Roberto Alagna, tenor, has performed at the greatest venues and festivals dedicated to opera, from the Paris Opera to the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Royal Opera House in London, the Chorégies d’Orange, La Scala in Milan, the Vienna Staatsoper, and the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. In a career spanning nearly 40 years, he has added more than sixty roles to his repertoire: Alfredo, Calaf, Canio, Cavaradossi, Des Grieux, Don Carlo(s), Don Jose, Faust, Manrico, Maurizio, Nemorino, Otello, Radames, Rodolfo, Romeo, Ruggero, Turiddu, Werther, etc. These performances have made Roberto Alagna the most famous French tenor in the world. He also enjoys exploring and serving lesser-known works, through productions, concerts or recordings such as Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame, Le Cid and La Navarraise by Massenet, Fiesque by Lalo, Francesca da Rimini by Zandonaï, Gianni Schicchi by Puccini, Le Roi Arthus by Chausson or L’Enfant prodigue by Debussy, etc. He also sings Vasco da Gama by Meyerbeer, the critical edition of L’Africaine, rarely performed. In 2017 at the Metropolitan Opera, he revived a flamboyant Cyrano de Bergerac by Alfano in its original version of 1935 (referred to as the “Alagna version” on the score reissued by Ricordi). Two contemporary operas have even been composed for him: Marius et Fanny, based on Marcel Pagnol by Vladimir Cosma, and Le Dernier jour d’un condamné, based on Victor Hugo. Composed by David Alagna and based on a libretto by Roberto and Frederico Alagna, the work was first staged in France in 2014 and later released on DVD.

A PROLIFIC DISCOGRAPHY, A FERTILE ECLECTICISM

A true lover of an immoderate number of roles and the genius of their composers, he boasts an impressive discography, reflecting his insatiable lyrical curiosity. Under exclusive contract with EMI (1993-2004) then with Deutsche Grammophon (2005-2017), he signed with Sony Classical from 2017 to 2022. With recordings for Erato, Sony, EMI, Warner and Deutsche Grammophon over the last 10 years, his discography is one of the most extensive in existence and covers a wide range: complete works, duets, oratorios, collections of great lyrical works, operas, sacred arias, songs… Credo, Viva Opéra, Airs de Berlioz, Bel canto, Robertissimo, Luis Mariano, Sicilien, Pasión are some of the many albums that make up his catalog, representing millions of copies sold and reflecting the musical eclecticism of his career. He received a warm welcome for his recital released at the end of 2014, Ma Vie est un Opéra, a moving recital of arias and duets illustrating his life and career in the style of an opera libretto. In the fall of 2016, he offered seven original songs on the album Malèna, as well as carefully revisited great Neapolitan standards. In October 2018, his first album of duets entirely dedicated to Puccini, Puccini in Love, recorded for Sony with soprano Aleksandra Kurzak, as well as a recording of Massenet’s La Navarraise for Warner Classics. A new solo album, Caruso 1873 – a tribute to the great Neapolitan tenor Enrico Caruso – was released at the end of 2019 by Sony Classical. In the summer of 2020, marked by the health crisis and its restrictions, he imagined and recorded Le Chanteur, a variety album with jazz and swing colors, entirely dedicated to the beautiful and great French Chanson. Alongside Aleksandra Kurzak and Andreas Scholl, he participated in the recording of Arvo Pärt’s Stabat Mater, which was released in October 2022 by Aparté. In October 2022, he also recorded Arvo Pärt’s Stabat Mater on Aparté. In February 2024, he recorded the album Seigneur in trio with guitarist Jean-Félix Lalanne and pianist Marek Ruszczyński, a spiritual album blending sacred chants and French and Italian songs of sacred inspiration, then Roberto Alagna 60, with the Morphing Chamber Orchestra conducted by Giorgio Croci. The two albums were released respectively in April and September 2024 by Aparté. In the second, to coincide with his 60th birthday, the tenor celebrates 40 years of an exceptional career and offers a program of new recordings that reflect his image: that of a contagious passion, an inexhaustible taste for exploring different repertoires and styles, from French, Italian, and Neapolitan opera, German, Polish, and Russian, to Italian and French song, including English and South American crossover… without omitting a few surprises, because that’s the art of the inimitable tenor!

