On Wednesday, November 24, 2021, at 7:30 p.m.(Dubai Time) on the Expo global showcase Italy's National Day at Expo 2020 Dubai will be celebrated. The concert by the soloists and orchestra of the Accademia Teatro alla Scala is conducted by Donato Renzetti.
The event, which will be held at the Dubai Millennium Amphitheatre, is made possible thanks to the support of the Bracco Foundation, Gold Sponsor of the Italian Pavilion at the Expo and Founding Partner of La Scala Academy.
For the day that celebrates Italy, the Italian Pavilion has chosen the young talents of the Teatro alla Scala, some of whom are already established professionals, entrusting them to the guidance of a first-rate Maestro like Donato Renzetti to perform a program dedicated to the great Italian opera repertoire. The soprano Clarissa Costanzo, the mezzo-soprano Martina Serra, the tenor Azer Zada and the baritone Ettore Chi Hoon Lee will perform arias and ensemble pieces from our operatic tradition.
The concert opens with the symphony of La Forza del Destino, followed by one of the most poignant arias of the opera, the heartfelt "Pace, pace mio Dio" (Peace, peace my God), sung by Clarissa Costanzo, soprano from Caserta, who has just graduated from the Accademia Scala.
Then it is Ettore Chi Hoon Lee who takes on the role of Renato, blinded by resentment in "Eri tu" from Act III of Un ballo in maschera; the Korean baritone, also a recent graduate, has already distinguished himself in his first roles on the Teatro alla Scala stage, as in Don Magnifico in Rossini's Cenerentola.
After the Symphony of Nabucco, former student Azer Zada, 31 years old from Azerbaijan, one of the most popular and esteemed tenors of his generation, sings the famous romance "Celeste Aida". Azer Zada, in his young career, has already brilliantly dressed the roles of the great operatic repertoire - Cavaradossi, Radamès, Rodolfo, Alfredo, Don Josè, Pinkerton - collaborating with important conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Myung-Whun Chung, Riccardo Chailly, in prestigious theaters in Italy and abroad.
Two intense moments of Il trovatore follow. The dramatic aria of Azucena, Stride la vampa, is sung by Martina Serra, mezzo-soprano from Cagliari, after her recent success in Sassari in Madama Butterfly. Clarissa Costanzo and Ettore Chi Hoon Lee are engaged instead in the duet between Leonora and the Conte di Luna "Udiste? ... Mira, di acerbe lagrime", another test of remarkable dramatic force.
As Giuseppe Vita, President of the Accademia Teatro alla Scala, underlines: "the experience at Expo Dubai 2020 can only confirm the exceptional nature of the training of young La Scala artists, who are now called to measure themselves in such a prestigious international context. A path that the Academy constantly enriches with opportunities for professional growth, so that young people, now students, tomorrow recognized artists, become ambassadors of musical culture in the world".
Ettore Chi Hoon Lee, Baritone
Born in Pohang, South Korea, Ettore Lee received his singing diploma from Yonsei University in Seoul. He then moved to Italy where he attended the Riccardo Muti Italian Opera Academy, a summer Masterclass at the Accademia d'Arte Lirica in Osimo and the Master Degree Course at the Conservatorio Arrigo Boito in Parma. Numerous awards and prizes have been obtained in international competitions. Among others, it is worth mentioning in 2017 the First Prize at the Competition "Mario Lanza" in Rome, the Third Prize at the Competition "Piero Cappuccilli" in Alessandria, in 2018 the Special Prize at the Competition "Giovani talenti per la lirica" in Mantova and at the Competition dedicated to Salvatore Licitra in Milan. He was also a finalist at the "Voci Verdiane'' Competition in Busseto.
He made his debut in La bohème in the role of Schaunard in 2015 at Goyang Aramnuri Art Center, in 2016 he plays the Conte d'Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro at Mapo Art Center, then in Italy, he is Rigoletto at Palazzina Liberty in Milan. Intense also the concert activity, in Italy and abroad.
In 2018 he passed the selections to attend the two-year period 2019-2021 of the Academy of Specializations for opera singers of the Teatro alla Scala.
His first significant engagement at La Scala sees him as a cover of Leo Nucci in the historic Rigoletto signed by Gilbert Deflo and entrusted to the musical direction of Daniel Oren (Academy Project 2019). He returns again to the Scala stage in the role of Don Magnifico between November 2019 and February 2020 in La Cenerentola per i bambini, conducted by Pietro Mianiti and directed by Ulrich Peter. The opera was revived in June 2021 (and streamed) and between September 2021 and April 2022.
