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Tenor

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Francesco Castoro has begun his vocal studies at a very young age and he graduated with honour from the Conservatory “Niccolò Piccinni” in Bari under the guidance of Domenico Colaianni. After that, he had the chance to refine his singing at Belcanto Academy “Rodolfo Celletti” in Martina Franca, within the Festival della Valle d’Itria (2013-2014). He is a winner of several international singing competitions, including the “Ottavio Ziino” Competition in Rome. Moreover, he graduated at “Accademia di Perfezionamento per Cantanti Lirici del Teatro alla Scala” (2015-2017), where he performed in La bohème, Falstaff (conductor Zubin Mehta), Die Zauberflöte, La fanciulla del West (conductor Riccardo Chailly) and La cena delle beffe.

He has already made his debut in many important theatres and festivals in Italy and abroad, such as Teatro alla Scala, Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Royal Opera Copenhagen, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Festival della Valle D’Itria, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Teatro Verdi di Trieste, Teatro Municipale di Piacenza, Arena di Verona, Ópera de Tenerife, Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari, National Theatre Prague, singing under the baton of such conductors as Roland Böer, Riccardo Chailly, Adam Fischer, Fabio Luisi, Zubin Mehta, Evelino Pidò, Stefano Ranzani, and working with leading stage directors as Gianni Amelio, Robert Carsen, Damiano Michieletto, Leo Muscato, Ferzan Ozpetek, Peter Stein, Alessandro Talevi, Federico Tiezzi.

Among the leading roles that he has already performed, it can be mentioned Alfredo Germont in La traviata, Rodolfo in La bohème; Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia,Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Giambarone in Jommelli’s Don Trastullo, Camille de Rossillon in The merry widow, Salvini in Bellini’s Adelson e Salvini, il Conte Libenskof in Il viaggio a Reims, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, Alfred in Die Fledermaus, Roméo in Roméo et Juliette.

He sang also in several important recitals and concerts, including the opening gala of Arena di Verona 2013 season, the European tour of Verdi concerts with the Orchestra Nazionale dei Conservatori conducted by Antonino Fogliani; the inauguration gala of the Silk Road in Xi’an (China) in 2014; Stravinskij’s Pulcinella at Teatro alla Scala with Ottavio Dantone in 2016.

LATEST PERFORMANCES: La traviata, La bohème, Madama Butterfly Auditorio Nacional in Madrid; Olympia by Nicola Campogrande (world premiere) at Teatro Comunale di Bologna; La traviata at Teatro Coccia di Novara; Christmas concert at Teatro Real de Madrid; I Capuleti e i Montecchi in Vienna; Così fan tutte (Ferrando) and Gianni Schicchi (Rinuccio) at Teatro Comunale di Bologna; Macbeth (Macduff) at Theater St. Gallen; Lucrezia Borgia at Bavarian State Opera in Munich.

FORTHCOMING PROJECTS: La bohème in San Sebastian;Die Zauberflöte (Tamino), La traviata, Madama Butterfly at Auditorio Nacional in Madrid.

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Stage Directors

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After separate beginnings in dance, theatre, television, circus and the opera field, Renaud Doucet, Stage director & Choreographer and André Barbe, Set & Costume Designer, have created over fifty new opera productions that are recognized for their creativity, sense of spectacle and detailed dramaturgy.

Their work as a team has gained international recognition with their many new productions such as: Die Zauberflöte at the Glyndebourne Festival; La Cenerentola, La belle Hélène and Die Fledermaus at Hamburg Staatsoper; La fille du régiment at Teatro La Fenice di Venezia and Teatro Regio di Torino; Il signor Bruschino at Rossini Opera Festival and Teatro Comunale di Bologna; La Cenerentola at Opéra National du Capitole de Toulouse; Pelléas et Mélisande at Teatro Regio di Parma and Opéra Royal de Wallonie de Liège; Samson and Dalila at Royal Opera in Stockholm; Die Feen for Oper Leipzig in coproduction with the Bayreuther Festspiele; Les contes d’Hoffmann at Oper Bonn; Pénélope, Si j’étais roi, Thérèse/La Navarraise and Il bravo at the Wexford Festival Opera; Arabella, Il matrimonio segreto and La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein at Oper Köln; Cendrillon at Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg, Opéra de Marseille, New York City Opera and Opéra de Montréal; the Viennese premiere of The Sound of Music, Turandot and Rusalka at Volksoper Wien; Benvenuto Cellini and Iphigénie en Aulide at Opéra National du Rhin; Turandot at Opera Philadelphia, Seattle Opera, Minnesota Opera, Atlanta Opera, Utah Opera, Cincinnati Opera and Vancouver Opera; La bohème at Theatre St Gallen, Vancouver Opera, Opéra National du Capitole de Toulouse, Manon at Scottish Opera and Malmö Opera, Don Pasquale at Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova and Canadian Opera Company, an entire season for the Florida Grand Opera in Miami with Lucia di Lammermoor, Pagliacci, Suor Angelica, Il barbiere di Siviglia and Carmen.

