Michael Maniaci
Encyclopedia
Michael Maniaci is an American opera
singer
who has appeared at many of the world's best opera houses. Possessing a unique male soprano voice, Maniaci is noted for his unusual ability to sing into the upper soprano
register without using falsetto
. Most men who possess this ability have it as a result of a hormonal imbalance, but for some unknown reason, Maniaci's larynx did not develop causing his voice not to "break" in the usual manner. This physical particularity has given Maniaci the ability to sing in the soprano register without sounding like a typical countertenor
or a woman singer. For this reason, professional vocal pedagogists consider Maniaci's voice to be unique among countertenors, and compare his vocal quality to the castrato
voice of the past.
Maniaci is becoming an important presence on the international classical music scene, having already appeared in lead roles at companies such as the Metropolitan Opera
, La Fenice
, and Opera North
. He is known mostly for singing the works of Handel
, Mozart, and Monteverdi.
and resided in Peters Township
, a small community located approximately twenty miles south of Pittsburgh. During his middle school
years, Maniaci began to develop his musical skills within numerous school musical
s, as well as a variety of community musical groups. While a student at Peters Township High School
, Maniaci participated in several junior musical organizations, winning many awards and honors, for his work as both a singer and an instrumentalist. He graduated from high school in 1994.
with a Bachelors degree in Vocal Performance and went on to the Juilliard School
of music where he graduated with a Masters in Vocal Performance. Maniaci first received notice when he received the Bronze Medal in the 1997 Rosa Ponselle International Opera Competition. He went on to gain experience with several prestigious American young artist programs such as Wolf Trap Opera, Glimmerglass Opera
’s Young American Artists Program, Aspen Opera Theater and the Tanglewood Music Festival
. In 1999 he won the Houston Grand Opera
Competition. He is a winner of the 2002 Sara Tucker Study Grant and the 2002 Shoshana Foundation Career Grant.
In the 2001-2002 season, Maniaci made his Carnegie Hall
debut in Chichester Psalms with The Orchestra of St. Luke's
, sang Nerone in L’Incoronazione di Poppea for Toronto’s Opéra Atélier
, and the title role in Xerxes
with Wolf Trap Opera. In the 2002-2003 season, Maniaci made his European debut as Ulisse in Handel’s Deidamia
with the Goettingen International Handel Festival
, his New York City Opera
debut as the Sandman in Hansel and Gretel
, and his return to Glimmerglass Opera
as Medoro in Handel's Orlando
. In the 2003-2004 season, Maniaci sang Nerone in L’Incoronazione di Poppea with Chicago Opera Theater
(which marked the opening of the company’s new theatre), and with Cleveland Opera
. He also sang the title role in Handel’s Oreste
with the Juilliard Opera Center, and at Glimmerglass Opera
he appeared as Tirinto in Handel’s Imeneo
. That same year, Maniaci won the 2003 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions
.
In 2004, Maniaci portrayed the role of Cherubino in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
's The Marriage of Figaro
with Pittsburgh Opera
. This was the first time the role was performed by a man in the United States. In 2005, Maniaci made his debut performances with Santa Fe Opera
singing the role of Lucio Cinna opposite Susan Graham
's Cecilio in Mozart’s Lucio Silla
and his debut with the Royal Danish Opera. In 2006, Maniaci made his Metropolitan Opera
debut in the role of Nireno in Handel's Giulio Cesare
. In 2007, he made his debut with Opera North
as Atis in The Fortunes of King Croesus and with La Fenice
in the role of Armando in Giacomo Meyerbeer
’s Il crociato in Egitto
.
Also in 2007, Maniaci returned to Glimmerglass Opera
to perform the title role in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice
.
In 2008, Maniaci performed the role of Idamante in Mozart's Idomeneo re di Creta with Opera Atelier
. and sang the title role in Xerxes with Boston Baroque
. In 2009, Maniaci is scheduled to appear in Francesco Cavalli
’s Eliogabalo
with the Grange Park Opera
and return to Opera Atelier to perform Nerone in L'incoronazione di Poppea
. In 2010 he will perform in Martín y Soler’s L'arbore di Diana
at the Liceu
in Barcelona.
In 2010, Maniaci will originate the role of Xiao Ching in the world premiere of Zhou Long
's opera
Madame White Snake with Opera Boston
and the Beijing Music Festival.
