October 4, 2005

UCSB Arts & Lectures presents the Southern California recital debut of the sensational opera star Salvatore Licitra at the Lobero Theatre

Summary Facts:

• Salvatore Licitra, tenor
• His Southern California recital debut
• Licitra is hailed as one of the most promising Italian tenors of his generation
• He has been billed “The Fourth Tenor”
• Licitra will be accompanied by Warren Jones, piano
• Sunday, November 6 / 4 pm
• Lobero Theatre, 33 East Canon Perdido Street
• General public: $50 / UCSB students: $19
• Tickets/information: UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535
• Corwin Master Class with UCSB voice students, free and open to public observation, Monday, November 7, 10 am, Geiringer Hall, UCSB Music Building

Salvatore Licitra, who has emerged as the most promising Italian tenor of his generation, will make his Southern California recital debut with Warren Jones accompanying him on piano on Sunday, November 6 at 4 pm at the Lobero Theatre, 33 East Canon Perdido Street. Licitra’s program will feature works by Handel, Beethoven, Donizetti, Rossini, Leoncavallo and Tosti.

Although he was not scheduled for a formal Met Opera debut until 2005, Licitra stepped in on very short notice to replace the ailing Luciano Pavarotti as Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca, in what was believed to be the famous tenor’s farewell operatic performance on Saturday, May 11, 2002. Singing not only to a sold-out house expecting to hear Pavarotti, but also to some 3,000 people watching a live transmission on the Lincoln Center Plaza, Licitra won over the audience in a performance that The New York Times described as “the starry anointing of a potential successor” capped with “an ecstatic standing ovation at the end of his performance.” Licitra is hailed for his rich, dark-hued muscular tone, viscerally powerful top notes, and his sheer star power. The Miami Herald raves, “The first super-tenor of the 21st century has arrived.”

So far Licitra’s commitments have taken him to the Vienna State Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, the Paris Opera Bastille, London’s Royal Opera, the Teatro alla Scala, the Staatsoper Berlin the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Bavarian State Opera and the opera companies of Rome, Naples, Lisbon, Zurich and Turin with return engagements almost everywhere.

During June 2005, the Swiss-born Italian tenor traveled to Japan to perform the title role of Verdi’s Il Trovatore with Naples’ famed Teatro San Carlo. Thereafter, he appeared in concerts and recitals in Tokyo, Osaka and Beijing before returning to North America for an al fresco gala concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra in July. In August he inaugurated the 2005 Edinburgh International Festival with the Verdi Requiem and then proceeded to sing Aida at the 20,000-seat Arena di Verona.

In September 2005 Licitra sang his first performances of Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana in his native town of Bern, Switzerland after which he rejoined the Metropolitan Opera for Aida (Autumn 2005) and La Forza del destino (Spring 2006). During the 2005-06 season, Licitra also makes debuts with the Los Angeles Opera and the Michigan Opera Theater in Tosca and Aida respectively. His Los Angeles Opera debut is two weeks after his Santa Barbara recital. In June 2006 he will appear in a new production of Aida at the Zurich Opera while beginning in July he will take on his first performances of Verdi’s Don Carlo—first at the Arena di Verona and repeated immediately thereafter at the Los Angeles Opera in September 2006. Interspersed among these operatic engagements, Licitra will perform concerts and recitals in Europe, North America and the Far East.

Salvatore Licitra makes his home both in Lugano and in New York City. For relaxation he enjoys sport car racing and soccer. He is passionate about participating in events that allow him to reach expanded, more diverse audiences, such as the 2005 New York Columbus Day Parade. He is also an enthusiastic advocate of bringing opera into the schools so that young people are exposed to classical music.

An exclusive Sony Masterworks artist, Licitra’s discography includes Il Trovatore and Tosca from La Scala with Ricardo Muti and a solo album of famous arias by Verdi and Puccini. On DVD he can be seen in the La Scala production of Tosca conducted by Maestro Muti. Licitra can also be heard on the CD Duetto, recorded with Argentinean Marcelo Álvarez.

Salvatore Licitra will teach a Corwin Master Class with UCSB voice students that is free and open to public observation on Monday, November 7 at 10 am at Geiringer Hall, UCSB Music Building. The class is co-presented by Arts & Lectures with the UCSB Department of Music.

Salvatore Licitra is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures and sponsored by Casa Santa Barbara, KDB Classical Radio and the Inn of the Spanish Garden. His residency is generously supported by Virginia Castagnola-Hunter and Jeanne C. Thayer and funded in part by the Events & Festivals Program using funds provided by the City of Santa Barbara in partnership with the SB County Arts Commission, and by the Western States Arts Federation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Licitra is presented in cooperation with the Santa Barbara Dance Alliance. Tickets are $50 for the general public and $19 for UCSB students who must show valid ID at ticket purchase and the evening of the show. Ticket prices are subject to facility and convenience fees.

For tickets or more information,
call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535.

Editor: For photos, please call
George Yatchisin at (805) 893-3494.