"The mezzo Eve Gigliotti, her voice powerful and agile, was movingly torn between her mission and her desires."
-New York Times
Biography
Mezzo-soprano Eve Gigliotti has won critical acclaim for her work spanning both the dramatic repertoire and contemporary opera, notably, originating the roles of Ruth in the world premiere of Dark Sisters (Muhly/Karam), and Dodo in the world premiere of Breaking the Waves (Mazzoli/Vavrek).
A celebrated presence at the Metropolitan Opera, Gigliotti’s roles during the 2023-2024 season include Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Gertrude in Roméo et Juliette (conducted by Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin), and a reprisal of the role of Nelly in Puts/Pierce’s celebrated opera, The Hours.
In over 60 performances at the house during the last few seasons, the mezzo-soprano has appeared in a wide range of roles, including Madame de la Haltière (Cinderella), Gertrude (Brett Dean’s Hamlet), Sally (The Hours), and Mary (Der fliegende Holländer).
Also during the 2022-23 season, she appeared in concert at Carnegie Hall with the American Symphony Orchestra for Ethel Smyth’s Mass in D, and made a star turn as Mrs. Lovett in Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd at Chautauqua Opera.
Eve Gigliotti’s collaborative short film ‘A Jarful of Bees’ was featured at Opera Philadelphia’s Season O22 Film Festival and is featured on the Opera Philadelphia Channel. As producer, her projects include the original immersive opera, No One Is Forgotten (Prestini & Shirey/Miller), with The Dallas Opera.
Gigliotti made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Mercedes in Carmen, subsequently returning to reprise that role and appear as Siegrune in Robert Lepage’s milestone production of Die Walküre, led by James Levine, and broadcast to theaters worldwide in HD. Other notable operatic engagements include Siegrune at Houston Grand Opera, Tanglewood Music Festival and Washington National Opera, Isabella in L’italiana in Algeri with the ABAO Bibao Opera in Spain, Gertrude in Thomas’ Hamlet with Washington Concert Opera, Giulietta in Les contes d’Hoffmann with Hawaii Opera, and Gertrude in Roméo et Juliette with San Francisco Opera.
On the symphonic stage, Eve has performed Handel’s Messiah with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, and the Seattle Symphony, with whom she has also performed Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. She performed Verdi’s Requiem with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the US premiere of Andrew Norman’s A Trip to the Moon with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Rossini’s Stabat Mater with the Oregon Symphony, and joined the Bard College Conservatory Orchestra for Mahler’s Third Symphony, conducted by Leon Botstein. Ms. Gigliotti has collaborated several times with Maestro Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra at venues such as Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall, bowing in performances of Taneyev’s At The Reading of a Psalm, Elgar’s The Kingdom, Scenes from Goethe’s Faust by Schumann and Bizet’s Djamileh (title role).
A champion of contemporary music, The Opera America Songbook features Ms. Gigliotti performing “Archaeology”, a song written exclusively for her by acclaimed composer/librettist team David Little and Royce Vavrek. She performed the world premiere of composer Mohammed Fairouz's new oratorio, Al-Quds: Jerusalem, at the Metropolitan Museum, and was invited by Houston Grand Opera (East + West Festival) to originate the role of Mrs. Parvin in composer Gregory Spears's opera The Bricklayer.
Eve holds degrees from The Manhattan School of Music, Mannes The New School for Music, and The Curtis Institute of Music. She resides in Brooklyn, NY.
Her combination of volcanic low notes and assured power into the upper reaches made for an emotional and mercurial queen, riddled with anxiety and guilt over her part in her husband’s death, but still filled with maternal care.
Charles T. Downey, Washington Classical Review
Olivia from Yoani Songs
Paola Prestini / Royce Vavrek
National Sawdust Opening Night
