Recent engagements of the critically acclaimed mezzo-soprano Josè Maria Lo Monaco include Musica and Messaggera in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo at the Opernhaus Zürich in a production by Evgeny Titov under the baton of Ottavio Dantone, Zaida in Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia alongside Cecilia Bartoli in a new production by Gianluca Capuano and Jean-Louis Grinda at both the Opéra de Monte-Carlo and the Wiener Staatsoper, and Fenena in Verdi’s Nabucco at the 2024 Arena di Verona Opera Festival under the baton of Daniel Oren.
Upcoming projects include Le Nozze di Figaro (Cherubino) in a production by Emilio Sagi conducted by Jordi Bernàcer at the Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, a new production of Donizetti’s Otto mesi in due ore (La Contessa Fedora) under Fabio Mastrangelo and directed by Mariano Bauduin at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, as well as Giuseppe Porsile’s Spartaco (Gianisbe) at both the Theater an der Wien and the Chapelle Royale in Versailles under the baton of Martin Wåhlberg with Orkester Nord.
Josè will also return to Wigmore Hall with the new programme “Il Filo d’Arianna” and Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, both under Giulio Prandi.
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, a production awarded “Production of the Year” by Mezzo Television. She later reprised the part at the Sydney Opera House.
Further notable engagements include Dorabella in Così fan tutte at La Fenice and in Ravenna as part of the highly acclaimed Mozart/Da Ponte Trilogy conceived by Marc Minkowski and Ivan Alexandre; Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni under Christophe Rousset at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège; Charlotte in Massenet’s Werther under Michele Mariotti in Bologna; and Giulietta in Les Contes d’Hoffmann at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. She opened the 2024/2025 season of the Teatro Regio Torino as Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro in a production by Emilio Sagi conducted by Leonardo Sini.
She has appeared at La Scala in a wide range of repertoire, including 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 Laurent Pelly’s staging conducted by Donato Renzetti.
Josè Maria Lo Monaco made her debut at the Opéra National 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, notably as Adalgisa in Bellini’s Norma at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège and, at the Bergamo Donizetti Festival, as Giovanna Seymour in Anna Bolena and Elisabetta in Maria Stuarda alongside Mariella Devia.
Her debut as Angelina in Rossini’s La Cenerentola at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari under Evelino Pidò and in a production by Daniele Abbado was followed by performances of the role in Rome, Florence, Santiago de Chile and in Jérôme Savary’s staging in Rennes and Toulon. She took on the role of Isolier in Le Comte Ory in Milan and Liège alongside the unforgettable Jodie Devos, and appeared as Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Teatro Regio Torino under Diego Fasolis as well as at La Fenice under Federico Maria Sardelli.
Recognized as a fine interpreter of Monteverdi, Josè Maria Lo Monaco took on the roles of Musica and La Messaggera in L’Orfeo in a new production by Ottavio Dantone and Robert Carsen at the Opéra de Lausanne, and portrayed Messaggera and Speranza in the same opera under the baton of Jordi Savall and Andrea Marcon. She also sang Ottavia in L’Incoronazione di Poppea in the two different stagings created by Pier Luigi Pizzi for the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, as well as for the theatres of Cremona, Como, Pavia, Pisa and Ravenna. Josè later returned to the role at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires under Jean-Christophe Spinosi.
She has recorded Monteverdi’s trilogy with La Venexiana for the Glossa label, receiving a Gramophone Award.
Josè Maria Lo Monaco has released two solo albums on the Glossa label: “All’amore immense” with Massimo Mazzeo and Il Divino Sospiro, and “Music for the Venetian Ospedaletto” with Stefano Aresi and Stile Galante.
After graduating as a pianist from the Vincenzo Bellini Conservatory, Lo Monaco studied singing with mezzo-soprano Bianca Maria Casoni in Milan.
