Gwendolyn Bradley is an American soprano who performed on many opera and concert stages.

Mrs. Bradley grew up in Bishopville, South Carolina

Bishopville, South Carolina

Bishopville is a city in Lee County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,670 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lee County.-Geography:Bishopville is located at ....

 and was trained at the North Carolina School of the Arts

North Carolina School of the Arts

The University of North Carolina School of the Arts , formerly the North Carolina School of the Arts, is a public coeducational arts conservatory in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that grants high school, undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is one of the seventeen constituent campuses of the...

 http://www.ncarts.edu/ncsaprod/music/alumni.asp in Winston-Salem and the Academy of Vocal Arts http://www.avaopera.org in Philadelphia. Her debut was as Nannetta in Verdi

Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...

s's opera Falstaff

Falstaff (opera)

Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...

at the Lake George Opera http://www.lakegeorgeopera.org/ in 1976. After a very successful concert in New York in 1979 she established herself at the Metropolitan Opera

Metropolitan Opera

The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...

, starting in 1981 as Nightingale in L'Enfant et les sortilèges

L'enfant et les sortilèges

L'enfant et les sortilèges: Fantaisie lyrique en deux parties is an opera in one act, with music by Maurice Ravel to a libretto by Colette. It is Ravel's second opera, his first being L'heure espagnole...

(Ravel

Maurice Ravel

Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...

) http://66.187.153.86/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=263670&limit=0&xBranch=All&xsdate=&xedate=&theterm=&x=0&xhomepath=http://66.187.153.86/archives/&xhome=http://66.187.153.86/archives/bibpro.htm and continuing for the next seven seasons singing such roles as Fiakermilli in Arabella

Arabella

Arabella is a lyric comedy or opera in 3 acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last operatic collaboration. It was first performed on 1 July 1933, at the Dresden Sächsisches Staatstheater....

, Blondchen in Die Entführung aus dem Serail

Die Entführung aus dem Serail

Die Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner with adaptations by Gottlieb Stephanie...

, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos

Ariadne auf Naxos

Ariadne auf Naxos is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Bringing together slapstick comedy and consuming beautiful music, the opera's theme is the competition between high and low art for the public's attention.- First version :The opera was originally...

, Olympia in Les contes d'Hoffmann

Les contes d'Hoffmann

Les contes d'Hoffmann is an opéra by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on short stories by E. T. A...

, the title role of Stravinsky

Igor Stravinsky

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....

's Le Rossignol, Clara in Porgy and Bess

Porgy and Bess

Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...

and especially as Gilda in Rigoletto

Rigoletto

Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...

http://66.187.153.86/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/bowse3a.w?term=Bradley,%20Gwendolyn%20%5BSoprano%5D&typ=Name&x=0&xHomePath=http://66.187.153.86/archives/&xHome=http://66.187.153.86/archives/bibpro.htm. She performed also in other American opera houses like the Memphis Opera, the Michigan Opera Theatre or the Central City Opera

Central City Opera

Central City Opera is the fifth-oldest opera company in the United States, founded in 1932. Each festival is presented in the 550-seat historic Central City Opera House built in 1878 in the gold mining era town of Central City, Colorado. Pelham G...

. Mrs. Bradley was a frequent guest on the stage of the Los Angeles Opera

Los Angeles Opera

The Los Angeles Opera is an opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center.-Current leadership:...

 as Oscar, Blondchen, Zerbinetta, Romilda, Zerlina, and in the 1997-98 season as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte http://www.losangelesopera.com/company/search_result.asp?type=Singer&personid=263.

She made her European debut in 1983 with the Netherlands Opera

De Nederlandse Opera

De Nederlandse Opera , in Amsterdam, is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Het Muziektheater, a modern building designed by Cees Dam which opened in 1986....

 in the title role of Handel

George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...

's Rodelinda. On European opera stages she performed beside other roles as Zerbinetta in Paris, Montpellier, Nice, Monte Carlo, as Susanna and Pamina in Madrid, as Blonchen in Munich, as Adina, Blondchen, Susanna, Zerbinetta in Hamburg, as Despina in Barcelona, as Oscar in Vienna, as Rodelinde in Amsterdam, and as Fiakermilli in Arabella at the Glyndebourne Opera Festival which was released as DVD from a recording of the 1984 season http://www.musicweb.uk.net/classrev/2003/Dec03/Strauss_Arabella.htm.

