Famous Opera Singers At The Vienna Opera House

Famous Opera Singers At The Vienna Opera House

My shortlist of the world’s most famous opera singers such as Renée Fleming, Anna Netrebko, and Charles Castronovo is a cross cut through contemporary opera singing. The celebrities on this list share on thing: They all perform regularly at the Vienna Opera House.

The list of 10 of the ten most popular contemporary singers, including opera tenors, baritones, sopranos and mezzo sopranos. Some of them are members of the Vienna opera. I have pulled this list together in alphabetical order, using various inofficial lists and rankings. It is by no means prescriptive but should reflect the calibre of soloists that you can hear in Vienna.

Opera Tenors And Baritones

Roberto Alagna (tenor): The French-Italian tenor, married to Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu, has been singing at international opera houses for more than twenty years, and has major roles in operas such as Madama Butterfly, Aida and Romeo et Juliette under his belt. Roberto Alagna is a regular guest at thelocal opera house where he first performed as Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore in 1992. In 2006, Alagna created outrage when he left the stage of Milan’s Scala opera in the middle of a performance, following whistles and boohs’ when his voice temporarily failed in an aria.

Charles Castronovo (tenor): American Charles Castronovo is one of the younger international shooting stars among opera singers. He performed along side Plácido Domingo and is touring opera houses from the New York Met and the Royal Opera House in London (Covent Garden) to the Vienna State Opera. Among his more than two dozen repertory operas areThe Magic Flute, Romeo et Juliette, Faust, Don Pasquale and Falstaff.

Plácido Domingo (tenor): One of the worlds most famous opera singers, Plácido Domingo hardly needs any further introduction. His track record at the Vienna State Opera comprises Wagner’s Lohengrin, Verdi’s Il Trovatore, and most recently Simon Boccanegra (September 2011), not to forget his famous Christmas in Viennaconcert series where he performed along side pop music legends such as Diana Ross and Dionne Warwick.

Dmitri Hvorostovski (baritone): The Russian/Siberian singer not only dominates many of the world’s renown opera houses but also inspires contemporary composers who dedicate oeuvres to him. Dmitri Hvorostovsky bagged prestigious awards like the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World (1989) and has excelled in operas such as Il Trovatore, Eugene Onegin, Simon Boccanegra and Rigoletto.

Opera Sopranos And Mezzo Sopranos

Agnes Baltsa (mezzo soprano): Singing for more than 40 years at the Vienna State Opera, Greek singer Agnes Baltsa is a local veteran with an international track record at all the big opera houses of the world. Many younger famous opera singers have been taking her as a role model for their careers. You may know Agnes Baltsa from her most famous performance of Carmen in George Bizet’s opera. She has performed in operas like Le Nozze di Figaro, Cosí fan tutte, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Aida, Il Trovatore, and Die Fledermaus.

Diana Damrau (soprano): The Queen of the Night in Mozart’sThe Magic Flute is German opera singer Diana Damrau’s most often performed role, among other major roles in operas like Lucia di Lammermoor, Rigoletto, Le Nozze di Figaro and Die Fledermaus. The State Opera is a regular among her assignments at international opera houses.

Renée Fleming (soprano): The American soprano is another of the international shooting stars with regular performances in Vienna. Renée Fleming is best known for her roles in the operasLe Nozze di Figaro, Manong, La Traviata, Der Rosenkavalier andRusalka. She has won the Grammy three times, among them the Grammy 2010 for Best Classical Vocal Performance.

Elína Garanča (mezzo soprano) Born in 1976 in Riga, Latvia, Elina Garanca is one of the recent shooting stars among famous opera singers. In 2001, she won the BBC’s Cardiff Singer of the World award, followed by international assignments from the New York Met to Tokyo. Elina is a member of our opera house since 2003, where she sang operas like Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Le Nozze di Figaro, Cosí fan tutte, Rosenkavalier, and Die Fledermaus.

Edita Gruberova (soprano): Slovak soprano Edita Gruberova’s career is closely linked with the Vienna Opera House, where she made he debut in 1970 as Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Magic Flute. The Wiener Kammersaengerin (honorary title) emigrated from former communist Czechoslovakia to the West in the early Seventies, and has performed at all the major opera houses in the world, in operas such as Manon, Lucrezia Borgia andRigoletto.

Anna Netrebko (soprano) The Russian soprano has been lauded the ‘Audrey Hepburn with a voice’. She was the first opera singer ever to join the TIME 100 list, TIME magazine’s list of the most influential people in the world. She sang first at the Vienna Opera House in 2003. International assignments lead her to all major opera houses of the world. Like many famous opera singers, Anna Netrebko counts on an extensive range of CD recordings. Her repertoire includes Le Nozze di Figaro, La Traviata, La Boheme, Don Pasquale and L’elisir d’amore.

How To Book Tickets For the State Opera

As a native Viennese, I started the run for opera tickets the hard way: queuing up for hours outside the opera in my student days, getting on the opera house’s ticket waiting list later on. Both was hard work, and I felt like I was ready to smarten up with grabbing opera tickets. Read my story and use the local connection I made.

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