Franco Fagioli is one of the leading virtuoso countertenor of our time. He is the first countertenor to sign an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. His solo debut recording for the company, Rossini, with Armonia Atenea and George Petrou, his album of Handel Arias with Il Pomo d’Oro and his album of arias by Leonardo Vinci, also with Il Pomo d’Oro, have all won universal critical acclaim.
Recent highlights on the stage have included Nerone (Agrippina) for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Hamburgische Staatsoper and the Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, the title role in Rossini’s Sigismondo at the Teatr Słowackiego in Krakow, the title role in Cavalli’s Eliogabalo for the Opéra national de Paris and the Dutch National Opera, Arsace in Rossini’s Semiramide for the Opéra national de Lorraine, Idamante (Idomeneo) for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Andronico (Tamerlano) at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Ruggiero (Alcina) for the Hamburgische Staatsoper, the title role in Serse at the Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Adalgiso in Porpora’s Carlo il Calvo at the Bayreuth Baroque Opera Festival, Piacere (Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno) for the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, the Opéra de Lille and the Theatre de Caen and the title role in Giulio Cesare for the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and the Opernhaus Zurich.
He has also achieved distinction as a concert artist appearing at the Halle, Ludwigsburg, Innsbruck and Salzburg Festivals, collaborating regularly with such conductors as Rinaldo Alessandrini, Alan Curtis, Gabriel Garrido, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, René Jacobs, José Manuel Quintana, Marc Minkowski, Riccardo Muti and Christophe Rousset. His impressive discography includes the title roles in Handel’s Serse and Gluck’s Orfeo and Ezio, Pergolesi’s Adriano in Siria, Handel’s Berenice and Teseo, Leonardo Vinci’s Artaserse and Catone in Utica, Caldara’s La Concordia de’ pianeti, Hasse’s Siroe, rè di Persia and the solo albums Arias for Caffarelli and Il maestro Porpora.
Further engagements include Ruggiero (Alcina) in a new production at the Opéra de Lausanne and Sesto (Giulio Cesare) for Theatre des Champs-Elysées. Franco also takes part in Achille in Sciro at the Teatro Real Madrid followed by a European tour of Ariodante with Il Pomo d’Oro and of Mozart arias with the Basel Kammerorchester.
