Stefano Palatchi Ribera (born 26 March 1960), known publicly as Stefano Palatchi, is a Spanish

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

singer who has sung leading

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

roles in Spain and internationally and is noted for stage skills, timbre. and expressiveness. His concert repertoire includes Mozart's ''Requiem'' and Verdi's ''Messa da Requiem'' which he has sung many times.

Biography

Background

Palatchi was born in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. His mother had studied under

Conchita Badía Concepció Badia Millàs (14 November 1897 – 2 May 1975), known by her stage name Conchita Badía or Conxita Badia, was a Spanish soprano and pianist. Admired for her spontaneity, expressiveness, and clear diction, she was considered one of ...

, teacher of Montserrat Caballe. Palatchi himself had started to study singing at age 15 under

Maya Maiska Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

. He began singing ''

zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name o ...

'' and then opera:

Un día, mientras estaba tomando clase con el maestro Puig, llegó
Luis Andreu Marfà Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...
, entonces director artístico del
Liceo The Gran Teatre del Liceu (; ; ), or simply Liceu, is a theater in Barcelona, Spain. Situated on La Rambla, it is the city's oldest theater building still in use for its original purpose. Founded in 1837 at another location, the Liceu ope ...
, y me oyó cantar. Le gusté y me propuso interpretar un pequeño papel en ''Lohengrin'' de Wagner. Ese fue mi debut.

One day, as I was taking class with my teacher Puig, in came
Luis Andreu Marfà Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...
, then artistic director of the
Liceu The Gran Teatre del Liceu (; ; ), or simply Liceu, is a theater in Barcelona, Spain. Situated on La Rambla, it is the city's oldest theater building still in use for its original purpose. Founded in 1837 at another location, the Liceu ope ...
, and he heard me sing. He liked me and proposed that I play a small role in
Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
's ''
Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wo ...
''. That was my debut.

He went on to study under

Gino Bechi Gino Bechi (16 October 1913 – 2 February 1993) was an Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially in Verdi roles. Life and career Bechi studied in his native Florence with Raul Frazzi and di Giorg ...

Ettore Campogalliani Ettore Campogalliani (30 September 1903 – 3 June 1992) was an Italian composer, musician and teacher. Campogalliani studied piano in 1921, graduating from the Conservatory of Bologna. He then studied composition at the Conservatory of Parma i ...

, and Armen Boyajian, with further studies in Florence and New York.

Career

Palatchi debuted in the

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 ...

in Barcelona, in 1986. He also performed in ''

Turandot ''Turandot'' ( ; see #Origin and pronunciation of the name, below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Puccini left the opera unfinished at the time of his death in 1924; it ...

'', when the Liceu was reopened in 1999, following the fire which had destroyed the theatre five years earlier. He has taken part in several hundred performances of more than thirty operas from a wide repertoire, in particular operas by

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...

and

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for List of compositions by Giacomo Puccini#Operas, his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he ...

, and those from the bel canto repertoire including: ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

'', ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...

'', ''

'', '' Il trovatore'', ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

'', ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'', ''

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''. ...

'', '' La forza del destino'' and ''

Il barbiere di Siviglia ''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 '' ...

'', ''

Samson et Dalila ''Samson and Delilah'' (), Op. 47, is a grand opera in three acts and four scenes by Camille Saint-Saëns to a French libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire. It was first performed in Weimar at the (Grand Ducal) Theater (now the Staatskapelle Weimar) on 2 ...

'', and ''

Thaïs Thaïs (; ; ) was a Greek who accompanied Alexander the Great on his military campaigns. Likely from Athens, she is most famous for having instigated the burning of Persepolis, the capital city of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, after it was con ...

''. He has sung in world premières of ''Cristóbal Colón'', by

Leonardo Balada Leonardo Balada Ibáñez (born September 22, 1933) is a Catalan American classical composer, who is noted for his operas and orchestral works. Life Balada was born in Barcelona, Spain. After studying piano at the Conservatori Superior de M� ...

