FrancoFagioli

Franco Fagioli is one of the leading virtuoso countertenors of our time. Renowned as much for his artistry as for the beauty of his voice, spanning three octaves, and masterful technique, he is the first countertenor to sign an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. The singer’s relationship with the Yellow Label reflects his status as one of the brightest stars of Baroque and early 19th-century bel canto opera. His solo début recording for the company, Rossini, with Armonia Atenea and George Petrou, his album of Handel Arias with Il Pomo d’Oro and his album of spectacular virtuoso arias by Leonardo Vinci, also with Il Pomo d’Oro, have all won universal critical acclaim. In 2023 he made his Pentatone recording debut with Anime Immortali, together with the Kammerorchester Basel, exploring the music that Mozart composed for castratos.

Recent highlights on the stage have included Nerone in Agrippina and Idamante in Idomeneo for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; The Hamburgische Bayerische Staatsopers, Munich; the title role in Rossini’s Sigismondo at the Teatr Słowackiego in Kraków; the title role in Cavalli’s Eliogabalo for the Opéra national de Paris and the Dutch National Opera; Arsace in Rossini’s Semiramide for the Opéra national de Lorraine; Andronico (Tamerlano) at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan; Ruggiero (Alcina) for the Hamburgische Staatsoper; the title role in Serse at the Staatstheater Karlsruhe; Adalgiso in Porpora’s Carlo Il Calvo at the Bayreuth Baroque Opera Festival; Piacere in Handel’s Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno for the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, the Opéra de Lille and the Theatre de Caen and the title role in Handel’s Giulio Cesare for the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and the Opernhaus Zürich. Most recently he has performed Ruggiero (Alcina) in a new production at the Opéra de Lausanne.

He has also achieved distinction as a concert artist appearing at the Halle, Ludwigsburg, Innsbruck and Salzburg Festivals, collaborating regularly with such conductors as Rinaldo Alessandrini, Alan Curtis, Gabriel Garrido, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, René Jacobs, José Manuel Quintana, Marc Minkowski, Riccardo Muti and Christophe Rousset.

In the upcoming 2024/25 season, Franco will make his house debut at the Teatro di San Carlo with a recital of repertoire performed by the famed castrato Giambattista Velluti. Other season highlights include a tour alongside Capella Cracoviensis of Aureliano in Palmira, playing the role of Arsace. He will also appear as Acis in the Chateau de Versailles’ run of Polifemo, Farnace in Mitridate, re di Ponto at the Teatro Real Madrid, and Arsace in Rossini’s Semiramide at the Opéra de Rouen Haute-Normandie and the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées.