The story so far

A voice on the world's great stages

Saimir Pirgu figures among the brightest stars in today's international operatic firmament. "Exceptionally boyish, gently ardent and at ease in stratospheric flights" (Financial Times), the "sweet-voiced, energetic tenor" (New York Times) has been celebrated at every major international operatic venue, including the Metropolitan Opera New York, the Teatro alla Scala, the Vienna Staatsoper, the London Royal Opera House, the Paris Opera, the Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow, the Berlin Staatsoper and Deutsche Oper, the Opernhaus Zurich, the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, the San Francisco Opera, the Los Angeles Opera, the Sydney Opera House, the Arena di Verona, the Salzburg Festival, the Vienna Musikverein and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw.

On the opera stage

Recent seasons are marked by important debuts in iconic tenor roles: Il Cavaliere Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut in new productions at Zurich Opernhaus and Bayerische Staatsoper, Cavaradossi in Tosca in a new production at the Rome Opera, the title role in Ernani at the Bregenz Festival, Don Jose in Carmen under Zubin Mehta in Bangkok, the title role in Les Contes d'Hoffmann at Zurich Opernhaus, the title role in Werther at Tokyo New National Theatre, and the title role in La damnation de Faust in a new Peter Stein production at the Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow.

He has also recently sung Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly at Zurich Opernhaus, Lenskij in Evgenij Onegin at the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome with James Conlon, the title role in Faust at the Sydney Opera House, Des Grieux in Manon at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees in Paris, Gabriele Adorno in Simon Boccanegra at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, the Shepherd in Krol Roger at the London Royal Opera House with Antonio Pappano, and Riccardo in Un ballo in maschera with the Israel Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta. His roles include Rodolfo in La Boheme, Alfredo in La Traviata, the Duca in Rigoletto and Macduff in Macbeth at houses across Europe and the Americas.

In concert

Equally esteemed as a concert singer, Saimir Pirgu has performed Verdi's Messa da Requiem with Riccardo Muti and the Vienna Philharmonic at the Salzburg Festival, with Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and with Antonio Pappano and the Orchestra dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia. He has sung Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Missa Solemnis in Berlin with Daniel Barenboim, Bruckner's Te Deum in Salzburg with Christian Thielemann, and Mozart's Requiem in Chicago with Riccardo Muti. He appeared at the 2013 New Year's Concert at Venice's Teatro La Fenice.

Honours

He has been honoured with many awards, including the prestigious Pavarotti d'Oro (2013), the Franco Corelli Prize (2009), the Eberhard Wachter Gesangsmedaille (2004) and first prize at both the Caruso and Tito Schipa international voice competitions (2002). Discovered by Claudio Abbado in 2002, in 2004 he became the youngest singer ever to debut a principal role at the Salzburg Festival.

Beginnings

Born in Elbasan, Albania, in 1981, Saimir Pirgu began his musical training very young, completing his studies in violin in his home city at the age of sixteen. At twenty-one he graduated from the Conservatorio Claudio Monteverdi in Bolzano, Italy, where he studied voice with Vito Maria Brunetti, who remains an important adviser to this day.

In 2008 he was chosen by Woody Allen to perform in the director's first opera staging, Gianni Schicchi, at the Los Angeles Opera. On his return to the Metropolitan Opera during the 2013 Verdi Year as Alfredo in La Traviata, the New York Times dedicated a two-page article to his career under the title "The Tenor from the Dark Side of the Moon".

His most recent solo album, Il Mio Canto, was released in 2016 on the Opus Arte label and presented on a world tour that led him to Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Tokyo, New York, Florence and Tirana. His first arias album, Angelo casto e bel, was recorded in 2004 for Universal Music. Since 2013 he has been an ambassador for Down Syndrome Albania, a foundation dedicated to helping children with Down syndrome.