(with

Montserrat Caballé María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch or Folc (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), also known as Montserrat Caballé (i Folch), was a Spanish operatic soprano from Catalonia. Widely considered to be one of the best sopranos ...

and

José Carreras Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Catalan operatic tenor from Spain who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Born in Barcelona, ...

), ''Gaudí'', by

Joan Guinjoan Joan Guinjoan i Gispert (28 November 1931 – 1 January 2019) was a Catalan composer and pianist. Life Born in Riudoms, Guinjoan studied at the Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu in Barcelona. In 1954, he moved to Paris and continued ...

and ''Joc de Mans'' by Alberto García Detesters. In 2009, he partook in the Spanish premiere of

Cristóbal Halffter Cristóbal Halffter Jiménez-Encina (24 March 1930 – 23 May 2021) was a Spanish classical composer. He was the nephew of two other composers, Rodolfo and Ernesto Halffter, and is regarded as the most important Spanish composer of the gen ...

's opera, ''Lazaro'', and ''Tales of Hoffmann'' Palatchi has sung in theaters and festivals outside of Spain, including New York's

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

, where he made his debut in 1994 as Colline in ''

''.

Activities

Palatchi supports the Clarós Foundation dedicated to the prevention of and research into acute deafness. As part of his support, he recites to raise funds for the charity.

Works

Television

Palatchi has appeared on television for opera performances, including: * ''Aida'' (2003) * '' Margarita la tornera'' (2000) * ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'' (1989) * ''La Gioconda'' (1988)

Discography

Palatchi has recorded for

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

, RTVE Música, Columna Música, Nightingale Classics, Koch Discover, Astrée Auvidis, Auvidis, Auvidis Valois, Sello Autor,

Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...

and Opus Arte.

Repertoire

He has expanded his repertoire into Jazz (2012), Russian Folk, and Swing (2014), the last of which has earned him the epithet "Crooner" in Spain.

Awards

In 2000, Palatchi received a

Latin Grammy Award The Latin Grammy Awards (stylized as Latin GRAMMYs) are awards presented by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from any ...

for

Tomás Bretón Tomás Bretón y Hernández (29 December 1850 – 2 December 1923) was a Spanish Conducting, conductor and composer. Biography Tomás Bretón was born in Salamanca. He completed his musical studies at the School of Fine Arts in his hometown, w ...

, ''

La Dolores ''La Dolores'' is a Spanish opera (''ópera Española'') in 3 acts by Tomás Bretón. The libretto was arranged by composer himself from a same-name drama by Josep Feliu i Codina (1892). The opera was first performed at the Teatro de la Zarzuela ...

''. He was nominated for another

Latin Grammy The Latin Grammy Awards (stylized as Latin GRAMMYs) are awards presented by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from any ...

for

Ruperto Chapí Ruperto Chapí y Lorente (27 March 1851 – 25 March 1909) was a Spanish composer, and co-founder of the Sociedad General de Autores y Editores, Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers. Biography Chapí was born at Villena, the son of a loc ...

's ''Margarita la Tornera'' (2003) and a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for ''El gato con botas'', by

Xavier Montsalvatge Xavier Montsalvatge i Bassols (; 11 March 1912 – 7 May 2002) was a Spanish composer and music critic. He was one of the most influential figures in Catalan music during the latter half of the 20th century. Biography Life Montsalvatge was bor ...

References

External links

Official website
*

Stefano Palatchi
Taller de Musics
Stefano Palatchi
Operabase
Stefano Palatchi {{DEFAULTSORT:Palatchi, Stefano Living people Opera singers from Catalonia 21st-century Spanish male opera singers Operatic basses 20th-century Spanish male opera singers Singers from Barcelona 1960 births Pallache family

Biography

Background

Career

Activities

Works

Television

Discography

Repertoire

Awards

See also

References

External links