Artists Archive - Page 2 of 53 - Teatro Massimo

Biography

Soprano

“One of the fiercest dramatic talents in the field” (The New York Times), Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian’s “versatility is astounding” (The Times) with a “wild voice [that is] rich and dark” (Le Monde). Regularly engaged at the world’s leading opera houses, she has recently performed at the Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro Real Madrid, the Salzburger Festspiele, and Teatro alla Scala. She was a founding member of Vilnius City Opera, has twice been awarded the Golden Stage Cross (the highest award for singers in Lithuania), was named Best Female Lead in 2019 at the Austrian Music Theater Awards, and was named Female Opera Singer of the Year in 2022 by the Ópera XXI Association.

Her 2022/23 season begins with Rusalka with the Czech Philharmonic, a role she reprises at the Royal Opera House and the Bayerische Staatsoper. Asmik also returns to three other signature title roles this season: Jenufa at the Staatsoper Berlin and the Wiener Staatsoper, Manon Lescaut at Frankfurt Oper and Salome which will be toured with the Tokyo Philharmonic in Japan, and performed in concert at the Philharmonie de Paris. Further role reprises include Nastasya in Tschaikovsky’s Charodeika at Frankfurt Oper, and Nedda (Pagliacci) at the Wiener Staatsoper at the end of her season. Concert performances include R. Strauss’ Vier Letzte Lieder with the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and then at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, and a tour with the Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and Mathias Goerne, performing Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 14. Asmik gives recitals throughout Europe, including Teatro alla Scala, Wiener Konzerthaus, and Opernhaus Zürich. In the Summer of 2022, she makes her role debut as Lady Macbeth in Verdi’s Macbeth at the Salzburger Festspiele, performs in recital with Lukas Geniusas at the Salzburger Festspiele and at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence (where she makes her debut), and performs in the Midsummer Night's Gala at Grafenegg Festival.

Asmik’s first recording, in collaboration with the pianist Lukas Geniusas, Dissonance, was released on March 25th, 2022 on Alpha. A collection of Rachmaninov songs, the duo subsequently performed this program in a series of recitals around Europe in 2022, including Grand Théâtre de Genève, Graz Musikverein and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg among many others.

Asmik has made a name for herself on both the concert and operatic platforms since her international career began with a triumphant performance in Madama Butterfly at the Royal Swedish Opera. She then went on to perform to conquer role after role including: Salome at the Salzburg Festival (described as “a Salome to end all Salomes” (Financial Times), now available on DVD) and the Bolshoi Theater, Fedora at the Royal Swedish Opera House, the three leading roles in Puccini’s Il Trittico at the Salzburger Festspeiele, Marie in Wozzeck at the Salzburger Festspiele (recorded on DVD) and Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Manon Lescaut at Oper Frankfurt, the Wiener Staatsoper and at the Bolshoi Theatre, Marietta in Korngold’s Die tote Stadt at Teatro alla Scala, Iolanta at Oper Frankfurt, Cio-Cio San at the Wiener Staatsoper, Chrysothemis in Elektra at the Salzburger Festspiele (available on DVD), Rusalka at the Teatro Real Madrid (available on DVD), Jenufa at the Royal Opera House and the Staatsoper Berlin, Tatiana in Eugene Onegin at the Wiener Staatsoper, Pique Dame at the Teatro alla Scala, Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd at Vilnius City Opera, and Senta in Der Fliegende Hollander at the Bayreuth Festspiele (available on DVD). On the concert stage, she has performed Shostakovich 14 with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande under Alexander Shelley, Beethoven IX under Riccardo Muti at the Salzburg Festival, Aids-Stiftung Gala at the Staatsoper Berlin, Marie in Drei Bruchstücke aus Wozzeck at the Teatro del Maggio and the Elbphilharmonie conducted by Zubin Mehta, and Iolanta with the Berlin Philharmonic under the baton of Kirill Petrenko.

Asmik works with many of the world's leading conductors including Valery Gergiev, Gianandrea Noseda, Vasily Petrenko, Franz Welser-Möst, Yves Abel, Vladimir Jurowski, Markus Stenz, Mikhail Tatarnikov, Alan Gilbert, and Michael Tilson Thomas. Asmik frequently collaborates with top stage directors including Dmitri Tcherniakov, Romeo Castellucci, Claus Guth, Dalia Ibelhauptaitė, Christof Loy, Barrie Kosky, Alex Ollé, Peter Konwitschny, Robert Wilson, and Vasily Barkhatov to name a few.

