Biography
After graduating with an honours degree in Political Science, Italian baritone Giuseppe Altomare studied at the Mozarteum, Salzburg with Rudolf Knoll and then with Iris Adami Corradetti, Pier Miranda Ferraro, Franco Corelli, A. Danieli, and Carlo Bergonzi. He is currently under the tutelage of baritone S. Carroli.
He began an international career with his debut at the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago in Gianni Schicchi and Madama Butterfly, and has sung the leading baritone roles in Rigoletto, Otello, Macbeth, Un Ballo in Maschera, Nabucco, Simone Boccanegra, Il Trovatore, Don Carlo, Aida, La battaglia di Legnano, La Traviata, Stiffelio, La Bohéme, Tosca, Pagliacci, Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro, Carmen, Hamlet, Faust, and Les Pechêurs de Perles in all of the major Italian opera houses including Teatro alla Scala di Milano, La Fenice di Venezia, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Teatro Regio di Parma, Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, and Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. Internationally he has performed in Berlin, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Bilbao, Nice, Moscow, Warsaw, Zurich, Lima and at the Seoul Art Center.
Highlights in recent seasons have included his debut at Teatro de las Bellas Artes in Mexico City as Iago in their new production of Otello; Emma Dante’s new production of Macbeth at Teatro Massimo di Palermo conducted by Gabriele Ferro; Francesco Micheli’s new production of Lucia di Lammermoor with Riccardo Frizza and La Traviata at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice; Attila conducted by Daniel Oren and directed by Daniele Abbado at the Teatro Massimo di Palermo; his debut as Hermann in Catalani’s Loreley at the Theater St. Gallen; his debut at the Budapest Opera House as Gianni Schicchi; La Traviata in Taormina (the Teatro Massimo di Palermo production); Aida, Tosca and La vedova allegra at the Teatro Lirico in Cagliari; La Bohème in Antibes (France) directed by Daniel Benoin; Madama Butterfly directed by Pier Luigi Pizzi at the National Theatre in Zagreb (the Opera Sferisterio Macerata production); Conte di Luna in Il Trovatore at the Teatro Bellini in Catania; and Scarpia in Tosca at the Teatro Marruccino in Chieti directed by Giancarlo Del Monaco.
Giuseppe Altomare is well known for the larger Verdi baritone roles, including Rigoletto (Teatro Regio di Parma directed by Pier Luigi Samaritani, Teatro Municipale di Piacenza conducted by Daniel Oren, Teatro Comunale di Ferrara, Seoul Art Center), Macbeth (with Opera Sferistero Macerata directed by Pier Luigi Pizzi and conducted by Daniele Callegari), and Iago in Otello (Teatro Bellas Artes, Mexico City). He has also been noted for his performances as Scarpia in Tosca (Teatro La Fenice di Venezia, Teatro Pergolesi Spontini Jesi, Teatro Nacional in Lima, and Teatro Goldoni in Livorno).
In the world of contemporary opera he has sung in Henze’s Pollicino, Britten’s Noye’s Fludde and Tutino’s Senso at the Teatro Massimo di Palermo; in Poulenc’s Les Dialogues des Carmelites under Riccardo Muti and Pizzetti’s Assassinio nella Cattedrale at La Scala di Milano; in Bacalov’s Estaba la Madre at the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome and as Mittenhofer in Henze’s Elegy for young lovers at Teatro Arriaga in Bilbao and at the Gran Teatro La Fenice in Venice.
With a broad repertoire encompassing chamber and sacred music as well as operatic roles, Giuseppe Altomare has worked with conductors such as Gavazzeni, Campori, De Bernard, Arena, Kuhn, Francis, Ranzani, Guingal, Bartoletti, Callegari, Oren, Renzetti, Metha, Muti, and with directors such as Degli Esposti, Di Stefano, Crivelli, Brockhaus, Fassini, Puggelli, Montaldo, Dodin, Carsen, De Tomasi, Cavani, Pizzi, Zeffirelli.
Noteable recording include Noye in Britten’s Noye’s Fludde with Teatro Massimo di Palermo; Macbeth for Naxos directed by Pier Luigi Pizzi; Carmen for Kikko Music; Dialogues des Carmelites for TDK conducted by Riccardo Muti; Gordano’s Il Re for Bongiovanni; Linda di Chamonix for Dynamic; Pizzetti’s Assassinio nella Cattedrale for Sony; and Macbeth for Dynamic directed by Dario Argento.
Reviews
“Macbeth has the most to sing in the opera and must sing music that is difficult, complex, and (for many baritones) uncomfortably high. But these difficulties disappeared in the fine performance of the title role by Giuseppe Altomare. His experience with the role was evident in the complete integration of the vocal and dramatic elements, an especially powerful moment being the aria in the final act (retained from the original version of the opera) just before the final battle scene. Altomare’s sterling performance is a central strength of the production as a whole.”
“The title role remains the pivot of the opera, a task brilliantly fulfilled by Giuseppe Altomare, a baritone with a beautiful dark and virile timbre, capable of multifaceted phrasing, of a “declamato” that never flows into shouting, of true half-voices, crucial in this role that – Verdi docet – must be sung mainly softly and then explode on key phrases that he specifically indicated. […] Altomare’s performance was a crescendo culminating in a beautiful “Pietà, rispetto, amore”, sung with beautiful legato, confident high notes, […] sincerely moving, and achieving the purpose (set by Verdi) of directing the audience’s sympathies to a multi-murderous, tyrannical anti-hero.”
“The performance of Giuseppe Altomare, a high-end Scarpia, was outstanding. Hieratic, austere, endowed with acting that is as spare as it is effective, Altomare possesses a fascinating vocal instrument, uniform in registers and of admirable precision. When he is on stage, all eyes are on him.”
“Giuseppe Altomare […] gave a remarkable performance. […] The authentically baritone voice, powerful and secure over the entire range, showed no signs of letting up throughout the opera. Multifaceted phrasing enhanced by good legato and appropriate accents. The artist also gave a good performance from an acting point of view.”
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Contact
Mattia Campetti - General Manager
O: +44 (0) 20 79575817
M: +39 340 2425969
Ilaria Tovani - Managerial Associate
[email protected]
+1 587 583 9920
Media
Recent News
Giuseppe Altomare Makes Mexico Debut in Verdi’s Othello
Italian Baritone Giuseppe Altomare had his premiere in Mexico at Palacio de Bellas Artes on 4 July. Performing Giuseppe Verdi’s operatic masterpiece “Othello”, Altomare was cast as Yago under Gavriel Heine conducting. On the performance, Heine says...
Giuseppe Altomare to Debut at the LXXXI Festival del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Italian baritone Giuseppe Altomare will make his debut at the LXXXI Festival del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino as Rolando in Verdi's La Battaglia di Legnano. The production begins May 22nd through May 31st at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale, Fiorentina. Giuseppe Altomare...
IMG Artists Signs Baritone Giuseppe Altomare for General Management
IMG Artists is delighted to announce the signing of baritone Giuseppe Altomare for General Management. Mr Altomare will be managed by vocal artist manager Mattia Campetti out of the company's London office. Mr Campetti said of the signing, “I have been an admirer of...