Cecilia Bartoli facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cecilia Bartoli OMRI
Bartoli at the Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels in 2007
Born	(1966-06-04) 4 June 1966 (age 59) Rome, Italy
Education	Conservatorio Santa Cecilia
Occupation	Opera singer recitalist arts administrator
Years active	1987–present
Title	Artistic Director of Salzburg Whitsun Festival (since 2012) Director of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo (since 2023)
Spouse(s)	Oliver Widmer ​ (m. 2011)​
Awards	Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Léonie Sonning Music Prize Handel Music Prize Herbert von Karajan Music Prize Polar Music Prize

Bartoli after a concert performance of La Cenerentola at the Salle Pleyel, 2008

Cecilia Bartoli (born 4 June 1966) is an amazing Italian opera singer. She is known for her powerful and beautiful voice, which is called a mezzo-soprano. This means her voice is in the middle range, between a high soprano and a low alto.

She is famous for singing music by composers like Mozart, Rossini, and Vivaldi. She also loves to bring back older, less-known music from the Baroque and Classical times. People say her voice has a special "timbre," which means it has a unique sound quality. It's known for being rich in the lower notes and clear and strong in the higher ones.

Early Life and First Performances

Cecilia Bartoli was born in Rome, Italy. Her parents, Silvana Bazzoni and Pietro Angelo Bartoli, were also professional singers. They gave her her very first music lessons.

When she was just nine years old, Cecilia performed in public for the first time. She played a shepherd boy in an opera called Tosca. Later, she studied music at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome. At 19, she made her TV debut on an Italian show called Fantastico. Even though she didn't win the competition, she was asked to sing for a special concert honoring the famous singer Maria Callas.

An Amazing Opera Career

Cecilia Bartoli's professional opera journey began in 1987 at the Arena di Verona, an ancient Roman amphitheater used for concerts. The next year, she played Rosina in Rossini's The Barber of Seville in several cities, getting great reviews.

She started working with famous conductors like Daniel Barenboim. This helped her focus on Mozart's operas, where she played roles like Zerlina in Don Giovanni. From then on, her career grew all over the world.

In the 1990s, she performed at major opera houses. She sang at the Opéra Bastille in Paris and the Hamburg State Opera. In 1991, she made her debut at La Scala in Milan, one of the most famous opera houses in the world. This performance helped her become known as one of the best Rossini singers.

In 1996, Bartoli first sang at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She returned there to sing the main role in La Cenerentola (Cinderella) and Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro. In 2001, she finally performed at the Royal Opera House in London, singing in an opera by Haydn.

Discovering Baroque Music

Bartoli as Cleopatra at the Salzburg Festival, 2012

Besides Mozart and Rossini, Cecilia Bartoli has spent a lot of her career performing and recording music from the Baroque and early Classical periods. These include composers like Vivaldi and Handel. She often performs with a special group called Il Giardino Armonico, which plays music from these older times.

In 2012, Bartoli created a project called Mission. This project brought to life the music of Agostino Steffani, a Baroque composer who wasn't very well known. She released his music on a CD and also made a music video. In the video, she plays Agostino in the palace of Versailles, showing the historical style of the Baroque period through the setting and costumes.

Singing Bel Canto Music

From 2007 to 2008, Bartoli focused on music from the early 1800s, a time known for Italian Romanticism and bel canto. Bel canto means "beautiful singing" and focuses on smooth, flowing melodies and showing off the singer's voice. She especially studied the legendary singer Maria Malibran.

Bartoli released an album called Maria in 2007, honoring Malibran. In 2010, she sang the main role in Bellini's opera Norma for the first time. She also toured Australia, performing songs from her albums Sacrificium and Maria.

Leading Opera Festivals

In 2012, Cecilia Bartoli became the artistic director of the Salzburg Whitsun Festival in Austria. This festival is a part of the famous Salzburg Festival. As director, she changed the festival's approach, focusing on beautiful programs and inviting great artists. This led to record ticket sales and made the festival very popular around the world.

In 2012, she sang Cleopatra in Handel's Giulio Cesare at the festival. In 2013, she performed the main role in Bellini's Norma, and in 2014, she sang in Rossini's La Cenerentola.

In December 2019, it was announced that Bartoli would become the director of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo starting in January 2023. This was a big step, as she became the first woman to hold this important position!

Personal Life

Cecilia Bartoli lives with her husband, Oliver Widmer, who is also a singer. They got married in 2011 after being together for twelve years. They live in Switzerland and also spend part of the year in Rome.

Awards and Recognition

Cecilia Bartoli has received many awards and honors for her amazing talent:

• She was made a Chevalier of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1995.
• In 1999, she became a Commander of Monaco's Order of Cultural Merit.
• In 2003, she won the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.
• She received an honorary degree from University College Dublin in 2010.
• In 2011, she won her fifth Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance for her album Sacrificium.
• In 2012, she was voted into the Hall of Fame by Gramophone magazine.
• She also received the Herbert von Karajan Music Prize in 2012.

Her Recordings

Cecilia Bartoli has recorded many operas and albums. Here are some of them:

Opera Recordings

Solo Albums with Orchestra

Solo Albums with Piano

• Rossini Recital (1990)
• If You Love Me – "Se tu m'ami": Eighteenth-century Italian Songs (1992)
• The Impatient Lover – Italian Songs by Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart, Haydn (1993)
• Chant D'Amour (1996)
• An Italian Songbook (1997)
• Live in Italy (1998)

Solo Albums with Cello

• Dolce Duello: Cecilia & Sol – with Sol Gabetta (2017)

Sacred Music

• Rossini: Stabat Mater (1990)
• Mozart: Requiem (1992)
• Scarlatti: Salve Regina, Pergolesi: Stabat Mater, Salve Regina (1993)
• Rossini: Stabat Mater (1996)

Cantatas

• Rossini Cantatas Volume 2

Compilations

• A Portrait (1995)
• The Art of Cecilia Bartoli (2002)
• Sospiri (2010)

See also

In Spanish: Cecilia Bartoli para niños