Giuseppe Filianoti
is one of the
preeminent lyric tenors of his generation. The beauty of his voice, the
passionate lyricism of his artistry, and the dramatic fervor of his approach to
the stage have won him widespread critical and popular praise.
Since his
professional debut in 1998, Mr. Filianoti has emerged as a beacon of style and
nuance in a wide-ranging repertoire. While the majority of his performances
have centered on the bel canto and
later 19th-century lyric Italian and French works, he has also
successfully essayed roles by Monteverdi and Mozart through those of such 20th
century masters as Strauss, Debussy, Stravinsky and Britten.
Among the tenor’s
engagements in the 2012-13 season are: a guest appearance by the Teatro alla
Scala at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater in Don
Giovanni (September); the Verdi Requiem
in Strasbourg (September); both La
clemenza di Tito (November/December, including a “Live in HD” performance)
and La rondine (January) at the
Metropolitan Opera; Rigoletto with
Lyric Opera of Chicago (March); La
clemenza di Tito for his company debut at Trieste’s Teatro Lirico Giuseppe
Verdi (April); Les contes d'Hoffmann
at the Bayerische Staatsoper (May/June); and further Rigolettos at Aix-en-Provence (June/July).
Born in Reggio
Calabria in 1974, the Italian tenor first obtained a degree in Literature, a
background he considers to be essential to his operatic foundation and
discipline. In 1997, he graduated from the "F. Cilea" Conservatory,
studying under Anna Vandi. Mr. Filianoti won a highly-coveted two-year
scholarship to Milan’s Accademia del Teatro alla Scala. During this period of
intensive fine-tuning of his voice, he met Alfred Kraus, who became his mentor
and the decisive influence in helping the young singer develop his artistic
style, technique and virtuosity.
Mr. Filianoti made
his debut in 1998 at Bergamo as Dom Sébastien. In 1999, after singing
Argirio in Tancredi at the Rossini
Opera Festival in Pesaro, he was engaged by Riccardo Muti to sing
in Paisiello's Nina, o sia pazza per amore.
In 2003, again under Mo. Muti, he opened the season of La Scala
with Rossini's Moïse et Pharaon.
He made his Covent Garden debut in 2000 as
Alfredo in La traviata,
returning there in the title role of Donizetti's Dom Sébastien in 2005 and more recently as Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore.
He is a frequent guest at La Scala, where
he has performed in Falstaff, Rigoletto, Lucrezia Borgia, Gianni
Schicchi, Un giorno di regno,
and Lucia di Lammermoor.
At Rome’s Teatro
dell’Opera he has sung Faust, Gianni Schicchi, Die Zauberflöte and Werther, and made his debut with the
Accademia di Santa Cecilia in a concert version of Idomeneo.
In 2005 he made his
widely celebrated American debut at the Metropolitan Opera
as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor.
In subsequent seasons he returned to the Company as Edgardo, as well as in many
of his other signature roles, including Nemorino, Il duca di Mantova, Ruggero (La rondine) and Hoffmann. In addition to
the Met, in the U.S. he has also appeared to great acclaim at theSan Francisco Opera
as Edgardo and at New York’s Carnegie Hall as Federico in
Cilea’s L'Arlesiana. Nemorino
was the role of his debut at the Los Angeles Opera
in 2009, as well as at Lyric Opera of Chicagoin 2010, where he returned in 2011 for
Edgardo. The vehicle for Mr. Filianoti’s debut with Washington Concert Opera was
the title role in Werther, one of his
favorite operas. His US recital debut took place on the Harriman Jewell Series
in April 2012.
Additionally, Mr.
Filianoti has performed in the major European opera houses: with both companies
in Berlin (Faust / Deutsche
Oper); the Verdi Requiem (at the Philharmonie) and Don Giovanni, for the Staatsoper, both
under Daniel Barenboim; Vienna (Traviata,
Elisir and Lucia); Barcelona (Traviata,
Rigoletto, Elisir and Lucia);
Florence (Traviata, Zauberflöte and Don Giovanni); Hamburg (Idomeneo,
Hoffmann La bohème and Faust); Madrid (Traviata, Werther and Celos aun del aire matan); Paris (Rondine, Elisir, Hoffmann and Manon).
In 2004, Giuseppe
Filianoti was awarded the Franco Abbiati Italian Critics´ Prize as Best Singer
of the Year.
The tenor regularly
expands his diverse discography and videography. Among the CDs are: on the
Bongiovanni label, Giuseppe Sarti’s Giulio
Sabino (Ottavio Dantone, cond.) and Lucrezia Borgia (Mariella Devia, Marianna
Pizzolato, Marco Guidarini, Cond.); on ROF,
Tancredi (from Pesaro, with Daniela Barcellona; Gianluigi Gelmetti
conducting); on Opera Rara, Donizetti’s Dom
Sébastien (with Vesselina Kasarova and Simon Keenlyside, Mark
Elder, Cond.), for Naxos, Boito’s
Mefistofele (with Dimitra Theodossiou and Ferruccio Furlanetto, led by
Stefano Ranzani); on the BMG/Ricordi label, Paisiello’s Nina (Anna Caterina Antonacci, Juan Diego Flórez, Michele Pertusi,
Riccardo Muti/La Scala.) Among his performances preserved on DVD are:
Cherubini’s Medea (Hardy Classics)
with Ms. Antonacci and Sara Mingardo, Evelino Pidò, Cond. from Torino;
Rossini´s Moïse et Pharaon (on
the TDK & ARTHAUS MUSIK labels), with Barbara Frittoli, Ildar Abdrazakov
& Erwin Schrott, Mo. Muti/La Scala); La
traviata (on La Voce) with Mariella Devia and Renato Bruson; Mefistofele on the Dynamic label (same
cast as the previously-listed CD); and a 2007 New Year’s Gala Concert from the
Teatro La Fenice with Ms. Theodossiou and Roberto Frontali). This season, a
live recording of Cilea’s L’arlesiana
will be released by CPO, including previously unperformed music.
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