Francesco Giusti

Francesco Giusti

Countertenor

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Francesco Giusti was born in Bologna (Italy) in 1983. In 1992 he begun to study piano at the Bologna Conservatoire, until 1999 when he chose to focus on organ and composition. In 2002 he began studying organ with early music specialist Francesco Tasini at Ferrara Conservatoire and begun studies of Musicology at Bologna University. In the year 2000 he started singing as a countertenor and has since performed in numerous concerts, both as soloist and chorister, in Italy and other countries such as Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the UK, the USA, Ireland and Japan and regularly collaborates with different well known early music ensembles.

In 2004 he sang the motet “Ego Flos Campi” on Roberto Gini’s Ensemble Concerto “Monteverdi Sacred Music” CD, published by Dynamic. He was also a member of the vocal groups “Il Canto di Orfeo” led by Gianluca Capuano and “Ensemble DSG” conducted by Michele Vannelli. With these groups he took part in many concerts and recordings in both Italy and France between 2000 and 2010 and, together with Ensemble Concerto, performed several of Monteverdi’s masterpieces such as “Orfeo” in Mantua in 2006 and recorded “Vespro della Beata Vergine” and “Missa in Illo Tempore” in 2007.

In 2006 he moved to the United Kingdom to study singing at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. There he was a student of Andrew Watts and in 2007 he obtained a Bachelor of Music degree. In 2008, he began studying historical singing at the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy HMT, Leipzig, Germany with Gundula Anders. In 2009 he performed the leading role in a production of “Mario Fuggitivo” by Bononcini/ Telemann, with performances in Germany.

He graduated in 2010 obtaining an Ergänzungsstudium degree. Starting in 2011 he has been part of the opera project “Les Idées hereuse et Les Barricades Misterieuses, led by Prof. Christa Näher of the Städel art school in Frankfurt Am Main and the young composer, violinist and stage director Matthias Klenota, an alumno of Amandine Beyer at the Schola Cantorum in Basel, Switzerland. In 2015 they brought to light another project, ‘Centauri’, again a stage piece. Together with a very skilled instrumental ensemble they presented the work during the contemporary music festival Zeit-Räume Basel. Between 2014 and 2016 he was a student of Xenia Meijer and Maarten Koningsberger in a two-year Master of Music study at the Amsterdam Conservatoire. During his time there he took part in numerous projects under the leadership of conductors such as Johannes Leertouwer, Teunis van der Zwart and PaulDombrecht. During this time, he also begun collaborating with Dutch groups, especially the Domkantorij in Utrecht, led by Remco De Graas. After graduation, he and several friends created Ensemble Hovkapell, dedicated to the rediscovery of Scandinavian music of the XVII and XVII centuries. Over the years Francesco has received coaching from, among others, Marek Rzepka, Robin Bowman, Emanuele Moris, Christian Curnyn, Dame Emma Kirkby, Margreet Honig, Evelyn Tubb, Claron McFadden, Therese deGoede, Max van Egmond, Ingrid Surgenor, Stefan Vinke, Kathryn Harries, Ian Burnside, Brenda Hurley and Tara Erraught. In 2017 he moved to Dublin, Ireland, where he began teaching as well as collaborating with local musicians, ensembles and choirs, including Christ Church Cathedral, St. Ann’s and St.Mary’s Pro Cathedral, of which he is currently a member.

In 2019 Francesco joined the Belfast-based Early Music ensemble Sestina, led by Mark Chambers. Furthermore, in 2018-19 Francesco was a member of the Northern Ireland Opera Studio with which he performed the title roles in productions of Scarlatti – Martini’s La Dirindina and Greg Caffrey’s Pamplemousse. Francesco collaborates regularly with the Irish Baroque Orchestra, directed by Peter Whelan. He is a member of the Irish National Opera ABL Opera Studio for the current season and was the cover for Tamerlano’s role during the award winning INO’s production of Vivaldi’s Bajazet. During February 2022 he sang the role twice during the London performances, which marked his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. This year he also performed the role of the Cheshire Cat in an Opera Collective Ireland production of Will Todd’s Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland and in a semi-dramatized concert series of Handel’s Messiah with Sestina.

Upcoming engagements include Matthias Klenota’s new stage piece, “Battaglia a 17”, and Fernando’s role in Handel’s Fernando, Re di Castiglia at the Händel Festspiele Halle, with Leo Duarte’s “Opera Settecento”.

Bajazet by A. Vivaldi - Cruda sorte

Bajazet Vivaldi - In si torbida procella

Bajazet Vivaldi - Sento brillar nel sen

G. F. Händel - Giulio Cesare - Empio diró tu sei

Cavalli - Lucidissima Face

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