STEFANIA BONFADELLI
Stefania Bonfadelli is an Italian operatic soprano.
She began studying pianoforte at eight years of age and singing at fourteen in Verona, and later continued these studies in Paris and Vienna.
Her operatic debut was with I puritani in 1997 at the Vienna State Opera. She also performs in concerts, notably at the Hamburg State Opera, the Bayerische Staatsoper, Oper Frankfurt, the Opéra de Marseille, the Teatro De La Maestranza in Seville, the Concertgebouw and Netherlands Opera in Amsterdam, the Vienna State Opera, the Michigan Opera Theatre in Detroit, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, the Scala in Milan, the Teatro Regio, Turin, the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, and the Teatro Verdi in Trieste.
MARIELLA DEVIA
Mariella Devia is an Italian soprano, well known for performing many roles in the bel canto repertoire. Born in Chiusavecchia, Devia trained at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome with Iolanda Magnoni. She made her stage debut in Treviso, as Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, in 1973, and quickly sang throughout Italy, making her debut at La Scala in Milan in 1987, as Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi.
On the international scene, she appeared at the Metropolitan Opera, as Lucia, and Carnegie Hall, as Lakmé, in 1979, and made her debut at the Paris Opera and the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 1987, and at the Royal Opera House in London, in 1988.
She was a regular at the Pesaro Festival and at the Festival della Valle d'Itria in Martina Franca, where she won great acclaim in the exhumation of long neglected operas by Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini and other bel canto composers. She is also admired in Mozart operas, especially as Constanze in Abduction from the Seraglio, as well as Verdi's Gilda and Violetta.
ANTONIO GRECO
Antonio Greco began with choral singing at seven years old with monsignor Dante Caifa, already Chapel Master at Cremona Cathedral, whereof he subsequently became assistant. He graduated in Piano at Conservatorio Campiani in Mantova, in Choral music and Choral conducting with Domenico Zingaro at Conservatorio Verdi in Milan, and he graduated with honors achieving the Academic Diploma in Renaissance Polyphony – 2nd level – with the guidance of Diego Fratelli, at Conservatorio Schipa in Lecce. He studied composition with Marco Stassi, Nicola Evangelisti and Paolo Arcà; orchestra conducting with Lorenzo Parigi, Ludmil Descev, Piero Bellugi, Julius Kalmar; choral conducting with Domenico Zingaro and Roberto Gabbiani, singing with Elisa Turlà, following the Voicecraft E.V.T.S. approach by Joe Estill. He studied ancient consecutive praxis and ornamentation with Roberto Gini; harpsichord and continue bass with Giovanni Togni; counterpoint and renaissance theory with Diego Fratelli; he went deep into the madrigal repertory by Monteverde with Gabriel Garrido and the cantata repertory by J. S. Bach with Michael Radulescu. He has been Umberto Benedetti Michelangeli and Amedeo Monetti assistant during the orchestra vocational training courses “Cremona città d’arte”. He tought Counterpoint and Choral conducting at Scuola d’organo M. A. Ingegneri in Cremona; he collaborated with Voicecraft Italy teaching Ear Training; he is professor of Theory, solfeggio and music dictation and Choral conducting and choral repertory for Music Education at Istituto Pareggiato Jacopo Peri in Reggio Emilia. In 1993 he established the Costanzo Porta Choir where he won several awards in national and international competitions, and took part to important concert events such as Festival dei due Mondi in Spoleto, Ravenna Festival, Festival Monteverdi in Cremona, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Music and poetry event in San Maurizio organized by the Società del Quartetto from Milan, cooperating with instrumental groups such as Accademia Bizantina, I Virtuosi italiani, Orchestra Barocca in Venice, Ensemble Elyma, Ensemble La Risonanza, Orchestra Cantelli from Milan. With the Costanzo Porta Choir he partecipated to Baroque opera productions, hosted in some of the most important Italian theatres (Maggio musicale fiorentino, Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, Comunale di Ferrara, Dante Alighieri di Ravenna, Grande di Brescia, ecc.).
