Joyce DiDonato

Top Classical, January 2021
Joyce DiDonato (maiden name Flaherty) has claimed her place as one of the most compelling and committed performing artists of her generation. Critics have described her technique as “fearless”. Mezzo-soprano DiDonato began her career with a string of critically acclaimed debuts, including at La Scala and Covent Garden, as well as triumphs on concert and recital stages. She rose from virtual anonymity in 1999 to international stardom by 2002, becoming one of the most sought-after coloratura mezzo-sopranos of the early 21st century.  

In fact, her own story would itself make for a very compelling opera. She grew up in a Midwestern Irish Catholic family. Her late father, Donald Flaherty, was an architect whose own father had disparaged his singing ambitions. But though he encouraged his daughter to make a go of her dreams, she was told by seasoned instructors in Houston, Philadelphia, and Santa Fe that she had little talent and would never make it. Nevertheless, she persisted and eventually proved them all wrong. 

Some of her greatest successes have come in Baroque repertoire, particularly the operas of Handel, such as Alcina, (Hercules), Elmira (Floridante), and Sesto (Giulio Cesare), and in Italian bel canto operas. She is capable of projecting great power, as in Handel’s Alcina, but is also excels in roles of lightness and humor, such as the heroines in Rossini’s comedies. She has also sung many Mozart roles, including Cherubino (The Marriage of Figaro) and Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), and her repertory includes Berlioz, Bellini, and contemporary composers like Michael Daugherty.

Joyce’s acclaimed discography also includes Grammy-Award-winning Diva Divo, Drama Queens, ReJoyce, and Stella di Napoli (Erato/Warner Classics). Other honours include the Gramophone Artist of the Year and Recital of the Year Awards, three previous German ECHO Klassik Awards for Female Singer of the Year, an induction into the Gramophone Hall of Fame, and Best Female Singer of the Year at the 2016 Spanish Opera Awards Premios Líricos Teatro Campoamor. 

DiDonato is unparalleled as a singing actor. And though much of her great prowess on stage is founded on years of study and practice, she says there’s no teacher quite like life experience. 

“It’s all temporary. It’s fantastic, and it’s a wonderful moment to live, and I give myself full permission to breathe it in and say, “Great.” And then, the next morning, you have to wake up, and life goes on. There’s going to be another Joyce DiDonato coming, and another recording, and another Rosina. Okay, great, fantastic.” 

In many ways DiDonato represents a new wave of American opera singer — and not just because of her toughness. The stereotype of opera divas has long been women who are serious, stout and secretive — who like to be adored only from afar. DiDonato could not be more different. She’s svelte, as cheery in person as she is as Rosina, and has no interest living her life behind a veil of PR, spin and celebrity hauteur.