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Gale Fuller
Mezzo-soprano Gale Fuller is enjoying a career rich in concert, opera and oratorio. Hailed by audiences and critics alike for the sumptuousness of her singing, she has been described as “the sultriest voice in town” by the Boston Globe.
Last season opened with her portrayal of Dinah in Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti at the Berklee College of Music followed by a highly acclaimed concert performance as Fricka in Die Walküre and a critically acclaimed performance as Metella in Offenbach’s La Vie Parisienne with Opera Boston.
In November she sang the Boston premiere of Nicholas Maw’s concert suite from his opera Sophie’s Choice along with Berg’s Altenberg Lieder, both with the New England Philharmonic. December brought a return trip to Japan for Handel’s Messiah in Tokyo at Ozawa Hall and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Telemann Orchestra of Osaka. Previously in Japan she had sung Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, an opera gala and solo recitals.
The New Year brought the role of Maddalena in Rigoletto with Boston Concert Opera as well as Alexander Lyadov’s Five Russian Folk Songs with Symphony Pro Musica in Boston’s Jordan Hall.
In May, Fuller traveled to China for a recital and concert tour of five cities with pianists Fernanco Laires and Nelita True from the Eastman School of Music, and with Oresta Cybriwsky from the conservatory of Munich, Germany, among others.
In the fall she sang Luciano Berio’s Folk Songs with the Lexington Sinfonietta under the baton of Jonathan McPhee as well as Aaron Copland’s Early American Songs with the Newton Philharmonia, conducted by Ron Knudsen. In the spring she performs a recital series with sopranos Andrea Matthews and Jenny Tang followed by Verdi’s Requiem with the Portland (Maine) Symphony and several performances of Stravinsky’s Les Noces with the Boston Ballet.
Fuller has performed at the national level with many U.S. opera companies and orchestras. The unique color and fullness of her voice, combined with striking agility and range, have enabled her to encompass music of many periods and styles. She has performed with such companies as San Diego Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Sacramento Opera, Opera Augusta, Dallas/Fort Worth, Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Colorado, Opera Syracuse, Opera South, Boston Lyric Opera, Lake George Opera Festival, Chesapeake Bay Opera, Opera Augusta, Boston Academy of Music, Opera Boston and Boston Concert Opera.
Her operatic roles vary widely, from Rosina in Il Barbiere di Sevilla, the title role in Carmen, Adalgisa in Norma, Giulietta in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, the title role in Handel’s Giulio Cesare, Mere Marie in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites, Sesto in La Clemenza di Tito, Fricka in Die Walküre and Orlovsky in Die Fledermaus. On the lighter side she has portrayed a number of roles in Gilbert & Sullivan productions including Phoebe in Yeomen of the Guard, Princess Zara in Utopia, Limited, Tessa in The Gondoliers and Lady Angela in Patience.
Fuller debuted at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall in 2002 as second-place winner in the International Opera Singers’ Competition sponsored by the New York Center for Contemporary Opera. In earlier seasons she sang Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Boston Ballet and the role of Sofia Ivanovna in Resurrection, a new opera by Todd Machover, with Boston Lyric Opera. Opera News said, “Mezzo Gale Fuller made a large impression [as] Aunt Sofie with her luscious, plummy timbre and telling delivery of the text.”
Richard Dyer of the Boston Globe describes her as a “Rossini virtuoso with a voice of great beauty, individuality and interpretive range.” Fuller holds degrees from the New England and Peabody music conservatories and she is winner of the Liederkranz competition in New York and a professor of voice at Wellesley College. She has been named an outstanding artist by Musical America.
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