Leo Nucci

Vocation

Italian operatic baritone, particularly suited to Verdi roles, having sung the role of Rigoletto alone more than 400 times. He studied with Giuseppe Marchese and made his stage debut in Spoleto, as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, in 1967, and then joined the chorus of La Scala in Milan, and made his solo debut there in 1975, again as Figaro. His career quickly took an international turn with his debut at the Royal Opera House in London, as Miller in Luisa Miller, in 1978, and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, as Renato/Ankarström in Un ballo in maschera, in 1980. Renato was also his debut role at the Paris Opéra in 1981, and the Salzburg Festival in 1989, under Herbert Von Karajan. He is remembered for performances with Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, Plácido Domingo and others. His repertoire encompasses the entire Italian repertory from bel canto to verismo, but his sonorous voice, secure technique and dramatic abilities are best displayed in Verdi – notably as Rigoletto, Macbeth, Count di Luna, Giorgio Germont, Rodrigo, Amonasro, Iago, and Falstaff. In January 2016 he performed at La Scala of Milan as Rigoletto in Rigoletto with Nadine Sierra as Gilda. He is married to soprano Adriana Anelli, with whom he has a daughter. Link to Wikipedia biography