Michael Chioldi
Michael Chioldi (born May 24, 1970) is an American operatic baritone who has performed at many major American opera houses and festivals, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, San Diego Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Long Beach Opera, Minnesota Opera, Spoleto Festival USA, Arizona Opera, Utah Opera, New York City Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Kentucky Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Santa Fe Concert Association, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Chicago Opera Theatre, Austin Lyric Opera, New Orleans Opera, Odyssey Opera, and Michigan Opera Theatre.
Career
Chioldi's first appearance at the Metropolitan Opera was in April 1995 in the National Council Winners Concert. He made his official opera debut there as Fléville in Andrea Chénier in April 1996, and subsequently appeared as Pâris in Roméo et Juliette (1996), Wagner in Faust (1997), Yamadori in Madama Butterfly (1997), and Moralès in Carmen.
He made his San Francisco Opera debut as Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus in 1996 and the following year appeared as Shaunard in La bohème and in the roles of Jack, Supervisor Kopp, and Stonewall Girl, in the West Coast premiere of Stewart Wallace's opera Harvey Milk, based on the life of the San Francisco politician and gay rights activist Harvey Milk, who was assassinated in 1978. (He also appears on the sole commercial recording of the opera.)
Chioldi made his debut with the Washington National Opera in 1995 in Il barbiere di Siviglia. He has appeared with WNO in Andrea Chenier, in Billy Budd, in the title role of Hamlet, as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, and as Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor. Chioldi debuted at New York City Opera in 1999 in L'enfant et les sortilèges and was a regular performer with the company, most notably as Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Escamillo in Carmen, Doctor Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Belcore in L'elisir d'amore, Peter in Hansel and Gretel and Sharpless in the 2008 Emmy Award winning Madama Butterfly. He has also sung with the Opera Orchestra of New York in their concert performance of Der Freischütz, with Opéra Français de New York in Debussy & Poe: Fall of the House of Usher & Devil in the Belfry, with UrbanArias in its First Festival performance of Glory Denied, with Chicago Opera Theatre in Giovanna d'Arco, as Rodrigo in Austin Lyric Opera's Don Carlo, as Macbeth with Chautauqua Opera, Palm Beach Opera and New Orleans Opera, in the title role in Nabucco with Lyric Opera Baltimore, as Cavaliere di Belfiore in Odyssey Opera's Un Giorno di Regno, as Renato in Austin Opera's Un Ballo in Maschera, as Jochanaan in Salome and as Tonio in Pagliacci with Virginia Opera, as Enrico in New Orleans Opera's Lucia di Lammermoor, as Ford in Odyssey Opera's Sir John in Love, and as Baron Scarpia in Tosca with Utah Opera. He also appeared as Baron Scarpia in Tosca with the revived New York City Opera. With Chicago Opera Theater he performed the title role in Gianni Schicchi.
Internationally, Chioldi has appeared in the title role of Der fliegende Holländer at Germany's Pforzheim Opera, with Toronto's Opera Atelier as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, as Méduse in Lully's Persée, and in the title role in Don Giovanni. He has also appeared in Japan with Seiji Ozawa and the New Japan Philharmonic as Papageno in a touring production of Die Zauberflöte, in São Paulo, Brazil in the South American premiere of Lennox Berkeley's A Dinner Engagement, in France with the Opéra National de Montpellier for the concert performance and recording of Cilea's L'arlesiana, in Spain as Scarpia in Opera de Oviedo's Tosca, at the Macau International Music Festival, as Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with the San Francisco Opera, at Royal Albert Hall, London as Marcello in La Boheme, as Macbeth with Teatro Verdi, Trieste, IT at Royal Opera House, Muscat, Oman, as Rigoletto in Rigoletto and as Iago in Otello with Filarmonica de Jalisco in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Orchestra appearances include the New York Philharmonic, Washington's National Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, New Haven Symphony, and Houston Symphony.
Education
Michael Chioldi received his bachelor's degree from West Virginia University and his master's degree in Music from Yale University. Following his graduation from Yale, he received further training at the Houston Grand Opera Studio and San Francisco Opera's Merola Opera Program He has been the recipient of many awards and honors including: The Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition (Winner 1995), the MacAllister Competition, The Licia Albanese-Puccini Competition, The Miami Opera Competition, The Sullivan Foundation, and the Anna Case-Mckay Award.
Recordings
- Anthony Brandt: The Birth of Something (Karol Bennett (Soprano), Michael Chioldi (Baritone); Brian Connelly (Piano)). Albany Records B002NGD2WC
- Charles Wuorinen: The Haroun Songbook (Elizabeth Farnum (Soprano), Emily Golden (Mezzo Soprano), James Schaffner (Tenor), Michael Chioldi (Baritone); Philip Bush (Piano)). Albany Records 664 CD
- Gian Carlo Menotti: The Consul (Beverly O’Regan Thiele, Michael Chioldi, Joyce Castle, Emily Golden, John Cheek; Berkshire Opera Company, Camerata New York Orchestra; Conductor: Joel Revzen). Newport Classic 85645 CD
- Francesco Cilea: L'arlesiana (Marianne Cornetti, Angela Maria Blasi, Gaëlle Le Roi, Giuseppe Gipali, Stefano Antonucci, Michael Chioldi, Enrico Iori; Orchestra and Chorus of the Opéra National de Montpellier; Conductor: Friedemann Layer) Accord 476 7644 CD
- Stewart Wallace: Harvey Milk (Robert Orth, Jill Grove, Gidon Saks, John Relyea, Elizabeth Bishop, Bradley Williams, Michael Chioldi, et al.; San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus; Conductor: Donald Runnicles) Teldec 678463
References
- Greg Stepanich, Review: 'PBO’s ‘Macbeth,’ first cast: Chioldi, Boross impressive; Panikkar a discovery', palmbeachartspaper.com, January 31, 2014.
- Selena Frye, Review: 'Kentucky Opera's Triumphant Tosca', "Louisville.com", September 22, 2012. Accessed 23 September 2012.
- John von Rhein, Review: 'Opera Theater's 'Joan of Arc' yields mixed results', Chicago Tribune. September 22, 2013.
- Tim Smith, Review: 'Washington National Opera's "Hamlet" packs musical, theatrical power', Baltimore Sun, May 20, 2010. Accessed 13 June 2010.
- Michael Chioldi performance record, New York Metropolitan Opera (MetDatabase). Accessed 11 November 2008.
- Michael Chioldi performance record, San Francisco Opera Performance Archive. Accessed 18 December 2007.
- Artist Biography, Toledo Opera. Accessed 18 December 2007.
- Press Release, Opera Atelier, September 27, 2007. Accessed 18 December 2007.
- Martin Bernheimer, Review: Hansel and Gretel, New York City Opera, Financial Times, November 6, 2006. Accessed 18 December 2007.
- Allan Kozinn '2 American Gaps in Weill Are Filled', Review of Santa Fe Opera's double bill of Kurt Weill's The Protagonist and The Czar Has His Photograph Taken, New York Times, August 6, 1993. Accessed 18 December 2007.