“I had no contact with classical music. I had heard of a Pavarotti, a Domingo, but I never thought I would listen to them one day.” Marcelo Álvarez

It was in 1992, at the age of thirty-two years, that his irrepressible desire to sing led him to take serious opera lessons. His immense talent was discovered thereafter by Luciano Pavarotti and especially Giuseppe Di Stefano, who brought him to Europe, in 1995, where he made his debut in Bellini’s La Sonnambula at La Fenice in Venice.

Argentinean tenor Marcelo Álvarez today features among the most prestigious of opera singers. Acclaimed in all the opera houses of the world, he was born in Córdoba in a milieu not interested in classical music. Even though, at the age of 5 years old, he started to take a few singing lessons, his studies in economics soon led him away from this to the management of the family furniture factory.

At the age of 32 years, he studied opera, won several competitions and made his debut in Venice performing the role of Elvino in La Sonnambula, then that of Alfredo in La Traviata in Genoa. Since then, his career has taken him from Paris to New York, via London, Tokyo, Berlin or Milan.

His vast repertoire is characterised by more than 40 great roles in Italian and French romantic opera, and the great opera conductors compete to direct him. He has collaborated with prestigious names such as James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Lorin Maazel, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, Riccardo Chailly and Antonio Pappano, among others.

He has a very impressive discography with no less than 30 recordings with the biggest record labels including Sony and Decca.

For this concert, Marcelo Álvarez will be accompanied by the talented soprano Maria Aleida.

Programme

Partie I

• G. Donizetti, Sinfonia da Anna Bolena
• R. Zandonai, Giulietta e Romeo, “Son io, Giulietta!”
• G. Donizetti,  Anna Bolena  “Chi può vederla”
• G. Bizet, Carmen, “La fleur que tu m’avais jetée”
• Intermezzo Manon Lescaut
• U. Giordano – Andrea Chenier “O Pastorelle, addio”
• F. Cilea, L’Arlesiana, “Il lamento di Federico”
• Intermezzo “Fedora”
• G. Puccini Introduzione e “E lucevan le stelle”

Partie II

• J. Gimenez, La boda de Luis Alonso (Intermedio)
• G. Verdi, La Traviata, “Noi siamo zingarelle”
• A. Piazzolla, “Milonga del Trovador”
• C. Gardel – A. Le Pera, “El dia que me quieras”
• Sotullo/Vert, “La leyenda del beso”
• G. Verdi, Macbeth, “Che faceste”
• F. Moren Torroba: “Adios, dijiste” (Maravilla)
• P. Sorozábal: “No puede ser” (La tabernera del puerto)

• WITH THE SUPPORT OF TAX SHELTER OF THE FEDERAL BELGIAN GOVERNMENT AND BEL ARTS FUND