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IN A WORLD OF HYPE, FEW CELEBRITIES LIVE UP TO THEIR PRESS, but Arianna (who uses only the single name professionally) is the real deal. A beautiful young coloratura soprano and passionate actress, Arianna has starred in musical theatre, opera, concerts and cabarets around the world, yet her heart remains as pure as her voice. Those who haven't heard her might say, "She can't possibly be that good." From those who have seen her perform, the most common reaction is simply, "Wow!" We invite you to read what the Press has to say about Arianna on her Press Page, but also see and hear for yourself by visiting her Video and Audio pages. There are numerous photos and other bits of information as well on this site.
Arianna was born in Elmira, New York and grew up in Southern California. Born of Irish, French and Swedish descent, she has received critical acclaim, awards and recognition from the press, theatre groups, Artistic Directors Association, Southern California Motion Picture Council, City of Los Angeles, Governor and Senate of California, the United States Senate and Congress, etc. (see Arianna's Awards Page). Her debut CD, Miracle, has received extensive radio airplay and stellar reviews. Proclaimed "The New Face of Opera" by both FOX and CBS news (see the videos on her Press Page or Videos Page), Arianna has been regularly featured in the North Hollywood Theatre & Arts Festival and Los Angeles 4th of July celebrations, and has performed in such prestigious venues as the Hollywood Cinegrill, Piaf's in San Francisco and Birdland in New York. A popular guest on American television and radio, she is now receiving a lot of International recognition as well.
In England, Arianna recently starred in the title role of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Patience (Patience is a milkmaid confused by poetry and the machinations of Love) and performed in concert at the closing ceremonies of the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival with a 30-piece orchestra and other internationally-recognized performers (videos of the performance can be purchased from the online store of this web site). Her British accent was so perfect on stage that audience members were surprised to learn she was an American. By rare invitation, Arianna studied opera roles and technique in Milan, Italy with teachers from the world-famous La Scala Opera House at the Scuola Musicale di Milano. See the video of her performing A Tribute to Gershwin in concert with the Georgio Strehler Orchestra on her Videos Page.
Although Arianna got her start in musical theatre in the chorus of Guys and Dolls at the Redlands Bowl in California at age 14, her first professional role was Mabel in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance in Detroit, Michigan when she was only 16. "The director didn’t even want to audition me, "Arianna recalls with a laugh." I stepped onstage and he asked me how old I was. When I said I was 16, he rolled his eyes, said, ‘Oh, dear’ and slumped down in his chair. Once I started singing, he sat up in his chair and asked me to read and then cast me in the part." Other professional roles soon followed, including Maria in The Sound of Music and Anne Eggerman in Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, all before Arianna turned 19. "Sometimes that actually worked against me, I had one theatre producer look at my resume and tell my manager, ‘high school roles don’t count on a resume’ because he thought I was too young at the time to have those kinds of professional credits. Of course, I don’t know of any high school that would put on A Little Night Music or Sweeny Todd. They both have pretty mature storylines."
Arianna’s operatic repertoire began growing thanks to performances with the California Opera Association in Fresno, where she was featured highly in the press, including a live performance on NBC’s Morning Show. In Milan (2004), Arianna was the only American studying at the Scuola Musicale di Milano, where she learned such difficult classic opera roles as The Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflote and Gilda in Rigoletto from the man who teaches those roles at La Scala -- the premier opera house in the world. On the way back to the USA, Arianna stopped off in Great Britain for a personal meeting with Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical director and meetings with several producers of musical theater and opera.
It was all very different growing up as a little girl in Corona. "I loved the movie Annie," Arianna explains, "and I told my parents when I was 4 that I wanted to be an actress and sing on the stage. They literally told me, ‘That’s nice honey, get a real job.’" So Arianna had to be content singing at local auto dealerships and restaurants that allowed kids in to sing Karaoke. "I sang all country western songs because my parents thought it was more acceptable than musical theatre. I’m still a big fan of Reba McEntyre, but I always felt something was missing I couldn’t explain." When she was 12, she found that "something" in her Junior High choir class when the teacher began playing songs from Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera." Arianna’s world was about to change forever.
Hooked on Broadway, Arianna taught herself to sing all of the songs by listening to the Michael Crawford / Sarah Brightman recording. When she finally asked her mother to listen to her sing "Think of Me" to a background recording tape, her mother was shocked. Running downstairs to tell her father asking, "Did you hear that?" the reply was, "Yeah, so?" He thought he was hearing the Sarah Brightman recording that Arianna had played constantly in her room. When she sang right in front of him, Arianna’s parents both understood that hers was a talent that could not be denied.
Arianna began taking singing lessons from Billy Purnell, a Riverside vocal coach who is still active coaching students in the Inland Empire. "I can take students to a very advanced level," Billy explains, "but she just really stood out from the rest. Most young people in talent contests don’t do operatic styling." Yet Arianna began winning trophies singing notes with such precision and passion that was way beyond the normal ability of most 13-year-olds. "When I started working with Arianna, it didn’t take long to discover her range, it is really unusual...and she just kept going." Purnell was the first person to run scales with Arianna, He finally stopped only a few notes from the end of the piano keyboard because nothing is written that high. Hers was a truly natural talent.
In addition to numerous trophies won in talent competitions, Arianna recently won an Artistic Directors Association award for her portrayal of the bride Rachel (a non-singing role) in the West Coast premiere of Robin Hawdon’s British comedy bedroom farce, Perfect Wedding. We encourage you to visit Arianna's Awards Page to see some of these honors. More importantly for her career, Arianna’s name and prominence in the Press helps to bring in an audience. People really want to see her perform. In 2005, she signed with B-Concept Entertainment to manage performances in Asia and with Wukang Li specifically for concerts in China. Her management company, Miracle Productions, continues to represent her in the United States and Europe.
How does Arianna feel about this success? "Well, obviously this is something I have been working for all my life. It’s a little strange for this to happen so easily in Europe. I now have friends like [former D'Oyley Carte tenor] Thomas Round who are opening doors for me that I had to fight to open in the United States. And producers in the United States are now interested because I am building a name in Europe. Things are kind of snowballing all of a sudden but I’m still the same person I’ve always been. I still sing in the local clubs where I got started whenever I’m in town and hang out with the same friends I always hung out with. I’m not going to start having some kind of snob star attitude. I sing because I love it and I’m just happy to be able to do what I love the most."
VOCAL RANGE:
For those of you who have asked, Arianna has over a 5-octave "compass" (the total range of notes that can be sung when running scales). An "octave" is a series of 8 notes. Arianna has had such a range since she was first tested at age 14 by her vocal coach at the time, Billy Purnell. Arianna recently reconfirmed her range by running scales personally with her manager on a piano in Screenland Studios, Hollywood, easily vocalizing from Low C up to the very end of the keyboard and beyond -- over 5 full octaves. Since nothing is written that high, however, her performance range is around 4 octaves, and none of these notes are strained (not even the G above High C).
Reaction to Arianna's range has been very diverse. We have received emails from people claiming, "I have an 8-octave range" to "None of my students ever had more than a 3-octave range so a 5-octave range is physically impossible." Although rare, such a range is not unheard of. Other singers such as Julie Andrews were known to have a 5-octave range from a very early age. Legendary Peruvian soprano Yma Sumac and pop star Whitney Houston are also known for 5-octave ranges. A broad range simply means the singer can sing higher notes without sounding strained or risking damage to the voice. More important, however, is the tone and "color" of the voice, and (most of all) the ability to control it. Arianna has impressed teachers and singers worldwide with the tone of her coloratura voice, wonderful control, and ability to learn new roles very quickly.
Perhaps most importantly, Arianna has an uncanny and rare ability to switch styles effortlessly. Her one-woman concert includes a little bit of everything with the best-loved songs from Broadway, opera and film. Few opera singers have been able to sing Broadway show tunes without sounding operatic and few Broadway performers can handle genuine opera. Arianna routinely does this easily and also sings soft ballads, classical arias, and a wide range of swing and pop.
ARIANNA ENCOURAGES EVERYONE TO SING THEIR HEARTS OUT AND FOLLOW THEIR DREAMS!
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