Francesco Castoro has begun his vocal studies at a very young age and he graduated with honour from the Niccolò Piccinni Conservatory in Bari under the guidance of Domenico Colaianni. After that, he had the chance to refine his singing at Rodolfo Celletti Belcanto Academy in Martina Franca, within the Festival della Valle d’Itria (2013–14). He is a winner of several international singing competitions, including the Ottavio Ziino Competition in Rome. Moreover, he graduated at Accademia di Perfezionamento per Cantanti Lirici del Teatro alla Scala (2015–17), where he performed in La Bohème, Falstaff (conductor Zubin Mehta), Die Zauberflöte, La fanciulla del West (conductor Riccardo Chailly), and La cena delle beffe.
He has already made his debut in many important theatres and festivals in Italy and abroad, such as Teatro alla Scala, Festival della Valle D’Itria, Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Teatro Verdi di Trieste, Teatro Municipale di Piacenza, Arena di Verona, Ópera de Tenerife, Landestheater Innsbruck, singing under the baton of such conductors as Roland Böer, Riccardo Chailly, Adam Fischer, Fabio Luisi, Zubin Mehta, Evelino Pidò, Stefano Ranzani, and working with leading stage directors as Gianni Amelio, Robert Carsen, Damiano Michieletto, Leo Muscato, Ferzan Ozpetek, Peter Stein, Alessandro Talevi, Federico Tiezzi.
Among the leading roles that he has already performed, it can be mentioned Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Monostatos in The Magic Flute, Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Bortolo in Ricci brothers’ Crispino e la Comare, Carletto in De Giosa’s Don Checco, Giambarone in Jommelli’s Don Trastullo, Camille de Rossillon in The Merry Widow, Salvini in Bellini’s Adelson e Salvini, Conte Libenskof in Il viaggio a Reims, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Alfredo Germont in La traviata, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Tebaldo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia.
He sang also in several important recitals and concerts, including the opening gala of Arena di Verona 2013 season, the European tour of Verdi concerts with the Orchestra Nazionale dei Conservatori conducted by Antonino Fogliani; the inauguration gala of the Silk Road programme in Xi’an, China in 2014; Stravinski’s Pulcinella at Teatro alla Scala with Ottavio Dantone as conductor in 2016.
Due to the COVID pandemic his house debut at Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich with Falstaff could not take place.
Latest performances: La bohème (role debut as Rodolfo) at Teatro Comunale di Bologna; La rondine at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino; La traviata at Royal Danish Theatre in Copenaghen; Lucrezia Borgia in Reggio Emilia; Don Pasquale in Savona; La traviata at Teatro Massimo di Palermo and at Teatro Comunale di Bologna; Stravinski’s Pulcinella at Teatro San Carlo di Napoli; L’elisir d’amore at Theater St. Gallen and Teatro Verdi in Trieste; Il viaggio a Reims (Libenskof) at Ópera de Tenerife.
Forthcoming projects: Madama Butterfly at Teatro Verdi Trieste; opera concerts in Moscow; La traviata at Theater St. Gallen; Lucrezia Borgia in Bologna.
(photo: Silvia Meo)