Maniaci has also had a prolific concert schedule. His orchestral engagements have included appearances with Tafelmusik
, the New Holland Baroque Orchestra, the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival
, and a tour with Academie Baroque de Montréal throughout Canada and Germany. Maniaci has also performed with Boston Baroque
and toured throughout Asia with the Shanghai Opera Orchestra. He has also been heard in concert with L'Opéra de Montréal
.
In 2011, Maniaci played the role of Sesto, alongside Measha Brueggergosman as Vitellia, in Opera Atelier's production of La Clemenza di Tito in Toronto, Canada. He received a standing ovation on opening night, April 22, 2011.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
who has appeared at many of the world's best opera houses. Possessing a unique male soprano voice, Maniaci is noted for his unusual ability to sing into the upper soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
register without using falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
. Most men who possess this ability have it as a result of a hormonal imbalance, but for some unknown reason, Maniaci's larynx did not develop causing his voice not to "break" in the usual manner. This physical particularity has given Maniaci the ability to sing in the soprano register without sounding like a typical countertenor
Countertenor
A countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely than normal, modal voice. A pre-pubescent male who has this ability is called a treble...
or a woman singer. For this reason, professional vocal pedagogists consider Maniaci's voice to be unique among countertenors, and compare his vocal quality to the castrato
Castrato
A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.Castration before puberty prevents a boy's...
voice of the past.
Maniaci is becoming an important presence on the international classical music scene, having already appeared in lead roles at companies such as 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...
, La Fenice
La Fenice
Teatro La Fenice is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of the most famous theatres in Europe, the site of many famous operatic premieres. Its name reflects its role in permitting an opera company to "rise from the ashes" despite losing the use of two theatres...
, and Opera North
Opera North
Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and the Theatre Royal, Newcastle...
. He is known mostly for singing the works of Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
, Mozart, and Monteverdi.
Early life
Maniaci spent his early childhood in the American Midwest. During his early teens, his family relocated to Western PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and resided in Peters Township
Peters Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania
Peters Township is a township in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 17,566 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
, a small community located approximately twenty miles south of Pittsburgh. During his middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
years, Maniaci began to develop his musical skills within numerous school musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
s, as well as a variety of community musical groups. While a student at Peters Township High School
Peters Township School District
Peters Township School District is a large, suburban, public school district located in Peters Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania and encompasses an area of 19.5 square miles. The school district has a population of 17,566, according to the 2000 federal census. In 2009, the per capita income...
, Maniaci participated in several junior musical organizations, winning many awards and honors, for his work as both a singer and an instrumentalist. He graduated from high school in 1994.
Education and career
Michael Maniaci graduated from the Cincinnati Conservatory of MusicCincinnati Conservatory of Music
The Cincinnati Conservatory of Music was a conservatory, part of a girls' finishing school, founded in 1867 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It merged with the College of Music of Cincinnati in 1955, forming the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, which is now part of the University of Cincinnati.The...
with a Bachelors degree in Vocal Performance and went on to the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
of music where he graduated with a Masters in Vocal Performance. Maniaci first received notice when he received the Bronze Medal in the 1997 Rosa Ponselle International Opera Competition. He went on to gain experience with several prestigious American young artist programs such as Wolf Trap Opera, Glimmerglass Opera
Glimmerglass Opera
Glimmerglass Festival is an opera company which was founded in 1975 by Peter Macris and presents an annual season of operas at the Alice Busch Opera Theater on Otsego Lake eight miles north of Cooperstown, New York, United States.The summer-only season usually consists of four operas performed in...
’s Young American Artists Program, Aspen Opera Theater and the Tanglewood Music Festival
Tanglewood Music Festival
The Tanglewood Music Festival is a music festival held every summer on the Tanglewood estate in Lenox, Massachusetts in the Berkshire Hills in western Massachusetts....
. In 1999 he won the Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
Competition. He is a winner of the 2002 Sara Tucker Study Grant and the 2002 Shoshana Foundation Career Grant.
In the 2001-2002 season, Maniaci made his Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
debut in Chichester Psalms with The Orchestra of St. Luke's
Orchestra of St. Luke's
The Orchestra of St. Luke's is an American chamber orchestra based in New York City.It was founded in the summer of 1979 at the Caramoor International Music Festival in Katonah, New York....
