Marcelo Álvarez
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Marcelo Raúl Álvarez, born February 27, 1962 in Córdoba, Argentina, is an Argentine lyric tenor who achieved international success in the late 1990s.
Álvarez travels widely, performing with top singers in major opera houses and concert halls around the world. To date, he has debuted in an impressive 21 new roles in his 11-year career. In addition to his opera and solo recordings, he has made an album honoring the immortal songs of Latin American tango legend Carlos Gardel, as well as an album of duets with Salvatore Licitra. He has won numerous awards for vocal performance and is considered one of the top tenors of his generation, receiving high acclaim for his passionate yet refined delivery in bel canto roles, French opera, and as of 2006, more dramatic lirico pieno (full lyric) and spinto roles.
He lives with his wife and son near Milan, Italy.
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[edit] Early years
As a boy of five, he was enrolled in La Escuela de Niños Cantores de Córdoba where he studied music until age 17 and received his diploma in music education. In spite of this musical background, he went on to study economics in college, and for 12 years music was completely out of his life. After college, he became a manager of his family’s furniture factory in Córdoba.
[edit] Repertoire
[edit] Early career
Álvarez always liked singing and was famous for imitating popular singers’ voices for the enjoyment of his friends. He was 30 years old when his wife suggested that he sing opera. At the time, he did not know much about opera at all, but in 1992 he started commuting to Buenos Aires for voice lessons. It was a 12-hour commute by bus, but he was determined. He had several unsuccessful auditions at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. By fortunate coincidence, the legendary tenor Giuseppe di Stefano heard him at one of those auditions and urged him to go to Italy. "You have good instincts; you remind me of myself when I was a young man", di Stefano told him.
Soon after his arrival in Italy in 1995, Álvarez won a voice competition in Pavia, which gave him entrance to the Teatro la Fenice in Venice. For his role and house debut there in September 1995, he chose the difficult role of Elvino in Vincenzo Bellini’s La Sonnambula. Following this highly praised debut, he received offers from many opera houses.
[edit] 1995 – 1999
Álvarez debuted in a remarkable ten new roles in Italian bel canto and French operas during the first five years of his career, marking his rapid ascent onto the international scene. Alfredo in La Traviata and the Duke in Rigoletto became his signature roles for this time period.
Immediately upon arriving in Italy in the summer of 1995, Álvarez won a voice competition in Pavia, Italy, which gave him entrance to the Teatro la Fenice in Venice. For his role and house debut there in September 1995, he chose the difficult role of Elvino in Vincenzo Bellini’s La Sonnambula. Following this highly praised debut, he received offers from many opera houses.
He sang his first performance as the Duke of Mantua in Verdi’s Rigoletto, in Trieste, Italy (role and house debut) in 1997. He later took over for Alfredo Kraus in the role of Arturo in Bellini’s I Puritani (role debut) in Bologna, Italy, to great acclaim. His big break came in the spring of 1997 in Genoa when he stepped in for Alfredo Kraus again, this time in the lead role in Massenet’s Werther. The entire Italian press covered this premiere and raved about the new tenor.
This widely-hailed performance was followed by his singing the role of Tonio in Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment in Bilbao, northern Spain. Premieres in the roles of Carlo in Donizetti’s Linda di Chamounix in a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London (role and house debut) and as Le Chevalier des Grieux in Massenet’s Manon at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples followed (role and house debut), also to critical praise. In that same year, he also had the chance to return to Buenos Aires and sing at the Teatro Colón in the role of the Duke in Rigoletto.
He performed Fenton (role and house debut) in Verdi’s Falstaff in Berlin in 1998. That same year, he sang Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata for his role and house debuts at the Hamburgische Staatsoper in Hamburg, Germany, and at the Wiener Staatsoper in Vienna, Austria. This was followed by his role and house debut at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse as Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor.
Álvarez traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina in the spring of 1999 for production of the documentary film, Marcelo Álvarez in Search of Gardel. The film chronicles the making of Álvarez’s CD, Marcelo Álvarez Sings Gardel, which offers a modern audience the most famous tangos, while honoring the spirit and style of legendary tanguero Carlos Gardel. The songs on this album, originally recorded by Gardel before his early death in 1935, are among the oldest tangos and have a classical foundation, having been inspired by the music of Chopin, Brahms and Schumann.