André Barbe received a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Concordia University then studied at the National Theatre School of Canada under the tutelage of designer François Barbeau. Up to now, he has designed over 300 productions for theatre, television and opera. He received the Irish Times Irish Theatre Award for best designer for the production of Pénélope at Wexford Festival Opera as well as the Rolf-Mares Prize for best sets and costumes for the production of La Cenerentola at the Hamburgische Staatsoper. Since 2010, he has been teaching Set and Costume design at the National Theatre School of Canada.

Trained musician, Renaud Doucet began his performing career as a solo dancer, ballet master, teacher and choreographer in international dance companies. He was introduced to the opera world as a baroque choreographer and gesture specialist, coaching singers such as Alfredo Kraus, Jaime Aragall, Raina Kabaivanska and Mirella Freni. He also worked as an actor in movies and tv series. Now, he is regularly invited to teach young singers and pianists in various opera programs such as the Manhattan School of Music, the Hamburg Staatsoper Opernstudio, l’Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal.

LATEST PRODUCTIONS: L’elisir d’amore at Theater Kiel; La bohème at Scottish Opera; Don Pasquale in Kiel and at Scottisch Opera; La fille du régiment at Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari; La Cenerentola at Latvian National Opera in Riga; The sound of music at Volksoper in Vienna; Die Zauberflöte in Glyndebourne.

FORTHCOMING PROJECTS: Die Zauberflöte at Houston Grand Opera; Il barbiere di Siviglia at New Israeli Opera Tel Aviv; Offenbach’s Le Pont des Soupirs in co-production with eight French companies under the lead of the Palazzetto Bru Zane..

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Soprano

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Finnish soprano Silja Aalto is making a name for herself on the European opera scene, thanks to her vocal and stage talent, with acclaimed performances in demanding roles from the repertoires of Wagner and Strauss, as well as Verdi and Puccini.

Her repertoire ranges from Mozart to contemporary music, and her roles include Senta in Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer (Opéra de Rouen), Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro (Tallin), Cio-Cio San in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (Savonlinna Opera festival), Leonora in Il trovatore, Elsa in Lohengrin, Elisabet in Tannhäuser, Sieglinde in Die Walküre, Leonore in Beethoven’s Fidelio, Riitta in Kokkonen’s Last temptations (Savonlinna), Sibelius’s Luonnotar (Finnish National Opera), Mrs Alice in Falstaff and Elisabetta di Valois in Don Carlo (debuted at Finnish National Opera Helsinki and will cover at the Metropolitan Opera in New York next season).

Silja Aalto is a regular guest at the Estonian National Opera, where she debuted as Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro and then has been invited back for Mimì in La bohème, Leonora in Il trovatore, Elsa in Lohengrin. She is also regular guest at the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki, where she performed, among others, Elisabetta di Valois in Verdi’s Don Carlo and as soprano in Christian Spuck’s staged version of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem.

Silja Aalto has sung with many prestigious orchestras around Europe in a extensive concert repertoire, including Saariaho’s Mirage with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo at the Royal Albert Hall and Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony with The Hallé Orchestra under the baton of Tarmo Peltokoski at the Barbican Centre in London, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Mozart’s Requiem with Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder with Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Santtu-Matias Rouvali.

Silja Aalto graduated in from the Sibelius Academy in Finland and she has been the recipient of several awards including the Grand Prize of the Metropolitan International Music Festival Competition in New York (2017) and the 2° prize at the Elizabeth Connell Prize International Singing Competition in Sydney.

