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After beginning his studies in 1957 with Mario Bigazzi and later working with Giuseppe Marchesi, Leo Nucci won several singing competitions in 1965 and 1966. In 1967, he won the A Belli competition at Spoleto after having made his debut as Rossini’s Figaro. In Milan, while singing in the La Scala chorus, Nucci studied the title role in Rigoletto with maestro Ottaviano Bizzarri and, in 1973, won the Concorso Internazionale Viotti di Vercelli. Nucci appeared at La Scala as Rossini’s Figaro in 1976, the first entry on a long list of leading roles he would sing there. At Covent Garden in 1978, he was called upon to substitute for an ailing colleague as Miller in Verdi’s Luisa Miller, a performance that resulted in re-engagement at Renato (Anckarström) in Un Ballo in Maschera. In 1979, Nucci made his debut at the Wiener Staatsoper as Figaro. Renato served as the agent of his debut at the Metropolitan Opera on February 23, 1980, and again for Paris in 1981 and Salzburg in 1989. Since his debut at the Met, Nucci has sung many of the Verdi roles there. In addition, he has appeared in both San Francisco and Chicago. Nucci has frequently appeared at La Scala, participating in several productions surrounding the centenary of Verdi’s death. For a production of La Forza del Destino, he sang after a short recuperation from a serious ailment. His activities in the recording studio have resulted in a half-dozen Grammys for Best Opera Recording. Nucci has recorded all the major Verdi baritone roles, some of them more than once, all with leading conductors; the list includes Abbado, Bartoletti, Chailly, Giulini, Karajan, Levine, Maazel, Mehta, Muti, and Solti.
Bo Skovhus studied at the Aarhus Music Institute, the Royal Opera Academy in Copenhagen and in New York. Significant engagements in his career were Reimann’s »Lear« at the Paris Opera, and Beckmesser in »Meistersinger« at the Bastille and at the Wagner Festival in Budapest. In addition, Titus in »Bérénice« by Michael Jarrell at the Paris Opera under the direction of Philippe Jordan, as well as in Dresden in the role of Mandryka in »Arabella«. He also sang the title role in »Wozzeck« at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein and Dr. Schön in »Lulu« at the Vienna State Opera, followed by Šiškov in “From a House of the Dead” at the Bavarian State Opera, Jean-Charles in “The Raft of the Medusa” (Werner Henze) in Amsterdam, and the title roles in “Karl V.” (Ernst Krenek) at the Bavarian State Opera, »Lear« at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and »Eugen Onegin« at the Hamburg State Opera. He recently performed as Ryuji in Henze’s “Das Verratene Meer” at Vienna State Opera, Hamburg State Opera as Eisenstein/FLEDERMAUS, Hamburg State Opera Berlin as Jaroslav Prus / VEC MAKROPULOS, in Boston and at Carnegie Hall in concert as WOZZECK, at the Cuvilliestheater in Munich as Father) / BLUTHAUS, and as Plato Kusmitsch Kovalev / DIE NASE at Semper Opera Dresden. In addition to appearances in operas, Bo Skovhus devotes himself to recital and concert singing with great personal commitment. Future engagements include Jochanaan/SALOME in Lübek, FLEDERMAUS in Genoa, Jaroslav Prus/VEC MAKORPULOS in Berlin, Father/BLUTHAUS in Lyon, Mandryka/SALOME in Dresden, Dr. Schön/LULU in Vienna and in Florence, Faninal/ROSENKAVALIER in Geneva, LEAR in Madrid, LEBEN MIT EINEM IDIOTEN (Alfred Schnittke) in Zürich; THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON in Hamburg. The artist has been awarded the title of “Österreichischer Kammersänger” as well as the title of “Bayerischer Kammersänger”.
Sam Hird studies at the Royal College of Music (RCM) in London for a Master of Performance with baritone Peter Savidge. Recent engagements include baritone soloist in a special RCM concert to celebrate the life of composer Joseph Horovitz, L’Ambasciatore in Respighi’s opera La Bella Dormente nel Bosco, and Jesus in Bach’s St John Passion with Milton Keynes Chorale. Previous experience includes baritone solo in Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony conducted by Jonathan Willcocks, London Song Festival masterclass with Sir Thomas Allen, a Winter’s Night Recital of songs by Schubert, Britten and Fauré for baritone and guitar at All Saint’s Church (York), and baritone solo in Handel’s Messiah with the Orchestra of St John’s at Dorchester Abbey conducted by John Lubbock. Sam is a Richard Silver Scholar and is supported by the Josephine Baker Trust.
Felix is a member of the International Opera Studio of the Zurich Opera House. Next season he will be appearing in several productions at the Zurich Opera House, most notably as Phileas Fogg in the world premiere of Around the World in 80 Days by Jonathan Dove.
