Josephine Mongiardo-Cooper

A voice of surprising and unusual beauty”, and “mesmerizing performance” have been used to describe Josephine Mongiardo’s vocal and musical talent. Ms. Mongiardo’s credits include the New York stage premieres of several eighteenth-century operas, including Handel's Acis and Galatea, Esther and Susanna, as well as Lully's Acis et Galateé and virtuosic pieces by Antonio Vivaldi as part of the Vivaldi’s Venice series at Lincoln Center’s Tully Hall. An accomplished actress, she has commanded attention in such roles as Lucia, Violetta and Rosina, and as a result of her love of  languages, she has become a renowned recitalist and chamber music artist. Her chamber music and orchestral appearances have taken her throughout the United States, Europe and South America. She has collaborated with such artists as YoYo Ma, Ani Kavafian, Gerard Schwarz and Kenneth Cooper. Her festival appearances include Santa Fe, Waterloo, Chamber Music Northwest, Arcady, Grand Canyon, Mohawk Trail Concerts and Music at Menlo. Ms. Mongiardo's diverse repertoire includes orchestral works such as Mahler's Symphony No.4, Berlioz' Les Nuits d'Eté and Strauss' Brentano Lieder as well as premieres of pieces by Seymour Barab and Wendy Chambers; she has also been featured as the narrator in Walton's Façade and as the Devil in Stravinsky's L'Histoire du Soldat as well as works by André Caplet and Douglas Moore. She can be heard on the CD Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot (Musical Heritage Society). Ms. Mongiardo has a thriving teaching practice in New York City and her students have been featured at Chautauqua Opera, Seattle Opera, Lake George Opera, Opera Delaware, Center City Opera and in chamber and orchestral appearances throughout the United States. She has taught master classes and been a guest instructor at festivals and colleges throughout the United States. 

Ms. Mongiardo received her BA from Barnard College and her MA in Historical Musicology from Columbia University. She is a  NYSTA Distinguished Voice Professional, having completed the Oren L Brown Professional Development Program core curriculum of Vocal Anatomy, Voice Acoustics, Developmental Repertoire, Vocal Health, and Comparative Voice Pedagogy.  In addition she completed a Vocology Internship at the Grabscheid Voice Center, Mount Sinai Medical Center under the guidance of renowned otolaryngologist, Dr. Peak Woo and Dr. Linda Carroll, PhD-SLP.