Laura Andreini – Italy
Laura Andreini, in the career as soprano for more than ten years, has to her credit numerous concerts and roles in opera productions at national and international level. She studied with Luciana Serra in Switzerland, with Paolo Vaglieri in Milan, with Laura Brioli in Livorno and Celso Albelo, attending for two years both the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Training and in 2019 the Opera studio verista of the Goldoni Theater in Livorno and in various postgraduate courses as a fellow including the Solo Belcanto Festival in Montisi, the Daniel Ferro Vocai Program and the Livorno Music Fest; she graduated as a pianist at the Liceo Classico Musicale F. Petrarca in Arezzo, she attended the singing course at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague in the Netherlands and then completed his studies at the R. Franci Institute of Higher Musical Education in Siena, obtaining the Master ‘s degree in Singing with full marks in 2010. She has performed at the Teatro della Pergola and at the Goldoni Theater in Florence, at the Verdi Theater in Pisa, at the Teatro Sociale in Como, at the Goldoni Theater in Livorno, in Umbria at the Festival delle Nazioni, at the Teatro Comunale L. Pavarotti in Modena and at the abroad in Theaters, Auditoriums and Cathedrals in Russia (Moscow), Norway (Oslo), Belgium (Brussels), Slovenia (Ljubljana), Turkey (Ankara), Mexico (Toluca), Austria, Switzerland and South Africa (Pretoria), Serbia ( Niš), then with the Chamber Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Florentine Chamber Orchestra, the Symphonic Orchestra of Calabria, the State Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, the Regional Orchestra of Tuscany and in the following roles of opera: Despina, Cosi fan tutti by W. A. Mozart; Doralice, The triumph of honor by A. Scarlatti; Adina, L’Elisir d’amore by G. Donizetti; Gilda, Rigoletto by G. Verdi; Violetta, La Traviata by G. Verdi; Rosina, The Barber of Seville by G. Rossini; Micaela, Carmen by G. Bizet; Lauretta, Gianni Schicchi by G. Puccini; Musetta, La Bohéme by G. Puccini. In 2014 you founded the Academy of Good Talent of which you are president, with which you organize opera and classical music concerts throughout the year in Tuscany. Since 2020 she has been ambassador of the MISSF Montecatini International Short Film Festival for which she performs on various occasions bringing Belcanto in various cultural contexts. She has recorded for Bongiovanni, Brilliant classics and DaVinci Publishing and since 2018 she is officially the solo soprano of the Florence Cathedral Chapel directed by Michele Manganelli.
Mayumi Kuroki – Japan
Graduated in singing with full marks at the Geidai University in Tokyo and graduated with full marks at the Bologna Conservatory. Winner of “Gorizia Chamber Music Competition “ ( II prize ) “TOTI DAL MONTE” for “Il matrimonio segreto” of D. Cimarosa ( role of Elisetta) ,debuted in 1996 in the Theatres of Treviso and Rovigo. She plays Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro in Tokyo ; the squirrel in Lo scoiattolo in gamba of N.Rota in Rovigo; Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni in Rome; Countess in Le nozze di Figaro in Fidenza directed by Antonello Allemandi ; Kostelnicka in Jenufa by L. Janacek at Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo ( co-production Komische Oper Berlin ) , directed by W.Decker; Masha in Pique Dame by Tchaikovsky directed by Seiji Ozawa at the Saito Kinen Festival ; Laura in Iolanta by Tchaikovsky directed by G.Rozhdestvensky at Suntry Hall ; Katerina in A Lady Macbeth in the Mcensk district in Tokyo; Cock and Jay by L.Janacek in “The cunning little Vixen” at the Saito Kinen Festival and Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, conducted by Seiji Ozawa, directed by Laurent Pelly (broadcasted by RaiRadio3 and Rai5 ) ; Giulietta in Un giorno di regno by G.Verdi in Montepulciano, directed by Roland Böer ; Suzuki in Madama Butterfly in Prato, soloist in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by F.Mendelssohn with the Camerata strumentale Città di Prato, directed by Jonathan Webb. She directs and cares the vocal technique of the Pratolirica Choir from his foundation. She has prepared and conducted the choral parts of Un ballo in maschera, Otello, Cavalleria rusticana, La traviata, Nabucco, Carmen, Madama Butterfly , Turandot, Fauré’s Requiem , Vivaldi’s Gloria, Mozart’s Requiem as well as numerous individual pieces of opera and oratorio. For the Camerata strumentale Città di Prato, she takes care of the vocal preparation of Città di Prato Choir (Fauré’s Requiem, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy and The building of the house, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Finzi’s Pax in terra, Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice”.
