Recital Franco Fagioli

Franco Fagioli, originally from Argentina, is considered one of the leading virtuoso countertenors of our time. His recent stage highlights include Nerone ("Agrippina") and Idamante ("Idomeneo") at the Royal Opera House in London and at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the title role in Rossini’s "Sigismondo" in Kraków, Arsace ("Semiramide") in Nancy, Andronico ("Tamerlano") at La Scala in Milan, Ruggiero ("Alcina") at the Hamburg State Opera and in Lausanne, as well as the title roles in "Serse" in Karlsruhe and in "Giulio Cesare" at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and at Zurich Opera House. In the 2024/25 season, he also appeared on tour as Arsace in Rossini’s "Aureliano in Palmira", as Acis ("Polifemo") in Versailles, as Farnace ("Mitridate, re di Ponto") at the Teatro Real in Madrid, and once again as "Semiramide" at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. As an internationally sought-after concert singer, he has appeared at festivals in Halle, Ludwigsburg, Innsbruck, and Salzburg, among others. He collaborates regularly with conductors such as Rinaldo Alessandrini, Alan Curtis, Gabriel Garrido, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, René Jacobs, José Manuel Quintana, Marc Minkowski, Riccardo Muti, and Christophe Rousset. As an exclusive artist with Deutsche Grammophon, he released, among others, the solo debut album "Rossini" with Armonia Atenea under George Petrou, as well as albums featuring arias by Handel and Leonardo Vinci with the ensemble Il Pomo d’Oro. In 2023, the recording "Anime Immortali" with the Basel Chamber Orchestra was released by Pentatone. His latest album, "The Last Castrato: Arias for Velluti", dedicated to the repertoire of the legendary castrato Giambattista Velluti, was released in 2025.

The Italian pianist Michele D’Elia made his public debut on the cello and piano at the age of six. He studied piano at the Conservatorio Tito Schipa in Lecce and vocal chamber music at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan. Further studies took him to the Teatro Lirico Sperimentale in Spoleto and to the Accademia Teatro alla Scala, where he still teaches today. He has also held teaching positions at the Accademia del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and at the Lunenburg Academy of Arts and Performance in Canada. He has led masterclasses at the Académie des Heures Romantiques (France), as well as at Villa Medici Giulini, the Accademia Carlo Felice in Genoa, the Accademia Verdiana in Parma, and the Bottega Donizettiana in Bergamo. He has also accompanied masterclasses by Renato Bruson, Mirella Freni, Eva Mei, Gregory Kunde, and Barbara Frittoli. As a pianist, he performs regularly at renowned venues such as Teatro alla Scala, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Zurich Opera House, Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Bilbao Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Barbican Centre in London, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Frankfurt Opera, the Verbier Festival, the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Yamaha Hall Ginza, and Kioi Hall in Tokyo, as well as on stages in Buenos Aires and Los Angeles. Michele D’Elia collaborates regularly with artists such as Juan Diego Flórez, Maria Agresta, Carmela Remigio, Eleonora Buratto, Jessica Pratt, Veronica Simeoni, Mattia Olivieri, Francesco Meli, Pretty Yende, Elisa Balbo, and Vasilisa Berzhanskaja. His recordings include the albums "Voix d’Espoir" with Veronica Simeoni and "Lunaria" with Elisa Balbo.