Frank Lopardo (born 23 December 1957) is an American operatic tenor who was born in Brentwood, New York. Early in his career he specialized in the repertoire of Mozart and Rossini and later transitioned to the works of Puccini, Verdi, Donizetti and Bellini.
Early years Lopardo began his musical training at Queens College, CUNY before moving on to the Juilliard School. At Queens College he first met Dr. Robert White, who currently serves on the staff at the Juilliard School. Lopardo attended the Music Academy of the West summer conservatory program in 1983 and 1984.
Career Lopardo made his North American debut as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte with Opera Theater of St. Louis. He entered into a long-standing relationship with The Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1989 in the role of Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia. He has performed more than 180 times there, with roles including Rodolfo in La bohème, Alfredo in La traviata, the Duke in Rigoletto, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Tonio in La fille du régiment, Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Idreno in Semiramide, Ferrando in Così fan tutte, and Fenton in Falstaff. Lopardo has made appearances with various North American opera companies, including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Los Angeles Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, the Canadian Opera Company, San Francisco Opera, and Santa Fe Opera.
In Europe, Lopardo made his debut as Fenton at Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. He has sung as Edgardo, Rodolfo, the Duke, and Lenski in Eugene Onegin at the Opéra National de Paris. At the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden he has sung as Lindoro in L'italiana in Algeri. Other major European theaters where he has performed include the Vienna State Opera, the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Teatro Comunale in Florence and Teatro Real in Madrid. He has appeared in the Salzburg Festival, Glyndebourne Opera Festival, and Aix-en-Provence Festival, and sung with De Nederlandse Opera.
Awards In 1983, Lopardo won first prize in the Liederkranz Foundation competition. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Queens College, Aaron Copland School of Music, in 1992, and in 2005 won a Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance for a recording of the Berlioz Requiem, performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and conducted by Robert Spano.
Discography Requiem (Mozart), with Riccardo Muti. EMI Records, 1987 L'italiana in Algeri (Rossini), with Claudio Abbado. Deutsche Grammophon, 1987 Don Giovanni (Mozart), with Riccardo Muti. EMI Records, 1990 Great Mass in C minor (Mozart), with Leonard Bernstein. Deutsche Grammophon, 1990 Falstaff (Verdi), with Sir Colin Davis. BMG Music, 1991 Il signor Bruschino (Rossini), with Ion Marin. Deutsche Grammophon, 1991 Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini), with Claudio Abbado. Deutsche Grammophon, 1992 Semiramide (Rossini), with Ion Marin. Deutsche Grammophon, 1992 Carmina Burana (Orff), with André Previn. Deutsche Grammophon, 1992 Don Pasquale (Donizetti), with Roberto Abbado. BMG Music, 1993 Idomeneo (Mozart), with James Levine. Deutsche Grammophon, 1993 Così fan tutte (Mozart), with Sir Georg Solti. Decca Records, 1993 La traviata (Verdi), with (Sir Georg Solti). Decca Records, 1994 Requiem (Berlioz), with Robert Spano. Telarc Records, 2003 Imelda de' Lambertazzi (Donizetti), with Mark Elder. Opera Rara, 2006 Ninth Symphony (Beethoven), with Franz Welser-Möst. Deutsche Grammophon, 2007
Videography Great Mass in C minor (Mozart), with Leonard Bernstein, Deutsche Grammophon, 2006
References
External links
Interview with Frank Lopardo, October 4, 1988