Nicolò Balducci

Nicolò Balducci is a rising star in the countertenor firmament, emerging in the early 2020s after having won several major prizes. He has released several albums on the BIS label. Balducci was born on January 13, 1999, in Canosa di Puglia in southern Italy's Apulia region. He is unconnected to the Italian rock climber of the same name. Balducci had early voice studies with soprano Anna Maria Stella Pansini. He attended the Conservatorio di Matera as an undergraduate and then went on to the Conservatorio di Musica Arrigo Pedrollo in Vicenza for a master's degree, studying in the class of Gemma Bertagnolli. Balducci also attended master classes in early music performance practice at the Accademia Vivaldi in Venice, the Stradella Festival in Viterbo, and the Valle d'Itria Opera Festival, among other places. At the latter, he attracted the attention of organizers and was hired to perform in a production of Francesco Cavalli's Xerse. He won prizes at the Niccolò Piccini Competition (the top prize), the Concorso Tommaso Traetta, and the Premio Fatima Terzo, among other contests. In 2020, he performed several roles with different companies in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea. A prize for the youngest finalist at the Voci Olimpiche competition in Vicenza brought with it another opportunity: Balducci sang the role of Oberto in Handel's Alcina at Vincenza's Teatro Olimpico in 2021. Balducci continued his prize-winning ways with a first prize and the prize for youngest finalist in the Baroque section of the Renata Tebaldi Competition in San Marino, and third prize and the young artist award at the Cesti Competition in Innsbruck, Austria. These continued to bring performance opportunities. At the Stradella Festival in Viterbo, Balducci had caught the attention of recorder player and conductor Dan Laurin, who suggested that they record together on a series of Baroque opera recordings for the BIS label. Balducci's debut came in 2022 with Castrapolis: Neapolitan Cantatas and Arias, followed by Amore Dolore in 2023; Laurin served as the conductor on both recordings.
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