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Hailed as an extraordinarily versatile artist, and in demand by the world’s major opera houses and symphony orchestras, Marcello Giordani has a repertory which encompasses a wide and diverse range of roles, running the gamut from the Bel Canto heroes of Donizetti and Bellini to the more dramatic roles of Verdi and Puccini.
Giordani opened the Metropolitan Opera's new 2007-2008 season as Edgardo in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, in a new production by Tony Award winner director Mary Zimmerman. In the Fall of 2007, he also made two unscheduled appearances on the Met's stage as Roméo in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette and as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, replacing the scheduled tenors on a few hours’ notice. He returned to the Met in 2008 in a revival of Puccini's Manon Lescaut and for his debut in the title role of Verdi's Ernani, in a production which had not been heard at the Met since 1985. The Manon Lescaut performance of February 16th was shown live in movie theaters throughout the U.S., Europe and Japan, as part of the Met's new series of live performance transmissions "Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD."
In the Fall of 2007, Giordani made his debut in Verdi's La Forza del Destino with the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, in Florence, Italy, under the direction of Zubin Mehta, and in the Spring of 2008, he sang for the first time the title role in Puccini’s Edgar in concert version with Opera Orchestra of New York (OONY). He then joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra for his debut in the role of Enée in Berlioz' Les Troyens under the direction of James Levine.
In addition to his appearances on the opera stage, Giordani participated in a gala concert for Opera Orchestra of New York in Carnegie Hall, and performed in Marcello Giordani and Friends at the Vero Beach Opera in Florida. On the occasion of the visit to the U.S. of Pope Benedict XVI on April 20th, 2008, Giordani appeared before the Pope to sing "Panis Angelicus" by César Franck during the Papal Mass in Yankee Stadium, and also sang "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's Turandot at the pre-Mass show.
The Summer of 2007 saw him in La Bohème at the Arena di Verona, and in Tosca at the Festival Puccini of Torre del Lago. In April, he made his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a concert performance of La Damnation de Faust conducted by James Levine. This was followed by a tour with the BSO and Maestro Levine, which brought Berlioz' opera to four European cities: Lucerne, Switzerland; Essen, Germany; Paris, France; and London, England.
Giordani opened the Metropolitan Opera’s 2006-07 season singing Pinkerton in the company’s new production of Madama Butterfly directed by Anthony Minghella. It was the first time in twenty years that the Met opened the season in a new production. He also appeared on the Met’s stage as Enzo in La Gioconda, Rodolfo in La Bohème, and Gabriele Adorno in Simon Boccanegra; presented a Master Class at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City; performed at the "Richard Tucker Music Foundation Gala"; appeared as Des Grieux in Puccini's Manon Lescaut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona; was the special guest at "The SoNng Continues", the annual recital of the Marilyn Horne Foundation; and gave a private recital at the Supreme Court at the invitation of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In the Spring of 2007, Giordani sang the title role of Giordano's Andrea Chénier at the Teatro Massimo Bellini of Catania, Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut at the Opernhaus Zürich, and made his debut as Paolo il Bello in Zandonai's Francesca da Rimini, also in Zurich.
In the summer of 2006, Giordani sang Il Trovatore at the Opera Festival Avenches, Tosca at the Festival Puccini in Torre del Lago, Turandot at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, and a concert performance of Simon Boccanegra at the Verbier Festival under the direction of Maestro Levine.
During the 2005-2006 season, Giordani sang Arnold in Guillaume Tell at the Wiener Staatsoper and then repeated the role in a concert performance with Opera Orchestra of New York. The latter performance proved such a triumph, that when the audience threatened to stop the show at his rendition of the cabaletta "Amis, amis secondez ma vengeance", demanding that he sing it again, he repeated the cabaletta and received a standing ovation. He also made his American debut in Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera, performed Manon Lescaut at the Teatro Regio di Parma, celebrated the 20th anniversary of his professional debut with a special concert at the Teatro Massimo Bellini, and made his debut in Don Carlo at the Teatro Regio of Torino. Additional engagements featured Turandot at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, his first fully staged La Gioconda at the Teatro Massimo Bellini, Manon in Bilbao, and Rigoletto at the Opernhaus Zürich.
Prior highlights in Marcello Giordani’s career include his debut in Andrea Chénier at the Macerata Summer Festival in 2005, and his debut in the title role of Il Trovatore at the Houston Grand Opera in 2004. In 2004, he also made his debut in the role of Enzo in a concert version of La Gioconda with Opera Orchestra of NY at Carnegie Hall, where his execution of the area “Cielo e mar” was called “sensational” by the New Yok Times. He reprised the role at the Royal Opera under the direction of Antonio Pappano. During the 2003-04 season of the Metropolitan Opera, he became the first tenor to sing the title role of Berlioz' Benvenuto Cellini in the company's premiere production under the direction of James Levine.
Earlier career highlights include the title role in the Metropolitan Opera's premiere production of Bellini's Il Pirata, a new production of Les Vêpres Siciliennes at the Opéra National de Paris, and a highly acclaimed performance as Maurizio in Adriana Lecouvreur with Opera Orchestra of New York. 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. That same season he sang Verdi’s Requiem under the direction of James Levine in Carnegie Hall. Between the years 1997 and 2000, he made his debut with Opera Orchestra of New York at Carnegie Hall in Lucrezia Borgia, and with the Munich Philharmonic in La Damnation de Faust under the direction of Maestro Levine, sang Manon at the Metropolitan Opera and appeared as Gabriele Adorno in Simon Boccanegra at the Royal Opera under the direction of Sir Georg Solti.
Marcello Giordani made his professional stage debut as the Duke in Rigoletto in Spoleto, Italy in 1986, his American debut as Nadir in Les Pêcheurs de Perles at the Portland Opera during their 1988-89 season, his La Scala debut as Rodolfo in La Bohème in 1988, and his Metropolitan Opera debut as Nemorino in L'Elisir d'Amore in 1993.
On television, Giordani 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 has also sung for two consecutive years in the Columbus Day Parade held in New York City and broadcast by the major TV stations in the US and Italy.
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. On DVD, Giordani can be seen as Pinkerton in Franco Zeffirelli's 2004 production of Madama Butterfly from the Arena di Verona, issued on TDK, and as Rodolfo in a 2005 production of La Bohème from the Zürich Opernhaus, on EMI. Scheduled for release on DVD in the first half of 2008 are La Bohème from the Arena di Verona, La forza del destino from the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Manon Lescaut. The November 28 performance of La Forza del destino will also appear in movie theaters throughout the U.S. and Europe as part of La Scala’s new venture for the recording, distribution and broadcasting of opera productions in high-definition video and digital audio.
[Updated May 7, 2008 ]
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