Marco Lazzara

Marco Lazzara (born 1962) is an Italian countertenor who sings a wide-ranging repertoire from baroque composers to those of the 20th century and has performed in a number of notable premieres and revivals of rarely performed operas.^[1] He has recorded widely on the Bongiovanni, Ricordi, Nuova Era, Forlane, Opera Rara and Dynamic labels.

Career

Lazzara received diplomas in piano, organ, harpsichord and singing, followed by studies at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, and made his professional debut in 1989. In the field of baroque music, Lazzara has sung as a leading soloist with the Alessandro Stradella Consort in a series of performances and world premiere recordings, including, Stradella's Il barcheggio, Moro per amore, and Esule dalle sfere and Nicola Porpora's Dorindo dormi ancor? on the Bongiovanni label. He also appears in the world premiere recording of Niccolò Piccinni's Salve Regina and Dixit Dominus on Bongiovanni. Lazzara was the first countertenor to sing the role of Orfeo in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice in Italy with a series of 1996 performances in Mantua, Pisa and Ravenna.^[2] In 2001, he sang the title role of Antonio Cesti's Il Tito in its first modern revival since 1983. The production at the Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants premiered a newly edited score by music scholar Alan Curtis.^[3]

In the bel canto repertoire, Lazzara sang the role of Lurcanio in Simone Mayr's Ginevra di Scozia in a series of performances (and world premiere recording) in April 2001 at the Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste to mark the bicentenary of the opera's premiere and its first performance in modern times.^[4] Lazzara has also recorded an album of arias and duets by Rossini with Annick Massis (Duo d'amore) on the Forlane label,^[5] and a solo album of arias and songs by Bellini on the Dynamic label. The latter contains the first recording of Francesco Florimo's "Tu che al pianger" based on a theme from Bellini's La straniera.^[6]

Lazzara's performances in 20th century works include the role of Edgar in the Italian premiere of Aribert Reimann's Lear at the Teatro Regio di Torino in October 2001;^[7] Manichino di Donna in the world premiere of Azio Corghi's Il Dissoluto Assolto at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Lisbon in March 2006^[8] (reprised for its Italian premiere at La Scala the following September);^[9] Il delegato in the world premiere of Bruno de Franceschi's Il paradiso degli esuli (Pisa, 27 October 1994);^[10] and Sesto Simbolo in the world premiere of Adriano Guarnieri's Pietra di diaspro at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma on 10 June 2007 (reprised for the Ravenna Festival later that year).^[11] Lazzara has also performed as a soloist in Giacomo Manzoni's Trame d'Ombre (Webs of Shadows) at Carnegie Hall (April 2000)^[12] and in the first Italian performance of Alfred Schnittke's cantata based on the Faust legend, Seid nüchtern und wachet. The latter performance was broadcast live by RAI Radio 3 on 22 April 2007.^[13]

Discography

• Bellini: Arias – Marco Lazzara (countertenor), Angela Castellarin (piano). Label: Dynamic 271
• Vivaldi: Cantatas – Marco Lazzara (countertenor), Orchestra da Camera di Genova, Antonio Plotino (conductor). Label: Dynamic 222
• Mayr: Ginevra di Scozia – Elisabeth Vidal (soprano); Daniela Barcellona (mezzo-soprano); Antonio Siragusa (tenor); Luca Grassi (baritone); Giuseppina Piunti (soprano); Marco Lazzara (countertenor); Orchestra del Teatro Verdi di trieste; Tiziano Severini (conductor). Label: Opera Rara ORC23
• Scarlatti: Abramo, il tuo sembiante (Christmas cantata) – Marco Lazzara (countertenor); Giovanni Dagnino (bass); Silvia Piccollo (soprano); The Stradella Consort; Esteban Velardi (conductor). Label: Nuova Era 7117
• Duo d'amore (arias and duets by Rossini) – Marco Lazzara (countertenor); Annick Massis (soprano); Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana; Enrique Mazzola (conductor). Label: Forlane 16807
• Stradella: Il barcheggio – Valentina Valente (soprano); Marco Lazzara (countertenor); Giovanni Dagnino (bass); Alessandro Stradella Consort; Estevan Velardi (conductor) Label: Bongiovanni GB 2102
• Stradella: Moro per amore – Mark Beasley (tenor); Marco Lazzara (countertenor); Roberta Invernizzi (soprano); Riccardo Ristori (bass); Silvia Piccollo (soprano); Alessandro Stradella Consort; Estevan Velardi (conductor). Label: Bongiovanni GB 2153
• Stradella: Esule dalle sfere – Roberta Invernizzi (soprano); Marco Lazzara (countertenor); Riccardo Ristori (bass); Mario Nuvoli (tenor); Alessandro Stradella Consort; Estevan Velardi (conductor). Label: Bongiovanni GB 2165
• Porpora: Dorindo dormi ancor? – Rosita Frisani (soprano); Marco Lazzara (countertenor); Roberta Invernizzi (soprano); Alessandro Stradella Consort; Estevan Velardi (conductor). Label: Bongiovanni GB 2181
• Piccinni: Salve Regina and Dixit Dominus – Maria Luigia Borsi (soprano); Marco Lazzara (countertenor); Elena Cecchi Fedi (soprano); Gregory Bonfatti (tenor); Cappella S. Cecilia della Cattedrale di Lucca; Orchestra Città Lirica; Gianfranco Cosmi (conductor). Label: Bongiovanni GB 2338
• Fabio Vacchi: Luoghi immaginari – Marco Lazzara (countertenor); EnsembleMusica20; Guido Guida, Mauro Bonifacio (conductors). Label: Ricordi/BMG CRMCD 1043