Since 2006 he started a cooperation with As.Li.Co and Circuito Lirico Lombardo – whereof he was appointed Choirmaster – taking part to the productions of Don Giovanni, Lucia di Lammermoor, Madama Butterfly, Così fan tutte, Macbeth, Turandot, Don Pasquale, Falstaff, Carmen, Rigoletto, Nona di Beethoven, Bohème, Pagliacci, Figlia del reggimento, Norma, Medea, Sonnambula, Flauto magico, Cenerentola, Traviata. In 2010 he conducted the Orchestra Internazionale d’Italia and the Slovakian Choir of Bratislava in the sacred production during the Festival della Valle d’Itria, with repeat performances in several cathedral of Apulia, ed Diego Fasolis asked him to cooperate, as the coach, with the Swiss Radio Choir to perform the Messa di Alessandro Scarlatti at S.ta Maria della Passione in Milan. For th 2011 edition of the Festival della Valle d’Itria è conducted “Il novello Giasone” by Francesco Cavalli/Alessandro Stradella, first world performance in modern times, with the direction of Juliette Deschamps.
SHERMAN LOWE
Singing teacher and vocal pedagogue, Sherman Lowe is one of the most sought expert in the European lyrical sector. He studied essentially vocal research, receiving a famous Fulbright Foundation scholarship to research and study teaching techniques in Italy. He often give lectures and conferences on voice and has been often invited to give masterclass both privately and in school, including the theatres of Maggio Musicale in Florence, Teatro Comunale in Bologna, La Fenice in Venice, Geneva, Hamburg, Augusta, the Ticino Festival in Lugano, Università di Bologna and Accademia della Voce in Turin. Now Mr Lowe teaches in Venice. His studio is full of international singers coming from all over the world, most of whom won important competitions and sing main roles in theatres and concert halls all over the world. He graduated at North Carolina School of the Arts, University of North Carolina. He continued his formal education at Accademia Chigiana in Siena and at the HochshuIe Mozarteum in Salzburg. In New York he studied with well-known singing teachers such as Daniel Ferro, Armen Boyajian, Shirlee Emmons, Leyna Gabriele and Randolph Mickelson. Furthermore he improved his repertory with Hans Hotter, Walter Berry, Simon Estes, Kim Borg, Licia Albanese, Graham Johnson and Geoffrey Parsons. As a bass-baritone he won international competitions, he sang in a plurality of theatres and concert halls in America and Europe, collaborating with the most famous conductors and singers around the world.
ROBERTA MAMELI
Born in Rome, Roberta Mameli, graduated in singing at the Conservatoire “Nicolini” in Piacenza and in violin at the Scuola Civica di Cremona. She attended masterclasses with Konrad Richter, Bernadette Manca di Nissa, Ugo Benelli, Claudio Desderi, Enzo Dara.
She made her debut at a very young age singing Mercury in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas at the Opera Theatre in Alessandria, under the baton of Edoardo Müller and the direction of Graziella Sciutti.
Her concert repertoire ranges from baroque to 20th century music, including: Vivaldi’s Gloria, Fauré’s Requiem, Exultate jubilate, and C-minor Mass by Mozart, Laudate pueri by Caldara, Matthäus-Passion and B-minor Mass by Bach, Messiah, Dixit Dominus and Laudate Pueri by Handel, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Orff’s Carmina Burana.
She is regularly invited in prestigious theatres and music halls such as: Konzerthaus in Vienna, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Cité de la Musique in Paris, Velodrom Theatre in Regensburg, Teatro Ponchielli in Cremona, Teatro La Pergola in Florence, Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Teatro Sociale and Teatro Bibiena in Mantua, Teatro Comunale in Bologna, Teatro Municipale in Piacenza, Teatro Comunale in Modena, Teatro Comunale in Ferrara, Teatro Dal Verme in Milan. She sang under the baton of important conductors such as: Claudio Abbado, Umberto Benedetti Michelangeli, Fabio Bonizzoni, Filippo Maria Bressan, Daniele Callegari, Claudio Cavina, Enzo Dara, Corrado Rovaris, Tiziano Severini, Jeffrey Tate.
