Cecilia Bartoli Makes The Gold Coast and Rome Her Home
Cecilia Bartoli was born in Rome in 1966 as daughter of a mezzo-soprano and a tenor. As a child, she dreamed of becoming a flamenco dancer. Later, she studied classical trombone before she concentrated upon the field of singing.
Her mother Silvana Bazzoni Bartoli, herself a well-known opera singer and pedagogue was and still is the only vocal teacher she ever had.
At the age of 19, she managed a breakthrough after a television appearance. Shortly after that, she was discovered by conductor Daniel Barenboim on a gala to honor Maria Callas. Since then she cooperates with him.
Mezzo-soprano opera singer
Cecilia Bartoli
In the course of her 20-year-old career, the mezzo-soprano opera singer and recitalist has worked a repertoire that does justice to her vocal circumference of three and a half octaves. It encloses works of Mozart and Rossini as well as pieces of Gluck, Vivaldi, Salieri, Haydn and Händel.
For over two decades, she belongs to the top stars in the field of classical music. Her new stage roles, concert programs and CD projects are always expected with big tension.
More than eight million sold CD´s, over 200 weeks in international pop charts, numerous golden records, Grammies, echoes and a Bambi testify her immense success.
Certainly, the most gratifying under the Swiss honours was the 16 GaultMillau points that she got for one of her created and cooked diners.
Cecilia Bartoli regularly performs in the most important concert halls in Europe, the United States and Japan. Her stage appearances include prestigious opera houses and festivals.
She presented many of her operatic roles for the first time in such renowned places such as the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, La Scala in Milan, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, the Salzburg Festival, the Metropolitan Opera in New York and of course the Zurich Opera House.
Just recently, her roles have includes Cleopatra (in "Giulio Cesare" with Marc Minkowski) and Semele (with William Christie) in Zurich. She also performed not long ago in Rossini´s Fiorilla in "Il Turco in Italia" at Convent Garden and two Handelian heroines.
One very important event that she attends every year is "The Menuhin Festival in Gstaad" which has daily performances from July to September.
There are of course also other famous people, top classical music artists such as Edita Gruberova, Vesselina Kasarova who both also live in Switzerland, Noemi Nadelmann Joshua Bell or Daniel Hope just to name a few, performing regularly in Gstaad and Saanen.
Cecilia Bartoli lives together with her life partner, the Swiss baritone Oliver Widmer on the Gold Coast near Zurich Switzerland and part of the year in Rome. Over the years, many celebrities and other famous people moved along this high-end area on the north shore of Lake Zurich.
However, the citizens of the canton of Zurich voted in early 2009 against the sump sum tax for foreigners living there. Few wealthy foreigners and celebrities living in the area think about relocating to another canton.
As F1 car driver Nick Heidfeld says, there is no reason to move. Most live on Lake Zurich and in Switzerland general for the high quality of life and for security reasons and not only because of low taxes.
I must agree with him. Besides, most celebrities are constantly bothered by paparazzies in their native countries. That is at least one problem that Cecilia Bartoli, rock star Tina Turner and Co. do not have to worry about in Switzerland.