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Bianca Amato

Bianca Amato is a South African actress known for her work in American theatre, as a prolific audiobook performer and for her portrayal of Philippa De Villiers in the original cast of the South African soap opera Isidingo.

Career

Amato was a member of the original cast of the long running South African soap opera Isidingo, portraying Philippa De Villiers from 1998 to 2001. The character's relationship with mine manager Derek Nyathi (Hlomla Dandala) featured the first interracial kiss, and was the first interracial romance, to be depicted on South African television.[1][2] The storyline has been described as "groundbreaking and big news in post apartheid South African television".[3] Of the experience Amato said, "It was wonderful to be part of the slow but healthy process that shifted people's attitudes."[2] Her performance in Isidingo earned Amato an Avante for Best Actress in a Television Series.[3]

In 2002, Amato was granted a United States Permanent Resident Card as an "Alien of Extraordinary Ability" in the arts and emigrated to the United States.[2] After appearing in a 2002 episode of the HBO series Sex and the City, she played several leading roles with the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota between 2003 and 2005.[3][2] Since 2009 Amato has guest starred in several U.S. TV series.[4][5] In 2015, Amato portrayed Delia Alexander in the 2015 PlayStation Network series Powers.

Amato appeared in the original Broadway production of Tom Stoppard's Tony Award-winning trio of plays The Coast of Utopia (2006–07),[3][6] as well as the 2013–14 Broadway revival of Shakespeare's Macbeth.[7][8] She also understudied the roles of Hannah Jarvis and Lady Croom in the 2011 Broadway revival of Stoppard's Arcadia.[9] Off-Broadway, Amato has appeared in Bill Irwin's Mr. Fox: A Rumination (2004),[10][11] and as Emma in Trumpery (2007).[12][13] She later costarred as Calantha in The Broken Heart in 2012,[14][15][16] and played the leading role of Olga Knipper in Neva in 2013.[17][18] Amato also starred as Amanda in a production of Noël Coward's Private Lives directed by Maria Aitken, first presented in 2012 at the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston,[19][20] and again in 2014 at the Shakespeare Theatre Company's Lansburgh Theatre in Washington, D. C.[21][22][23][24] In 2014 she also portrayed Regan in the Theatre for a New Audience production of King Lear in New York.[25][26][27][28][29][30]

Amato has narrated over 40 audiobooks,[4] including most of the historical novels in the Cousins' War series written by Philippa Gregory, and Charles Stross' 2008 science fiction novel Saturn's Children.[14][31] She also voiced the 2006 gothic novel The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield,[32] which had risen to No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list in its second week of publication.[2][33][34]

Television

Film

Theatre

Audiobooks

Acclaim

Charles Isherwood of The New York Times wrote in his review of 2012's The Broken Heart that "Amato exudes imperial grandeur as Calantha",[15] and Andy Propst of TheaterMania noted that "audiences will also find themselves intrigued by Amato's warmly imperious turn as the Spartan princess."[16] In 2013 Isherwood called the cast of Neva "terrifically good", noting Amato to be "captivating from the opening moments" and writing that she "manages to make Olga's self-dramatizing histrionics absurdly funny, but also tinged with real pathos."[17] In 2012 The Boston Globe called Amato and her costar James Waterston "just about perfect" in their roles as Amanda and Elyot in Private Lives, praising their "style, dexterity, subtlety, and sizzling chemistry."[19] The review went on to say that "Amato cuts a regal, soignée figure — she can wring a laugh out of a single word, like 'inveterate' — but she is also skilled at physical comedy."[19] BroadwayWorld.com called Amato and Waterston "an unparalleled pair" in 2014, adding that "Amato is both grit and glamour, portraying a character that is brusque for her time, but immense fun to watch."[24] Ben Brantley of The New York Times called Amato's 2014 performance in King Lear "superb",[26] and the Brooklyn Daily Eagle called her Regan "icily alluring".[27] Joe Dziemianowicz of the New York Daily News wrote of the performance that "as second-born Regan, Bianca Amato's clipped and exasperated speech and body language suggest a woman who's up to her eyeballs in middle-child neglect. She's Jan Brady in period clothes."[28]

Awards

Amato won the Vita Award for Best Newcomer for Under Milk Wood and the Fleur du Cap Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actress for Greek, both performed at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town, South Africa. Her portrayal of Philippa De Villiers on Isidingo earned her an Avante for Best Actress in a Television Series and a Duku Duku Award for South Africa's Most Popular Actress.[3] She later won the Star Tribune Award for best performance of 2004 for playing Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[3] Her performance in Private Lives earned her an Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Actress in 2013,[41] and the Shakespeare Theatre Company's Emery Battis Award in 2014.[44] Amato was also nominated for a 2013 Best Actress IRNE Award for Private Lives.[42][43]

Amato has received ten AudioFile Earphones Awards and two Audie Awards for her audiobook performances.[34][48][59]

Personal life

Amato was born in Cape Town, South Africa.[2] The daughter of "politically active parents", she "grew up keenly aware of the 'deep, deep troubles' of apartheid", and as a teen was a member of a left-wing organization called Pupils Awareness and Action Group.[2] Amato graduated from the University of Cape Town.[3][4] Amato is married to Neil Kuny, with whom she has a daughter.[1][85]

References

  1. ^ a b c Maja, Lesego (26 October 2018). "The River's Hlomla Dandala and Bianca Amato on working together again". Drum. Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Henderson, Kathy (4 January 2007). "Interview with Bianca Amato". Broadway.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Bianca Amato is an alien of extraordinary ability". Channel24.co.za. 24 March 2009. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Profile: Bianca Amato". Huntington Theatre Company. Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Credits: Bianca Amato". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 10 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  6. ^ a b c d "The Coast of Utopia (2006)". Playbill. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  7. ^ a b "Macbeth (2013)". Playbill. Archived from the original on 27 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  8. ^ a b "From Romeo and Juliet to Of Mice and Men, A Look at the 2013–14 Season: The Play Revivals (Macbeth)". Playbill. 18 April 2014. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  9. ^ "Arcadia (2011)". Playbill. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  10. ^ a b Jones, Kenneth (13 April 2004). "Be a Clown: Bill Irwin's Mr. Fox: A Rumination Conjures Forgotten American Actor". Playbill. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  11. ^ a b Finkle, David (14 April 2004). "Reviews: Mr. Fox: A Rumination". TheaterMania.com. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  12. ^ a b Isherwood, Charles (6 December 2007). "Don't Dillydally, Darwin, It's Survival of the Quickest". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  13. ^ a b "Parnell's Trumpery World Premiere Tonight at Atlantic". BroadwayWorld.com. 14 November 2007. Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g Henschel, S. J. "Narrator Profile: Bianca Amato". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  15. ^ a b c Isherwood, Charles (14 February 2012). "All Is Not Well in Gloomy Sparta, and You Can Bet It Won't End Well". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 26 October 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  16. ^ a b c Propst, Andy (15 February 2012). "Reviews: The Broken Heart". TheaterMania.com. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  17. ^ a b c Isherwood, Charles (11 March 2013). "Self-Absorbed, With Chekhov as a Backdrop". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 18 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  18. ^ a b Gans, Andrew (1 March 2013). "Bianca Amato, Quincy Tyler Bernstine and Luke Robertson Star in Public's Neva, About Widow of Chekhov, Beginning March 1". Playbill. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  19. ^ a b c d Aucoin, Don (1 June 2012). "In Noel Coward's Private Lives, a diamond-sharp production". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 9 December 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  20. ^ a b Seligson, Susan (30 May 2012). "Huntington's 30th Season Closes with Private Lives". BU Today. Archived from the original on 5 October 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  21. ^ a b Purcell, Carey (7 May 2014). "Bianca Amato and James Waterston Will Star in Noël Coward's Private Lives at Shakespeare Theatre Company". Playbill. