Here are my list of 13 wonderful mezzo-sopranos actively singing on the operatic stage today who everyone interested in opera should know about…. in no particular order: (the underlined phrases are clickable links to a Youtube clip)
1. Vesselina Kasarova
The sky is the limit for this Bulgarian mezzo’s talent. She is one of the most fascinating actress on the stage who is just as convincing as the beautiful Helen of Sparta as she is as the legendary Orpheus. And, unlike many wonderful singers who can also act very well on the stage today, her acting has a way of emanating from the voice itself! Click on the two clips above and hear how different she sounds as she portrays these different characters. When Kasarova sings, being able to understand the lyric is a luxury rather than a necessity. There is no mistaking what she is trying to get across!
2. Ewa Podles
This Polish artist is perhaps one of the most underrated artists in the business. Hers is a rare true contralto voice rather than a mezzo, and it is a contralto voice to knock the sock off any lover of classical singing. Podles’ range is insanely wide, and her agility is legendary for her voice type. I’m afraid her figure is just about the only thing that keeps her from stardom in this age where the visual is just about as important as the aural pleasure even in the opera house.
3. Elina Garanca
Nobody singing today has a more arrestingly drop-dead-gorgeous than this young Latvian mezzo. She burst onto the scene as Annio at the Salzburg Festival production of La clemenza di Tito in 2003 and has skyrocketed to the top of the A-list since. She is highly in demand in lyric – lyrico spinto roles and has a sizable voice that may develop into the Verdi repertoire in the future.
4. Susan Graham
This statuesque (5’10”) all-American diva is amazingly adept in the French repertoire, though she started her career as the mezzo everyone wanted for the trouser roles (Cherubino, Octavian, and the Composer). The voice is richly creamy with great extension at the top, so she sings the high mezzo roles that are also sometimes sung by a soprano.
5. Joyce DiDonato
This young American is the current sensation who is most likely more busy at declining job offers than looking for one. With her on the scene, it is pretty much a given that the current Golden Age of Lyric Mezzos will continue on for at least another few decades. She is highly sought after in the bel canto roles.
6. Waltraud Meier
The 52 yrs old German remains the ‘go-to’ singing actress when it comes to German dramatic repertoire (Wagner & Strauss operas) today. She has such a ringing top that she is even singing many of the fantastically demanding (and traditionally soprano) roles like Isolde and Kundry. Meier is known for her dramatic commitment, and a look at the clip (click her name) should demonstrate why. The gal practically never sing a single meaningless note!
7. Dolora Zajick
This American diva (in the best sense of the word) is one of the best Verdi mezzo to walk the planet… and she has a brain to match her vocal prowess (after all, she was a pre-med at University of Nevada). This intelligent singer with a stunningly explosive dramatic mezzo voice is a combustible presence who can really be a fire hazard on the stage.
8. Sonia Ganassi
This Italian singer is in demands in the bel canto repertoire (operas by Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti). She is flawlessly musical and acts very well, though doesn’t get to sing the heroic trouser roles much because of her womanly figure.
9. Olga Borodina
Among the few good dramatic mezzo sopranos working today, none is more mesmerizing than the Russian Olga Borodina. It is hard to look at anything else when she is on the stage, and once she starts singing, ‘hard’ becomes ‘practically impossible.’ Borodina sometimes takes a bad rap for having attitudes off the stage as well as on it, but I’d rather have a diva-ish diva who keeps her voice in great shape by refusing to allow it to be abused than a friendly one who says yes to often and let the only real asset she has be ruined before its time.
10. Jennifer Larmore
This American mezzo has experienced something of a rebirth in recent years. She has one of the most appealing lyric mezzo voices around and a wonderful way of singing bel canto music. Even non-opera fans may remember her from the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Atlanta, GA (she is from the Peach State).
11. Angelika Kirchschlager
The Austrian singer is very popular in Europe for her performance in trouser roles (from the Handel young guns to the Mozart boys to the Strauss composer). Like Waltraud Meier, this is a singer who understands every word she sings and makes them count.
12. Vivica Genaux
Aside from the famous king crabs, this versatile American is Alaska’s biggest export. She is best known in the Baroque and bel canto virtuoso roles so far…. Have a listen to how brilliantly she copes with the obnoxiously difficult aria that was written for the famous castrato ‘Farinelli’ (click her name) and you’ll hear why. It is almost inhumane how she makes mince meat out of it!
13. Cecilia Bartoli
…well… I think she is still billing herself as a mezzo, though lately she has been singing a lot of soprano music. Anyhow, this Italian superstar needs no introduction from me, really. She is one of the very few opera stars whose popularity spills easily over the confine of the operatic genre into pop-music loving crowd as well. Bartoli is one of the most musical singer you’ll ever hear and she has a most endearing habit of digging up dead and forgotten music and breathing new life into them. Because of her, we no longer have to wonder how good a composer Maria Malibran and Salieri were… May she keep digging and blazing the way for others to rediscover these ancient masterpieces.
There are many more wonderful mezzo-soprano performing on the operatic stage aside from those listed by yours truly. Even after having been listening to opera for a while, I’m still discovering new favorite singers. Hopefully you’ll find a new favorite or two in this list that you hadn’t been familiar with before, and then explore more on your own and see why the death of opera isn’t as imminent as some would proclaim it to be!