LATEST PERFORMANCES: Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder at Mikkeli Music Festival with Philharmonia Orchestra; Madama Butterfly (Cio Cio San) at Savonlinna Opera Festival; Sibelius’ Luonnotar at Finnish National Opera Helsinki; Der fliegende Holländer (Senta) at Opéra de Rouen; Lohengrin (Elsa) new production at Estonian National Opera Tallin; Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 at Latvian National Opera Riga; Die Zauberflöte (First Lady) with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie at Musikfest Bremen and on tour at Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Konzerthaus Dortmund and Festival Enescu Bucarest.

FORTHCOMING PROJECTS: Le nozze di Figaro (Contessa d’Almaviva) at Finnish National Opera Helsinki; Lohengrin (Elsa) at Eurajoki Festival and in Tallin; Salome (title role) at Croatian National Opera Zagreb; Die Walküre (Sieglide) first act in concert with Turku Philharmonic Orchestra.

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Soprano

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Quickly gaining attention as a lyric coloratura soprano with exceptional bel canto technique, Aubry Ballarò most recently sang the roles of Lucia di Lammermoor in Hong Kong, Musetta in La bohème, Micaëla in Carmen and Violetta in La traviata in Portland, and she made her role debuts as Fiordiligi in Così Fan tutte with Princeton Festival, as Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail and as Adina in L’elisir d’amore with Opera Grand Rapids.

Ms. Ballarò made her international debut in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor with State Opera Stara Zagora in Bulgaria in 2022 and subsequently, joined The Princeton Festival to sing the role of Madame Herz in their production of Mozart’s L’impresario. In 2023, Aubry returned to State Opera Stara Zagora to debut as Violetta in La traviata, and debuted the role of Gilda in Rigoletto with Opera Columbus later that month. Under the baton of Steven Mercurio, she appeared twice at the Festival de Musique de Saint Barthélemy, singing Micaëla in their 2020 production of Carmen, and popular operatic selections in their 2021 concert with orchestra.

Ms. Ballarò is a graduate from the Academy of Vocal Arts, where she was seen performing roles such as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Juliette in Roméo et Juliette, and Oscar in Un ballo in maschera. Other roles during her education were Queen in the world premiere of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (Seagle Music Colony), Lisette in La rondine, Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring (Oberlin Opera Theatre), Despina in Così fan tutte (Oberlin in Italy), and Adele in Die Fledermaus (Oberlin Opera Theatre).

Ms. Ballarò was a District Winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition in 2022, and a winner of the Bologna International Vocal Competition in 2019. She was also a finalist in the Jensen Foundation Competition in New York (2022) and Vincerò World Singing Competition in Napoli (2021).

LATEST PERFORMANCES: Lucia di Lammermoor in Hong Kong; La bohème (Musetta) at Portland Opera; Vier letzte Lieder with Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra;Carmen (Micaëla, concert version) at Opera in the Park Portland; opera gala with Orquesta Sinfónica RTV Slovenia at Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid; Händel’sMessiah and Mozart’s Mass in C minor with Columbus Symphony, L’elisir d’amore (Adina) with Opera Grand Rapids;Così fan tutte (Fiordiligi) at Princeton Festival; Mozart’s Requiem with Sofia Philharmonic.

FORTHCOMING PROJECTS: Stravinsky’s Pulcinella with Princeton Symphony; La traviata in Columbus; Orff’s Trionfo di Afrodite with Columbus Symphony.

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Soprano

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The French-American soprano Erminie Blondel has gained wide acclaim in France in the light-lyric repertorie with such roles as Marguerite in Faust, Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Violetta in La traviata, the title role in Massenet’s Manon, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte.

She trained as a violist, studied at the Geneva Conservatory, graduated with a 1er Prix at the Rueil-Malmaison Conservatory, and holds a Masters Degree in Recital Arts from the Paris Sorbonne University. Now she prepares her operatic roles with Cynthia Jacoby and Maryse Castets and internationally acclaimed coaches Irene Kudela and Antoine Palloc.