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  22. ^ a b Purcell, Carey (29 May 2014). "Bianca Amato and James Waterston Star in Noël Coward's Private Lives, Beginning May 29". Playbill. Archived from the original on 30 March 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  23. ^ a b c "Bianca Amato and James Waterston Will Lead Shakespeare Theatre's Private Lives, 5/29-7/13". BroadwayWorld.com. 7 May 2014. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  24. ^ a b c Nadolny, Heather (15 June 2014). "BWW Reviews: Shakespeare Theatre Company's Private Lives Offers Delicious Wit and Whimsy". BroadwayWorld.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  25. ^ a b Purcell, Carey (10 February 2014). "Theatre for a New Audience Will Present King Lear, Starring Michael Pennington, at Polonsky Shakespeare Center". Playbill. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  26. ^ a b c Brantley, Ben (27 March 2014). "Shakespeare Reimagined, Once Quietly, and Once Very Loud". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  27. ^ a b c Croghan, Lore (28 March 2014). "Heartbreak House: Theatre for a New Audience stages a harrowing King Lear". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Archived from the original on 9 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  28. ^ a b c Dziemianowicz, Joe (27 March 2014). "King Lear: Theater review". Daily News. New York. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  29. ^ a b Finkle, David (27 March 2014). "First Nighter: Arin Arbus's King Lear, David Herskovitz's Uriel Acosta". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 25 August 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  30. ^ a b Stewart, Zachary (27 March 2014). "Theatre for a New Audience offers a solid entry in 2014's battle of the Lears". TheaterMania.com. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  31. ^ a b Willis, Jesse (26 April 2010). "Review of Saturn's Children by Charles Stross". SFFaudio.com. Archived from the original on 19 March 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  32. ^ a b "Audiobook Review: The Thirteenth Tale (2007)". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  33. ^ "Best Sellers: October 8, 2006". The New York Times. 8 October 2006. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  34. ^ a b "Bianca Amato: Complete Audiography". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  35. ^ "Binnelanders: Season 18". TVSA.co.za. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  36. ^ Isherwood, Charles (21 April 2006). "Importance of Being Earnest: Cucumber Sandwiches and Polite Society on a Skewer". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  37. ^ Filipski, Kevin (15 April 2006). "Serious Comedy: Hall and Redgrave Channel Oscar Wilde With New Earnest SERIOUS COMEDY". The Brooklyn Paper. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  38. ^ Simonson, Robert (17 March 2006). "Cast Set for Peter Hall Importance of Being Earnest at BAM". Playbill. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  39. ^ Hoover, Bob (21 January 2010). "Public Theater takes the production up a notch for A Midsummer Night's Dream". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on 29 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  40. ^ Jones, Kenneth (11 March 2010). "LaBute Pens New Prologue for Chicago Taming of the Shrew". Playbill. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  41. ^ a b Hetrick, Adam (13 May 2013). "Pippin, Glass Menagerie, Andrea Martin, John Tiffany and Will Lyman Are Elliot Norton Award Winners". Playbill. Archived from the original on 8 July 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  42. ^ a b "2013 Independent Reviewers of New England Award Nominees Announced!". BroadwayWorld.com. 18 February 2013. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  43. ^ a b "2013 IRNE Award Nominations". Huntington Theatre Company. 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2014.[permanent dead link]
  44. ^ a b "Bianca Amato & Matthew Amendt Receive Shakespeare Theatre Company's Emery Battis Award". BroadwayWorld.com. 4 November 2014. Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  45. ^ Grossman, Nancy (20 September 2014). "BWW Reviews: All-Star Roster Brings the Bard to Fenway Park". BroadwayWorld.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  46. ^ Isherwood, Charles (28 March 2016). "Review: Stupid _____ Bird Is Chekhov for the 21st Century". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  47. ^ "Audiobook Review: The Queen's Fool (2004)". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  48. ^ a b "Audiobook Review: Listening for Lions (2006)". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  49. ^ "Audiobook Review: The Boleyn Inheritance (Abridged/2006)". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  50. ^ "Audiobook Review: The Boleyn Inheritance (Unabridged/2011)". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  51. ^ "SWAN TOWN by Michael Ortiz Read by Bianca Amato | Audiobook Review". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  52. ^ "DRAGONS KEEP by Janet Lee Carey Read by Bianca Amato | Audiobook Review". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  53. ^ "A DANGEROUS BEAUTY by Sophia Nash Read by Bianca Amato | Audiobook Review". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 9 February 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  54. ^ "Audiobook Review: The Other Queen (2008)". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  55. ^ "SOVAY by Celia Rees Read by Bianca Amato | Audiobook Review". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  56. ^ The unabridged version of The White Queen is narrated by Susan Lyons.
  57. ^ "Audiobook Review: The White Queen (Abridged/2009)". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  58. ^ "Audiobook Review: Her Fearful Symmetry (2009)". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  59. ^ a b "Audiobook Review: The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë (2009)". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  60. ^ "Audiobook Review: The Red Queen (2010)". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 11 March 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  61. ^ "Audiobook Review: Dracula in Love (2010)". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  62. ^ "Audiobook Review: The Lady of the Rivers (2011)". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 25 June 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  63. ^ "DEATH IN THE FLOATING CITY by Tasha Alexander Read by Bianca Amato | Audiobook Review". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  64. ^ "Audiobook Review: The Women of the Cousins' War (2011)". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  65. ^ "Audiobook Review: Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness (2011)". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  66. ^ "STEAMED by Katie MacAlister Read by Jonathan Davis Bianca Amato | Audiobook Review". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  67. ^ "CARTWHEELING IN THUNDERSTORMS by Katherine Rundell Read by Bianca Amato | Audiobook Review". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  68. ^ "Audiobook Review: The Kingmaker's Daughter (2012)". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  69. ^ "CHANGELING by Philippa Gregory Read by Charlie Cox Bianca Amato | Audiobook Review". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  70. ^ "Audiobook Review: The White Princess (2013)". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 14 December 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  71. ^ "BEHIND THE SHATTERED GLASS by Tasha Alexander Read by Bianca Amato | Audiobook Review". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  72. ^ "Audiobook Review: The King's Curse (2014)". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 22 November 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  73. ^ "THE COUNTERFEIT HEIRESS by Tasha Alexander Read by Bianca Amato | Audiobook Review". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  74. ^ "MIDNIGHT THIEF by Livia Blackburne Read by Bianca Amato | Audiobook Review". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  75. ^ "Audiobook Review: The Taming of the Queen (2015)". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  76. ^ "A SCHOOL FOR BRIDES by Patrice Kindl Read by Bianca Amato | Audiobook Review". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  77. ^ "Audiobook Review: Three Sisters, Three Queens (2016)". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  78. ^ "THE LAST TUDOR by Philippa Gregory Read by Bianca Amato | Audiobook Review". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  79. ^ "DEATH IN ST PETERSBURG by Tasha Alexander Read by Bianca Amato | Audiobook Review". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  80. ^ "UNEASY LIES THE CROWN by Tasha Alexander Read by Bianca Amato | Audiobook Review". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  81. ^ "IN THE SHADOW OF VESUVIUS by Tasha Alexander Read by Bianca Amato | Audiobook Review". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  82. ^ "AFTERLAND by Lauren Beukes Read by Bianca Amato | Audiobook Review". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  83. ^ "A PINCH OF MAGIC by Michelle Harrison Read by Bianca Amato | Audiobook Review". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 7 July 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  84. ^ "THE JOY AND LIGHT BUS COMPANY by Alexander McCall Smith Read by Bianca Amato | Audiobook Review". AudioFile. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  85. ^ "%". NarrateAfrica. Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.

External links