TOSCA
Hui He
Hui He is one of the most requested opera opera singer in the world. She debuted as Aida in Shanghai Grand Theater, she burst into the international music scene in with her performance as the title role in Puccini’s Tosca at Teatro Regio in Parma. Hui He completed her musical and vocal studies in China and Italy. In 2000 she won the Second Prize at the Operalia Competition in Los Angeles, while in 2002 Hui He won First Prize at the Voci Verdiane in Busseto. Since her breakout performance in 2002, Hui He has sung at most of the world’s leading theaters, including the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Opernhaus Zürich, Opéra Bastille in Paris, Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Teatro Real Madrid, Théâtre de la Monnaie of Bruxelles, Liryc Opera in Chicago and Arena di Verona. When she debuted Madama Butterfly at the Volksoper Wien, Wiener Zeitung described her interpretation as “The best Butterfly you could wish for”. Hui He is one of the most popular Aida of our time, defined by critics as “the reference interpreter of this role” (L’Opera) and “Hui He’s Aida is an epiphany” (Paolo Isotta). Corriere della Sera about her Aida at La Scala wrote “Aida seduces La Scala with Hui He’s voice”. Engagements for the 2016/17 season include Amelia in Un ballo in maschera at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and Zürich Opera, Tosca at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Festival Puccini, Madama Butterfly at the Teatro Real de Madrid, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Den Norske Opera, and Dallas Opera. In the 2015/16 season, Hui He sang in Madama Butterfly at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the title role in Aida at the Arena di Verona and Teatro Verdi di Salerno in Italy, in Tosca at Deutsche Oper Berlin and Semperoper Dresden, Leonora in Il trovatore at Opera National de Paris and Arena di Verona, and Leonora in La forza del destino at Teatro Filarmonico di Verona and Staatstheater Wiesbaden. Engagements for the 2014/15 season included Madama Butterfly at Deutsche Oper Berlin, Aida at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Arena di Verona and National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Tosca at Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Semperoper Dresden, Arena di Verona and Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, and Leonora in Il Trovatore at Chorégies d’Orange in France. Hui He’s engagements for the 2013/14 season included Aida at Teatro alla Scala and Arena di Verona, the title role in La Gioconda at Deutsche Oper Berlin, Leonora at Theatro Municipal de São Paulo, Madama Butterfly at the Metropolitan Opera and Den Norske Opera, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera at Arena di Verona. In 2018 she sang Aida in Beijing, Madama Butterfly in Zurich, Tosca in Dresden and in Torre del Lago, she made her role and house debut as Elvira in Ernani at the Opéra de Marseille and she returned at the Berlin Deutsch Oper for the second time singing La Gioconda. At the beginning of 2019 she sang the same role for her house debut at La Monnaie de Bruxelles. In march 2019 she made her role debut as Adriana Lecouvreur at the Teatro Filarmonico di Verona. She sang Aida and Tosca at Arena di Verona to celebrate her 15th anniversary, making an historic record as the first female singer to have sung at the Arena di Verona for 15 years no stop, after her return in Dresda in Tosca and her role debuts ad Turandot at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and as Mimì in La Bohème at the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago. In Summer 2019 she made her debut at Salzburg Festival with Adriana Lecouvreur, in a performance described by critics as “one of the best of all-time” (Klassik begeistert) and “the audience acclaimed her great performance [...] she has a warm voice and a beautiful technique and she died with intentisy” (Le Monde). In 2019/20 season she sang Turandot at the Dubai Opera, she has returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Madama Butterfly, for 10 performances acclaimed by public and critic, every night