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Roberta Alexander (1976)
Roberta Alexander in 1976

Roberta Alexander (born in Lynchburg, Virginia, on March 3, 1949) is a famous American opera singer. She is a soprano, which means she sings the highest parts in opera. Roberta Alexander started her career in 1975. For the next 30 years, she sang lead roles in opera houses all over the world.

She was especially known for singing roles by the composer Mozart. From 1983 to 1991, she was a top soprano at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Some of her most famous Mozart roles included Countess Almaviva, Elettra, Fiordiligi, and Donna Elvira. She also had great success as Mimì in Puccini's La bohème and the main character in Janáček's Jenůfa. More recently, she has sung smaller, supporting roles. She performed at the Grand Théâtre de Provence in 2013, La Scala in 2014, and La Monnaie in 2015. In 2016, she sang the Fifth Maid in Strauss's Elektra at the Met. In 2019, she was Curra in Verdi's La forza del destino at the Royal Opera House in London.

Life and Career of Roberta Alexander

Roberta Alexander was born in Lynchburg, Virginia. Both of her parents studied music at Virginia State University. Her mother was also a soprano singer, and her father led choirs. When Roberta was two years old, her family moved to Yellow Springs, Ohio. Her father directed choirs at Wilberforce University there.

Early Music Training

Roberta studied music at Central State University and the University of Michigan. She also studied at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague with a teacher named Herman Woltman.

Starting Her Opera Journey

When she was 23, Roberta Alexander moved to the Netherlands. She made her first appearance at the Dutch National Opera in 1975. She sang the role of Fanny in La cambiale di matrimonio. Later that year, she created a new role, Bubikopf, in the first-ever performance of Viktor Ullmann's Der Kaiser von Atlantis.

Other early roles she sang there included Princess Ninetta in Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges. She also sang the Second Woodnymph in Rusalka and the Fifth Maid in Strauss's Elektra. She often performed as Mozart heroines at the Berlin State Opera and the Zürich Opera. These roles included Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Elettra in Idomeneo, and Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro.

Performing in America

In 1980, Roberta Alexander made her first appearance in America. She sang Pamina in The Magic Flute with the Houston Grand Opera. That same year, she debuted at the San Francisco Opera. She sang the Witch/Anne Sexton in Conrad Susa's Transformations.

She was a student singer with Santa Fe Opera. Her first main role with them was the title role in Strauss's Daphne in 1981. Her first time singing at the Metropolitan Opera was in 1983. She sang Zerlina in Don Giovanni.

She returned to the Met many times. She sang Bess in Porgy and Bess (1985) and the main role in Jenůfa (1985, 1986). Other roles included Vitellia in La clemenza di Tito (1987, 1991) and Mimì in La bohème (1987). She also sang Antonia in The Tales of Hoffmann (1987) and Countess Almaviva (1988, 1989). In 1990, she was Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. Her most recent performance at the Met was in 2016 as the Fifth Maid in Elektra.

International Performances

In 1982, Roberta Alexander sang Puccini's Mimì for the first time at the Komische Oper Berlin. She sang this role again for her first performances at The Royal Opera in London in 1984 and the English National Opera in 1992.

In 1985, she began performing at the Theater an der Wien as Cleopatra in Handel's Giulio Cesare. In 1986, she sang Donna Elvira for her first time at the Vienna State Opera. In 1989, she gave a highly praised performance as the main character in Jenůfa at the Glyndebourne Festival. She returned there in 1995 as Vitellia.

She performed and recorded several works with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Concentus Musicus Wien. These included the main role in Handel's Theodora in 1990. In 1992, she sang Daphne in Handel's Apollo e Dafne. In 1994, she played the main role in Berthold Goldschmidt's Beatrice Cenci at the Opernfest in Berlin. In 1997, she sang Donna Elvira at the Florida Grand Opera. In 2004, she played Hannah Pitt and other characters in the first-ever performance of Péter Eötvös's Angels in America in Paris.

Working with Famous Orchestras and Conductors

Roberta Alexander has recorded music for the Dutch company Etcetera Records and others like Philips. She has sung with many famous orchestras. These include the Vienna Philharmonic, London Philharmonic Orchestra, and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. She also performed with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. Other orchestras include the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

She has worked with many well-known conductors. Some of them are Vladimir Ashkenazy, Bernard Haitink, Sir Colin Davis, James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Carlo Maria Giulini, Seiji Ozawa, and Sir Simon Rattle.

Personal Life

Roberta Alexander has been married twice. Her first marriage was to conductor Edo de Waart in the early 1970s. She married her second husband, Siebe Riedstra, in 1975. He was an orchestral manager.

Selected Recordings

Roberta Alexander has made many recordings. Here are some of them:

Solo Albums

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Roberta Alexander para niños

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