| Madelyn Renée | |
| Birth Name: | Madelyn Renée Levy |
| Birth Date: | December 30, 1955 |
| Other Names: | Madelyn Monti |
Madelyn Renée Levy (born December 30, 1955) is an American opera singer and soprano.
Levy was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 30, 1955.[1] [2] She attended the Dana Hall School in Wellesley, Massachusetts and Cornell University, before receiving her bachelor's degree from the Juilliard School in New York,[3] where she studied with Eleanor Steber and Oren Brown.
She first met the Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti while she was a student at Juilliard, working as his secretary and receiving lessons from him.[4] Roughly one month after meeting Pavarotti, she moved with him into his New York residence, where she stayed for eight years.[5]
Levy made her debut with the San Diego Opera in 1980, singing Mimi in La Bohème opposite Pavarotti, a role she later performed with the tenor in numerous theatres, including at Boston's Symphony Hall.[6] Levy sang frequently with Luciano Pavarotti, including concerts at Madison Square Garden and at the Hollywood Bowl, in addition to appearing with the tenor during his 2002-2003 concert tour in the United States. She has sung in major opera houses worldwide, notably the Vienna Staatsoper, the Opéra Nationale, and the Opéra Comique in Paris. In addition to Milan's La Scala, the artist has appeared at more than thirty opera houses in Italy. Renée has performed under the baton of conductors such as Sir Georg Solti, Richard Bonynge, James Levine, and Lorin Maazel.
The soprano's repertoire includes La Bohème (Mimi and Musetta), Tosca, La Traviata, Otello, Simon Boccanegra, Falstaff (Alice Ford), Aida (Sacerdotessa), Pagliacci, Cavalleria Rusticana (Santuzza), Le Nozze di Figaro (Contessa) Don Giovanni (Zerlina e Donna Elvira) Zaide, Idomeneo, Cosi Fan Tutte (Despina), Nerone (Atte’), Tales of Hoffmann (Giulietta), Carmen (Micaela), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Helena), The Merry Widow (Hanna Glawari and Valencienne), Faust (Siebel), La Belle Helene, La Perichole, Amelia al Ballo, Street Scene (Rose Maurrant) Die Fledermaus (Rosalinde) Elisir d’amore (Adina) Adriana Lecouvreur, The Mikado. She was chosen to sing the leading role in the world premiere opera by Italian composer Marco Tutino, Dylan Dog.
In addition to her operatic repertoire, Levy performs numerous concerts during the year in Italy and abroad with program selections that range from Baroque to Broadway. The artist made her screen debut in Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather III movie, singing and acting in the opera sequences from Cavalleria Rusticana. In Italy, Levy has hosted a weekly television show for Italian audiences on classical music and opera called “Un Tocco di Classica.” More recently, Levy has hosted satellite broadcasts that transmit live opera performances to movie theatres throughout Europe and conducted masterclasses at the Guildhall and the National Opera Studio in London. Her most recent recording, "Some Like It Lyric," combines opera and jazz. Levy resides in Milan, Italy.
From 1979 until 1986, she and Pavarotti enjoyed a "passionate love story."[7]
In the United States, she performed the role of Countess Almaviva in "The Marriage of Figaro,"[8] the role of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni,[9] and in Los Angeles where she stood in at the last minute for Joan Sutherland.[10]
Levy moved back to Milan after a period of time living outside the city; while in Milan she performed as Madelyn Monti, which is her first husband's last name. In 1987 she performed at the Chester Music Festival in England.[11]