With a smile and joke, she complied. But now the sky is the limit, not only at the Met but wherever in the world the operas of Verdi are sung. Schuman had him back onstage and on the road to vocal recovery when he killed himself due to a troubled personal life in 2007 at age 55. But it was another opera house that would be most connected with Millos remarkable career. . Mayo Clinic; Sept. 19, 2022. I opened the Met season in a matter of weeks. Record the pronunciation of this word in your own voice and play it to listen to how you have pronounced it. I've always thought that Millo was not only extremely talented (I don't think there's ever been a better Liu), but a total babe -- albeit, as James says, a tad pretentious. But I think the lack of selling tickets for the 3Ts is more areflection of the Houston population in general just not knowing aboutthese 3 guys, than it is a comment on them. She reprised the role of Maddalena in 2002, with Domingo; and in 2007, with Ben Heppner. . Many singers (and other performers) change their names for professionalpurposes; often this change is suggested by an agent or manager. -- Diana Vreeland, (Shhhh! Now, since those that followed have more or lessbeen more of the same, I would rather just watch the videowhen they sounded better. Her father, Giovanni Millo, had performed with the New York City Opera in its first years between 1944-1946. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/vocal-fold-paralysis. You almost wish that they would stay away rather than hurt your feelings or say something that bothers you. It set into motion in quick succession an audition for Leone Magiera and Riccardo Muti. While she was waiting for the Met to shape up and do things her way, Millo also sang two of Verdi's more seldom-heard operas, "I Lombardi" and "La Battaglia Di Legnano," as well as Giordano's "Andrea Chenier" in Carnegie Hall concert performances. If I go out, I generally go out with at least three or four other people, maybe a couple or three gentlemen or something like that, so I'm fairly well protected . I can stand listening to heras long as I don't also have to look at her. I was hiding behind three chairs the night the 'Aida' was shown on television." You may feel a "lump" in yourthroat when swallowing, or feel pain when youtouch the outside of yourthroat. "But when he went to Glyndebourne L'elisir d'amore], he said, 'Bill, I need you over here!' In 2018 Millo was awarded the prestigious and highly coveted Verdi D'Oro of Busseto, Italy given in its 46 year history to only 14 singers such as Carlo Bergonzi, Renata Tebaldi, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, just to name a few. In the intervening years, she has sung over 160 performances of 15 different roles at the Metropolitan Opera, including Leonora in Il Trovatore, Aida, Tosca, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, and Amelia in Un ballo . This is not the title role, but it has some of the best music and one of the most touching death scenes by Puccini, a specialist in soprano death scenes. I want to have a good last act. Why no follow-ups? Sometimes the problem goes away with time. Accessed Aug. 28, 2022. . > a stylish (if occasionally mannered) actress in an old-fashioned > style. In Danny Boy, her voice was raspy and not completely at ease in the lower range of the opening verse. They did the Cavalleria Rusticana duet, Ms. Millo said, and they were no longer Mom and Dad.. In 1989, she opened the Metropolitan Opera season starring as Aida opposite Plcido Domingo. The next one will be 'Il Trovatore,' then 'Luisa Miller,' 'Don Carlo,' 'Otello' and, I think, 'Un Ballo In Maschera' or possibly 'I Lombardi.' The soprano Aprile Millo thrilled audiences in the 1980s and 90s, then receded from view. Aprile Millo was born in New York City, the daughter of two opera singers, tenor Giovanni Millo (John Hamill) and soprano Margherita Girosi. Pronunciation of aprile with 2 audio pronunciations, 1 meaning, 14 translations, 7 sentences and more for aprile. Big roles beckoned in Europe, too. Her problems were lavishly documented several years ago in the magazine Opera Fanatic, which probably would have ignored the story if the central figure had not been Aprile Millo's mother. I was truly there., She had triumphs through the Verdi canon Don Carlo, Il Trovatore, Aida, Otello, Un Ballo in Maschera, Luisa Miller as well as in Tosca and Andrea Chnier.. My mother and father were both singers. Schuman also laments that he wasn't of Renata Tebaldi's generation. WOOLFE Throwback glamour, too, in her gowns, which for the first half rendered her an emerald-color, Isolde-type medieval Irish queen and, after intermission, made her a sapphire vision out of Frozen, complete with glittery cape. Know the reason for your visit and what you want to happen. ", And Wagner: "The voice has power but it's not a Wagnerian instrument. At least they would have 5000 empty seats to sing to. But Ms. Millo could also have been describing