Much in demand in the baroque repertoire, Roberta Mameli has worked with many baroque ensembles, such as Ensemble Sacro & Profano, Aurora Ensemble, Bizzarrie Armoniche, L’Arte dell’Arco, La Risonanza, Ensemble Inégal, La Venexiana, Accademia Bizantina, performing in many festivals all around Europe: Styriarte Graz, Grandezze e Meraviglie Festival in Modena, Freiburg Festival, Regensburg Festival, La Folle Journée in Nantes, Bruges Festival, Utrecht Festival, Dortmund Festival, Leipzig, Postdam, Hannover, Festival de la Chaise-Dieu, Festival de Royaumont, Les Heures des Bernardins Festival in Paris, Trigonale in Cologne, Fränkische Sommer in Nuremberg, International Festival in Santander.
Among her past engagements, it is worth mentioning: Paisiello’s Il fanatico in berlina in Mantua, Enzo Dara directing; Mozart’s La finta giardiniera (Sandrina) by Mozart in Modena, Genoa and Saint Malo; Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda and Il Ballo delle Ingrate by Monteverdi at the Teatro Ponchielli in Cremona and at the Regensburg Festival; Cherubini’s Ifigenia in Aulide by Cherubini with the Orchestra Arturo Toscanini under the baton of Tiziano Severini in Parma and Modena; Stradella’s San Giovanni Battista (Herodiade) with Enrico Gatti at the festivals of Utrecht, Viterbo and La Chaise-Dieu; Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea (Nerone) with Claudio Cavina in Hannover, Regensburg, Paris (Cité de la musique) and Milan; Orfeo ed Euridice (Proserpina) by Fux with Jordi Savall at the Styriarte Festival in Graz; Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo (Prologo, Musica, Euridice) at the Santander Festival.
Future plans include:, L’Incoronazione di Poppea (Nerone) in Perigueux and Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (Minerva) in Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Paris (Cité de la musique) and Regensburg, Cavalli’s Erismena with La Venexiana and Claudio Cavina; Pergolesi’s L’Olimpiade (Aristea) by Pergolesi in Krakow with Accademia Bizantina and Ottavio Dantone; Handel’s Ariodante (Ginevra) at the Händel-Festspiele in Karlsruhe under Michael Hofstetter.
She recorded for labels such as Bongiovanni, Pardon, Nibiru, Glossa and RAI 3. Her recent discography includes: Monteverdi’s Madrigals and L’incoronazione di Poppea with La Venexiana (Glossa), Zelenka’s Il diamante with Ensemble Inégal (Nibiru) and the solo album “’Round M: Monteverdi meets Jazz”.
ETTORE PAPADIA
Pianist and conductor. He studied Orchestra Conducting with Rino Marrone, Composition with Ottavio De Lillo and Massimo Parente, Lyrical Singing with Anna Vandi; Piano with Benedetto Lupo, completing his studies at Conservatorio Statale di Musica “Niccolò Piccinni” in Bari with honors. He also got the Second level of the Academic Diploma with full marks and honors. He improved in playing the Piano with Marcella Crudeli, Marisa Somma, Michele Marvulli, Sergio Fiorentino, Adam Wibrowskj; in Orchestra Conducting with Ivàn Kohukàroff, in chamber music with Romeo Tudorache.
