Riad Ymeri

A lyric tenor from Pristina, Riad Ymeri made his debut at the Albanian National Opera and Ballet in 2011 as Tamino and sang there Nemorino, Acomat in the reconstructed Vivaldi–Venerucci Scanderbeg and Damjan in Prenk Jakova's Skënderbeu — two Skanderbeg operas, two and a half centuries apart, in one house. Don Ottavio and Walther in Tannhäuser followed in 2013, Rodolfo, Don José and Cavaradossi later. In 2014 he reached New York as a finalist for the Juilliard School and continued his training there, taking the grand prize of the Giulio Gari Foundation competition and third prize at the Gerda Lissner, and working as a professional church singer in Manhattan. He sang in the Kosovo Philharmonic's New Year concerts in Pristina in December 2013 and December 2014, beside Kaltrina Miftari, Safet Berisha, Liridon Sadriu, Adelina Paloja and Besa Llugiqi.