We recently connected with Benedetta Orsi and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Benedetta, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

This July, 2023 my third album “INcanto” will be released worldwide by the international Swiss recording label “BAM Music”. “INcanto” is an homage to the music and poetry of my beloved Italy. It is divided into three parts so to form a journey from early romanticism to impressionism, with the first two sections accompanied by piano, and the third by string quartet.

Together with my dear friends and colleagues, pianist Alla Voskoboynikova and The Arianna String Quartet, we bring to life a showcase of opera arias, art songs, sonnets and poems by Bellini, Donizetti, Mercadante, Liszt and Respighi. I am very grateful to Carla Colletti, chair of the Music Department at Webster University, for allowing us to record in their beautiful halls and to my sponsors, Julie Lorenz and Katie McDonald, for making this project possible. INcanto will be available on Amazon, Spotify and iTunes. Fore more information, people can address their inquires at incanto.album@gmail.com

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started my singing career when I was very little, performing Broadway shows in Italy, while studying at the Royal Philharmonic Academy in Bologna with M. Sergio Bertocchi e Paola Molinari. At the same time, I was receiving my bachelor degree in Music from the Conservatory of Music in Modena. After several auditions, I debuted in England in 2012 in the role of Jane Seymour in Ann Boleyn by Donizetti, followed by the role of Sarah in Roberto Devereux in 2013 and Elisabetta in Maria Stuarda in 2014.
After that, many doors opened, including my opportunity to study and work in the United States. I moved to New York in 2012, where I had the chance to perform several times during the ABC Galas at Carnegie Hall.

During my 5 yrs in NY, I performed different roles such as Carmen, Maddalena in Rigoletto, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Ulrica in A Masked Ball, Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana and Eboli in Don Carlos.

Between 2015 and 2017, I served as Chair of the Department of Italian Language and Literature of The Alexander & Buono International Academy.

After a very successful production of Carmen, for which I got the nominee for Outstanding Achievement in Opera by the St. Louis Theater Circle, I moved to Saint Louis in 2017. Since then, I served as Adjunct Voice Professor at the University of Missouri St. Louis, Chorus Master for Winter Opera St. Louis in several opera productions (Die Fledermaus, Italiana in Algeri, Norma), and right now I occupy the position of President and Lead Mezzo Soprano of the St. Louis Women’s Chorale.

Along with concert appearances throughout Italy, Austria, England, United States, Switzerland, Spain and France, I have a very active performing career in St. Louis with the St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra, Missouri Chamber Music Festival, Washington University Symphony Orchestra, Con Spirito Concert Series, Gateway Festival Orchestra, The Arianna String Quartet, WCHOF Music Series and more.

As a recording artist my first self-produced album, Christmas Around the World, won the double Silver Medal as Best Album and Best Female Vocalist at the Global Music Awards in Los Angeles. My latest one, La Voix de l’amour, released in December 2019 for the International label Limen Music, won the Gold Medal as Best album.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

At the very early stage of my career, I had a very bad feedback after one audition. I learned later that it was because of a conflict of interest between the head of the jury and my vocal coach… but the hard and offensive words that were used to judge my performance really put me to doubt my artistic qualities and capabilities. I felt to end to pursue my dreams and continue on a different path… but music is my life and instead of abandoning it, I kept challenging myself, while studying hard. Many years after, that same artist came to me after a concert, without recognizing me. She was complimenting me and praising my voice, my technique and my staging capabilities. I reminded her who I was, while telling her that I was very proud of myself for not listening to such a poor judgmental person.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Passion is what drives my creative and artistic journey! Without it, we could not be able to reach our audiences, transmit our emotions to them and sometimes help them, through music, to go through difficult moments. I am a strong supporter in organizing promotional, creative, and educational initiatives, with a particular attention to the female world and commitment to diversity and inclusion. I truly believe that music has the power to enrich and transform lives through exceptional performances.     
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Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.benedettaorsi.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benedettaorsi/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BenedettaOrsimezzosoprano
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benedetta-orsi-75855450/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/benedettaorsi
• Other: https://soundcloud.com/benedetta-orsi

Image Credits
PC Jeannie Liautaud Photography, LLC PC Andrea Cencini