Marcello Giordani

Marcello Giordani has been hailed by the international press as one of the most important tenors on the opera stage today. In demand by the world’s major opera houses, Giordani has appeared repeatedly at the Metropolitan Opera of New York, the Teatro alla Scala of Milan, the Royal Opera House of London, the Vienna Staatsoper, the Deutsche Oper of Berlin, the Opéra National of Paris, the Opernhaus Zürich, the Arena di Verona, the Teatro Real of Madrid, the Gran Teatre del Liceu di Barcelona, the Teatro Massimo Bellini of Catania, and many others. His exceptional versatility and vocal extension 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.

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 of New York as Nemorino in L'Elisir d'Amore in 1993.

Other important milestones in Marcello Giordani’s career include his debut as Gabriele Adorno in Simon Boccanegra at the Royal Opera of London under the direction of Sir Georg Solti (1997); his debut with the Munich Philharmonic in La Damnation de Faust (1999) under the direction of Maestro Levine; and his debut 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 of the title roles in the Metropolitan Opera's premiere productions of Bellini's Il Pirata (2002) and of Berlioz’ masterpiece, Benvenuto Cellini (2003). The following years saw his debuts in Verdi’s Il Trovatore at the Houston Grand Opera (2004), and in Andrea Chénier at the Macerata Summer Festival (2005). In 2004, he made his debut in 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. In 2006 he sang the role of Arnold in OONY’s concert performance of Guillaume Tell, and his interpretation of the role proved such a triumph that when the audience stopped the show at his rendition of the cabaletta "Amis, amis secondez ma vengeance", he repeated the cabaletta and received a standing ovation. “Mr. Giordani surpassed expectations as Arnold…”, declared the critic of “Classics Today”. 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 the following year as Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, in a new production by Tony Award-winning director Mary Zimmerman.

Highlights of the year 2007 include his debut as Paolo il Bello in Zandonai's Francesca da Rimini, and his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a concert performance of La Damnation de Faust conducted by James Levine. In the summer of 2007, Giordani appeared again in La damnation de Faust with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Tanglewood, and then joined the BSO and Maestro Levine in a tour that brought Berlioz' opera to four European cities: Lucerne, Essen, Paris and London. In the Fall, he 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. Later in the year, he made his debut in Verdi's La Forza del destino at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Italy, under the direction of Zubin Mehta.

One of the most significant events in Marcello Giordani’s professional and personal life took place on the occasion of the visit to New York of Pope Benedict XVI on April 20, 2008. On that day, 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. It was, in Marcello’s own words, “A day I will never forget”.

The Spring of 2008 also saw his debuts in the title role of Verdi's Ernani at the Metropolitan; in a concert version of Puccini’s Edgar with OONY; and 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. In the Summer, he participated in the “Divas in Beijing Concert Series” hailed as one of the most prestigious events the 2008 Olympic Games, featuring some of the world’s leading opera singers.

Highlights of the 2008-09 opera season were Giordani’s participation in a in a pre-season performance at the Metropolitan of Verdi’s Requiem conducted by James Levine in memory of Luciano Pavarotti, and his assumption of the title role in Berlioz’ La Damnation de Faust in a new production by Canadian director Robert Lepage. In the Spring, he sang the role of Gabriele Adorno in a concert performance of Simon Boccanegra with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Levine, followed by a performance of Adriana Lecouvreur at the Met, and a reprise of the role of Pinkerton in Minghella’s production of Madama Butterfly . In addition to his scheduled performances at the Met, Marcello Giordani stepped in for an ailing colleague as Pinkerton in four performances of Madama Butterfly, and on November 22nd, after singing the title role in the matinée performance of La Damnation de Faust, he reappeared as Pinkerton in the evening performance of Madama Butterfly, adding his name to those of a handful of singers who have sung two roles in the same day at the Met. “Marcello Giordani is a wonderful artist, but also the iron man of tenors”, declared Peter Gelb, the Met’s General Manager.

In Europe, during the same season, he appeared as Alvaro in Verdi’s La Forza del destino and in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette at the Vienna Staatsoper, and he reprised the role of Gabriele Adorno in Simon Boccanegra at the Gran Teatre del Liceo in Barcelona.

In December 2008, Marcello Giordani conducted a Master Class at Città della Notte, a new center for the arts in his native city of Augusta, followed by an end-of-the-year concert in the course of which he presented a scholarship created in memory of his father, Michele Guagliardo, to three of the participants in the course.

Giordani’s most recent appearances on the concert stage include a Gala Concert at the Festival de Opera de a Coruña, Spain; a “Liederabend” (recital with piano accompaniment) at the Opernhaus Zürich; a concert of the “Superstar Concert Series” of the Florida Grand Opera of Miami; and a recital with piano accompaniment at the Centro de Bellas Artes, in San Juan Puerto Rico. He was a participant artist in the 125th Anniversary Gala of the Metropolitan.

Future engagements during Spring/Summer 2009 include performances of Andrea Chénier at the Teatro Carlo Felice of Genoa; a house debut in the title role of Verdi’s Ernani at the Teatro Massimo Bellini of Catania; his debut at the Hungarian State Opera of Budapest as Calaf in Turandot; a reprise of the role of Cavaradossi in Tosca at the Royal Opera House in London; Verdi’s Requiem with the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro alla Scala in Rome; and concerts at the Fresno Grand Opera and at the Teatro Real of Madrid. On his schedule for the 2009-10 season are Turandot, Simon Boccanegra, and Tosca at the Metropolitan; Manon Lescaut at the Puccini Festival of Torre del Lago; Tosca at the Arena di Verona; Un Ballo in maschera and Tosca at the Wiener Staatsoper; and Simon Boccanegra at the Teatro Real of Madrid.

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 in Franco Zeffirelli's 2004 production of Madama Butterfly from the Arena di Verona (2004); in a production of La Bohème from the Opernhaus Zürich (2005); in a production of La Gioconda, from the Teatro Bellini of Catania (2006); in the Metropolitan opera production of Manon Lescaut filmed in HD in 2008; and in a new production of 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. The Metropolitan Opera’s productions of Manon Lescaut, Madama Butterfly and of La Damnation de Faust were transmitted live to movie theaters around the world as part of the Metropolitan’s “Live on HD” series, and will be released on DVD in the Fall of 2009.