Ravinia 2019, Issue 4, Week 8

ANGELA MEADE, soprano A Washington native and an alumna of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, so- prano Angela Meade earned substantial rec- ognition during her formative years, winning a total of 57 vocal competitions including the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, which is documented in the Decca DVD The Audition , and the Belvedere Compe- tition, where she was the first singer to win the top prizes for both opera and operetta. Meade made her Met debut in 2008 as Elvira in Verdi’s Ernani , and she has since established herself as a top interpreter of bel canto heroines and Verdi’s and Mozart’s operas. Further recognized by the Met with its Richard Tucker Award (2011) and Beverly Sills Artist Award (2012), she has also alighted to its stage as Leonora in Verdi’s Il tro- vatore , the Countess in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro , Alice Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff , and Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni , as well as in the title roles of Bellini’s Norma , Donizetti’s Anna Bolena , and Rossini’s Semiramide . Over the past year, Meade made her role debut as Margheri- ta in Boito’s Mefistofele at the Met and reprised her Leonora in her Seattle Opera debut and at Seville’s Teatro de la Maestranza, her Alice Ford at Dallas Opera, and her Semiramide for Asoci- ación Bilbaina de Amigos de la Ópera in Spain. She also sang in Verdi’s RequiemwithMontreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain and Ireland’s RTÉ Na- tional Symphony, gave concerts of opera high- lights with Sinfónica de Galicia and at Palacio de la Ópera in Spain, and made her debut at the Rossini Opera Festival. Meade has taken bows in such other roles as Elena in Verdi’s I vespri siciliani (Vienna State Opera debut), Hélène in Verdi’s Les vêpres siciliennes and the title role of Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia (Caramoor), Giselda in Verdi’s I Lombardi (Lincoln Center, Teatro Regio di Torino), and the title roles of Doni- zetti’s Maria Stuarda (Astoria Music Festival), Mercadante’s Virginia (Wexford Festival), Han- del’s Alcina (Washington National Opera), and Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur (Oper Frankfurt). Angela Meade is making both her Ravinia and Chicago Symphony Orchestra debuts. LEAH CROCETTO, soprano A winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and finalist in the BBC Car- diff Singer of the World Competition, soprano Leah Crocetto recently made her Carnegie Hall recital debut and joined the Los Angeles Philhar- monic for Mahler’s “Symphony of a Thousand.” A former apprentice with Sarasota Opera and San Francisco Opera—both in the Merola Pro- gram and as an Adler Fellow—she has frequently returned to the latter company’s stage. Crocetto made her role debut as Verdi’s titular Aida in San Francisco in 2016, reprising the role with Washington National Opera (2017) and Seattle Opera (2018), and most recently returned as Liù in Puccini’s Turandot , which was the vehicle of her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2015. She has also starred as Mimì in Puccini’s La bohème and in the title role of Verdi’s Luisa Miller with San Francisco Opera. In the past two seasons, Cro- cetto has appeared as Leonora in Verdi’s Il tro- vatore with Oper Frankfurt and Seattle Opera; soloed in Verdi’s Requiem with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (her Australian debut), Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, and (US) National Symphony Orchestra; and performed the title roles of Puccini’s Tosca with Pittsburgh Opera and Bellini’s Norma with North Carolina Opera. Recent highlights also include her role debut as Eleonora in the first US performances of Donizetti’s L’assedio di Calais with Glimmerglass, Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, her debut in the title role of Rossini’s Semiramide with Bordeaux National Opera, Anna in Rossini’s Maometto II with the Canadian Opera Company and Santa Fe Opera, Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Santa Fe Opera, Desdemona in Verdi’s Otello with the English and Bordeaux National Operas, Madame Lidoine in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites with Washington Na- tional Opera, Elisabetta di Valois in Verdi’s Don Carlo with Opera Philadelphia, role debuts as Al- ice Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff with Frankfurt Opera and Mimì with Pittsburgh Opera, and Handel’s Messiah with the National Symphony Orchestra. Leah Crocetto is making her Ravinia and Chica- go Symphony Orchestra debuts. JEANINE DE BIQUE, soprano Hailing from Trinidad and Tobago, soprano Jeanine De Bique has earned study grants from the 2011 Metropolitan Opera National Coun- cil Auditions and the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation, as well as a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music. Her honors also include the Arleen Auger Prize from the Her- togenbosch International Vocal Competition and third prizes from the Viotti International Music Competition and Gerda Lissner Vocal Competition. While a member of the Vienna State Opera ensemble, De Bique appeared as Gianetta in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore , Barbarina in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro , Kate Pinker- ton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly , and Ada in Wagner’s Die Feen . Her recent engagements have included Annio in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito at the Salzburg Festival and Amsterdam National Opera, Consuelo in John Adams’s I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Sophie in Massenet’s Werther at Theater Basel, Pearl in Ricky Ian Gordon’s Morning Star with Cin- cinnati Opera, Clara in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess with Royal Danish Opera and on tour with the Russian Philharmonic, Sister Rose in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking with Central City Opera, and Musetta in Puccini’s La bohème with Scottish Opera. Additionally, De Bique has been a soloist in Mozart’s Requiem at the Hollywood Bowl and Lincoln Center, Handel’s Messiah with Boston Baroque and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem with the Munich Philharmonic, and Mahler’s Sym- phony No. 8 with the New York Philharmonic. Highlights of the past year have included por- traying Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Opéra national du Rhin and the title role of Handel’s Rodelinda on a French tour, creat- ing Aida in Micha Hamel’s Caruso in Cuba with Dutch National Opera, and making her role de- but as Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro with Arizona Opera, a character she will reprise at San Francisco Opera this fall. Jeanine De Bique is making her Chicago Symphony Orchestra de- but as well as her first return to Ravinia follow- ing her 2018 festival debut. RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JULY 22 – JULY 28, 2019 102