Leonardo Sagliocca – Italy
LEONARDO SAGLIOCCA is an italian bass-baritone. He was born in Florence. After an audition with the world famous baritone Gino Bechi, he was encouraged by him to begin the Opera singing career. He began singing studies in the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole under Elio Lippi, Donatella Debolini and Gianni Fabbrini. This school of music was founded by the world famous viola player of the “Quartetto Italiano”, Piero Farulli. After that, Leonardo Sagliocca continued his formation in the University of Music of Florence, the “Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini” under the Scottish soprano Kate Lafferty Gamberucci. At the age of 23 he was noticed by the world famous italian baritone Rolando Panerai who immediately invited him to join his class of international singers and engaged him for the operas “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” by Gioachino Rossini, “La Traviata” by Giuseppe Verdi and “Gianni Schicchi” by Giacomo Puccini. In 1996 he was invited also by the great baritone Leo Nucci to sing beside him in Verdi’s “La Traviata” and to join his class. Leonardo Sagliocca won the 1998 edition of international competition “William Walton – the actor-singer”, sponsored by The Prince of Wales, Charles, which gave him the chance to improve his acting and singing talents with world famous artists like James Lockhart, Graziella Sciutti, Jonathan Papp (Royal Academy of Music, London), Harriet Lawson (Rossini Opera Festival), Corradina Caporello (Juillard School, New York) and perform the opera “Gianni Schicchi” by Giacomo Puccini in front of the Prince. During this Master Class Leonardo Sagliocca was invited for a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music of London. Other peaks of his career: In 1999 he was singing in the Dome of Genova (Genua,Italy) with the Orchestra of Teatro Carlo Felice, the main theater in Genua, under Herbert Handt. The same year he was invited by the great specialist of Rossini’s Operas, Luis Alva, to sing the role of Mustafa in the Opera “L’Italiana in Algeri” of G.Rossini in Lima, Peru. Also in 1999 he was invited in Lucca by the american former tenor and conductor Herbert Handt to sing world premiere of works by eminent composers. The most famous one, winner of the Academy Award for his career, Ennio Morricone, author of many unforgettable soundtracks of famous movies like “Days of Heaven”,”The Mission”,”The Untouchables”,”Nuovo Cinema Paradiso”. Ennio Morricone was present at the rehearsals and at the concerts, cooperating with Leonardo Sagliocca and the other musicians. In 2005 Leonardo Sagliocca is invited at a very important season, The South Bank Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, the season of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Following, a “resumé” of the entire career of Leonardo Sagliocca: He began the soloist career in 1993 in Italy and all over the world, in the fields of symphonic, oratorial, operatic music and from the middle age music to the contemporary. He performed as soloist with the following Associations and Musical Institutions: Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Florence main theatre and one of the oldest Festivals of the world), Festival dei Due Mondi of Spoleto (Umbria), Sagra Musicale Umbra (Perugia), Festival Puccini di Torre del Lago (where Giacomo Puccini composed many of his masterpieces), Ravenna Festival (organized by the wife of the great italian conductor Riccardo Muti), Nuova Cappella di Palazzo (Lucca), Associazione Musicale Lucchese (Lucca), Amici della Musica Firenze (Florence), Centro Busoni (Empoli), Festival Internazionale di San Gimignano (SanGimignano, Siena), Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina (Florence), Centro Internazionale di Musica Antica (CIMA, Rome), Tuscia Opera Festival (Viterbo, Italy), Orchestra della Toscana (ORT,Florence), Estate Regina (Montecatini Terme), South Bank Centre (London Philharmonic Orchestra Festival, London), Jeszienny Salon Muszyczny, Szceczin (Poland), Musiksommer Loisachtal (Germany), Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana (Lugano, Switzerland), University of Ljubljana, Academy of Music (Slovenia), Bydgoszcz Music Academy (Poland), Béla Bartók Music Institute Miskolc (Hungary). He performed together with world famous artists like: Gino Bechi, Rolando Panerai, Leo Nucci, Luis Alva, Gennaro Sica, Susanna Rigacci, Victor Micallef, Giorgio Casciarri, Duccio Dal Monte, Marina Comparato, Barbara Di Castri, Filippo Adami, Leonardo De Lisi, Alfie Boe etc. He performed with the following conductors: Salvatore Accardo, Claudio Scimone, Alberto Veronesi, Lu Jia, James Lockhart, Massimo De Bernart, Jeffrey Tate, Vinko Globokar, Claudio Desderi, Filippo