| Voice/Instrument: | Countertenor |
Biography
Born: 1981 - San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
The Argentinean-born counter-tewnor, Franco Fagioli, has both nationalities, Argentinian and Spanish. He studied first piano at the Music Institute of the Tucuman University and, later on, singing at the Institute of Art of the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires. In 1997 he founded the choir of San Martin de Porres. This was an attempt to open the door towards music for adolescents of his region. Following the advice of his singing teacher, Annelise Skovmand, as well as that of Celina Lis and Maestro Ricardo Yost, he has specialised as a counter-tenor.
In 2003 Franco Fagioli won the prestigious Bertelsmann singing competition "Neue Stimmen" in Germany. This was the start of his international career. He first performed at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, at the Handel Festival in Halle, at the Handel Festival in Karlsruhe, at the Bonn Opera, at the Essen Opera, at the Ludwigsburg Festival, at the Zürich Opera, at the Innsbruck Festival, at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genua, at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. With the title role in George Frideric Handel's Giulio Cesare he has made sensation in Zürich, Oslo and Karlsruhe.
Franco Fagioli is one of the most fascinating counter-tenors worldwide today. His performances of G.F. Handel's heroes such as Giulio Cesare, Ariodante, Teseo have been unanimously acclaimed. His breathtaking vocal technique and the beauty of his voice on all registers have set new standards.
Franco Fagioli has collaborated with conductors such as Rinaldo Alessandrini, Alan Curtis, Diego Fasolis, Gabriel Garrido, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Michael Hofstetter, René Jacobs, Konrad Junghänel, Jose Manuel Quintana, Marc Minkowski, Riccardo Muti, Christophe Rousset and Mario Videla.
The season 2008-2009 was highlighted by the title role in G.F. Handel's Teseo at the Staatsoper Stuttgart as well as Telemaco for the Argentinian Premiere of Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria and Orfeo in Orfeo ed Euridice at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires. During the season 2009-2010 he performed Ariodante (title role) at the Handel Festival in Karlsruhe, Giasone by Cavalli (title role) for his USA debut at the Chicago Opera Theatre, the world premiere of Ainadamar by Osvaldo Golijov at the Teatro Argentino in La Plata for the 200th Anniversary of Argentina's independence. He performed also Bertarido (Rodelinda) at the Festival della Valle d'Istria in Martina Franca. His first solo recital in Europe took place in November 2009 at the sold out Staatsoper Stuttgart and finished with a standing ovation. In 2010-2011 he will be performing Nerone in L'incoronazione di Poppea (Nerone) at both the Cologne Opera and the Staatsoper Dresden.
His discography includes Ezio by Gluck (SWR/Oehms Classics), Teseo by G.F. Handel (Carus Verlag/SWR) and Berenice by Handel (EMI/Virgin Classics). Solo recording to be released in November 2010 (Carus Verlag/SWR)
