Vittorio Grigolo makes his Hungarian State Opera debut with an Italian song recital featuring pieces by Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini, Tosti, and Leoncavallo. The world-renowned Italian tenor will be accompanied by pianist Cristiano Manzoni at the Stars' Recitals with Piano series on 16 February 2025. The programme will also include works by Händel, Puccini, Morricone, and Keith Jarrett.
One of today’s most prominent Italian tenors, Vittorio Grigolo began his musical journey as a soloist in the Schola Puerorum Cantorum of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. At the age of 13, he performed the role of the shepherd boy in Tosca at the Rome Opera alongside Luciano Pavarotti. At 23, he became the youngest tenor to sing at the season opening of La Scala in Milan under the baton of Riccardo Muti. In 2010, he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York as Rodolfo in La bohème, and since then, he has been a sought-after soloist in the world's leading opera houses. Hungarian audiences previously had the chance to see him perform in the summer of 2019 at the Margaret Island Open-Air Theatre, where he was accompanied by the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra under the baton of Domonkos Héja, with the participation of Orsolya Sáfár. Known for his dynamic personality and captivating stage presence, Grigolo frequently ventures beyond the realm of opera. He has collaborated with such artists as Brian May, Sting, and the Pussycat Dolls, performed Frank Sinatra classics, and even appeared at the Sanremo Music Festival.
The multiple award-winning tenor, a recipient of numerous accolades including the Caruso and Puccini Awards has selected a repertoire for his Budapest Opera debut that features four concert arias by Bellini from the collection Composizioni da Camera. These will be followed by Nemorino’s famous aria Una furtiva lagrima from Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore and Rossini’s fiery tarantella La Danza from the Soirées musicales cycle. The second part of the concert will open with four Neapolitan songs by Tosti, followed by Stanislao Gastaldon’s popular Musica Proibita. The program continues with Mattinata, originally dedicated to Enrico Caruso by Leoncavallo, and Se, Ennio Morricone’s theme from Cinema Paradiso. The evening will conclude with 'O paese d' 'o sole, a beloved Neapolitan song by Vincenzo D’Annibale.
Vittorio Grigolo’s musical partner for the evening will be pianist and conductor Cristiano Manzoni, who serves as a faculty member at the Opera Department of the Florence-based Europa Academy and teaches conducting at the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory, also in Florence. In addition to holding leadership positions in nearly half a dozen Italian opera houses, he regularly accompanies renowned Italian singers in concert performances. For the opera house recital, Manzoni will also present solo pieces, including Händel’s Minuet in G minor, piano transcriptions of Intermezzo from Puccini’s Manon Lescaut and Elgar’s Salut d’amour, and Keith Jarrett’s adaptation of Shenandoah.
