Gondek, Juliana (Kathleen)

Gondek, Juliana (Kathleen), American soprano; b. Pasadena, Calif., May 20, 1953. She was a student of Gwendolyn Koldofsky at the Univ. of Southern Calif, in Los Angeles (B.M., 1975; M.M., 1977), and pursued private vocal training with Kathleen Darragh in Los Angeles (1977-90) and with Marlena Malas in N.Y. (1985-91). In 1980 she made her operatic debut as Ines in II Trovatore with the San Diego Opera. She made her first appearance as a soloist with orch. when she sang with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva under Armin Jordan’s direction in 1983. She won the gold medals at the Geneva (1983) and Francisco Vinas (Barcelona, 1984) competitions. In 1984 she made her first appearance at N.Y/s Carnegie Recital Hall. From 1984 to 1991 she sang at the Newport (R.L) Music Festival. In 1986 she was engaged as Mozart’s Countess with the Netherlands Opera in Amsterdam. In 1987 she appeared as Alcina with the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, sang Bianca with the Greater Miami Opera, and was a soloist with the Indianapolis Sym. Orch. She sang with the San Francisco Sym. in 1988. On Sept. 25, 1990, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Mari-anne in Der Rosenkavalier, remaining on its roster until 1992. She portrayed Vitellia at the Edinburgh Festival and at Glasgow’s Scottish Opera, and sang with the Toronto Sym. Orch. in 1991. In 1992 she was engaged as Elvira in Don Giovanni with the Seattle Opera, as Gismonda in Ottone at the Göttingen and Halle Handel festivals, and as soloist in Mahler’s 4th Sym. with the N.Y. Phil under Andre Previn’s direction. She returned to the Göttingen and Halle Handel festivals as Zenobia in Radamisto in 1993, and as Ginevra in Ariodante in 1995. After appearing as soloist in Gorecki’s 3rd Sym. with the Minn. Orch. in Minneapolis under David Zinman’s direction in 1993, she was engaged in 1994 to sing with the Freiburg Baroque Orch. and as Aspasia in Mitridate, re di Ponto at the Mostly Mozart Festival in N.Y. In 1997 she joined the artist faculty of the music dept. of the Univ. of Calif, at Los Angeles. In 1998 she sang Ginevra with the Dallas Opera, and in 1999 she was soloist in Britten’s Les Illuminations with the Munich Chamber Orch. In 2000 she was engaged to sing Mozart’s Countess at the Cologne Opera.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire