Mezzo-soprano from Montreal, Quebec, who went to Marianopolis College and McGill University before enrolling at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While in the City of Brotherly Love, she was a member of The Philadelphia Singers, the chorus-in-residence of The Philadelphia Orchestra. From 1987 to 1989, she furthered her education abroad, studying at the Britten-Pears School, which is located in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England.
She returned home and debuted in l’Opera de Montreal’s production of Un Ballo in Machera in the role of Ulrica. In 1993, she reached the final round of the Montreal International Music Competition.
Her European debut was a memorable one, as she was recruited for the role of Anna at the eleventh hour in a performance of Les Troyens by Hector Berlioz with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis. She reprised the role in 1996 with Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy, the first of many operas in which she would appear with that venerable company, eventually making Milan her permanent home.
In the mid-to-late ‘90s, she appeared on a pair of recordings, The Garden of the Heart and Rachmaninov: Complete Songs. She can be heard and seen on the opera DVDs, Adriana Lecouvreur and Dialogues des Carmelites.
In 2007, she returned to l’Opera de Montreal’s stage as Suzuki in Giacomo Puccini’s MadamaButterfly. She would go on to appear in Puccini’s Il tabarro as Frugola at La Scala with Riccardo Chailly conducting in the 2007-2008 season.
The 2008-2009 season found her back in Montreal for a gala concert with l’Opera de Montreal and l’Opera de Quebec, then back over the pond to the Czech Republic for the Dvorak Festival and the Beethoven Festival.
She spent much of the 2009-2010 season in Canada, including stops in Montreal, Quebec City and Val d’Or for Gustav Mahler’s song cycle, Das Lied von der Erde.
Source
- http://annamariapopescu.com/
- http://annamariapopescu.com/bio.html
- http://annamariapopescu.com/bio.html
- http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0004137
- http://www.scena.org/lsm/sm9-1/Annamaria-Popescu-en.htm
- http://www.naxos.com/person/Annamaria_Popescu/9979.htm
- http://www.dispeker.com/page/popescu.html
- http://www.marianopolis.edu/al/popescu.php