Highlights of her career include Violetta in many French Opera houses including Opéra de Massy, Micaëla in Carmen at Reims Opera, the role debut as Contessa d’Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro at Clermont-Auvergne Opera, the title role of Die lustige Witwe at Opéra Grand Avignon, Ariane et Barbe-Bleue by Dukas (Bellangère) for her house debut at Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse, “Musiques en Fête” (the opening gala of the Chorégies d’Orange broadcasted live on French National television) in 2019 2021 and 2022, the Operetta Olympics at the Budapest National Operetta Theater, singing Sylva in Czardasfürstin, her debut at Opéra de Monte-Carlo and Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Lakmé (Ellen) alongside Sabine Devieilhe, Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Reims Opera and on tour, La Voix Humaine in Beijing (2018), Marguerite in Faust (2018) and Micaëla in Carmen (2017) at La Seine Musical, Julie in Benda’s Romeo und Julie in Clermont-Ferrand. She was Lisette Oropesa’s cover in La traviata (Violetta) at the Greek National Opera in Athens. She sang Antonia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann in several Italian theatres: Pisa, Lucca, Livorno and Teatro Coccia di Novara.

Her symphonic repertoire include sevaral oratorio and other vocal works: Mozart’s Requiem, Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, Exsultate Jubilate and Great Mass in C minor; Elijah with the Pretoria Symphony Orchestra (South Africa); Beethoven’s 9th Symphony; Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle,

LATEST PERFORMANCES: Il fait novembre en mon âme by Bechara ElKhouri with Orchestre de chambre de Paris at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées Les Pêcheurs de Perles (role debut as Leyla) in Massy; La traviata in Carcassonne; Die Zauberflöte at Opéra de Tours; La traviata in Biarritz and at Opéra de Massy; Alphonse Duvernoy’s La Tempête (concert version) in Paris; Die Entführung aus dem Serail at Opéra de Reims; Carmen (excerpts in concert) in Paris; Kálmán’s Csárdásfürstin in Budapest;Gounod’s La nonne sanglante at Opéra de Saint-Étienne; Lakmé at Opéra de Monte-Carlo and at Théâtre des Champs Elysées.

FORTHCOMING PROJECTS: Les Pêcheurs de Perles at Opéra des Landes; concert with Daniel Harding at Théâtre du Lido in Paris; Mermet’s Roland à Roncevaux at Opéra de Saint Etienne; Die Fledermaus in Lamalou-les-Bains; concert with Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana in Palermo; Cendrillon at NCPA Beijing.

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Tenor

Italy*

Acclaimed internationally as one of the finest lyric tenors of his generation, Charles Castronovo has performed at the world’s leading opera houses including Royal Ballet & Opera London, Opéra National de Paris, Metropolitan Opera, Staatsoper Berlin, Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro Real in Madrid, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Salzburg Festspielhaus and many more. After gaining international recognition for such roles as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Alfredo in La traviata and Mozart’s tenor roles, in recent seasons he has moved into a heavier repertoire, such as the French repertoire with Faust, Roméo in Roméo et Juliette and Don Josè in Carmen, Rodolfo in La bohème, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Riccardo in Un ballo in Maschera, Adorno in Simon Boccanegra, the title roles of Don Carlo and Ernani, Cavaradossi in Tosca.

Among the many highlights of recent seasons are the title role of Don Carlos at Grand Théâtre de Genève and at Opéra National de Paris; Don José in Carmen at Royal Ballet & Opera London; Simon Boccanegra at Teatro alla Scala and at Opéra National de Paris; Riccardo in Un ballo in maschera at Metropolitan Opera, Opernhaus Zürich and Bayerische Staatsoper; La bohème at Opéra National de Paris; Cavaradossi in Tosca at Bayerische Staatsoper; Pinkerton in Damiano Michieletto’s production of Madama Butterfly at Teatro Real de Madrid; Le Chevalier des Grieux in Massenet’s Manon at Palau de les Arts in Valencia; La traviata at Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona; Ruggero in La Rondine at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and in concert at Opéra de Monte-Carlo; Jason in the French version of Cherubini’s Médée at Staatsoper Berlin under the baton of M°Daniel Barenboim; Manon and Madama Butterfly at Wiener Staatsoper; the title role of L’amico fritz at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino; Macduff in Macbeth at Salzburg Festival; Ernani with Munich Radio Orchestra, Max in Der Freischütz at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and at Festspielhaus Baden-Baden.

Charles Castronovo debuted Verdi’s Messa da Requiem at Semperoper Dresden with the Staatskapelle Dresden and Christian Thielemann, then he sang it also with Myung-whun Chung, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Daniel Harding.

Born in New York and raised in California, Charles Castronovo began his career as a resident at Los Angeles Opera, then he joined the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artists Development Program, and he made his debut on the Metropolitan Opera stage as Beppe opposite Placido Domingo in the opening night performance of Pagliacci.

