Roberto Alagna

Italian-French singer, born to Sicilian immigrants and discovered in a Paris pizzeria, where he sang popular opera arias eight hours a night for tips. In 1988, at the age of 25, he won the Pavarotti International Voice Competition in Philadelphia, making his professional debut the very same year with the Glyndebourne Touring Opera as Alfredo in "La Traviata." His La Scala debut came in 1990 under Claudio Abbado yet again as Alfredo, where he reappeared in 1993 under Muti, with a Covent Garden appearance in 1994, where he was Rodolfo of "La Boheme" and Roméo in Gounod's "Roméo and Juliette." Alagna succeeded in his homeland in 1995, when he was Edgardo in "Lucia di Lammermoor" at the Opéra Bastille of Paris. His Metropolitan debut came in 1996 in a production of "La Boheme" where he once more was Rodolfo.

He signed a lucrative contract with EMI in April 1993 ensuring him a series of recordings. Rave reviews and huge press coverage secured Alagna's position as the undisputed heir to Pavarotti's throne in the wake of the latter's temporary retirement.

In 1994 he was named Musical Personality of the Year by the French national press and received Covent Garden's Best Performance of the Year for "Romeo et Juliette." In April 1995 he was awarded the prestigious Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera; in 1996 he was appointed Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French government and in 1997 named Lyric Artist of the Year by the Victoires de la Musique Française.

His latest project are "Romeo and Juliette" at London's Royal Opera (February-March 2000) and during the fall he will take on the role of Cavaradossi in Puccini's "Tosca."

Alagna married on 21 July 1990 and was later widowed. He made a second marriage on 26 July 1996 to Romanian star soprano Angela Gheorghiu; they have one daughter.