Andrea Silvestrelli

bass Andrea Silvestrelli has quickly become one of the most sought-after ‘bassi profondi’ on the international opera scene. Garnering critical acclaim for his debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in Rigoletto, the Chicago Sun-Times reported, “There were wild cheers for Andrea Silvestrelli …who brought a terrifying, sepulchral tone to the assassin Sparafucile.” The Chicago Sun concurred, “Andrea Silvestrelli wielded a big, black, menacing bass in his debut as the assassin Sparafucile.” Mr. Silvestrelli opens the 2012/13 season as Sparafucile for San Francisco Opera under Music Director Nicola Luisotti. He returns to Lyric Opera of Chicago, where he will be heard in three productions: Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Colline in La bohème, and The Nightwatchmen in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Last season, he sang Pimen at Lyric Opera of Chicago in their production of Boris Godunov and returned to New York for the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Ernani. He returned to Houston Grand Opera, where he was heard as Philippe II in Don Carlos to finish the season. He began the 2010-2011 season with his debut at the Metropolitan opera as Sparafucile in the Otto Schenk production of Rigoletto and joined Los Angeles Opera and Maestro James Conlon for the same role. He was then heard in concert with the Milwaukee Symphony and Edo de Waart in performances of Act 1 of Die Walküre. He finished the season as Fasolt in Das Rheingold and Hagen in Götterdämmerung with San Francisco Opera for their new Ring Cycle. Other recent seasons have included performances as Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Horatio in Hamlet for Trieste, Hunding in Die Walküre for Mexico City, and Oroveso in Norma for Finnish National Opera.