her voice: an instrument of easy, opulent power and fiery yet sumptuous phrasing, a moving recollection of the great Italian singers who ruled 60 or 70 years ago. She is hospitable to an interviewer, offering coffee and pointing out the most comfortable chair, although last year she told one journalist, "this may be the last interview I'll ever give." [citation needed]. The diversity of the program not only showed Millos incredible range, but also was nod to her mixed Irish-Italian heritage. I know he was good (if notthe best) in his day, but I don't think any other operasinger has ever had that effect on the public before. > Lis K. Froding wrote:> > Just the change of name from April to Aprile seems a bit> > silly. "The music is great," she says, "but you have to sing what you were born to sing. (Her encore was a singalong O Sole Mio.) Those things can sometimes feel missing from the New York opera scene these days, and Wednesday conjured the art form as its meant to be: scrappy but also transcendent, both informal and grand. To go to that world that transfigured her Mother and Father's face. Just the change of name from April to Aprile seems a bit. >What bothers you so much about *looking* at Millo? His voice had great power and tremendous evenness. This gave her performances an uncanny, seance-like aspect, even as they also felt wholly fresh the voice healthy and secure and deeply felt. In several European trips she won several singing competitions including first prize in the Concorso Internazionale di Voci Verdiane in Busseto, Italy (1978), the Montserrat Caball Bernab Mart Special Verdi Prize Award in Barcelona (1979), and the Geraldine Farrar Award (1980). Sort of. "Most of the time I'm very shy," confesses Aprile Millo -- an unexpected problem, you might think, for someone who gets up on stage regularly and sings "Ritorna vincitor" in front of thousands of people. For more: www.mattcostello.com. My sister has the same instrument, but she doesn't want to work on it, so she's an actress now -- Shakespeare. Many voice disorders can be cured with treatment when diagnosed early. She gives the impression of a serious, dedicated artist who is keenly aware that she lucked out when her genetic dice were cast but knows exactly how to handle that luck. She starred in the Met premiere of Verdi's "I Lombardi" in 1993, a run she points to as perhaps the start of her troubles. This recital was an emotional, personal and musically wonderful part of Millos incredible legacy. Any of these might cause a voice disorder. So no, I didnt think that opening set really bloomed vocally. Aprile Millo Wiki, Biography, Age as Wikipedia. Thatwasn't an opera. By David Patrick Stearns, Inquirer Music Critic, Philadelphia native Stephen Costello, a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts, performing in "Anna Bolena" at the Metropolitan Opera. The Washington Opera's "Aida," in which Millo is contracted to sing seven performances, uses surtitles. This improves the voice and allows the larynx to close when swallowing. A few outdoor performances of Verdis Ernani in the summer of 1984 excited connoisseurs, and her New York career was ready to ignite that December when she made an unexpected house debut three weeks ahead of schedule replacing a colleague in Verdis Simon Boccanegra., It was like she came out of nowhere, Michael Capasso, City Operas general director, recalled. Remarkably, the whole wonderful recital had just that air of informality and intimacy. I don't know thatthey could fill our own Riverfront Stadium (or whatever trumped up namethey're calling it these days), despite the quite healthy opera companyhere. Your voice is the sound that air makes when it is forced out of your lungs and passes over your vocal cords. It's deepening," remarked retired soprano Renata Scotto after hearing a rehearsal. aprile millo vocal problemsscott brown salary at aberdeen. Singing the role of Percy in Anna Bolena, Costello needed at least six high Cs - a seemingly distant possibility when, after three weeks of post-surgery vocal rest, he began re-climbing the scales under Schuman's guidance. The voice box, also called the larynx, is made of a smooth covering, muscle and soft, moist areas. Any use of this site constitutes your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy linked below. What causes hoarseness? [9], On April 4, 1986, Donal Henahan wrote in The New York Times of Millo's performance in Don Carlo: "Miss Millo sounds more and more like the Verdi soprano we've been waiting for.". Know why a test or procedure is recommended and what the results could mean. Named for the month she was born, Aprile Millo will be 32 this year. [2] Shortly thereafter Millo won two major awards for classical singers: the Richard Tucker Award (1985) and the Maria Callas Foundation Award (1986). "That part of it is fun, but it's not essential. Kost KM, et al. Vocal fold paralysis. In "Danny Boy," her voice was raspy and not completely at ease in the lower