Francisco Casanova
Tenor

Mr. Casanova made his Metropolitan Opera stage debut as Manrico in Il  Trovatore in January 2001, followed by Riccardo in Un Ballo in Maschera and Cavaradossi in Tosca (Met Opera in the Parks, Central Park).  In June, 2000 Mr. Casanova made his Vienna Staatsoper debut as Eleazar in Halevy’s La Juive , and will return there to reprise the role in 2002.  The tenor made a very  successful debut at Carnegie Hall in April, 1999 in that same role to the acclaim of both audience and reviewer, with Eve Queler’s Opera Orchestra of New York, and in the 1999-2000 season with the New Israeli Opera.

Upcoming engagements include a return to Carnegie Hall during the 2000-2001 season for Arrigo in Verdi’s La Battaglia di Legnano also under the direction of Maestra Queler.  As the recepient of Opera Orchestra of New York’s prestigious Vidda Award, Mr. Casanova  made his Weill Hall recital debut the fall of 2000.  Other engagements this season include Verdi’s Requiem with the Columbus Symphony, concert performances of Cavaradossi in Tosca with the San Antonio Symphony, and future engagements at the Metropolitan Opera include repeat performances in Tosca and Nabucco.

In 1996 the tenor replaced Luciano Pavarotti, at his request, in the “Pavarotti Plus” concert that took place at Avery Fisher Hall singing arias and ensembles from La Boheme, Un Ballo in Maschera, L’Amico Fritz, La Traviata, Tosca, Lucia di Lammermoor and Il Trovatore.  Also in 1996, he performed the Verdi Requiem with Stadttheater of Klagenfurt, and the role of the Dauphin in Verdi’s Giovanna d’Arco with the Opera Orchestra of New York.

The following season, Mr. Casanova performed Gabriele Adorno in Simon Boccanegra in San Juan, Puerto Rico, concerts for Opera Hamilton in Canada, the Verdi Requiem his debut with the Spoleto Festival USA, the title role in Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux in Oviedo and Gijón, Spain and at the Dresden Festival at the Semper Oper opposite Edita Gruberova, the title role in Verdi’s Don Carlo in Mallorca, Spain, Rossini’s Stabat Mater with the Colorado Symphony, and Cavaradossi in Tosca for the Opera of Bogotá¡, Colombia.  He also performed Gustavo in Un Ballo in Maschera in San Juan the following year.

Mr. Casanova has toured extensively throughout the United States, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Yugoslavia and the Dominican Republic.  Some notable engagements have included Oronte in I Lombardi at the Metropolitan Opera and at the Teatro Communale di Bologna, Alvaro in La Forza del Destino in Avignon and Riccardo in Un Ballo in Maschera in Klagenfurt, Austria.  He has also appeared with Opera Ontario  and the Stadttheater Wiesbaden.

Mr. Casanova’s most recent responsibilities at the Metropolitan Opera have included the title role in Don Carlo, Manrico in Il Trovatore, Faust in Mefistofele and Cavaradossi in Tosca.  Other recent engagements included Rossini’s Stabat Mater with the Columbus Symphony, operatic concerts with the New Mexico Symphony, and Verdi’s Requiem with the Haifa Symphony.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Francisco Casanova won the First Grand Prize for Male Voices in the XXVIII International Singing Competition Francisco Viñas of Barcelona, Spain (1990), as well as the special La Traviata Prize.  That same year he also won the Second Prize for Male Voices at the III International Singing Competition in Bilbao, Spain.  A year earlier he had been a National Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera auditions. In May 1999 the American Landmark Festival in conjunction with the Richard Tauber Institute of Vocal Art presented him with the Richard Tauber Medal for Vocal Excellence “in recognition of his high lyrical achievement.”  He is also a winner of the Clarisse B. Kampel Foundation Awards 2000, as well as the VIDDA 2000 Award.

Mr. Casanova is a disciple of renowed tenor Maestro Pier Miranda Ferraro.

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