Meet Francesca Patanè as she takes on Turandot in her OCP debut 01-16-2009 Francesca Patanè as Turandot Soprano Francesca Patanè has made a career out of singing the heroines of Puccini and Verdi. You might say that the music is in her blood, coming from a renowned family of Italian musicians; she is the daughter of celebrated Italian conductor Giuseppe Patanè, the granddaughter of famed conductor Franco Patanè, and the daughter of renowned vocal teacher Rita Patanè. She has received critical acclaim all over the world singing the roles of Turandot, Tosca, and Lady Macbeth, to name a few. Now she comes to Philadelphia to make her US stage debut in the role that had The Guardian raving that one “…could not have wished for a more imperious Turandot than that of Francesca Patanè…more than a touch of Callas in demeanor and tone all add to a fearsome presence.” We recently asked Ms. Patanè to share her thoughts on Puccini’s cold-hearted princess, who executes would-be suitors at the bat of an eyelash. “I have always tried to bring a more human image to this character,” the soprano says. “I have never thought that Turandot is a terrible person. I think she is a very fragile, vulnerable and scared woman that protects herself behind this scary image. That is why I like the ending, where she explains everything to Calaf.... almost to ask for forgiveness for the cruelty of the second and third act.” The soprano practically grew up in Europe’s opera houses, going with her mother to see her father conduct since the age of two, and discovering her love for singing at an early age. She studied at the Manhattan School of Music in New York and was actually a fashion model with the Ford Agency for several years before she returned to Italy. It wasn’t until after her father’s sudden death in 1989 that Patanè threw herself completely into her singing career. “After my father died, I thought I would never enter an opera house again. But something special happened: I found an incredible strength and finally found my real voice.” Soprano Francesca Patanè It is this “real voice” that has carried this soprano to an internationally-acclaimed career that shows no signs of slowing down. Most recently, she performed Turandot with the State Opera Budapest, Minnie in Puccini’s La fanciulla del West with the Finnish National Opera and State Opera Budapest, and Tosca at the Daegu Festival of Opera in Korea and the Finnish National Opera. Patanè partially credits her successful career to having grown up in a musical family and “having seen and heard the best! This has made me very rich inside and I try my best to bring out all I can and know.” Don’t miss this stunning soprano in Puccini’s masterpiece – Turandot runs in five performances, February 20, 22m, 25, March 1m & 6, 2009 at the Academy of Music! For tickets, call 215-893-1018 or click here. Click here to read about the composer, synopsis, or learn about the cast and production. What the press says about Francesca Patanè:“A more glacial Turandot could hardly be imagined, nor a more fearsome. Patanè’s stage presence was compelling…. She was formidable.” - Opera “Francesca Patanè’s Turandot was spectacular. There is a purity in her voice which is spine-tingling and this is accompanied by the ability to produce enormous power.” - The Observer
Francesca Patanè as Turandot
Soprano Francesca Patanè has made a career out of singing the heroines of Puccini and Verdi. You might say that the music is in her blood, coming from a renowned family of Italian musicians; she is the daughter of celebrated Italian conductor Giuseppe Patanè, the granddaughter of famed conductor Franco Patanè, and the daughter of renowned vocal teacher Rita Patanè. She has received critical acclaim all over the world singing the roles of Turandot, Tosca, and Lady Macbeth, to name a few. Now she comes to Philadelphia to make her US stage debut in the role that had The Guardian raving that one “…could not have wished for a more imperious Turandot than that of Francesca Patanè…more than a touch of Callas in demeanor and tone all add to a fearsome presence.”
We recently asked Ms. Patanè to share her thoughts on Puccini’s cold-hearted princess, who executes would-be suitors at the bat of an eyelash. “I have always tried to bring a more human image to this character,” the soprano says. “I have never thought that Turandot is a terrible person. I think she is a very fragile, vulnerable and scared woman that protects herself behind this scary image. That is why I like the ending, where she explains everything to Calaf.... almost to ask for forgiveness for the cruelty of the second and third act.”
The soprano practically grew up in Europe’s opera houses, going with her mother to see her father conduct since the age of two, and discovering her love for singing at an early age. She studied at the Manhattan School of Music in New York and was actually a fashion model with the Ford Agency for several years before she returned to Italy. It wasn’t until after her father’s sudden death in 1989 that Patanè threw herself completely into her singing career. “After my father died, I thought I would never enter an opera house again. But something special happened: I found an incredible strength and finally found my real voice.”
Soprano Francesca Patanè
It is this “real voice” that has carried this soprano to an internationally-acclaimed career that shows no signs of slowing down. Most recently, she performed Turandot with the State Opera Budapest, Minnie in Puccini’s La fanciulla del West with the Finnish National Opera and State Opera Budapest, and Tosca at the Daegu Festival of Opera in Korea and the Finnish National Opera. Patanè partially credits her successful career to having grown up in a musical family and “having seen and heard the best! This has made me very rich inside and I try my best to bring out all I can and know.”
Don’t miss this stunning soprano in Puccini’s masterpiece – Turandot runs in five performances, February 20, 22m, 25, March 1m & 6, 2009 at the Academy of Music! For tickets, call 215-893-1018 or click here.
Click here to read about the composer, synopsis, or learn about the cast and production.
What the press says about Francesca Patanè:“A more glacial Turandot could hardly be imagined, nor a more fearsome. Patanè’s stage presence was compelling…. She was formidable.” - Opera
“Francesca Patanè’s Turandot was spectacular. There is a purity in her voice which is spine-tingling and this is accompanied by the ability to produce enormous power.” - The Observer
