Verónica Villarroel González (born 1965) is a Chilean operatic soprano. She won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1989, and, from 1992 until her effective retirement from the stage in 2014, sang leading roles throughout Chile, as well as in New York and across the world. She then established her own academy, and later the Verónica Villarroel Foundation to provide scholarships for young singers.
Early life
editVillarroel was born in Santiago, Chile on 2 October 1965.[1] She went to school at Instituto Anglo Chileno (now Colegio Anglo Maipu)[citation needed] and then studied publicity and advertising at university in Santiago, but was forced to leave her studies and start working because her father had a heart attack.[2]
Singing career
editAfter leaving university, a friend took Villarroel to see opera at the Teatro Cariola. She was hooked, and a few weeks later learned that the chorus was looking for women singers; she auditioned and was given a place.[3] Villarroel's career took off thanks to the soprano Renata Scotto, whom she considers her "musical godmother".[4] Scotto discovered her when they shared the stage of Santiago's Municipal Theatre in May 1986, Villarroel playing Musetta[5] to Scotto's Mimì[1] in Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème.[3]
Villarroel subsequently won a scholarship to the Juilliard School in New York,[4] where she studied singing with Ellen Faull.[1] She won the Metropolitan Opera's National Council Auditions in 1989,[6] and made her debut on the Met's stage in December 1991, again in La Bohème, this time playing Mimì.
In February 2009, she performed at the opening of the second day of the 50th Viña del Mar International Song Festival, where she received several prizes: the silver and gold torches, and the silver seagull. On that occasion, she performed the aria "Un bel dì, vedremo" from Madama Butterfly and "Canción con todos".[7]
In 2011 she founded her singing academy in Santiago, and in June 2016 she set up the Verónica Villarroel Foundation, which seeks to support young people in their musical careers.[4][8]
Villarroel is one of six siblings. Her younger sister, Maria Isabel (Maribel) Villarroel-Contador, is also a classical music singer.[3][9]
Performances
editA comprehensive list of Villarroel's performances is available on Operabase.[10] Notable performances include:
- Her stage debut at the Municipal Theatre in Santiago in 1986, playing Musetta in La Bohème
- Her international debut in Barcelona in 1990, playing Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte[1]
- Her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1991, playing Mimì in La Bohème[11]
- In Los Angeles in 2014, playing Florencia Grimaldi in Florencia en el Amazonas[3]
Discography
editPrizes and awards
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Villarroel has received a number of prizes and awards, including:
- 2002 - Plácido Domingo Award for the most important Latin American lyric artist[5]
- 2007 - Medal of Women[5]
- 2010 - recognised as one of 100 women leaders in Chile[5]
- 2011 - Premio Bicentenario del Círculo de Críticos de Arte[5]
- 2012 - Scotiabank's Advancement of Women Award[5]
- 2015 - President of the Republic National Music Award in the classical music category[13]
Notes
edit- ^ a b c d Blyth, Alan (2001). "Villarroel, Verónica". Grove Music Online. 1. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.41837. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
- ^ Reyes, Jon (12 September 2023). "Verónica Villarroel: "Postergué el amor durante mucho tiempo"". Revista Velvet (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ a b c d "'Tesadüfi Diva' Şilili Soprano Verónica Villarroel ('Accidental Diva' the Chilean Soprano Verónica Villarroel)" (PDF). AKOB, Akdeniz Opera ve Bale Kulübü Kültür-Sanat Dergisi. No. 29. January 2015. pp. 6–13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 October 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ a b c "Verónica Villarroel: "En la ópera actual hay que tener buen aspecto y da lo mismo si la voz sirve"". Culto (in Spanish). 28 April 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f "Verónica Villarroel: la soprano chilena que conquistó al mundo". Museo Nacional de la Mujer en las Artes (in Spanish). 26 January 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ "METROPOLITAN OPERA NATIONAL COUNCIL WINNERS" (PDF). metopera.org. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ "Verónica Villarroel asegura que Viña es la ocasión "más increíble en mi vida"". Emol (in Spanish). 24 February 2009. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ "Fundación Verónica Villarroel: Cómo ayudar a jóvenes músicos en sus estudios | Música | LOS40 Chile". LOS40 (in European Spanish). 24 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
- ^ "Verónica Villarroel culmina su gira nacional con gran concierto en Plaza de Armas". Ilustre Municipalidad de Santiago (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ "Verónica Villarroel, Soprano - Past Productions on Operabase". Operabase. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
- ^ "Metropolitan Opera Archives | La Bohème (963)". archives.metopera.org. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
- ^ a b c "Verónica Villarroel". MusicaPopular.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ "Ministro de Cultura anuncia los ganadores del Premio a la Música Nacional Presidente de la República 2015". www.cultura.gob.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 October 2024.
References
edit- Meléndez-Haddad, Pablo (1999). "Verónica Villarroel 'por fin he aceptado la vida del cantante'". Opera Actual (31): 32–34. ISSN 1133-4134. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
External links
edit- Verónica Villarroel Foundation (Non-profit organisation page on Facebook)
- List of performances at the Metropolitan Opera, New York