Mezzo Soprano Anna Tonna has been described as “mezzo heroine who knows how to sing Rossini” by the Rossini Gessellschaft and as “showing off her warm, secure mezzo-soprano to maximum advantage” by the New York Magazine; accolades such as these explain her constant demand as a recitalist and opera singer in both Europe and the Americas. The combination of a highly developed coloratura with a full, balanced, flexible lower register have guaranteed her acclaim as a lyric mezzo, both in familiar roles Rosina, Carmen, Dorabella, as well as in more rare repertoire by Paisiello, Vivaldi, Mascagni, Zandonai and Giordano.
Additionally, Ms. Tonna’s passion for and excellence in the recital genre have garnered her increasing acclaim inboth the U.S. and Europe, particularly her path breaking explorations of the repertoire of composers from Spain and Latin America. Ms. Tonna’s recitals are a source of expectation and excitement in New York City, where she has performed at both the Alice Tully Hall and Rose Center of Lincoln Center, Bargemusic, Merkin Hall, New York’s Town Hall, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. The same excitement greets her appearances in Spain, with performances at the Auditorio Nacional de España, Academia Marshall and the Escorial Theater in Spain.
She has collaborated with Casals Festival of Puerto Rico, Festival Iberoamericano de las Artes in Puerto Rico, Música de Cámara of New York, El Festival de Segovia, Joy in Singing, Elysium Between Two Continents and the Nassau Music Festival among others. Of note amongst the countless recital of songs are appearances at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the St. Anton Palace in Valletta (Malta), the Palacio Nacional de Ájuda in Lisbon, Teatro 1793 at Villa Adlrovandi Mazzacorati in Italy, the Atheneums of Madrid and Barcelona and at theElbPhilharmonie in Hamburg. Her recital of “Songs of post Civil War Spain” at the Fundación Juan March of Madrid was broadcast on Radio Television Española and hailed as “a tour de force” by the Spanish newspaper ABC.
Ms. Tonna’s artistry has been recognized by the Liederkranz Foundation, The Gerda Lissner Foundation, NationalOpera Association, Opera at Florham/Violeta Dupont Vocal Competition, and a Fulbright Scholarship to conduct research in and perform Spanish Art Song in Spain, where she has established a thriving career. Commercial recordings that have preserved some of these efforts include The songs of Julio Gómez with disc label VERSO and her recent disc España alla Rossini which premiered in April of 2016 with iTinerant Classics.
2017 she bowed in the role of Laura Adorno in Ponchielli’s La Gioconda with the Brno State Opera in the Czech Republic. In 2018 she was heard in the roles of Clarina in Rossini’s Il cambiale di Matrimonio and of Sally in Barber’s A Hand of Bridge for Little Opera Zamora in Spain, a Zarzuela concert at the ElbPhilharmonie in Hamburg (Germany), at the Hispanic Society Museum & Library (NYC), The Americas Society (NYC) and in Bernstein’s Songfest for Maverick Concerts (NY).
Her 2018-2019 season includes diplomatic concerts in Lisbon and the Dominican Republic; an all Rossini vocal recital in Italy for the Circolo Lirico di Bologna and Museo Glauco Lombardi in Parma as well as in Spain for the Museo del Romanticismo and the Festival de Navas del Marqués in collaboration Duo Savigni; a German lieder duet concert with baritone Alfredo García at Festival ASISA in Spain, as well as appearances at The Sembrich Opera Museum (NY). In the fall she bows in concert with orchestra with Teatro Grattacielo in Manhattan under the baton of Israel Gursky; as La Roldán in the zarzuela “El barbero de Sevilla” with New Camerata Opera; and in a concert of opera and zarzuela for the Auditorio National de España in Madrid.
Upcoming Events
June 15, 2021
Festival Lirico Lucrecia Arana (Logroño, Spain)
July 4, 2021
Scenes from the Donizetti “Tudor” Queen Operas
Festival Internacional de Música
Navas del Marqués, Spain
October 23, 2021
World wide CD release
November 14, 2021
with Duo Savigni
Carpi, Italy
December 4, 2021
Washington, D.C.
May 7, 2022
Naples, Italy
May 14, 2022
Presented by the Spanish Embassy in Berlin (Germany)