Biography

Direttore d'orchestra

Direttore Musicale Generale della Komische Oper di Berlino dal 2012 al 2017, dirige regolarmente sui maggior palcoscenici internazionali, fra cui Royal Opera House Covent Garden di Londra (Turandot, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Salome, Simon Boccanegra, Jenůfa), Teatro alla Scala di Milano (Elektra), Opéra di Parigi (Die Zauberflöte), The Metropolitan Opera di New York (Iolanta/Duke Bluebeard's Castle), San Francisco Opera (Elektra, Le nozze di Figaro, Così fan tutte), Gran Teatre del Liceu (Die Zauberflöte, Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci, Tosca), Bayerische Staatsoper di Monaco (La traviata, Rusalka), Lyric Opera di Chicago (Le nozze di Figaro, Madama Butterfly, Carmen), Opernhaus di Zurigo (Le nozze di Figaro), Palau de les Arts di Valencia (Il castello del principe Barbablù,Macbeth, Werther, Iolanta), Opera di Roma (La bohème, Die Zauberflöte), Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Roméo et Juliette), ABAO Olbe (Madama Butterfly).

È stato inoltre ospite di Opera di Amburgo, Opera di Francoforte, Semperoper di Dresda, Arena di Verona, Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Ha collaborato con RSO Wien, Bruckner Orchester Linz, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Atlanta Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Yomiuri Nippon Sympony, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestra della Fenice di Venezia, Essener Philharmoniker, Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, Orchestra del Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, Orchestra del Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, Filarmonica del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Orquestra Simfònica Illes Balears, Hungarian State Opera Orchestra.

Biography

Conductor

Born in 1995 in Israel, Tohar Gil works since 2022 as a Kapellmeister at the Lüneburg Theater (Germany), where he conducts symphony concerts as well as operas, ballets and musicals (Alban Berg’s Lulu, Tchaikovsky’s Swan lake among other works). In November 2022 Tohar worked as an assistant and repetitor in Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Italy.

Both as a pianist and as a conductor, Tohar performed in several international music festivals, amongst which a performance of Stravinsky’s Histoire du soldat at the last Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival.

Tohar recently graduated with his Master degree studies in conducting and piano at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg.
He had participated in conducting masterclasses with Maestro Omer Meir Wellber and Maestra Marin Alsop.

As a solo pianist and with his piano trio, Tohar is a prize winner in several national and international competitions and scholarships.

Biography

Conductor

Winner of the prestigious Turkish "Altin Objectif" award, 2021 - conductor, musician, artistic and musical director, and cultural entrepreneur, Tom Cohen is internationally recognised for fusing musical styles from East and West to create Levant Music - a new musical language.
Classically trained and steeped in the music of North Africa and Arab countries, Cohen combines Western musicians and Arabic instrument virtuosi to bring Levant Music to orchestras and ensembles as diverse as The Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra and the orchestras he’s founded in Israel, Morocco, Belgium and Canada.
As the founder, arranger, chief conductor and musical director of The Jerusalem Orchestra East & West he has presented the orchestra not only in its home city of Jerusalem but also across the Middle East. Cohen also founded the Symphonyat orchestra in Morocco which combines Jewish and Muslim players to huge success.
Resident in Brussels, Cohen’s numerous European activities include being Music Director of MED Orchestra which he founded to play Levant Music and regular appearances with El Gusto, an orchestra of Algerian musicians in France he has toured extensively to venues such as New York’s Carnegie Hall.
Much in demand as an artistic director and programmer, Cohen is artistic director of Arabesque, Akko’s international Arabic music festival held every August.
As well as creating arrangements for his various orchestras, Cohen is also a composer of film and TV music and has worked on some of the most successful tv shows in Israel.

Biography

Baritone

Salvatore Grigoli è vincitore di numerosi premi, quali “Agimus” (2007), “Giuseppe Di Stefano” (2009), “Fedora Barbieri” (2008) e “Salvatore Cicero”, migliore voce belliniana al Concorso Città di Alcamo. Tra le opere interpretate, Don Checco al Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, Gisela di Henze al Teatro Massi- mo di Palermo, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte a Beirut e sempre a Beirut Messa di Gloria di Puccini, al Teatro Massimo di Palermo Le Streghe di Philipp Glass. Interpreta Sancio Panza in Don Chisciotte di Paisiello al Festival della Valle d’Itria, a Spoleto Orfeo vedovo di Savinio nel ruolo di Orfeo, il Maestro di cappella al Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Figaro nelle Nozze di Figaro al Teatro Cilea di Reggio, Re- quiem di Fauré al Teatro Bellini di Catania, Superflumina di Sciarrino al Teatro Massimo di Palermo. È stato interprete in prima assoluta di Infinita tenebra di luce di Adriano Guarnieri e di Ehi! Giò di Vittorio Montalti al Maggio Musicale Fiorentino e di La capinera di Mogol e Bella al Bellini di Cata- nia. Successivamente ha cantato Pinocchio di Valtinoni al Regio di Torino, Il pirata e La Cenerentola (Dandini) a Catania, Le nozze di Figaro (Conte) al Goldoni di Livorno.

