Angela Meade

Angela Meade (born 1977) is an American operatic soprano.

Life and career

Born in Centralia, Washington, Meade earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice from Pacific Lutheran University and a Master of Music degree in Voice from the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California before pursuing further studies at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. She has won more than 50 vocal competitions, including the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (2007) and the Grand Prize at the Montreal International Musical Competition (2009). In 2011 she was awarded the prestigious Richard Tucker Award and in 2012 she was the recipient of the Metropolitan Opera's Beverly Sills Artist Award.

Meade made her professional operatic debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Elvira in Verdi's Ernani in March 2008 stepping in for an ill colleague, a role she reprised with the company in February 2012, which was broadcast as part of the Met's Live in HD series and in March/April 2015. At the Met she has also performed the roles of the Countess in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro (2009) and the title roles in both Donizetti's Anna Bolena (2011) and Bellini's Norma (2013) as well as Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore (2013 and 2016), and Alice in Verdi's Falstaff (2013/14), conducted by James Levine, which was broadcast as part of the Met's Live in HD series and was released on DVD by Decca. Other highlights include Elena in Verdi's I vespri siciliani with the Vienna State Opera (2012), Fidelia in Puccini's Edgar with Opera Frankfurt (2014), Lucrezia Contarini in Verdi's I due Foscari with Deutsche Oper Berlin (2012) and for her debut with Teatro Real Madrid (2016), Giselda in Verdi's I Lombardi with the Opera Orchestra of New York (2013), Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore with (2015) where she also performed the title role in Rossini's Ermione (2015) under the baton of Rossini conductor Alberto Zedda. She has sung Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni with Los Angeles Opera in 2012 under the baton of Plácido Domingo, Cincinnati Opera in 2013 and the Metropolitan Opera in 2017. She has been a part of the Caramoor International Music Festival in the title roles of Rossini's Semiramide (2009), Bellini's Norma (2010), Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia (2014) as well as Hélène in Verdi's Les vêpres siciliennes (2013) and as Imogene in Bellini's Il pirata (2017) and performances of the title role in Mercadante's Virginia at the Wexford Festival Opera in 2010

For Meade's 2019–2020 season, she made a house and role debut as Aïda with Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona; a role debut as Elisabetta in Don Carlo in a return to the Palacio de la Opera in Coruña, Spain; a house debut with Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Italy in the title role of Rossini's notoriously difficult Ermione; a debut with the Ravinia Festival in Mahler's 8th Symphony under the baton of Marin Alsop; and a debut with the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Italy for both a recital in collaboration with pianist, Giulio Zappa and as part of their gala concert under the baton of Carlo Rizzi. In addition, she will return to ABAO Bilbao for the title role of Donizetti's Anna Bolena; and a return to Portland SummerFest for a concert of Verdi's greatest hits.

Meade's 2018–2019 season included a return to the Metropolitan Opera for her role debut as Margherita in Arrigo Boito's Mefistofele; her debut with Seattle opera as Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore; a return to Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville for Verdi's Il Trovatore and a return to Dallas Opera as Alice in Verdi's Falstaff. On the concert stage she returned to Palacio de la Opera in Coruña Spain for a special evening of arias; presented recitals both in Vancouver's Singer Behind the Song Recital Series and for the McCammon Foundation at Fort Worth Opera; as well as performances of Verdi's Requiem both with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Orchestre Métropolitan in honor of Jacqueline Desmarais and for her debut with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra in Dublin under the baton of Michele Mariotti.

Meade's 2017–2018 season included a return to Washington National Opera for her role debut in Handel's Alcina; back to back contracts at the Metropolitan Opera for the title roles of Bellini's Norma and Rossini's Semiramide (broadcast live in HD); a return to Teatro Regio di Torino for Giselda in Verdi's I Lombardi; a return to Frankfurt Opera in her role debut as Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur as well as recitals with the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and Performance Santa Fe, a concert with her husband and tenor, John Matthew Myers with the Allentown Symphony and Mahler's 8th Symphony with Yannick Nézet-Séguin for her debut with the Rotterdam Philharmonic.

Discography 2007: Documentary with Jamie Barton, Amber Wagner, Michael Fabiano, Alek Shrader, Ryan Smith, Kiera Duffy, Dísella Làrusdóttir, Ryan McKinny, Nicholas Pallesen, Matthew Plenk; Marco Armiliato conducting Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus; Susan Froemke (director); released 2009 Decca 2013: Verdi, Falstaff (complete video recording) with Stephanie Blythe, Lisette Oropesa, Jennifer Johnson Cano, Ambrogio Maestri, Franco Vassallo, Paolo Fanale, Carlo Bosi, Keith Jameson, Christian Van Horn; James Levine conducting Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus; released 2015 Decca 2015: Donizetti, Le duc d'Albe (complete audio recording) with Michael Spyres, Laurent Naouri, Gianluca Buratto, David Stout, Trystan Llŷr Griffiths, Robin Tritschler, Dawid Kimberg; Sir Mark Elder conducting Hallé Orchestra and Opera Rara Chorus; released 2016 Opera Rara 2018: Verdi, I Lombardi Alla Prima Crociata (complete audio recording) with Francesco Meli, Alex Esposito, Giuseppe Gipali, Lavinia Bini, Antonio Di Matteo, Joshua Sanders, Giuseppe Capoferri, Alexandra Zabala; Michele Mariotti conducting Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Regio Torino; released 2018 Dynamic

