Cinzia Forte - Desdemona(May 2nd, 8th, 10th)

Lyric coloratura soprano, Cinzia Forte is praised by international critics for the uncommon elegance of her phrasing and remarkable stage presence. Mrs. Forte is present on the billboards of the main Italian and European theaters such as the Teatro alla Scala, the San Carlo in Naples, The Fenice in Venice, Teatro Comunale in Bologna, the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, the Teatro Regio in Turin, the Opera in Rome, Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, the ROH Covent Garden, the Royal Concertgebouw, the Liceu in Barcelona, the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, the Zurich Opera House, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysees in Paris, the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège, the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Teatro Real in Madrid. Cinzia Forte has lately added new important roles to her repertoire: La contessa d'Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro (Liège), Anna Bolena (title role, in Trieste), and Desdemona in Otello (Pisa). Mrs Forte has recently opened the Teatro San Carlo Season singing La Traviata, Michele Mariotti conducting and Ferzan Ozpetek directing.

Future plans include: Il Furioso all'Isola di Santo Domingo at the Donizetti Festival in Bergamo and on tour in Italy; La Gazzetta and Fidelio in Liège. Mrs Forte will open the 2013 Festival Incontri in Terra di Siena, singing in a lyric concert with the ORT-Orchestra della Toscana.

Kristian Benedikt - Otello(May 2nd, 8th, 10th)

Internationally appreciated, Kristian Benedikt began his career at the Lithuanian National Opera in Vilnius, where he made his debut as Alfredo (Traviata), Tito (Clemenza di Tito) Nemorino (Elisir d’amore), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Lensky (Eugene Onegin). In 2002 he recorded Ponchielli’s La Gioconda beside Placido Domingo, Viotti conducting and in 2004 he made his debut in Don Carlos in Antwerp, Chailly conducting. In the past seasons Mr. Benedikt also interpreted: Hoffmann (Les contes d’Hoffmann), Cavaradossi (Tosca), Duca (Rigoletto), Manrico (Trovatore) Eléazar (La Juive), Turiddu (Cavalleria Rusticana), Calaf ( Turandot), Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor), Siegmund (Die Walküre), Dick Johnson (Fanciulla del West) and Don José (Carmen). After his brilliant Italian debut at the Teatro Comunale Luciano Pavarotti in Modena as Otello, Kristian Benedikt returns to Italy singing one of his main roles.

Future plans: Otello in Ekaterinburg and in Santiago de Chile; Rienzi in Barcelona; Ernani and Otello in Vilnius.

Paolo Gavanelli - Jago (May 2nd, 8th, 10th)

One of the greatest Verdi interpreters of his generation, Paolo Gavanelli is a regular guest of prestigious theaters such as: La Scala in Milan, the Metropolitan in New York , the Vienna Staatsoper, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London, the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Arena di Verona, Teatro Comunale in Bologna, Carlo Felice in Genoa, San Carlo in Naples, Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, Teatro Regio in Turin, Opéra Bastille in Paris, Lyric Opera in Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Deutsche Oper and Staatsoper in Berlin, Staatsoper in Hamburg, Teatro Real in Madrid, Liceu in Barcelona.

Among his future plans it is worth mentioning Falstaff in Malta, Montreal and Tel Aviv, where he will also perform Tosca.

Marco Di Felice - Jago (May 3rd, 7th, 9th)

Acclaimed interpreter of Verdi’s operas, his repertoire includes also works by Mozart, Rossini, Giordano and Puccini. Mr. Di Felice collaborated with such conductors as: Bruno Bartoletti, Richard Bonynge, Bruno Campanella, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Gustav Khun, Zubin Mehta, Gianandrea Noseda, Daniel Oren, Renato Palumbo, Alberto Zedda. He was awarded the Ettore Bastianini Prize.

Future plans include: Un Ballo in Maschera and Otello in Frankfurt; Aida and La Gioconda in Marseille; La Traviata in Turin.