Biography

Conductor

Nato a Linz nel 1991, ha vinto la decima edizione del concorso di direzione d’orchestra MDR ed è stato tra i finalisti del prestigioso premio di direzione d’orchestra “Herbert von Karajan” del Festival di Salisburgo.
Da settembre 2022 è direttore in residenza della Volksoper di Vienna e durante la sua prima stagione ha diretto più di 50 spettacoli. Nell’aprile di quest’anno è stato nominato come uno dei tre finalisti del premio di direzione d’orchestra “Herbert von Karajan” e quest’estate dirigerà un concerto con la Camerata Salzburg al Festival di Salisburgo.

Nel corso della stagione precedente è stato assistente di Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla alla Bayerische Staatsoper, ha diretto The Lighthouse di Peter Maxwell Davies al Deutsches Nationaltheater di Weimar ed è stato assistente musicale di Teodor Currentzis al Festival di Salisburgo 2022. Nel 2019 è stato assistente direttore della Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester e ha fatto il suo debutto con quest’orchestra in occasione del tour di Pasqua 2019. Nel 2020 ha sostituito Ingo Metzmacher per il tour estivo dell’orchestra. Come assistente del direttore ha avuto il privilegio di lavorare a stretto contatto con maestri famosi quali Herbert Blomstedt, Teodor Currentzis, Daniele Gatti, Manfred Honeck, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Jukka-Pekka Saraste e Jonathan Nott. Ha vinto la decima edizione della concorso di direzione della MDR-Sinfonieorchester nel 2019, debuttando con l’orchestra a giugno 2021. Nella stessa stagione ricordiamo il suo debutto con i Wiener Symphoniker nel corso dei Wohnzimmer-Konzerte alla Wiener Konzerthaus.

Ha studiato direzione d’orchestra con Nicolás Pasquet ed Ekhart Wycik a Weimar e con Johan- nes Schaefli a Zurigo. Negli ultimi anni è stato invitato da importanti orchestre europee, diri- gendo la Staatskapelle di Weimar, la Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, la Wiener Symphoniker, la Brucknerorchester di Linz, la Tonkünstler Orchester NÖ, la Berner Symphonie Orchester, la Jenaer Philharmonie, la Brandenburger Symphoniker, la Göttinger Symphonie Orchester e la Gulbenkian Orchestra di Lisbona. Ha tenuto concerti in Europa, Cina e Giappone.

Biography

Chitarra

Nato a Pesaro, Eugenio Della Chiara si diploma all’età di diciannove anni con il massimo dei voti e la lode nel conservatorio della sua città sotto la guida di Giuseppe Ficara. Tra i suoi maestri vi sono Andrea Dieci e Oscar Ghiglia, con cui si perfeziona all’Accademia Chigiana di Siena.
Tra i premi ricevuti si segnalano - primo musicista a conseguire questo riconoscimento più di una volta - le due borse di studio della Fondazione Rossini ottenute nel 2008 e nel 2010. Parallelamente agli studi musicali completa la sua formazione umanistica presso l’Università Cattolica di Milano, laureandosi in Lettere Classiche e in seguito in Filologia Moderna. La sua attività concertistica lo ha portato a suonare in Giappone, Austria, Germania, Ungheria, Turchia, Spagna, Norvegia, Danimarca e Irlanda; in Italia ha tenuto recital solistici per alcune tra le maggiori istituzioni musicali del Paese, tra cui la Società del Quartetto di Milano, la Fondazione Pietà de’ Turchini di Napoli, il Festival di Martina Franca e della Valle d’Itria, la Società dei Concerti di Parma, il Rossini Opera Festival di Pesaro e l’Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano.

Ha inciso tre album per DECCA: “Schubert - A portrait on guitar”, registrato con strumenti costruiti a Vienna tra 1815 e 1840, “Guitarra Clásica”, antologia di trascrizioni da Haydn, Mozart e Beethoven, e “Paganini Live”, registrato dal vivo con Piercarlo Sacco. Nel 2022 è uscito il suo primo LP in vinile - “Eugenio Della Chiara plays” - prodotto dal CIDIM e pubblicato da Stradivarius, mentre nel 2024 è prevista l’uscita per Naxos di un CD dedicato alle opere per chitarra di Gaspar Cassadó e Frederic Mompou.

Appassionato camerista, suona in duo con il violinista Piercarlo Sacco, con il chitarrista Andrea Dieci e con il pianista Alberto Chines. Il suo interesse per la vocalità e per il teatro musicale lo porta a frequenti collaborazioni con cantanti lirici: su tutti il mezzosoprano Teresa Iervolino e i tenori Juan Francisco Gatell e Mert Süngü. Insieme ad Alessio Boni ha portato in scena “Tutto il resto è silenzio”, lettura dell’Amleto di Shakespeare accompagnata da musiche inglesi del Seicento.

