‘We need to get life back to normal. We need culture, music, art and opera!” says renowned tenor Francesco Meli, one of the world’s most fascinating and sought-after tenors, who will be making his Israeli debut this Saturday, May 29, at Tel Aviv’s Israeli Opera.
Meli arrives with Italian pianist Davide Cavalli, as a guest of the Italian Embassy and the Italian Culture Institute, for an event celebrating Italy’s Republic Day.
The two will perform arias and duets from popular operas such as L’Elisir d’Amore (The Elixir of Love), Tosca, La Traviata and more, as well as beloved Neapolitan songs. Soprano Veronika Brook will join the two as part of the concert.
Born in Genoa in 1980, Meli started his musical training when he was 17 at the Conservatorio Paganini, continuing with Vittorio Terranova. Recognition came very soon after he won several important competitions for opera singers.
“I started studying the piano, an instrument which I still play today at home, sometimes accompanying my wife [the soprano Serena Gamberoni] or playing for my children,” Meli told The Jerusalem Post in a conversation ahead of his arrival to Israel. “I consider myself lucky that my voice was discovered when I was so young and that my tutors were able to train it naturally for the stage in such a short time. At 23 I made my debut at Teatro alla Scala; an honor but also the beginning of a great sense of responsibility which has stayed with me as my career takes me all over the world.”
Meli has a repertoire of more than 50 roles and has performed under the world’s most eminent conductors. On top of all that, the busy tenor performs solo recitals and has a vast concert repertoire. He was fully booked with La Scala for the 2019-2020 season when the opera house was closed as a result of coronavirus.
“In October 2020, while I was singing in Aida at Teatro alla Scala, I caught COVID, too. I was asymptomatic and recovered fully, but the experience allowed me to see from up close the artistic and social drama the world has been, and in part is still, going through. In January this year I spent a month in Japan, singing in Tosca and in several concerts, always with an audience. It was there that I realized that we couldn’t keep going without an audience and indeed, in the last two months, theaters all over the world started reopening. In Italy, which was hit so hard by COVID in 2020, most things are now reopening. Theater seats are limited, the audience have to wear a mask, but things are better,” said Meli.
Last summer, he resumed concert activity performing concerts and recitals in Europe. At the end of August he sang in the Verdi’s Requiem, first conducted by Zubin Mehta at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and followed with the Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala conducted by Riccardo Chailly in the cathedrals of Milan, Bergamo and Brescia.
Meli thinks that opera will always be a popular art form.
“In many countries worldwide, opera is the most well-attended form of entertainment. In countries like China, where opera was discovered only a few decades ago, they are still building new opera houses. In Italy, the major theaters organize special programs for children and young people and this is greatly appreciated. There is no doubt that we need to do more and more, because young people are encouraged to enjoy many different types of entertainment, so it’s important that they are fascinated by the opera experience.”
His concert here with pianist Davide Cavalli will feature a program of operatic hits and Neapolitan songs.
“Singing in a recital is very different from playing a part in an opera,” he said. “Obviously, singing a full opera on stage with scenery and costumes is a complete experience from all perspectives, but I love singing in recitals because I’m free to determine the program depending on what is best for me at that time, and I like singing for an audience that came especially for me. It’s exhilarating but demanding at the same time because you don’t want to disappoint anyone,” said Meli.
The performance will take place Saturday, May 29, at 9 p.m. For tickets, call (03) 692-7777 or go to Israel-opera.co.il.