He won thirteen national and international competitions in music performance (such as the first place at Bèla Bartòk in 1989 and at Rassegna Internazionale in Pescara in 1993) and he was named a finalist at the International Competition for Orchestra Conductors in Besançon (France), since he was fifteen years until today he continually performed in solo and orchestra conducting concerts, in chamber music ensemble and as piano accompanist. He conducted and/or played with the following orchestras: Sinfonica di Bari, Collegium Musicum, Filarmonica Marchigiana, Sofia State Orchestra and Burgas State Orchestra (Bulgaria), Lirico-Sinfonica “Piccinni”, G.C.E. strings (Young European Concertists), Magna Grecia, Internazionale d’Italia, Tirana Radio-Television Philarmonic, the Orchestra of Academy of Arts in Tirana, Sinfonica della Provincia di Matera, Conservatories in Bari Matera and Monopoli, American Landmark Festival (New York), Camerata Strumentale Barsentum, Euphonium orchestra in Rome, Filarmonica di Apolonia; he performed about 90 operas, some as a conductor others at the piano, among them: Verdi (Rigoletto, La Traviata); Puccini (Tosca, Bohème, Manon Lescaut); Donizetti (L’Elisir d’amore); Rossini e Paisiello (Il barbiere di Siviglia); Mozart (Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni); Cimarosa (Il matrimonio segreto); Massenet (Werther, Manon); Gluck (Orfeo ed Euridice); Piazzola (La vita di Maria) etc. He performed at the piano uncut lieder by Wolf, Schumann, R. Strauss, Brahms, Liszt, Wagner, Schubert, Duparc Cycle Melodies and Gounod, Xenakis (melodies on Medèe), Meyerbeer “Gli amori di Teolinda”, Gomes (melodies) and, in first performance ever, he recorded the piano paraphrases by Niedermeye based on operas. He performed in Italy, i.a. Bologna (Amici della Musica, Goethe Institut), Volterra, Florence, Matera (Teatro Duni), Osimo (Teatro La Nuova Fenice), Ancona, Rome (Teatro dei Satiri, auditorium S. Priscilla), Salerno, Caserta, Senigallia (Amici della Musica), Napoli, Bari (Kursaal), Ascoli (Teatro Ventidio-Basso), Viterbo (Teatro Comunale), and others. Abroad he performed at New York (Theodore Roosewelth Auditorium and Green Auditorium), Budva (ex Iugoslavia), Vienna and Graz (Austria), Sofia and Burgas (Bulgaria), Tirana and Fier (Albania), Osaka and Tskuba (Japane), at the prestigious New Hall. He was critically acclaimed by Paolo Isotta - Corriere della Sera – and Francis Heilbuth - New York Times -, he is the preparer of sheet music and an esteemed music partner of important performers in the lyrical sector and official pianist of several and relevant lyrical competitions in Europe; since 1993 he is the répétiteur at Festival della Valle d’Itria in Martina Franca, performing every year in concerts; since 1996 he teaches at Accademia Lirica Internazionale in Osimo. He recorded for RAI, labels like Dynamic, Bongiovanni and Telemaco, as well as some private American networks. In 2009 and 2011 he gave a Masterclass on Lyrical Opera at the “Ionian University” in Corfù (Greece) and in 2012 at the State “Escuèla Sùperior de Canto” in Madrid. He teaches piano at the Music Conservatory “Nino Rota” in Monopoli.
ALESSANDRO PATALINI
Following to his graduation with honors in classical studies at high school, he graduated at University in Modern Letters, under the guidance of Professor Gallarati (History of Melodrama) with a thesis entitled “La voce del baritono, dagli intermezzi settecenteschi all’opera romantica” (The baritone voice, from the intermezzi of the eighteenth century to romantic opera). After some years of professional experiences started in 1986, also winning the International Competition Toti dal Monte in 1992, he gave impetus to his artistic career as a baritone, performing starring roles in relevant theatres such as Massimo in Palermo, Regio in Parma, Comunale in Bologna, Florence, Treviso and Rovigo, R. Valli in Reggio Emilia, Chiabrera in Savona, Rossini in Lugo, Festivals as the Rossini Opera Festival, the Festival Mascagni in Livorno, the Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte in Montepulciano, and performing in co-starring roles in prestigious productions (including season premieres), in various of the main Lyrical foundations and tradition theatres in Italy (the “Opera” in Rome, “Carlo Felice” in Genova, “G. Verdi” in Trieste, “V. Bellini” in Catania, etc) and abroad (Opera in Montecarlo, Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo, etc). He had the chance to sing with conductors such as Gavazzeni, Bartoletti, Maag, Curtis, Gatti, Carignani, Rovaris, De