, sang Nerone in L’Incoronazione di Poppea for Toronto’s Opéra Atélier
Opera atelier
Opéra Atelier, a Canadian Baroque opera company was founded in 1985 in Toronto by husband and wife duo Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg. The company mounts operas from the 17th and 18th centuries which are presented at the Elgin Theatre....
, and the title role in Xerxes
Serse
Serse is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. It was first performed in London on 15 April 1738. The Italian libretto was adapted by an unknown hand from that by Silvio Stampiglia for an earlier opera of the same name by Giovanni Bononcini in 1694...
with Wolf Trap Opera. In the 2002-2003 season, Maniaci made his European debut as Ulisse in Handel’s Deidamia
Deidamia
Deidamia may refer to:* Deidamia , from Greek mythology.* from Greek mythology, another name for Hippodamia, wife of Pirithous.* Deidamia I of Epirus, wife of Demetrius Poliorcetes* Deidamia II of Epirus, last ruler of the Aeacid dynasty....
with the Goettingen International Handel Festival
Goettingen International Handel Festival
The Göttingen International Handel Festival is a German festival of baroque music, based in Göttingen, Germany. The festival was established in 1919 and gave its first performances in 1920...
, his New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
debut as the Sandman in Hansel and Gretel
Hansel and Gretel
"Hansel and Gretel" is a well-known fairy tale of German origin, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. Hansel and Gretel are a young brother and sister threatened by a cannibalistic hag living deep in the forest in a house constructed of cake and confectionery. The two children...
, and his return to Glimmerglass Opera
Glimmerglass Opera
Glimmerglass Festival is an opera company which was founded in 1975 by Peter Macris and presents an annual season of operas at the Alice Busch Opera Theater on Otsego Lake eight miles north of Cooperstown, New York, United States.The summer-only season usually consists of four operas performed in...
as Medoro in Handel's Orlando
Orlando (opera)
Orlando is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel written for the Royal Academy of Music . The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Carlo Sigismondo Capece's L'Orlando after Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, which was also the source of Handel's operas Alcina and...
. In the 2003-2004 season, Maniaci sang Nerone in L’Incoronazione di Poppea with Chicago Opera Theater
Chicago Opera Theater
The Chicago Opera Theater is an opera company that was founded as the Chicago Opera Studio in 1974 by Alan Stone to give vocal students performance experience, although it has grown into a professional opera company...
(which marked the opening of the company’s new theatre), and with Cleveland Opera
Cleveland Opera
Opera Cleveland is Cleveland, Ohio's professional opera company, formed in 2006 following a merger between two existing opera companies: the Cleveland Opera , and the area's other professional opera company, Lyric Opera Cleveland.-Cleveland Opera:Cleveland Opera was incorporated by David...
. He also sang the title role in Handel’s Oreste
Oreste
Oreste is an opera by George Frideric Handel in three acts. The libretto was anonymously adapted from Giangualberto Barlocci’s L’Oreste , which was in turn adapted from Euripides' Iphigeneia in Tauris....
with the Juilliard Opera Center, and at Glimmerglass Opera
Glimmerglass Opera
Glimmerglass Festival is an opera company which was founded in 1975 by Peter Macris and presents an annual season of operas at the Alice Busch Opera Theater on Otsego Lake eight miles north of Cooperstown, New York, United States.The summer-only season usually consists of four operas performed in...
he appeared as Tirinto in Handel’s Imeneo
Imeneo
Imeneo is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Silvio Stampiglia's Imeneo. Handel had begun composition in September 1738, but did not complete the score until 1740...
. That same year, Maniaci won the 2003 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions
Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions
The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions is an annual singing competition sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera. Established in 1954, its purpose is to discover, assist, promote, and develop young opera singers. The competition is held in four stages: Districts, Regional, Semi-Final, and...
.
In 2004, Maniaci portrayed the role of Cherubino in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
with Pittsburgh Opera
Pittsburgh Opera
Pittsburgh Opera is an American opera company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is one of two opera companies in the city, the other being Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Opera gives performances in several venues, primarily at the Benedum Center, with other performances at the...
