Saimir Pirgu

Saimir Pirgu is one of the most sought-after tenors on the international opera scene and has enjoyed great critical acclaim at leading opera houses such as the Metropolitan Opera, New York, the Vienna State Opera, La Scala, Milan, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Paris Opéra, the Bolshoi in Moscow, the Berlin State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Zurich Opera, the Liceu in Barcelona, San Francisco Opera and the Arena di Verona.

Saimir Pirgu studied with Vito Maria Brunetti at the Conservatory in Bolzano and perfected his vocal technique with Luciano Pavarotti. Aged 22, he was chosen by Claudio Abbado to make his debut in Ferrara as Ferrando (Così fan tutte). He also made his Salzburg Festival debut in the same role under Philippe Jordan in 2004.

Successful recent appearances include Don José (Carmen) at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Gounod’s Faust at Opera Australia, the Duke of Mantua (Rigoletto) at Covent Garden, in Vienna, Zurich, Munich and Verona, Alfredo (La traviata) at the Met, Covent Garden, in Vienna, at the Berlin State Opera and the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Riccardo (Un ballo in maschera) in Tel Aviv under Zubin Mehta and in Parma, Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore) in Vienna and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Tamino (Die Zauberflöte) at La Scala, Tito (La clemenza di Tito) in Paris, Rodolfo (La bohème) in Los Angeles and Barcelona, Roméo (Roméo et Juliette) in Barcelona, Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) in Zurich and Naples, Werther at the New National Theatre in Tokyo, Faust (La Damnation de Faust) in Moscow, Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor) and Gabriele Adorno (Simon Boccanegra) in Naples, Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) in Verona, the Shepherd in Szymanowski’s King Roger at Covent Garden and Opera Australia and the Verdi Requiem at the Salzburg Festival, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Gasteig in Munich, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Palau de la Música in Barcelona and the Palau de les Arts in Valencia.

Saimir Pirgu has worked with many leading conductors, including Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, Lorin Maazel, Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Mariss Jansons, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Seiji Ozawa, John Eliot Gardiner, James Conlon, Antonio Pappano, Daniele Gatti, Gianandrea Noseda and Tugan Sokhiev.
He was awarded the Pavarotti d’Oro Award in 2013.