Franco Vassallo

Literature and philosophy at the university in Milan, studies at the city's Civica Scuola di Musica, singing lessons with Carlo Meliciani, and training as an actor in the Stanislavsky method stand behind Franco Vassallo's career. Born in Milan in 1969, he won the As.Li.Co. competition in 1994 and began with L'amico Fritz and L'elisir d'amore — reaching the Arena di Verona and La Fenice soon afterwards. The Verdi roles have defined him since: Rigoletto, Macbeth, Simon Boccanegra, Ford and Germont, sung at La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House, the Paris Opera and the state operas of Vienna and Munich. Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia and the bel canto repertoire of Donizetti and Bellini belong to his earlier seasons, and the Verdi list has widened since to Renato, Iago and the Count di Luna. Scarpia, Michele in Il tabarro and Barnaba in La Gioconda have followed.