Felix is a Samling Artist and a National Opera Studio Young Artist 2022/23. He received his training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.
He was a member of the Atelier Lyrique of the Verbier Festival 2023, where he was awarded the Prix Thierry Mermod for the most promising singer. In January 2024, he participated in the Carnegie Hall SongStudio under the patronage of Renée Fleming.
Felix is a passionate Lieder singer and regularly performs in recitals in the UK, France, and Switzerland with pianists JongSun Woo and Tomasz Domanski. He made his US debut performing Schubert’s Winterreise with pianist Pierre-Nicolas Colombat at the Boston Text and Tone Festival.
Baritone Henry Griffin is pursuing his bachelor’s in Classical Voice at the Manhattan School of Music with Marlena Malas. His recent roles include Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Castleton Festival, covering the role of the Commentator in Derrick Wang’s opera Scalia/Ginsburg at the Chautauqua Opera Company in 2021 and returning in 2022 to sing the role of The Forester in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen. This year, he sings Ottone in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea at the Manhattan School of Music and will be the inaugural Voice Fellow at the Mostly Modern Festival in Saratoga Springs, USA.
Singer and conductor, tenor and baritone, eclectic artist with more than 150 roles, acclaimed by the public on stages all over the world.
Defined Renaissance man, awarded with honorary titles and prizes also for his humanitarian commitment.
Promoter of young talents and founder of Operalia. Worldwide Ambassador of Spanish Culture and Zarzuela.
Extraordinarily versatile, he has been general director and promoter of opera with Carreras and Pavarotti.
Performer of world premieres of operas, starred in opera movies, pioneer of crossover and winner of 12 Grammy Awards.
Conductor with more than 600 performances.
His career has continued for more than half a century and for this he has been celebrated at the Operas of New York, Vienna, Verona, Milan and Buenos Aires.
German baritone Dennis Chmelensky has been praised for his “carrying power as well as subtle sensitivity to sound” (Philadelphia Inquirer). He is a former member of the Washington National Opera’s Cafritz Young Artist Program and an alumus of the Curtis Institute of Music. This season, he made his debut at the Philips Collection with Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte and workshopped the role of Sensor in Jeanine Tesori’s new opera Grounded that was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera. Recent highlights include appearances with Opera for Peace and his debut as Don Giovanni in a Curtis / Opera Philadelphia co-production under the baton of Karina Canellakis. A devoted recitalist, Dennis has performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe, in venues such as the National Gallery of Art and at Konzerthaus Berlin. He was a National Semifinalist of the 2022 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and is the recipient of numerous awards. His debut album, DENNIS, was released by Sony Music.
Daniel Barrett is a baritone from Glasgow who is in his first year on the master’s course at the Royal College of Music and studies with Russell Smythe. Daniel is a Drapers’ de Turckheim Scholar and a Drake Calleja Trust Scholar, as well as an associate artist with the Josephine Baker Trust. He previously studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, winning and placing in multiple competitions and graduating with a First class honours degree. This year, Daniel won First Prize at the Royal College Music (RCM) Lieder Competition. He recently appeared as baritone soloist in Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, performed by the RCM Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall, under the direction of Thomas Zehetmair.
French-Canadian baritone Olivier Bergeron completed his studies at the École Normale de Musique de Paris in 2017. The same year, he sang the title role in La morte d’Orfeo at the Festival de Royaumont under Christophe Rousset. He made his professional debut the following season in Dido and Aeneas with Les Talens Lyriques at the Festival de musique de Menton. Recent performances include Il mondo alla roversa at the Opéra Grand Avignon, Opéra de Reims and the Philharmonie de Paris, Die stumme Serenade with Opera Fuoco and Les Pêcheurs de perles at the Festival d’Opéra de Québec. In recital, he made his debut at the Wigmore Hall and at Salle Cortot during the 2019/2020 season after taking part in the French Song Exchange under the tutelage of François Le Roux and Dame Felicity Lott. Olivier’s projects include a recital at the Petit Palais in Paris and a residency around Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin at the Musée d’art de Joliette, in Quebec. He receives generous support from the Jeunesses Musicales Canada Foundation and the Art Song Foundation of Canada.
South Korean baritone Edward Kim is currently pursuing his Master of Performance in Royal College of Music with Professor Janis Kelly. He made his operatic debut as Conte in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro at the Berlin Opera Academy in 2019. Equally at home with Oratorio and art song, Edward has sung solos in Mozart’s Requiem and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and was also selected to participate in a recital of Schumann’s Myrthen by Roger Vignoles. He has had success in several competitions, clinching the top prizes in Seoul Music Competition, Osaka International Music Competition, Estonia International Competition and Concert Artists International Competition in New York. Edward is supported by the Sheila Saam Memorial and Drake Calleja Trust.