Giorgio Berrugi is an Italian operatic tenor.

Giorgio Berrugi
Giorgio Berrugi
Born
Giorgio Berrugi

(1977-07-29) 29 July 1977 (age 47)
Pisa, Italy
OccupationOpera singer (tenor)
Years active2010–present
Websitewww.giorgioberrugi.com

Musical education

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Born in Pisa, Italy, Berrugi was a clarinetist, graduating summa cum laude from the Istituto “Mascagni” of Livorno. Further studies at the Accademia teatro alla scala (course for professional orchestral musicians), the Accademia di Imola for chamber music, and the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole, where he was awarded the Premio Lucchesini. Berrugi was winner of several international prizes both as a solo clarinetist and as a member of the Alban Berg Duo, including first prizes at the Rome[1](2002) and Bologna international chamber music competitions.[2][3][4] In 2002 he won the Solo Clarinet chair of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma, which he held until 2006.[2]

 
Berrugi

Vocal education

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In 2007 Berrugi started private vocal instruction with La Scala baritone Carlo Meliciani. He made his operatic debut at the Venice Teatro La Fenice as Rodolfo in La bohème in 2008.[5] Further vocal studies followed with Francisco Araiza and with pianist Eytan Pessen, with whom he has also performed a recital at the Ian Rosenblatt Recital Series at Wigmore Hall.[6]

Career

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In 2010 Giorgio Berrugi was invited by opera director Eytan Pessen[7] to the ensemble of the Dresden Semperoper where he stayed until 2013; with that company he debuted roles including Don José in Carmen, Riccardo in Un ballo in maschera, Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore,[8] Duca di Mantova in Rigoletto, and Gennarino in the world première of Hans Werner Henze‘s Gisela!.[3][5][9][10][11]

 
Giorgio Berrugi with Composer Hans Werner Henze and co-librettist Michael Kerstan during rehearsals for the World premiere of the Dresden version of Gisela!

Berrugi's Dresden years propelled him to an international career. Since 2013 Berrugi has performed in opera theatres and festivals all over the world. In Italy he has performed at the Teatro La Scala (Verdi Requiem and Simon Boccanegra),[12] the Teatro Massimo di Palermo (Rodolfo, Edgardo),[13] the Teatro Regio (Turin)[14] (Tamino, Rodolfo, Edgardo), the Teatro Verdi di Salerno (Rodolfo), the Arena di Verona Festival (Roméo, Pinkerton, Ismaele in Nabucco),the Teatro di San Carlo (Nemorino, Rodolfo in Luisa Miller), the Teatro Municipale di Piacenza (Hoffmann). Berrugi also performs frequently with the Italian soprano Maria Agresta.

 
Berrugi, Agresta, Macheda

International appearances include the San Francisco Opera (Rodolfo), the Deutsche Oper Berlin (Rodolfo), the Opéra de Marseille (Cavaradossi),[15] Oviedo (Rodolfo), Lucerne (Verdi Requiem), the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (Verdi Requiem), the Gewandhaus, Suntory Hall, Japan, Wigmore Hall, London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, (Cavaradossi), and the Savonlinna Opera Festival (Pinkerton).[11]

Conductors

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Berrugi has collaborated with prominent conductors including Zubin Mehta,[16] Daniel Oren, Christian Thielemann, Fabio Luisi, Gustavo Dudamel, Pinchas Steinberg, Nicola Luisotti, Myung-whun Chung, and Jaap van Zweden.[11]

Vocal and artistic characteristics

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Mentioned by Placido Domingo as one of his vocal successors,[17][18] Berrugi’s voice has been described as a tenor of radiant, honeyed color, "clear bright tone"[19] and typically Italianate timbre, contributing to his association with the tenor roles of Puccini and Verdi, but he has performed numerous French roles and sings a varied repertoire including modern works by Henze and others.

Personal life

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Giorgio Berrugi is married and has a son.[20]

