DON GIOVANNI - Bank of Valletta

THE PERFORMERS
UGO GUAGLIARDO, baritone, made his debut in 1998
in Scontrino’s Gringoire at Teatro Politeama, in his native Palermo,
and in Petrassi’s Morte dell’Aria. He was then selected by the Fondazione
Teatro Massimo for roles in Manon Lescaut and Eugenio Onegin, at
the same time completing his piano studies at the Conservatorio
Vincenzo Bellini under Prof. Aurelia Sagnolo. In 1999 he debuted
for Operalaboratorio in Rota’s Una Notte di un Nevrastenico, and sang
and recorded Traetta’s Stabat Mater for Bongiovanni of Bologna.
Contracts at the Teatro Massimo followed in Gregoretti’s Una Favola
per Caso, Puccini’s La Bohème and Madama Butterfly, and Weill’s Lady
in the Dark. He participated in a cultural exchange between Operalab
and the city of Detroit, studying at the Michigan Opera Theatre,
and will soon complete his degree in philosophy. His next engagement
is with the Teatro Massimo in Verdi’s Macbeth.
GIOVANNI BELLAVIA, baritone, likewise made his debut
in 1998 in Scontrino’s Gringoire at the Politeama, followed by Malipiero’s
Capitan Spavento and Petrassi’s Morte dell’Aria, before being selected
by Teatro Massimo for Henze’s Pollicino. At the Michigan Opera
Theatre, in a cultural exchange between Operalab and the city of
Detroit, he understudied the role of Sharples in Madama Butterfly.
Two summer concerts with Teatro La Fenice in Venice followed. In
1999 he debuted for Operalaboratorio in Cimarosa’s La Finta Parigina,
directed by Enzo Dara, which he recorded for Bongiovanni of Bologna.
He then figured in Amahl and the Night Visitors and Così Fan Tutte.
Contracted by Teatro Massimo, he has sung in Werther, Tosca, Lady
in the Dark, Davide Re, Rigoletto, Les Contes d’Hoffmann and most
recently in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Claudio Desderi conducting.
NATASA KATAI, soprano, started her career in 1993 by
winning prizes in her native Hungary. That same year she made
concert appearances in Rijssen, Delft (in Holland), in Rotenburg
(Germany), and in Messina, Trento and Giarre (Italy). Her first opera
role was at the National Theatre in Szeged as the Countess in Mozart’s
Le Nozze di Figaro. This was followed by roles in Pergolesi’s Stabat
Mater and her university music degree. In 2001 she sang her first
Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte in Palermo. Maltese audiences
have heard her before, in the Bellini Recital at Sala Isouard last year.
MAURIZIO LO PICCOLO, bass-baritone, debuted with
the Laboratorio Lirico in 1996 in Vinci’s Erighetta e Don Chilone and,
the following year, with Operalaboratorio in Donizetti’s I Pazzi per
Progetto under the direction of Enzo Dara who since then has called
him for Il Filosofo di Campagna at Mantova. Since 1999, always for
the Teatro Massimo, he has figured in Rosenkavalier, Manon Lescaut,
Eugenio Onegin, Una Favola per Caso, Rigoletto and most recently in I
Capuleti e I Montecchi. He has sang the role of Don Magnifico in
Rossini’s La Cenerentola at the Festival of Aix-en-Provence, repeating
the role in Paris and Rouen. Other important engagements include
Rota’s Il Cappello di Paglia di Firenze in Vienna, and Don Basilio in Il
Barbiere di Siviglia in Lyons. He has also debuted Colline in La Bohème
opposite Cecilia Gasdia. Last year he sang Guglielmo in Così Fan
Tutte at the Teatru Manoel.
TEATRU MANOEL
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