View source for Bernadette Manca di Nissa

{{short description|Italian opera singer}}
{{Infobox person
|name=Bernadette Manca di Nissa
|image=
|birth_date={{birth date and age|1954|11|27}}
|birth_place=[[Cagliari]]
|nationality=Italian
|occupation=Singer
}}
'''Bernadette Manca di Nissa''' (born 27 September 1954) is an [[italians|Italian]] operatic [[contralto]] who has sung leading roles in the principal opera houses of Italy as well as internationally.<ref>Stinchelli, Enrico, [https://books.google.com/books?id=CuLtGiITbiIC&dq=Bernadette+Manca+di+Nissa&pg=RA1-PA197 ''Les stars de l'opéra. Grands artistes lyriques de l'histoire de l'opéra''], Gremese Editore, 2002, p. 197 (in French). {{ISBN|88-7301-499-2}}</ref> She has appeared at [[La Scala]] in Milan, [[La Fenice]] in Venice, [[Teatro San Carlo]] in Naples, and the [[Maggio Musicale Fiorentino]] in Florence as well as at the [[Royal Opera House|Royal Opera House, Covent Garden]], [[Liceu|Gran Teatre del Liceu]] in Barcelona, [[Lyric Opera of Chicago]], [[Festival of Salzburg]], [[Matsumoto Festival]], [[NHK in Tokyo]], [[Sao Carlos Theater in Lisboa]] etc.
Born in [[Cagliari]] and a descendant of a noble family,<ref>araldicasardegna.org, [http://www.araldicasardegna.org/genealogie/alberi_genealogici/albero_famiglia_manca.htm Genealogy of the Manca family]. Retrieved 2011-12-5.</ref><ref>She has the titles of Noblewoman (by birth), Noble of the Marquesses of Nissa (by birth) and Noble of the Marquesses of Villahermosa e Santa Croce (by birth) and she is styled Donna Bernadette: http://www.araldicasardegna.org/indice.htm, by entering and clicking on ''Statuto e Elenco Nobiliare Sardo'', then on ''Elenco nobiliare sardo aggiornato'', then on the second ''Manca'' family. Retrieved 2011-12-5.</ref> she studied singing privately and later at the [[Mozarteum University of Salzburg]]. Initially specializing in [[Baroque music]] and [[Gioacchino Rossini|Rossini]]'s works (''[[Tancredi]]'', ''[[Semiramide]]'', ''[[L'Italiana in Algeri]]'', ''[[La gazza ladra]]''), she developed a wide-ranging repertoire that includes works by [[Claudio Monteverdi|Monteverdi]], [[Handel]], [[Jommelli]], [[Mozart]], [[Christoph Willibald Gluck|Gluck]] (''[[Orfeo ed Euridice]]''), [[Antonio Salieri|Salieri]], [[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]], [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]] (''[[Falstaff (opera)|Falstaff]]''), [[Giacomo Puccini|Puccini]], [[Igor Stravinsky|Stravinsky]] and the 20th-century composer [[Luigi Nono (composer)|Luigi Nono]].<ref name="AMS">''Associazione Musicale Scaligera'', [http://www.amscaligera.org/artisti-insegnanti/119-bernadette-manca-di-nissa.html Bernadette Manca di Nissa] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100605092103/http://www.amscaligera.org/artisti-insegnanti/119-bernadette-manca-di-nissa.html |date=June 5, 2010 }} (in Italian)</ref> She has appeared in the world premières of several of Nono's works, including ''Quando stanno morendo'' (1982), ''Guai ai gelidi mostri'' (1983), and ''Prometeo, Tragedia dell'ascolto'' (1984).<ref>Fondazione Archivio Luigi Nono, [http://www.luiginono.it/it/luigi-nono/opere/quando-stanno-morendo-diario-polacco-n-2 ''Quando stanno morendo'']; [http://www.luiginono.it/it/luigi-nono/opere/guai-ai-gelidi-mostri ''Guai ai gelidi mostri'']; [http://www.luiginono.it/it/luigi-nono/opere/prometeo-tragedia-dell-ascolto ''Prometeo, Tragedia dell'ascolto''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722031129/http://www.luiginono.it/it/luigi-nono/opere/prometeo-tragedia-dell-ascolto |date=2011-07-22 }} (in Italian)</ref>
During the later years of her stage career, she also taught singing in [[master class]]es and courses at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, [[Lyric Opera of Chicago]], Associazione Musicale Scaligera and the [[Accademia Musicale Chigiana]], amongst others.<ref name = "AMS" /> She retired from the stage in 2007, after which she has devoted herself to her teaching career.
