2010 Sonning Music Prize Goes to Cecilia Bartoli
Danish Award Honors Italian Mezzo-Soprano
May 16, 2009
Known for a pure coloratura voice and rigorous historical analysis of her repertoire, Cecilia Bartoli has been recognized yet again for her talents. On Wednesday, May 13, the 2010 Sonning Music Prize announced as winner the 42-year-old Italian mezzo-soprano.
Worth 600,000 Danish kroners (or approximately $109,000 USD), the prize is awarded to recognize the achievements of internationally acclaimed singers, composers, conductors and musicians. Cecilia Bartoli will be handed the prize in June 2010 at a concert in Tivoli, Italy.
The Léonie Sonning Music Prize: A Tribute to Love and Classical Music
Established in 1959 to commemorate Danish editor Carl Johan Sonning's widow, the Léonie Sonning Music Prize is awarded annually. Previous winners include the following icons of classical music:
- Daniel Barenboim, conductor and pianist
- Mstislav Rostropovich, conductor
- Leonard Bernstein, conductor and composer
- Birgit Nilsson, soprano
- Miles Davis, jazz composer
- Janet Baker, mezzo-soprano
- Igor Stravinsky, composer and conductor
Candidates for the award are chosen based on prominence in their field, with some consideration for their relationship to the country of Denmark (although winners do not need to have a previous relationship established in order to receive the prize). Besides hosting an award concert, the Sonning Music Prize can also arrange for winners to publish books or participate in seminars and workshops, increasing the recipient's international presence even more.
Promoting a culture of excellent music-making, the Sonning Music Prize also requests that all winners give a master class benefiting young Danish musicians. Cecilia Bartoli will honor this request with a master class at the Royal Danish Academy of Music.
Cecilia Bartoli: Soprano and Scholar
Born in Rome to professional singer parents, Cecilia Bartoli quickly skyrocketed to fame. Beginning her career under conductors such as Herbert von Karajan, fellow Sonning Prize winner Daniel Barenboim and Nikolaus Harnoncourt, she achieved success in her early 20s and never looked back. She has performed at the top opera houses and classical music venues, such as the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, La Scala and the Salzburg Festival.
Part of her fame can be attributed to the sheer dazzle of her voice: pure, delicate and breathtaking. But another, equally impressive trait is her scholarship: Bartoli treats her repertoire to rigorous analysis of the historical time period and then deliver performances based on that research. Though she began her career based on expertise in Mozart and Rossini operas, she has mastered other eras as well, such as the mid-19th century bel canto style.
Sources
"Mezzo-Soprano Cecilia Bartoli Wins $123K Sonning Music Prize." May 13, 2009. CBC Music.
Léonie Sonning Music Prize website.