In 1988 she became a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin

Deutsche Oper Berlin

The Deutsche Oper Berlin is an opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin, Germany. The resident building is also home to the Berlin State Ballet.-History:...

 where she made her debut in 1987 as Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto. With her bell like voice, she was successful not only in female roles such as Gilda, Susanna, Nannetta, Sophie or Pamina but also the pert Blondchen, as capricious Zerbinetta and Musetta or the androgynous Oscar.

As an accomplished concert singer, she has worked with such conductors as Zubin Mehta

Zubin Mehta

Zubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music. He is the Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:...

 (New York Philharmonic

New York Philharmonic

The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...

/Israeli Symphony), Riccardo Muti

Riccardo Muti

Riccardo Muti, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI is an Italian conductor and music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.-Childhood and education:...

 (Philadelphia Orchestra

Philadelphia Orchestra

The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...

), Mstislav Rostropovich

Mstislav Rostropovich

Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, KBE , known to close friends as Slava, was a Soviet and Russian cellist and conductor. He was married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. He is widely considered to have been the greatest cellist of the second half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest of...

 and Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos is a Spanish conductor and composer.Frühbeck studied violin, piano, and composition at the conservatories of Bilbao and Madrid...

 (Washington National Symphony Orchestra), Charles Dutoit

Charles Dutoit

Charles Édouard Dutoit, is a Swiss conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of French and Russian 20th century music...

 (Montreal Symphony/Philadelphia Orchestra), André Previn

André Previn

André George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in...

 (Pittsburgh Symphony), Michael Tilson Thomas

Michael Tilson Thomas

Michael Tilson Thomas is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is currently music director of the San Francisco Symphony, and artistic director of the New World Symphony Orchestra.-Early years:...

 (Los Angeles Philharmonic

Los Angeles Philharmonic

The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...

), Marek Janowski

Marek Janowski

Marek Janowski is a Polish-born conductor.Janowski grew up in Wuppertal, Germany, near Cologne, after his mother traveled there at the start of World War II to be with her parents...

, Hans Graf

Hans Graf

Hans Graf is an Austrian conductor.As a child, Graf learned the violin and the piano. He studied at the Musikhochschule in Graz, Austria, and graduated with diplomas in piano and conducting. He also participated in conducting master classes with Franco Ferrara, Sergiu Celibidache and Arvīds Jansons...

, Christopher Hogwood

Christopher Hogwood

Christopher Jarvis Haley Hogwood CBE, MA , HonMusD , born 10 September 1941, Nottingham, is an English conductor, harpsichordist, writer and musicologist, well known as the founder of the Academy of Ancient Music.-Biography:...

, Ralf Weikert, Victor Pablo Perez, and Lorin Maazel

Lorin Maazel

Lorin Varencove Maazel is an American conductor, violinist and composer.- Early life :Maazel was born to Jewish-American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States, primarily at his parents' home in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. His father, Lincoln Maazel , was...

 among others. Her concert repertoire encompasses important works from the Baroque to the 20th century and as a recitalist she performed in Paris, Tokyo, Lisbon, San Sebastian, Los Angeles and New York.

Gwendolyn Bradley has recorded Fiakermilli in Arabella with Dame Kiri te Kanawa

Kiri Te Kanawa

Dame Kiri Jeanette Te Kanawa, ONZ, DBE, AC is a New Zealand / Māori soprano who has had a highly successful international opera career since 1968. Acclaimed as one of the most beloved sopranos in both the United States and Britain she possesses a warm full lyric soprano voice, singing a wide array...

, Jeffrey Tate

Jeffrey Tate

Dr Jeffrey Tate CBE is an English conductor.Tate was born with spina bifida, and also has kyphosis. His family moved to Farnham, Surrey when he was young and he attended Farnham Grammar School between 1954 and 1961 gaining a State Scholarship to Cambridge University, where he directed theatre...

 conducting for Decca Records

Decca Records

Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....

 http://www.gramophone.co.uk/gramofilereview.asp?reviewID=8802111&mediaID=17638&issue=Reviewed%3A%2BGramophone%2B(2%2F1988), Virgil Thomson's Four Saints in Three Acts

Four Saints in Three Acts

Four Saints in Three Acts is an opera by American composer Virgil Thomson with a libretto by Gertrude Stein. Written in 1927-8, it contains about 20 saints, and is in at least four acts...

for Nonesuch

Nonesuch Records

Nonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...

 records http://webpac.library.unlv.edu/search/aBradley%2C+Gwendolyn./abradley+gwendolyn/-2%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&FF=abradley+gwendolyn&1%2C2%2C and a live concert recording of Mozart concert works, with members of the Orchestre Symphonique Français.

External links