range of the opening verse. During these years, she accepted second billing only once, while also leaving Verdi for a rare visit to Puccini, when she sang Liu in "Turandot." Treatment may include: Tips to help you get the most from a visit to your healthcare provider: At Another Johns Hopkins Member Hospital: Could nasal polyps be the cause of your stuffy nose? Now, after 20-plus years at AVA, his influence in opera has become far more pervasive than if he had had a major singing career of his own. Voice changes related to the brain and nervous system, known as spasmodic dysphonia (spaz-MOD-ki dis-FOE-nee-uh), Polyps, nodules or cysts on the vocal cords growths that aren't cancer, Conditions related to the brain and nervous system, such as Parkinson's disease or a stroke, Scarring from neck surgery or from trauma to the front of the neck. Janice, you're brilliant! Unanimously winning, Primo Premio Grand Prize at the Concorso Voce Verdiane at 20 years, James Levine and the Metropolitan Opera in a critically acclaimed debut as Amelia in 1984 in Simon Boccanegra. The soprano Aprile Millo gave her first New York recital in a decade at Zankel Hall on Wednesday night. (Ken Howard / Metropolitan Opera), California residents do not sell my data request. Her Met performances grew less frequent; she hasnt appeared with the company since 2007. I think Millo still has a shot, especially if she stopsdoing so much Verdi and concentrates on the "Verismo Crazy Lady" fach. Clinical Geriatric Medicine. To go to that world that transfigured her Mother and Father's face. Aprile Millo is currently appearing at the Met in "Un ballo in maschera"(she was originally contracted to sing her first local Leonora in ""Laforza del destino", but, well, you know) The word on the street isthat she is somewhat better vocal shape than she has been for severalseasons. I have to have an affinity for music before I can sing it. Of course, for both those older people in the audience who have listened to Aprile Milo for decades and so many young people eager to hear a true legend, no recital would be compete without Verdi, and in this case, something from Aida. WOOLFE I dont know if thats in the cards; the soprano-baritone duet from Act III of Aida, while expressive at Zankel, didnt make me confident that there was an evening-length leading role in her voice, at least not right now. An invitation to sing came from a great colleague, mezzo-soprano Gail Dubinbaum, for Elisabeth Schwarzkopf who immediately brought her to sing for the great Maestro Herbert Von Karajan. . Before your visit, write down questions you want answered. April 14, 1958 in New York City, New York, USA Mini Bio (1) Aprile Millo came to New York a child prodigy and is a long established and Verdi specialist and bel canto champion. But nothings impossible., If she were to suddenly have the goods vocally to sing on the stage of the Met, he added, we would put her on the stage of the Met., And that is where Ms. Millo wants to be. Auditioning when she was barely in her 20s for the New York City Opera, where her father had sung in the 1940s (and which is presenting her recital on Wednesday), she was offered major contracts. I dont want to offer excuses. She does not regret missing out on the Puccini heroines such as Mimi in "La Boheme" and Madame Butterfly, which require a very different kind of voice and personality. Millo's father, tenor John Hamill, who also used the name Giovanni Millo, sang at the New York City Opera in the 1940s. silly. She was sitting in a rehearsal room last week, talking about a song she was about to practice. This is a nerve problem that causes the vocal cords to spasm. A car accident in Torino briefly sidelined Millo and forced her to cancel Caterina Cornaro in New York; she returned to the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in 1995 and 1996, playing Amelia (Simon Boccanegra) and Desdemona (Otello), opposite Plcido Domingo. WOOLFE So this wasnt your average song program. Its not about voice; the voice has been functioning, she insisted in an interview after the rehearsal. I'm even less ofa fan of show tunes sung by guys who have no concept of what a Broadwayshow is. Exactly -- let the rest of us appreciate her. Mr. Gelb is more doubtful. She has given master classes and been generous with guidance for young singers, and has appeared in concert here and there. Don't abuse your vocal cords by yelling or speaking loudly for long periods of time. Soprano Aprile Millo will present a Nov. 17 concert with the Opera Orchestra Of New York. But it hadnt, and hasnt at least not if Ms. Millo has something to say about it. And I agree - Millo is a very attractive woman, and a natural-bornactress. Aprile Millo is currently appearing at the Met in "Un ballo in maschera" (she was originally contracted to sing her first local Leonora in ""La forza del destino", but, well, you know.) But when? x x x. But there was some big, velvety sound in what Id call the upper-middle range, and