Repertoire

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Operatic Roles

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Composer Opera Role Where performed
Puccini La bohème Rodolfo Teatro La Fenice, Semperoper Dresden, Staatsoper Hamburg, San Francisco Opera, New Israeli Opera Tel Aviv, Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Teatro di San Carlo Napoli, Teatro Verdi di Salerno, Ópera de Oviedo, Deutsche Oper Berlin (2016), Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Teatro Regio di Torino[11]
Puccini Tosca Cavaradossi Semperoper Dresden, Opéra de Marseille, Teatro del Giglio Lucca, Concertgebouw Amsterdam[11]
Puccini Madama Butterfly Pinkerton Arena di Verona, Savonlinna Opera Festival, Semperoper Dresden[11]
Verdi Un ballo in maschera Rodolfo Semperoper Dresden
Verdi Simon Boccanegra Gabriele Adorno Semperoper Dresden, Teatro alla Scala (2016), Teatro Regio di Torino (Hong Kong tour 2016)
Verdi La traviata Alfredo Seoul Arts Center, Oper Leipzig, New Israeli Opera Tel Aviv
Verdi Luisa Miller Rodolfo Semperoper Dresden, Teatro di San Carlo
Verdi Macbeth Macduff Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, Semperoper Dresden
Verdi Rigoletto Duca di Mantova Semperoper Dresden, Teatro alla Scala (tour to NHK Hall Tokyo)
Verdi Nabucco Ismaele Arena di Verona
R. Strauss Der Rosenkavalier Italian Tenor Royal Opera House Covent Garden (2016)
R. Strauss Capriccio Ein italienischer Sänger Semperoper Dresden
Mozart Die Zauberflöte Tamino Teatro Regio di Torino
Donizetti Lucia di Lammermoor Edgardo Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Teatro Regio di Torino
Donizetti L'elisir d'amore Nemorino Semperoper Dresden, Teatro di San Carlo, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Bizet Carmen Don José Semperoper Dresden
Gounod Roméo et Juliette Roméo Arena di Verona
Berlioz La damnation de Faust Faust Budapest Bela Bartok National Concert Hall
Offenbach Les contes d'Hoffmann Hoffmann Teatro Municipale di Piacenza, Teatro Comunale di Modena, Teatro Valli di Reggio Emilia
Henze Gisela! Gennarino Semperoper Dresden

Concert Repertoire

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Composer Work Role Venues
Puccini Messa di Gloria solo tenor MDR Leipzig
Verdi Messa da Requiem solo tenor Teatro alla Scala, Palau de les arts Valencia, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées Paris, Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Hallé Manchester, Luzern Konzertsaal, Dallas Meyerson Symphony Center, Cesis Concert Hall Latvia, Teatro Regio di Torino (Hong Kong Tour 2016)

References

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  1. ^ "Chi siamo". www.concorsohyperion.eu.
  2. ^ a b "Giorgio Berrugi clarinettista di fama mondiale - Il Tirreno". Archivio - Il Tirreno.
  3. ^ a b IMG Artists. "artist biography: Giorgio Berrugi". Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  4. ^ "Ein neuer Stern am Tenorhimmel: Giorgio Berrugi vom Teatro La Fenice in die Welt". Opera Lounge.
  5. ^ a b Sánchez, Sergio (January 2016). "Giorgio Berrugi: "La bohème es la ópera de la juventud, de los primeros amores, de la libertad"". Ópera Áctual.
  6. ^ "Giorgio Berrugi & Eytan Pessen at Wigmore Hall – Rosenblatt Recital @www.classicalsource.com". www.classicalsource.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-07-02.
  7. ^ "GIORGIO BERRUGI". 6 January 2016.
  8. ^ "Detailansicht – Semperoper Dresden". www.semperoper.de.
  9. ^ "Fernweh ist Heimweh". www.tagesspiegel.de.
  10. ^ ""Gisela!" – merkwürdig, denkwürdig, besuchenswert". 25 November 2010.
  11. ^ a b c d e f "listing of Berrugi's schedule from September 2010". Operabase. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  12. ^ "Simon Boccanegra - Teatro alla Scala". www.teatroallascala.org.
  13. ^ "Palermo, star della lirica per "Lucia di Lammermoor" di Donizetti - Askanews". www.askanews.it.
  14. ^ "Torino - Teatro Regio: Lucia di Lammermoor (Cast alternativo) - OperaClick". www.operaclick.com.
  15. ^ "Une "Tosca" de caractère à l'Opéra de Marseille - DestiMed". destimed.fr.
  16. ^ "Milano - Chiesa di San Marco: Con Zubin Mehta il Requiem torna in San Marco - OperaClick". www.operaclick.com.
  17. ^ "Placido Domingo: "Cantate con me contro i puristi"". Spettacoli - La Repubblica. 11 March 2016.
  18. ^ "Berrugi erede designato di Domingo". Il Tirreno. 5 May 2016.
  19. ^ "Arts review: Simon Boccanegra can't overcome its inherent problems". South China Morning Post. 29 February 2016.
  20. ^ "Intervista al tenore Giorgio Berrugi". www.liricamente.it.
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