Raffaele Vitagliano
Raffaele Vitagliano
Following his debut as Rodolfo in Puccini's La Bohème at the Teatro dei Rinnovati in Siena (a role which he prepared with the legendary tenor Carlo Bergonzi), Raffaele Vitagliano has established himself as one of Italy's most exciting young tenors. He has sung many of the great tenor roles throughout Europe including: Radames in Aida at Fontanellato under the baton of Maestro Marco Titotto; Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca at the Teatro Manzoni (Italy), the Theatre Klaghenfurt (Austria), the State Opera of Macedonia, and the Teatro di Orvieto (Italy); Turiddii in Cavalleria Rusticana and Canio in Pagliacci at the Teatro Brancaccio in Rome; Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut at the Klaghenfurt in Austria, under the baton of Gustav Kunn; and Alfredo in La Traviata at the Avenches Theatre, Switzerland (with Leo Nucci as Germont Pere and Irma Matulikowa as Violetta).
He has more recently assumed the role of Calaf in Turandot at the Teatro Francesco Cilea, Reggio Calabria and at the Teatro Politeama in Lecce (sharing the role with famed tenor, Nicola Martinucci) conducted by Carlo Frajese.
In addition to his many operatic engagements, Vitagliano appears regularly in concert and oratorio throughout Italy, France, Germany, Greece, Spain, Macedonia, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore and Vietnam and broadcasts regularly for RAT radio and television.
Raffaele Vitagliano is the winner of many international singing contests including the Bellini International, the Mario del Monaco, the Giuseppe di Stefano, the Francesco Cilea and was a finalist in the Placido Domingo International Competition. Vitagliano has sung the role of Manrico in Il Trovatore several times before in Reggio Calabria (Italy), Fontanellato (Italy), Teatro Greco (Italy), Teatro Politeama, Lecce (Italy) and Fiume (Croatia).
The Melbourne City Opera 2001 production of Il Trovatore, in which he was Manrico, marked Vitagliano's Australian debut. His second Australian appearance was in Tosca for MCO and he made subsequent appearances in the productions of Pagliacci and Il Tabarro in which he was Canio and Luigi respectively.