Renata Scotto
Acting
Biography
No biography available for Renata Scotto.
Born: February 24, 1934
Place of Birth: Savona, Liguria, Italy
Known For
La Bohème
Puccini’s heartbreaking story of young love in the garrets of Belle Epoque Paris has attracted many famous singers through the years. But with James Levine at the helm and the starry duo of Luciano Pavarotti and Renata Scotto as Rodolfo and Mimi, every bit of emotion in the score pours across the footlights and seduces the audience. In this case, the audience was in the millions since this was the very first in the “Live from the Met” series of telecasts. The evocative production is by Fabrizio Melano, designed by Pier Luigi Pizzi.
La Gioconda - Ponchielli
Rare recording of the 1979 San Francisco performance of La Gioconda by Ponchielli
Great Performances
The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.
Lucia di Lammermoor
Legendary opera stars Renata Scotto and Carlo Bergonzi are in peak form in this magnificent live 1967 performance of Donizetti’s bel canto masterpiece. The cast also includes Mario Zanasi as Enrico and Plinio Clabassi as Raimondo. The NHK Symphony Orchestra and Tokyo Philharmonic Chorus are under the direction of Maestro Bruno Bartoletti.
Puccini: Manon Lescaut
All the throbbing eroticism—and ultimate heartbreak—of Puccini’s youthful score is unleashed by James Levine and his top-flight cast. Plácido Domingo is Des Grieux, the handsome, headstrong young aristocrat who falls head over heels for the enticing, impetuous Manon Lescaut (Renata Scotto). Manon returns his love, but her obsession with luxury ruins them both. Gian Carlo Menotti’s opulent production, with sets and costumes by Desmond Heeley, superbly captures the colorful world of 18th century France.
Puccini: La bohème
"La Bohème" is one of Giacomo Puccini's most popular and timeless works and the second-most performed opera at New York's Metropolitan Opera. This production, directed by the legendary Franco Zeffirelli, features José Carreras, Teresa Stratas, Renata Scotto and Richard Stilwell. The opera is replete with extraordinary visual beauty as it presents the tragic story of young bohemians struggling to make it in the world.
Francesca da Rimini
Live performance at the Metropolitan Opera, 1984. James Levine conducting Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Stage direction by Piero Faggioni.
Don Carlo
Don Carlo (1980) Metropolitan Opera. Verdi / italian. King Philip's court is plagued by rebels, family squabbles and intrigue. The Spanish Inquisition tries to exert its influence. The tension finally ignites at the King's coronation, where heretics are to be burned at the stake
Il trittico
A trio of operas in three short stories - the first a gruesome murder melodrama, the second is a passionate tearjerker, and the third is a dark comedy of death and an inheritance. Each story is strikingly different from the preceding one.
Luisa Miller: Metropolitan Opera
Renata Scotto is the innocent Luisa, very much in love with Rodolfo (Plácido Domingo in one of his best roles). But he turns out to be the son of the Count Walter (Bonaldo Giaiotti), who has other plans for his aristocratic boy. Enter the evil Wurm (James Morris) whose blackmail eventually backfires, destroying the young lovers despite everything Luisa's father (Sherrill Milnes in a superb performance) does to protect her. James Levine's affectionate conducting and director Nathaniel Merrill's production help make this a performance to treasure.
Filmography
as Renata Scotto
as Francesca
as Musetta
as Giorgietta, Suor Angelica, Lauretta
as Manon Lescaut
as Elizabeth of Valois
as Luisa
as Gioconda
as Desdemona
as Mimi
as Marguerite
as Self
as Lucia