Sonia Prina ( contralto )
Sonia Prina studied at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan where she earned degrees in trumpet and voice. In 1994 she was admitted to the Teatro alla Scala’s vocal Academy for young singers and by 1997 she had begun performing operas with a special interest in Baroque repertoire.

Her rare contralto voice quickly came to notice on the international lyric scene.

Among the highlights in her career in the last few years we cite: Clarice in Rossini’s La Pietra di Paragone at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris; title role of Handel’s Orlando at the Sidney Opera House; title role in Handel’s Rinaldo at Teatro alla Scala in Milan; title role of Tamerlano in Munich; Ascanio in Mozart’s Ascanio in Alba at Salzburg Festival.

Sonia Prina has a particular fondness for Handel and has sung title roles in these operas: Bradamante in Alcina at the Opéra de Paris staged by Roberta Carsen; Giulio Cesare in Lille with Emmanuelle Haïm staged by David McVicar; Polinesso in Ariodante under the batton of Harry Bickett in Barcelona and San Francisco Opera with P. Summers as conductor and staged by J. Copley; Bertarido in Rodelinda at the Barbican Center in London and Wiena’s Konzethaus with Alan Curtis; Amadigi (tile-role) at Teatro San Carlo in Naples under the baton of Rinaldo Alessandrini and title role in Silla in Rome Santa Cecilia with Fabio Biondi.
Other noteworthy performances have been in Monteverdi operas in the role of Ottone in L’Incoronazione di Poppea and Penelope in Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria and recently she performed Messagiera and Speranza in Orfeo with William Christie in Madrid.
Under the baton of Jordi Savall she sang in Vivaldi’s Farnace in Madrid staged by Emilio Sagi and in La Senna Festeggiante in Bordeaux.
In the traditional opera repertoire we mention also: Isabella in Italiana in Algeri in Torino; Rosina in Barbiere di Siviglia at Teatro alla Scala with R. Chailly; at only 23 years old, she did her debuts in teatro alla scala as Rosina in Barbiere di Sevilla with Juan Diego Florez.

She performs in recitals all over Europe, in South America and Japan, with important baroque orchestras such as Accademia Bizantina, Il Giardino Armonico, Le Concert d’Astrée, Kammerorchesterbasel, Ensemble Matheus etc.

Among her more important recordings have been: La Senna festeggiante and L’Olimpiade by Vivaldi with R. Alessandrini (Naïve); Monteverdi’s Orfeo and Handel’s Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno with E. Haim (Emi/Virgin); Handel’s Lotario for BMG and Rodelinda for Deutsche Grammophon with Alan Curtis; in DVD projects we cite Ascanio in Alba in Salzburg Festival and La Pietra di Paragone in Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

Recently released : Vivaldi’s Arie Ritrovate with Accademia Bizantina for Naïve, La Lucrezia of Handel for Ludi Musici, La Resurrezione of Handel for EMI/Virgin classics and for the same label, just recorded the title role of Vivaldi’s Ottone in Villa.

Among her recent and future engagements we cite:
Title role of Handel’s Orlando in Théâtre des Champs Elysée in Paris and in Lille; title role in Handel’s Rinaldo in Chicago, next year in Glyndebourne and in Zurich’s Staatsoper in 2013; Amastre in Handel’s Serse in Houston and again in a new production in San Francisco; Smeton in Anna Bolena at Teatro Liceu in Barcelone, Giulio Cesare in Ravenna and Bologna, Ezio’s Gluck (title-role) at the Frankfurt Opera House...
     




Orlando, G.F.Haendel Sydney Opera House, Sydney Italian contralto Sonia Prina, making her Australian debut, stunned with her strong warm voice, shotgun coloratura, superb musicality and emotional intensity in a dramatically demanding role. www.aussietheatre.com, 18 August 2008 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Ariodante, G.F.Haendel War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco Italian contralto Sonia Prina, singing with agility and precision, made an impressive U.S. debut as Polinesso. San Jose-Mercury News, 19 June 2008 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Orlando Furioso Usher Hall, Edinburgh How the stunning Sonia Prina seized on that! Her machine-gun coloratura and remarkable timbre are well-known glories of Baroque performance, but here she also displayed superb dramatic timing as well. The Times, 14 August 2007 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Orlando Furioso, A.Vivaldi Usher Hall – Edinburgh Int. Festival Sonia Prina was outstanding in the title role. Her rich contralto fitted her masculine “trouser” role; her actions and facial expressions added feirocity at times and her extensive mad scene – one of the longest solo arias in the opera – was a triumph. Not a note out of place and nuances fully conveyed, especially in the finale. EdinburghGuide, 24 August 2007 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Ezio, C.W.Gluck Theater an der Wien, Wien Dominiert wurde die Konzertante Auffuehrung von Sonia Prina in der einstigen Kastratenpartie des Ezio. Schon bisher als exzellente Vertreterin des barocken Repertoires wohlbekannt, setzte sie diesmal mit einer grandiosen Interpretation buchstaeblich neue Masstaebe. Nicht dasss sie ihrem profunden Alt alle nur denkbaren Farben abgewann; atemberaubend war die Brillanz ihrer locker hingetupften Koloraturen und Diminutionen Wiener Zeitung, 18 November 2008 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Orlando, G.F.Haendel Sydney Opera House, Sydney Sonia Prina, as Orlando, had a brilliant vocal agility, recreating the fireworks of baroque virtuosity with exemplary precision from whatever unlikely position she was required to sing, and giving persuasive musical conviction to the mad scene. Her postured dramatic approach was serviceable. Sydney Morning Herald, 20 August 2008 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Orlando, G.F.Haendel Sydney Opera House, Sydney Heading-up a topdrawer cast of lovestruck lunatics is a star of the early music scene, Italian contralto Sonia Prina. Prina’s dark and strongly focussed tone is well-suited to this tortured military hero, and she assails the role’s massive challenges with the accustomed swagger of a singer who has made her career in baroque travesti roles such as this. The Opera Critic, 18 August 2008 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Motezuma, A.Vivaldi Theater an der Wien, Wien, Austria Die Italienischen Altistin setzte mit ihrem dunkel schimmernden Alt, der vor allem atemtechnisch hervorragend gefuert wird, in jeder ihrer Arien zurecht begeistert akklamierte Hoehepunkte. Magazin.Klassik.com, 6 October 2007

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