Marcello Giordani is, arguably, “the greatest leading tenor of his generation” – “Opera News”, March 2008. Marcello Giordani has been hailed by the international press as one of the most important tenors on the opera stage today. He has appeared in all of the world’s major opera houses and has sung with many of today’s most renown conductors. His exceptional versatility and vocal range have allowed him to encompass a vast repertory, running the gamut from the Bel Canto operas of Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini and the lyricism of the French operatic repertoire, to the more dramatic roles of Verdi and Puccini. More recently, he has also undertaken the great vocal works of Berlioz, such as La damnation de Faust and Les Troyens. Giordani’s schedule for the 2010-11 opera season includes his debut in September in the role of Radames in a season-opening production of Verdi’s Aida at the San Francisco Opera. This will be followed by performances of Puccini’s La Bohème at the Teatro Massimo Bellini of Catania in October, and of Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. He returns to the United States in December for his debut in the role of the Mexican bandit Ramerrez, next to the “fanciulla” of Deborah Voigt, in Giancarlo del Monaco’s production of Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West which opened the 1991-92 opera season at the Metropolitan Opera. The current revival of this production after an absence of about 15 years, marks the 100th Anniversary of the world premiere of the opera at the Metropolitan in the presence of the composer, with Emmy Destinn in the title role and Enrico Caruso as Dick Johnson/Ramerrez. In January 2011, Giordani will reprise the role of Ramerrez at the Lyric Opera of Chicago where he rejoins Deborah Voigt as Minnie. March and April will see Giordani making his debut in three different roles: Vasco da Gama in Meyerbeer’s L’Africaine in a concert version with Opera Orchestra of New York; Turiddu in Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Canio in Pagliacci, in a Cav/Pag double bill at the Gran Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona. He finishes the season as Cavaradossi in three different productions of Puccini’s Tosca in three major European opera houses: the Bayerisches Staatsoper of Munich, the Royal Opera House of London, and the Teatro Real of Madrid. On the concert stage, Giordani will appear as a guest artist in the prestigious Richard Tucker Gala in November 2010. In February 2011 he will once more join forces with Deborah Voigt for a concert at the Vero Beach Opera where he will also offer a Master Class for young opera singers. Highlights of the 2009-10 opera season were a revival of the 1995 production by Giancarlo del Monaco of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra at the Metropolitan Opera, where he performed the tenor role of Gabriele Adorno next to Placido Domingo in the title role; a new production of Tosca by Luc Bondi, also at the Metropolitan; and a new production of Gounod’s Faust at the Teatro alla Scala of Milan. Off the stage, Giordani conducted Master Classes at the Manhattan School of Music in New York and at the Vero Beach Opera in Vero Beach, Florida. In December 2009, Giordani participated, as a member of the teaching faculty, in the biennial course of the new “Academy of advanced specialization” established at his own initiative under the patronage of the Teatro Massimo Bellini of Catania, Sicily. www.marcellogiordani.com A major event which took place in the Spring of 2010 was the inauguration on May 7th in New York City of the Marcello Giordani Foundation, a not for profit organization dedicated to the help and support of young opera singers. In August, he took time off from his operatic schedule to present on behalf of the Foundation an operatic program in his native Sicily entitled ESTATE LIRICA, showcasing some of the best student singers who had attended the courses of the Academy. The Summer of 2010 also saw Giordani’s debut as Pollione in Bellini’s Norma at the Salzburg Festival, and his appearance in concert at the Tuscan Sun Festival in Cortona, Italy. Born in Augusta, Sicily, in 1963, Marcello Giordani began his voice studies in 1983 in Catania, and then in Milan. In 1986, he won the singing competition of Spoleto, and that same year he made his professional debut as the Duke in Rigoletto at the Festival of Spoleto in Italy. His debut in the United States was in the role of Nadir in Les Pêcheurs de Perles at the Portland Opera during the 1988-89 season. He made his debut at Teatro alla Scala of Milan as Rodolfo in La Bohème in 1988, and at the Metropolitan Opera of New York as Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore in 1993. Other early milestones include his debuts as Gabriele Adorno in Simon Boccanegra at the Royal Opera of London under the direction of Sir Georg Solti (1997); with the Munich Philharmonic in La Damnation de Faust (1999) under the direction of Maestro Levine; and with Opera Orchestra of New York (OONY) at Carnegie Hall in Lucrezia Borgia (2000). In 2001 he became the first Italian in the history of the Metropolitan Opera to sing the role of Lenski in Eugene Onegin in Russian. Of his performance as Maurizio in Adriana Lecouvreur with OONY in 2002 the New York Times wrote: “Marcello Giordani sang like a god”. Also to be noted are his performances in the title roles of the Metropolitan Opera’s premiere productions of Bellini’s Il Pirata (2002) and of Berlioz’ masterpiece, Benvenuto Cellini (2003); his debut in 2004 the role of Enzo in a concert version of La Gioconda with OONY, where his interpretation of the aria “Cielo e mar” received a four-minute ovation and was declared “sensational” by the New York Times; and his performance in 2006 as Arnold in OONY’s concert performance of Guillaume Tell, where the audience stopped the show following his execution of the cabaletta “Amis, amis secondez ma vengeance”, clamouring for an encore. That same year, he made his debut in Verdi’s Don Carlo at the Teatro Regio of Turin, and celebrated the 20th anniversary of his professional debut with a special concert in his honor at the Teatro Bellini of Catania. In the Fall of 2006, Giordani opened for the first time the new season at the Metropolitan Opera as Pinkerton in the company’s new production of Madama Butterfly conceived and directed by the renowned movie director Anthony Minghella. He opened the Met season again in 2007 as Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, in a new production by Tony Award-winning director Mary Zimmerman, and that same year he made his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a concert performance of La Damnation de Faust conducted by James Levine. The following year saw his debuts in the title role of Verdi’s Ernani at the Metropolitan; in the challenging role of Enée in a series of concert performances of Berlioz’ Les Troyens with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of James Levine; and in Puccini’s Edgar with Opera Orchestra of New York. On April 20, 2008, on the occasion of the visit to New York of Pope Benedict XVI on April 20, 2008, he appeared before the Pope to sing “Panis Angelicus” by César Franck during the Papal Mass in Yankee Stadium. “A day I will never forget,” he declared. During the 2008-09 opera season at the Metropolitan Opera, Giordani participated in a pre-season performance of Verdi’s Requiem conducted by James Levine in memory of Luciano Pavarotti; sang the title role in Berlioz’ La Damnation de Faust in a new production by Canadian director Robert Lepage; and reprised the role of Pinkerton in Minghella’s production of Madama Butterfly which was broadcast as part of the the Met’s “Live on HD” series. On November 22nd, after singing the title role in the matinée performance of La Damnation de Faust, he reappeared as Pinkerton in the www.marcellogiordani.com evening performance of Madama Butterfly, adding his name to those of a handful of singers who have sung two leading roles on the same day at the Met. Appearances in Europe during the same season included La Forza del destino and Roméo et Juliette at the Vienna Staatsoper; Simon Boccanegra at the Gran Teatre del Liceo in Barcelona and in a concert performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra; Andrea Chénier at the Teatro Carlo Felice of Genoa; Turandot at the Hungarian State Opera of Budapest; Ernani at the Teatro Massimo Bellini of Catania; and a performance of Verdi’s Requiem in Rome with the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro alla Scala. He concluded the season in July as Cavaradossi in a much acclaimed production of Tosca at the Royal Opera House. In addition to his appearances on the opera stage, Giordani has frequently appeared in concerts and recitals both in Europe and in the U.S. He has been a frequent guest star on the nationally televised Richard Tucker Gala, and the guest artist at St. Patrick’s Cathedral for the nationally televised Christmas midnight mass. He sang for two consecutive years (2006 and 2007) in the Columbus Day Parade held in New York City and broadcast by the major TV stations in the US and Italy. His execution of “Panis Angelicus” before the Pope in april 2008 was broadcast live on national and international television channels. Marcello Giordani’s discography includes the first studio recording of Verdi’s Jérusalem for Philips, and two solo recordings: the first, on Naxos, features tenor arias by Bellini, Bizet, Donizetti, Mascagni, Rossini, and Verdi, among others, and the second on VAI, entitled Sicilia Bella, features classical songs from Giordani’s native Sicily. He is also featured on Many Voices, a compilation of songs by composer Steven Mercurio on Sony Classical. Scheduled for distribution in the Fall of 2010 is a new CD of Neopolitan and Italian songs titled of “Ti voglio tanto bene” dedicated to the great Italian tenors of the past. On DVD, Giordani can be seen in Franco Zeffirelli’s 2004 production of Madama Butterfly from the Arena di Verona (2004); in La Bohème from the Opernhaus Zürich (2005); in La Gioconda, from the Teatro Bellini of Catania (2006); in La forza del destino by the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, filmed live in HD from the stage of the Teatro Comunale of Florence, Italy, in 2007; and in the Metropolitan opera production of Manon Lescaut filmed in HD in 2008 and broadcast live on the HD international network. The Metropolitan Opera’s “Live on HD” broadcasts of Madama Butterfly, La Damnation de Faust and Turandot are scheduled for release on DVD in the Fall of 2010.