Summer Concerts

Hi everybody!

Here I am, back at home in Italy, after the last concert of the first half of the summer events.
I had a great time in Croatia, singing Beethoven's 9th Symphony in the Roman Quarry in Vinkuran, Istria:

and after this a very funny Three Tenor concert in Medulin, with my friends Matteo Mezzaro and Federico Lepre, with pianist Michele Bravin:

You can listen to the last part of the concert here, on the YT channel of the Italian minority in Croatia (from min. 6.30):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3pMQaHtg7E

Finally, after another couple of concerts, I was in La Spezia (Liguria, North-Western Italy) to sing at the Organ Festival "Cinque Terre", with organist Ferruccio Bartoletti. The place was wonderful, and also the organ, dating from 1851:

Now I can finally enjoy a week of relaxing, before the second half of my summer concerts!
See you soon and enjoy your summer!

Back in Italy!

Hi everybody!

Since a couple of days, I'm back home in Italy and I am ready for the first of a large number of concerts I will do during the summer around Italy and in Croatia.
In the next days, I'll have the great pleasure to sing some beautiful music by Schubert, Mahler, Wolf and Strauss in my hometown with a wonderful pianist like Alberto Miodini. After quite a long time, I will sing again some Lieder, the German songs, which I love so much.

After this I will travel to Croatia to sing for the first time in my life Beethoven's 9th Symphony - I'm really excited about this!

Carreras in Cambridge

Today was a special day: Josè Carreras was in Cambridge!

Fitzwilliam College offered him an honorary Fellowship and organised a conversation with the Master to meet the great tenor. It was amazing to listen to his anecdotes and his thoughts about the Opera world: he told us about his career, his love for his native Catalunya and for the voice of Italian tenor Giuseppe Di Stefano, how was wonderful to work with Herbert von Karajan and his big effort to support the work of his Foundation for the research against Leukaemia.

Thanks to the Fitzwilliam college for giving us the chance to meet the wonderful Josè Carreras!

Conference at the Faculty of Music

Even if a bit late, here are a couple of pictures taken during the conference we gave at the Faculty of Music in Cambridge in April.
You can see me with composer Renzo Banzato and oboist Elena Giusto speaking about Renzo's music and playing some excerpts from his Oratory "Va! Scolpisci!".

We had a great time and we were glad that audience appreciated Banzatos' music!

Meet the composer!

Come and join us on Sunday 29th of April to meet the Italian composer Renzo Banzato at the Faculty of Music in Cambridge!

We will have a talk about Banzato's Oratory "Va! Scolpisci!", with some musical excerpts played by the composer at the piano, oboist Elena Giusto and me, and then we will screen the Oratory.

We look forward to meeting you!


Sunday 29th of April, 3 pm
Faculty of Music (Lecture Room 2)
11 West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DP

Tickets: £5 available at the door

Info and reservations: 07378349155 - alessandrocortello@gmail.com

Va! Scolpisci! (Go and sculpt!) is an Oratory by the Italian pianist, composer and conductor Renzo Banzato. Banzato set to music the life of Domenico Paneghetti, a poor man from the countryside near Venice who sculpted the miraculous Crucifix of Cavarzere Cathedral (Venice).
Renzo Banzato performed in Italy, Croatia, Austria, Poland, Germany, France, Czech Republic and recorded for Rai Italian TV. He collaborated with Teatro La Fenice (Venice), Teatro Regio and Rai Orchestra (Turin), Toulouse Chamber Orchestra (France) and the Wasserburg Bachchor (Germany). His music has been published and performed in Europe and in the United States.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to all music lovers!

Lyric concert in Italy

Hi there!

Last weekend I was in Italy again, to sing with my friend Michele Bravin, a wonderful pianist.
We had a concert in Lignano Sabbiadoro, not far from Venice, where I grew up: I sang opera arias by Mozart, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini, Massenet and Meyerbeer and a couple of Zarzuelas (the Spanish Operetta), while Michele played two beautiful piano pieces by Rossini, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of his death.

We enjoyed very much performing together again after four months and we had fun especially singing the encore, If I Were a Rich Man from The Fiddler on the Roof! We had so much fun translating it into italian to help the audience to enjoy it!

CD recording in Czech Republic!

Hello everybody!

I have just come back home from the Czech Republic where I joined my good friend and great singer Giorgio Caoduro for the recording of his first album, entirely dedicated to the most beautiful baritone arias from Rossini's operas.
Giorgio needed some colleagues to sing along with him the big Dandini's scene from Rossini's Cenerentola and so Anna Viola, Cecilia Bernini and I spent a couple of days with him and a wonderful orchestra conducted by Jacopo Brusa in a recording studio near Brno.

We had the pleasure and the big honor to be "monitored" in our work by one of the greatest specialist of Rossini's music in the world, the french musicologist Damien Colas. You can see him on the left in the following picture, with Giorgio, Cecilia Anna and me:

And here we are enjoying our dinner and a good czech beer after work, with Jacopo, the conductor:

But our adventure didn't end in Brno: I was asked to cover for an ill colleague in Italy and so right after the recording Anna and I rushed to Italy to sing a lot of beautiful duets from operas by Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini:

A very funny weekend full of music across Europe!

Concerts in Italy

Hello everybody!

I am ready to come back to the UK, after some weeks in Italy to visit my family, spend the Christmas holidays with them... and sing some concerts, with sacred music by Antonio Vivaldi

and Gioachino Rossini

Here I am, singing the beautiful Rossini's Messa di Gloria with wonderful colleagues in my hometown in Northern Italy:

 

So see you soon!

Concert in Wales

Last Sunday I was in Wales for my first concert in the UK!

With my friend and wonderful singer Stephanie we sang a lot of beautiful music by Britten (to whom the whole first part of the concert was dedicated), Gershwin, Rossini, Donizetti and Puccini for a warm and welcoming public.

I had a great time and look forward to my next performances!

Hi everybody!

My name is Alessandro and I am an Italian tenor and pianist.
I live in Fordham, Cambridgeshire, and I teach Singing and Piano.

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I think music is an important part of our life and I like to help people to know it better and enjoy it!
Choosing to learn to play a musical instrument is one of the most rewarding decisions you can make, which allows you to enjoy music in a new way, and to gain a range of skills that will benefit you in other walks of life. No matter your age and if you want to become a professional performer or just enjoy playing in your room, my aim is to find the best way for you to achieve your purpose.

I offer lessons to beginner and advanced students, from 5 to 99 years old! I am available for lessons at my place or I can come to your house.

To have more information about me and my courses, feel free to contact me by writing an email at alessandrocortello@gmail.com or calling me at 07378349155.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Alessandro