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Latonia Moore

Latonia Moore
Born1979
Houston, Texas, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of North Texas, Academy of Vocal Arts
Occupationopera singer
Websitehttps://www.latoniamooresoprano.com/

Latonia Moore (born 1979,[1][2] in Houston, Texas) is an American three-time Grammy Award-winning soprano known for her performances in the title roles of Aida and Madama Butterfly, as well as her work in Terence Blanchard's operas.

Early life and education

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Moore grew up listening to Black music, and began singing in the church choir of the New Sunrise Baptist Church (where her grandfather Cranford Moore was a pastor) at age 8. In her youth, she sang in the Texas All-State Choir.[3]

Moore first studied gospel and jazz, until Pattye Johnstone, one of her teachers at the University of North Texas convinced her to study classical music.[4] Moore made her debut in 1998 at the Palm Beach Opera in West Palm Beach, and was engaged as a student in the same year at the Houston Ebony Opera. She continued as a student of Bill Schuman at the Academy of Vocal Arts, in Philadelphia,[5] where she graduated in 2005. In 2000 she won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.[1]

Career

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In New York City, Moore attracted critical praise for her 2008 performance with the Opera Orchestra of New York in Puccini's Edgar. In March 2012, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut as a late replacement for Violeta Urmana on short notice as Aida in a live broadcast.[6] She would go on to perform Aida more than a hundred times.[7]

Moore is featured on commercial recordings of the Mahler Symphony No 2 (Deutsche Grammophon 0289 474 5942 2) and of Verdi's Macbeth (sung in English, Chandos CHAN 3180(2)).[8]

In January 2016, Moore performed for the newly revived New York City Opera in Puccini's Tosca at the Rose Theater in Lincoln Center.[9][10]

In April 2016, she sang the lead role of Cio-Cio San in the San Diego Opera's performance of Puccini's Madama Butterfly,[11] garnering critical recognition for her acting, her "rich, supple and multi-octave soprano voice" and vocal interpretation.[12] During that production, she met and became friends with mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges, and the two reunited at San Diego Opera for a concert in 2023.[7]

Moore appeared in 2018 with Opera Australia in the title role of Puccini's Tosca, delivering a critically acclaimed "complex performance" with a voice of "luxurious colour and brilliance at the top".[13]

In 2019, Moore played the role of Serena in the Metropolitan Opera's Porgy and Bess.[14] The production won Best Opera Recording at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. She also starred in the Met's Grammy-winning productions of Fire Shut Up in My Bones and Champion.[15]

Honors

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Year Award Category Notes Ref
2000 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions [1]
2005 Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year - Dallas Opera [16]
2021 63rd Annual Grammy Awards Best Opera Recording for the Metropolitan Opera's Porgy and Bess [15]
2023 65th Annual Grammy Awards Best Opera Recording for the Metropolitan Opera's Fire Shut Up in My Bones [7]
2024 66th Annual Grammy Awards Best Opera Recording for the Metropolitan Opera's Champion [17]

Recordings

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Tommasini, Anthony (2000-03-08). "Listening to the Future At the Met Auditions". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-01-01.
  2. ^ Tommasini, Anthony (2012-12-21). "Colorblind Casting Widens Opera's Options". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-01-01.
  3. ^ Meares, Joel (2014-09-29). "Latonia Moore back to star in her own right in Opera on the Sydney Harbour's Aida". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2015-01-01.
  4. ^ Story, Rosalyn M. (June 2010). "If I Could Sing Like a Daughter of God". Opera News. Vol. 74, no. 12. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
  5. ^ David Patrick Stearns (2000-03-08). "The Voice Doctor". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved 2015-01-01.
  6. ^ "Opera's Next Wave: Soprano Latonia Moore". Opera News. Vol. 77, no. 2. August 2012. Retrieved 2015-01-01.
  7. ^ a b c Kragen, Pam (2023-10-22). "In harmony: Opera stars Latonia Moore and J'Nai Bridges talk Grammys, friendship, roles and what's on their playlists". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  8. ^ Christiansen, Rupert (2014-04-24). "Verdi: Macbeth: 'sharply energised'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2015-01-01.
  9. ^ Stearns, David Patrick (25 January 2016). "New York City Opera's resurrection may be right". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved Sep 16, 2019.
  10. ^ Russell Platt (15 January 2016). "Leap of Faith". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
  11. ^ "San Diego Opera: Madama Butterfly 2015–2016 season, San Diego Opera, accessed June 20, 2016
  12. ^ "Moore brings new dimension to Butterfly", The San Diego Union-Tribune, April 17, 2016
  13. ^ Davies, Bridget (Apr 25, 2018). "Tosca review: Latonia Moore resplendent in modernised Puccini". The Age. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  14. ^ Davidson, Justin (2019-09-24). "A Gorgeous Porgy and Bess, Its Flaws Intact, at the Metropolitan Opera". Vulture. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  15. ^ a b "Latonia Moore | Artist | GRAMMY.com". grammy.com. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  16. ^ "Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year". The Dallas Opera. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  17. ^ Salazar, Francisco (2024-02-04). "Metropolitan Opera & Julia Bullock Lead Classical Grammy Awards". OperaWire. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
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