Compositori appartenenti a diverse generazioni - tra cui Orazio Sciortino, Carlo Galante, Roberto Tagliamacco e Paolo Ugoletti - gli hanno dedicato oltre una ventina di lavori solistici e da camera. Ha al suo attivo varie registrazioni in prima assoluta, tra le quali spicca quella della Sonata per chitarra composta da Luciano Chailly nel 1976.

Dal 2015 è direttore artistico di “MU.N - Music Notes in Pesaro”, stagione di musica da camera orga- nizzata dall’Associazione Marchigiana Attività Teatrali. Docente nei conservatori italiani dal 2017, ha insegnato a Latina, Modena, Lecce, Genova e Bergamo: dal 2022 è in servizio presso il Conservatorio “G. Tartini” di Trieste.

Biography

Viola

Amihai Grosz looks back on a very unusual career path: At first a quartet player (founding member of the Jerusalem Quartet), then and until today Principal Violist with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and also a renowned soloist.
Initially, Amihai Grosz learned to play the violin, before switching to the viola at age 11. In Jerusalem, he was taught by David Chen, later by Tabea Zimmermann in Frankfurt and Berlin as well as in Tel Aviv by Haim Taub, who had a formative influence on him. At a very early age, he received various grants and prizes and was a member of the “Young Musicians Group” of the Jerusalem Music Center, a program for outstanding young musical talents.
As a soloist, Grosz has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Tugan Sokhiev, Klaus Mäkelä, Ariel Zukermann, Daniel Barenboim, Sir Simon Rattle, Alexander Vedernikov and Lionel Bringuier. He performs internationally with orchestras such as the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra.
In the world of chamber music, Amihai Grosz collaborates with artists such as Yefim Bronfman, Mitsuko Uchida, Daniel Hope & Friends, Eric le Sage, Janine Jansen & Friends, Julian Steckel, Daishin Kashimoto and David Geringas.
The highlights of the season 22/23 are concerts with the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, performances with the Orchestra Del Teatro Massimo di Palermo & Omer Meir Wellber, the Filarmonica de Gran Canaria & Beatriz Fernandez and the Musikalische Akademie Mannheim & Ingo Metzmacher amongst others. In the winter of 2023 Amihai will be touring Japan extensively. Performances are planned with the NHK Symphony Orchestra & Tugan Sokhiev, play-lead with the Aichi Chamber Orchestra, as well as solo performances.
Under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle Amihai will perform the Martinu Viola Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. In the upcoming summer 2023 Amihai will perform at the Verbier Festival the Sinfonia Concertante together with Janine Jansen.
As part of an important round of chamber music projects Amihai will return to perform at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Tonhalle Zurich, the Kammermusiksaal of the Berlin Philharmonic and the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Collaborations and/or tours are planned together with with Emmanuel Pahud & Anneleen Lenaerts, the Modigliani Quartett & Nathalia Milstein and Made in Berlin.
In the season of 21/22 Amihai Grosz has been appointed as Artistic Director of the International Chamber Music Festival Utrecht.
Amihai Grosz plays a Gaspar-da-Salò viola from the year 1570, which is a lifelong loan made available to him by a private collection.

Biography

Mandolin

Renowned worldwide for his musical integrity and effortless brilliance, Israeli mandolin player Jacob Reuven is one of the most sought-after virtuosos of his instrument. Reuven's broad musical horizons encompass everything from baroque to contemporary music, bringing an exuberance matched with uncompromising musical standards to all he does.
Studying under the guidance of Prof. Simha Nathanson at the Beer Sheva Music Conservatory, and later Prof. Motti Smidt at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, Reuven mastered the interpretations of repertoire for solo violin, consequently becoming the first mandolin player to ever perform violin repertoire on a mandolin with an Israeli orchestra.
His precision and technical mastery, matched by his transcendental performances, have brought Reuven a worldwide following and recognition. He has performed as a soloist at various prestigious international festivals including Dresden Music Festival, Potsdam Sanssouci Music Festival, and Festival Mandolines de Lunel, and he has played under the baton of conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Mstislav Rostropovitch, Antonio Pappano, Mendi Rodan and Zsolt Nagy. Nationally, Reuven has performed as a soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, and the Israeli Sinfonietta, among others.
A highly regarded mandolin pedagogue, Reuven is a mandolin teacher at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, He plays a custom-made mandolin by Israeli luthier Arik Kerman, and is a founder of the award-winning Kerman Mandolin Quartet ,IMS and the 16 Strings duo.