Francesco Clemente: The Sopranos

The Sopranos, a book of eight portraits by the renowned artist Francesco Clemente, features portraits of eight contemporary opera stars who figure prominently in the Met’s 2008-09 season: Diana Damrau, Natalie Dessay, Renée Fleming, Angela Gheorghiu, Susan Graham, Karita Mattila,\nAnna Netrebko, and Deborah Voigt. Clemente’s paintings, done within a four-month period, portray them as characters in their upcoming roles. The exhibition was conceived and organized by Gallery Met director Dodie Kazanjian. Inspired by the divas currently engaged at the Met, as well as by Clemente’s distinctive talent for portraiture, Ms. Kazanjian invited the artist to make the unique set of paintings. “When else in the history of opera, have eight leading opera singers of the day\nhad their portraits painted by a single leading artist?”