Roberta Invernizzi

Roberta Invernizzi is among the more prominent Italian sopranos of her generation. She has specialized in solo, choral, and operatic repertory from the Renaissance era up through the 18th century, though she has divulged a decided preference for Baroque works. Her repertory thus includes a broad range of works by J.S. Bach, Handel, Purcell, Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Scarlatti, Piccinni, and many others. She has performed in concert with some of the leading conductors of Baroque and early music, including Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Gustav Leonhardt, Ton Koopman, Jordi Savall, and Andrew Parrot, and with numerous early music ensembles like Il Giardino Armonico, Il Concerto Italiano, and La Cappella de la Pietà dei Turchini. Invernizzi has made more than 60 recordings on a variety of labels, including EMI, Sony Classical, Naxos, Virgin, Bongiovanni, Opus 111, and others. Roberta Invernizzi was born in Milan, Italy, in 1966. As a child she studied the odd combination of piano and double bass, before focusing on voice lessons. Her most important teacher -- as well as mentor -- was Margaret Heyward (in Milan). She later traveled to England for studies with renowned soprano Emma Kirkby. By the early '90s Invernizzi was a highly sought soprano in Italy, having made successful appearances in Rome, Naples, Milan, and elsewhere in the country. Around this time, too, her earliest recordings were attracting critical acclaim, among which was the 1994 Bongiovanni release of the rarely heard Stradella opera Il Moro per Amore, in which she sang the role of Eurinda. Invernizzi's name soon accrued international fame with appearances at the Salzburg Festival (Handel's Acis and Galatea), in Paris (Piccinni's Didone abbandonata), in New York (with the New York Collegium at the ensemble's inaugural concert, on invitation from conductor Gustav Leonhardt), Berlin, Prague, London, Los Angeles, and other major venues. In 1997 Invernizzi began teaching voice at Centro di Musica Antica in Naples, the city she eventually relocated to. In the early 2000s she appeared on a spate of major recordings, including the 2002 effort on EMI of Handel's Rodrigo and the 2004 release of Monteverdi's Vespro della beata vergine on the Opus 111 label. Among Invernizzi's more operatic triumphs was her portrayal of Armida in Handel's Rinaldo during the 2005-2006 season at Milan's famed Teatro alla Scala. Her later recordings include the 2006 Glossa release of Handel's Le Cantate per il Cardinal Pamphili, 2009's Haydn Oratorios, and 2011's Handel in Italy.