Recent engagements of the critically acclaimed mezzo-soprano Josè Maria Lo Monaco include Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro in a Leonardo Sini/Emilio Sagi production for the 2024/2025 opening season of the Teatro Regio Torino, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni for the Teatro Massimo Bellini di Catania, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia for both the Teatro Regio Torino under Diego Fasolis and La Fenice under Federico Maria Sardelli, Fenena in Verdi’s Nabucco for the 2024 edition of the Arena di Verona Opera Festival under the baton of Daniel Oren, Ottavia in Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea for the Festival Monteverdi in Cremona, Zaida in Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia with Cecilia Bartoli in the new Gianluca Capuano/Jean Louis Grinda production for both the Opéra de Monte-Carlo and the Wiener Staatsoper.
Upcoming projects include Musica and Messagera at the Opernhaus Zürich for the revival of Evgeny Titov staging of L’Orfeo by Monteverdi under the baton of Ottavio Dantone, Dorabella in Così fan tutte at the Opera Royal de Wallonie-Liège and Licida in a new Giulio Prandi/Fabio Ceresa production of Pergolesi’s L’Olimpiade at the Pergolesi Festival in Jesi.
Among Josè’s career highlights are the title role in Carmen conducted by Stefano Montanari and staged by Olivier Py for the Opéra National de Lyon; this was awarded “production of the year” by Mezzo Television. She returned to the role for the Sydney Opera House. Add to this Dorabella (Così fan tutte) at La Fenice and in Ravenna in the highly acclaimed Mozart/Da Ponte Trilogy conceived by Marc Minkowski and Ivan Alexandre, Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) under Christophe Rousset at the Opéra de Wallonie-Liège, Charlotte (Massenet, Werther) alongside Michele Mariotti in Bologna, Giulietta (Les Contes d’Hoffmann) at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples.
A a former member of the Accademia Rossiniana, Josè made her debut as Melibea in Rossini’s Il Viaggio a Reims at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro and has since returned to perform L’Italiana in Algeri, La Scala di Seta and La Gazzetta.
She appeared at La Scala, singing Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Verdi’s Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, La Donna del Lago and Le Comte Ory (Isolier) alongside Juan Diego Flórez in a Laurent Pelly staging conducted by Donato Renzetti.
Josè Maria Lo Monaco made her debut at the Opéra de Paris and the Salzburger Festspiele as Timante in Jommelli’s Demofoonte under the baton of Riccardo Muti.
She has distinguished herself as an interpreter of the Bel Canto repertoire, starring as Adalgisa in Bellini’s Norma at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège and, for the Bergamo Donizetti Festival, as Giovanna Seymour in Anna Bolena and as Elisabetta in Maria Stuarda alongside Mariella Devia.
Her debut as Angelina at the Bari Teatro Petruzzelli helmed by Evelino Pidò and Daniele Abbado was followed by performances of the role in Rome, Florence, Santiago de Chile and in a Jérôme Savary staging of La Cenerentola in Rennes and Toulon. She was Isolier in Le Comte Ory in Milan and in Liège alongside the unforgettable Jodie Devos.
Recognized as a fine Monteverdi interpreter, Josè Maria Lo Monaco starred as Musica/La Messagera (L’Orfeo) in a new Ottavio Dantone/Robert Carsen production at the Opéra de Lausanne and was Messagera and Speranza in the same opera under the batons of Jordi Savall and Andrea Marcon. She appeared as Ottavia in L’Incoronazione di Poppea in the two different stagings Pier Luigi Pizzi offered the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and the Cremona, Como, Pavia, Pisa, Ravenna theatres. Josè returned to the role for the Buenos Aires Teatro Colón under Jean-Christophe Spinosi.
She has recorded the Monteverdi trilogy with La Venexiana for the Glossa label (Gramophone Award).
Josè Maria Lo Monaco has released two solo albums for the Glossa label: “All’amore immenso” with Massimo Mazzeo and Il Divino Sospiro and “Music for the Venetian Ospedaletto” with Stefano Aresi and Stile Galante.
After graduating from the Conservatory Vincenzo Bellini as a pianist, Lo Monaco studied singing with mezzo-soprano Bianca Maria Casoni in Milan.
