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Vivica GenauxAmerican opera singer (mezzo-soprano).
Country:
 USA |
Content:
Biography of Vivica Gena
Vivica Gena is an American opera singer (mezzo-soprano) known for her warm and soft timbre and stunning coloratura technique, which allows her to perform arias from the repertoire of castrato singers. She is rightfully considered one of the most outstanding performers of baroque opera and masters of bel canto. Gena has sung in the greatest opera houses in the world, including performances in "Il barbiere di Siviglia" at the Metropolitan Opera, "L'italiana in Algeri" at the Opéra National de Paris, and "La Cenerentola" at the Dallas Opera and the Bayerische Staatsoper.
Early Life
Vivica Gena was born in Fairbanks, Alaska. Her father, an American of Belgian and Welsh descent, was a biochemistry professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and her mother, who was born in Mexico to a Swiss-German family, taught foreign languages. Gena studied under the late bass Nicola Rossi-Lemeni and Romanian soprano Virginia Zeani at Indiana University Bloomington and currently continues her studies with Claudia Pinza, the daughter of Ezio Pinza, the greatest Italian bass of the last century.
Career
Gena began her professional career in 1994 in Florence, specializing in charming performances of comedic heroines in Gioachino Rossini's operas, such as Rosina in "Il barbiere di Siviglia," Isabella in "L'italiana in Algeri," and Angelina in "La Cenerentola." She has sung these roles more than two hundred times in many major opera houses in the United States and Europe, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, as well as theaters in San Francisco, Dallas, Seattle, San Diego, Pittsburgh, Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Amsterdam, Dresden, Munich, Montreal, Tel Aviv, Verona, Santiago, and Perth.
She then transitioned to the baroque repertoire, which allows her to showcase her unique, flawless technique. She performs both female and male roles since mezzo-sopranos, in her own words, share the same territory as countertenors. Her first baroque role was the lead in Handel's "Arminio," and Gena continues to expand her repertoire, which includes more than thirty roles, with two-thirds of them being trouser roles as male characters. Some notable roles include Neocle in "L'assedio di Corinto," Malcolm in "La donna del lago," Orsini in "Lucrezia Borgia," Faliero in "Bianca e Falliero," Hassem in "Alahor in Granata," Arsace in "Semiramide," and Romeo in "I Capuleti ed i Montecchi," as well as Polinesso in "Ariodante." Apart from Rossini, Gena sings a great deal of Handel.
Achievements
Gena's talent has been recognized with several awards and honors. She was featured in the documentary film "A Voice out of the Cold" and made a cameo appearance in the 2007 film "Fracture." In May 2008, the Pittsburgh Opera awarded her the "Maecenas Award," and a year prior, she received the "Christopher Keene Award" from the New York City Opera. Among other accolades, Gena was named "Performer of the Year" at the Dresden Music Festival in 1999.
