Roberto Alagna
Roberto Alagna rose to stardom in the operatic world in a less than traditional way. Mostly self-taught through listening and studying recordings, Alagna's arrival on the scene as a lyric tenor prompted some to call him the "Fourth Tenor." After winning a major competition in 1988, Alagna began a career performing on-stage throughout the world, and his recordings have earned acclaim.
Alagna was born to Sicilian parents in Clichy-sous-Bois, Seine-Saint-Denis, France, just outside of Paris, on June 7, 1963. He learned the art of singing almost exclusively from studying the recordings of tenor greats, as well as the films of Mario Lanza. He usually mentions two of his predecessors when asked whose recordings were most influential, Beniamino Gigli and Nicolai Gedda. Alagna's voice is a very fine lyric tenor with a bright and ringing upper register, but when it is put under pressure, it can turn harsh. He was initially discovered singing for tips around Paris. He gained notoriety by winning first prize in the 1988 Luciano Pavarotti Competition and soon made his stage debut as Alfredo in La Traviata with the Glyndebourne Touring Opera Company, soon followed by debuts in Montpellier, Monte Carlo, and the Teatro alla Scala in Milan (also in La Traviata). His Teatro alla Scala debut came at the invitation of Riccardo Muti in a fabled production with Tiziana Fabbricini, which was telecast.
In 1990, Alagna sang Rodolfo in Puccini's La Bohème -- a role that has become one of his most popular; it was also the role of his debut at Covent Garden Opera in 1992 and the Metropolitan Opera in 1996. Another role that was very important during the early part of his career was the title role in Gounod's Romeo et Juliette, which he has sung with great success in Paris, London, and New York. This role proved to be even more important for his personal life, as he met his second wife, Angela Gheorghiu, while performing the opera together. His first wife had died after a lengthy illness, and this new romance brought a renewed warmth and passion to his performances. Their performances of L'elisir d'amore, La Bohème, and Werther are greatly admired, and together, the two became one of opera's few genuine double attractions. The couple separated for a period beginning in 2009 and eventually divorced in 2013. He then began a relationship with soprano Aleksandra Kurzak, marrying her in 2015, again becoming part of a coupled attraction on-stage and in recordings.
Alagna is known to introduce acrobatic tricks into productions of L'elisir d'amore, which few other tenors would attempt. His appearances in 1996 at the Theatre-Chatelet Paris and Covent Garden Opera, London, as Don Carlo in the original French version of Verdi's opera, helped to bring the French edition back to the fore. Other operas that have proved successful for Alagna are Rigoletto, Macbeth, Lucia di Lammermoor, Roberto Devereux, L'amico Fritz, Carmen, and La Rondine. Alagna's willingness to step beyond the standard score is displayed in the use of an alternative version of "Una furtiva lágrima" in his London recording of L'elisir d'amore, using the new critical edition of La Bohème in the Decca recording with Chailly, as well as singing the original French version of Don Carlo on EMI. In the 2000s, Alagna moved easily around the heart of the operatic repertory on-stage and in recordings. He has also recorded for the Deutsche Grammophon, Warner Classics, and Sony Classical labels. On the latter, he issued the album Caruso 1873 in 2019.
© Richard LeSueur & Keith Finke /TiVo
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Operatic Duets
Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu
Clásica - Editado por Warner Classics el 01-01-1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Donizetti: L'elisir d'amore
Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna, Roberto Scaltriti, Simone Alaimo, Orchestre de l'Opéra de Lyon, Evelino Pido
Clásica - Editado por Decca Music Group Ltd. el 01-01-1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Massenet: Werther
Patricia Petibon, Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, Thomas Hampson, London Symphony Orchestra, Antonio Pappano
Ópera - Editado por Warner Classics el 01-10-1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Noël
Clásica - Editado por Universal Music Division Decca Records France el 27-11-2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
French Opera Arias
Roberto Alagna, Royal Opera House Orchestra, Bertrand de Billy
Clásica - Editado por Deutsche Grammophon (DG) el 01-01-1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sicilien Live
Pop - Editado por Universal Music Division Decca Records France el 01-01-2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bel Canto
Roberto Alagna, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Evelino Pido
Clásica - Editado por Deutsche Grammophon (DG) el 01-01-2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Roberto Alagna - The Sicilian
Pop - Editado por Universal Music Division Decca Records France el 01-01-2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nessun Dorma
Roberto Alagna, Royal Opera House Orchestra, Sir Mark Elder
Clásica - Editado por Deutsche Grammophon (DG) el 01-01-2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Il trovatore
Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna, London Symphony Orchestra, Antonio Pappano
Clásica - Editado por Warner Classics el 22-07-2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Donizetti : L'elisir d'amore
Roberto Alagna, Mariella Devia, English Chamber Orchestra, Marcello Viotti
Ópera - Editado por Warner Classics International el 01-06-1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mexico : Roberto Alagna canta a Luis Mariano
Clásica - Editado por Universal Music Division Decca Records France el 01-01-2006
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Roberto Alagna: The Bizet Album
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 02-02-2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Donizetti: Lucie de Lammermoor
Natalie Dessay, Roberto Alagna, Ludovic Tezier, Evelino Pido, Orchestre de l'Opéra de Lyon
Ópera - Editado por Warner Classics el 04-11-2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Seigneur
Roberto Alagna, Jean-Félix Lalanne, Marek Ruszczynski
Clásica - Editado por Aparté el 03-05-2024
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi per due
Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado
Fragmentos de ópera - Editado por Warner Classics el 01-10-1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Donizetti: Lucie de Lammermoor
Natalie Dessay, Roberto Alagna, Ludovic Tezier, Evelino Pido, Orchestre de l'Opéra de Lyon
Ópera - Editado por Warner Classics el 04-11-2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Massenet : Manon
Antonio Pappano, Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, José Van Dam, Orchestre Symphonique de la Monnaie
Clásica - Editado por Warner Classics el 07-08-2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
We Wish You A Merry Christmas
Roberto Alagna, Bryn Terfel, José Carreras, Plácido Domingo
Clásica - Editado por Deutsche Grammophon (DG) el 23-10-2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
La Navarraise
Clásica - Editado por Warner Classics el 28-09-2018
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
L'enchanteur
Clásica - Editado por Warner Classics el 22-04-2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo