Evelyn Mandac

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Evelyn Mandac (born August 16, 1945 in Malaybalay) is a soprano opera singer, orchestra soloist, recitalist and voice teacher from the Philippines. She is based in New York City.^[1]

A native of the Philippines, Mandac is known both for the beauty of her voice and her dramatic prowess on stage. In 1966, she won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions which marked the beginning of her illustrious career. She later earned critical acclaim for her many portrayals of opera heroines in major opera houses and festivals worldwide including, The Metropolitan Opera House, San Francisco Opera, Washington Opera Theater, Lyon opera, Salzburg Music Festival and the Glyndebourne Music Festival.

Mandac's extensive repertoire includes Ines (L'Africaine), which she performed alongside Placido Domingo and Shirley Verrett at the San Francisco Opera; Liu (Turandot) with Birgit Nilsson at Seattle Opera; Almirena in the American premiere of Handel's Rinaldo at the Houston Grand Opera with Marilyn Horne; Lauretta (Gianni Schichi), Zerlina (Don Giovanni) and Gretel (Hansel und Gretel) at the Metropolitan Opera; Mélisande (Pelléas et Mélisande) at the Santa Fe Opera; Manon (Manon) and Mimi (La Boheme) at the Washington Opera; Anne Truelove (The Rake's Progress) in Washington DC at the Kennedy Center. Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) with Lyon Opera; and Susannah (Le nozze di Figaro) and Despina (Cosi fan tutte) at the Glyndebourne Opera Festival.

Mandac's voice also served as the inspiration for leading roles in World and American premieres of new operas such as Black Widow and Ines de Castro by Thomas Pasattieri, Passaggio by Luciano Berio, and Bassarids by Hans Werner Henze. She has also performed as the soprano soloist with major Orchestras including performances of Orff's Carmina Burana with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Seiji Ozawa and the Mahler 2nd with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Eugene Ormandy.

Throughout her distinguished career, Mandac has performed under the batons of major names in opera including Herbert von Karajan, James Levin, Claudio Abbado and Zubin Mehta and shared the stage with the likes of, Sherill Milnes, Richard Tucker, Jenny Tourel, Kiri te Kanawa, Frederica von Stade, and James Morris.

Mandac now maintains a teaching studio in New York City where she passes on her extensive experience and wealth of knowledge to her students. She is a firm believer that vocal technique serves one's dramatic and artistic impulses in music, and feeds the creative energy to express which is evident in the performances of her students, past and present.

Recordings[]

• Carl Orff's Carmina Burana with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Seiji Ozawa under the RCA Label.
• Giacomo Meyerbeer's L'Africaine at the San Francisco Opera with Plácido Domingo and Shirley Verrett.
• Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2 with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy.
• Josef Alexander's Songs for Eve with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the Seraphim label.

Television[]

Mandac played the role of "Lisa" in Peter Herman Adler's 90-minute, English-language version of Tchaikovsky's Queen of Spades produced for National Educational Television, which aired on February 28, 1971.^[2]

Teaching[]

Mandac has been teaching vocal technique and music interpretation since 1987. Her vocal technique is based on the principles of the bel canto technique, and incorporating ideas encouraged by yoga.

See also[]

• Filipinos in the New York City metropolitan region

References[]