Florence Quivar
Florence Quivar (b. March 3, 1944 in Philadelphia, PA) is an American operatic mezzo-soprano who is considered to be "one of the most prominent singers of her generation."[1] She has variously been described as having a "rich, earthy sound and communicative presence"[2] as "always reliable"[3] and as "a distinguished singer, with a warm, rich voice and a dignified performing presence."[4]
Early life and education
Quivar first became interested in music as a child. Her mother was a piano and voice teacher who also formed the gospel group the "Harmonic Choraliers". Quivar studied piano and voice with her mother as a child and began singing solos at church by age six. As a teenager she became interested in opera when she saw the Metropolitan Opera's touring production of Madama Butterfly to Philadelphia. Although she wanted to pursue a performing career, Quivar initially decided to pusue a career as an elementary school teacher and enrolled in a teachers' college. After just one day of classes, she realized that her true love was really music, and soon enrolled in the Philadelphia Academy of Music. After graduating, she entered the Julliard School in 1975. Although she did not stay at the school very long, she did appear as Ježibaba and the Foreign Princess in Dvorak's Rusalka at the Julliard Opera Center.[5] Quivar returned to Philadelphia to study in master classes with Maureen Forrester where she began to focus in on lieder and oratorio repetoire. She made her professional recital debut in Philadelphia in 1976 as part of the Franklin Concert Series. Later that year, she won the Baltimore Lyric Opera Competition and then returned to New York where she won the Marian Anderson Award. These competition wins drew the attention of noted impresario Harold Shaw and quickly led to engangements at the Metropolitan Opera and orchestras throughout the United States.[6]
Career
Quivar made her Metropolitan Opera début in 1977 as Marina in Boris Godunov.[7] She became a regular at the Met during the 1980s and 1990s, appearing as Jocasta in Oedipus Rex, Suzuki in Madame Butterfly, Isabella in L'italiana in Algeri, Federica in Luisa Miller, Fidès in Le prophète, Frugola in Il Tabarro, Mother Marie in Dialogues des Carmélites, Louis XV Chair in L'Enfant et les Sortilèges, the Princess in Suor Angelica, Ulrica in Un Ballo in Maschera, and Serena in Porgy and Bess. Her 101st and last performance at the Met was in a concert performance of Verdi's Requiem in 1997 where she sang the mezzo soprano solos under the baton of James Levine.[8]
Quivar's other opera credits include performances at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bavarian State Opera, La Scala, Teatro la Fenice, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, the Theatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro, Teatro Colón, Royal Opera at Covent Garden, Seattle Opera, and Los Angeles Opera among others. Her other roles includes Adalgisa in Norma, the title role in Carmen, Erda in Siegfried and Das Rheingold, Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde and Orpheus in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, the latter being a role with which she became particularly associated.[9]
She has also performed with many of the world's premiere orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Orchestre de Paris, Berlin Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony and the BBC Symphony Orchestra to name just a few.[10]
Quivar has taken on the task of rescuing the works of forgotten composers, concentrating on those of African American composers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Her stated goal is to "to compile a program of these neglected composers and someday record them."[10] She has also performed in productions of African American composer works, including a 1981 revival of Virgil Thomson's Four Saints.[11]
She has also been a champion of new music. In 1999 she performed the role of The Goddess of the Waters in the world premier of Anthony Davis' opera Amistad at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. She also premiered William Bolcom's song cycle From the Diary of Sally Hemmings at the Library of Congress in 2001. She has sense performed the cycle in recitals throughout the United States in a tour with Harolyn Blackwell in 2002-2003.
Quivar remained active in opera performances until the mid 2000s when she retired from the operatic stage. She remains active as a concert and recital performer.
Discography
Choral and symphonic
| Year | Title | Genre | Collaborators | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Roger Sessions: When Lilacs Last In The Dooryard Bloom'd | Classical | Seiji Ozawa Tanglewood Festival Chorus Boston Symphony Orchestra Esther Hinds (soprano) Dominic Cossa (baritone) |
New World Records |
| 1987 | Handel: Messiah | oratorio | Andrew Davis (conductor) Toronto Symphony Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Kathleen Battle (soprano) Samuel Ramey (bass), John Aler (tenor) |
EMI Classics |
| 1989 | Verdi:Requiem | Classical | Carlo Maria Giulini (conductor) Berlin Philharmonic Simon Estes (bass-baritone) Sharon Sweet (soprano) Vinson Cole (tenor) |
Deutsche Grammophon |
| 1995 | Mendelssohn:Elijah | oratorio | Robert Shaw (conductor) Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus Barbara Bonney (soprano) Jerry Hadley (tenor) Thomas Hampson (baritone) |
Telarc |
Opera recordings
| Year | Title | Role | Collaborators | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Gershwin: Porgy and Bess (Grammy Award winner) |
Serena | Lorin Maazel (conductor) Cleveland Orchestra Willard White (Porgy) Leona Mitchell (Bess) McHenry Boatwright (Crown) Francois Clemmons (Sporting Life) Barbara Hendricks (Clara) Barbara Conrad (Maria) Arthur Thompson (Robbins) |
London Records |
Solo recordings
| Year | Title | Genre | Collaborators | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Ride on, King Jesus! | Traditional Spirituals | Joseph Joubert (piano) Larry Woodard (piano) Boys Choir of Harlem |
EMI Records |
References
- ^ All Media Guide, LLC (2006). Florence Quivar Allmusic Biography through Google cache. Retrieved on February 8, 2007.
- ^ New York Times Company (August 25, 2001). Understated Elegance Spiced With Surprises by Anthony Tommasini. Retrieved on February 8, 2007.
- ^ New York Times Company (May 29, 1999). Masur Adds Some Curves To the Angles Of the Missa by Bernard Holland. Retrieved on February 8, 2007.
- ^ New York Times Company (July 31, 1998). Classical Music and Dance Guide (various authors). Retrieved on February 8, 2007.
- ^ Forbes, Grove Music Online
- ^ All Music Guide
- ^ Forbes, Grove Music Online
- ^ Metropolitan Opera Archives
- ^ Forbes, Grove Music Online
- ^ a b Mauro, Lucia (1997). Careers for Stagestruck & Other Dramatic Types. Lincolnwood, Illinois: VGM Career Horizons. pp. Pages 89. ISBN 0844243272.
- ^ J. Southern, Eileen (1997). The Music of Black Americans: A History. Lincolnwood, Illinois: W. W. Norton & Company. pp. Pages 448. ISBN 0393038432.
Sources
- Elizabeth Forbes: "Florence Quivar", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed September 21, 2008), (subscription access)