An outstanding contemporary opera singer, a coloratura mezzo-soprano whose phenomenal technique and wide range are ideally suited to performing Baroque and bel canto repertoire. Her recordings have sold tens of millions of copies worldwide. Cecilia Bartoli is currently the most sought-after and highest-paid artist in the world of classical music.
Cecilia Bartoli was born in 1966 in Rome into a family of musicians. She first appeared on stage at the age of nine in the small role of the Shepherd Boy in "Tosca". At 17, she entered the Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome, where she quickly achieved remarkable success and caught the attention of conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Herbert von Karajan, Daniel Barenboim, and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. The singer's professional debut took place in 1987 at the Arena di Verona; the following year, she performed the role of Rosina in "The Barber of Seville" at the Zurich Opera, Cologne Opera, and the Schwetzingen Festival. Bartoli then focused on the Mozart repertoire: Zerlina in "Don Giovanni", Dorabella in "Così fan tutte". Her career developed rapidly: in July 1990, she made her American debut at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York. The following year, 1991, Cecilia debuted at the Opéra Bastille in Paris as Cherubino in "The Marriage of Figaro" and at La Scala as Isolier in Rossini's "Le Comte Ory". These were followed by Dorabella in "Così fan tutte" at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino festival and Rosina in "The Barber of Seville" in Barcelona. During the 1991–92 season, Cecilia gave concerts in Montreal, Philadelphia, and at the Barbican Centre in London, and performed at the Haydn Festival at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, as well as in Austria and Switzerland. In 1996, she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Despina ("Così fan tutte").
Today, there is likely no renowned opera or concert hall in the world where Bartoli has not performed. Her stage repertoire consists mainly of roles from Mozart, Rossini, and Baroque operas. Cecilia Bartoli is a great enthusiast of Baroque and early music and frequently performs and records works unfamiliar to the general listener. Her virtuosic vocal technique allows her to sing extremely difficult arias from works by Vivaldi and other Baroque composers, which had barely been performed before her.
In 2007–2009, Bartoli performed a series of concerts marking the 200th anniversary of the legendary mezzo-soprano Maria Malibran. As part of the "Maria" project, she released a CD album of the same name, a DVD recording of the Barcelona concert, and the first authentic recording of Bellini's opera "La sonnambula". The 2008 production of Jacques Fromental Halévy's opera "Clari", in which Bartoli sang the title role written for Malibran, was released on DVD in the autumn of 2010.
Since 2012, Cecilia Bartoli has been the artistic director of the Whitsun Festival in Salzburg. She is the founder of the orchestra Les Musiciens du Prince, based in Monaco.
She has collaborated with the Decca record label for over thirty years, releasing more than twenty solo albums during this time. Starting in 1999, each album has effectively introduced listeners to composers of the 17th–19th centuries, including rarely performed ones: little-known arias and works by Vivaldi, Handel, Alessandro Scarlatti, Antonio Caldara, Nicola Porpora, Agostino Steffani, Gluck, Salieri, Garcia, Malibran, and others.
She is the recipient of five Grammy Awards and multiple ECHO Klassik awards. She has been inducted into Gramophone magazine's Hall of Fame. She is a Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, a holder of the French Order of Arts and Letters, the Monaco Order of Cultural Merit, and other honors.
Cecilia Bartoli was born in 1966 in Rome into a family of musicians. She first appeared on stage at the age of nine in the small role of the Shepherd Boy in "Tosca". At 17, she entered the Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome, where she quickly achieved remarkable success and caught the attention of conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Herbert von Karajan, Daniel Barenboim, and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. The singer's professional debut took place in 1987 at the Arena di Verona; the following year, she performed the role of Rosina in "The Barber of Seville" at the Zurich Opera, Cologne Opera, and the Schwetzingen Festival. Bartoli then focused on the Mozart repertoire: Zerlina in "Don Giovanni", Dorabella in "Così fan tutte". Her career developed rapidly: in July 1990, she made her American debut at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York. The following year, 1991, Cecilia debuted at the Opéra Bastille in Paris as Cherubino in "The Marriage of Figaro" and at La Scala as Isolier in Rossini's "Le Comte Ory". These were followed by Dorabella in "Così fan tutte" at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino festival and Rosina in "The Barber of Seville" in Barcelona. During the 1991–92 season, Cecilia gave concerts in Montreal, Philadelphia, and at the Barbican Centre in London, and performed at the Haydn Festival at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, as well as in Austria and Switzerland. In 1996, she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Despina ("Così fan tutte").
Today, there is likely no renowned opera or concert hall in the world where Bartoli has not performed. Her stage repertoire consists mainly of roles from Mozart, Rossini, and Baroque operas. Cecilia Bartoli is a great enthusiast of Baroque and early music and frequently performs and records works unfamiliar to the general listener. Her virtuosic vocal technique allows her to sing extremely difficult arias from works by Vivaldi and other Baroque composers, which had barely been performed before her.
In 2007–2009, Bartoli performed a series of concerts marking the 200th anniversary of the legendary mezzo-soprano Maria Malibran. As part of the "Maria" project, she released a CD album of the same name, a DVD recording of the Barcelona concert, and the first authentic recording of Bellini's opera "La sonnambula". The 2008 production of Jacques Fromental Halévy's opera "Clari", in which Bartoli sang the title role written for Malibran, was released on DVD in the autumn of 2010.
Since 2012, Cecilia Bartoli has been the artistic director of the Whitsun Festival in Salzburg. She is the founder of the orchestra Les Musiciens du Prince, based in Monaco.
She has collaborated with the Decca record label for over thirty years, releasing more than twenty solo albums during this time. Starting in 1999, each album has effectively introduced listeners to composers of the 17th–19th centuries, including rarely performed ones: little-known arias and works by Vivaldi, Handel, Alessandro Scarlatti, Antonio Caldara, Nicola Porpora, Agostino Steffani, Gluck, Salieri, Garcia, Malibran, and others.
She is the recipient of five Grammy Awards and multiple ECHO Klassik awards. She has been inducted into Gramophone magazine's Hall of Fame. She is a Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, a holder of the French Order of Arts and Letters, the Monaco Order of Cultural Merit, and other honors.