Nowadays, she is professor of [[Singing]] at Conservatorio di Cagliari.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.conservatoriocagliari.it/organismi/docenti/dettaglio-docente215.html |title=Personale Docente |access-date=2011-09-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424231204/http://www.conservatoriocagliari.it/organismi/docenti/dettaglio-docente215.html |archive-date=2012-04-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Repertory==
*[[Gaetano Donizetti]]
**[[Anna Bolena]] (Smeton)
*[[Georg Friedrich Händel]]
**[[Agrippina (opera)|Agrippina]] (Ottone)
**[[Alcina]] (Bradamante)
**[[Rinaldo (opera)|Rinaldo]]
**[[Georg Friedrich Händel|Semele]] (Ino, Juno)
*[[Christoph Willibald Gluck]]
**[[Orfeo ed Euridice]] (Orfeo)
*[[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]]
**[[Mitridate, re di Ponto]] (Farnace)
*[[Giovanni Battista Pergolesi]]
**[[Lo frate 'nnamorato]] (Nina)
**[[Giovanni Battista Pergolesi|La morte di San Giuseppe]] (Maria Santissima)
*[[Giacomo Puccini]]
**[[Suor Angelica]] (Zia Principessa)
*[[Gioachino Rossini]]
**[[Semiramide]] (Arsace)
**[[Tancredi]] (Tancredi, Isaura)
**[[L'italiana in Algeri]] (Isabella)
**[[La gazza ladra]] (Pippo)
**[[Il viaggio a Reims]] (Modestina)
*[[Igor Stravinsky]]
**[[Pulcinella (ballet)|Pulcinella]] (mezzo-soprano)
*[[Giuseppe Verdi]]
**[[Falstaff (opera)|Falstaff]] (Mrs. Quickly)
==Recordings==
Studio recordings include:
{|class="wikitable"
!Anno
!Compositore
!Titolo
!Ruolo
!Cast
!Orchestra e Coro
!Direttore
!Etichetta
|-
|1989
|[[Gaetano Donizetti]]
|[[Anna Bolena]]
|Smeton
|[[Joan Sutherland]], [[Samuel Ramey]], [[Giorgio Surian]]
|Welsh Opera Orchestra and Chorus
|[[Richard Bonynge]]
|Decca
|-
|1990
|[[Igor Stravinsky]]
|[[Pulcinella]]
|contralto
|David Gordon, John Ostendorf
|The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
|[[Christopher Hogwood]]
|Decca
|-
|1991
|[[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]]
| Weisenhaus-Messe K. 139 e Credo-Messe K. 257
||contralto
|
|King's College Choir e English Chamber Orchestra
|[[Stephen Cleobury]]
|Decca
|-
|1999
|[[Giacomo Puccini]]
| Suor Angelica
|La zia Principessa
|[[Angela Gheorghiu]], [[Maria Guleghina]], [[Roberto Alagna]], [[Neil Shicoff]]
|London Symphony Orchestra
|[[Antonio Pappano]]
|EMI
|-
|2004
|[[Pergolesi]]
|[[Lo frate ‘nnamorato]]
|Nina
|[[Alessandro Corbelli]], [[Nuccia Focile]], [[Amelia Felle]], Luciana d'Intino
|Teatro alla Scala
|[[Riccardo Muti]]
|Opus Arte
|}
Live recordings include:
*''Quando stanno morendo. Diario Polacco n.2'', dir. Luigi Nono, Experimental Studio 1982 (world premiere)
*''[[Georg Friedrich Händel|Agrippina]]'', role Ottone, Orchestra Pedrollo di Vicenza, dir. Christopher Hogwood, Mondo Musica, Venice 1983
*''[[Gioachino Rossini|Tancredi]]'', role Isaura, with [[Lella Cuberli]], [[Marilyn Horne]], [[Nicola Zaccaria]], Orchestra e Coro del Teatro La Fenice, dir. [[Ralf Weikert]], Cetra, Venice 1983
*''[[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mitridate re di Ponto]]'', role Farnace, Orchestra e Coro del Teatro La Fenice, dir. Roderyck Brydon, Venice 1984
*''[[Gioachino Rossini|Il viaggio a Reims]]'', role Modestina, with [[Lucia Valentini Terrani]], [[Lella Cuberli]], [[Katia Ricciarelli]], [[Francisco Araiza]], [[Samuel Ramey]], [[Ruggero Raimondi]], [[Leo Nucci]], [[Enzo Dara]], [[Giorgio Surjan]], [[William Matteuzzi]], EYCO Orchestra, dir. Claudio Abbado, DGG,  Pesaro 1984
*''[[Giovanni Battista Pergolesi|Lo frate 'nnamorato]]'', role Nina, with [[Elisabeth Norberg-Schulz]], Ezio di Cesare, [[Luciana D’Intino]], Nuccia Focile, Alessandro Corbelli, Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala, dir. [[Riccardo Muti]], Ricordi-EMI, Milan 1989
