Frederica von Stade | en

Frederica von Stade (June 1, 1945), is an American mezzo-soprano. Born in Somerville, New Jersey, Miss von Stade attended the Mannes College of Music in New York City. She made her debut with the Metropolitan Opera in 1970 and in 1971 appeared as Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro at the Santa Fe Opera. "It was two of the newcomers who left the audience dazzled: Frederica von Stade as Cherubino and Kiri te Kanawa as the Countess.

Trained in the bel canto style, von Stade is known for her roles in Gioacchino Rossini's The Barber of Seville and La Cenerentola and Vincenzo Bellini's La Sonnambula. In addition to opera, Miss von Stade has also performed a wide range of music including that from The Sound of Music and Show Boat and has appeared on numerous PBS specials, most notably in 1991's A Carnegie Hall Christmas Concert. She is also a respected recital artist ranging from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn to Broadway.

Composers, including Dominick Argento, Jake Heggie and Richard Danielpour, have produced works specifically for von Stade. She originated the role of "Tina" in Dallas Opera's world premiere production of Argento's The Aspern Papers. She has also recorded other works by Argento. Danielpour composed Elegies for orchestra, mezzo-soprano, and baritone in memory of Miss von Stade's father, Charles von Stade, who was killed late in World War II, two months before Miss von Stade's birth. Elegies premiered in January 1998 with the Jacksonville Symphony led by Roger Nierenberg and has now been recorded by the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Von Stade was the featured performer at the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and also sang with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at the Cultural Olympiad held in conjunction with the games. She also sang at the choir's annual Christmas Concert the following year.

She currently resides in Alameda, California where she gives performances supporting the arts in local schools. .