Carnegie Hall

Tenor Juan Diego Flórez was born in Lima in 1973, and began singing and playing Peruvian folk and pop music at a very young age. At 17, he enrolled in Lima’s National Conservatory of Music and three years later won a scholarship to continue his vocal studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. In 1996, he made his professional debut at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, stepping in on short notice to sing the lead tenor role of Corradino in Matilde di Shabran. Despite the short preparation time, his debut proved hugely successful and marked the start of a stellar career. His expressive voice and astonishing agility made him an overnight sensation and led to his debut later that year, at the age of 23, at the season opening of Teatro alla Scala conducted by Riccardo Muti. Since then, he has appeared at every major international opera house under the world’s leading conductors.

At the beginning of his career, Mr. Flórez received renown for his performances of the bel canto repertoire, and later, his renditions of the French Romantic heroes earned him great acclaim from the public and critics. His most recent role debuts include Raoul de Nangis in Les Huguenots at Deutsche Oper Berlin, Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia in concert performances at the Salzburg Festival and in a staged production at Bavarian State Opera, Hoffmann in Les contes d’Hoffmann at Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Ricciardo in Ricciardo e Zoraide at the Rossini Opera Festival, Alfredo in La traviata at the Metropolitan Opera, Des Grieux in Manon at Vienna State Opera, Rodolfo in La bohème at the Royal Opera House, and the title role in Faust at Vienna State Opera.

Mr. Flórez has recorded numerous solo albums, as well as complete operas on CD and DVD. His recent releases include a disc of Mozart arias in 2017 and Bésame mucho, an album of Latin American songs, in 2018. He has been recognized by the BBC as one of the finest tenors of all time, and has received many honors and awards, including Peru’s highest distinction, the Gran Cruz de la Orden El Sol. The Austrian government named him Kammersänger in 2012.

In 2011, Mr. Flórez founded Sinfonía por el Perú, an inclusive social project that operates orchestras and choirs throughout Peru to help the most vulnerable children and adolescents through music. In recognition of the foundation’s work, he was named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and received the World Economic Forum’s Crystal Award.

Vincenzo Scalera was born in New Jersey to Italian American parents and began piano studies at the age of five. He graduated from the Manhattan School of Music and worked as assistant conductor at the New Jersey State Opera. He continued his studies in Italy and in 1980 joined the musical staff of Milan’s Teatro alla Scala as coach and pianist, assisting conductors Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, and Carlos Kleiber.

Mr. Scalera has participated in many important music festivals, including Edinburgh, Martina Franca, Jerusalem, Istanbul, Les Chorégies d’Orange, Carinthian Summer, Salzburg, and the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. Accompanying such celebrated singers as Andrea Bocelli, Montserrat Caballé, Juan Diego Flórez, Leyla Gencer, Vittorio Grigolo, Raina Kabaivanska, Katia Ricciarelli, Cesare Siepi, and Lucia Valentini Terrani, he has been heard in major music centers around the world.

Mr. Scalera’s recital discography includes Sumi Jo’s La Promessa, Renata Scotto’s Verdi: Complete Songs, Carlo Bergonzi’s Canzone: The Art of Bel Canto and Carlo Bergonzi in Concert, and José Carreras’s The Come Back Concerts, plus three recitals with Mr. Carreras on video. Documenting his extensive collaboration with Mr. Bergonzi is a concert video entitled Bergonzi Celebrates Gigli, repeating the program they performed together in a highly acclaimed 1985 Carnegie Hall recital. As a harpsichordist, he recorded the soundtrack to the video of Rossini’s La Cenerentola under the direction of Mr. Abbado, and the world premiere recording of Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims, also with Mr. Abbado. In 2021, he accompanied Sondra Radvanovsky and Piotr Beczała in a recital for the Met Stars Live in Concert streaming series, and recorded the album Élégie with Anita Rachvelishvili for Sony Classical.

Mr. Scalera is a Steinway Artist and serves on the staff of Teatro alla Scala’s Accademia d’Arti e Mestieri.