His European stage debut was at the 2000 Savonlinna Festival as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, he subsequently debuted in Germany at the Staatsoper Berlin with the same role under M° Daniel Barenboim, in France at the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse as Fenton in Falstaff, and in the United Kingdom at the 2002 BBC Proms in Ravel’s L’heure Espagnole. In the 2003/04 season, Castronovo made his San Francisco Opera, Opéra National de Paris, and Wiener Staatsoper debuts as Tamino Die Zauberflöte, and his Covent Garden debut as Ferrando in Così fan tutte. This was followed by his Italian stage debut as Alfredo at Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa.

He has participated often in performances of lesser known works: as Mylio in Lalo’s Le Roi d’Ys in Toulouse; as Vincent in Gounod’s Mireille at Opéra National de Paris; in Massenet’s Thérèse at the Festival de Montpellier, where he also sang Lalo’s La Jacquerie; Gounod’s Cinq Mars at Theater an der Wien. Castronovo starred opposite Plácido Domingo as Mario in the world premiere of Daniel Catan’s Il Postino at the Los Angeles Opera, a role he also performed in Paris and Santiago. He also recorded Mercadante’s Virginia for Opera Rara.

LATEST PERFORMANCES: Werther (title role debut) at NTT Tokyo; Carmen at Bayerisch Staatsoper, in Athens and at Teatro Real de Madrid; Simon Boccanegra at Wiener Staatsoper; Un ballo in maschera at Staatsoper Berlin; Roméo et Juliette at Maison de la Radio et de la Musique in Paris; Macbeth at Salzburg Festival.

FORTHCOMING PROJECTS: Carmen at Palau de les Arts Velencia and Wiener Staatsoper; Un ballo in Maschera at Royal Ballet & Opera London; Tosca in Athens and at Opernhaus Zurich; Gounod’s Faust at Bayerische Staatsoper; Berlioz’ La damnation de Faust with HR-Sinfonieorchester in Frankfurt, Hamburg and Vienna; Adriana Lecouvreur at Palau de les Arts Velencia; Madama Butterfly at Bayerische Staatsoper.

*In collaboration with Zemsky/Green Artists Management INC.

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Bass

World

Fabrizio Beggi first came to the limelight on the Italian opera scene in 2012, winning the “Toti Dal Monte” International Singing Competition in Treviso, which gave him the opportunity to debut the role of Geronimo in Cimarosa’s Il matrimonio segreto.

He began his musical career as a bassoon player: after graduating with top marks from the ‘P. Mascagni’ Music Institute in Livorno, Konzertdiplom in Bassoon from the Basel Music Academy under the guidance of Sergio Azzolini and specialising in Baroque bassoon with Alberto Grazzi, he collaborated with various orchestras. In 2009, he began the study of singing, which he continued at the Accademia Musicale di Santa Cecilia in Portogruaro under the guidance of Claudio Desderi and at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa in the Ensemble Opera Studio.

His early engagements included Battistelli’s Divorzio all’italiana at Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Alidoro in La Cenerentola in Rovigo and Ferrara, Andrea Chénier at Teatro Regio di Torino, Frate Lorenzo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi under the baton of Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante, with whom he immediately began a solid collaboration that allowed him to take part in several prestigious productions: Argenio in Händel’s Imeneo at the Händel Festspiele in Halle (the recording of the opera was released by Glossa), Banco in Macbeth first version in Warsaw, Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria in Hamburg, Plutone in L’Orfeo in Hamburg, Barcelona, Madrid and Vienna.

Among the many productions in which he has taken part, worth mentioning are La Gioconda and Rigoletto at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, La bohème (Colline) at New Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv and at Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Don Carlo conducted by Gianandrea Noseda and staged by Hugo De Ana at Teatro Regio in Turin, Guillaume Tell (Melchtal) again with Maestro Noseda at Teatro Regio di Torino and also on tour at Edinburgh Festival and in Canada, again in Torino Casella’s La donna Serpente conducted by Fabio Luisi, Il trovatore (Ferrando) and Norma (Oroveso), Carmen at Terme di Caracalla and at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Don Giovanni (Leporello) at Teatro Verdi in Trieste under the baton of Gianluigi Gelmetti, Il Turco in Italia (Selim) in the theatres of Opera Lombardia, Le Nozze di Figaro (Figaro) at Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Aida (Ramfis) at Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Les Contes d’Hoffmann at Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Messiah by Haendel in Las Palmas, Ernani (Ruy Gomez de Silva) at Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos Lisbon, Carmen (Escamillo) at Macerata Opera Festival.

