Michela Sburlati

Michela Sburlati completed her studies in harp and voice with the highest marks and honors. She pursued her studies in voice first with Margaret Baker, then with Mietta Sighele and Veriano Luchetti.

She made her debut at a very young age in 1989 in Menotti’s "The Medium" in Rome. She subsequently won the Mattia Battistini competition, debuting in the role of Mimì in "La Bohème", and also won the Madama Butterfly competition in Viareggio for Puccini-style voices.

In 1991, she performed as the titular character in a successful production of "Suor Angelica"  at the Todifestival. In 1992, Giancarlo Menotti chose her as the female lead in Donizetti’s "Il Duca d’Alba," conducted by A.M. Giuri, which opened the American festival in Charleston, South Carolina (U.S.A.), and the 35th Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto. This production was later staged at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa.

Starting in 1994, she began an intensive collaboration with Gustav Kuhn, leading to her debut in the lead roles of "Capriccio" by R. Strauss at the Teatro Regio di Parma, "Manon Lescaut" by Puccini at the Teatro del Giglio in Lucca and in Pisa, and Mozart’s "Il Re Pastore" in Florence, broadcast live by Rai Radio 3. She also performed Wagner’s "Das Rheingold" (CD BMG Arte Nova Classics) at the Teatro S. Carlo in Naples and the Tiroler Festspiele Erl, where she was a regular guest from 1998 to 2012. She debuted in works such as Verdi’s "Requiem" (CD BMG Arte Nova Classics), the role of Rosalinde in J. Strauss’s "Die Fledermaus" in the summer of 2002 (CD B.M.G. Arte Nova), and other significant pieces from the German symphonic repertoire.

Since 2001, she has collaborated extensively with the Arena di Verona, which led her to perform in many major European capitals as well as in New York and Hong Kong. She inaugurated the 2002 winter season at the Teatro Filarmonico di Verona with a distinguished production of Puccini’s "La Rondine" conducted by M. Arena and the 2004 season with "Le Donne Curiose" by E. Wolf Ferrari. In 2005, she was part of the cast of Beethoven’s "Ninth Symphony" conducted by G. Kuhn.

She was also in the quartet of soloists that opened the 2002 symphonic season in Palermo with Beethoven’s "Missa Solemnis" conducted by A. Veronesi.

She opened the 2003 season at the Teatro Regio di Parma alongside R. Raimondi in Pizzetti’s "Assassinio nella Cattedrale," conducted by B. Bartoletti. This production was reprised in the following season at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma.

In 2004, she inaugurated the EU Year of Culture in Genoa with a recital at the Teatro Carlo Felice alongside José Carreras, with whom she also performed in a concert in Rome in 2007. In 2004, she played Liù in "Turandot" at the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari and Mimì in "La Bohème" at the 42nd Festival of Osaka in Japan. She also played Medora in Verdi’s "Il Corsaro" conducted by R. Palumbo at the Teatro Regio di Parma (DVD Dynamic), frequently broadcast by Sky Classica, and Isabella in the world premiere of M. Tutino’s "Federico II," which opened the 2004-2005 season at the Teatro Pergolesi in Iesi.

She performed Verdi’s "Requiem" in Beijing, at the Auditorium Verdi in Milan, and at the Teatro di Como, conducted by R. Chailly.

In January 2005, she debuted as Donna Elvira in "Don Giovanni" at the Teatro Regio di Torino, conducted by G.A. Noseda, and was cast as Elisabetta di Valois in the production of Verdi's "Don Carlo" that opened the Macerata Festival at the Sferisterio Arena, conducted by G. Kuhn. In April 2005, she performed Strauss’s "Four Last Songs" and Mahler’s "Fourth Symphony" with the Marche Philharmonic Orchestra in major theaters of the region.

She has performed not only in Beijing and Hong Kong but also in Japan, South America, Russia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Albania, Turkey, Qatar, Ethiopia, Algeria, Morocco, Syria, and Jordan, often as a guest at prestigious international festivals.

In 2000 in Vienna, as part of the celebrations in honor of Pietro Metastasio, she recorded two oratorios for the record company Fonè: Anfossi’s "Giuseppe Riconosciuto" and Salieri’s "La Passione di Cristo," conducted by G. Pelliccia.

