Mónika González is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

singer born in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Gonzalez graduated from the Franz Liszt Music Academy in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

as choir conductor, pianist, and opera singer. Winner of the international "Toti dal Monte" Singing Competition. She made her debut in Italy with Peter Maag in

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

’s ''Figaro''. By the personal invitation of

Dame Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s. She possess ...

and

Richard Bonynge Richard Alan Bonynge ( ) (born 29 September 1930) is an Australian conductor and pianist. He is the widower of Australian dramatic coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland. Bonynge conducted virtually all of Sutherland's operatic performances ...

, Gonzalez studied at their home in Montreux, and prepared a special recital put together by them. She sings regularly in Italy, for example in the ''Teatro dell’Opera di Roma'', the ''Teatro Massimo di Palermo'', etc. She also sings opera productions in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, gives concerts in Italy, the

U.K. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, and the Sultanate of

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Gonzalez is a member of the Hungarian State Opera and the Budapest Chamber Opera where she sings Violetta, Donna Anna, Vitellia, Contessa, Pamina, Norina, and Poppea, etc. Gonzalez worked together with conductors such as Georges Prêtre, Iván Fischer, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Ervin Lukács, Sigiswald Kuijken, Will Humburg, W. Gönnenwein, and with directors as Gianfranco de Bosio, Pierluigi Pizzi, etc. In 2004, she was awarded the Franz Liszt State Prize by the Government of Hungary. In the 2005 Budapest Spring Festival, she made her debut in the title role of Haendel’s ''Semele''. In 2006, she sang the role of Eva in ''

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (; "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg"), WWV 96, is a music drama, or opera, in three acts, by Richard Wagner. It is the longest opera commonly performed, taking nearly four and a half hours, not counting two breaks between acts, and is traditio ...

'' in the new production of the Hungarian State Opera House, led by Yuri Simonov. Gonzalez presently lives in Budapest, Hungary.

Recordings

She has made an Italian videofilm production (UNESCO) of Verdi’s ''

La traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

'' as Violetta directed by Gianfranco de Bosio. There is also a CD recording with the SWR Stuttgart Symphony Orchestra on Hungaroton, Forlain, Bongiovanni.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Monika Living people Italian operatic sopranos Singers from Budapest Year of birth missing (living people)