Enric Martínez-Castignani (

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, 1970) is an Italo-Spanish

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

who sings opera and

lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

er. He has been nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

.
Classics
', 31 December 2004

Biography

Martínez-Castignani was born to a family from

Senigallia Senigallia (or Sinigaglia in Old Italian, Romagnol: ''S’nigaja'') is a ''comune'' and port town on Italy's Adriatic coast. It is situated in the province of Ancona in the Marche region and lies approximately 30 kilometers north-west of the pro ...

, Italy. He graduated with honours in

and from the University of Music and Performing Arts in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

, Germany. His tutors included

Gérard Souzay Gérard Souzay (8 December 1918 – 17 August 2004) was a French baritone, regarded as one of the very finest interpreters of mélodie (French art song) in the generation after Charles Panzéra and Pierre Bernac. Background and education He wa ...

, Carlos Chausson,

Dalton Baldwin Dalton Baldwin (December 19, 1931 – December 12, 2019) was an American accompanist. He made more than 100 recordings and won numerous prizes, working with outstanding singers such as Gérard Souzay, Elly Ameling, Arleen Auger, and Jessye Norman. ...

, Paul Schilhawsky,

Gerd Türk Gerd Türk is a German classical tenor. Biography Gerd Türk received his first musical training as a choir boy at the cathedral of Limburg. He studied in Frankfurt and then at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with Richard Levitt and René Jaco ...

, Ulrich Eisenlohr and

Wolfram Rieger Wolfram Rieger is a German classical pianist, who is known internationally as accompanist of singers and in chamber music. Training Born in Waldsassen, Rieger received his first piano lessons from his parents and later from Konrad Pfeiffer in R ...

. He studied choral and orchestral conducting under

Pierre Cao Pierre Cao (born 22 December 1937 in Dudelange) is a Luxembourgian composer and conductor. He studied composition and conducting at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. Classical music Cao is the regular conductor of Arsys Bourgogne with whom he ...

Eric Ericson Eric Gustaf Ericson (26 October 1918 – 16 February 2013) was a Swedish choral conductor and influential choral teacher. Life and career He graduated from the Royal College of Music (''Kungl. Musikhögskolan'') in Stockholm in 1943 and w ...

, Klaus Arp and Luis Gorelick.

Career

In 1992 Martínez-Castignani made his opera debut as Ottone in ''

L’Incoronazione di Poppea ''L'incoronazione di Poppea'' (Stattkus-Verzeichnis, SV 308, ''The Coronation of Poppaea'') is an Italian List of operas by Claudio Monteverdi, opera by Claudio Monteverdi. It was Monteverdi's last opera, with a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Buse ...

''. He has performed in Madrid, Barcelona, Israel, Budapest, Karlsruhe, Oviedo's Opera (Spain), Villamarta, Córdoba (Argentina), Malaga, Galicia (Spain), and at the International Festivals of Perelada and Granada, under conductors including

George Pehlivanian George Pehlivanian (born 20 April 1964) is a French-American conductor. Biography A French-American conductor, born in Beirut, Lebanon, into a musical family of Armenian origin. His mother, Arpine Pehlivanian, is a Lebanese Armenian classica ...

Alberto Zedda Alberto Zedda (2 January 19286 March 2017) was an Italian conductor and musicologist whose specialty was the 19th-century Italian repertoire. Alberto Zedda was born in Milan, Italy, where he accomplished his education in music and humanities, com ...

, Sebastian Weigle,

Josep Pons Josep Pons (born Josep Pons i Viladomat; 1957) is a Spanish conductor. Biography Pons was born in Puig-reig, Berguedà. He received his musical training at L'Escolania de Montserrat and continued his musical studies in Barcelona with such teac ...

, Josep R. Encinar and Álvaro Albiach. Martínez-Castignani has given recitals at the

Palau de la Música Catalana Palau de la Música Catalana (, en, Palace of Catalan Music) is a concert hall in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed in the Catalan '' modernista'' style by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, it was built between 1905 and 1908 for O ...

, the Auditorio de Barcelona, the

Instituto Cervantes Instituto Cervantes (the Cervantes Institute) is a worldwide nonprofit organization created by the government of Spain, Spanish government in 1991. It is named after Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616), the author of ''Don Quixote'' and perhaps the ...

in Brussels, the Temporada de la Radio de Valparariso (Chile), and in the

Suntory Hall The is a concert venue in the central Akasaka district of Tokyo, Japan. Part of the Ark Hills complex, it consists of a main concert hall, widely considered one of the finest in the world for its acoustics — indeed Herbert von Karajan called i ...

and the Oiji Hall in Tokyo, performing several times with Dalton Baldwin. For some years, Martínez-Castignani has been involved with some organizations working for human rights around the world.

Roles

Martínez-Castignani performs several roles, among them Schaunard (''

La Bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions ''quadri'', ''tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe G ...

''), Dandini/Don Magnifico (''

La Cenerentola ' (''Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant'') is an operatic ''dramma giocoso'' in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the libretti written by Charles-Guillaume Étienne for the opera '' Cendrillon'' ...

