Born in 1974, the Italian tenor obtained his degree in Literature from the Università Degli Studi di Messina, in the Sicilian town of Messina. In 1997, he graduated from the 'Francesco Cilea' Conservatory in his hometown, studying under Anna Vandi. Filianoti then won a prestigious two-year scholarship to the Accademia del Teatro alla Scala in Milan. It was during this time that he met Alfredo Kraus, who became his mentor and his decisive influence in artistic approach, nuance, technique, and style.
In 2005 he made his American début at the Metropolitan Opera in New York as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, receiving rave reviews.[2] At the Met he has also sung the title role in Les contes d'Hoffmann, the Duke in Rigoletto, Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore, the title role in La clemenza di Tito, and Ruggero in La rondine. In the United States, in addition to the Met, he has appeared at the San Francisco Opera as Edgardo in Lucia[3] and at Carnegie Hall with the Opera Orchestra of New York as Federico in L'arlesiana.[4] Nemorino was the role of his debut at the Los Angeles Opera in 2009 and at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2010, and he returned there in 2011 for Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor and in February 2013 for the Duke in Rigoletto.
Filianoti closely identifies with the music of his compatriot Francesco Cilea. In 2006, he discovered among the composer's papers a manuscript of a song "Alba novella/Una mattina", whose lyrics he recognized as having come from the first libretto in four acts of L'Arlesiana. The song had been cut from the work after the premiere at the insistence of the publisher Casa Sonzogno and was subsequently forgotten. Filianoti brought this song to the attention of Casa Sonzogno and urged them to reinstate the aria, which was done for concerts and recordings with the Philharmonisches Orchester Freiburg in July 2012. The aria was included in its first staged performance with the Wexford Festival Opera in October 2012.[6][7][8][9][10][11]
Awards
In 1996 Giuseppe Filianoti won his first competition while still a conservatory student, the Concorso Internazionale di Canto “Francesco Paolo Tosti”.[12] In January 1999 he was the winner of both the First Prize and the Top Tenor prize in the Francisco Viñas Opera Competition,[13] and later that same year he was the second prize winner in Operalia, The World Opera Competition. In 2004 he was awarded the Franco Abbiati Italian Critics´ Prize as Best Singer of the Year. In 2010, he was awarded the San Giorgio d'Oro honor by his hometown of Reggio Calabria, given annually to those from the area who have brought prestige to their hometown.[14]
