Aprile Millo

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Aprile Millo (born April 14, 1958) is an American lirico spinto soprano of Italian and Irish ancestry. Noted by opera fans the world over, Millo is known by many for the beauty of her voice and her nuanced interpretation. Her performances were greeted by great acclaim both from the public and the press. New York Times of April 4, 1986,Donal Henahan writes, " Miss Millo," wrote Donal Henahan in The New York Times after Monday’s performance of ”Don Carlo,” ‘’sounds more and more like the Verdi soprano we’ve been waiting for.” "It is not just the range and timbre that has so impressed her listeners but the size, carrying power and dramatic ring of her voice - qualities necessary to the great dramatic soprano roles but very hard to find among this generation of singers." Mr. Rockwell wrote for the New York Times, June 18, 1986 of a Central Park performance of AIDA for the Met Parks, "Miss Millo has a real Verdi sound....... her darkly yet delicately colored lower voice, full of urgency in the phrasing, and her overall mastery of this role from a technical and interpretive standpoint, are already very moving. Her performance reached its high point just where it must, in the third act, when Aida grows from a supplicating ingenue into a woman torn by her conflicts. With singing like this, nothing could dull the intensity of Verdi’s drama. The concert formality, the populist setting, the amplification, all fell away in the face of real operatic drama embodied in song. If Mr. Domingo and Mr. Pavarotti can match that in the next two parks openers, the Met and its fans will be fortunate indeed." Her voice and mannerisms recall the great singers Renata Tebaldi, Zinka Milanov and Claudia Muzio. Millo writes her own blog, called Operavision.

[edit] Background and early career

Aprile Millo was born in New York City, the daughter of tenor Giovanni Millo and Margherita Ghirosi. Millo took an early interest in music, and after graduating Hollywood High School in 1976 she was invited to join the San Diego Opera Center as an apprentice. Shortly their after a number of singing prizes were awarded to Millo including the Geraldine Farrar Award, the Montserrat CaballéBernabe Merti Special Verdi Prize Award in Barcelona, and first prize in the Concorso Internazionale di Voci Verdiane in Bussetto, Italy. Following her return to the United States, Millo was hired by the Utah Opera to make her professional stage debut as Aida in 1980 and she followed with Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana" in early 81.

In 1981 Aprile Millo went to New York to take part in the Metropolitan Opera’s open auditions at 22. She was offered and accepted to become one of the inaugural members of the Met’s Young Artist Program, as well as cover leading assignments.

In 1983, Millo made her European debut in Karlsruhe, Germany singing AIDA, and then a month later made her La Scala Debut at 24, replacing soprano Mirella Freni as Elvira in Verdi’s Ernani.

Millo made her New York debut with Eve Queler and the Opera Orchestra of New York in November singing Matilde in Rossini's "William Tell".

On December 3, 1984, Millo made her Metropolitan Opera debut in dramatic fashion replacing an ailing soprano as Amelia in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra with James Levine on the podium. The critics raved about Millo’s performance, "A New Verdi Star" the New York Times proclaimed. The next year, 1985, Millo took the Richard Tucker Prize, a major award for classical singers. In 1986 Millo was one of four to receive the coveted Maria Callas Foundation Award.

Aprile Millo studied voice exclusively with her parents until 1981 when she came to the Metropolitan Opera. Working with Rita Patane' and David Stivender from 1983 to 1994. Millo has worked with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf who took her to Herbert Von Karajan, and with her beloved mentors Renata Tebaldi and Zinka Milanov and Licia Albanese.

[edit] Career highlights

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In 1986 Aprile Millo made her debut in Carnegie Hall with Verdi’s I Lombardi alla prima crociata with famed tenor Carlo Bergonzi and Eve Queler and the Opera Orchestra of New York. She has sung over 160 performances of 15 different roles at the Metropolitan Opera. Including the Il Trovatore Leonora, Aida, the Amelia in Simon Boccanegra as well as the Un ballo in maschera Amelia, and Tosca.

Millo's debut recording in 1986 with the London Symphony and Giuseppe Patanè was the Best Selling Record of 1986 Billboard Charts.

Millo has performed in the greatest opera houses all over the world including Frankfurt, Barcelona, Parma, Rome, Bologna, Torino, the Arena of Verona, The Baths of Caracalla, San Francisco Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Cincinnati Opera, Munich, Berlin, Vienna, Zurich, Paris, Orange, Moscow, Seville, Bilbao, Rio de Janero, Sao Paolo, Santiago, Colon - Buenos Aires and La Scala, Milan.

She recorded with the Metropolitan Opera and James Levine a highly acclaimed Verdi Series for Sony Classical that include AIDA, Il TROVATORE, LUISA MILLER, and DON CARLO.

Millo toured to Vienna with Arena Di Verona in 1987 as Aida.

She had the privilege of Opening Night at the Metropolitan Opera for 1989 in Verdi's masterpiece, Aida with James Levine and Plácido Domingo. It was recorded live for broadcast and DVD/CD release by DG and won an Emmy.

Miss Millo also recorded for DG a new production of Verdi's "Un Ballo in Maschera" with the Metropolitan Opera and James Levine opposite legendary tenor Luciano Pavarotti. Also released on DVD. 1991

Millo debuted in Munich with Giuseppe Sinopoli in Verdi's "La Forza del Destino" in 1992.

Miss MIllo toured with the Metropolitan Opera to Japan in 1988 and 1993, returning in 1989,1990 and 1991 for solo Recitals.

She was the Giselda for the Premiere performance of Verdi's "Il Lombardi" at the Metropolitan Opera House -the first in the illustrious opera house's history- opposite Luciano Pavarotti and James Levine conducting in late 1993 Early 1994.

Taking time off after a car accident in Torino which forced a cancellation of "Caterina Cornaro" in New York, Millo returned to the stage in her artistic home of the Metropolitan Opera for performances of Verdi's "Simon Boccanegra" opposite Plácido Domingo with James Levine, in 1995, and the Radio Broadcast of Texaco Opera from the Metropolitan Opera as Desdemona to Plácido Domingo's Otello, also with James Levine in February of 1996.

In 1996 Millo was the Maddalena to Luciano Pavarotti's debut Andrea Chenier at the Metropolitan Opera with James Levine in a new production of Nicolas Joel.

In 1997 for the Liceo in Barcelona Millo debuted Puccini's "Tosca" opposite Giacomo Aragall and Juan Pons and followed that with a debut Tosca for La Scala.

Millo debuted Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera in 1998, following with Mefistofole in 1999-2000 and Andrea Chenier opposite Plácido Domingo in 2002.

In 2004 Millo debuted the title role in Cilea's "Adriana Lecovreur" with Eve Queler and the Opera Orchestra of New York. The New York Times declared "Millo had a triumph!"

In 2005 Millo debuted La Gioconda by Ponchielli and Minnie in La Fanciulla del West of Puccini at Carnegie Hall and OONY and Eve Queler.

2006 saw Miss Millo return to the Metropolitan Opera for three different roles, her debut performance of Gioconda in La Gioconda with Bertrand DeBilly on the podium and with Luisotti in the pit, Tosca and finally Andrea Chenier with Ben Heppner in 2007.

Millo brought back the neglected verismo opera "Zaza" not performed in New York since 1927. Alfredo Silipigni was the revered Maestro for Teatro Grattacielo in 2005.

[edit] Roles and discography

This article or section needs to be wikified to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please help improve this article with relevant internal links. (April 2008)

EMI Presenting Aprile Millo 1986 London Symphony and Giuseppe Patanè. Sony Classical in 1990 for Aida, 1991 for Luisa Miller and Il Trovatore and 1992 Don Carlo. Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus under James Levine.

Opera	Role	Year
Aida	Aida	1988
Andrea Chenier	Maddalena di Coigny	1985
Adriana Lecouvreur	Adriana Lecouvreur	2002
Cavalleria Rusticana	Santuzza	1981
Don Carlo	Elisabeth of Valois	1986
Ernani	Elvira	1982
Il Trovatore	Lenora	1988
Il Lombardi	Giselda	1986
Il Pirata	Imogene	1990
La Fanciulla del West	Minnie	2004
La Battaglia di Legnano	Lida	1987
La Forza del Destino	Lenora	1992
La Gioconda	Gioconda	2004
La Wally	Wally	1991
Le Villi	Anna	2006
Luisa Miller	Luisa Miller	1988
Otello	Desdemona	1987
Mefistofele	Margherita/Helena	1991
Simon Boccanegra	Maria Boccanegra (Amelia Grimaldi)	1984
Tosca	Tosca	1997
Turandot	Liu	1988
Un Ballo in Maschera	Amelia	1991
Requiem (Verdi)	Soprano	1986
William Tell	Mathilde	1984
Zaza	Zaza	2005