As a result of his rising popularity and enthusiastic critical praise, Álvarez was engaged to appear at high-visibility venues throughout the world from the very start of his career. In his fourth year of performing, Álvarez gave a performance of Rigoletto at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, which was televised throughout Europe. Among the many opera houses at which he debuted during this time, his La Scala debut in Milan was in the role of Carlo in Linda di Chamounixin 1997. In 1998, he made his house debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York as Alfredo in a new Franco Zeffirelli production of La Traviata. And in 1999, he performed in the role of La Traviata’s Alfredo with Ruth Ann Swenson at the Théâtre antique d'Orange in Orange, France and with Christina Gallardo-Domas at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
[edit] 2000 – 2005
The second five-year period of Álvarez’s career saw continued upward momentum, both in the number of new roles added (eleven) and in the types of projects in which he engaged. The majority of his professional recordings were made during this time and he continued in his demanding live performance schedule.
He had a role and house debut, as Faust in David Pountney’s production of Gounod’s Faust in Munich, and another role and house debut as Hoffman in Offenbach’s Les contes d'Hoffmann at the Royal Opera House in London, both in 2000. At the end of the year he sang the role of the Italian Singer in Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier at the Met in New York.
In January of 2001, Álvarez gave a recital at the Folley Theater in Kansas City as part of the Harriman-Jewel Series of recitals, which are noteworthy for introducing new talent to North America. Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti made his professional recital debut there in 1973, followed over the years by tenor Franciso Araiza (1982), Wagnerian tenor Ben Heppner(1997), and Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez in 2002.
Álvarez debuted the role of Nemorino in Donizetti’s L'elisir d'amore in Toulouse in 2001. Later that year he portrayed the Duke in David McVicar’s new controversial production of Rigoletto at the Royal Opera House in London. He also sang the Duke in his hometown of Cordóba, Argentina.
In January of 2002, he sang Alfredo in La Traviata with Inva Mula in the inaugural performance of the new Teatro degli Arcimboldi in Milan, which was the temporary home for La Scala. In September of that year, he had his role debut as Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia in highly acclaimed performances in Milan, performing with Italian soprano Mariella Devia.
In 2003, he had two role debuts as a character named “Rodolfo,” but in different operas. He sang the first Rodolfo in La Bohème with Christina Gallardo-Domas at the Arcimboldi in Milan in Franco Zeffirelli’s production, which had originally been created for Luciano Pavarotti. The second Rodolfo was in Verdi’s Luisa Miller at London’s Royal Opera House with Italian soprano Barbara Frittoli.
In the summer of 2003, Álvarez went to New York and gave a concert-in-the-park with Salvatore Licitra of selections from their “Duetto” CD, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of New York’s Central Park. Duetto is a collection of romantic ballads based on arias and other classical melodies.
He debuted in the role of Roméo in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette in Munich and Vienna in 2004. And in 2005, at London’s Royal Opera House, he had his role debut as Gustavo (Riccardo) in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera.
Notable house debuts for this five-year period include his 2000 performance at L’Opéra de la Bastille in Paris in Rigoletto, and as Alfredo in La Traviata in Florence, Italy for the 2000 Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. In 2001, he sang the Duke at the Arena di Verona. In 2004, he sang the role of Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Lyric Opera of Chicago with Natalie Dessay, followed by performances in Zurich. He finished the year at the Liceu in Barcelona in the role of the Duke in Rigoletto. In 2005, he sang Rodolfo in Verdi’s Luisa Miller at the Teatro Real in Madrid with Italian soprano Fiorenza Cedolins.
Álvarez has performed with some of the world’s most celebrated sopranos. In addition to those already mentioned, he performed opposite soprano Renée Fleming in 2001 in Massenet’s Manon at the Opéra Bastille in Paris and at the Met in 2005. In 2002, he sang in the French Lucie du Lammermoor with Patrizia Ciofi at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. And in 2003, he performed with famous Slovak soprano Edita Gruberova in Munich in Lucia di Lammermoor.