wistful eloquence when she went soft. With the plaintive sound of the harp, she performed four Irish songs, telling the audience that her father when he struggled to begin his career as a singer worked in a bar, and would mesmerize listeners (and drinkers) with his singing the same songs. Millo sought out, worked with and became great friends to Renata Tebaldi, Zinka Milanov, and Licia Albanese, with Magda Olivero and Beverly Sills. She flourished. Possessing a spinto voice of power, warmth and temperament, Millo became one of the most celebrated opera singers of the late twentieth century. Millo became interested in music at an early age and received her musical education primarily from her parents. Most of my friends are very down-to-earth people; a lot of them are performers themselves and know the pitfalls. The vibration of those cords is what produces speech. . Recitals followed with major successes in Citta' della Pieve, a Gala return in Brazil for Theatro Municipal in Rio and in London for a debut recital that met with sold out crowds andrapturous press. In 1978, two years fresh from graduating Hollywood High School she did. ", She is also willing to renounce Lieder: "I don't think I'll ever be a great recitalist; it's not really my forte; I coached some pieces with Schwarzkopf and then promptly forgot everything she told me. A major new production happens only once every couple months. I want to end nicely. Air moving through the voice box causes the vocal cords to vibrate and brings them closer together. Millo returned to New York in January of 2019 for her debut with the NYCO in Recital to a sold out cheering audience at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall and critical acclaim. The Digital home of legendary opera singer Aprile Millo. Aprile Millo is an American operatic soprano of Italian and Irish ancestry who is particularly admired for her interpretations of the works of Giuseppe Verdi. >> Just the change of name from April to Aprile seems a bit>> silly. ", For the voice that has brought her to the top of her field, she acknowledges a debt to her parents. Besides teaching such AVA grads as Latonia Moore, Schuman has done mid-career tuneups for singers including Aprile Millo and the late Jerry Hadley. She doesn't win all her battles, of course. The opening had been successful. The surgery was done July 15 in New York City; the first day of Met rehearsals was Aug. 22. When I make friends, I like them for themselves and they like me for myself. After winning several European vocal competitions including ones in Bussetto and Barcelona, Millo was propelled to fame in 1982 as a replacement for an ailing Mirella . So Houston appears to know its baseball/football/fill-in-your-sport-here. Ami T. Allscripts EPSi. But it blossomed, gloriously, into a moment out of Ms. Millo's salad days, rising from a. Treatment depends on what's causing the voice change. Can the Diva Who Once Ruled the Met Make a Comeback? Are you making these stories up or is Vienna just cursed? With singers - Aprile Millo's throbbing soprano comes to mind -a wide and persistent vibrato or tremolo can suggest incipient vocal difficulties.What was once a pleasing vibrato can widen. Mom sounded a lot like {Claudia} Muzio and dad sounded like {Beniamino} Gigli. A 532-nm KTP laser for vocal fold polyps: Efficacy and relative factors. Aprile Millo Aprile (disambiguation) Aprile, Jackie . I mean, afterRichard Tucker and Leontyne Price, why would any aspiring Verdi singer_need_ to take on an Italianate name if s/he didn't already have one? Internationally renowned soprano Aprile Millo returns to New York on January 30, 2019 for a highly anticipated recital with the New York City Opera. Her "Aida" was the gala opening production of the current Metropolitan Opera season and was telecast nationally on PBS in December, an event that triggered Millo's shyness at its most intense level. "Every day I feel better because of it," he said last week in New York. And then we run into Youre not glamorous enough, and I got heavy, Ms. Millo said, fearing there was no place for her in an operatic culture increasingly focused on HD cinema broadcasts. [4] In the intervening years, she has sung over 160 performances of 15 different roles at the Metropolitan Opera, including Leonora in Il trovatore, Aida, Tosca, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, and Amelia in Un ballo in maschera. -- Mel Brooks in "To Be or Not to Be". Mayo Clinic on Incontinence - Mayo Clinic Press, NEW The Essential Diabetes Book - Mayo Clinic Press, NEW Ending the Opioid Crisis - Mayo Clinic Press, FREE Mayo Clinic Diet Assessment - Mayo Clinic Press, Mayo Clinic Health Letter - FREE book - Mayo Clinic Press, Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development, Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education, Book: Mayo Clinic Family Health Book, 5th Edition, Newsletter: Mayo Clinic Health Letter Digital Edition, Science Saturday: Bioengineering