Due to artistic reasons, Stefan POP has withdrawn from singing the role of Hoffmann in Les Contes d'Hoffmann from the 19th to 25th April 2020.

The role will be sung by Leonardo CAPALBO.

Leonardo CAPALBO

Italian-American tenor Leonardo Capalbo has garnered international acclaim for his performances throughout the United States and Europe. Lauded for his rich, lyric voice and dramatic intensity, Capalbo has received acclaim at houses such as the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Berliner Staatsoper, Teatro Real Madrid, Glyndebourne Festival, L'Opéra de Lyon, Teatro Regio di Torino, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Semperoper Dresden, Grand Théâtre de Genève, New York City Opera and Welsh National Opera amongst others.

In the 2019/20 season, Capalbo makes anticipated house debuts at Opera Vlaanderen in the title role of a new production of Don Carlos and at Komische Oper as Duca Rigoletto. He returns to Gran Teatre del Liceu in what is quickly becoming one of his signature roles, Don José in Calixto Bieito's famous production of Carmen and to Teatro Real Madrid as Osaka in concert performances of Iris. On the concert platform, Capalbo appears in a special concert drama featuring Verdi's Requiem in Amsterdam as part of the national celebration of 75 years of freedom.

Last season's highlights included a performance of Les contes d'Hoffmann with Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens de Louvre in Bremen after which he returned to Minnesota Opera for a role debut as Ruggero in La Rondine alongside his debut in the title role of Don Carlo at Grange Park Opera. He also returned to Royal Swedish Opera for a new production of Rigoletto, a role he also reprised for Calgary Opera. On the concert platform he returned to London to star in the title role of Bernstein's Candide with the London Symphony Orchestra and Marin Alsop and performed Puccini's Messa di Gloria in San Diego.

Leonardo CAPALBO

Recent highlights include his Baden-Baden Festspielhaus debut as Rodolfo La bohème and Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex in Sir's David McVicar's new production of Britten's Gloriana at Teatro Real. Other engagements included a new production of Carmen at Teatr Wielki, Macduff Macbeth in Lyon, Rodolfo in St Gallen, Nemorino at Staatsoper Hannover as well as appearing at the 2018 Marilyn Horne Song Celebration at the Zankel Hall in New York.

Quickly moving into the lirico-spinto repertoire he recently debuted Gustavo Un ballo in maschera at Royal Swedish Opera, Cavaradossi Tosca at Minnesota Opera, Jacopo in I Due Foscari at St Gallen Festspiele and Don José Carmen in Palm Beach, Sevilla, Grange Festival and Athens.

A very versatile artists his many appearances include Hoffmann in Covent Garden, Lyon and Tokyo; Arturo in La Straniera at the Concertgebouw; a new production of Powder Her Face at La Monnaie and in Warsaw; Ismaele Nabucco at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Candide at Berlin Staatsoper and Teatro dell'Opera di Roma; Major Bennet Marco in The Manchurian Candidate; Tom Rakewell The Rake's Progress at the Teatro Regio di Torino; Alfredo La Traviata at Teatro del Liceu, Welsh National Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Hamburg, Warsaw and Dresden; Macduff in Chicago and Dresden; Nemorino L'elisir d'amore at Glyndebourne Festival; Staatsoper Berlin and Minnesota Opera; the title role of Donizetti's Roberto Devereux in new productions at Canadian Opera Company and at Welsh National Opera; and the Spanish premiere of Daniel Catan's Il Postino at Teatro Real in Madrid.

A trainee of the Juilliard School of Music, The Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, and L'Académie Musicale de Villecroze, Capalbo worked under the guidance of the legendary Marilyn Horne. He made his operatic debut in 2004 as Paco in de Falla's La Vida Breve for Opera North. Further engagements with the company included Ismaele Nabucco, later released on Chandos; Roméo Roméo et Juliette; Narraboth Salome; and Juan in Weill's Der Kuhhandel.