lyric coloratura
"Antoni's voice was just beautiful as she carried each note."
David Alvarez, Online Press
Transported from the tropical waters of the island of Cebu, Filipina-Spanish coloratura Antoni Mendezona has been recognized internationally for her singing, with “images of heaven coming to mind when she [sings]”. A consummate actress, her experience in theatre and impeccable musicianship skills, has led her to step in twice at the last minute for two important American opera debuts; one in the European debut in Hungary as Sophie in Tobias Picker’s Emmeline and the other as Veronique in the New York premier of Pasatieri’s The Hotel Casablanca which garnered a rave review from the New York Times saying “ Antoni Mendezona, a last minute substitute as the hotel clerk Veronique, stole scenes with her pealing voice and bubbly personality.”
Last season, Antoni sang Dorinda in Handel’s Orlando with Sacramento Opera in which she was praised as giving a “bold and emotionally deep account of Dorinda” and offering “some of the best dramatic singing”. Her other operatic roles include Amore in L'incoronazione di Poppea, Zerlina from Don Giovanni, Le Rossignol from L’enfant et les sortilèges, Flora from The Turn of the Screw with Sacramento Opera, Elisa from Il Re Pastore, Frasquita from Carmen with Connecticut Grand Opera, and La Princessa in El Gato con Botas with Gotham Chamber Opera’s puppetry workshop under the direction of Moises Kaufman. Other recent credits are Despina in Cosi fan tutte and the Sandman and Dew Fairy from Hansel and Gretel with Boheme Opera.
In addition to her operatic performance, Ms. Mendezona has been featured as the Soprano soloist in the Fauré Requiem, Mozart’s Vesperae Solennes de Confessore and Allegri’s Miserere Mei Deus with the Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra. Having an affinity for Bach, she has also sung Cantata BWV 80 Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, his St. John Passion, the Ascension and Christmas Oratorio with Maestro T. Herbert Dimmock as part of the prestigious Bach Concert Series in Baltimore. Antoni gave a concert tour in the Philippines last season with a diverse program of major coloratura works, and Kundiman, Filipino traditional art song, collaborating with local and international musicians, as well as conducted masterclasses in an effort to introduce and nurture classical music.
Most recently Antoni placed 3rd in the Rochester Idol Competition for singing Glitter and be Gay to which she was praised with having "impeccable comedic timing" and "truly owning to the character of Cunegonde...she made it her own". She also sang her Carnegie Hall debut in Stern Auditorium in the world premier of Karl Jenkins’ The Peacemakers sponsored by DCINY this past January, which was praised as “excellent…clear and precise”.
Il faut partir
