Franco Vassallo is one of Italy’s leading baritones and has been acclaimed there at the Teatro alla Scala , Milan, Teatro La Fenice, Venice, Teatro San Carlo, Naples, Teatro Comunale in Bologna, the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Teatro Comunale in Firenze, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and at the Arena di Verona.  In recent seasons he has also made several significant international debuts at the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera, Covent Garden, SemperOper,Dresden,  Vienna State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Zurich Opera  as well as in Bilbao, Amsterdam, Paris, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

Franco Vassallo began the 2009/2010 season singing Don Alfonso in Lucrezia Borgia as well as the tilte role of Macbeth for his return to the Bavarian State Opera. He also returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia as well as in the role of Ezio in the new production of Atilla. At the Sempereroper Dresden he was heard in the title role of Rigoletto and appeared in Salerno as Amonasro in Aida as well as Figaro, a role he will repeat this spring for his return to the Teatro alla Scala in Milan in a new production of Il Babiere di Siviglia. Among his future engagements are Otello in Baden-Baden, Germont in a new production of La Traviata in Hamburg, I puritani in Geneva, Rigoletto and I vespri Siciliani in Torino as well as returns to the Metropolitan Opera for Il travatore.

In September of 2008 Vassallo made his debut at the SemperOper in Dresden as Posa in Don Carlos and also debuted in Baden Baden in Barbiere. He sang his first performances of the title role in Rigoletto for the Greek National Opera in Athens, after which he returned to the Bavarian State Opera in Munich as Don Alfonso D’Este in the new production of Lucrezia Borgia. Vassallo returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Belcore in L’Elisir D’Amore and made his first appearances at the Hamburg State Opera, first as Germont and then as Ezio in concert performances of Verdi’s Attila under Simone Young. Vassallo was also heard in Gala Concerts for the Teatro San Carlo in Naples.  Other recent engagements for Mr. Vassallo include Riccardo in the revival of Bellini’s I puritani with Anna Netrebko at the Metropolitan Opera. This performance was seen in cinemas internationally as well as on television as part of the Live from Lincoln Center Series. Vassallo returned to the Bavarian State Opera as Rodrigo in Don Carlos in the fall of 2006 and also appeared in Munich as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Germont in La traviata and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly. At the Deutsche Oper Berlin he has been heard as Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, sang his first Don Carlos in Verdi’s La Forza del Destino at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa under the direction of Daniel Oren in April 2007, and made his debut at the Arena di Verona in the summer of 2007 in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and as Germont in La traviata. Franco Vassallo returned to the Metropolitan Opera in the 2007-2008 season as Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, was also heard at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich as Renato in Un Ballo in Maschera and as Germont in La traviata, returned to Genoa in Verdi’s I Vespri Siciliani at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa and subsequently sang Carlo in Verdi’s Ernani at the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste. In July of 2008 Vassallo made his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as Marcello in La Boheme.

Born in Milano in 1969, Franco Vassallo studied singing under the guidance of one sole teacher baritone Carlo Meliciani, who remains his pedagogue today. In January 1994 he was the winner of the “As.Li.Co. International Competition” of Milan which led to his, he made his débuts in some of the most important theatres of Northern Italy, such as David in L’Amico Fritz and Belcore in L’elisir d’amore at the Teatro Coccia of Novara.  In 1997 he won the “Budapest Contest” organized with the cooperation of the Arena of Verona, after which he made his début at the Teatro Filarmonico of Verona as Ford in Falstaff alongside Renato Bruson. In the same year he made his début as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Palafenice in Venice, subsequrently returning for his débuts as Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, as Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro and as Malatesta in Don Pasquale.  Vassallo’s other important Italian debuts followed in rapid succession. He appeared as Di Luna in Il trovatore at the Teatro Bellini of Catania and at the Teatro Regio of Parma, in L’elisir d’amore at the Teatro La Fenice of Venice and in new productions of Lucia di Lammermoor, Ernani ,La bohème, Madama Butterfly, and Faust at the Teatro San Carlo of Naples.  Vassallo made his debut at the Teatro alla Scala as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, a role he also sang at the Teatro Comunale in Florence. Outside of Italy Vassallo made his debut in Vienna in Lucia di Lammermoor, in Zurich in Don Carlo, in Paris in Giovanna D’Arco and in I vespri Siciliani in Bilbao.  Mr. Vassallo has retured to Vienna for I puritani and La favorita, to the Zurich Opera for Salieri’s rarely performed of Axur Rè D’Ormus as well as for Lucia di Lammermoor and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in I puritani.  Franco Vassallo made an especially auspicious debut at the Bavarian State Opera as Renato in Un ballo in maschera.  The artist has been heard in the United States in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Los Angeles Opera and in La traviata and Don Carlos for the Opera Company of Philadelphia.  He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2005 in the title role of Il barbiere di Siviglia.  Other recent highlights have included his debut at the Teatro Sao Carlo in Lisbon in Il barbiere di Siviglia, the new production of Un ballo in maschera under Riccardo Chailly in Leipzig as well as La traviata at the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste under Daniel Oren.