vocal cords, Minnesota man takes shot at getting his voice back, Science Saturday: Regenerating damaged vocal cords. The art form in her household was always wrapped up in transformation. Often likened to such greats as Tebaldi, Milanov and Ponselle, the "Golden Voiced Diva" will perform opera . Millo toured with the Metropolitan Opera to Japan in 1988 and 1993, returning in 1989, 1990 and 1991 for solo recitals. Some operagoers, the critic Susan Elliott wrote in 1990, are still debating whether Millo is the real thing, or merely a collection of diva mannerisms.. Treatments include: Aprile Millo has not won all the battles of her operatic career, but she has won the ones that counted the most -- precisely because her strategy was based on a cool assessment of what she has to offer and what she can demand in return. She grew perilously indecisive about engagements. Although she has performed at many of the world's leading opera houses and with many orchestras and ensembles internationally, Millo has spent much of her career appearing in productions at the Metropolitan Opera. Like a cabaret singer, she blended Irish-American family history and song The Kerry Dance was even more moving because Ms. Millo said her mother used to sing it to her at night. > What bothers you so much about *looking* at Millo? Bruch JM, et al. (and Cincinnati Opera subscriber & PROUD OF IT! A singer's psychology is another matter. I too have noticed that a much larger percentage of stuff on this group is singer-oriented than I expected. La Millo sings her first Tosca at La Scala this summer, with her buddyElizabeth Taylor an invited guest for the prima. He co-created and writes the global best-selling mystery series, Cherringham, set in Englands beautiful but in fiction at least occasionally lethal, Cotswolds. BARONE Her charisma certainly goes far, even if the banter pushed the evening to just over two and a half hours. >Verdi singer_need_ to take on an Italianate name if s/he didn't already have one? And OperaWire came about as a desire to take in as much of it and allow the passionate fan base access to everything this wondrous art form has to offer on a daily basis. Passionately devoted to opera, she champions young artists, promotes the arts all over the world, and is keen to bring to light neglected masterpieces of the bel canto period and the scapigliatura period. The return to New York of Aprile Millo, on an unbelievably frigid night, was both recital and celebration, where the packed-house audience soon forgot their shivers, radiating so much warmth towards the artist on stage. But do the words "gravy train" pop into your mind as well? A superb voice, a true continuator of La Tebaldi. "I didn't like it very much," says Millo, expressing a distinctly minority opinion. In 2018 Millo was awarded the prestigious and highly coveted Verdi D'Oro of Busseto, Italy given in its 46 year history to only 14 singers such as Carlo Bergonzi, Renata Tebaldi, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, just to name a few. Stay rested, drink plenty of water, use a microphone, warm up your vocal cords, dont smoke, learn proper breath flow, and seek care when there are changes to the voice quality. And when, in that aria, the silence was broken, her voice again soared, filling the acoustic gem that is Zankel Hall with her lush soprano. Without my contacts, I am in a special world where there are no cameras.". She said at the start that she wanted the audience to feel like this was an evening at her home, in her living room and the relaxed, even joyous feeling inside the concert hall had that intimate feeling. This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here. But I think God is moving me toward it.. that envelops the listener in a mantel of sensuality, a voice not so much heard as experienced on a physical level" was the praise that greeted her first formal recital by Doug de Lisle for his review. "There's a picture of me at age 6 at the piano coaching my brother. Though the Metropolitan Opera's season-opening production of Anna Bolena has been a magnet for mixed reviews, the live, movie-theater simulcast of the opera at 12:55 p.m. Saturday will likely offer reassurance for the longevity of Stephen Costello, 30, Philadelphia's contribution to tenordom. