PHOTO CREDIT: RON BESSER
ELISE QUAGLIATA, mezzo-soprano, has recently garnered notice for her dynamic stage presence, theatrical range and musical intelligence. Upcoming performances include Jo in Little Women with Pensacola Opera in 2011. In 2008, Ms. Quagliata was heard at Florida Grand Opera as Cornelia in Guilio Cesare and Carmen in La Tragedie de Carmen with Opera Omaha. Her 2006 performance of Carmen with Pensacola Opera captivated the critics, one of whom pronounced her "one of the finest Carmens I have ever seen” (Mobile Register) and another "simply riveting" (Pensacola News Journal). Her "striking, bold tone, superb diction and excellent acting" (Des Moines Register) was also noted in her performance of Nicklausse in Les contes d'Hoffmann for Des Moines Metro Opera.
Previously, Ms. Quagliata has sung Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with The National Philharmonic and Rockland Opera, and Bertha, also in Barbiere, with Pensacola Opera. Other roles have included Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, Arsamenes in Xerxes, Lisak in The Cunning Little Vixen, Thisbe in La Cenerentola, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Rosine in Signor Deluso and Cecily in La Divina. She has also been heard in a variety of Gilbert and Sullivan roles.
Ms. Quagliata's solo orchestral credits include upcoming performances of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with both the Reno Philharmonic and the Westfield Symphony. She will also sing Mahler's Rückert Lieder with Reno Philharmonic. Previous performances include the New York premiere of Henry Cowell's Atlantis with the American Symphony Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall, DeFalla’s Sombrero Tres Picos with Virginia Symphony, Verdi’s Requiem with Westfield Symphony, Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody and Mozart’s Solemn Vespers with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Montsalvatge’s Cinco Canciones Negras with the Pensacola Symphony, DeFalla's El Amor Brujo with the New Hampshire Symphony, and Mahler's Rückert Lieder with the University of Connecticut Orchestra. Additional credits include solo work in Bach, Handel, and Gluck.
An impressive recitalist, the New York Times recently noted Ms. Quagliata's "rich, expressive voice and passionate delivery" for her collaboration with Jake Heggie and Carol Wincenc in The Deepest Desire at Merkin Hall. She has performed recitals in Basel, Kreuzlingen, Siena, Miami, New York, Pensacola (where she welcomed the King and Queen of Spain with DeFalla and Obradors) and as a guest alumni recitalist at the University of Connecticut. Adept in a variety of repertoire from contemporary to early music to jazz and cabaret, Ms. Quagliata has been especially lauded for her exceptional performances of American, Czech, German and Spanish works, and praised for the "glorious grace" which has characterized her Cole Porter and Richard Rodgers.
In 2007, Ms. Quagliata was among four winners in the Liederkranz Society’s Lieder Competition, and performed in recital with other winners at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall. She was also the 2005 winner of the Metropolitan Opera's District Auditions for New York City.
Ms. Quagliata began her career as a Studio Artist with Chautauqua Opera and continued as an Apprentice and Ensemble Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera, Resident Artist with Opera Iowa, Resident and Mainstage Artist with Pensacola Opera, Young American Artist with Glimmerglass Opera, and a Resident Artist with Florida Grand Opera. Graduating Summa Cum Laude, Ms. Quagliata trained at the University of Michigan and the University of Connecticut.
Previously, Ms. Quagliata has sung Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with The National Philharmonic and Rockland Opera, and Bertha, also in Barbiere, with Pensacola Opera. Other roles have included Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, Arsamenes in Xerxes, Lisak in The Cunning Little Vixen, Thisbe in La Cenerentola, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Rosine in Signor Deluso and Cecily in La Divina. She has also been heard in a variety of Gilbert and Sullivan roles.
Ms. Quagliata's solo orchestral credits include upcoming performances of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with both the Reno Philharmonic and the Westfield Symphony. She will also sing Mahler's Rückert Lieder with Reno Philharmonic. Previous performances include the New York premiere of Henry Cowell's Atlantis with the American Symphony Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall, DeFalla’s Sombrero Tres Picos with Virginia Symphony, Verdi’s Requiem with Westfield Symphony, Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody and Mozart’s Solemn Vespers with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Montsalvatge’s Cinco Canciones Negras with the Pensacola Symphony, DeFalla's El Amor Brujo with the New Hampshire Symphony, and Mahler's Rückert Lieder with the University of Connecticut Orchestra. Additional credits include solo work in Bach, Handel, and Gluck.
An impressive recitalist, the New York Times recently noted Ms. Quagliata's "rich, expressive voice and passionate delivery" for her collaboration with Jake Heggie and Carol Wincenc in The Deepest Desire at Merkin Hall. She has performed recitals in Basel, Kreuzlingen, Siena, Miami, New York, Pensacola (where she welcomed the King and Queen of Spain with DeFalla and Obradors) and as a guest alumni recitalist at the University of Connecticut. Adept in a variety of repertoire from contemporary to early music to jazz and cabaret, Ms. Quagliata has been especially lauded for her exceptional performances of American, Czech, German and Spanish works, and praised for the "glorious grace" which has characterized her Cole Porter and Richard Rodgers.
In 2007, Ms. Quagliata was among four winners in the Liederkranz Society’s Lieder Competition, and performed in recital with other winners at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall. She was also the 2005 winner of the Metropolitan Opera's District Auditions for New York City.
Ms. Quagliata began her career as a Studio Artist with Chautauqua Opera and continued as an Apprentice and Ensemble Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera, Resident Artist with Opera Iowa, Resident and Mainstage Artist with Pensacola Opera, Young American Artist with Glimmerglass Opera, and a Resident Artist with Florida Grand Opera. Graduating Summa Cum Laude, Ms. Quagliata trained at the University of Michigan and the University of Connecticut.