she was welcomed at the curtain calls with a standing ovation. After that she came back to Shanghai for her Chinese debut as Turandot and an acclaimed China’s concert tour. After the lockdown she was the first opera singer to perform in a concert with audience in Italy, on June 15, in the fascinating Basilica di San Zeno, in Verona. Later on Summer 2020 she sang two excepts from Madama Butterfly at Arena di Verona, in occasion of the Puccini Gala on August 22. In season 2020/2021 after returning at the Deutsche Oper Berlin with two performances as La Gioconda, she made her debut in Catania on October 15, with a special recital entitled Malinconia for the Bellini Festival and she hosted a masterclass at the Paride Venturi International Academy of Opera (October 20-22). After this she returned to her homeland for a Concert tour in the biggest concert halls of the country, such as Beijing (New Year’s Concert), Shanghai, Guangzhou and Suzhou, where with the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Maestro Xu Zhong, she sang a German program that included Isolde Liebestod from Wagner’s Tristand und Isolde and her debuts in Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder. Critics defined this performance as “glorious, with exceptional magnetism”. In April 2021 she made her debut as painter at the World Art Dubai, where she exhibited thirteen paintings. In next months she will debut in Lisbon with Verdi’s Ernani at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, she will come back in China to sing in Shanghai’s Grand Theatre Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci, making her debut as Nedda. In China she will make also her traditional Concert tour. Back in Europe, she will be Tosca at the Hamburg Staatsoper and at the Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari. Among all the important engagements of 2022, it should be noted her role and house-debut as Verdi’s Alzira at the ABAO Bilbao. In addition: in 2019 Sony Classic published the album Verdi Opera Arias recorded with Orchestra and Chorus of Arena di Verona. In the same year the docufilm about Hui He’s life (Hui He: a soprano from the Silk Road directed by Andrea Prandstraller and Niccolò Bruna, produced by RAI, Agnese Fontana, Rosario Di Girolamo, Duan Peng, Fan Weidong) was presented at the Biografilm Festival of Bologna and at Rome Festival Cinema d’iDea after the successful presentations in China and at the Venice Film Festival. In 2017 the journalist Melanie Ho published a book about the life of the Chinese soprano, Journey to the West - He Hui: A chinese soprano in the world of Italian Opera, translated this year in Italian with the title Dilegua, o notte! Tramontate, stelle! He Hui. Un soprano cinese nel mondo dell'opera lirica.
Tosca
Nella stagione 2013/2014 è stata Aida al Teatro alla Scala e all’Arena di Verona, La Gioconda alla Deutsche Oper di Berlino, Leonora del Trovatore al Theatro Municipal de Sao Paulo, Madama Butterfly a The Metropolitan Opera e alla Norske Opera di Oslo, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera all’Arena di Verona. Nel 2018 ha cantato Aida a Pechino, Madama Butterfly a Zurigo, Tosca a Dresda e Torre del Lago, ha fatto il suo debutto come Elvira in Ernani all’Opéra di Marsiglia ed è tornata per la seconda volta ad interpretare La Gioconda alla Deutsche Oper di Berlino. All’inizio del 2019 ha cantato nuovamente lo stesso ruolo, per il suo debutto al Teatro de La Monnaie di Bruxelles. Nel marzo 2019 ha fatto il suo debutto di ruolo in Adriana Lecouvreur al Teatro Filarmonico di Verona. Ha cantato Aida e Tosca all’Arena di Verona per celebrare i suoi 15 anni consecutivi in anfiteatro, compiendo uno storico record, come unica interprete femminile di ruoli principali ad aver cantato in Arena per quindici anni senza interruzioni. Questo dopo essere stata Tosca a Dresda e aver debuttato Turandot al Teatro Comunale di Bologna e Mimì ne La Bohème al Festival Puccini di Torre del Lago. Nell’estate 2019 ha fatto anche il suo debutto al Festival di Salisburgo con Adriana Lecouvreur, in una recita definita dalla critica come “una delle migliori di tutti i tempi” (Klassik Begeistert) e ancora “il pubblico ha acclamato la sua grande interpretazione […] ha una voce calda, una bellissima tecnica e la scena della morte era intensa” (Le Monde). Nella stagione 2019/2020 ha fatto il suo ritorno al MET come Madama Butterfly, per dieci recite acclamate da pubblico e critica, ogni sera accolta ai saluti finali da una standing ovation. Dopo queste recite è tornata a Shanghai per il suo debutto cinese nei panni di Turandot. Dopo il lockdown è stata la prima cantante lirica ad esibirsi in un concerto con il pubblico in Italia, il 15 giugno, nella suggestiva cornice della Basilica di San Zeno, a Verona. Durante la stessa estate ha cantato due estratti da Madama Butterfly in occasione del Puccini Gala all’Arena di Verona, il 22 agosto 2020. La stagione 2020/2021, dopo averla vista tornare alla Deutsche Oper di Berlino con due recite de La Gioconda, ha visto il suo debutto a Catania il 15 ottobre 2020 con un recital intitolato Malinconia al Bellini Festival, e l’impegno alla Paride Venturi International Academy of Opera di Bologna nelle vesti di insegnante per una masterclass (20-22 ottobre 2020). Tra la fine del 2020 e l’inizio del 2021 ha tenuto un’acclamatissima tournée di concerti in Cina, visitando le più prestigiose sale da concerto del paese, tra cui Pechino (New Year’s Concert) , Shanghai, Guangzhou e Suzhou, dove ha cantato con grande successo di pubblico e critica con la Suzhou Symphony Orchestra diretta dal Maestro Xu Zhong un programma interamente tedesco, che includeva il Liebestod di Isolde da Tristan und Isolde di Wagner e i Rückert Lieder (debutto) di Mahler. Nell’aprile 2021 ha fatto il suo debutto assoluto come artista pittorica, esponendo tredici dei suoi dipinti alla prestigiosa fiera d’arte World Art Dubai. I prossimi mesi la vedranno debuttare al Teatro Nacional de São Carlos con Ernani, e tornare in Cina per Cavalleria rusticana e Pagliacci (debutto come Nedda) a Shanghai, oltre ad una attesissima tournée di concerti nelle concert hall più importanti del paese. Tra ottobre e dicembre 2021 sarà Tosca all’Hamburg Staatsoper e al Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari. In aggiunta: nel 2019 Sony Classic ha pubblicato l’album Verdi Opera Arias, registrato con l’Orchestra e il Coro dell’Arena di Verona. Nello stesso anno il docufilm sulla vita di Hui He (Hui He: un soprano dalla via della seta diretto da Andrea Prandstraller e Niccolò Bruna, prodotto dalla RAI, Agnese Fontana, Rosario Di Girolamo, Duan Peng, Fan Weidong) è stato presentato al Biografilm Festival di Bologna e al Festival Cinema d’iDea dopo le apprezzate presentazioni in Cina e al Festival del Cinema di Venezia. Nel 2017 la giornalista Melanie Ho ha pubblicato un libro sulla vita del soprano cinese intitolato Journey to the West - He Hui: A Chinese soprano in the world of Italian Opera, tradotto quest’anno in italiano con il titolo Dilegua, o notte! Tramontate, stelle! He Hui. Un soprano cinese nel mondo dell’opera lirica.
Hector Lopez began his musical studies in the national conservatory of music in Mexico City as cellist, with Sona Poshotian and saxophon with Joel David Katz, singing with Francisco Araiza, Irma Gonzalez. He also studied conducting in the conservatory. He received a scholarship from SIVAM, which allowed him to work with Maestros as Renata Scotto, Enrique Patrón, Teresa Rodriguez, Nico Castel, Denise Massé, Joan Dornemann . He has sung in Mexico, USA, Spain, Italy, under the direction of such conductors as Maestros Placido Domingo, Enrique Patrón, Alfredo Silipigni, Enrique Ricci, Cristian Mandeal, Christian Badea. In 2003 he is winner in the national singing competition CARLO MORELLI, and receives a scholarship for study in POPI (Portland Opera Performance Institute) with Justino Diaz or Shirley Verret. In 2004 Ludovic Spiess, famous romanian tenor, asked Mr Lopez for colaborate with the National Opera of Bucharest, and since that year he is part of the ensemble. Also he colaborates with National Opera in Chisinau, Opera na Zamku in Szcecin Poland, Radio Bucharest Orchestra, Filarmonica George Enescu, and others ; In Bucarest He studied with Mr. Spiess, and Cornel Stavru, another great Romanian tenor.
