June 20, 2008 Vivica to appear on French TV (France 2) on "Musique au coeur cinq étoiles" with host Ms. Eve Ruggieri, noted French TV personality, journalist and musicologist |
April 11, 2008 Each year Pittsburgh Opera recognizes an individual for his or her contributions to advancing opera as an art form. This year, on Saturday, May 17, the Company will honor Vivica with their Maecenas Award, which will be bestowed at a Gala Dinner, marking the twenty-fourth time someone has thus been honored. She joins an illustrious group of past winners who include: Dame Joan Sutherland, Beverly Sills, Marilyn Horne, Stephanie Blythe, Shirley Verrett, Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally. This follows Vivica's appearances as Romeo in Pittsburgh Opera's production of Bellini's I Capuleti ed I Montecchi (May 3, 6, 9, 11m)
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October 30, 2007 World premiere recording of Vivaldi’s thrilling opera Atenaide, boasting an all-star cast including Sandrine Piau, Vivica Genaux, Nathalie Stutzmann, and Paul Agnew, is latest release in naïve’s landmark Vivaldi Edition Susan Orlando, the director for naïve’s acclaimed Vivaldi Edition, calls the label’s new world-premiere recording of Vivaldi’s tour-de-force opera Atenaide “a little miracle,” that rare opera recording where a remarkable work is performed by an equally and uniformly remarkable cast. Orlando explains: This work was commissioned from Vivaldi by the Teatro della Pergola in Florence and premiered in 1728. What’s especially exciting about this recording is that when we did the casting for it everything came together perfectly. When you cast an opera you put together a dream list, but you rarely end up with your number one choices. For some reason – pure luck, I suppose – we got all our number one choices – Sandrine Piau [Atenaide/Eudossa], Vivica Genaux [Teodosio], Nathalie Stutzmann [Marziano], Guillemette Laurens [Pulcheria], Romina Basso [Varane], Paul Agnew [Leontino], and Stefano Ferrari [Probo]. It’s an extraordinary cast! As luck would have it that this happens to be one of Vivaldi’s most spectacular operas. Basically, he took the best arias from his other operas and put them all into this one opera. What you end up with is a collection of great bravura arias with singers who have all of the agility to rise to the demands of this very challenging music. The result is unbelievable – a little miracle! Everything came together perfectly for this recording, and that rarely happens. Eminent Florentine conductor and Vivaldi specialist Federico Maria Sardelli achieves his long-held goal of recording this exotically-set and compulsively entertaining opera not only in his native Florence, but in the very theatre in which it was first performed two hundred and seventy-nine years ago. Susan Orlando explains the genesis of naïve’s Vivaldi Edition: When Vivaldi died in 1741 he had at home the original music scores of most of what he had written during his lifetime, some 450 pieces including 110 concerti for violin, 40 concerti for bassoon, 20 operas, sacred music, and much more. Most of it had never been published. Through an intriguing tale that I won’t go into now, that enormous bulk of music ended up intact in the National Library in Torino (Turin), Italy in the 1930s, and has been there ever since. Specialists have occasionally performed a few of the scores but for the most part this music has remained totally unknown to the greater public. An eminent Italian musicologist living in Torino, Alberto Basso, conceived the idea of recording the entire collection. He divided the works by genre so that you have, for example, theatrical music, sacred music, concerti for violin, concerti for two or more soloists, etc. He presented the idea to naive, they were enthusiastic, and thus in 2000 the Vivaldi Edition began. Visit http://www.vivaldi-atenaide.com for more information, including film footage from the recording sessions.
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April 17, 2007 Today, New York City Opera presented its 2006-7 Awards for Artistic Excellence and Vivica Genaux was honored with the Christopher Keene Award, given annually to an artist performing in new or unusual repertory. Robin Thompson, the Associate Artistic Director of the Company, in informing Vivica, told her that “the Award recognized her achievement in the pivotal role of Juno/Ino in the rarely performed Semele.” Created in 1998 by the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation in memory of Christopher Keene, City Opera's General Director from 1989-1995, the Award commemorates Mr. Keene's commitment to artistic innovation. The Award carries with it a $5,000 cash prize.” Upon learning the news, Miss Genaux commented, “I'm especially honored to be given this recognition from New York City Opera, because I had such a great experience working with the Company and to receive an Award, as well, is icing on the cake."
March 7, 2007 The release date for "Fracture" (which includes a scene of Vivica singing an excerpt from the aria "Ombra fedele anch'io" from Riccardo Broschi's Baroque opera Idaspe) has been moved up to April 20, 2007. Go to IMDb for more info and international release dates. |
September 18, 2006 Vivica's interview/live appearance is now up and ready to be seen and heard on www.ArtsPass.com. She's the first item in the News ticker on the home page and there is a direct play link so you don't have to register to watch the video, making it easier for you to access the interview. It's 47 minutes long so you may want to wait until you have some relaxed viewing and listening (!!) time. September 2, 2006 August 25, 2006
March 30, 2006
March 12, 2006 You may well have seen Walt Disney Concert Hall as a background for car commercials and fashion photographs as well as for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Now it's going to be part of an action movie due out in the fall and starring Anthony Hopkins. Directed by Gregory Hoblit, "Fracture" casts Hopkins as a man who tries to shoot his wife and, in a cat-and-mouse game with an assistant D.A. (Ryan Gosling), is set free on a series of technicalities.
March 6, 2006 Vivica's cameo appearance was shot last week at Los Angeles' Walt Disney Concert Hall. Two of the movie's protagonists (Pike and Gosling) meet and attend her Recital, where she is seen and heard singing an excerpt from the aria "Ombra fedele anch'io" from Riccardo Broschi's Baroque opera IDASPE. The film, directed by Gregory Hoblit ("Primal Fear", "Hart's War") and produced by Chuck Weinstock ("Where the Money Is", "Joe Gould's Secret") is scheduled to be released in the Fall/Winter of 2006. |