Larmore, Jennifer
Larmore, Jennifer
Larmore, Jennifer, highly regarded American mezzo- soprano; b. Atlanta, June 21, 1958. She was a student at Westminster Choir Coll. in Princeton, N.J. (1976–80), and later of John Bullock in Washington, D.C. In 1986 she made her European opera debut as Mozart’s Sesto in France. From 1990 she pursued a major career, garnering critical accolades for her portrayal of Rossini’s Rosina in Paris, London, and Rome. During the 1992-93 season, she sang that role in Berlin, as well as Bellini’s Romeo at N.Y.’s Carnegie Hall, Rossini’s Angelina in Florence, and Mozart’s Dorabella at the Salzburg Festival. In 1993 she made her first appearance at London’s Wigmore Hall as a recitalist. She won the Richard Tucker Award in 1994 and gave a recital at Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater in N.Y. On Feb. 6, 1995, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Rosina. She portrayed Rossini’s Elvira at the Los Angeles Opera in 1996, and returned there as Carmen in 1998. In 1999 she sang Handel’s Giulio Cesare at the Metropolitan Opera. As a soloist with orchs. and as a recitalist, she appeared widely in North America and Europe. Among other operatic roles of note are Monteverdi’s Orfeo, Rossini’s Arsace and Isabella, and Strauss’s Octavian.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire