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==Career==
After a successful appearance as a semi-finalist in the [[Metropolitan Opera]] National Council Auditions in 1969, von Stade was invited to join the Met's young artist programme. A summons from the rehearsal room to a private audition with Sir [[Rudolf Bing]] resulted in her signing a three
In 1971, the Met allowed her to moonlight in [[San Francisco Opera|San Francisco]] and in [[Santa Fe Opera|Santa Fe]] as [[La clemenza di Tito|Sesto]] and [[Le nozze di Figaro|Cherubino]] respectively, but in 1972, hungry for more challenging roles, she decided to embark on a career as a freelance. She debuted as Cherubino in [[Houston Grand Opera|Houston]] and as [[Il barbiere di Siviglia|Rosina]] in [[Washington National Opera|Washington DC]] in 1973. That was also the year when she first sang in Europe: she was highly acclaimed as Cherubino—her signature role—in celebrated productions by [[Giorgio Strehler]] in [[Opéra de Paris|Paris]] and by [[Peter Hall (director)|Peter Hall]] at [[Glyndebourne Festival|Glyndebourne]]. Soon she was singing in all of opera's most prestigious houses, appearing as Cherubino in Salzburg in 1974, as Rosina at [[Royal Opera House Covent Garden|Covent Garden]] in 1975, as Rosina at [[Teatro alla Scala|La Scala]] in 1976 and as Cherubino in [[Vienna State Opera|Vienna]] in 1977. Her recording of [[Joseph Haydn]]'s ''[[Harmoniemesse]]'' (taped under [[Leonard Bernstein]] in 1973) was the first item in what grew to be a large and eclectic discography, and a telecast of ''[[Le nozze di Figaro]]'' from Glyndebourne in 1973 launched her on a television career that eventually made her a familiar face on screens in America and across the world. The highlights of her performing life included singing in Washington DC for Presidents [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]], [[James Earl Carter|Carter]], [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] and [[George Herbert Walker Bush|George H. W. Bush]], starring in a gala staged in honour of the [[1992 Winter Olympics]] and participating in a televised concert led by [[Leonard Slatkin]] to mourn those murdered in the terrorist atrocities of [[September 11 attacks|9/11]].
With a coltish physique and a warm, soft-grained, lyric mezzo-soprano voice that extended into [[soprano]] territory, she was a celebrated exponent of ''travesti'' roles like [[Hänsel und Gretel|Hänsel]], [[Idomeneo|Idamante]], and [[Der Rosenkavalier|Octavian]], and—aided by her striking beauty—she was also much admired playing leading ladies like [[La Cenerentola|Angelina]], [[Werther|Charlotte]], [[Così fan tutte|Dorabella]], [[Cendrillon|Lucette]], [[Pelléas et Mélisande (opera)|Mélisande]], [[Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria|Penelope]] and [[Don Giovanni|Zerlina]]. In the autumn of her career, she transitioned into character parts, among them [[Così fan tutte|Despina]], [[Lulu (opera)|Geschwitz]], [[The Aspern Papers (opera)|Tina]], [[The Dangerous Liaisons|the Marquise de Merteuil]], [[Dead Man Walking (opera)|Mrs
Although she was primarily a singing actress, she was also a busy concert artist, particularly in the 1990s and 2000s. The composers whose orchestral pieces she programmed most often were Mozart, [[Gustav Mahler|Mahler]], [[Hector Berlioz|Berlioz]], [[Claude Debussy|Debussy]], [[Maurice Ravel|Ravel]] and [[Joseph Canteloube|Canteloube]]
Von Stade ceased performing full time in 2010, but she continued to make occasional appearances near her [[East Bay]] home and elsewhere throughout the following decade and into the 2020s. Her activities in semi-retirement have included taking part in benefit concerts, judging singing competitions and teaching interpretation in master classes.
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==Further reading==
Von Stade's authorized biography, Richard Parlour's ''Flicka: The Life and Music of Frederica von Stade'', is scheduled for publication in 2025. She has been the subject of two major film profiles: ''Call Me Flicka'' (BBC and RM Munich, 1980), produced by [[Herbert Chappell]], and ''Flicka: A Love Letter'' (Paper Wings Films, 2023), directed by Brian Staufenbiel and produced by Nicolle Foland and [[Dede Wilsey]]. Many other von Stade videos are accessible
==Select discography==
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