Mario Cassi (born 6 December 1973) is an Italian

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

Career

Born in

Arezzo Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...

, graduated in economics at

University of Florence The University of Florence ( Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Firenze'') (in acronym UNIFI) is an Italian public research university located in Florence, Italy. It comprises 12 schools and has around 50,000 students enrolled. History The f ...

, Cassi studied singing privately first with Slavska Taskova Paoletti, then with Alessandra Rossi and Bruno de Simone, and won in 2002 the "Viotti of

Vercelli Vercelli (; ) is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around 600 BC. ...

" (second prize) and the "Toti Dal Monte" competitions in

Treviso Treviso ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...

(special prize Cesare Bardelli), after which he made his debut in Gioacchino Rossini's ''

La Cenerentola ("Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant") is an operatic in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the libretti written by Charles-Guillaume Étienne for the opera '' Cendrillon'' with music by Nico ...

''. In 2003 he won the "

Operalia Plácido Domingo's Operalia, The World Opera Competition is an annual international competition for opera singers, founded by Plácido Domingo in 1993. Overview The competition's parent organization, Operalia Foundation, is a nonprofit organizat ...

" of

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

and in 2004 the "Spiros Argiris" competitions. He was chosen by

Riccardo Muti Riccardo Muti (; born 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He is current music director of the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale in Florence, the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the ...

for the role of Doctor Malatesta in ''

Don Pasquale ''Don Pasquale'' () is a Gaetano Donizetti opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts, with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Pavesi's oper ...

'' at the

Ravenna Festival The Ravenna Festival is a summer festival of opera and classical music (as well as dance, jazz, ethnic, musical theater, ballett, sacred music, electronic music, drama, film, plus conventions and exhibitions) held in the city of Ravenna, Italy an ...

, the

Musikverein The ( or ; ), commonly shortened to , is a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, which is located in the Innere Stadt district. The building opened in 1870 and is the home of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. The acoustics of the building's 'Grea ...

in Vienna, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Liège, Cologne and Paris. After making his debut at the

Opéra Royal de Wallonie The Opéra royal de Wallonie (, ) is an opera house located on the Place de l'Opéra, in Liège, Belgium. Together with La Monnaie and the Vlaamse Opera, the ''Opéra royal'', as it is colloquially known, is one of the three major opera houses ...

in the role of Figaro in Rossini's ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...

'', he plays this role in well-known international theatres such as:

Verona Arena The Verona Arena is a Roman amphitheatre located in the historic center of Verona, an iconic symbol of the Venetian city alongside the figures of Romeo and Juliet. It stands as one of the grand structures that defined Roman architecture and ...

Teatro Real The Teatro Real () is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace, and known colloquially as "''El Real''" (The Royal One). it is considered the top institution of the performing and musical arts ...

in Madrid,

Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands, w ...

in Valencia,

Gran Teatre del Liceu Gran may refer to: People *Grandmother, affectionately known as "gran" * Gran (name) Places * Gran, the historical German name for Esztergom, a city and the primatial metropolitan see of Hungary * Gran, Norway, a municipality in Innlandet coun ...

Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón () is a historic opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acoustics expert Leo Beranek among leadin ...

in Buenos Aires, Opera of Firenze,

Baths of Caracalla The Baths of Caracalla () in Rome, Italy, were the city's second largest Ancient Rome, Roman public baths, or ''thermae'', after the Baths of Diocletian. The baths were likely built between AD 212 (or 211) and 216/217, during the reigns of empero ...

Teatro di San Carlo The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is a historic opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and ...

of Naples, Teatro Verdi of Trieste,

Opéra de Monte-Carlo The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house which is part of the Monte Carlo Casino located in the Monaco, Principality of Monaco. With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Charles III, Prince of Monaco, Prince Charl ...

Rossini Opera Festival The Rossini Opera Festival (ROF) is an international music festival held in August of each year in Pesaro, Italy, the birthplace of the opera composer Gioachino Rossini. Its aim, in addition to studying the musical heritage of the composer, is to re ...

. In 2017 he is still Malatesta in Don Pasquale in Düsseldorf directed by

Rolando Villazón Rolando Villazón Mauleón (born 22 February 1972) is a Mexican operatic tenor, stage director, author, radio and television personality, and artistic director. He resides in France and received his citizenship in 2007. Villazón has published ...

; in 2018 he is the protagonist of ''Don Giovanni'' (role held also in 2016 in Liège) in Cologne. In recent years he has expanded his repertoire towards romantic bel canto, with Riccardo in Bellini's ''

I Puritani ' (''The Puritans'') is an 1835 opera by Vincenzo Bellini. It was originally written in two acts and changed to three acts before the premiere on the advice of Gioachino Rossini, with whom the young composer had become friends. The music was set ...