*''[[Giovanni Battista Pergolesi|Lo frate 'nnamorato]]'' (DVD), role Nina, with [[Elisabeth Norberg-Schulz]], Ezio di Cesare, [[Luciana D’Intino]], Nuccia Focile, Alessandro Corbelli, Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, dir. Riccardo Muti, stage director [[Roberto De Simone]], scenes Mauro Carosi, costumes Odette Nicoletti, elleu multimedia, Milan 1998
*''[[Gioachino Rossini|La gazza ladra]]'', role Pippo, with [[Katia Ricciarelli]], [[William Matteuzzi]], [[Samuel Ramey]], [[Luciana D’Intino]], Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, dir. Gianluigi Gelmetti, Sony, Pesaro 1989
*''[[Giovanni Battista Pergolesi|La morte di San Giuseppe]]'', role Maria Santissima, with Michele Ferruggia, Maria Angeles Peters, Patrizia Pace,  Orchestra Scarlatti della RAI di Napoli, dir. Marcello Panni, EMI, 1990
*''[[Giocacchino Rossini|Messa di Gloria]]'', role [[contralto]], with [[Pietro Spagnoli]], [[Robert Gambill]], [[Francisco Araiza]], [[Anna Caterina Antonacci]], Orchestra e Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, dir. Salvatore Accardo, Ricordi-EMI, Rome 1992
*''[[Gioachino Rossini|Tancredi]]'' (DVD), role Tancredi, with [[Raul Gimenez]], [[Ildebrando D'Arcangelo]], [[María Bayo]], Radio Sinfonieorchester e Coro SDR, dir. Gianluigi Gelmetti, scenes and costumes Pier Luigi Pizzi, Arthaus, Schwtzingen 1992
*''[[Giuseppe Verdi|Falstaff]]'', role Mrs. Quickly, with [[Daniela Dessì]], [[Juan Pons]], [[Roberto Frontali]], [[Ramón Vargas]], Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala, dir. Riccardo Muti, Sony, Milan 1993
*Gioachino Rossini ''[[Di tanti palpiti]]''. Arie e canzoni inedite, aggiunte, alternative", Radio Sinfonieorchester Orchester Stuttgart, dir. [[Maurizio Benini]], Ricordi-EMI, Pesaro 1993
*''[[Gioachino Rossini|Semiramide]]'', role Arsace, with [[Edita Gruberova]], [[Juan Diego Florez]], [[Ildebrando D'Arcangelo]], Radio Symphonieorchester Wien e Wiener Konzertchor, dir. Marcello Panni, Nightingale Classics, Wien 1998
*''[[Orfeo ed Euridice]]'' (DVD), role Orfeo, Orchestra e Coro del Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, dir. [[Gustav Kuhn]], regia Alberto Fassini, scenes and costumes Pasquale Grossi, Brilliant Classics, Naples 1998
*''[[Giuseppe Verdi|Falstaff]]'' (DVD), role Mrs. Quickly, with [[Desiré Rancatore]], [[Barbara Frittoli]], Peter Hoare, Gwynne Howel, Robin Leggate, [[Roberto Frontali]], Tarver Kenneth, Bryn Terfel, R.O.H. Covent Garden Orchestra and Choir,dir. Bernard Haitink, regia Graham Vick, BBC Opus Arte London 2000
*''[[Giuseppe Verdi|Falstaff]]'' (DVD), role Mrs. Quickly, with Inva Mula, [[Barbara Frittoli]], Luigi Roni, Paolo Barbacini, Ernesto Gavazzi, [[Juan Diego Florez]], [[Roberto Frontali]], [[Anna Caterina Antonacci]], Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala, dir. Riccardo Muti, regia Ruggero Cappuccio, EuroArts, Busseto 2001
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.naxos.com/person/Bernadette_Manca_di_Nissa/2078.htm Bernadette Manca di Nissa's discography on Naxos Records]
*[http://www.bruceduffie.com/nissa.html Interview with Bernadette Manca di Nissa], October 28, 1996
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manca Di Nissa, Bernadette}}
[[Category:Italian operatic contraltos]]
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:People from Cagliari]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century Italian women opera singers]]
[[Category:Sardinian women]]