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B i o g r a p h y

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                                      LUCIANO LEONI and MAGDA OLIVERO
.... His meeting, his studies and a unique relationship with the legendary Soprano Magda Olivero resulted in the profound influence on the artistic development of Basso Luciano Leoni. His graceful vocal timbre - profound yet agile – has made it possible for him to create a broad repertoire ranging from his signature Mozart and Bel Canto roles to his more full-bodied Puccinian interpretations...
                                                                       LUCIANO LEONI
                                                                    Basso

Born in the Tuscan city of Orbetello, Basso Luciano Leoni began his studies at the Cherubini Conservatory in Florence with Baritone Walter Alberti.
As the winner of the Florentine “Prima Scrittura” Competition, he made his operatic debut in1991 at the Barga Festival’s production of Bruno Maderna’s chamber opera Satyricon.
After completing his musical studies Leoni was invited by Maestro Georg Solti to participate in the first annual edition of “Il Maestro presenta" introduced by the “Fondazione per il Teatro alla Scala” in Milan.
As the winner of the 1994 edition of the “Amici del Loggione del Teatro alla Scala” Competition, he was able to perfect his singing technique under the tutelage of legendary Soprano Magda Olivero. They immediately established a deep friendship made up of study sessions and long chats about the great singers of the Golden Age of Opera such as Beniamino Gigli, Giacomo Lauri Volpi, Tancredi Pasero and Tito Gobbi. She shared many anecdotes and stories about most of the unforgettable voices of the 20th century.
After two years of study with Magda Olivero, prestigious artistic seasons followed. He began performing with the great singers and under the direction of some of the most illustrious conductors and directors in the industry of Grand Opera.
Leoni started singing in large-scale productions at the age of 22: Oroe in Semiramide at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, sharing the stage with Gasdia, Blake, Dupuy and Pertusi.
The 1996-97 season featured him in La Scala’s production of Prokofiev’s The Gambler under the direction of Valere Gergiev. He also made his Teatro Carlo Felice (Genoa) debut as Timur in Turandot under the direction of Giuliano Montaldo with a cast that included Ferrrarini, Olsen and Patanè.
Leoni was very young when he made his Opera Giocosa (Savona) debut as Leporello in Don Giovanni under the direction of Filippo Crivelli featuring Furlanetto, Fabbricini, Giuseppini and Salazar. That year he was also Colline in Teatro Carlo Felice’s production of La Boheme also featuring Cupido, Spagnoli and Mazzola.
A long list of impressive debuts followed alongside some of the greatest voices of the operatic
stage: Zuniga in Carmen under the direction of Hugo De Ana alongside Intino, Cura and Surian at
Teatro La Fenice (Venice). His first Don Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia was at Teatro Verdi
(Trieste) starring Juan Diego Floréz with whom he performed soon after at the Opera di Roma.
Leoni’s Maggio Fiorentino debut was in La Traviata under the baton of Zubin Mehta alongside his
study companion tenor Giuseppe Filianoti. Another milestone in his career was his debut at
Palermo’s Teatro Politeama in its production of Romeo et Juliette where he performed Friar
Lawrence starring Luciana Serra and Marcello Giordani. His other 1998 debut was as Masetto in
Teatro Comunale’s (Bologna) production of Don Giovanni starring D'Arcangelo, Pertusi, Devia and
Siracusa conducted by Daniele Gatti.
He also performed in Donizetti’s Dom Sébastíen under the direction of Pierluigi Pizzi, reunited with
Filianoti, and the ballet of two of the greatest dancers of our time - Carla Fracci and Roberto Bolle.
Soon after he performed in Simon Boccanegra conducted by the immense Bruno Bartoletti starring
legendary Renato Bruson.
Basso Luciano Leoni has performed in all the major international Opera Houses in both classic and
modern productions.
Leoni has performed with the following artists: Luciana Serra, Michele Pertusi, Giuseppe
Filianoti, Renato Bruson, Cecilia Gasdia, Blake, J.D.Florez, M. Devia, G. Scalchi, S. Carroli,
C.Guelfi, L.D'lntino, I.D'Arcangelo, F.Cedolin, T.Fabbricini, Norma Fantini, A.Pirozzi, Carlos
Alvarez, Riccardo Zanellato and Luciano Ganci.
Leoni has sung under the following conductors:
Zubin Mehta, Semyon Bychkov, Valerij Gergiev, Bruno Bartoletti, Daniel Oren, Nello Santi,
Maurizio Arena, Philippe Auguin, Daniele Gatti, Alberto Veronesi, F.Ivan Ciampa, Valerio Galli,
Evelino Pidò, Andrea Battistoni, F.M.Carminati and many others.
Leoni has performed under the direction of:
Luigi Ronconi, Giuliano Montaldo,Pierluigi Pizzi, Hugo De Ana, R.Laganà, Alberto Fassini,
Mazzavillani Muti, Filippo Crivelli, Franco Ripa di Meana, R.Carsen, P.Pizzi, Graham Vick, Peter
Greenaway and many others.
Leoni has been invited to perform at the following Opera Houses:
All of the major Opera Companies such as La Scala in Milan, Opera di Roma in Rome, La Fenice
in Venice, Carlo Felice in Genoa, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Teatro Verdi in Trieste,
Teatro Comunale in Bologna, Teatro Regio in Parma, Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Teatro Bellini in
Catania and Teatro Massimo in Palermo along with major houses in France, Germany and South
America including Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Teatro Solis in Montevideo and Theatro
Municipal in Sao Paolo


2016
DON GIOVANNI: Leporello
Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa
GIOVANNA D’ARCO – Under the direction of Peter Greenaway
Teatro Farnese, Parma
NABUCCO: Il Gran Sacerdote di Belo
Opera di Firenze
2017
(January)FALSTAFF: Pistola
Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa
ELEKTRA: Oreste’s Tutor
Teatro San Carlo, Naples
DIE ZAUBERFLOTE: Armoured Man
Teatro Regio, Turin
MADAMA BUTTERFLY: Bonzo
Opera di Firenze, Florence
(September- October) TOSCA: Cesare Angelotti
Opera di Firenze, Florence
TOSCA:Cesare Angelotti
Teatro dell’ Opera, Rome
LA TRAVIATA: Dr. Grenvil
Teatro La Fenice, Venice
2018 - 19
IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA: Don Basilio
Teatro Lirico, Cagliari
TOSCA: Cesare Angelotti
Teatro dell'Opera, Rome
SIMON BOCCANEGRA: Pietro
Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa
MADAMA BUTTERFLY: Zio Bonzo
Teatro San Carlo, Naples
2020
OTELLO: Ludovico
November: Teatro Comunale di Bologna
2021
SALOME: Ein Sklave
Teatro San Carlo di Napoli

 

 

 

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