Michael Chioldi

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Michael Chioldi
Born (1970-05-24) May 24, 1970 (age 53)
Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education
OccupationOpera singer (baritone)

Michael Chioldi (born May 24, 1970) is an American opera singer who has performed leading baritone roles in the opera houses and festivals of North and South America, Europe and Asia. He first appeared at New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1995 when he was a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition.[1]

Life and career[edit]

Early years and first house debuts[edit]

Chioldi grew up in Avonmore, Pennsylvania, where his father was a steelworker. He received his bachelor's degree from West Virginia University and his Master of Music degree from Yale where he studied singing under Richard Cross. Following his graduation from Yale in 1994, he received further training at the Houston Grand Opera Studio and San Francisco Opera's Merola Opera Program. Chioldi's first appearance at the Metropolitan Opera was in April 1995 in the National Council Winners Concert. He made his official opera debut there as Fléville in Andrea Chénier in April 1996, and subsequently appeared as Pâris in Roméo et Juliette (1996), Wagner in Faust (1997), Yamadori in Madama Butterfly (1997), and Moralès in Carmen (1997). During his last year at the Met, Chioldi was awarded a study grant from the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation.[2][3][4] In 2022 he sang Rigoletto in a new production at the Metropolitan Opera to wide acclaim.

Chioldi made his debut with the Washington National Opera in December 1995 as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia. He went on to appear with the company as Fléville in Andrea Chenier, First Mate in Billy Budd, the title role of Hamlet, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, Enrico Ashton in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Giorgio Germont in La traviata. He made his San Francisco Opera debut as Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus in 1996 and the following year appeared as Schaunard in La bohème and in the roles of Jack, Supervisor Kopp, and Stonewall Girl in the West Coast premiere of Stewart Wallace's opera Harvey Milk, based on the life of the San Francisco politician and gay rights activist Harvey Milk, who was assassinated in 1978. Chioldi also appears on the world premiere recording of the opera.[5][6][7][8]

Chioldi's debut with New York City Opera came in 1999 as Le chat in L'enfant et les sortilèges. He became a regular performer with the company, most notably as Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Escamillo in Carmen, Doctor Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Belcore in L'elisir d'amore, Peter in Hansel and Gretel, Sharpless in the 2008 Emmy Award-winning Madama Butterfly, and Baron Scarpia in Tosca. He also sang in New York City with the Opera Orchestra of New York as Ottakar in their 2005 concert performance of Der Freischütz.[9][10][11][12]

Later appearances with American opera companies[edit]

Chioldi first appeared with Palm Beach Opera in 2003 as Enrico Ashton in Lucia di Lammermoor. He went on to perform with the company in roles that included Doctor Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Giorgo Germont in La traviata, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, the title role of Macbeth (his role debut), Baron Scarpia in Tosca, and the title role in Rigoletto. In Texas, he has performed with Austin Opera as Renato in Un Ballo in Maschera, Sharpless in Madame Butterfly, Giorgio Germont in La traviata, Iago in Otello, Rodrigo in Don Carlo, and the title role in Rigoletto. He also appeared as Baron Scarpia with San Antonio Opera, as Ford in Falstaff with Fort Worth Opera, and as Abimelech in Samson and Delilah with Dallas Opera.[13][14]

Chioldi's appearances with other American opera companies include: Virginia Opera (High Priest of Dagon in Samson and Delilah, Jochanaan in Salome and Tonio in Pagliacci); Chicago Opera Theatre (Giacomo in Giovanna d'Arco); New Orleans Opera (Enrico Ashton in Lucia di Lammermoor and the title role in Macbeth); Chautauqua Opera (title role in Macbeth); Lyric Opera Baltimore (title role in Nabucco); Utah Opera (Baron Scarpia in Tosca); (Giorgio Germont in La traviata); Chicago Opera Theater (title role in Gianni Schicchi); Opera Las Vegas (title role in Rigoletto); Opera Saratoga (Ford in Falstaff); and Ópera de Puerto Rico (Baron Scarpia in Tosca).[15][16][17][18][19]

International appearances[edit]