. This was the first time the role was performed by a man in the United States. In 2005, Maniaci made his debut performances with Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe Opera
The Santa Fe Opera is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe in the U.S. state of New Mexico, headquartered on a former guest ranch of .-General history:...
singing the role of Lucio Cinna opposite Susan Graham
Susan Graham
Susan Graham is an American mezzo-soprano.Raised in Midland, Texas, she is a graduate of Texas Tech University and the Manhattan School of Music. She studied the piano for 13 years...
's Cecilio in Mozart’s Lucio Silla
Lucio Silla
Lucio Silla, K. 135, is an Italian opera in three acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was written by Giovanni de Gamerra.It was first performed on 26 December 1772 at the Regio Ducal Teatro in Milan....
and his debut with the Royal Danish Opera. In 2006, Maniaci made his 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...
debut in the role of Nireno in Handel's Giulio Cesare
Giulio Cesare
Giulio Cesare in Egitto , commonly known simply as Giulio Cesare, is an Italian opera in three acts written for the Royal Academy of Music by George Frideric Handel in 1724...
. In 2007, he made his debut with Opera North
Opera North
Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and the Theatre Royal, Newcastle...
as Atis in The Fortunes of King Croesus and with La Fenice
La Fenice
Teatro La Fenice is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of the most famous theatres in Europe, the site of many famous operatic premieres. Its name reflects its role in permitting an opera company to "rise from the ashes" despite losing the use of two theatres...
in the role of Armando in Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer was a noted German opera composer, and the first great exponent of "grand opera." At his peak in the 1830s and 1840s, he was the most famous and successful composer of opera in Europe, yet he is rarely performed today.-Early years:He was born to a Jewish family in Tasdorf , near...
’s Il crociato in Egitto
Il crociato in Egitto
Il crociato in Egitto is an opera in two acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer, with a libretto by Gaetano Rossi. It was first performed at La Fenice theatre, Venice on 7 March, 1824. The part of Armando was sung by the famous castrato, Giovanni Battista Velluti; the opera was probably the last ever written...
.
Also in 2007, Maniaci returned to Glimmerglass Opera
Glimmerglass Opera
Glimmerglass Festival is an opera company which was founded in 1975 by Peter Macris and presents an annual season of operas at the Alice Busch Opera Theater on Otsego Lake eight miles north of Cooperstown, New York, United States.The summer-only season usually consists of four operas performed in...
to perform the title role in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice
Orfeo ed Euridice
Orfeo ed Euridice is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck based on the myth of Orpheus, set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the azione teatrale, meaning an opera on a mythological subject with choruses and dancing...
.
In 2008, Maniaci performed the role of Idamante in Mozart's Idomeneo re di Creta with Opera Atelier
Opera atelier
Opéra Atelier, a Canadian Baroque opera company was founded in 1985 in Toronto by husband and wife duo Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg. The company mounts operas from the 17th and 18th centuries which are presented at the Elgin Theatre....
. and sang the title role in Xerxes with Boston Baroque
Boston Baroque
Boston Baroque is the oldest continuing period instrument orchestra in North America. It was founded in 1973 by the American harpsichordist and conductor, Martin Pearlman to present concerts of the Baroque and Classical repertoire on period instruments, drawing on the insights of the historical...
. In 2009, Maniaci is scheduled to appear in Francesco Cavalli
Francesco Cavalli
Francesco Cavalli was an Italian composer of the early Baroque period. His real name was Pietro Francesco Caletti-Bruni, but he is better known by that of Cavalli, the name of his patron Federico Cavalli, a Venetian nobleman.-Life:Cavalli was born at Crema, Lombardy...
’s Eliogabalo
Eliogabalo
Eliogabalo is an opera by the Italian composer Francesco Cavalli based on the life of the Roman emperor Heliogabalus. The author of the original libretto is unknown but it was probably reworked by Aurelio Aureli...
with the Grange Park Opera
Grange Park Opera
Grange Park Opera is a professional opera company whose base is The Grange in Hampshire, England. The company was founded in 1998 by Wasfi Kani OBE and Michael Moody...
and return to Opera Atelier to perform Nerone in L'incoronazione di Poppea
L'incoronazione di Poppea
L'incoronazione di Poppea is an Italian baroque opera comprising a prologue and three acts, first performed in Venice during the 1642–43 carnival season. The music, attributed to Claudio Monteverdi, is a setting of a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello...