Repertory RoleOperaComposerLocationConductorNormaNormaBelliniCaramoor Music Festival Washington National Opera

Metropolitan Opera (2011–12)

Los Angeles Opera

Teatro Real Madrid

Metropolitan Opera (2017–18)Will Crutchfield Daniele Rustioni

Riccardo Frizza

James Conlon

Roberto Abbado

Joseph ColaneriBeatrice di TendaBeatrice di TendaBelliniCollegiate ChoraleJames BagwellImogeneIl PirataBelliniCaramoor Music FestivalWill CrutchfieldMargheritaMefistofeleBoitoMetropolitan Opera Carlo Rizzi/ Joseph Colaneri Adriana LecouvreurAdriana LecouvreurCileaOper Frankfurt Steven SloaneAnna BolenaAnna BolenaDonizettiAcademy of Vocal Arts Metropolitan Opera

Teatro de la Maestranza Sevilla

ABAO Bilbao (2019–20)Christofer Macatsoris Marco Armiliato

Maurizio Benini

Giampaolo BisantiMaria StuardaMaria StuardaDonizettiAstoria Music FestivalKeith ClarkElisabettaRoberto DevereuxDonizettiDallas OperaGraeme JenkinsLucrezia BorgiaLucrezia BorgiaDonizettiCaramoor Music FestivalWill CrutchfieldHélène d'EgmontLe Duc d'AlbeDonizettiOpera Rara (recording)Sir Mark ElderLucia di LammermoorLucia di LammermoorDonizettiAcademy of Vocal ArtsChristofer MacatsorisParisina d'EsteParisina d'EsteDonizettiOpera Orchestra of New YorkEve QuelerAlcinaAlcinaHandelWashington National Opera Jane GloverVirginiaVirginiaMercadanteWexford FestivalCarlos IzcarayDonna AnnaDon GiovanniMozartLos Angeles Opera Cincinnati Opera

Baltimore Symphony

Metropolitan OperaPlácido Domingo

Roberto Minczuk

Markus Stenz

Plácido DomingoFiordiligiCosì fan tutteMozartAcademy of Vocal ArtsChristofer MacatsorisKonstanzeDie Entführung aus dem SerailMozartSan Francisco Opera *Cornelius MeisterContessa AlmavivaLe Nozze di FigaroMozartMetropolitan OperaFabio LuisiFideliaEdgarPucciniOper FrankfurtMarc SoustrotErmioneErmioneRossiniPalacio de la Ópera A Coruña Russian National Symphony

Opéra de Lyon

Theatre des Champs-Élysées

Teatro di San Carlo (2019–20)Alberto Zedda Alberto Zedda

Alberto Zedda

Alberto Zedda

Alessandro de MarchiArmidaArmidaRossiniMetropolitan Opera *Riccardo FrizzaMathildeGuillaume TellRossiniTeatro Regio di Torino Edinburgh Festival

Stresa Festival

Torino Tour of Chicago (Harris Theater), Ann Arbor MI,

Toronto (Roy Thomson Hall) and Carnegie HallGianandrea NosedaSemiramideSemiramideRossiniCaramoor Music Festival Metropolitan OperaWill Crutchfield Maurizio BeniniElviraErnaniVerdiMetropolitan OperaRoberto Abbado (2008) Marco Armiliato (2012)

James Levine (2015)AliceFalstaffVerdiMetropolitan Opera Dallas Opera James Levine Riccardo FrizzaGiseldaI LombardiVerdiOpera Orchestra of New York Teatro Regio di Torino Eve Queler Michele MariottiLucrezia ContariniI Due FoscariVerdiDeutsche Oper Berlin Teatro Real MadridRoberto Rizzi Brignoli Pablo Heras-CasadoAïdaAïdaVerdiGran Teatre del Liceu (2019–20)Gustavo GimenoDesdemonaOtelloVerdiPortland SummerFestKeith ClarkLinaStiffelioVerdiABAO BilbaoFrancesco Ivan CiampaLeonoraIl TrovatoreVerdiPortland SummerFest (2010) Astoria Music Festival (2011)

Peralada Music Festival

Metropolitan Opera (2013)

Metropolitan Opera (2016)

Palacio de la Ópera A Coruña

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Astoria Music Festival (2016)

Portland SummerFest (2016)

Seattle Opera

Teatro de la Maestranza SevilleKeith Clark Keith Clark

Roberto Rizzi Brignoli

Daniele Callegari

Marco Armiliato

Keri-Lynn Wilson

Roberto Rizzi Brignoli

Keith Clark

Keith Clark

Carlo Montanaro

Pedro HalffterViolettaLa TraviataVerdiAstoria Music FestivalKeith ClarkElenaI Vespri SicilianiVerdiWiener StaatsoperGianandrea NosedaHélèneLes Vêpres SiciliennesVerdiCaramoor Music FestivalWill CrutchfieldAgatheDer FreischützWeberAcademy of Vocal ArtsChristofer Macatsoris cover