Chioldi has appeared in Canada with Toronto's Opera Atelier as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, as Méduse in Lully's Persée, and in the title role in Don Giovanni. In Asia and the Middle East, he has appeared in concerts at the Shenzhen Belt & Road International Music Festival and the Qingdao International Music Festival; as Papageno in a touring production of Die Zauberflöte with the New Japan Philharmonic conducted by Seiji Ozawa; as Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with the San Francisco Opera at the Macau International Music Festival; and the title role in Macbeth at the Royal Opera House Muscat. In Latin America, Chioldi has appeared as Lord Dunmow in the South American premiere of Lennox Berkeley's A Dinner Engagement in São Paulo; as Iago in Otello with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco in Guadalajara; and as the baritone soloist in Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde at the Festival Internacional de Piano En Blanco & Negro in Mexico City. His European appearances include Metifio in the concert performance and recording of Cilea's L'arlesiana at the Opéra National de Montpellier; Scarpia in Tosca with Ópera de Oviedo; Gerard in Andrea Chénier and Miller in Luisa Miller at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona; the title role of Macbeth at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste; Marcello in La bohème at London's Royal Albert Hall; and the title role in Der fliegende Holländer at Pforzheim Opera in Germany.[20][21][22][23][24][25][26]

Operatic rarities[edit]

In addition to his appearances in Harvey Milk and A Dinner Engagement, Chioldi has sung in a number of other contemporary operas and operatic rarities during his career. In 1993, while still a student at Yale, he appeared as The Third Player in The Protagonist, Kurt Weill's first opera, in its American premiere at Santa Fe Opera. In 1999 he created the role of Lucius Harney in the world premiere of Stephen Paulus's opera Summer based on Edith Wharton's novel of the same name. He appears as Jean Sorel in the first commercial recording of Gian Carlo Menotti's The Consul with Berkshire Opera in 1998 and reprised the role in 2009 with Glimmerglass Opera. In 2002, he sang in the world premiere of Charles Wuorinen's The Haroun Songbook and in 2004 sang John Proctor in Toledo Opera's production of Robert Ward's The Crucible. The role of The Man in Anthony Brandt's chamber opera The Birth of Something was written especially for Chioldi's voice. He sang the role in the opera's first staged performance and on its 2009 recording.[27][26][28][29][30][31][32]

With Odyssey Opera, a Boston-based company specializing in rarely performed operas, Chioldi sang the cavaliere di Belfiore in Verdi's Un giorno di regno (2014), Ford in Vaughan Williams's Sir John in Love (2015), and the title role in Saint-Saëns's Henry VIII (2019). He appeared in 2011 as Jim Thompson in an UrbanArias production of Glory Denied, Tom Cipullo's opera based on the life of Jim Thompson, the longest-held American prisoner of war in U.S. history. In 2017, he was the baritone soloist in Vermont Opera Project's production of The Andrée Expedition, Dominick Argento's monodrama based on S. A. Andrée's ill-fated 1897 Artic expedition. In New York City, he sang with Dicapo Opera in its 2008 production of The Dangerous Liaisons, Opéra Français de New York in its 2009 program "Debussy & Poe: Fall of the House of Usher & Devil in the Belfry", and with the revived New York City Opera as L'Ondino in Respighi's La campana sommersa in 2017.[33][34][35][36][37][38][39]

