Saimir Pirgu

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Saimir Pirgu
Pirgu in 2015
Born (1981-09-23) September 23, 1981 (age 42)
NationalityAlbanian
OccupationTenor
Years active2001–present
FamilyPirgu
WebsiteSaimirPirgu.com

Saimir Pirgu (born 23 September 1981 in Elbasan) is an Albanian international opera singer (tenor).[1] In 2014 he was awarded the Italian citizenship by the President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano.[citation needed]

Biography

Saimir Pirgu was born in Elbasan, Albania on the 23rd of September 1981. He graduated in singing at the Conservatory Claudio Monteverdi in Bolzano (Italy)[2] where he studied with Vito Maria Brunetti.

At the age of 22 he was discovered by

Vienna Musikverein, Bayerische Rundfunks in Munich, and Amsterdam Concertgebouw.[citation needed
]

He has been directed by Riccardo Muti, Claudio Abbado, Mariss Jansons, Zubin Mehta, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Lorin Maazel, Seiji Ozawa, Gianandrea Noseda, Daniel Barenboim, James Conlon, Antonio Pappano, Daniele Gatti.[citation needed]

He worked with Franco Zeffirelli, Woody Allen, Peter Stein, Graham Vick, Willy Decker, Deborah Warner, Luca Ronconi, Kasper Holten, David McVicar, Ferzan Ozpetek, Mario Martone, Michael Haneke, Robert Carsen.[citation needed]

Among his last appearances are:

]

Pirgu won the first prize in the international competitions Caruso in Milan in 2002, and Tito Schipa in Lecce in the same year. He was recognized with the Franco Corelli award in 2009 in Ancona (Italy) and with the prestigious "Pavarotti d'Oro Award" in 2013.[citation needed]

In December 2015, he released his album Il Mio Canto, edited by

Opus Arte.[3]

Pirgu made his debut with Opera Australia in 2017 as Shepherd in Szymanowski's King Roger at the Sydney Opera House.[4]

Religious views

Saimir Pirgu has described himself as an atheist, although he has said "if a God exists he exists in music".[5]

Honors and awards

  • 2002: First Prize at "Caruso" competition (Milan)
  • 2002: First Prize at "Tito Schipa" competition (Lecce)
  • 2004: "Eberhard-Waechter-Gesangsmedaille" Award (Vienna)
  • 2009: "Franco Corelli" Award (Ancona)
  • 2013: "Golden Pavarotti" Award
  • 2016: "Çelësit të Qytetit" ("The Key of the City"), an honor of the capital of Albania, Tirana.

Repertoire

Discography

  • Il mio canto (Opus Arte), 2015, CD
  • Szymanowski:
    Król Roger (Royal Opera House, staged by Kasper Holten
    , May 2015) Opus Arte, 2015, DVD/Blu-ray
  • La traviata (Teatro di San Carlo, staged by Ferzan Özpetek, Dec 2012) CG Entertainment, 2015, Pal DVD
  • Operngala (Naxos), 2015, Live CD
  • G. Verdi – Rigoletto (Zürich Opernhaus 2014), 2015, DVD
  • G. Verdi – Requiem (Vienna Musikverein 2013), 2014, DVD Blu-ray
  • G. Verdi – Requiem (München, Bayerische Rundfunk 2013), 2014, CD
  • V. Bellini – I Capuleti e i Montecchi (San Francisco Opera 2012), 2014, DVD Blu-ray
  • New Year's Concert 2013 (Venice, Teatro la Fenice 2013), 2014, DVD Blu-ray
  • W. A. Mozart – Die Zauberflöte (Milan,
    Teatro alla Scala
    2011), 2012, DVD Blu-ray
  • G. Puccini – La bohème im Hochhaus (Live from Berne, Switzerland, 2009), 2010, DVD
  • W. A. Mozart – Idomeneo (Graz, styriarte 2008), 2009, DVD
  • G. Verdi – La traviata (Opéra Royal de Wallonie, Belgium 2009) 2009, DVD
  • V. Martín y SolerIl burbero di buon cuore (Madrid, Teatro Real 2007) 2009, DVD
  • V. Martín y Soler – Il burbero di buon cuore (Madrid, Teatro Real 2007) 2013, CD
  • Ramon Carnicer – Elena e Costantino (Madrid, Teatro Real
    2005) 2009, CD
  • G. Rossini – La cambiale di matrimonio (Rossini Opera Festival 2006) 2008, DVD
  • G. Rossini – La cambiale di matrimonio (Rossini Opera Festival 2006) 2007, CD
  • Opera Night (Opera Cologne, for the German AIDS Foundation, 2005), 2006 DVD
  • Angelo Casto e Bel (Universal), 2006, CD

References

  1. ^ Gurewitsch, Matthew (2013-03-08). "The Tenor Saimir Pirgu Hits His Stride". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "Ein Sängerleben ist nicht so einfach" by Daniel Ender, Der Standard (9 December 2010) (in German)
  3. YouTube
  4. ^ "Sydney Festival: Opera Australia stages King Roger, its first opera in Polish" by Elissa Blake, The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 January 2017
  5. ^ eri. "Saimir Pirgu rrëfen lidhjen me Pavarotin: Më ka mësuar sekretet e zanatit". Retrieved 2019-02-16.

External links