MELODY MOORE
SOPRANO
BIOGRAPHY
Soprano Melody Moore is enjoying a thriving career on the world’s leading stages, prompting Opera News to label her “a revelation,” and of her sold-out appearance at Carnegie Hall to rave, “As I left the auditorium, I could only think: more of Moore, please.”
Ms. Moore recently enjoyed a triumphant return to LA Opera, repeating her tremendous success in the role of Amneris in Aida opposite Latonia Moore in the title role and tenor Russell Thomas as Radames. Concert highlights have included Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Minnesota Orchestra under the baton of Juraj Valčuha and the Mother in Hänsel und Gretel with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, with Sir Donald Runnicles at the helm. We also saw the release of Moore’s interpretation of the title role in Madama Butterfly (available on Pentatone) and the recording of a critically acclaimed concert of Tosca, captured live in Berlin, Germany (to be released in 2023). Ms. Moore has continued to remain active in the recording studio, marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of legendary soprano Renata Tebaldi with the newly released Remembering Tebaldi, an album featuring selections from the Italian repertoire for which she was most famous. She also sang Kathie/Linford in the world premiere recording of Gordon Getty’s opera Goodbye, Mr. Chips. In the fall of 2022, Moore made a much-anticipated return to San Francisco Opera as Mère Marie in the Olivier Py production of Dialogues des Carmélites, and last summer marked Moore’s role début as Alice Ford in Falstaff in concert with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, Poland. [read more...]
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
"...unleashing an inferno of tireless vocalism at the denunciation of Ramfis." - Parterre Box
Amneris in Aida - “The benefits of this casting were immediately apparent both for the music and the drama. Ms. Moore knows how to project a beautiful imperiousness. The proud shell over the vulnerable core. As well she manages a sly insincerity that lets the audience in on her character’s truth but never her fellow players. She laid a beautifully subtle trap for Aida in their duet and then her frustration in Act IV with Radames' continued refusal to renounce Aida was palpable. Vocally because of her naturally higher vocal placement she showed an ease of amplitude in many parts of the role that most interpreters simply can’t. The repeated “Vieni, amor mio” in her chambers at the top of Act II, which are usually ungainly sounding, here were the voluptuous love call Verdi intended. The beauty of her instrument made her simply a woman wronged and not the usual vicious intriguante. She played an extraordinarily nuanced Judgment that kept building on itself. First bringing applause after her short arioso following the confrontation with Radames and then unleashing an inferno of tireless vocalism at the denunciation of Ramfis. Honestly the first Amneris I’ve seen live who didn’t run out of steam on the final pages. She was richly rewarded for her efforts by the audience.”
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"Moore brought the tortured character of Amneris to life." - Seen and Heard International
Amneris in Aida - “Of particular note was Melody Moore’s Amneris. Regal, spiteful, yet deeply in love with Radames, Moore brought the tortured character of Amneris to life. She exemplified Verdi’s unique ability to sympathize with his characters: although a reigning princess, she too is a victim of her passions. As did Shakespeare and Elliot, Verdi found the humanity behind the masks of his characters. Musically and dramatically, this production offered a convincing love triangle.”
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"...genuinely exciting and electric voice..." - The Guardian
An American Song (album) - “This recording is a calling card for a genuinely exciting and electric voice, solidly gleaming, with the high range of a soprano but fleshed out with dark, mezzo-ish colours and with its voluptuous richness focused into singing of striking directness and clarity.”
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"...when Moore wasn’t putting a wallop into Elvira’s outcries, she gave her introspections a hushed intensity." - Texas Classical Review
Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni - “Almost as soon as Donna Elvira, a woman from Giovanni’s past, came face-to-face with him, her inner conflict burst forth: soprano Melody Moore’s Elvira slapped him, loudly, then immediately planted a kiss on his lips. Moore’s hefty tones complemented Perez’s brighter ones. But when Moore wasn’t putting a wallop into Elvira’s outcries, she gave her introspections a hushed intensity–especially in the anguished recitative that led into her aria Mi tradì.”
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"...a breathtaking combination of sheer power... and light-handed lyricism..." - Journal Sentinel
Senta in Der fliegende Holländer - “Melody Moore’s touching Senta was a breathtaking combination of sheer power, slicing easily through dense orchestrations and light-handed lyricism, full of soft, floating, high passages.”