Saturday, March 15, 2008

Anna Bonitatibus


Anna Bonitatibus is someone I heard twice at the Zürich Opera, first in Julius Caesar with Cecilia where I described her as "a small woman with a penetrating voice in the role of Sesto."

Then I saw her in Handel's Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno. I said:

"The dynamism of the coloratura in this work is extreme. Perhaps Handel worked with some incredible singers in Rome in 1707. The most incredible of all is pleasure, a role that was sung by Cecilia Bartoli in the opera's last mounting here, and whose arias form the framework for her Opera Proibita tour. In this mounting it was sung very well indeed by Anna Bonitatibus, a personal favorite."

She was just terrific.

I don't know why I never noticed this before, but she can be purchased from Amazon. For instance, there is a DVD of Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia where I assume she is the star.

She's in a bunch of Handel CDs, including Deidamia, Tolomeo, Tamerlano, the last also on DVD.  There is also a bit of her on YouTube. I am surprised and pleased.

And here's her picture with hair in her face.

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