The legendary mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, one of the great voices of the ‎second half of the 20th century, will present a masterclass on Tuesday 3 ‎December at the Museu de la Música as part of the LIFE Akademie programme.‎

The activity takes place during her visit to Barcelona to perform the recital she will give on 2 ‎December at the Sant Pau Recinte Modernista and which will close the seventh edition of the ‎LIFE Victoria Lied Festival organised by the Victoria de los Angeles Foundation.‎

‎This is the first masterclass of the academic part of the Festival to be hosted by the ‎museum, a collaboration that is expected to feature in future editions.‎

The masterclass, which will take place in the museum’s Sala de Teclats, will begin at ‎‎11 am and end at 6 pm. Over the course of the day, Frederica von Stade will give ‎masterclasses to several students which will be open to the public and can ‎be freely accessed through the usual Museu de la Música entrance. ‎

‎The collaboration with the Victoria de los Ángeles Foundation further enriches the ‎range of activities on offer and the character of the Museu de la Música, an institution where ‎visitors can enjoy music first-hand by looking at and listening to instruments, and through ‎concerts and activities such as these masterclasses. ‎

The Lied Festival Victoria de los Ángeles pays homage to the Barcelona ‎soprano by combining three defining facets of her life: a love of Lied, a quest for ‎excellence and the encouragement of new talent. The Victoria de los Ángeles ‎Foundation is promoting this event devoted to Lied, a genre which the Catalan ‎singer approaches with great aplomb. The Festival will also offer recitals ‎by internationally-renowned artists (LIFE Recitals), an innovative ‎format that gives the opportunity to young performers to sing ‎with established professionals (LIFE New Artists) in supporting roles, as well as a ‎series of parallel training activities (LIFE Akademie). ‎



‎Frederica von Stade’s biography ‎
Known to her family, friends and fans by her nickname “Flicka,” she has been elevating the ‎world of music for four and a half decades. Although she retired from performing full-time in ‎‎2010, she continues to make special appearances in concert and opera: this season, as well as ‎participating in the LIFE Victoria with this recital and a series of masterclasses, she will also ‎play the role of Iris in the world-première of ‎Awakenings‎ by Tobias Picker at the ‎Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.‎

Other recent landmarks include the world première of Lembit Beecher’s ‎Sky on ‎Swings‎ at Opera Philadelphia; a performance with Susan Graham at a charity event ‎for the Orchestra of St. Luke’s; and her return to the San Diego Opera with Jake Heggie’s ‎‎Three Decembers, a composer with whom she collaborates and has created a ‎cycle of songs entitled Paper Wings, with lyrics by the mezzo-soprano and music ‎by Heggie.‎

She has performed in the world’s leading theatres and concert halls, where she received an ‎offer from Sir Rudolf Bing after an audition for the Metropolitan Opera auditions, a company ‎with which she has sung most of her great roles since her début there in 1970.‎

In her honour, the Met devised a new production of Pelléas et Mélisande to ‎celebrate the 25th anniversary of their début and also of The Merry Widow to ‎celebrate her 30th anniversary at the Met.‎

She has appeared at theatres such as the Teatro alla Scala, the Royal Opera House (London), ‎the Wiener Staatsoper and the Opéra National de Paris, conducted by Claudio Abbado, ‎James Levine, Riccardo Muti, Michael Tilson Thomas and others, and with orchestras ‎including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, ‎the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony and the ‎London Symphony Orchestra.‎

Her most notable lead roles include Angelina (La Cenerentola), Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), ‎Marguerite (La Damnation de Faust) and Mélisande (Pelléas et Mélisande), and also trouser ‎roles such as Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), Octavian (Der Rosenkavalier) and Idamante ‎‎(Idomeneo) to name a few. In recital, she has encompassed a rich variety of styles, from ‎Mozart to Schönberg and from Haydn to Broadway, all with a natural elegance.‎

She has received Honorary Doctorates from Yale University, Boston University, San Francisco ‎Conservatory of Music, Georgetown University School of Medicine and her alma mater, ‎Mannes School of Music. In 1998, she received the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and in 1983 ‎she was honoured with an award given to her by President Reagan in recognition of her ‎contribution to the arts. She is debuting at LIFE Victoria.‎