LATEST PERFORMANCES: La traviata at Teatro alla Scala; I Capuleti e i Montecchi at Teatro Colon de Buenos Aires; Il trovatore at Opera Carlo Felice di Genova; Händel’s Messiah with Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano conducted by Fabio Biondi; Aida in Lisbon; the world premiere of Filidei’s Il nome della rosa and La forza del destino (Marchese di Calatrava) for the season opening with M° Riccardo Chailly at Teatro alla Scala; L’italiana in Algeri (Mustafà) at Teatro Lirico di Cagliari; Rigoletto at Royal Ballet & Opera London; Verdi’s Messa da Requiem at Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

FORTHCOMING PROJECTS: I Capuleti e i Montecchi at Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova; Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria at Teatro Comunale di Bologna; Nina o sia la pazza per amore at Teatro San Carlo di Napoli.

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Tenor

World

Oreste Cosimo in 2016 was selected by Riccardo Muti for his Italian Opera Academy in Ravenna and since then, his career has led him to some of the word’s leading opera houses, including the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, the Los Angeles Opera and the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome.

Among the leading roles that has already debuted, Rodolfo in La bohème (Los Angeles, Festival Puccini, Opéra de Nice, Filarmonico di Verona, Prague, Trieste, Bern), Don Josè in Carmen (Deutsche Oper Berlin, La Coruña), Duca di Mantova in Rigoletto (Modena, Ferrara, Tel Aviv), Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni (Filarmonico di Verona), Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and Nadir in Les Pêcheurs de perles, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor (Aalto Theater Essen, Nice, Dusseldorf, Tel Aviv), Alfredo in La traviata (Tel Aviv, Prague, Berlin), Hoffmann in Les contes d’Hoffmann (Berlin, Tel Aviv).

Particularly gifted for music since he was a child, Oreste Cosimo studied piano and then he devoted himself to singing, and graduated with honors from the “Arrigo Boito” Conservatory in Parma. He debuted at the age of 21 as Ismaele in Nabucco at Teatro Verdi in Busseto. In 2018 he moved to Vienna to study under the guidance of Ramon Vargas.

In the two-years period 2016/2017 he was a member of Accademia del Teatro alla Scala, where he had the chance to study with such artists as Renato Bruson, Gregory Kunde, Luciana D’Intino, Vincenzo Scalera and where he could take part to the productions of La traviata, Nabucco and Hänsel und Gretel on La Scala main stage, working with some of the world leading conductors as Antonio Pappano and Daniel Barendoim. During his period at La Scala he had the opportunity to sing the role of Alfredo alongside Anna Netrebko for an orchestra rehearsal of La Traviata under the baton of Nello Santi.

He distinguished himself in several international singing competition: in 2019 Grand Prix awarded at “Bibigul Tulegenova” Competition in Kazakhstan and among the awarded at Internaional Singing Competition “Ferruccio Tagliavini” in Graz (Austria), in 2013 ha was a finalist at “Voci Verdiane” Competition in Busseto, in 2018 he was a winner of ASLICO Competition, which gave him the opportunity to debut the role of Fenton in Falstaff in the theatres of Opera Lombardia.

His symphonic repertoire includes Puccini’s Messa di gloria, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, Mozart’s Requiem, Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, Dvorak’s Stabat Mater and Rossini’s Stabat Mater.

LATEST PERFORMANCES: Carmen at Wiener Opernsommer; Il tabarro and Gianni Schicchi in Vilnius; La traviata in Melbourne with Opera Australia; Verdi’s Messa da Requiem with Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana; Madama Butterfly in Sydney; La bohéme at Los Angeles Opera and at Palm Beach Opera; Tosca (Cavaradossi debut) in Saarbrücken; La traviata at Terme di Caracalla with Opera di Roma and in Berlin; Carmen in La Coruña and in Berlin;Lucrezia Borgia at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma; Rigoletto and La rondine at Teatro Regio in Turin; La traviata and Fidelio (Florestan) at Deutsche Oper Berlin.

