Saimir Pirgu
Saimir Pirgu (born 23 September 1981 in Elbasan) is an Albanian opera tenor. In 2014 he was awarded the Italian citizenship by the President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano.
Biography
He originally studied violin,[1] before he moved to Bozen, Italy, where Vito Brunetti discovered his tenor voice.
Pirgu won the first prize in the international competitions Caruso in Milan in 2002 and Tito Schipa in Lecce in the same year. He was recognized with the Franco Corelli award in 2009 in Ancona and with the prestigious “Pavarotti d’Oro Award" in 2013.
At the age of 22 he was discovered by Claudio Abbado who chose him to play the role of Ferrando in Mozart's Così fan tutte. He collaborates with the most prestigious theaters and musical institutions in the world as: Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Opéra National de Paris, London Royal Opera House, New York Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Berlin State Opera and Deutsche Oper, Salzburg Festival, Vienna Musikverein, Bayerische Rundfunks in Munich and Amsterdam Concertgebouw.
He has been directed by Riccardo Muti, Claudio Abbado, Mariss Jansons, Zubin Mehta, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Lorin Maazel, Seiji Ozawa, Daniel Barenboim, James Conlon, Antonio Pappano, Daniele Gatti.
Among his last appearances there are: Rigoletto and King Roger at the London Royal Opera House, La Traviata at Metropolitan Opera in New York, Santa Fe Opera and Berlin State Opera, Il Flauto Magico at La Scala in Milan, L’Elisir d’Amore at Vienna State Opera and Berlin Deutsche Oper, Lucia di Lammermoor at Los Angeles Opera, La Traviata and I Capuleti e i Montecchi at San Francisco Opera, La Bohème and Lucia di Lammermoor at Washington National Opera, Un Ballo in Maschera in Tel Aviv, La Clemenza di Tito at the Opéra National de Paris, Rigoletto at the Arena in Verona and Vienna State Opera, La Bohème at Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Mozart’s Requiem at Chicago Symphony Center, Verdi’s Requiem at Salzburg Festival, Vienna Musikverein, Bayerische Rundfunks in Munich, Pilharmonie de Paris and Amsterdam Concertgebouw.
In January 2016 he released his latest album "Il Mio Canto", edited by Opus Arte.
Honors and awards
- 2002: First Prize at "Caruso" competition (Milan)
- 2002: First Prize at "Tito Schipa" competition (Lecce)
- 2004: "Eberhard-Waechter-Gesangsmedaille" Award (Vienna)
- 2009: "Franco Corelli" Award (Ancona)
- 2013: "Golden Pavarotti" Award
- 2016: "Çelësit të Qytetit" ("The Key of the City"), an honor of the capital of Albania, Tirana.
Repertoire
- G. Verdi: Il Duca di Mantova – Rigoletto
- G.Verdi: Alfredo Germont: La traviata
- G. Verdi: Macduff – Macbeth
- G. Verdi: Fenton – Falstaff
- G. Verdi: Requiem
- G. Donizetti: Nemorino – L'elisir d'amore
- G. Donizetti: Sir Edgardo di Ravenswood – Lucia di Lammermoor
- W. A. Mozart: Idomeneo – Idomeneo re di Creta
- W. A. Mozart: Tito Vespasiano – La clemenza di Tito
- W. A. Mozart: Don Ottavio – Don Giovanni
- W. A. Mozart: Tamino – Die Zauberflöte
- W. A. Mozart: Ferrando – Così fan tutte
- W. A. Mozart : Requiem
- J. Massenet: Il Cavaliere Des Grieux – Manon
- J. Massenet: Werther – Werther
- Ch. Gounod: Roméo – Roméo et Juliette
- Ch. Gounod: Faust – Faust
- G. Puccini: Rodolfo – La bohème
- G. Puccini: Rinuccio – Gianni Schicchi
- G. Puccini: Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton – Madama Butterfly
- V. Bellini: Tebaldo – I Capuleti e i Montecchi
- J. Hoffenbach: Hoffmann – Les contes d'Hoffmann
- G. Rossini: Il cavalier Belfiore – Il viaggio a Reims
- G. Rossini: Petite Messe Solennelle
- F. Alfano: Christian – Cyrano de Bergerac
- V. Martín y Soler: Giocondo – Il burbero di buon cuore
- S. V. Rachmaninov: Paolo – Francesca da Rimini
- P. I. Čajkovskij: Godefroy de Vaudémont – Iolanta
- I. Stravinskij: Pulcinella
- F. J. Haydn: Die Schöpfung
- A. Dvorak: Stabat Mater
- H. Berlioz: Requiem
- H. Berlioz: Messe Solennelle
Discography
- G. Verdi – Rigoletto (Zürich Opernhaus 2014), 2015, DVD
- G. Verdi – Requiem (Vienna Musikverein 2013), 2014, DVD Blu-ray
- G. Verdi – Requiem (München, Bayerische Rundfunk 2013), 2014, CD
- V. Bellini – I Capuleti e i Montecchi (San Francisco Opera 2012), 2014, DVD Blu-ray
- New Year's Concert 2013 (Venice, Teatro la Fenice 2013), 2014, DVD Blu-ray
- W. A. Mozart – Die Zauberflöte (Milan, Teatro alla Scala 2011), 2012, DVD Blu-ray
- G. Puccini – La bohème im Hochhaus (Live from Berne, Switzerland, 2009), 2010, DVD
- W. A. Mozart – Idomeneo (Graz, Styriarte Festival 2008), 2009, DVD
- G. Verdi – La traviata (Opéra Royal de Wallonie, Belgium 2009) 2009, DVD
- V. Martín y Soler – Il burbero di buon cuore (Madrid, Teatro Real 2007) 2009, DVD
- V. Martín y Soler – Il burbero di buon cuore (Madrid, Teatro Real 2007) 2013, CD
- R. Carnicer – Elena e Costantino (Madrid, Teatro Real 2005) 2009, CD
- G. Rossini – La cambiale di matrimonio (Rossini Opera Festival 2006) 2008, DVD
- G. Rossini – La cambiale di matrimonio (Rossini Opera Festival 2006) 2007, CD
- Opera Night (Opera Cologne, for the German AIDS Foundation, 2005), 2006 DVD
- Angelo Casto e Bel (Universal), 2006, CD
References
- ↑ "Ein Sängerleben ist nicht so einfach" by Daniel Ender, Der Standard (9 December 2010) (German)
External links
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