A SOLID APPETITE FOR RESEARCH AND CREATION

Off the beaten track, constantly exploring new styles and ideas—on record, on stage, and on tour—Roberto Alagna clearly reveals his desire to give more to his audiences and to feed their appetite for study and creation. The musical eclecticism that has always been dear to the tenor’s heart is the fertile legacy of his roots. As of all the progress he’s made since his beginnings when, at the age of 17, singing evenings in Parisian cabarets, he met Cuban double bassist and singer Rafael Ruiz. He was his first singing teacher. A few years later, in 1988, he won the Pavarotti Competition in Philadelphia, giving a decisive boost to the career he has pursued ever since at a steady pace, almost instinctively, with constantly renewed vitality and freshness.

Attracted by all aspects of singing, the tenor makes regular forays into popular music: alongside a highly active operatic career, he successfully established himself in the field of traditional song, a crossover between genres that he practices with the same commitment, the same generosity and sincerity, the same rigor and technical rigor. One never comes at the expense of the other, but rather, one nourishes the other. His success in this field has made Roberto Alagna a truly popular artist, beloved by his ever-growing and diverse audience.

Beginning in 2009, he has enjoyed widespread success with his singing tours (Mariano, Sicilien, Pasión, etc.). In 2013, his Little Italy tour, a show paying homage to his origins and Italian musical culture in all its variety, was a resounding success in more than fifteen French cities. In 2014, Roberto Alagna performed at the International Festival of World Sacred Music in Fez (Morocco), creating a sensation with a unique show, Mediterraneo. Accompanied by an oriental instrumental ensemble, he blended songs from the lyrical, sacred, and traditional repertoires, combining Western, Arab-Andalusian, Sicilian, and Neapolitan influences. A DVD of the concert was released in 2015, accompanying his album Noël. In 2016, he brought a concert to Australia that blended both great lyrical arias and popular songs, reflecting his musical culture. He has repeatedly created such unique programs around the world, displaying a unique ability to use his tenor instrument while remaining faithful to the style of his interpretations.

In these stage performances—as in the creative work that accompanies them—Alagna finds a breath of fresh air and new resources, and also gains a very special aura, rare in the opera world. His moving Marseillaise, performed on July 14, 2005, at the foot of the presidential tribune on the Champs-Élysées, remains in the memory. The recital he gave in 2009 in the prestigious gardens of the Palace of Versailles was another highlight, winning the support of a wider audience. On this occasion, he brought nearly 8,000 people to listen to him perform famous arias from French opera, as well as reviving some forgotten works from this repertoire, under the direction of his accomplice, conductor Michel Plasson.

A COMPLETE ARTIST

Roberto Alagna has appeared in numerous DVDs. He also made films, first with Benoît Jacquot’s Tosca (2001), then Barbara Willis Sweete’s Romeo and Juliet (2002). On stage as in these film-operas, Roberto Alagna fully demonstrates his acting talents, for which, as early as 1995, he was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for his London performance of Romeo. A British theatrical award rarely awarded to an operatic artist. Recently, in May 2022, he appeared alongside Michèle Laroque and MB14 in Claude Ziddi Jr.’s film Ténor, playing himself.

Open to innovative experiences and dedicated to promoting opera, Roberto Alagna regularly undertakes the demanding task of live television and film broadcasts (in Orange, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, in Vienna, etc.). Convinced of the importance of DVD in the future of recorded opera and the value of breaking down barriers between artistic disciplines, he also collaborated with his brothers David and Frédérico on original productions such as Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice, Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac, Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, and Massenet’s Werther. Released in early 2014, the DVD of this latest production remained ranked for nine consecutive weeks in the French music DVD sales charts, all genres combined. 

Constantly exploring new artistic territories, Roberto Alagna regularly appears on French television, in special programs or dedicated musical shows that he helps create (Roberto Alagna sings Christmas, Roberto Alagna sings the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies at Versailles, The Most Beautiful Duets of Roberto Alagna, Roberto Alagna at the Folies Bergère, etc.)