Bernart, Giovaninetti, Guingal, Gelmetti, under the guide of directors as Strehler, Pizzi, Fassini, Scaparro, Bolognini, Savary, Tiezzi, Esposito. His interests then have been more focused on studying and teaching lyrical singing. For this reason he attended the Higher Education Course of Vocology at Università di Bologna, directed by prof F. Fussi, at the end of which his thesis, focused on the relation between breathing and singing, won the first prize at the award on artistic vocology - I Premio Vocologia Artistica 2007 – educational area, received during the 5th International Congress “Voceartistica”, when he was allowed to present a dissertation on the breathing and singing method concerning his studies and correlating the traditional indications of the Italian “old school” with the more recent scientific achievements of the respiratory physiology schools. Afterward he guided a clinical research, monitored by Professor Fussi, from the Audio Phoniatry Center at the Spoleto Hospital, and by Doctor Meli, president of the Italian Association of Global Postural Re-education, that scientifically confirmed the validity of the breathing and singing method him applied due to the positive effects crosschecked on a group of 12 singers. Thank to this, he was appointed Advisor for the Lyrical singing problems at the Audio Phoniatry Center at the Spoleto Hospital. The rich research and diffusion work concerning the physiological and conscious approach on respiration and vocality, made him being regularly invited as docent at the Higher Education Course on “Artistic Vocology” at Università di Bologna, managed by prof. F. Fussi, and taking part as a relator to V, VI and VII Convegno Internazionale “La Voce Artistica”, Festival della Salute della Regione Toscana 2010, and the congress “Lucca in voce” in 2008 and in 2009. The artistic activity includes several seminars and masterclasses for singers at various foundations, such as Fondazione Pergolesi Spontini in Jesi, the Capri Opera Festival, the Associazione Cantare l’Opera in Roma, the Associazione Musicale Reggina Domenico Scarlatti, the Accademia Harmonica in Modena.
PAOLA PITTALUGA
Mezzo-soprano, she studied with the soprano G. Ravazzi at Conservatorio N. Paganini in Genova improving afterward with the mezzosoprano F. Mattiucci, winning several scholarships. She was at Festival “Musica in scena” in Aglié (To) and at “Festival di Musica” in Imperia. She won national and international competitions, such as “A. Lazzari” in Genova, ”Pavia lirica” and the 34° Concorso nazionale “G. Verdi” in Parma, winning the first place and in the next edition the role in “Messa da Requiem” by Verdi. In 1992 she won the competition “A. Antignani” in Amneris role for the “Aida” casting at Teatro dell’Opera in Rome. In 1997 she took part to Concerto della Notte di Natale at Teatro dell’Opera Carlo Felice in Genova. She sang during the “Festa della famiglia” at S. Pietro square in Rome in the presence of pope John Paul II on Eurovision broadcast. She performed in various operas for sacred music, among them “Stabat Mater” by Pergolesi, Rossini, Vivaldi, Scarlatti; “Petit Messe Solennelle” by Rossini; “Requiem” by Mozart and Verdi, the 9th Symphony by L.V.Beethoven. She also recorded for Dongiovanni record label “Stabat Mater” by G. Astorga and by G.B. Bononcini conducted by M. E. Lavacchini Velardi. She recorded for Discantica ’75 record label “Sacrae Cantiones” by the contemporary author M.Fera. She debuted in roles such as Marcellina in “Nozze di Figaro”, Suzuki in “Madama Butterfly”, Tisbe in “Cenerentola” and Berta in “Il barbiere di Siviglia” at Teatro dell’ Opera Giocosa in Savona and the Princess of Bouillon role in “Adriana Lecouvreur” at Teatro Civico in Tortona. She also performed in various roles such as Santuzza in “Cavalleria Rusticana“, Emilia in “Otello”, Maddalena in “Rigoletto”, Fenena in “Nabucco”, Mercedes in “Carmen” and Eboli in a selection of “Don Carlo” for the Associazione Culturale Arte in Scena in Alessandria. She debuted in Cleopatra role in the baroque opera “Giulio Cesare” by Handel conducted by M. Luca Franco Ferrari whereby the soprano Renata Scotto participated as a sponsor. She sang in the First Performance ever in modern times in scenic form of “Serenata a due voci “Marc’Antonio and Cleopatra” by J.A. Hasse with the sopranist Angelo Manzotti. She performed in Text at the first world modern performance of the oratorio “L’Empietà delusa” by G. A. Costa, which was recorded with the Nuova Era International. She sang in “Tannhauser” by