'', Enrico in ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoor''. ...

'', the Count of Vergy in ''

Gemma di Vergy ''Gemma di Vergy'' is an 1834 ''tragedia lirica'' (tragic opera) in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti from a libretto by Giovanni Emanuele Bidera. It is based on the tragedy ''Charles VII chez ses grands vassaux'' ''(Charles VII and His Chief Vassals ...

'' and filming Donizetti's ''

La Favorite ''La favorite'' (''The Favourite'', frequently referred to by its Italian title: ''La favorita'') is a grand opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, based on the play ''Le com ...

'', among others. Above all, however, he made his debut in important Verdi characters such as Giorgio Germont (Liège, 2016) and the Count of Luna (Liège, 2018).Mario Cassi
on Opera Base

Discography

CD

* 2002 - Gioacchino Rossini, ''

La scala di seta ''La scala di seta'' (''The Silken Ladder'' or ''Die seidene Leiter'') is an operatic '' farsa comica'' in one act by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Giuseppe Maria Foppa. Adapted from ''L'Échelle de soie'' by François-Antonine-Eugène de ...

'', dir. Giovan Battista Varoli, Bongiovanni * 2005 - Antonio Salieri, ''

La grotta di Trofonio LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

'', dir.

Christophe Rousset Christophe Rousset (; born 12 April 1961) is a French harpsichordist and conducting, conductor, who specializes in the performance of Baroque music on Authentic performance, period instruments. He is also a musicologist, particularly of opera and ...

, Naïve/Ambroise * 2005 -

Filippo Marchetti Filippo Marchetti (26 February 1831, Bolognola, Macerata – 18 January 1902, Rome) was an Italian opera composer. After studying in Naples, his first opera was "successfully premiered"Holden, Amanda (Ed.), pp. 528/29 in Turin in 1856. With ...

, ''Romeo e Giulietta'', dir. Andriy Yurkevych, Dynamic * 2007 - Boieldieu, ''

Le calife de Bagdad ''Le calife de Bagdad'' (''The Caliph of Baghdad'') is an ''opéra comique'' in one act by the French composer François-Adrien Boieldieu with a libretto by Claude Godard d'Aucourt de Saint-Just. Dedicated to the landscape painter Bidauld it wa ...

'', dir. Christophe Rousset, Archiv * 2012 - Saverio Mercadante, '' I due Figaro'' dir. Riccardo Muti, Ducalemusic

DVD

* 2006 - Gaetano Donizetti, ''Don Pasquale'', dir. Riccardo Muti, regie Andrea De Rosa, Ravenna, RaiTrade-Arthaus * 2007 - Gaetano Donizetti, ''

Maria Stuarda ''Maria Stuarda'' (Mary Stuart) is a tragic opera (''tragedia lirica''), in two acts, by Gaetano Donizetti, to a libretto by Giuseppe Bardari, based on Andrea Maffei's translation of Friedrich Schiller's 1800 play '' Maria Stuart''. The opera ...

'', dir.

Riccardo Frizza Riccardo Frizza (born 14 December 1971) is an Italian conductor, particularly known for his work in the Italian operatic repertoire.Foletto, Angelo (17 April 2013) '' La Repubblica''. Retrieved 20 November 2015 . After making his professional con ...

, regie Pierluigi Pizzi, Macerata, Naxos * 2009 - Domenico Cimarosa, ''

Il matrimonio segreto ' (''The Secret Marriage'') is a dramma giocoso in two acts, music by Domenico Cimarosa, on a libretto by Giovanni Bertati, based on the 1766 play '' The Clandestine Marriage'' by George Colman the Elder and David Garrick. It was first performed ...

'', dir.

Giovanni Antonini Giovanni Antonini (born 1965) is an Italian conductor and soloist on the recorder and baroque transverse flute. He studied in his native Milan, and attended the Civica Scuola di Musica in that city and the Centre de Musique Ancienne in Geneva. In ...

, regie Stefano Mazzonis di Pralafera, Liège, Dynamic * 2013 - Gioachino Rossini, ''Il barbiere di Siviglia'' dir A. Zedda, Rossini Opera Festival * 2013 - Gaetano Donizetti, ''

'', with Maria Agresta and Gregory Kunde, dir. R. Rizzi-Brignoli, regie Laurent Gerber, Bergamo, Bongiovanni

References

External links

Mario Cassi
on OPERISSIMO {{DEFAULTSORT:Casi, Mario 1973 births Living people People from Arezzo Italian operatic baritones