FORTHCOMING PROJECTS: Les contes d’Hoffmann at Hessiches Staatstheater Wiesbaden and at Des Moines Metro Opera; Lucia di Lammermoor in Basel; Faust in Tel Aviv; Roméo et Juliette at Pittsburgh Opera.

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Baritone

World

Born in Catania, he studied in Milan with Carla Castellani. Winner of the international competition “Adriano Belli» at the Teatro Lirico Sperimentale in Spoleto (1993), where he attended the master classes of Mietta Sighele, Roberto Accurso made his operatic debut in Spoleto as Escamillo in La tragédie de Carmen, a new version of the Bizet’s masterpiece staged by Peter Brook and Marius Constant. He also performed in Spoleto as Belcore in L’elisir d’amore.

Since then, he has been invited by major Italian and international opera houses: Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatro alla Scala, Teatro La Fenice, Teatro Verdi di Trieste, Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro Regio di Parma, Arena di Verona, and by international institutions such asTeatre Liceu de Barcelona, Frankfurt Oper, Opéra National de Paris, Bayerische Staatsoper München, De Nederlandse Opera Amsterdam, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie de Bruxelles, Festival d’Aix-en Provence, Palau de les Arts “Reina Sofía” Valencia, Aalto-Musiktheater Essen, New National Theatre Tokyo.

Roberto Accurso has collaborated with such conductors as Marc Albrecht, Bruno Bartoletti, Daniele Callegari, Paolo Carignani, Riccardo Chailly, Alan Curtis, Daniele Gatti, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Alain Lombard, Peter Maag, Zubin Mehta, John Neschling, Daniel Oren, Seiji Ozawa, Evelino Pidò, Michel Plasson, Kazushi Ono, Stefano Ranzani, Wladimir Jurowski, Nicola Rescigno e Carlo Rizzi, and with stage directors such as Daniele Abbado, Henning Brockhaus, Robert Carsen, Filippo Crivelli, Hugo De Ana, Piero Faggioni, Alberto Fassini, Ugo Gregoretti, Lorenzo Mariani, Giancarlo Menotti, Laurent Pelly, Giorgio Pressburger, Luca Ronconi, Carlos Saura, Stefano Vizioli, Peter Mussbach, Jossy Weiler and Franco Zeffirelli.

He performed in such productions as La traviata at Teatro alla Scala for the opening of the season 2013/14; La fanciulla del West at Opéra National de Paris and at Opéra de Montecarlo; Guillaume Tell (Leuthold) and Don Giovanni (Masetto) at Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam; Puccini’s Trittico at La Monnaie Bruxelles; La cenerentola (Dandini) at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma;L’elisir d’amore (Belcore) at Frankfurt Oper; Lucrezia Borgia at Liceu de Barcelona and at Bayerische Staatsoper; La bohème (Schaunard) in Munich with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester and at Festival Puccini in Torre del Lago; Turandot at Aalto-Musiktheater Essen and at Festival Puccini in Torre del Lago; La bohème at the Terme di Caracalla in Rome, Madama Butterfly at Liceu de Barcelona and at the Terme di Caracalla in Rome; La Traviata (Giorgio Germont) at Wexford Opera Festival; Cyrano de Bergerac (Raguenau)at Palau de les Arts de Valencia, alongside Placido Domingo.

His discography includes, among others, I pagliacci along with Andrea Bocelli (Decca), Il barbiere di Siviglia (Sony), a new Decca recording of Andrea Chénier along with Andrea Bocelli, Violeta Urmana and Lucio Gallo, and such DVD releases as Otello at the Liceu in Barcelona along with Josè Cura, Carmen at the Arena di Verona (staged by Franco Zeffirelli), Don Giovanni and Le Nozze di Figaro at De Nationale Opera Amsterdam (Opus Art).

LATEST PERFORMANCES: Les dialogues des carmélites at Teatro Regio in Turin; La traviata at Terme di Caracalla and Lucrezia Borgia with Opera di Roma; Madama Butterfly at Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania; Gianni Schicchi at Teatro Regio in Turin and at Opera di Roma; Rigoletto at Arena di Verona and at Terme di Caracalla; La traviata at Opéra de Monte-Carlo; Rigoletto at Teatro San Carlo di Napoli; Les dialogues des carmélites at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma conducted by Michele Mariotti; La traviata at Arena di Verona; Gianni Schicchi at La Monnaie in Bruxelles; La bohème at Teatro Real de Madrid and at Liceu de Barcelona.