Wagner at Teatro dell’Opera Carlo Felice in Genova and performed in the italian first performance of the Opera “Jacob Lenz” by W. Rihm at Laboratorio lirico in Alessandria. She just finished a tour in Swizterland where she sang in Psaume Synphonique “Le Roi David” by Arthur Honegger for the music association Musique des Lumieres of Jura with the European Union choir in Bruxelles under the conduction of M. A. Facundo. She participated to first world performance of the oratorio “Entierro” by G. A. Brusasco which will be published on DVD. She carries out an intense concertistic activity both in Italy and abroad offering a repertory that goes from baroque music, through operistic to contemporary repertory. She has also an intense teaching activity. She teaches “Vocal technique and sound consciousness” at “Scuola dell’Opera Italiana” at Teatro Comunale in Bologna, she is a singing teacher at Oratorio San Filippo Neri in Genova and President and Artistic Director of the music cultural Association “OPERALABORATORIO” in Genova.
SONIA PRINA
Sonia Prina studied at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan where she earned degrees in trumpet and voice. In 1994 she was admitted to the Teatro alla Scala’s vocal Academy for young singers and by 1997 she had begun performing operas with a special interest in Baroque repertoire. Her rare contralto voice quickly came to notice on the international lyric scene. Among the highlights in her career in the last few years we cite: title role of Orlando at Sidney Opera House; Clarice in Rossini’s La Pietra di Paragone at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris; Rinaldo in Handel’s Rinaldo at Teatro alla Scala in Milan staged by Pierluigi Pizzi and conducted by Ottavio Dantone; Bradamante in Alcina and Cornelia in Giulio Cesare at Munich Opera House under the baton of Ivor Bolton; Ascanio in Mozart’s Ascanio in Alba at Salzburg Festival with Adam Fischer. Sonia Prina has a particular fondness for Handel and has sung the title roles in these operas: Tamerlano in Munich conducted by Ivor Bolton; Giulio Cesare in Genoa under the baton of Diego Fasolis and she repeated the role in Lille with Emmanuelle Haïm staged by David McVicar; Orlando in Ravenna staged by Robert Carsen under the baton of Ottavio Dantone; Amadigi at Teatro San Carlo in Naples under the baton of Rinaldo Alessandrini and title role in Silla in Rome with Fabio Biondi. Besides, among her important recent engagements, have been Bradamante in Handel’s Alcina staged by Robert Carsen at the Opéra de Paris; Polinesso in Ariodante at San Francisco Opera House and Teatro Liceu in Barcelone; Bertarido in Handel’s Rodelinda at the Barbican and in Vienna Konzerthaus.
Other noteworthy performances have been in Monteverdi operas in the role of Ottone in L’Incoronazione di Poppea in Bologna and Penelope in Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria in Cremona and recently she performed Messaggera and Speranza with William Christie in Madrid. Under the baton of Jordi Savall she sang in Vivaldi’s Farnace in Madrid staged by Emilio Sagi and in La Senna Festeggiante in Bordeaux. In the traditional opera repertoire we mention: Isabella in Italiana in Algeri in Torino; Rosina in Barbiere di Siviglia at Teatro alla Scala with R. Chailly; Smeton in Anna Bolena in Bergamo; L’Enfant et les Sortilèges at Teatro San Carlo in Naples. She performs in recitals all over Europe, in South America and Japan, with important baroque orchestras such as Accademia Bizantina, Il Giardino Armonico and the Ensemble Matheus. Among her more important recordings have been: La Senna festeggiante and L’Olimpiade by Vivaldi with R. Alessandrini (Naïve); Monteverdi’s Orfeo and Handel’s Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno with E. Haim (Emi/Virgin); Handel’s Lotario for BMG and Rodelinda for Deutsche Grammophon with Alan Curtis; in DVD projects we cite Ascanio in Alba in Salzburg Festival and La Pietra di Paragone in Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Her new solo cd Vivaldi’s Arie Ritrovate with Accademia Bizantina for the french label Naïve has been released worldwide. Among her future engagements are: Orlando in Vivaldi’s Orlando Furioso in Frankfurt Opera House; title role in Handel’s Rinaldo in Glyndebourne; Amastre in Handel’s Serse in Houston; title role of Handel’s Orlando in Théâtre des Champs Elysée in Paris and in Lille; Ratmir in Glynka’s Ruslan and Lyudmila for the historical reopening night of the Bolshoi in Moscow; Smeton in Anna Bolena at Teatro Liceu in Barcelone.