Recordings[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Metropolitan Opera. "Metropolitan Opera National Council Winners". Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  2. ^ Metropolitan Opera Archives. Chioldi, Michael (baritone). Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  3. ^ Sadler, Cindy (December 2016). "Michael Chioldi, Following His Heart". Classical Singer Magazine, pp. 23–32. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  4. ^ The Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation. "Past Winners: 1997 International Vocal Competition". Archived version retrieved 25 September 2019.
  5. ^ Page, Tim (25 December 1995). "Rossini's Comic Charmer of Seville". Washington Post. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  6. ^ San Francisco Opera Archives. Michael Chioldi. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  7. ^ a b Law, J.K. (December 2000). "Recordings: Harvey Milk. Stewart Wallace". The Opera Quarterly, Vol. 16. No. 4. pp 711–715. Retrieved 24 September 2019 (subscription required for full access).
  8. ^ Smith, Tim (20 May 2010). "Washington National Opera's Hamlet packs musical, theatrical power", Baltimore Sun. Archived version retrieved 24 September 2019.
  9. ^ Gelbert, Bruce-Michael (March 1999). "Refreshing Ravel". New York Theatre Wire. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  10. ^ Holland, Bernard (8 June 2005). "Into the Woods but Leaving Hidden Meanings Behind". New York Times. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  11. ^ Bernheimer, Martin (6 November 2006). "Review: Hansel and Gretel, New York City Opera". Financial Times. Archived version retrieved 24 September 2019.
  12. ^ Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. "60th Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners: Outstanding Special Class - Classical Music / Dance Programs - 2008". Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  13. ^ Stepanich, Greg (21 January 2014). "Chioldi to bring fresh Verdi experiences to PBOs Macbeth". Palm Beach ArtsPaper. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  14. ^ Faires, Robert (20 November 2018). "Austin Opera staged a victory worthy of the Lion of Venice". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  15. ^ Von Rhein, John (22 September 2013) "Opera Theater's Joan of Arc yields mixed results". Chicago Tribune. Archived version retrieved 24 September 2019.
  16. ^ Huizenga, Tom (11 May 2014). "Lyric Opera Baltimore offers vigorous, passionate Nabucco". Washington Post. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  17. ^ Jean, Grace (15 February 2015). "Virginia Opera presents ‘Salome,’ a tour de force etched in love and death". Washington Post. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  18. ^ Juliá, Luis Enrique (15 September 2018). "Brillan las voces del elenco de la ópera Tosca". El Nuevo Día. Retrieved 25 September 2019 (in Spanish).
  19. ^ Ketterson, Thomas (February 2016). "In Review: La Voix Humaine & Gianni Schicchi". Opera News. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  20. ^ Casoy, Sergio (2006). Ópera em São Paulo, 1952-2005, p. 367. Editora da Universidade de São Paulo. ISBN 8531409748 (in Portuguese)
  21. ^ s.n. (27 September 2004). "Youthful Passion and Recklessness collide in Mozart's Don Giovanni" (press release). Opera Atelier. Archived version retrieved 24 September 2019.
  22. ^ Xinhua News Agency (3 August 2019). "Opening concert of 1st Tsingtao Int'l Music Festival held in China". Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  23. ^ Hall, George (2 March 2014). "La Bohème review – Jessica Rose Cambio's Mimì offers a grandly expressive soprano. The Guardian. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  24. ^ s.n. (15 September 2014). "Sinister characters inspire Royal Opera House Muscat classic drama". Times of Oman. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  25. ^ a b Steane, John (November 2005). "A rare outing for Cilea's opera but the voices can't match their predecessors". Gramophone. Retrieved 25 September 2019 (subscription required).
  26. ^ a b Mesa, Franklin (2015). "Chioldi, Michael". Opera: An Encyclopedia of World Premieres and Significant Performances, Singers, Composers, Librettists, Arias and Conductors, 1597-2000, p. 324. McFarland. ISBN 1476605378
  27. ^ a b Dickinson, Peter (December 2004). "Wuorinen Fast Fantasy". Gramophone. Retrieved 25 September 2019 (subscription required).
  28. ^ Kozinn, Allan (6 August 1993). "2 American Gaps in Weill Are Filled". New York Times. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  29. ^ Cornelius, Steven (18 April 2004). "Crucible as chilling as today's news". Toledo Blade. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  30. ^ a b Dyer, Richard (2008). Liner notes: The Birth of Something. Albany Records. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  31. ^ Freedman, Geraldine (29 July 2009). "Glimmerglass cast performs dark ‘Consul’ with passion". Daily Gazette. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  32. ^ a b Seckerson, Edward (May 1999). "Menotti: The Consul". Gramophone. Retrieved 27 September 2019 (subscription required).
  33. ^ Odyssey Opera. Past Performances: Un Giorno di Regno, Sir John in Love, and Henry VIII. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  34. ^ Reinthaler, Joan (3 April 2011). "Vietnam-era saga Glory Denied doesn't withhold a single musical wish". Washington Post. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  35. ^ Lowe, Jim (4 August 2017). "Lending a great voice to tragedy". Rutland Herald. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  36. ^ Tommasini, Anthony (25 November 2009). "Debussy's Homage to Poe, With the Blanks Filled In". New York Times. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  37. ^ Holland, Bernard (23 February 2008). "A Visit That Crosses Two Centuries and an Ocean". New York Times. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  38. ^ Jordan, James (1 April 2017). "At NYCO, a Fairy Tale Opera May Lead to a Happy Ending". The New York Observer. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  39. ^ Smith, Steve (13 June 2014). "Odyssey Opera shares rarely-heard delights". Boston Globe. Retrieved 25 September 2019.

External links[edit]

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