Luca Pisaroni makes Houston Grand Opera debut on Friday
This Friday evening, Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni will make his Houston Grand Opera debut in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro during an April 15-30 run that marks his debut in the role of Count Almaviva.
Pisaroni has already made a name for himself as one of the greatest Figaros of our time:
“Tall, handsome and intense, Luca Pisaroni is a Figaro with a bass-baritone firm, bright, and flexible allied to vivid declamation.”– Dallas Morning News
“Her beloved Figaro, the charismatic, vocally robust young Italian bass Luca Pisaroni in an open-collared white shirt and stylish auburn vest, makes an uncommonly dashing and cagey valet.”– Anthony Tommasini, New York Times
“Luca Pisaroni was a superbly athletic, attractive Figaro, a singing actor par excellence.”– San Francisco Examiner
Switching roles in Mozart’s subversive comic masterpiece – from Figaro to his nemesis, the Count – is a “thrilling opportunity,” Pisaroni says:
“After 100 performances as Figaro, it will be so interesting to play his opponent. I love Figaro, and this role will stay in my repertoire for many years, but it’s time to explore the opera’s other major male character. Mozart wrote fantastic music for the Count. Especially the second act and the beginning of the third act, which are so rich in drama that I dove into the score all over again to study and explore all the different emotions the Count goes through in such a short period of time. I also see this debut as the first stone in my process of building the bridge between roles like Figaro, Leporello, and Guglielmo – which are closer to my personality – and the ultimate goal, which is Don Giovanni.”
In May, Pisaroni will continue his string of high-profile U.S. engagements, appearing with the Dallas Symphony and the Cleveland Orchestra. In Dallas Pisaroni sings in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 under Jaap van Zweden (May 19, 21, & 22) and in Cleveland he takes part in Rossini’s Stabat Mater under Franz Welser-Möst (May 26 & 28).
This summer, Pisaroni reappears on the stages of Europe, returning to Glyndebourne to make his role debut as Argante in Handel’s Rinaldo (July 2 – Aug 22), and then reprising Leporello in Don Giovanni, this time under Yannick Nézet-Séguin at Germany’s Baden-Baden Festival (July 18-24).
Opera News got to the crux of Pisaroni’s mix of theatrical and vocal flair:
“Pisaroni’s vocal personality is akin to the brewing of an inner storm that is then distilled into a well-articulated purity of emotion. The singer’s dramatic versatility cannot be overstated: his ability to execute written notes with consummate tone, translated directly into the essence of feeling.”
Luca Pisaroni: upcoming engagements
April 15, 17, 20, 23, 27, & 30
Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro
Houston, Texas
Houston Grand Opera / James Gaffigan
May 19, 20, 21, & 22
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9
Dallas, Texas
Dallas Symphony Orchestra / Jaap van Zweden
May 26 & 28
Rossini: Stabat Mater
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland Orchestra / Franz Welser-Möst
July 2, 6, 9, & 13; August 1, 5, 7, 10, 15, 17, 20, & 22
Handel: Rinaldo
Glyndebourne Festival, U.K.
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment / Ottavio Dantone
July 18, 21, & 24
Mozart: Don Giovanni
Baden-Baden, Germany
Mahler Chamber Orchestra / Yannick Nézet-Séguin
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