Cecilia Bartoli

Italian coloratura mezzo-soprano opera singer and recitalist. She is best known for her interpretations of the music of Mozart and Rossini, as well as for her performances of lesser-known Baroque and classical music. She is known for having the versatility to play both soprano and mezzo roles. Bartoli is considered a coloratura mezzo-soprano (Koloratur-Mezzosopran) with an unusual timbre. She is one of the most popular (and one of the top-selling) opera singers of recent years. Bartoli is much liked by the concert-going public for her vivacious on-stage persona, while her lyric voice and investigations of Baroque music have given her considerable recognition even among the non-opera-going public.

Bartoli's parents were both professional singers and gave her her first music lessons. Her first public performance was at age eight as the shepherd boy in Tosca. Bartoli later studied at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome.

In contrast to most opera singers, Bartoli came to prominence in her early twenties, unusual in a profession where vocal maturity is typically not achieved until the thirties. She made her professional opera début in 1987 at the Arena di Verona. The following year she undertook the role of Rosina in Rossini's The Barber of Seville at the Cologne Opera, the Schwetzingen Festival and the Zurich Opera earning rave reviews. She was soon invited by Herbert von Karajan to sing at the Salzburg Festival, and she worked with von Karajan on Bach's Mass in B minor. At this time, she also came to Daniel Barenboim's attention when he saw her performing on a French television tribute to Maria Callas.