He inspires books and documentary films, and recounted his family saga in his first book (I am not the fruit of chance – Alagna/Mazingarbe, Ed. Le Passeur).

At the end of January 2023, he further expanded his artistic experience beyond the opera stage and made his debut at the beautiful and legendary Parisian Folies Bergère, portraying the famous Al Capone, playing the title role in a musical specially composed for him by Jean-Félix Lalanne. He will use this piece as the theme for a performance entitled Hors-la-loi, le Concert, which he will tour to provincial theaters and Belgium in early 2025.

AN INVOLVING PASSION FOR VOICE AND STAGE

Driven by his passion for voice, he approaches his numerous projects with enthusiasm and serenity. On the operatic stage, his latest engagements demonstrate the full breadth of his repertoire. In recent years, he has expanded his role further with several roles, for example Des Grieux in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut at the Metropolitan Opera, Azaël in Debussy’s L’enfant prodigue in a concert version in Paris, Eleazar in Halévy’s La Juive in Munich and Rodolfo in Verdi’s Luisa Miller in Monte Carlo. Alagna made a remarkable debut as Samson in Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila in Vienna in 2018, opened the following season at the Metropolitan Opera with this work and reprised it at the Chorégies d’Orange in 2021. After singing his 100th performance at the Paris Opera in Otello, he also took to the stage of the Royal Opera House for the 100th time in May 2019, in Andrea Chenier. In early 2020, he made a highly successful return to the Metropolitan Opera in an acclaimed revival of La Bohème, 24 years later and 30 years after his debut as Rodolfo.

At the end of 2020, he made a remarkable debut in the Wagnerian repertoire, in the title role of Lohengrin, which he reprised brilliantly in April 2022 in Berlin. In August 2021, he made his first appearance at the Verona Arena with two double performances in the roles of Turiddu and Canio. He will return there in August 2022 in Carmen.

In early 2022, he performed solo recitals at the Salle Gaveau and as the opening act for UNESCO’s 2022 Sound Week, of which he was the patron, followed by duo recitals at the Bozar in Brussels and the Philharmonie de Paris. At the same time, he was invited by the Paris Opera to replace Massenet’s Manon and took on the challenge of returning to the role of the Chevalier, a role he hadn’t performed for 11 years. He continued in New York with Tosca in March 2022. In July 2022, he was invited by the Royal Opera House for Pagliacci. In the fall of 2022, he brilliantly opened the 2022/2023 season with a new role as Loris Ipanov in Umberto Giordano’s Fedora, marking his grand return to the stage of the Teatro alla Scala, before joining the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Tosca.

In early 2023, he played Al Capone for 45 dates at the Folies Bergère, in a musical by Jean-Félix Lalanne. After a series of operatic concerts, Roberto Alagna will perform in the summer of 2023 on the open stage of the Arena di Verona in Tosca and Madama Butterfly. At the end of September 2023, he will give a voice/piano/guitar recital at the Saint-Sulpice Church composed of sacred or sacredly inspired songs and the most beautiful prayers in opera. A special program entitled “Seigneur” that he will present on tour from April 2024 under the vaults of several major cathedrals in France. In December 2023, the tenor returns to the role of Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana at the Royal Opera House, then at the Metropolitan Opera in Turandot. He continues with Adriana Lecouvreur at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Tosca at the Chorégies d’Orange, Carmen in Verona. He will also give a series of tribute concerts to Puccini – for the 100th anniversary of the composer dear to his heart. A major, unprecedented program for a tenor, with which he triumphs in several venues around the world, including La Scala in Milan in June 2024.

During the 2024/2025 season, he will be featured in several operatic and lyrical concerts, including Fedora in Geneva, Tosca in Vienna, Otello in Puerto Rico, Manon at the Paris Bastille, Carmen and Aida in Verona, and Tosca at Torre del Lago. Simultaneously, between January and March 2025, he will perform songs from the musical Al Capone in a tour entitled Hors-la-Loi, le Concert, which will thrill audiences in some twenty cities in France and Belgium.