FORTHCOMING PROJECTS: Carmen (Dancairo) in Japan and at Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania.

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Conductor

World excluding Spain, Scandinavia and North America

A regular guest with the world’s greatest orchestras and opera companies, Yves Abel is Principal Conductor of San Diego Opera since the season 2020/21. He was Chief Conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche (NWD) Philharmonie Herford from 2015 to 2020 and from 2005 to 2011 he was Principal Guest Conductor at Deutsche Oper Berlin.

In autumn 2017 he won the Rubies Award of Opera Canada, for his outstanding contributions to opera in Canada.

He has already conducted in the world leading theaters as Metropolitan Opera New York, ROH Covent Garden London, Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro alla Scala, Opéra National de Paris, Gran Teatre del Liceu de Barcelona, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, Rossini Opera Festival di Pesaro, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, New National Theatre Tokyo.

In concerts he has performed with such important orchestras as Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra, Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Orchestre National de Lyon, Toronto and Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Nacional do Porto, Seoul Philharmonic, Jerusalem Symphony, Sinfonica de Navarra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano, Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini Parma.

As Franco-Canadian, he has a particular affinity with the French repertoire and has won significant critical acclaim for his achievements as founder (in 1988) and Music Director of L’Opéra Francais de New York, with whom he has rediscovered rare French operas and also performed the world premiere of Dusapin’s To be Sung. Also for this activity, in 2009 he was awarded the title “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” by the French Government.

His wide opera repertoire includes, among others, Le nozze di Figaro (Deutsche Oper Berlin), Così fan tutte (New National Theatre Tokyo), Il turco in Italia (Montecarlo, Lisbona), Ermione (Dallas Opera), L’italiana in Algeri (Vienna State Opera), Il barbiere di Siviglia (Metropolitan Opera, Opera di Roma), La cenerentola (Rossini Opera Festival), Don Pasquale (Deutsche Oper Berlin), I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Bavarian State Opera), Norma (Bilbao), La traviata (ROH London), Il trovatore (Seattle Opera), Simon Boccanegra (Deutsche Oper Berlin), Otello (Oviedo), Faust di Gounod (Teatro San Carlo di Napoli), Werther (Oviedo), Les contes d’Hoffmann (Metropolitan Opera, Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse), Carmen (Deutsche Oper Berlin, Vienna State Opera), Madama Butterfly (Liceu de Barcelona, Vienna State Opera, Opera di Roma, San Francisco), La bohème (Deutsche Oper Berlin), Dialogues des Carmélites (Deutsche Oper Berlin), Pelléas et Mélisande (Oviedo), Hänsel und Gretel (Opera National de Paris), L’elisir d’amore (Toronto), Les pêcheurs de perles (Liceu de Barcelona), Hamlet (Deutsche Oper Berlin)

His recordings include Thaïs with Renée Fleming and Werther with Andrea Bocelli (Decca), Madama Butterfly with the Philharmonia Orchestra (Chandos), French arias collections – one with Susan Graham and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (Erato) and one with Patricia Petibon and the Orchestra of the Opera National de Lyon (Decca) – and Romantique, romantic arias collection with Elīna Garanča (Deutsche Grammophon).

LATEST PERFORMANCES: La fille du regiment at Royal Ballet & Opera London; La damnation de Faust in concert at Opernhaus Zurich; Le dialogues des carmélites at Teatro Regio di Torino; Carmen at Wiener Staatsoper; Il barbiere di Siviglia in San Diego; Pagliacci, La traviata and Salome in San Diego; Roméo et Juliette at Canadian Opera Company Toronto; Turandot at Savonlinna Opera Festival; Carmen at Royal Opera Stockholm; Norma and Roberto Devereux at Teatro della Maestranza in Sevilla.

FORTHCOMING PROJECTS: Rigoletto and Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah in San Diego; Massenet’s Manon at Metropolitan Opera New York; Pagliacci at Opéra de Nice; Tancredi at Rossini Opera Festival Pesaro; Un ballo in maschera in Tokyo; El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego and Macbeth in San Diego; Cavalleria Rusticana & La voix humaine in Oviedo; Roméo et Juliette at Teatro Regio di Torino; L’elisir d’amore at Royal Ballet & Opera London.

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