EMI Classics signs Joyce DiDonato
June 25 2007
The accolades continue to roll in for mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. April saw her named the Metropolitan Opera's second recipient of the Beverly Sills Artist Award, worth $50,000. Now the American singer has signed an exclusive contract with EMI Classics and is due to release a selection of Handel Arias with Les Talens Lyriques conducted by Christophe Rousset in Autumn 2008."To be invited to join the EMI Classics recording label is a genuine honour for me," said DiDonato. “The legendary recordings of Callas and Baker continue to influence and inspire me in a myriad of ways, so, to be given the privilege of joining their ranks is a responsibility I embrace and celebrate. I plan on doing all I can to continue the legacy of excellence”. In addition to the Beverly Sills Award DiDonato was the winner of the Richard Tucker Music Foundation Award in 2002, New York City Opera's Richard Gold Debut Award in 2003, and the Royal Philharmonic Society Singer of the Year Award in 2006 for her role as Rosina in the Covent Garden production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia. DiDonato's first solo CD was “The Deepest Desire”, a selection of songs by Bernstein, Copland and Heggie released on the Eloquentia label in 2006 and named winner of the Diapason d'or de l'année. This was followed in the same year by a live Wigmore Hall recording of songs and arias by Fauré, Hahn, Handel and Rossini with pianist Julius Drake.
Charlotte Smith, Gramophone
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