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The Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli (born 4 June 1966) is a popular opera singer and recitalist. She is best-known for her Mozart and Rossini roles as well as for her performances of lesser-known baroque music. In contrast to most opera singers, Bartoli came to prominence at a very young age -- in her early twenties.
Cecilia Bartoli received her voice training at the Conservatorio di Santa
Cecilia whilst at the same time being taught and coached by her parents, Silvana Bazzoni and Angelo Bartoli, both professional singers.
In 1985, at age 19, Bartoli appeared in a talent show on Italian television; the conductor Riccardo Muti saw her performance and invited her to audition at La Scala. Several years later, Herbert von Karajan invited her to sing at the 1990 Salzburg Easter Festival (however his untimely death prevented this from taking place). At this time, she also came to Daniel Barenboim's attention when he saw her performing on a French television tribute to Maria Callas.
Bartolis early career included collaborations with Herbert von Karajan, Daniel Barenboim and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. She has since worked with a host of other acclaimed conductors, including Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez, Riccardo Chailly, William Christie, Myung-Whun Chung, Charles Dutoit, Christopher Hogwood, James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Marc Minkowski, Riccardo Muti, Sir Simon Rattle, Giuseppe Sinopoli and Sir Georg Solti.
Since the beginning of her career Cecilia Bartoli has been an enormously successful concert artist. Her recital appearances have been accompanied by leading pianists such as Daniel Barenboim, Myung-Whun Chung, James Levine, Andrs Schiff and Jean-Yves Thibaudet. Her concert repertoire comprises secular and religious works and reaches from the earliest Renaissance madrigals to the great orchestral song cycles of the Romantic and Early Modern period.
Cecilia Bartoli has also performed in numerous Mozart operas (Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Cosi fan tutte) in all of the most distinguished opera houses around the world. She has achieved equal renown in operas by Rossini (Il Barbiere di Siviglia, La Cenerentola, Il Turco in Italia), Paisiello (Nina), Hndel (Rinaldo, Il trionfo del tempo, Giulio Cesare) and Haydn (Armida, L'anima del filosofo), amongst others.
Perhaps her greatest commitment belongs to early music, which she has brought to the public's attention repeatedly with enormous enthusiasm. Her performances of compositions by Scarlatti, Paisiello, Caldara, Caccini, Vivaldi, Gluck if only to name some have helped create a new audience for this repertoire throughout the world. This increasing interest in early music has led to Cecilia Bartoli's collaboration with such outstanding period instrument orchestras as The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Concentus Musicus Wien, Il Giardino Armonico, Akademie fr Alte Musik Berlin, The Academy of Ancient Music, Les Arts Florissants, Freiburger Barockorchester, Orchestra La Scintilla, Kammerorchester Basel and Le Musiche Nove.
Cecilia Bartolis discography comprises more than 10 complete opera recordings, from Mozart via Rossini to Hndel and Haydn, and numerous solo discs. With her award winning "Vivaldi Album", which was released in the autumn of 1999, the artist has enjoyed an astounding success and succeeded in awakening a new interest on an international level in the previously completely unknown operas of Antonio Vivaldi. The "Gluck-Album", released the subsequent year, won the Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance within a few months of its release. Acclaimed by critics internationally, this CD topped numerous Best-of-the-Year lists. In summer 2002, Cecilia Bartoli renewed her exclusive contract with the Decca Music Group which continues this legendary discography. As a first product of this collaboration the 2003 "Salieri Album", recorded with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, conducted by Adam Fischer, immediately became a best-seller. In autumn 2005, her latest project, "Opera proibita", was unveiled. With arias by Handel, Caldara and Scarlatti it presents music from Cecilia Bartoli's home-town Rome. In a very short time, this album rose to high positions in many European pop charts and won many distinctions.
Her titles include the Italian Knighthood and the French Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. In June 2005 Cecilia Bartoli was made Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music in London.
The 2005/06 season is devoted to extensive concert tours with "Opera proibita" including a triumphant return to Spain after many years of absence. In addition, Cecilia Bartoli pays homage to Mozart in a few prestigious events, amongt others with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
