Michele Pertusi is an Italian

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

singer ( bass) born in

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

on January 12, 1965. He studied at the Conservatory of Parma with Mauro Uberti, and obtained an advanced degree in singing and piano. He also followed the teaching of Carlo Bergonzi,

Arrigo Pola Arrigo Pola (5 July 1919 – 3 November 1999) was an Italian tenor who had an active international performance career during the 1940s through the 1960s. After, he embarked on a second career, as a celebrated voice teacher in both Italy and Jap ...

and Rodolfo Celetti. He began his career on December 19, 1984, at the municipal theater of Modena with the role of Silva in '' Ernani'', at only 19 years old, after winning the "voci verdiane" competition. He quickly sang on the great Italian (

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Parma, Modena ...) and international (

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, New York,

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

, Staatsoper in Vienna,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...

...) stages where he tackled the great roles in the Verdean repertoire ( ''Falstaff'' among others, for which he obtained 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 pr ...

but also Oberto, conte di San bonifaccio, Verdi's first opera, in 2005), Mozartian (Leporello, Don Alfonso, Figaro ...), bel canto with Rossini (Alidoro, Assur, Mustafa ...); Bellini (''

I puritani ' (''The Puritans'') is an 1835 opera by Vincenzo Bellini. It was originally written in two acts and later changed to three acts on the advice of Gioachino Rossini, with whom the young composer had become friends. The music was set to a libretto ...

'', ''

La sonnambula ''La sonnambula'' (''The Sleepwalker'') is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the ''bel canto'' tradition by Vincenzo Bellini set to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ''ballet-pantomime'' written by Eu ...

'' ...) and

Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera style duri ...

( ''Lucia di Lamermoor'' and ''

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 ...

'' among others). He also sings the role of Méphisto both in ''Faust'' (

Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

) and in ''La Damnation de Faust'' ( Berlioz). In 2016, he took on the role of Filippo II in Don Carlo in Parma. In 2017, he sang the role of Roger in Jerusalem by Verdi, also in Parma.

Discography (non exhaustive)

Opera

* 1987: ''Rigoletto'' (Verdi, CD) * 1989: ''Il barbiere di Siviglia'' (Rossini, CD) * 1990: ''Così fan tutte'' (Mozart, CD) * 1991: ''Don Giovanni'' (Mozart, CD) * 1992: ''La Cenerentola'' (Rossini, CD) * 1993: ''Maometto II'' (Rossini, CD) * 1994: ''Il signor Bruschino'' (Rossini, CD); ''Semiramide'' (Rossini, CD); ''Don Carlos'' (Verdi, CD); ''Le nozze di Figaro'' (Mozart, CD) * 1996: ''Così fan tutte'' (Mozart, CD); Don Giovanni (Mozart, CD); ''I puritani'' (Bellini, CD); ''Il barbiere di Siviglia'' (Rossini, CD); ''La Cenerentola'' (Rossini, DVD) * 1998: ''Il turco in Italia'' (Rossini, CD) * 2000: ''Moïse et Pharaon'' (Rossini, CD); ''Nina'' (Paisiello, CD); ''Le siège de Corinthe'' (Rossini, CD); ''Les contes d’Hoffmann'' (Offenbach, CD) * 2001: ''Oberto'' (Verdi, CD); ''Ernani'' (Verdi, CD); ''

La damnation de Faust ''La damnation de Faust'' (English: ''The Damnation of Faust''), Op. 24 is a work for four solo voices, full seven-part chorus, large children's chorus and orchestra by the French composer Hector Berlioz. He called it a "''légende dramatique'' ...

'' (Berlioz, CD) * 2003: ''Thaïs'' (Massenet, CD) * 2004: ''I puritani'' (Bellini, CD); Falstaff (Verdi, CD) * 2006: ''Le nozze di Figaro'' (Mozart, CD) * 2007: ''Torvaldo e Dorliska'' (Rossini, CD/DVD recorded at the Rossini Opera Festival 2006) * 2008: ''La gazza ladra'' (Rossini, DVD, recorded at the Rossini Opera Festival 2007) * 2010 : ''La Sonnambula'' (Bellini, DVD, recorded at the Rossini Opera Festival on March 21, 2009 ) * 2011 : ''Le comte Ory'' (Rossini, DVD, recorded at the Rossini Opera Festival in March 2011 ) * 2016: Don Carlo (Verdi, CD and DVD. 4 act version recorded at the Teatro Regio de Parme)

Recitals

* 1988: Concert gala opera (CD) * 1993: Masters of the Opera (CD); Di tanti palpiti (CD) * 1995: Jungen stimmen der oper (CD) * 1996: Gala opera concert (CD) * 1997: Airs pour basse (CD); Récital Rossini (CD) * 1998: Serenata (CD); Malia (CD); Christmas in the world (CD) * 1999: Arie da camara (CD) * 2000: The best of Verdi (CD); Verdi opera highlights (CD) * 2003: Mozart opera highlights (CD) * 2005: Live recital (CD)

Religious music

* 1995: ''Petite messe solennelle'' (Rossini, CD) * 1998: Cantates sacrées (Rossini, CD) * 2003: ''Stabat Mater'' (Rossini, CD); Sacred works (Verdi, CD)

References

1965 births Living people Musicians from Parma 21st-century Italian male opera singers {{Italy-opera-singer-stub