Charismatic, captivating Alaska-born mezzosoprano Vivica Genaux is consistently praised for her extraordinary performances on the world’s great opera and concert stages, not only for the technical command and beauty of her distinctive voice, but also for her compelling portrayals. She is hailed as a foremost interpreter of Baroque and bel canto music and her interest in and performances of this repertoire constantly expands.In the 2008/09 season, she added three new characters to her pantheon: one each by Händel, Hasse and Haydn; and in 2009/10 an additional two by Rossini and Haydn, bringing the total to forty-three, twenty-seven of which are trouser-roles.Miss Genaux recently made a debut with the Bbc Proms singing two of her signature Rossini arias, «Mura felici» from La donna del lago and «Nacqui all’affanno»…«Non più mesta» from La Cenerentola with Gianandrea Noseda at the helm. The concert was transmitted live on Bbc radio and television.
She premieres the title role in Tancredi, in a reunion with René Jacobs at the Theater an der Wien, followed by another role debut, also at the an der Wien, as Ernesto in Haydn’s Il mondo della luna, in her first association with Nikolaus Harnoncourt. A Dvd will be made of this production Other highly anticipated engagements include: a concert tour of Vivaldi arias with frequent collaborators Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante in a host of venues in France, Italy and Poland; the Washington Concert Opera’s La Cenerentola; concerts in Spain and Mexico and a production of Semele (Juno/Ino) with Les Talens Lyriques and Christophe Rousset at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, as well as at the Barbican. Two particular highlights of the next season will be a return to the Opéra National de Paris for L’italiana in Algeri and a World Premiere in Istanbul of Mevlana, an opera being composed by Michael Ellison expressly for Ms. Genaux.
Adding to her ever-increasing discography, two new recordings of works by Vivaldi, with Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante, a solo arias Cd and Ercole sul Termodonte both on the Emi/Virgin label, are soon to be released.