Leo Nucci was born on April 16, 1942. He is an Italian baritone who sings in operas, especially those written by Giuseppe Verdi and in the Verismo style.

Biography

Nucci was born in Castiglione dei Pepoli, near Bologna, and studied with Giuseppe Marchese. He made his first performance on stage in 1967 in Spoleto as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia. He later joined the group of singers at La Scala in Milan and made his first solo performance there in 1975 as Figaro in a work by Rossini.

Nucci’s career soon expanded to international stages. He performed for the first time in London’s Royal Opera House in 1978 as Miller in Luisa Miller, and in New York’s Metropolitan Opera in 1980 as Renato/Ankarström in Un ballo in maschera. He first performed the role of Renato at the Paris Opéra in 1981 and at the Salzburg Festival in 1989, led by Herbert Von Karajan. His career is known for important performances in opera, including appearances with singers such as Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, and Plácido Domingo.

On June 6, 2003, Nucci performed at a memorial concert for Herbert von Karajan, led by conductor James Allen Gähres, in Congress-Centrum Ulm. He sang Italian opera arias and duets with singers Stella Grigorian and Vera Schoenberg.

In January 2016, he performed at La Scala in Milan as Rigoletto in Rigoletto, with Nadine Sierra as Gilda. On October 10, 2019, he sang during celebrations for the anniversary of Giuseppe Verdi in Parma.

Nucci has had a long and successful career. He performs a wide variety of Italian opera, from early styles to more dramatic works. His singing and acting skills are especially noted in operas by Verdi, including roles such as Rigoletto, Macbeth, Count di Luna, Giorgio Germont, Rodrigo, Amonasro, Iago, and Falstaff. He has performed the role of Rigoletto more than 500 times.

He is married to soprano Adriana Anelli, and they have a daughter together.