| Biography | A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Anne Fridal was educated at the Royal College of Music in London, England. Ms. Fridal obtained her first professional engagement with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera covering the role of Lily in Gershwin's opera "Porgy & Bess" and continued on to the Royal Opera House, Convent Garden; she is featured in the Trevor Nunn/Simon Rattle film version of the opera recorded at the Abbey Studios in London. Sir Edward Greenfield of the London Times is quoted as saying that - Ms. Fridal's performance as Fiordiligi proved that she is a "rich voiced singer with real feeling."
Ms. Fridal recently received outstanding reviews for her performance as Serena in the Raymond Gubbay-production at the Royal Festival Hall. The opera singer's portrayal of Mary in Geraldine Connor's opera "Carnival Messiah" was nationally-acclaimed. Ms. Fridal has also recently made her debut with the New York City Opera and Virginia Opera, and also with the Living Arts touring company, again reprising the "Porgy & Bess" role of Serena at the Wolf Trap Theatre.
After living for five years in Italy, Ms. Fridal speaks fluent Italian. As a talented and versatile artist, Anne Fridal's extensive repertoire also includes spirituals, jazz and popular songs; and she has performed her one-woman show in Harlem's famous Cotton Club.
The first international opera singer to bridge the gap between opera, calypso and the steel pan, Ms. Fridal was invited by Trinidad's governing body for the steel pan - Pan Trinbago - to sing the National Anthem for the Panorama (Steelband) finals at the Queen's Park Savannah during her country's annual Carnival celebrations, and became the first and only opera singer to do so.
Sponsored by The New York Daily News, Anne Fridal has toured with numerous steel orchestras including Trinidad's Phase II Pan Groove, Exodus Steel Orchestra, Trinidad All Stars, Witco Desperadoes and New York-based CASYM Steel Orchestra. |