about

Described by Opera News as "a radiant tenor with a clarion top," Leonardo Capalbo is a leading interpreter of the operas of Verdi, Bizet, Massenet, Mascagni, and Puccini earning international acclaim for his rich voice, good looks, and exceptional acting ability. He regularly appears on the world’s greatest stages including the Royal Opera Covent Garden, Teatro Real Madrid, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Berlin State Opera, Glyndebourne, La Monnaie, L’Opéra de Lyon, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago among others. He has worked with some of the world’s most influential artists such as Franco Zeffirelli, Richard Bonynge, Gianandrea Noseda, Fabio Luisi, Sir David McVicar, Sir Andrew Davis, Jonathan Miller, Krzysztof Warlikowski, Teodor Currentzis, Mariusz Trelinski, Graham Vick, and Marc Minkowski.

Capalbo begins the 2019-2020 season with a new production of Don Carlos by director Johan Simons at Opera Vlaanderen; conducted by Alejo Pérez. Next, Mr. Capalbo makes his Komische Oper Berlin debut reprising his acclaimed portrayal of Duca in Barrie Kosky’s production of Rigoletto. To mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Theresienstadt, Capalbo joins the Voices of Resistance and the Defiant Requiem Foundation for a special theatrical performance of Verdi’s Requiem at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam. In May Capalbo returns to the Teatro Real Madrid for Mascagni’s little-performed Iris with soprano Ermonela Jaho and led by Evelino Pidò. Capalbo finishes the season with a return to the Liceu Barcelona in Calixto Bieito’s iconic production of Carmen including a performance which will be broadcast live to screens worldwide.

In recent seasons Capalbo starred as the title role in Les contes d’Hoffmann at the Royal Opera Covent Garden, made his role debut as the title character in Don Carlo at Grange Park Opera, made his house and role debuts as Gustavo in Un ballo in maschera at the Royal Swedish Opera, debuted at the Baden Baden Festspielhaus in La bohème conducted by Teodor Currentzis, starred as the title role in Les contes d’Hoffmann at the Bremen Music Festival, premiered a new production of Gloriana by David McVicar at the Teatro Real Madrid, and starred as Candide with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop.

Future engagements include his role debuts as Werther, Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), Hagenbach (La Wally), and Manrico (Il trovatore).

Other career highlights include Mariusz Trelinski’s new production of Powder Her Face at La Monnaie/ De Munt; debuts at the Royal Opera Covent Garden as Ismaele in Nabucco and at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in David McVicar’s production of La traviata; the title role in Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux at the Canadian Opera Company, alongside Sondra Radvanovsky, also at Welsh National Opera in a new production; house and role debuts as Tom Rakewell in David McVicar’s new production of The Rake’s Progress at the Teatro Regio di Torino; house and role debuts as Hoffmann in Les contes d’Hoffmann at L’Opéra de Lyon in the Laurent Pelly production; the Spanish premiere of Daniel Catan’s Il Postino at the Teatro Real de Madrid as the title character; Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore at The Glyndebourne Festival, Berlin State Opera, Minnesota Opera, and New York City Opera; Don José in Carmen in Warsaw, Athens, Seville, and the Grange Festival; Cavaradossi in Tosca in Minnesota; Nerone in a new Warlikowski production of Poppea e Nerone in Montpellier; Alfredo in La traviata in a new production at Welsh National Opera, also at the Semperoper Dresden, Hamburg State Opera, and The Grand Théâtre de Genève; Macduff in Macbeth at The Lyric Opera of Chicago, Semperoper Dresden, L’Opéra de Lyon, L’Opéra de Monte Carlo and Berlin State Opera; Duca in Rigoletto in Stockholm, Leipzig, São Paulo, Toulon, Calgary and Montreal; the title role in Candide at the Berlin State Opera and Teatro dell’Opera di Roma; Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor in Strasbourg; Rodolfo in La bohème in Baden-Baden, Bordeaux, Athens, St. Gallen, and Cagliari; Ruggero in La rondine in Minnesota; Arturo in La Straniera in Amsterdam; Jacopo in I due Foscari in St. Gallen; Leicester in Maria Stuarda in Stuttgart; Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi at Teatro São Carlos, Lisbon; Peter Quint in The Turn of the Screw in Spoleto; Roméo in Roméo et Juliette at Opera North; Verdi Requiem at the Grange Festival; and Puccini Messa di Gloria at San Diego Symphony.

Leonardo trained at The Juilliard School in New York City and The Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California where he studied with legendary mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne.