Luigi Alva

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Luigi Alva
Background information
Birth name	Luis Ernesto Alva y Talledo
Born	April 10, 1927 Lima, Peru
Genre(s)	Opera
Occupation(s)	Opera Singer
Instrument(s)	Voice (tenor)
Years active	1954 - 1978

Luigi Alva (10 April 1927) was the foremost lyric tenor of the third quarter of the 20th century. He was admired for his purity of tone, the elegance of his phrasing and the clarity of his diction. A Mozart and Rossini specialist, Alva still sets the standard for such roles as Don Ottavio (in Don Giovanni), Count Almaviva (in Il Barbiere di Siviglia) and Fenton (in Verdi's Falstaff).

1 Biography
2 Interpretations
3 Filmography
4 External links

[edit] Biography

Born in Peru (home of other noted lyric tenors such as Ernesto Palacio and Juan Diego Florez), where he studied with Rosa Mercedes, he went to Milan in 1953 and studies with Emilio Ghirardini and Ettore Campogalliani at the La Scuola di Canto (Voice Academy) at La Scala. Returning to Lima, he made his opera debut in Torroba's zarzuela Luisa Fernandez.

In 1954 he returned to Italy to make his European debut at the Teatro Nuovo in Milan as Alfredo in Verdi's La traviata, following that with his La Scala debut in 1956 as Count Almaviva in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia. After his debut at the Piccolo Teatro alla Scala in 1955, he was soon invited to sing at the most important European festivals and opera houses. At Glyndebourne, he made his debut as Nemorino in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore. His Metropolitan Opera debut was in 1964 as Fenton in Verdi's Falstaff. Subsequently he sang with most of the leading companies in US and Europe.

In 1960s and 1970s there were few singers, let alone tenors, who could compare in sheer vocal elegance with Luigi Alva. Unlike so many, he never tried to venture out of his natural repertoire. Instead, he delivered Mozart, Rossini, and Donizetti with great elegance and style for four decades. He cooperated with conductors like Otto Klemperer, Claudio Abbado, Nino Sanzogno, Herbert von Karajan and Carlo Maria Giulini. His duets with Teresa Berganza in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia and La Cenerentola are the hallmarks of the epoch.

In 1982, he returned to Lima to teach and left the stage in 1989. He sponsors the Luigi Alva Competition for young singers and gives master classes. Alva now teaches singing at the La Scuola di Canto (Voice Academy) at La Scala in Milan.