Episode 96: Frederica Von Stade

Described by The New York Times as “one of America’s finest artists and singers,” Frederica von Stade continues to be extolled as one of the music world’s most beloved figures. She has enriched the world of classical music for three decades.  Her career has taken her to the stages of the world’s great opera houses and concert halls. She began at the top, when she received a contract from Rudolf Bing during the Metropolitan Opera auditions, and since her debut in 1970 she has sung nearly all of her great roles with the Met.  We talked about her signature role, Mozart’s Cherubino, her love of Broadway, her respect for Placido Domingo and their Merry Widow performances, and her recent recording, with Thomas Hampson, Richard Danielpour’s Elegies, a tribute to her father whom she never met.