Saimir Pirgu begun his musical studies as a violinist in his home town of Elbasan (Albania). He then continued to study singing, first in Tirana then in Bolzano, with Vito Maria Brunetti. His break came when he was chosen by Claudio Abbado as Ferrando in Così Fan Tutte in Ferrara, which he sang with great success. Collaborations followed with Muti, Maazel, Gatti, Ozawa, Campanella, Conlon and Pappano. Among his recent debuts: Il trittico (Paris), L'Elisir d'Amore (Vienna, Rome), La Traviata (London), Rigoletto (Zurich), Die Zauberflöte (Milan). He made his debut with huge acclaim in the role of Idomeneo conducted by Harnoncourt at the Styriarte Festival in Graz, as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi at the Los Angeles Opera directed by Woody Allen. Rinuccio is also the role that marked his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He was Rodolfo in a production of La Bohème which was set in the Schweizer Fernsehen Bern and broadcast on ARTE. He has just performed Verdi’s Requiem at the Salzburg Festival under Muti and he sang Ferrando in Così fan tutte in Los Angeles (September 2011).
Future plans: La Bohème in Barcelona; La Traviata in Vienna, Berlin and New York, where he is returning in the next seasons; I Capuleti e i Montecchi in San Francisco; Rigoletto at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London and Zurich; Messe Solennelle at the Salzburg Festival under Riccardo Muti; Don Giovanni in Paris (Opéra National) and at the Arena in Verona directed by Franco Zeffirelli.
Opéra de Lyon
Lyon
February 11, 2012
February 13, 2012