Angelo Villari - Manrico*

Winner of the first prize at the International Contest “Simone Alaimo, il Bel Canto” (2010), Angelo Villari was finalist at the Lyric Contest Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago and he won the role of Duca of Mantua in Rigoletto at the contest “Il Belcanto nella Valle dei Templi” in Agrigento (Sicily). At the beginning of his career Mr. Villari sange in Galuppi’s Il filosofo di campagna, in Mozart’s L’oca del Cairo, in Donizetti’s Le convenienze e inconvenienze teatrali and in Rossini’s Mosè in Egitto. In 2007 he participated in Luisa Miller under the baton of Donato Renzetti at the Festival Verdi in Parma, and at the Teatro Regio he then took part in the Scenes from Goethe's Faust, in Il Corsaro and in Lucia di Lammermoor (Normanno). His repertoire also includes Canio in I Pagliacci, as Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana, as Cavaradossi in Tosca and as Alfredo in Traviata. Active also on the concert side, he performed in Verdi’s Requiem and in Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle in Tivoli. Angelo Villari has just performed in Cavalleria Rusticana in Lecce, in I Pagliacci in Malta, in Attila in Rovereto. Among his future plans it is worth mentioning Porrino’s I Shardana at the Teatro Lirico in Cagliari. Angelo Villari is furthering his studies with Simone Alaimo and Vittoria Mazzoni. *Role Debut

Cristina Melis - Azucena

Winner of the International Lyric Contest “Giacomo Lauri Volpi” and the International Contest “Giuseppe Verdi” in Parma, Cristina Melis debuted as Azucena in Il Trovatore in Parma. She recently performed as Bergère, Un Pâtre, La Chatte, l’Ecureuil in Ravel’s L’Enfant et Sortileges under Yves Abel at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, where she also starred in Schumann’s Manfred under the baton of Michele Mariotti and in La Gioconda (La Cieca). It is worth mentioning her collaboration with the Arena in Verona, where she performed in Carmen, Traviata, Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette and in a series of concerts on tour in Europe (Madrid, London, Brussels, Berlin, Dusseldorf). She made her debut as Cenerentola and as Isabella in L’Italiana in Algeri at the Teatro Regio in Turin, as Carmen in Bergamo, as Azucena in Il Trovatore and Amneris in Aida in Parma, Fenena in Nabucco on tour in Italy. Cristina Melis recently sang Verdi’s Requiem at the Teatro Lirico in Cagliari and Il Trovatore at the Kiel Opera Theater. Ms. Melis collaborated with such conductors as Bartoletti, Morandi, Severini, Beltrami, Gatti, Wilson, Dinic, Campanella, Rizzi, Carella, De Bernart, Oren, Conlon, Armiliato, Mariotti, Kovatchev, Arrivabeni, Jurowski and directors such as De Ana, Zeffirelli, Micheli, Sammaritani Pier’Alli, Franconi Lee, Cannito. Future plans include Verdi’s Requiem at the Anima Mundi Festival in Pisa, under Aldo Ceccato.

Seung Pil Choi - Ferrando

Korean born Seung Pil Choi performed in the past seasons in Rigoletto (Monterone) in Trapani, Don Giovanni (title role) in Milan, Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Don Basilio), Macbeth (Banco), Rigoletto (Sparafucile) and Lucia di Lammermoor (Raimondo) in Seoul, Il Trovatore (Ferrando), Nabucco (Zaccaria) in Milan, Treviso, Jesi and Seoul; Così fan tutte (Don Alfonso) in Sulmona, Madama Butterfly (Zio Bonzo), Gianni Schicchi (Simone) and La Bohème (Colline) at the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, Madama Butterfly (Zio Bonzo) at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, at the Teatro Verdi in Pisa and in Lucca, Colline in La Bohème in Castell’Arquato with Rolando Panerai for the Illica Lyric Prize (2011). Active also on the concert side, he sang Schubert’s Winterreise in Milan (Teatro dal Verme), Mozart’s Requiem in Monte Carlo and Ghent and he performed in concerts in Jesi, Treviso, Alessandria, Lucca and Busseto. More recently Mr. Choi took part in Turandot at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Nabucco in Cagliari, Aida, Nabucco and Macbeth at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona, Otello in Valencia, Rigoletto, Tosca and Turandot in Torre del Lago. Future plans include: Simon Boccanegra at the Teatro Regio in Parma; Madama Butterfly at the Teatro Regio in Turin and in Toulon; he will be engaged in a series of concerts in Italy and Japan.