Notes

1. ^ RAI Radio 5 (18 December 2008)
2. ^ Pugliaro (1997) pp. 122, 208, 218
3. ^ Koegler (September 2001)
4. ^ Jellinek (2004) pp. 136-138
5. ^ Lessner (September 2001); El Mundo (11 April 2001)
6. ^ Sanvitale (2002) p. 210
7. ^ Teatro Regio di Torino, Sistema Musica, October 2001; Pugliaro (2002) p. 312
8. ^ Diário de Notícias, 18 March 2006
9. ^ Arruga. Il Giornale, 24 September 2006
10. ^ Pugliaro (1995) p. 185
11. ^ Pugliaro (2007) p. 219
12. ^ Kozinn (6 April 2000)
13. ^ RAI Radio 3 (22 April 2007)

References

• Arruga, Lorenzo, "Tenera «Sancta Susanna» Ma che fiasco «Il dissoluto»", Il Giornale, 24 September 2006. Accessed 23 April 2009.
• Diário de Notícias, "José Saramago e Azio Corghi dão 'chance' a Don Giovanni", 18 March 2006. Accessed 23 April 2009.
• El Mundo, "Gioachino Rossini: arias y dúos de amor", El Cultural supplement, 11 April 2001. Accessed 23 April 2009.
• Jellinek, George, Ginevra di Scozia (recording review), The Opera Quarterly - Volume 20, Number 1, Winter 2004, pp. 136–138. Accessed via subscription 23 April 2009.
• Koegler, Horst, Review: Il Tito, Opéra National du Rhin, Opera News, September 2001. Accessed 23 April 2009.
• Kozinn, Alan, A Concert With a Point: Mercurial Imagination (review of Lazzara's performance of Giacomo Manzoni's Trame d'Ombre at Carnegie Hall), New York Times, 6 April 2000. Accessed 23 April 2009.
• Lessner, Joanne Sydney, Recording review: Duo d'amore, Opera News, September 2001. Accessed 23 April 2009.
• Pugliaro, Giorgio (ed.), Opera '95. Annuario dell'opera lirica in Italia, EDT srl, 1995, p. 185. ISBN 8870632660
• Pugliaro, Giorgio (ed.), Opera '97. Annuario dell'opera lirica in Italia, EDT srl, 1997, pp. 208–209. ISBN 8870633187
• Pugliaro, Giorgio (ed.), Opera 2002. Annuario dell'opera lirica in Italia, EDT srl, 2002, p. 312. ISBN 8870636445
• Pugliaro, Giorgio (ed.), Opera 2007. Annuario dell'opera lirica in Italia, EDT srl, 2007, p. 127. ISBN 8860401828
• RAI Radio 3, Domenica in Concerto, 22 April 2007. Accessed 23 April 2009.
• RAI Radio 5, "Le voci della lirica: contraltista, Marco Lazzara" (profile in Italian), broadcast on 18 December 2008. Accessed 23 April 2009.
• Sanvitale, Francesco, La romanza italiana da salotto, EDT srl, 2002, p. 210. ISBN 8870636151
• Teatro Regio di Torino, Calendario dei Concerti, Sistema Musica, October 2001. Accessed 23 April 2009.

External links

• Official web site of Marco Lazzara. Accessed 23 April 2009.

Persondata
Name	Lazzara, Marco
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1962
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death