Mario Cavaradossi
In April 2001, he entered the Mythos Course for the advanced formation of solo singers at the “A. Toscanini” Foundation in Parma. Here he went through intense studies with teachers such as Renato Bruson, Leo Nucci, Virginia Zeani, Alain Billard and Beppe De Tomasi.
He played these roles: Uberto in G.B. Pergolesi’s “La serva padrona”; Don Cassandro in W.A. Mozart’s “La finta semplice”, Conte d’Almaviva, Figaro and Bartolo in W.A. Mozart’s “Le nozze di Figaro”, Don Giovanni, Leporello, Masetto and Commendatore in W.A. Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”, Guglielmo and Don Alfonso in W.A. Mozart’s “Così fan tutte”, Conte Robinson in D. Cimarosa’s “Il matrimonio segreto”, Figaro in G. Rossini’s “Il barbiere di Siviglia”, Haly in G. Rossini’s “L’italiana in Algeri”; Guglielmo Tell in G. Rossini’s “Guglielmo Tell”; Dulcamara and Belcore in G. Donizetti’s “Elisir d’amore”, Dottor Malatesta in G. Donizetti’s “Don Pasquale”; Nabucco in G. Verdi’s “Nabucco”, Rigoletto in G. Verdi’s “Rigoletto”, Germont in G. Verdi’s “La traviata”, Renato in G. Verdi's “Un ballo in maschera”; Alfio in P. Mascagni’s “Cavalleria rusticana”; Marcello in G. Puccini’s “La bohéme”, Scarpia in G. Puccini’s “Tosca”, Sharpless in G. Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly”.
He is active in contemporary music, he was involved in various productions premiered.
He is very attentive to sacred music, he collaborated with the Musical Chapel of St. Francis Basilica in Assisi, with whom he worked as a soloist in the 2000 Giubilee of Artists in the Basilica of St. Peters at the Vatican, with the presence of Pope Giovanni Paolo II. While in the same Musical Chapel he recorded CDs interpreting pieces from the seventeenth and eighteenth century’s repertoire of the Masters of the Chapel of the Sacred Convent of Assisi.
Significant is the activity that he performs in prestigious concert halls in Europe.
Since 2012 he collaborates with the Tiroler Festspiele Erl (Austria) under the artistic direction of Maestro Gustav Kuhn, where he is singing principal roles of baritone.
In November 2016 he started his collaboration with National Opera of Bucarest with the role of Nabucco, where he is performing the same role in January and February 2017. In March 2017 he sang Amonasro in Aida at National Opera of Tblisi conducted by Marco Boemi and in may 2017 Escamillo in Carmen at Teatro Verdi of Salerno conducted by Daniel Oren. In July 2017 he is Scarpia in Tosca for Haifa Symphony Orchestra conducted by Xu Zhong directed by Shirit Lee Weiss. In Fall 2017 he was Ecamillo in Carmen at Lirico Sperimentale of Spoleto and Circuito Umbro. In season 2017/2018 he is Figaro in Barbiere di Siviglia and Il Conte di Luna in Trovatore for Opera 2001 in Spain and France, with this Company will be in Sharpless in Madama Butterfly in the 2019 season. In 2019 he is Figaro in Nozze di Figaro at the Romanian Opera of Iasi, William Tell at the Erl Opera.
Giulio Boschetti
Angelo Nardinocchi, baritone, was born in Italy. After singing many leas baritone roles in the Italian repertoire these days his repertoire includes Leporello in Don Giovanni (Mozart), the Sacristan in Tosca, Alcindoro and Benoit in La boheme (Puccini), Fra Melitone in La forza del destino (Verdi) and many other character baritone roles.
He performs regularly at the Arena di Verona and in the opera houses of Rome, Naples, Palermo, Catania, Turin, Trieste, Venice as well as in Japan, China, South Korea, Brazil and other countries.
Il sagrestano
Angelo Nardinocchi
Angelotti
Shi Zong
Zong Shi, Bass,born in Unlanhot in Inner Mongolia in China. After graduation at the"Nezhdanova" academy in Odessa, he won a scholarship from the Italian government to continue his training at the "Conservatorio Santa Cecilia" in Rome e has recently completed the "Young Artist Program" at the "Centro di prefeccionament "Placido Domingo" of Valencia.He studied under Bonaldo Giaiotti,Gianni Maffeo, Gianfranca Ostini,ChangYong Liao, Leonardo Marzagaliaand Maestro Alberto Zedda in Accademia Rossiniana Pesaro.He sang among under the Conductors:Abbado, Zedda, Luisotti, Tebar, Lopéz-Gomez, Fogliani, Acocella, Eiichi, Lazanillotta, Ceccherini,Rivani, Crescenzi, Zhong, Palumbo, Carminati. worked with directors such as: Miller, Gaitanou,Kokkos, Sagi, Courir, Berloffa, Frattola,Rohrwacher, Kuhn, Spirei, Apollonio, Grinda, Paoli,Ciabatti. Considered one of the exciting young Bass Singer of this generation in China,his repertoire has a variety of broad patterns.Especially after the debut of the Pesaro Rossini Festival, Rossini's opera is also known as an integral part of his repertoire. In this season, Mr. Zong had Performed Raimondo in "Matilde di Sabran" and Concert"Alternative Rossini"in Wildbad Rossini Festival with Naxos Music Libry for two "WorldPremiere"Recordings CD .Sparafucile in "Rigoletto",Il Conte Rodrigo in "Lo Schiavo"in Teatro Lirico Cagliari. Raimondo in "Lucia di Lammermor " and Haly in "L,italiana in Algeri " in Teatro Verdi Trieste.Escamillo in "Carmen" in Teatro Greco di Taormina. In the 2017-2018 season ,he performed Ramfis in "Aida" with ShangHai Opera Theater in China, Angelotti in "Tosca" in Teatro Greco di Taormina.Timur in "Turandot"in Royal opera house Muscat,Lo Zio Bonzo in "Madame Buttyfly " in Teatro Comunale Vigevano,Fiesco in "Simon Boccanegra " for the Concert in Sala dei Teatini Piazenza.Concert"Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of Rossini" in Halifax,Canada. In the 2016-2017 season, he performed Il Re in "Aida" in Teatro Greco Taormina, Grande Sacerdote in "Nabucco" in Arena Teatro sociale Como, Don Basilio in "Il Barbiere di Sviglia" with Aslico Opera Domani in Teatro Sociale Como,Teatro Regio Parma,Teatro Grande Brescia,Teatro Donizetti Bergamo Ect...."Concert Gala Rossini "in Teatro Mario Del Monaco Treviso Italy,Doctor Grenvil in"La Traviata" in Troler Festival at Erl,Austria.,Theater Grande Brescia,Theater Donizetti,Theater Sociale Como,Theater Pavarotti Modena, etc.... 2015-2016 season he performed Don Magnifico in "La Cenerentola" with Conductor Alberto Zedda at Lunenburg and Liverpool Astor Theater in Canada .Ramfis in "Aida" at Theater Verdi Busseto and 14th Festival San Vito al Tafliamento in Italy , The Governor in “Le Comte Ory ”and Clemnte in“Bianca e Gernando" with the famous Naxos Music Libry for Recordings CD at the Rossini Festival Wildbad in Germany,Timur in “ Turandot ” with Aslico Opera Domani for toursin many important theaters in Italy, such as Teatro Sociale Como,Teatro Comunale Bologna,Teatro Regio Parma,Teatro Grande Brescia ,Teatro Donizetti Bergamo,Teatro Arcimboldi Milano, etc.. 2014-2015 season Zong Shi sang a concert with Maestro Gustav Kuhn at Festival Tiroler in Austria, performed Don Prudenzio in “ Il Viaggio a Reims ” at the Rossini Festival Pesaro ,Grande Sacerdote in "Nabucco" at the Palau de les Arts in Valencia. In the 2013-2014 season, Mr. Zong performed The king and Ramfis in “AIDA”at Shen Zheng theater, Fu Jian theater, Ning Bo theater and Beijing Poly Theater in China. Previous engagements include performed Ferrando in "Il Trovatore ” at Pandino Opera Festival" and "Cunardo Opera Festival" in Italy. Zong Shi was the winner of few vocal competitions in Italy include 1st Prize of the Deiva Marina International Vocal Competition in Genoa, 2nd Prize in the “ Franca Mattiucci ” International Vocal Competition in Canelli and Special Prize in. the "Premio Boni" International Vocal Competition in Mantova. Finalist of the Opera Competition "TOTI DALMONTE" .