. In 2010 he will perform in Martín y Soler’s L'arbore di Diana
L'arbore di Diana
L'arbore di Diana , is an opera composed in 1787 by Vicente Martín y Soler, with an original libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte.Da Ponte's only other libretto not taken from an existing plot was Così fan tutte....
at the Liceu
Liceu
The Gran Teatre del Liceu , or simply Liceu in Catalan and Liceo in Spanish, is an opera house on La Rambla in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain...
in Barcelona.
In 2010, Maniaci will originate the role of Xiao Ching in the world premiere of Zhou Long
Zhou Long
Zhou Long is a Pulitzer-prize-winning Chinese American composer.-Biography:Born into an artistic family, Zhou Long began studying piano from an early age. Due to the artistic restrictions implemented during the Cultural Revolution, he was forced to delay his piano studies and live on a state-run...
's opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Madame White Snake with Opera Boston
Opera Boston
Opera Boston is an opera company in Boston, Massachusetts. It specializes in innovative repertoire and rarely heard works, along with opera education and outreach programs designed to bring opera education to children, in schools and after-school programs throughout the Boston area.Its home base is...
and the Beijing Music Festival.
Maniaci has also had a prolific concert schedule. His orchestral engagements have included appearances with Tafelmusik
Tafelmusik
The Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra is a Canadian baroque orchestra specializing in early music. They often perform with choir and play on period instruments....
, the New Holland Baroque Orchestra, the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival
Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival
The Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival in Bridgehampton, New York, was founded in 1984 by New Zealand-born flutist Marya Martin and her husband, Manhattan businessman Ken Davidson. The festival presents thirteen concerts of chamber music from the end of July to the end of August every summer, and...
, and a tour with Academie Baroque de Montréal throughout Canada and Germany. Maniaci has also performed with Boston Baroque
Boston Baroque
Boston Baroque is the oldest continuing period instrument orchestra in North America. It was founded in 1973 by the American harpsichordist and conductor, Martin Pearlman to present concerts of the Baroque and Classical repertoire on period instruments, drawing on the insights of the historical...
and toured throughout Asia with the Shanghai Opera Orchestra. He has also been heard in concert with L'Opéra de Montréal
Opéra de Montréal
Opéra de Montréal is an opera company in Montreal. It performs at the Place des Arts theatre complex in downtown Montreal, in the borough of Ville-Marie. It was founded in 1980...
.
In 2011, Maniaci played the role of Sesto, alongside Measha Brueggergosman as Vitellia, in Opera Atelier's production of La Clemenza di Tito in Toronto, Canada. He received a standing ovation on opening night, April 22, 2011.
Recording
- Meyerbeer: Il crociato in Egitto (Michael Maniaci, Patrizia CiofiPatrizia CiofiPatrizia Ciofi, born in Casole d'Elsa, Siena, on June 7, 1967, is an Italian operatic soprano. She is married to the conductor Luciano Acocella....
, Marco Vinco, Laura Polverelli, Fernando Portari, Iorio Zennaro, Silvia Pasini, Luca Favaron, Emanuele Pedrini; Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro La Fenice; Conductor: Emmanuel VillaumeEmmanuel VillaumeEmmanuel Villaume is an internationally recognized orchestra conductor. He is Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra and Chief Conductor of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra in Bratislava....
). Dynamic DV 33549 DVD.
- Mozart: Arias for Male Soprano (Michael Maniaci, Boston BaroqueBoston BaroqueBoston Baroque is the oldest continuing period instrument orchestra in North America. It was founded in 1973 by the American harpsichordist and conductor, Martin Pearlman to present concerts of the Baroque and Classical repertoire on period instruments, drawing on the insights of the historical...
, Conductor: Martin PearlmanMartin PearlmanMartin Pearlman is an American conductor, harpsichordist, composer, and early-music specialist. In the1973-74 season, he founded Boston Baroque , the first permanent period-instrument orchestra in North America...
). Telarc International, TEL-31827-02. Released January 26, 2010.
External links
- Michael Maniaci at Fletcher Artist Management
- Michael Maniaci sings Mozart's "Tu virginum corona" ( This is a historically informed performanceHistorically informed performanceHistorically informed performance is an approach in the performance of music and theater. Within this approach, the performance adheres to state-of-the-art knowledge of the aesthetic criteria of the period in which the music or theatre work was conceived...
. )