Opera Singing Competition Tullio Serafin – Concorso lirico Tullio Serafin

Gianni Tangucci, Artistic Coordinator at Accademia del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

Born in Pesaro in 1946, he began his musical studies at the Conservatory “G. Rossini” of that city, and graduated with a diploma in piano at the “B. Marcello” Conservatory of Venice. His professional career began in the field of lyric theater as a répétiteur at the Teatro “La Fenice” of Venice, where in 1970 he worked as an artistic organizer, and in 1978 he was made Artistic Secretary and in 1981 Director of the Technical-Artistic Organization. In 1983 he was the Assistant to the Artistic Director of the Teatro alla Scala, where he worked for two seasons. In September of 1985 he was named Artistic Director of the Teatro Comunale of Bologna, where he remained through 1987. For the 1987-88 and 1988-89 seasons he was the Artistic Director of the Teatro “La Fenice” of Venice, after being Artistic Consultant at the Opera of Genova. From September 1989 through 1995 he was the Vice Artistic Director at the Teatro alla Scala of Milan. From 1987 through 1992 he was the Artistic Consultant of the Teatro Comunale of Treviso where, with the collaboration and direction of Peter Maag, he promoted the project “La Bottega” for young singers, in connection with the Lyric Competition “Toti del Monte”. From 1995 through 1998 he was Artistic Consultant of the Teatro Regio of Parma. From January 1996 through March 2000 he was the Artistic Director of the Teatro Comunale of Bologna. From April 2000 he was the Artistic Director of the Teatro dell’Opera of Rome. From December 2002 through 2006 he was the Artistic Director of the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. From 2005 he was the the Artistic Consultant of the Orchestra I Pomeriggi Musicali-Teatro Dal Verme of Milan. From 2007 through July 2010 he was the Artistic Consultant of the Ministerial Commissioner of the Teatro San Carlo of Naples. From 2008 he was the Artistic Director of the Fondazione Pergolesi Spontini. In 2009 he was the Artistic Consultant of the Arena di Verona. Since 2011 he is the Artistic Director of the Festival Internazionale della Culture of Bergamo. He has also taught a course at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole (Two-year degree for music professionals – Regione Toscana); a course of History and Methods of Artistic/Musical Direction at the Università degli Studi di Parma, Department of Musicology; a course of Marketing Techniques and Performance Marketing at the Istituto Cattaneo of Rome; a course for the Master in Performance Management at the SDA Bocconi; various master classes at the Festival Internazionale della Cultura of Bergamo, at the Scuola dell’opera in Bologna, at the Festival della Valle d’Itria. From June 2013 to October 2014 he is the Artistic Coordinator of the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino/Opera di Firenze. From February to June 2015 he is Artistic Director of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Academy/Opera di Firenze and from December 2015 to now he is the Coordinator of the same Academy.

The President of Jury of the Opera Singing Competition Tullio Serafin:

Barbara Frittoli, soprano and President of the Jury

Born in Milan, she graduated with the highest honour at “Giuseppe Verdi” Conservatory in Milan where she studied with Giovanna Canetti. She later was the winner of several international competitions.

Among her career’s most remarkable performances were LE NOZZE DI FIGARO (contessa d’Almaviva) in Ferrara, OTELLO (Desdemona) at the Salzburg Festival and at Teatro Regio in Turin with Claudio Abbado, COSÌ FAN TUTTE (Fiordiligi) at the Wiener Staatsoper and at Ravenna Festival with Riccardo Muti, also with Colin Davis at Covent Garden.

She sang DON GIOVANNI at Salzburg Festival with Lorin Maazel, TURANDOT (Liù) at Opéra Bastille with Georges Prêtre and a tour with the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and Zubin Mehta. At the Metropolitan she was Desdemona in OTELLO with James Levine, a role which she has performed in Brussels (Pappano), Wien, Nice, Florence (Mehta), and in which he made his debut in Munich under the baton of Mehta. She sang DON GIOVANNI (Donna Anna) to Glyndebourne, at Wiener Staatsoper and the Metropolitan, the role of Elettra in IDOMENEO in Dresden under the baton of Colin Davis, Vitellia in LA CLEMENZA DI TITO and the title role in LUISA MILLER at the Royal Opera House. We also remember her return to Opéra National de Paris in SIMON BOCCANEGRA and OTELLO.

At Teatro alla Scala, she sang Leonora in IL TROVATORE, Alice in FALSTAFF, Desdemona in OTELLO, La Contessa d’Almaviva in LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, Anaide in MOSÈ IN EGITTO and most recently Suor Angelica in IL TRITTICO.

Her repertoire also includes IL FLAMINIO of Pergolesi, LA BOHÈME at Wiener Staatsoper and at Metropolitan Opera, Donna Elvira in DON GIOVANNI, Sifare in MITRIDATE , RE DI PONTO in Turin and Paris with Christophe Rousset, Medora in IL CORSARO, Antonia in LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN, Alice in FALSTAFF in Rome with Daniele Gatti, in Florence with Pappano, and at Covent Garden with Haitink. She was Amelia in SIMON BOCCANEGRA, Margherite in FAUST, LUISA MILLER and Elisabetta in DON CARLO debuted at Teatro Comunale in Florence under the baton of Zubin Mehta, Liù in TURANDOT at Gran Teatre Liceu di Barcellona.

Brilliant and intense is also her activities pertaining concerts: she has worked with leading orchestras and famous conductors in the world. Her vast concert repertoire includes Verdi’s Requiem performed under the baton of Riccardo Muti, Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Zubin Mehta, Valery Gergiev, Gianandrea Noseda along with bands like the Berlin Philharmonic, the Wiener Philharmonic, the Chicago Sinphony, the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, the Boston Symphony Orchestra. His repertoire also includes Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, K.427 Mass in C minor by Mozart (London Symphony Orchestra / Colin Davis), Stabat Mater by Pergolesi, Stabat Mater by Rossini (Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Riccardo Chailly) Mahler’s Fourth Symphony (Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Bernard Haitink).

She has recently sung THAÏS in Turin, the Verdi Requiem conducted by Maestro Pappano at Covent Garden, COSÌ FAN TUTTE in Valencia and Vienna, LE NOZZE DI FIGARO in Madrid, at the Opéra National in Paris and at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, SIMON BOCCANEGRA conducted by James Levine in Boston, New York but also in Barcelona, CARMEN at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, LUISA MILLER at the Zurich Opera, LA BOHÈME in Tokyo Yokohama on tour with the Teatro Regio in Turin. And moreover SIMON BOCCANEGRA at the Metropolitan Opera, FALSTAFF and LA BOHÈME in Zurich and finally DON GIOVANNI at the Metropolitan Opera, in Washington and at Teatro alla Scala in Milan as well as ADRIANA LECOUVREUR in Barcelona, DON CARLO in New York and at Teatro Regio in Turin, IL TABARRO in Verbier, FALSTAFF at Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, LA BOHÈME and PAGLIACCI at Metropolitan Opera, FALSTAFF at the Berlin Staatsoper.