Vereinigte Bühnen Wien

Saimir Pirgu

Paolo

Born in 1981 in Elbasan (Albania), Saimir Pirgu begun his musical studies as a violinist. He then continued to study singing, first in Tirana and then in Bolzano, with Vito Maria Brunetti. His breack come when he was chosen by Claudio Abbado as Ferrando in Così Fan Tutte in Ferrara. Later collaborated with Muti, Maazel, Gatti, Ozawa, Campanella, Conlon and Pappano. Among his recent debuts: Don Giovanni (Paris), L'Elisir d'Amore (Vienna, Rome), La Traviata (London), Rigoletto ( Zurich), Die Zauberfloete (Milan). He made his debut with huge acclaim in the role of Idomeneo conducted by Harnoncourt at the Styriarte Festival in Graz, as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi at the L.A, Opera directed by Woody Allen. Rinuccio is also the role that marked his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He was Rodolfo in a production of La Bohème set in the Schweizer Fernsehen Bern and broadcasted on ARTE. He has just performed Verdi’s Requiem at the Salzburger Festspiele under Muti, and he sang Ferrando in Così fan tutte in Los Angeles (September 2011). Future plans: Iolanta, La Traviata and Francesca da Rimini (Theater an der Wien) in Vienna; La Traviata in Berlin and New York; I Capuleti e i Montecchi in San Francisco; Rigoletto at the ROH Covent Garden in London; Don Giovanni in Paris.