Frederica von Stade is not your typical musician. She began at the top and has stayed at the top of her profession for the last 25 years.
Since receiving a contract from the Metropolitan Opera in 1970, she has never looked back.
She is regularly invited by the world's premiere conductors to appear in the finest orchestras: the Boston Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the London Symphony and several others.
She has recorded over three dozen albums for every major label. Her recordings have won her five Grammy nominations, two Grand Prox du Disc awards, Italy's Premio della Critica Discografica, and "Best of the Year" citations by Stereo Review and Opera News, just to name a few.
Educated at the Mannes School of Music, von Stade has also been awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Yale, Georgetown and Boston University.
Her musicianship, however, far outshines her accomplishments. She has consistently shown that she has one of the most versatile voices in the business.
Aside from singing with classical musicians, she has also performed with Kathleen Battle and jazzman Wynton Marsalis. Her range is reflected in tonight's program, which features everything from "Serenity" by Charles Ives to "Cinco canciones populares argentinas," arranged by Alberto Ginastera. Although she is well noted as a bel canto specialist, she is also an unmatched stylist in the French repertoire.
Recently, she has also enjoyed the distinction of simultaneously holding the first and second places on the national sales chart, for Angel/EMI's "Showboat" and Telarc's "The Sound of Music."
Tonight, she will perform with pianist Martin Katz, featuring selections by Alesandro Scarlatti, Gustav Mahler, Aaron Copland and Arnold Schonberg.
Von Stade and Katz will perform at 8 PM at Spaulding Auditorium in the Hopkins Center for the Performing Arts.