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Ms. Millo and Luciano Pavarotti in Andrea Chnier at the Metropolitan Opera in 1996. And Millo sang someperformances that she really should have cancelled. And it made her all the more endearing that she wore reading glasses to read music from a stand, because, as she said, Mothers memory isnt what it used to be. But did you notice a disconnect between her ease speaking to the crowd and the palpable tension in the opening numbers, six Italian songs she assembled for a rough narrative about the arc of a relationship? That debut launched her amazing career, as critics hailed her as a a new Verdi star. With the Met Opera as her home for over 20 years, Millo would go on to perform and triumph at the major opera houses worldwide. Her 1991 performance of Un ballo in maschera with Luciano Pavarotti was released on CD and DVD. Ear, Nose & Throat Journal. https://www.enthealth.org/be_ent_smart/learn-more-about-your-voice/. I don't know about you, but I was left feelingvaguely cheated. Other times, the person may not be able to speak. In November 1982, Millo made her European debut as Aida at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe in Karlsruhe, Germany, and in December at La Scala as Elvira in Ernani when she replaced soprano Mirella Freni who had taken ill. The singer made her historic debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Amelia in Verdis Simon Boccanegra,on December 1984, as a last-minute replacement. American Academy of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. At 60, she has her heart set on returning to the Met. Over 15 different roles of opera over a nearly 25 year career at the Met. Keenly aware of the need to pass on to new generations of singers who are being shoved to the back of the opera world, Madame Millo was approached byDr. Maria Vetere, who had been asked to help form a summer program for Mime. To go to that world that transfigured her Mother and Father's face. [7][8], In 1997, Millo sang her first Tosca at the Liceu, Barcelona, with Giacomo Aragall and Juan Pons, followed by performances of the opera at La Scala and at the Met. On Wednesday, she gives her first New York recital in 10 years. If vocal cords become swollen, or inflamed, develop growths or can't move as they should, they can't work properly. Health care providers trained in ear, nose and throat illnesses and speech-language pathologists diagnose and treat voice issues. 2021; doi:10.1177/0145561320946153. But I understand that I have a responsibility to get past this. WWTeam OS/2 Cincinnati & PROUD OF IT! Know how you can contact your provider if you have questions. That's not usual for him. Over the past decade, she has barely sung in public at all. Then, at what should have been the height of her career, things petered out. Millo not only knows what she wants, she knows what she cannot have: the many kinds of singing she must bypass while she focuses on being the Verdi soprano of her generation. from LA Weekly. ", "We had talked about him getting the tonsils out next summer and taking the summer off," said Schuman. She is one a few - I think of Soviero immediately- who still knows what personality in the voice is all about. People develop a voice disorder for many reasons. She has recorded several Verdi operas with James Levine and the Metropolitan Opera for Sony Classical, including Aida, Il Trovatore, Luisa Miller, and Don Carlo. In an era of plastic sopranos, she's the real thing. She is probably my favorite opera singer, with the possible exception of Cheryl Studer. ", Millo, for as long as she can remember, has wanted nothing else than to follow her family into opera. She returned to Utah Opera in early 1981 to perform the role of Santuzza in Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana. We (her admirers) like to remember when shecould toss of the high coloratura of parts like Battaglia di Leganano orI Lombardi, - one remembers that in the late 40's and earliest years ofthe 50's Tebaldi's voice was higher and lighter as well - but nowMillo's voice has deepened, as did Tebaldi's, and without any shrinkage. Other Metropolitan Opera performances include Mefistofele (19992000) and Gioconda in La Gioconda (2006). Wonderfully accompanied by Inseon Lee on piano, as well as Merynda Adams on harp and C Collins Lee on violin, Millo performed a wide-ranging program consisting of songs by Rachmaninoff, Donaudy, Tosti and Bridge, as well as arias by Verdi, Gounoud, and, a definite rarity, Licino Refice. Millos parents were both singers and they shaped her life as a performer. Some singers inspire that kind of thing; Callas did; Farrar did, a long time ago. There is clearly an audience hungry for her charm, her phrasing, her sincerity, the community shes gathered around her. That kind of narrows thepractical venues down a bit, n'est-ce pas? Soprano Aprile Millo - A Life for Art One of the few authentic Verdi sopranos of our generation, Aprile Millo is noted for her large, warm spinto sound and dramatic commitment. ", And American composers such as Samuel Barber and Dominick Argento: "Not now; maybe later. Aprile Millo is Elizabeth of Valois, engaged to Don Carlo (Michael Sylvester), heir to the Spanish throne. All rights reserved. "I don't remember ever not wanting to be an opera singer," she says. Bring someone with you to help you ask questions and remember what your provider tells you. But over the lastcouple of years she has (I am told) been putting in work on correctingthe flaws in her vocal technique, and I am here to tell you that itseems to be working-- her Ballo at the Met was solidly in tune, withexciting high notes and expressive phrasing.