Artist Of The Week: Anna Caterina Antonacci Takes On Her First ‘Gloriana’

By Francisco Salazar

Anna Caterina Antonacci has long been considered one of the most distinguished sopranos of her generation, performing a wide range of repertoire from Rossini and Bizet to Poulenc, Massenet, and Faure. The soprano has never taken the usual route and some of her unusual repertoire choices have distinguished her as a committed singer and risk taker.

This week, Antonacci continues her exploratory journey as she takes on the role of Queen Elisabeth in Britten’s “Gloriana.” It will mark Antonacci’s first time taking on a Britten heroine and it will be yet another rarity in her repertoire. Over the years, Antonacci has championed such works as “La Voix Humaine,” “Medée,” “Sancta Susanna” and “Penelope,” which have not been part of the standard repertoire and thanks to Antonacci’s stardom have resurfaced into some of the most prestigious houses.

With Gloriana, she will collaborate with Sir David McVicar and one of the performances is scheduled to be recorded. For those not present for this role debut, Antonacci is scheduled to sing a new double bill at the Teatro Regio di Torino made up of “La Voix Humaine” and “Il Segreto di Susanna.” She will also sing Marguerite in “La Damnation de Faust.”

Recordings 

For unfamiliar with her work, Antonacci the soprano has recordings of Verdi’s “Un Giorno di Regno,”  Cherubini’s “Medea,” Rossini’s “Ermione.” For those more standard repertoire aficionados Antonacci’s “Carmen” with Jonas Kaufmann is one of the best of modern recordings.

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