develop patience and a real sense of self-confidence, so they can stand up for what they believe in musically and not be pushed around. That's so important in this field; you can have four sessions with four different coaches and they will all tell you something different. You have to learn how to make something your own, and how to tell somebody that's the way you do it. I want them to be unique.
Personal life
Rolandi became acquainted with conductor Andrew DavisAndrew Davis (conductor)
Sir Andrew Frank Davis CBE is a British conductor.Born in Ashridge, Hertfordshire to Robert J. Davis and his wife Florence J. née Badminton, Davis grew up in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, and in Watford. Davis attended Watford Boys' Grammar School, where he studied classics in his sixth form years...
when he conducted her performances of Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, both at the Metropolitan Opera in 1984 and again at Glyndebourne in 1988. They married in 1989, and lived in England until 2000, when Davis was appointed the music director and principal conductor of 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...
. They now live in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, where Rolandi is director of the Lyric Opera of Chicago's Ryan Opera Center and its Lyric Opera Center for American Artists. The couple have a son, Edward (born 1989), who is attending Knox College. Since Sir Andrew Davis's knighting
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in 1999, Rolandi may be referred to as Lady Davis.
External links
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoJrvpDbjTY&feature=youtu.be Gianna Rolandi in La Cenerentola (1980).
- Fortissimo: Backstage at the Opera with Sacred Monsters and Young Singers, by William MurrayWilliam Murray (writer)William Murray was an American fiction editor and staff writer at The New Yorker for more than thirty years. He wrote a series of mystery novels set in the world of horse racing, many featuring Shifty Lou Anderson, a professional magician and horseplayer...
, 2006. A study of a year in the life of an entering class at Lyric Opera Center for American Artists.