Priti Gandhi Biography

Marriage of Figaro Cast

Priti Gandhi (Countess Almaviva)

A native of Mumbai, India, Priti Gandhi has been praised by the New York Times for her "...creamy sound and agile coloratura technique" while Opera News describes her as "...languid, sensuous her voice never lost its velvety character." Revista Pro Opera named her "an ascending presence in American theatres," while the American Record Guide describes her as "excellent."

Ms. Gandhi's career spans the soprano repertoire with houses including the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, New York City Opera, Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, Los Angeles Opera, Seattle Opera, the Caramoor International Music Festival, UNAM in Mexico City, San Diego Opera, the Estates Theatre in Prague, Opera Pacific, and Michigan Opera Theatre.

Recent roles include her debut as Rosina in IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA at the Caramoor Music Festival, the New York Philharmonic in ELEKTRA with Maestro Maazel, Rossweisse in Francesca Zambello's Ring Cycle with San Francisco Opera, New York City Opera (covering Donna Elvira in DON GIOVANNI, debut as Mercedes in CARMEN), Musetta in San Diego Opera's LA BOHÈME, Angelina of LA CENERENTOLA in North Carolina, Dayton, and San Diego, Meg Page in FALSTAFF with Toledo Opera, Mallika in LAKMÈ with the Michigan Opera Theatre and Tulsa Opera, Second Lady in DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE with San Diego Opera and Opera Pacific, Dorabella in COSÌ FAN TUTTE with Austin Lyric Opera, AMAHL AND THE NIGHT VISITORS with Lyric Opera San Diego, her Los Angeles Opera debut in the Grammy nominated RISE AND FALL OF THE CITY OF MAHAGONNY with Audra McDonald and Patti LuPone (including a Great Performances PBS broadcast), a return to Seattle Opera and San Diego Opera as the High Priestess in AIDA, Donna Elvira in DON GIOVANNI at the Estates Theatre in Prague, Silvia in a concert performance of Mozart's ASCANIO IN ALBA in Mexico City, Waltraute in Christoph Eschenbach's DIE WALKÜRE in Paris, The Fox in THE LITTLE PRINCE at Tulsa Opera, Varvara in KAT'A KABANOVA with San Diego Opera, and Echo in ARIADNE AUF NAXOS with Seattle Opera.

Ms. Gandhi has merited awards and recognition at home as well as internationally; she was a prize finalist in the prestigious 2000 International Antonín Dvorák Competition of the Czech Republic, in addition to earning special recognition awards from the Dvorák Society and the Opera Mozart Association of Prague. In the United States, she was named a Western Regional Finalist of the 1999 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, as well as 1st Place Winner in the 1997 Palm Springs Opera Guild Competition. In 2004, she was awarded an Austin Critic's Table Awards nomination for her performances as Dorabella in Austin Lyric Opera's COSÌ FAN TUTTE.

In concert, she has been a featured soloist with the Mainly Mozart Festival and the San Diego Symphony in works such as Mozart's MASS IN C MINOR, Beethoven's NINTH SYMPHONY, Luciano Berio's FOLKSONGS, and Mozart's MASS IN C, SPATZEN-MESSE.

Early in her career as a promising young artist, Ms. Gandhi was the subject of a documentary co-produced by San Diego Opera and UCSD-TV, entitled "The Education of an Opera Singer." She is currently the subject of an ongoing documentary following the lives of musicians, and is writing a popular weekly column with the San Diego Union Tribune about life on the road and backstage. Her recordings include Anthony Davis' contemporary opera TANIA (based on the abduction of Patty Hearst), available on Koch International Classics, and the PBS broadcast/DVD release of Los Angeles Opera's MAHAGONNY.