Salvatore Cordella Modern Italian tenor Country: Italy

Biography of Salvatore Cordella

Salvatore Cordella is a modern Italian tenor who performs on some of the world's most prestigious opera stages, including La Scala, La Fenice, San Carlo, Opera Bastille, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Metropolitan Opera, and the opera theaters in Mannheim, Tokyo, and others.

Born in Copertino, Italy, Cordella initially studied flute at the Tito Schipa Conservatory in Lecce. Simultaneously, he worked on his vocal skills under the guidance of maestro Manolo Russo in Lecce and maestro Sherman Lowe in Venice. From 1999 to 2003, Cordella studied at the Paolo Grassi Academy in Martina Franca and made his debut in 2000 at the 26th summer festival 'Festival of Valle d'Itria,' performing in two operas, Rossini's 'Othello' and Meyerbeer's 'Robert le diable.' In the following years, Cordella continued to collaborate with the festival, appearing in productions such as Gounod's 'La Reine de Saba,' Rossini's 'Ivanoe,' Paisiello's 'Le due contesse,' as well as several concerts. Some of his performances from the festival were released on CD, and Cordella received three scholarships as the Best Student of the Academy.

In 2002, he sang in Mozart's 'Don Giovanni' in Osimo, Imperia, La Spezia, and Savona, as well as performed in Offenbach's 'Orfeo agli inferi' and Lehár's 'Das Land des Lächelns' in Bari. In February 2003, Cordella opened the opera season at the Politeama Greco Theater in Lecce with the oratorio 'Joseph Ala Dei' by De Luca. In the same year, he participated in the premiere of Nino Rota's opera 'Il principe porcaro' at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice.

Cordella also took part in the reopening of the renovated La Fenice, singing Alfredo in 'La Traviata' under the baton of Lorin Maazel. He then embarked on tours in Japan and Germany. In September 2004, the tenor added Mozart's 'Cosi fan tutte' to his repertoire at the Teatro Quirino in Rome. The following summer, he made his debut at the Salzburg Festival in a new production of 'La Traviata' conducted by Carlo Rizzi. Since then, Cordella has performed roles such as Fenton in 'Falstaff,' Arturo and Edgardo in 'Lucia di Lammermoor,' the First Tempter and the First Knight in Pizzetti's 'Assassinio nella cattedrale,' Camillo De Rossillon in Lehár's 'Die lustige Witwe,' Rinuccio in 'Gianni Schicchi,' Pinkerton in 'Madame Butterfly,' Gennaro in 'Lucrezia Borgia,' and Conrad in Verdi's 'Il corsaro.'

In May 2009, Cordella made his debut at La Scala in Milan, and on January 4, 2013, he performed for the first time on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, replacing the ailing tenor Matthew Polenzani as Leicester in Donizetti's 'Maria Stuarda.'

In addition to his opera performances, Cordella has an extensive concert career and has made numerous recordings.