Sciarrone
Marco Pangallo
Vitellio Scarpia
Lorenzo Castriota Skanderbeg
Marco Pangallo is a young lyric singer specialized in the Baroque repertoire. He has nurtured his passion for classical music from a young age and pursued vocal studies at the Conservatorio G. Verdi in Milan, where he continues to receive guidance from renowned instructors. He has had the opportunity to perform in prestigious venues both in Italy and abroad, such as the Sala Verdi at the Conservatorio G. Verdi in Milan, with the European Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Temple of the Lost Future, collaborating with orchestras and ensembles of various genres.
In addition to his singing career, Marco also delves into acting, showcasing his versatility by performing in contemporary works by composers like Berio and Schönberg. He lends his voice to texts by contemporary authors and scholars for conferences, press events, and other occasions.
Beyond his musical pursuits, Marco has become an opera influencer, sharing his passion for the art form and engaging a broad audience of music and opera enthusiasts through his social media channels. His online presence has caught the attention of prestigious publishers like Bärenreiter and acclaimed Italian theaters, including Teatro Regio di Torino, Teatro Regio di Parma, Teatro Sociale di Como, La Toscanini, Arena di Verona, Aiax, Teatro Antico di Taormina, among many others, who have recognized his talent and involved him in significant projects.
Marco's devotion to opera inspires and captivates audiences, leaving a lasting impact on the world of opera. His aim to communicate profound emotions through music fosters meaningful connections between the artist and his audience, a pursuit he relentlessly endeavors to achieve.
Direttore d'orchestra
Lorenzo Castriota Skanderbeg, conductor, was born in 1964. He acquired graduate degrees in trumpet (1984), orchestral instrumentation and musical arrangement (1989), composition and conducting (1990) at the Conservatory of Music “Santa Cecilia” of Rome.
His career as conductor began at an early age of 17, when the famous M° Giuseppe Patané took him as assistant “under his wings”. From 1983 until the premature death of M° Patané, he collaborated constantly with this great maestro and extraordinary tutor, perfecting himself in the Italian operatic repertoire. He also studied with M° Franco Ferrara and M° Leonard Bernstein.
He works as conductor and composer at various opera houses and symphonic institutions in Italy and abroad: Orchestra Sinfonica di San Remo, Orchestra Sinfonica Abruzzese, Orchestra Filarmonica di Salerno, Orchestra Sinfonica di Lecce, Orchestra Sinfonica di Tirana, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma (Cenerentola), Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, Opera di Bonn (Traviata/Carmen), Beethovenhalle Bonn, Opera di Plovdiv (Nabucco)Aida), Teatro Lirico di Cagliari (La Bohème), Filarmonia di Roma, Teatro Lirico di Bari (Rigoletto/Otello/Turandot), Teatro Verdi di Trieste (MacBeth), Teatro Lirico di Grosseto (Ottello/Traviata/Trovatore/Rigoletto/Butterfly/Cavalleria Rusticana etc.), Filarmonica Marchigiana, Regionale del Lazio, I Solisti Aquilani, Filarmonici di Roma, Opera of Costanza (Romania) (Aida), Opera of Spalato (Croatia) (Werther/Nabucco), Teatro Cervantes of Malaga (Farewell Concert Galà of Raina Kabajwanska), Slovenian National Opera of Maribor (Slovenia) 6 Opera seasons, Teatro Pergolesi di Jesi (Butterfly/Medium), National Art Center, Daejeon (Korea) Aida, the Symphonic Orchestra RTV Slovenia (guest conductor) and the Philarmonic Orchestra of Oulu (Finnland). M° Castriota has been appointed Musical Director of The National Slovene Opera Theatre of Maribor (sng-Maribor) since 2004, after having been given Verdi’s Falstaff at very short notice, which became one of the most important successes of sng-Maribor. In 2011 he was appointed General Music Director at the Turkish National Opera (Samsun), conducting various productions, such as Attila, MacBeth, Butterfly, Ali Baba, Tosca, Ballo in Maschera, Merry Widow in Samsun, Ankara and Istanbul. His outstanding conducting skills have opened many doors to him in Turkey and annually he now conducts all major symphony orchestras (Bursa, Adana, Antalya, Izmir, Ankara, Istanbul etc.). He continues to guide the Turkish National Opera Theater in Samsun as its General Music Director, conducting this year Tosca, Ballo in Maschera, Trovatore and Manon Lescaut.
M° Castriota received a special acknowledgement in the 1st International Competition of Conducting “Franco Ferrara”; Teatro dell’Opera di Roma (1995).
Furthermore has he been entrusted with important artistic titles, such as:
Chief conductor of the “Novi Musici” orchestra of Napoli; “Direttore Stabile” of the Orchestra Sinfonica Umberto Giordano della Provincia di Foggia, of the Orchestra Sinfonica della Città di Grosseto, Sinfonica d’Alessandria, the opera season of the festival of Santa Margherita Ligure, the Teatro Lirico di Grosseto and the Lyric Festival del Verismo, Foggia, the Oderzo Opera Festival and the Slovene National Opera and Ballet Maribor. In 1994-95 M° Castriota S. was appointed as Musical Advisor of the Bonner Werkstattsbühne for Contemporary Music.
In December 2000 he made his debut in Japan conducting Lyric Gala Recitals with Renato Bruson and the Filarmonici di Roma (I solisti di St.a Cecilia) and also conducted the Solisti Aquilani in a two week tournée in Great Britain. Again with I Solisti Aquilani, he conducted an important concert series, sponsored by the association “Baratelli”, consisting of works by the famous Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. In writing M° Pärt has stated that “he was very impressed especially with the “conducting artistry” of M° Castriota” and has expressed great desire to work together internationally in future projects". This opinion was shared by his publisher, Eric Marinitsch of the Universal Edition, with whom M° Castriota has already begun an active collaboration. October 2002, M° Castriota conducted I Solisti Aquilani in a tournée in Spain (Festival of Segovia, Madrid and oth.). In December 2004 he was invited with his orchestra “Orchestra Città di Grosseto” to conduct at the 150 anniversary celebration of the Symphony Hall in Craiova (Romania), with a program of Beethoven, Brahms and Wagner (Wesendonk Lieder). Castriota substituted M° Zubin Mehta in the 2010 Toyota Classic Asian Tournée with the world-famous orchestra “Maggio Fiorentino”, conducting various programs in the principle opera and concert halls of Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Hanoi (Vietnam), Bangkok (Thailand), Brunej (Sultanat of Brunej), Mumbai (India), Manila (Philippines), Seoul (Korea), Taipei (Taiwan).
His activity as composer is equally important, totalling at present some 30 works, all publicly performed.
He collaborates with the recording company “Pentaphon” Italia. With Saturn Live Recordings he has produced “Il Trittico” (with Giuseppe Taddei), “La Traviata”, “Il Rigoletto”, “La Notte di un Nevrastenico” and “Compositions of the Great Symphonic Repertoire of the 1800”. In 2002 a CD with EMI has been produced, containing symphonic works by Mussorgsky and Respighi, recorded live with the Orchestra Sinfonica Umberto Giordano della Provincia di Foggia. With the famous actor Aldo Busanca he recorded together with the orchestra “La Classica di Alessandria) Prokofiev’s composition “Peter and the Wolf” in Italian.
Not just a few of the great operatic singers who have sang under his baton, have praised him for his solid and profound conductorship and the sensibility of his interpretations, such as R. Kabaiwanska, G. Taddei, R. Panerai, R. Bruson, N. Martinucci, L. Carroli, G. Cebrian, M. Devia, C. Gasdia, K. Riccarelli, M.-P. Jonata, L. Bartolini, N. Rossi-Giorndano, S. Secco, G. Giuliacci, A. Rezza, E. Fiorillo, Mario Malagnini and many others.
He was engaged for the first time this year at the 62nd Festival Pucciniano of Torre del Lago to conduct Tosca with an extraordinary cast. Tenor: Jorge de Leon, Soprano: Hui He and Baritone: Lucio Gallo. His success was of acclaimed importance, because M° Castriota replaced in the Season’s inauguration performance of Tosca (his performance should have been the second performance of Tosca) M° Veronesi after the opera’s first act, without having had any rehearsals with the cast and orchestra. This amazing success was based on the great appreciation from the audience, the national and international critics and the cast in regards to his musical and interpretative conducting. “Maestro, you make us dream” was the evening’s remark of one of the most respected critics at the festival. The granddaughter of the composer, Mme Simonetta Puccini, having attended the performance, wished to congratulate the M° in person and mention the outstanding technical and interpretational conducting talent of M° Castriota, “always more difficult to be found in nowadays Italian opera traditions”.
Together with Spalato Opera he was awarded the National Culture Prize 2003, conducting a very well received Nabucco in the Spalato Summer Festival. In September 2002 he was given together with Sen. Susanna Agnielli and On. R. Buttiglione, the Culture-Prize “Premio Europe Leader “Rocca d’Oro” for his international achievements as conductor in the music field. In 2008, Castriota was awarded the prestigious culture price “Sebetia-Ter” for the career (former winners: M° Riccardo Muti, M° Claudio Abbado, M° Aldo Cicolini). He was entrusted with the Presidency of the well received International Competition “Cappuccilli-Patané-Respighi” in Voice, Conducting and Composition organized by the national Chamber of Commerce of Italy, Confartigianato ANAP presented in different cities (Shangai, Chicago, Zurich, Alessandria, Grosseto).
M° Castriota is tenured professor of conducting and orchestral tutorial and holds the university chair of conducting/orchestral tutorial at the “Istituto di alta cultura Lorenzo Perosi” Camposbasso, Italy.
Carlo Antonio De Lucia
Regista
Studied with Felice Chiavi, Ruggiero Orofino, Celestina Casapietri and Maria Chiapa.
He is the winner of a number of international vocal competitions, the most important of which are Voci Verdiane (Parma, Italy) and Ismael Voltolini (Mantua, Italy).
He performed parts in Giuseppe Verdi's operas "The Power of Fate" (Don Alvaro), "La Traviata" (Alfred), "Troubadour" (Manrico), "Aida" (Radames), as well as Giacomo Puccini's "Bohemia" (Rudolph), "Longing". (Cavaradossi), Madame Butterfly (Pinkerton). As a director he staged operas in Italy, South Korea, Belarus and Russia. In particular, these are "Un ballo in maschera", "Don Carlos", "Nabucco", "Aida", "La Traviata", "Troubadour" and "Rigoletto" by Giuseppe Verdi; Gioacchino Rossini's "Il barbiere di Siviglia"; "Don Pasquale" and "Elisir D'Amore" by Gaetano Donizetti; "Maid's Maid" by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi; "Mona Lisa" by Amilcare Ponchielli; "Girl from the West", "Longing", "Bohemia", "Madame Butterfly" and "Turandot" by Giacomo Puccini; "Carmen" by Georges Bizet.
Carlo Antonio de Lucia was the producer of a number of opera festivals, such as Lario Lirica in Como (Italy) from 1998 to 2006, Bitonto (2006), Stagione Lirica in Lecce (2011 and 2012), and the 2005/2006 opera season. at the Manzoni Theater in Rome. Maestro de Lucia taught at a number of universities. In 2010/2011 he taught opera classes at the State University of Milan.
He is currently an adjunct professor at the Universities of Seoul, Suwon (South Korea) and the State University of Milan (Italy). Carlo Antonio de Lucia's work as an impresario was awarded by the Italian Ministry of Culture in 2003.
