Maria Fontosh
Encyclopedia
Maria Fontosh, born 5 June 1976 is a Ukrainian born Russian soprano
residing in Sweden. She is a part of the Royal Swedish Opera
's ensemble for which she made her debut as Rosina in The Barber of Seville
in 2001.
but grew up in Russia where she studied piano, singing and conducting. After moving to Sweden she conducted studies at the Falun Conservatory of Music, the Royal Swedish Academy of Music
(Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien) and the University College of Opera (Operahögskolan). Fontosh graduated from the University College of Opera in Stockholm in December 2001.
In 1999 Fontosh won 4th prize in the Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition in Helsinki. In 2002 she won the 3rd prize in Plácido Domingo's Operalia International Opera Competition in Paris.
On 5 September 2007 Fontosh sang at the Värmland Classic Festival together with José Carreras
, among the pieces was Franz Lehár
's "The Merry Widow
".
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...
residing in Sweden. She is a part of the Royal Swedish Opera
Royal Swedish Opera
Kungliga Operan is Sweden's national stage for opera and ballet.-Location and Environment:...
's ensemble for which she made her debut as Rosina in The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...
in 2001.
Background
Fontosh was born in UkraineUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
but grew up in Russia where she studied piano, singing and conducting. After moving to Sweden she conducted studies at the Falun Conservatory of Music, the Royal Swedish Academy of Music
Royal Swedish Academy of Music
The Royal Swedish Academy of Music or Kungl. Musikaliska Akademien, founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden...
(Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien) and the University College of Opera (Operahögskolan). Fontosh graduated from the University College of Opera in Stockholm in December 2001.
In 1999 Fontosh won 4th prize in the Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition in Helsinki. In 2002 she won the 3rd prize in Plácido Domingo's Operalia International Opera Competition in Paris.
On 5 September 2007 Fontosh sang at the Värmland Classic Festival together with José Carreras
José Carreras
Josep Maria Carreras i Coll , better known as José Carreras , is a Spanish Catalan tenor particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini...
, among the pieces was Franz Lehár
Franz Lehár
Franz Lehár was an Austrian-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas of which the most successful and best known is The Merry Widow .-Biography:...
's "The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow is an operetta by the Austro–Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband – on an 1861 comedy play,...
".
Recent stage roles
- Lauretta, La conversazione and I rivali delusi (intermezzi by Niccolò JommelliNiccolò JommelliNiccolò Jommelli was an Italian composer. He was born in Aversa and died in Naples. Along with other composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France, he made important changes to opera and reduced the importance of star singers.-Early life:Jommelli was born to Francesco Antonio Jommelli and...
) (1999, Vadstena Academy) - Rosina, The Barber of SevilleThe Barber of SevilleThe Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...
(2001/2002, Royal Swedish OperaRoyal Swedish OperaKungliga Operan is Sweden's national stage for opera and ballet.-Location and Environment:...
) - Musetta, La bohèmeLa bohèmeLa bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
(2001/2002, Royal Swedish Opera) - Zerlina, Don GiovanniDon GiovanniDon Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
(2002, The Ruhr Triennale) - Fiordiligi, Così fan tutteCosì fan tutteCosì 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....
(Frankfurt Opera House) - Adina, L’elisir d’amore (Frankfurt Opera House)
- Zerlina, Don Giovanni (Frankfurt Opera House)
- Ginevra, AriodanteAriodanteAriodante 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...
(Frankfurt Opera House) - Marie, The Bartered BrideThe Bartered BrideThe Bartered Bride is a comic opera in three acts by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, to a libretto by Karel Sabina. The opera is considered to have made a major contribution towards the development of Czech music. It was composed during the period 1863–66, and first performed at the...
(2003/2004, Royal Swedish Opera) - Marguerite, Faust (2005, Malmö Opera)
- Ginevra, Ariodante (2005, Frankfurt Opera House)
- Tatyana, Eugene Onegin (2005, Royal Swedish Opera)
- Musetta, La bohème (2005, Opéra National de Paris)
- Marie, The Bartered Bride (2006, Frankfurt Opera House)
- Marzerlline, FidelioFidelioFidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
(2006, El Teatro de Ópera de Valencia) - Countess Almaviva, The Marriage of Figaro (2007, Frankfurt Opera House)
- Fiordiligi, Così fan tutte (2007, Royal Swedish Opera)
- Violetta, La traviataLa traviataLa 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...
(2007, Royal Swedish Opera) - Antonia, Les contes d'HoffmannLes contes d'HoffmannLes 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...
(2008, Teatro Nacional de São CarlosTeatro Nacional de São CarlosThe Teatro Nacional de São Carlos is an opera house in Lisbon, Portugal. It was opened on July 30, 1793 by Queen Maria I as a replacement for the Tejo Opera House, which was destroyed in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake...
) - Marguerite, Faust (2008, Frankfurt Opera House)
- Mimì, La bohèmeLa bohèmeLa bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
, 2008, Royal Swedish OperaRoyal Swedish OperaKungliga Operan is Sweden's national stage for opera and ballet.-Location and Environment:... - Countess Almaviva, Le nozze di Figaro, 2010 Royal Swedish OperaRoyal Swedish OperaKungliga Operan is Sweden's national stage for opera and ballet.-Location and Environment:...
Recordings
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Mitridate The Danish Radio SinfoniettaDanish National Chamber OrchestraThe Danish National Chamber Orchestra is a small symphony orchestra consisting of 42 players...
Universal 2002 - Puccini: Discoveries Decca 2004
- Igor Stravinsky: Le sacre du printemps/Mavra Budapest Music Center 2006