The summer of 2006 marked a significant milestone in her artistic journey when she took on the role of Isolde in Wagner’s "Tristan und Isolde," produced by the Erl Festival and conducted by G. Kuhn. This role received unanimous and enthusiastic acclaim from audiences and the international press (New York Times, Herald Tribune, Wiener Zeitung, Frankfurter Allgemeine) and she reprised the role in following seasons (DVD Collegno, Paris).

In 2006, she recorded Donizetti’s "Adelia" in the title role with the Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano, conducted by G. Kuhn (CD RCA Red Seal).

In November 2007, she sang Beethoven’s "Ninth Symphony" at the European Parliament in Brussels under the direction of Lorin Maazel.

In 2008, she debuted in the role of Tosca at the Kazan Opera House (Russia), conducted by Marco Boemi.

With G. Kuhn, she made a brilliant debut as Chrysothemis in Strauss’s "Elektra" at the Erl Festival in 2009, a role she later performed in Italy in 2010 at the theaters of Bolzano, Modena, Piacenza, and Ferrara, receiving praise from the most reputable international critics and winning the "G. Poggi" award, which was presented to her at the Teatro di Piacenza.

In 2009,  accompanied by the prestigious Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by A. Giuri, she performed a highly acclaimed Puccini gala in St. Petersburg. In 2011, she returned to perform with Maestro Emanuele Lippi at the Glazunov Hall in the St. Petersburg Conservatory, where she also held a singing masterclass.

In June 2010, she returned to the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto with a recital inspired by Maria Malibran’s repertoire, in duo with A. Naccari, a concert that was also performed in April 2011 in Rome at the Parco della Musica auditorium.

In September 2010, she once again performed Donizetti’s "Adelia" to great acclaim at the Mahler Festival in Dobbiaco, again under the direction of G. Kuhn.

She has performed as the lead alongside Giuseppe Taddei, Piero Cappuccilli, Franco Bonisolli, Ruggero Raimondi, José Carreras, Francisco Araiza, Marcello Giordani, Leo Nucci, Renato Bruson, Kurt Riedl, Mariella Devia, Lucia Valentini Terrani, and Bonaldo Giaiotti. She has been conducted by, among others, Gian Andrea Gavazzeni (La Rondine), Karl Martin (Turandot), Isaac Karabtchevsky (Butterfly and a Verdi gala), Liu Ja (Berlioz’s "Nuit d’été"), Krzysztof Penderecki (Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony), Pier Giorgio Morandi and Bruno Aprea (Rossini’s "Stabat Mater"), Claudio Desderi (Il Re Pastore), and Giuliano Silveri (Mozart’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony).

She has also worked with filmmakers such as Ermanno Olmi, Saverio Marconi, Franca Valeri, Michele Placido, Lamberto Pugelli, Gigi Dall’Aglio, Manfred Schweighofer, and Filippo Saint Just.

She holds a professorship in voice at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome.

She has been invited multiple times to give masterclasses by the Zhou Xiaoyan International Opera Center in collaboration with the Shanghai Conservatory and is a guest vocal instructor at the University of Henan in Kaifeng, China, now elevated to the status of a conservatory, where she has been a regular visitor for four years.

Among her most recent productions, she recorded Wagner’s Lieder for soprano in a duo with Marco Scolastra. The CD, released by Brilliant Classics, benefits from the artistic supervision and direction of Luca Ricci.

She is a founding member of the Sanctae Juliae international festival in Livorno, where she currently serves as the artistic director, with Marta Lotti as president, giving concerts and masterclasses in collaboration with other international concert institutions.

For many years, alongside soprano Mietta Sighele, her teacher, inspiration, and friend, she has collaborated with the Musicariva Festival in Riva del Garda as an assistant in the singing improvement course.

Since the realization of the first act of Walküre, performed by the Roma Tre Orchestra at the Teatro Palladium in May 2023 under the direction of Sieva Borzak, a close collaboration has begun between the institution and the famous soprano Michela Sburlati. Following this initial event, other projects have been carried out, again at the Teatro Palladium, but also at the Teatro Argentina and various cultural venues in Rome, with more planned for the summer of 2024 and the upcoming 2024-2025 artistic season. Given the absolute quality of the collaboration and the mutual interest in pursuing further events dedicated to Richard Wagner and the world of opera in general, Ms. Sburlati has been informally recognized as an Advisor for Roma Tre Orchestra on all matters related to vocal projects and opera in particular.