Go to page content

< Previous: Hila Plitmann | Next: Jessica Rivera >

Sondra Radvanovsky Soprano

Artist Website

American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky's dynamic stage presence and stunning vocal gifts have firmly established her as one of the leading stars on the international stage today. Her rich vibrato and expressive timbre have captivated the attention of audiences and critics alike, drawing praise from The New York Times, The Times (UK), and the San Francisco Chronicle, among many others. She is widely esteemed as one of the prominent Verdian sopranos of her generation.

This season, Ms. Radvanovsky sings the title role of Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera after receiving accolades for her debut performances in the role at Opera Colorado. In addition to Tosca, another major appearance at the Metropolitan Opera this season will be a reprisal of Leonora in David McVicar's acclaimed production of Il trovatore, which will be transmitted live as part of the Met's internationally syndicated HD broadcast series. Ms. Radvanovsky will have important role debuts as two of Verdi's heroines, Aïda at the Canadian Opera Company and Amelia in Un ballo in maschera at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Other highlights include Il trovatore at the Arena di Verona and Elena in I vespri siciliani at the Teatro Regio di Torino.

Ms. Radvanovsky has performed in every major opera house in the world, including the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Vienna State Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera and numerous others. Her home theater is the Metropolitan Opera, where she began her training in the late 1990s. After performances in smaller roles there, Ms. Radvanovsky came to attention as Luisa in Luisa Miller, and was singled out as a soprano to watch by critics and the public alike.

Ms. Radvanovsky's first solo recording, Verdi Arias, was released in April 2010 on the Delos label. On NPR's All Things Considered, Thomas Huizenga said of the disc, "She blew me away … the voice is really big, yet she knows how to harness all that power!" A second disc, Verdi Opera Scenes, with acclaimed baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky, was recorded live in Russia and will be released this season.

On the concert platform, Ms. Radvanovsky has performed Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Verbier Festival Orchestra, both with James Levine. She has sung Rossini's Stabat Mater with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Verdi's Requiem with the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Chicago Symphony with David Zinman, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra with Fabio Luisi, and at the Cincinnati May Festival with James Conlon.

Born just outside Chicago, Ms. Radvanovsky and her husband now make their home near Toronto, Canada.

This is for information only and should not be reproduced. Please see full biography for further details.