Joyce DiDonato is one of Esquire’s “Women We Love”
Esquire has named opera star Joyce DiDonato one of the “Women We Love” (women who defined 2008-09), jokingly noting that “in the year of Megan Fox” there were plenty of highlights “from women who aren’t Megan Fox.” The day that caught Esquire’s editors’ eyes was July 4, 2009, when the Yankee Diva “literally breaks a leg during a performance and keeps on singing.” That opening-night performance at London’s Royal Opera House, which the “lustrous, vivacious mezzo-soprano” (New York Times) finished on crutches, was followed by DiDonato’s finishing her scheduled run as Rosina from a wheelchair. Now appearing once again as Rosina in the Met’s unforgettable Barbiere di Siviglia, DiDonato will be at the Met Opera Shop on Tuesday, November 3, at 12:30pm, signing copies of her new EMI/Virgin Classics CD of Rossini arias. The album, Colbran, the Muse, has been on the Billboard chart for several weeks, and the Met Opera Shop is Gotham’s go-to place for vocal, opera, and classical recordings.
Next month, DiDonato heads to Los Angeles for her LA Opera debut, again in her signature role as plucky Rosina in the Barber of Seville, which opens on November 29.
Time Out New York calls Colbran, the Muse: “another bulls-eye from the wondrous Joyce DiDonato… . The brilliant Kansas mezzo has fashioned an eloquent tribute to Rossini’s wife and frequent inspiration, Isabella Colbran.” TONY also advises: “Even if your shelves groan with great Rossini aria discs, you need this one too – today’s gold standard.”
More than three years ago, the New Yorker’s Alex Ross said DiDonato had “transcended a first-rate technique to deliver portrayals of transfixing, sometimes frightening intensity.” Get some now, on Colbran, the Muse!
Who: Joyce DiDonato
What: In-store appearance
Where: Met Opera Shop, Lincoln Center, NYC
When: Tuesday, November 3, at 12:30 pm
Why: Signing her new “gold standard” CD of Rossini arias
www.JoyceDiDonato.com
© 21C Media Group, October 2009