René Barbera Replaces Francesco Meli in La Scala's LA TRAVIATA

Tenor René Barbera is set to take on the role of Alfredo at the Teatro alla Scala next July 2020.

The tenor joins a cast that includes Luca Salsi as Giorgio Germont and Zubin Mehta at the podium.

Tenor René Barbera has quickly established himself as one of today's most exciting vocal artists. The first-ever sole recipient of all three top awards of the Operalia Competition in 2011 and winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2008, René has earned critical praise and audience acclaim for his effortless singing, his "old-fashioned warmth" (Opera News), and his expressive musicality.

In the 2019/20 season, René returns to the historic Teatro alla Scala for two of his signature roles: Nemorino (L'elisir d'amore) and Alfredo (La Traviata). Additionally, he sings Conte Almaviva (Il barbiere di Siviglia) at the Wiener Staatsoper, at Genoa's Teatro Carlo Felice, and the New National Theatre in Tokyo, marking his debut in Japan. Following these engagements, René will debut at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie Liège as Elvino in a new production of Bellini's La Sonnambula, and he revisits the role of Conte Almaviva at the Teatro Regio di Torino.

His international concert engagements include Verdi's Requiem, first at The Shed in New York City with musicaAeterna led by Teodor Currentzis, and later with the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, conducted by Mikko Franck. He is the tenor soloist in Rossini's Stabat Mater, with Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg in Luxembourg and Paris with conductor Gustavo Gimeno, and he returns to Teatro alla Scala to perform the piece under the baton of Myung-Whun Chung. He is also a featured artist at the annual Deutsche AIDS-Stiftung Gala benefit concert in Berlin.