Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky is a globally celebrated artist. The sincerity and intensity that she brings to the stage as one of the most prominent Verdian sopranos of her generation have won her accolades from critics and loyalty from passionate fans. When the Washington Post praised her singing as “outright gorgeous, poignant and silvery,” it confirmed what Radvanovsky followers had known for years.

 

Radvanovsky has performed in every major opera house in the world, including Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Vienna State Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, and numerous others. Her home theatre is the Metropolitan Opera, where she began her training in the late 1990s. After performances in smaller roles there, Radvanovsky came to attention as Antonia in Les contes d'Hoffmann, and was singled out as a soprano to watch. On the concert platform, Radvanovsky has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Verbier Festival Orchestra, both with James Levine, and with the Chicago Symphony with David Zinman. Last season saw a duet recital at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center.

 

Recent concerts of opera arias in Moscow led to her debut recording, Verdi Arias, released in April 2010 on the Delos label. The album quickly became a critical darling, and was included on NPR's Top 10 Classical Albums of 2010 list. The disc was also highlighted as a notable recording by Alex Ross in his 2010 Best-Of List for The New Yorker magazine. In 2011, Delos released a CD of Verdi opera scenes with Radvanovsky and her frequent artistic partner, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, to coincide with the pair’s return to the Met Opera stage in Il Trovatore. The disc was recorded with the Philharmonia of Russia and Constantine Orbelian.

 

During the 2010-2011 season, Radvanovsky made her Metropolitan Opera role debut as Tosca, and immediately traveled to Milan to sing the role in her in her return to La Scala. Earlier in the season, Radvanovsky's first performances of the title role in Aïda with the Canadian Opera Company received raves. In addition to the roles of Tosca and Aïda, 2010 also marked yet another role debut for Radvanovsky: Amelia in Un ballo in maschera at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. This season, Radvanovsky made two Metropolitan Opera HD broadcast debuts: in January 2011, she hosted the broadcast of La Fanciulla del West, and in April 2011, audiences in movie theaters worldwide witnessed her performance as Leonora in Il Trovatore.

 

The upcoming 2011-2012 season will see Radvanovsky performing Verdi concerts with the San Francisco Symphony and with the Prague Opera during their gala events. In December, she will sing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at Teatro del Maggio Musicale under Zubin Mehta. In early 2012, Radvanovsky will sing Aïda at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. She then makes her Toronto Symphony Orchestra debut and finishes her season in Cyrano de Bergerac at Teatro Real with Plácido Domingo in the title role.

 

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