VINCENZO RANA
He graduated in piano with honors at Conservatorio “N. Piccinni” in Bari under the guidance of M° Giuseppe Binetti. Afterward he studied with Rodolfo Caporali, Pierluigi Camicia, Aldo Ciccolini, Michele Marvulli and Michele Campanella. He has been rewarded in several competitions such as “Cata ed Ernesto Monti” in Trieste, “Premio Rendano” in Rome, “E. Porrino” in Cagliari, Ciem in Geneva, he performed in solo recitals and orchestra concerts around Italy and abroad. For more than twenty years the solo activity has come alongside the piano accompanist and musical stage director activity for several Tradition Theatres and Festivals: Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, with which he has performed also in tour in Egypt (Cairo) with “Aida” and in France (Lille) with “Madama Butterfly”, Teatro V. Emanuele in Messina, Teatro Verdi in S. Severo, Teatro Cilea in Reggio Calabria, Politeama Greco in Lecce, Festival della Valle d’Itria in Martina Franca (Ta), Wexford Opera Festival in Irland.
He collaborates at piano in a plurality of star concerts such as Katia Ricciarelli (also in tv shows - Rai and Mediaset), Andrea Bocelli, Giuseppe Sabbatini and Nicola Martinucci. He performed “Tosca” and “Madama Butterfly” in a concert in an Emirates tour (around Abu Dhabi and Dubai). He took care of an ancient score (1777) review of a work by G. Insanguine for the Conservatorio “N. Rota” in Monopoli; furthermore, concerning the vocal repertory as well, he recorded a cd “Ricordo di Musicisti Pugliesi” and several “Petite Messe Solennelle” by Rossini.
He teaches “Score Reading” at Conservatorio “T. Schipa” in Lecce.
VITTORIO TERRANOVA
The Italian born opera star Vittorio Terranova began his music studies at Liceo Musicale Vincenzo Bellini in Catania, Sicily and later graduated from the “Giuseppe Verdi” Conservatoire in Milan. After winning the first prize of the international vocal competition AS.LI.CO in Milan, he made his début in the role of Arturo Talbot from Vincenzo Bellini’s “I Puritani” at Teatro Sociale in Mantua, Italy.
This was the beginning of his international singing career that brought him to the most prestigious opera theater stages in the world – New York, Paris, Milan, Rome, Madrid, Graz, Wien, Tokyo etc. The international opera star Vittorio Terranova continued his education in the sphere of Paleography and Musicology in the University of Pavia, Cremona.
Since 2001 Vittorio Terranova is a professor at the Milan’s Conservatoire “Giuseppe Verdi”. The internationally renowned vocal pedagogue is a constant Guest dozent in “Universitá College” in Osaka and at the Academy of Music Musashino in Tokio since 1993. He also leads vocal master classes in “Academia Internazionale di Canto Lirico Katia Ricciarelli”, as well as in Deitschlandsberg (Austria), where he holds the position of an Artistic Director of the “Academia del Belcanto I.S.O.” and of the International Competition “Feruccio Tagliavini” Among his most eminent students are Stefano Cifolelli, Carlo Ventre, Mihajlo Arenski, Rafael Cavero, Lee Kwang-Keun and not to forget – José Cura.
