Joel Prieto & Giulio Zappa: Tenor and Piano

Tenor Joel Prieto has established himself as one of the most sought-after and exciting artists of his generation since he was unanimously awarded the first prize in Plácido Domingo’s Operalia Competition in 2008. He will share the stage with Giulio Zappa, one of the most important Italian accompanists and vocal coaches of his generation: since 1996 he has enjoyed an intense concert career performing all over the world, and he has often been invited both as opera vocal coach and as recital accompanist in many theaters and Festivals in Europe and Asia.

Joel Prieto tenor

Joel Prieto has become one of the most sought-after and exciting artists of his generation. He was awarded the first prize in Operalia Competition in 2008. The Spanish-born tenor, raised in Puerto Rico, has performed in some of the most prestigious venues, such as: Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Covent Garden Royal Opera House and Wigmore Hall in London, Teatro Real in Madrid, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia, Ópera de Oviedo, Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, Staatsoper Unter den Linden and Deutsche Oper in Berlin, Semperoper in Dresden, Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Washington National Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Opéra National de Paris and Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Opéra de Monte Carlo in Monaco, La Monnaie de Munt in Brussels, Theater an der Wien and Wiener Konzerthaus in Vienna, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, NHK Hall in Tokyo, and Teatro Municipal of Santiago in Chile, as well as in the most important festivals: Salzburg Festival, Santa Fe Opera Festival, Glyndebourne Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, and Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. The tenor has participated in many prominent productions recorded on DVD and streamed on live broadcasts, collaborating with directors such as Mehta, Luisi, Nézet-Séguin, Pinnock, Ticciati, Gatti, Roberto Abbado, Bolton, Dantone, Campanella, and Fischer and directors such as McVicar, Carsen, Guth, Loy, Sagi, and Barrie Kosky, among others. Joel began his career singing the main roles of the Mozartian and bel canto repertoire, now establishing himself as a lyric tenor with roles such as Romeo, Edgardo, Nemorino, Lensky, Alfredo, Faust, Don José, and Rodolfo, among others.

Giulio Zappa piano

Giulio Zappa was born in Monza in 1971. He studied under Oleg Marshev, finishing his piano degree with honours at the Novara Conservatory. He eventually continued his studies with Aldo Ciccolini and Irwin Gage. Since 1996, he has had an intense concert career all over the world, and he has often been invited both as an opera vocal coach and as a recital accompanist at many theaters and festivals throughout Europe and Asia, such as Opéra National Bordeaux, Opéra de Lorraine, Seoul Art Center, Teatro Real Madrid, Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, Festival Mozart La Coruna, Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Glyndebourne Festival, Wexford Festival, Welsh National Opera, Tenerife Opera Festival, Festival de la Opera de Las Palmas, Wigmore Hall, John Smith’s Square, Rudolfinum in Prague, Verdi Conservatory Hall and Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerisches Staatsoper, Biwako Hall, Bolshoi Theatre, Mikhailovsky Theatre, and the Saint Petersburg Philharmonie. Mainly specialized in Bel Canto repertoire, he has been main coach and pianist at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro since 2003. He has had the chance to collaborate with artists of different generations in the Italian and the international opera sphere, including Giulietta Simionato, Luis Alva, Luciano Pavarotti, Katia Ricciarelli, Lella Cuberli, Piero Cappuccilli, Enzo Dara, Leo Nucci, Michele Pertusi, Gregory Kunde, Daniela Barcellona, Juan Diego Florez, Dmitry Korchak, Larry Brownlee, Mariella Devia, Erwin Schrott, Luca Pisaroni, Olga Peretyatko, Maxim Mironov, Marina Rebeka, and many other younger artists of the newest generation. He has worked with famous stage directors and conductors such as A. Zedda, G. Kuhn, L. Jia, P. Fournillier, M. Mariotti, C. Rizzi, G. Sagripanti, E. Mazzola, M. Martone, D. Fo, G. Strehler, L.Ronconi, M. Hampe, P. Pizzi, Martinoty, and G. Vick. He was artistic director of the Young Artist Programme (Opera Estudio) at the Tenerife Opera (Spain) from 2013 to 2021. He is now artistic secretary of the Donizetti Opera Festival in Bergamo and responsible for the young artist project “Bottega Donizetti” in the same festival.