Maria Bressan, Herbert Handt, Alessandro Pinzauti, Marco Balderi, Jonathan Brandani, Elisabetta Maschio, Riccardo Cirri, Giuseppe Lanzetta, Federico Bardazzi, Fabio Neri, Riccardo Martinini, Federico Maria Sardelli, Sergio Siminovich, Marco Severi, Augusto Vismara, Giovan Battista Varoli, Piero Papini, Carlo Moreno Volpini, Franz Schottky, David Boldrini etc. He performed with the following directors: Paolo Miccichè, Luciano Alberti, Aldo Tarabella, Luca Ferraris, Riccardo Diana, Gennaro Sica, Graziella Sciutti etc. He sang for the first time in the world works by Ennio Morricone, Luca Lombardi, Franco Mannino, Fabio Cifariello Ciardi, Riccardo Riccardi, Francesco Traversi, always in front of the composers and under their supervision. He has also performed many recitals with piano players, small vocal groups, small orchestras and big orchestras in cities like Torino, Ravenna, Barcelona, Madrid, Munchen, Frankfurt, Koln, Kassel, Brussels, Sczeczin, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Zurich, Oslo, Porto, Lugano, Auckland, Melbourne and regularly in Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Niigata). He has been permanent member of high level Ensembles like the “Ensemble San Felice” of Florence,Italy, the “Nuova Cappella di Palazzo” of Lucca, Italy and the “Cappella Musicale di Santo Stefano” of Prato, Italy. He is co-founder of the “Ensemble San Felice”, a vocal and instrumental group specialized in early music, with original instruments. With the Ensemble he performed, among others, “Vespro della Beata Vergine” of C. Monteverdi, Haendel’s “Messiah” and “The Fairy Queen” by H. Purcell. He cooperated as talent scout, teacher and soloist singer with the “Maggio Fiorentino Formazione”, the formation agency of the main theater in Florence and one of the more historical and important festivals in Italy, the “Maggio Musicale Fiorentino”. He recorded actually 8 cd’s published and sold all over the world for the following labels (Tactus, Bongiovanni, Kicco Classic, Clavis, Brilliant Classics) He was invited as member of the Jury in important Festivals like The Singing World in Saint Petersburg, the Choral Festivals in Bratislava, the Credo Festival in Tallinn, the Nederlands Koor Festival in Haarlem, the Mozart Festival in Prague, the Juozas Naujalis and Kaunas Cantat Festivals in Kaunas, the Monteverdi Choral Competition in Venice, the Mundus Cantat Festival in Sopot, the Silver Bells Festival in Daugavpils, Summa Cum Laude in Vienna, Cantemus Festival in Nyiregyhaza (Hungary), Jeju International Choral Festival and the World Youth Choral Festival & Competition (South Korea). He is also regularly invited as member of committee in official auditions. He was invited, in August 2014, as lecturer in the 10th World Symposium on Choral Music in Seoul, South Korea. In May 2015 has been invited for masterclasses on opera repertoire for soloists in China in very important institutions like Peking University (PKU), Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM) in Beijing and Xi’an Conservatory of Music (XACOM). In August 2015 he held a masterclass in Russia for Opera young students of Moscow and Saint Petersburg Conservatories. In June 2016 he has been invited to give masterclasses in China in important institutions such as: East China Normal University, Shanghai International Studies University, Zhejiang Conservatory of Music, Zhongshan University, South China Normal University. Also in 2016 he performed concerts in USA in important Festivals and halls such as Castelton Festival, founded by Lorin Maazel, and Strathmore. In 2017 he was in Taiwan for Opera recitals in Feng Chia University in Taichung and masterclasses in Taichung and Pingtung. He is creator and organiser of Opera seasons, Chamber Music seasons, Orchestral and Choral Festivals. He is the creator and founder of a new series of Music Festivals in Florence: “Florence Choral” (www.florencechoral.com), produce every year five International Festivals for choirs and orchestras of all ages, dedicated and related to the most important personalities of the Florentine Renaissance: Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Lorenzo De’ Medici, Andrea Del Verrocchio and Sandro Botticelli. Leonardo Sagliocca is also the creator of the season “A Night at the Opera in Florence”, Italian Opera & Baroque. Young talents and international acclaimed singers from all over the world. The first edition was held in the prestigious Teatro Odeon in Florence. He is the founder and Artistic Director of the Gargonza Music Festival in the wonderful Medieval Castle in Gargonza (Arezzo). He started recently to conduct choirs, ensembles and orchestras. In December 2016 he conducted at the Hermitage Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia
