Norah Amsellem (born 1974) is a French opera singer who has appeared in leading

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

roles in both North America, Europe, Asia since her debut in 1995. Her discography of complete opera recordings includes ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' (as Micaela) for

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in We ...

, ''

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) for Opus Arte, and '' La bohème'' (as Mimì) for Telarc.

Life and career

Amsellem was born in Paris. She began her musical education there, singing at the choir school of

Maîtrise de Radio France Maîtrise de Radio France (known as Maîtrise de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française prior to 1975) is the choir school of Radio France. The school and its choir were founded in 1946 by the composer Henry Barraud and the pedagogue Maurice D ...

as well as studying harp and piano. She then went to the United States to study under

Dalton Baldwin Dalton Baldwin (December 19, 1931 – December 12, 2019) was an American accompanist. He made more than 100 recordings and won numerous prizes, working with outstanding singers such as Gérard Souzay, Elly Ameling, Arleen Auger, and Jessye Norman. ...

at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. She also took singing classes with Lorraine Nubar at Juilliard. Amsellem graduated from Westminster in 1994, and that same year at 19 years old, she was one of the youngest winners of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions unanimous vote. She first appeared at the Met in March 1995 in a minor role in '' Idomeneo'' while a member of their Lindemann Young Artist Program, and made her official debut in October 1995 as in Micaela in ''Carmen''. She went on to sing at the Met 30 more times between 1995 and 2007 in roles including Liù in '' Turandot'' and Gilda in '' Rigoletto''. Kutsch, Karl-Josef and Riemens, Leo (2004)
"Amsellem, Norah"
''

Großes Sängerlexikon ''Großes Sängerlexikon'' (''Biographical Dictionary of Singers'', literally: Large singers' lexicon) is a single-field dictionary of singers in classical music, edited by Karl-Josef Kutsch and Leo Riemens and first published in 1987. The first ...

'' (4th edition), Vol. 4, p. 90. Walter de Gruyter. In the 1990s, she also made a number of European house debuts. These included performing as Michaela at the Opéra Bastille and as Countess Almaviva in ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

'' at Glyndebourne in 1997 and in the title role of ''

Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was first ...

'' at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

in 1999. Amsellem made both her role debut as Violetta in ''

'' and her house debut at the

Teatro Real The Teatro Real (Royal Theatre) is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace of Madrid, Royal Palace, and known colloquially as ''El Real'', it is considered the top institution of the performing a ...

in Madrid in October 2003 when she replaced

Angela Gheorghiu Angela Gheorghiu (; ; born 7 September 1965) is a Romanian soprano, especially known for her performances in the operas of Puccini and Verdi, widely recognised by critics and opera lovers as one of the greatest sopranos of all time. Embarking h ...

in a new production of the opera by

Pier Luigi Pizzi Pier Luigi Pizzi (born 15 June 1930) is an Italian opera director, set and costume designer. Biography Pizzi was born in Milan, Italy, and earned a degree in architecture at the Politecnico of Milan. Against the will of his skeptical father, he ...

which updated the setting to Paris during the Nazi occupation. Amsellem, who had been in the second cast replaced Georghiu at the premiere. According to '' La Razon'', her performance was "a triumph". She has gone on to sing Violetta multiple times including at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 2004, the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

in London in 2005 and 2008, the Teatro Comunale in Bologna in 2005, the Vienna Staatsoper in 2006 and 2007, the

Carlo Felice Charles Felix (; 6 April 1765 – 27 April 1831) was the Duke of Savoy, Piedmont, Aosta and King of Sardinia from 1821 to 1831. Early life Charles Felix was born in Turin as the eleventh child and fifth son born to Victor Amadeus III of ...

in Genoa in 2010, and at the Cincinnati Opera in 2018. Amsellem also returned to the Teatro Real in 2005 to reprise her Violetta in the Pizzi production. That performance was filmed for broadcast on Spanish television and later released on DVD and won a Gramophone award.McCarthy, James (10 September 2012)
"Verdi's ''La Traviata''"
'' Gramophone Magazine''. Retrieved 11 October 2017. Among the later roles which Amsellem has added to her repertoire are Matilde in '' Guillaume Tell'' ( Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, 2007); Elvira in '' I puritani'' ( Seattle Opera, 2008); Olympia, Antonia, and Giulietta in '' The Tales of Hoffmann'' (Seattle Opera, 2014). Marguerite in '' Faust'' ( Las Palmas Opera Festival, 2015); and Nedda in ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who m ...

'' ( Teatro de São Carlos, 2017).

Recordings

*Bizet: ''

'' –

Anna Caterina Antonacci Anna Caterina Antonacci (born 5 April 1961) is an Italian soprano known for roles in the bel canto and Baroque repertories. She performed as a mezzo-soprano for several years, particularly performing the Rossini canon. Career Antonacci stu ...

(Carmen), Norah Amsellem (Micaëla), Jonas Kaufmann (Don José),

Ildebrando D'Arcangelo Ildebrando D'Arcangelo (born 14 December 1969) is an Italian opera singer. He has been called a bass-baritone, though he prefers the term basso cantabile. Career A native of Pescara, Abruzzo, D'Arcangelo began his studies in 1985 at the conser ...

(Escamillo); Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Antonio Pappano (conductor). Filmed at the

in 2006, released on DVD in 2008. Label:

*Puccini: '' La bohème'' – Norah Amsellem (Mimì),

Marcus Haddock Marcus Haddock (born 19 June 1957) is an American opera singer and voice teacher who in the course of his 25-year stage career sang leading tenor roles throughout the United States and Europe. Born in Fort Worth, Texas and trained at the Boston Un ...

(Rodolfo), Georgia Jarman (Musetta), Fabio Capitanucci (Marcello), Christopher Schaldenbrand (Schaunard), Denis Sedov (Colline), Kevin Glavin (Benoit);

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The ASO's main concert venue is Atlanta Symphony Hall in the Woodruff Arts Center. History Though earlier organizations bearing the same name date b ...

and Chorus, Robert Spano (conductor). Recorded live at Woodruff Arts Center, Atlanta in 2007, released on CD in 2008. Label: Telarc.Tommasini, Anthony (15 August 2008)
"Puccini at 150, Still Capable of Revelations"
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. Retrieved 11 October 2017. *Verdi: ''

'' – Norah Amsellem (Violetta Valéry), José Bros (Alfredo Germont),

Renato Bruson Renato Bruson (born 13 January 1936) is an Italian operatic baritone. Bruson is widely considered one of the most important Verdi baritones of the late 20th and early 21st century. He was born in Granze near Padua, Italy. Biography and career ...

(Giorgio Germont), Itxaro Mentxaka (Flora Bervoix), María Espada (Annina); Chorus and Orchestra of the

Jesús López Cobos Jesús López Cobos (25 February 1940 – 2 March 2018) was a Spanish conductor. Early life and career López Cobos was born in Toro, Zamora, Spain. He studied at Complutense University of Madrid and graduated with a degree in philosophy. La ...

(conductor). Filmed in performance in 2005 for television broadcast, released on DVD in 2006. Label: Opus Arte

References

External links

*
Norah Amsellem
on Operabase
Video excerpt
of Amsellem singing "Amami, Alfredo" from ''La traviata'' (official YouTube channel of Opus Arte). {{DEFAULTSORT:Amsellem, Norah French operatic sopranos Westminster Choir College alumni 1970 births Singers from Paris Living people 21st-century French women opera singers