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Saimir Pirgu - tenor
Saimir Pirgu will be the first of Pavarotti’s pupils to be awarded with this
important prize; in the past seasons it was conferred upon José Carreras, Raina
Kabaivanska, Mirella Freni, Zucchero, Andrea Bocelli and Leo Nucci.
Saimir Pirgu’s
whirlwind advance from the Conservatory in Italy to leading roles on the world’s
premier opera stages already sees him positioned as the new generation lyric
tenor of choice for leading conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti,
Lorin Maazel, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Antonio Pappano, and James Conlon just to
name a few. From the outset he was identified as a major future talent. Amongst
his recent successes it is worth mentioning Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto
at the Arena in Verona, Alfredo in Traviata alongside Placido Domingo at
the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Bach’s Mass in B minor with the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Riccardo Muti, the Petite Messe
Solennelle in Paris and Vienna under Daniele Gatti, Macduff in Macbeth
at the Teatro alla Pergola in Florence, James Conlon conducting and Graham Vick
directing, the Verdi Requiem at the Enescu Festival in Bucharest with the
Orchestra di Santa Cecilia and Antonio Pappano conducting.
Future plans include:
La Bohème in Washington; La Traviata, Rigoletto and King Roger
in London (Royal Opera House); La Clemenza di Tito at the Opéra National
de Paris; Macbeth and a Gala Concert at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in
Barcelona; Lucia di Lammermoor in Los Angeles and Toulouse where he also
will perform La Favorite; La Traviata in Vienna and San Francisco;
Don Giovanni at the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
under James Conlon; Rigoletto in Zurich, Vienna and Toulouse. On the
concert side Mr. Pirgu will perform the Verdi Requiem in Munich with the
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischer Rundfunks and in Berlioz’s Messe
Solennelle with the Wiener Philharmoniker in Vienna under the baton of
Riccardo Muti.
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Giulio Mastrototaro - Baritone
Winner of the
AsLiCo competition for the role of Belcore in L'Elisir
d'Amore
and of the prize as best performer for Pietro il Grande by Donizetti
(Dynamic) at the Martina Franca Festival. Among his past engagements, it is
worth mentioning: L’Italiana in Algeri at the Teatro Sao Carlos Lisbon,
Iphigénie en Aulide, with Riccardo Muti at the Rome Opera, Il Finto
Turco by Piccinni in Vicenza, La Cenerentola in Avignon and Reims,
La Gazza Ladra in Wildbad, Le Nozze di Figaro in Potsdam, La
Bohème and Così Fan Tutte at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples,
Gianni Schicchi at the Academy of Santa Cecilia conducted by Vladimir
Jurowski. He recorded Siberia by Giordano (Dynamic), La Cambiale di
Matrimonio and L’Italiana in Algeri, Alberto Zedda conducting
(Naxos) as well as Donizetti’s Adelia (RCA).
Mr. Mastrototaro
lately sang La Cenerentola in Massy. Future plans include: Figaro
in Le Nozze di Figaro in Frankfurt; Dottor Dulcamara in L’Elisir
D’Amore in Florence; Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia in Trento;
Haly in L’Italiana in Algeri at the Opéra d'Avignon.
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