Angelo Villari - Torbeno (September 20^th, 24^th, 27^th)

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 sang 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. His repertoire also includes Canio in I Pagliacci, Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana, Cavaradossi in Tosca and Alfredo in La 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. In September 2013 Mr. Villari made his successful debut as Manrico in Il Trovatore at the Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo.

Angelo Villari is furthering his studies with Simone Alaimo and Vittoria Mazzoni.

Gianpiero Ruggeri - Orzocco (September 20^th, 22^nd, 24^th, 27^th)

Especially appreciated in the Rossini repertoire, he debuted in the title role of Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Rossini Festival in Pesaro where he returned in the following season with La Gazzetta. Mr Ruggeri was also invited in Ruegen’s and Wildbad’s Rossini Festivals.Other engagements include: Frank in Die Flederamus, Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Don Giovanni at the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome, Falstaff in Fermo and Jesi, Don Giovanni at the San Carlo in Naples, Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Michigan Opera Theatre in Detroit; Così Fan Tutte on tour in China with the Piccolo Teatro of Milan; Manon Lescaut in Salerno; The Merry Widow and Il Cappello di Paglia di Firenze at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari; Lucia di Lammermoor in Jesi; Le nozze di Figaro in Copenaghen; The rape of Lucretia (Junius) in Trieste; La Traviata in Lecce. Amongst his future plans it is worth mentioning Fidelio (Don Fernando) in Bergen.