[edit] 2006 –
2006 marked the beginning of Álvarez’s transition into a heavier lyric repertoire and he has had some of his best success with it. He debuted in the role of Manrico in Verdi’s Il Trovatore to great notices in Parma, Italy. The following month he made his role debut as Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca at the Royal Opera House in London, performing with soprano Angela Gheorghiu and bass-baritone Bryn Terfel. He continued in the role of Cavaradossi at the Arena di Verona with Fiorenza Cedolins and bass-baritone Ruggero Raimondi in a new large-scale production by Argentine director Hugo De Ana.
Further performances of La Bohème are scheduled for Vienna and London in the fall of 2006. And in 2007, Álvarez is scheduled to sing Il Trovatore in London, the role of Cavaradossi in Tosca in Vienna, Un Ballo in Maschera in Paris, and will add the role of Don José in Bizet’s Carmen in Toulouse (information as of September, 2006).
[edit] Discography
- Bel Canto, 1998, Sony Classical. Great Italian arias from the works of Verdi, Donizetti and Bellini
- Berlin Gala, 1999, Polygram Records
- Marcelo Álvarez Sings Gardel’, 2000, Sony Classical. Selections of Carlos Gardel’s tangos, including a digitally-mastered duet of Álvarez singing with a 1934 recording of Carlos Gardel
- French Arias, 2001, Sony Classical. Great French arias from the works of Massenet, Offenbach, Donizetti, Gounod, Verdi, Meyerbeer, and Rossini
- Duetto performed with Salvatore Licitra, 2003, Sony Classical. Original works composed for Álvarez and Licitra as well as variations on classical compositions and arias.
- Massenet – Manon, 2003, Sony Classical.
- The Tenor’s Passion, 2004, Sony Classical. Italian and French masterpieces.
- Donizetti - Lucia di Lammermoor, 2005, La Voce, Inc.
- Festliche Operngala, 2005, RCA.
[edit] Filmography (video and/or DVD)
- Marcelo Álvarez in Search of Gardel, 1999, Bullfrog Films. Documentary film about the life of Carlos Gardel and the making of the album, Marcelo Álvarez Sings Gardel.
- Love & Desire, 2002, TDK. Berlin Gala concert of 1999.
- Verdi Gala, 2002, TDK. Parma, Italy concert of 2001.
- Verdi - Rigoletto, 2002, Opus Arte. With Paolo Gavanelli, Christine Schäffer at the Royal Opera House, London.
- Massenet - Manon, 2003, TDK. 2001 performance with Renée Fleming at the Opera National (Bastille), Paris.
- Duetto, 2003, Sony Classical. Performance with Salvatore Licitra plus behind-the-scenes extras from a concert at the Colosseum in Rome, June 2003.
- Donizetti - Lucia di Lammermoor, 2004, TDK. A 2003 performance with Stefania Bonfadelli in Genoa.
- Puccini - La Boheme, 2004, TDK. February 2003 performance with Christina Gallardo-Domas at the Teatro degli Arcimboldi (La Scala ensemble), Milan.
- Donizetti - Lucia di Lammermoor, 2005, La Voce, Inc. August 2004 performance with Mariella Devia in Tokyo.
- Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto Story, 2005, Roadhouse Movie. 2002 performance with Roberto Servile, Inva Mula in Siena, Italy.
- Mariella Devia, Marcelo Álvarez, 2005, La Voce, Inc. Concert of August 2004 in Tokyo.
- Massenet - Werther, 2005, TDK. Performance of February 2005 with Elīna Garanča at the Wiener Staatsoper in Vienna, includes interview and Opernball excerpts.
- Festliche Operngala, 2005, United Motion. Deutche Oper concert of November, 2005 in Berlin.
- DVD Sampler Opera 06, 2006, TDK. Selections featuring Álvarez, Renée Fleming, Karita Matlila, and Plácido Domingo.
- Verdi - Rigoletto, 2006, TDK. Performance of December 2004 with Carlos Alvarez and Inva Mula at the Liceu in Barcelona, Spain.
[edit] Awards
- 1995 – Winner, regional voice competition in Pavia, Italy
- 1999 – Gold Camera Award, 33rd Annual International Film and Video Festival
- 1999 – Honorable mention, Columbus International Film and Video Festival
- 2000 – Singer of The Year, Echo Klassik (German Audioworks Cultural Institute)
- 2002 – Singer of The Year, Echo Klassik
- 2003 – Best Tenor of The Year, 2002, as voted by readers of Italian L’Opera magazine