''), Il Barone di Trombock (''

Il viaggio a Reims ''Il viaggio a Reims, ossia L'albergo del giglio d'oro'' (''The Journey to Reims, or The Hotel of the Golden Fleur-de-lis'') is an operatic dramma giocoso, originally performed in three acts,Janet Johnson: ''A Lost Masterpiece Recovered'', pp. 37 ...

''), Martino (''L’occasione fa il ladro''), Malatesta (''

Don Pasquale ''Don Pasquale'' () is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Pavesi's ...

''), Enrico (''

Il campanello ''Il campanello'' or ''Il campanello di notte'' (''The Night Bell'') is a dramma giocoso, or opera, in one act by Gaetano Donizetti. The composer wrote the Italian libretto after Mathieu-Barthélemy Troin Brunswick and Victor Lhérie's Frenc ...

''), Bartolo (''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...

''), Taddeo (''

L'italiana in Algeri ''L'italiana in Algeri'' (; ''The Italian Girl in Algiers'') is an operatic ''dramma giocoso'' in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli, based on his earlier text set by Luigi Mosca. It premiered at the Teatro San ...

''), Raimbaud (''

Le Comte Ory ''Le comte Ory'' (''Count Ory'') is a comic opera written by Gioachino Rossini in 1828. Some of the music originates from his opera ''Il viaggio a Reims'' written three years earlier for the coronation of Charles X of France, Charles X. The French ...

''), Dulcamara (''

L'elisir d'amore ''L'elisir d'amore'' (''The Elixir of Love'', ) is a ' (opera buffa) in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto, after Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's ' (1831). The opera premiere ...

''), Figaro (''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

''), Papageno (''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...

''), Scharpless (''

Madame Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

'') and Zurga (''

Les pêcheurs de perles ' (''The Pearl Fishers'') is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was premiered on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and was given 18 performances in ...

''). On the concert arena he sings Bach's ''

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (german: Matthäus-Passion, links=-no), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets ...

'', ''

St John Passion The ''Passio secundum Joannem'' or ''St John Passion'' (german: Johannes-Passion, link=no), BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the older of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as direc ...

'' and ''

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of t ...

'', Brahms' '' German Requiem'',

Mozart's Requiem The Requiem in D minor, K. 626, is a requiem mass by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791). Mozart composed part of the Requiem in Vienna in late 1791, but it was unfinished at his death on 5 December the same year. A completed version date ...

, Haydn's ''

Nelson Mass The ' (Mass for troubled times), commonly known as the ''Nelson Mass'' ( Hob. XXII/11), is a Mass setting by the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn. It is one of the six masses written near the end of his life that are seen as a culmination of Hay ...

'', Schubert's ''

Die schöne Müllerin ' (,"The Fair Maid of the Mill", Op. 25, D. 795), is a song cycle by Franz Schubert from 1823 based on 20 poems by Wilhelm Müller. It is the first of Schubert's two seminal cycles (preceding ''Winterreise'')'','' and a pinnacle of ''Lied'' re ...

'' and ''

Winterreise ''Winterreise'' (, ''Winter Journey'') is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert ( D. 911, published as Op. 89 in 1828), a setting of 24 poems by German poet Wilhelm Müller. It is the second of Schubert's two song cycles on Müller' ...

'', and Schumann's ''

Schwanengesang ''Schwanengesang ( Swan Song)'', 957, is a collection of 14 songs written by Franz Schubert at the end of his life and published posthumously: # Liebesbotschaft (text: Ludwig Rellstab) # Kriegers Ahnung (Rellstab) # Frühlingssehnsucht (Rells ...

'' and ''

Dichterliebe ''Dichterliebe'', "A Poet's Love" (composed 1840), is the best-known song cycle by Robert Schumann (Opus number, Op. 48). The texts for the 16 songs come from the ''Lyrisches Intermezzo'' by Heinrich Heine, written in 1822–23 and published as pa ...

''.

Awards

Martínez-Castignani was nominated for a Grammy Award for the first recording of

Xavier Montsalvatge Xavier Montsalvatge i Bassols (; 11 March 1912 – 7 May 2002) was a Spanish composer and music critic. He was one of the most influential music figures in Catalan music during the latter half of the 20th century. Biography Life Montsalvatge ...

’s ''El Gato con Botas''. He was awarded the prize for the best Spanish singer in the

Maria Canals International Music Competition The Maria Canals International Music Competition ( ca, Concurs Internacional de Música Maria Canals Barcelona, ) is a music competition held yearly in the Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona. It was founded as a piano competition in 1954, but ...

and won the third prize in the Concurso Internacional de Budapest. He won a scholarship in the Francisco Viñas International Singing Competition.

Discography

* F. Chueca: ''La Gran Vía'' / ''El Bateo''.

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

* X. Montsalvatge: ''El gato con Botas''. Columna Musica * F.

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

: ''

'', Op. 89. Solfa Recordings * E. Borrás: ''Llibre d'Amic''. Columna Musica * I. Albéniz: ''Arias y Romanzas''. Columna Musica * T.L. de

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

: ''Lamentaciones de Jeremías''. Cantus * El Cançoner de Gandia: ''El Cant de la Sibil·la''. Harmonia Mundi Ibérica

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez-Castignani, Enric Opera singers from Catalonia 20th-century Spanish male opera singers Living people 1970 births Musicians from Barcelona 21st-century Spanish male opera singers