Biography.

Gianluca Buratto is an Italian bass whose international career has been distinguished by the depth and distinctive character of his voice, his vocal solidity and his interpretative versatility. His repertoire spans a wide range of musical styles and periods, from early and Baroque music to the great operatic tradition of the nineteenth century and contemporary music. This breadth has led him to collaborate with some of the most distinguished conductors of our time and to appear at leading opera houses, concert halls and international festivals. He studied singing with Margaret Hayward at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan and further developed his technique and musicianship through masterclasses with Sara Mingardo, Ernesto Palacio, Jaume Aragall and Dalton Baldwin. In 2006, he won First Prize in the Junior Category of the Ferruccio Tagliavini International Singing Competition, an important milestone at the beginning of his career. He was subsequently invited to perform Verdi's Messa da Requiem at the Festspielhaus in Bregenz and Mozart's Requiem at the Graf-Zeppelin-Haus in Friedrichshafen. From the outset, Buratto cultivated a close relationship with the concert and sacred repertoire, while also exploring the polyphonic music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries through his collaboration with the Claudio Monteverdi Choir, conducted by Bruno Gini. This experience helped shape a musical approach attentive to text, vocal line and stylistic awareness, qualities that would become equally important in his operatic interpretations. His early work in Baroque music proved particularly significant. Among his first engagements were Luigi Rossi's Oratorio della Settimana Santa, in the role of Pilate, with the ensemble L'Aura Soave conducted by Diego Cantalupi; Bach's cantata Unser Mund sei voll Lachens with Capella Savaria and Christophe Coin; Buxtehude's Membra Jesu nostri with Vittorio Ghielmi's ensemble Il Suonar Parlante at the Cuenca Festival and Ravenna Festival; and a programme of music by Thomas Campion with Il Complesso Barocco conducted by Alan Curtis in Florence Cathedral. Buratto made his operatic debut in 2009 at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste, portraying the Priest in the world premiere of Alessandro Solbiati's Il carro e i canti. From that point onwards, his career developed across a broad and varied repertoire encompassing eighteenth-century opera, the great works of Italian melodrama and twentieth-century music. Among his early engagements were Antonio Cesti's Le disgrazie d'amore, in the role of Piragmo, in a modern staged revival at the Teatro Verdi in Pisa with Auser Musici and Carlo Ipata; Donizetti's Maria Stuarda, as Giorgio Talbot; Puccini's La Bohème, as Colline; and Saverio Mercadante's Virginia, as Marco, at the Wexford Opera Festival. During the same period, he performed works by Bach and Fux at the Musikverein in Vienna and at the Osterklang Festival, as well as taking part in Stravinsky's Pulcinella and Mozart's Krönungsmesse. An important chapter in his career began with his collaboration with Riccardo Muti. Buratto took part in performances of Mozart's and Jommelli's La Betulia liberata at the Salzburg Festival and Ravenna Festival. His work with Muti continued in Verdi's Macbeth, presented at the Salzburg Festival and subsequently at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, where it opened the 2012 season, as well as in a performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He also participated in major symphonic and sacred music projects under Muti's direction, including the Missa Defunctorum, performed at the Certosa di Pavia and at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. His concert career has included Mozart's Mass in C minor, K. 427, at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome under Kent Nagano; Verdi's Requiem with John Eliot Gardiner; and Schubert's Mass at the Salzburg Festival under Riccardo Muti. He has also performed Bach's Johannes-Passion with Al Ayre Español and Eduardo López Banzo on a tour of Germany and Spain, Beethoven's Missa solemnis in Cagliari, and Bach's Magnificat in London, both in concert and in a recording project. Monteverdi's music and his collaboration with Sir John Eliot Gardiner have occupied a particularly important place in Buratto's artistic development. He has portrayed Caronte and Plutone in Monteverdi's L'Orfeo and participated in performances of the Vespro della Beata Vergine with the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra, including tours in the United States, appearances at the BBC Proms in London and performances in Versailles. In 2017, he took part in Gardiner's international Monteverdi Trilogy, portraying Caronte and Plutone in L'Orfeo, Tempo, Antinoo and Nettuno in Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria, and Seneca in L'incoronazione di Poppea. He also performed Monteverdi's Vespro in Italy, at the Monteverdi Festival in Cremona and the Anima Mundi Festival in Pisa, as well as in Saint-Denis and Versailles. These experiences further established his reputation in early music and brought him to leading European venues and festivals. Alongside this work, his operatic repertoire has taken him to some of Europe's most prestigious stages. He has appeared in La Bohème in Valencia, at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, at Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam and in other international productions; in Thaïs and Tosca in Valencia; in I due Foscari; in Le nozze di Figaro in Barcelona and Zurich; in L'incoronazione di Poppea at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music; in L'Orfeo in Nancy and at the Salle Pleyel in Paris; in Handel's Admeto at the Theater an der Wien; and in Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria in Zurich. At the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, he sang Giorgio Talbot in Maria Stuarda and Nonancourt in Nino Rota's Il cappello di paglia di Firenze. In Genoa, he appeared as Sparafucile in Rigoletto under the baton of Fabio Luisi. His artistic activity has also extended to contemporary opera. At Teatro La Fenice in Venice, he took part in the world premiere of Claudio Ambrosini's Il killer di parole, subsequently revived in Nancy, and the world premiere of Alessandro Solbiati's La leggenda at the Teatro Regio in Turin. In Venice, he also appeared in La Bohème and Rigoletto. Nino Rota's Mysterium brought him to the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, to Rome and to performances with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano. Other notable engagements include Stravinsky's Oedipus rex with the Berliner Philharmoniker and John Eliot Gardiner, Mascagni's Guglielmo Ratcliff at the Wexford Opera Festival, and Donizetti's Le Duc d'Albe for Opera Rara in London. Teatro alla Scala in Milan holds a special place in his career. Buratto opened the theatre's 2019–2020 season as Pope Leo in Verdi's Attila, conducted by Riccardo Chailly. He subsequently returned to La Scala as Ferrando in Il trovatoreand took part in important concert performances, including Vivaldi's Magnificat and Mozart's Coronation Mass. He has also appeared at La Scala as Sparafucile in Rigoletto and, in 2025, as Jorge da Burgos in the world premiere of Francesco Filidei's Il nome della rosa, a new production marking another significant encounter with contemporary opera. Other important roles in his repertoire include Pope Leo in Attila, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Colline in La Bohème, the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Timur in Turandot, Giorgio Talbot in Maria Stuarda, Claudio in Handel's Agrippina, and the Grand Inquisitor in Don Carlos. His portrayal of Claudio in Agrippina took him to the Cité de la musique in Paris, the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich and the Royal Opera House in London. He has also sung Haly in Rameau's Les Indes galantes in Geneva under Christophe Rousset and the Grand Inquisitor in Don Carlos at the Staatsoper Stuttgart. Buratto's international appearances have continued at leading institutions, including Teatro Real in Madrid, Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam, Opéra national de Paris, Bayerische Staatsoper, Royal Opera House in London, Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Teatro Regio in Turin, Teatro La Fenice in Venice and Arena di Verona. In 2023, he made his Arena di Verona debut as Sparafucile in Rigoletto, a role he reprised in subsequent productions. In 2024, he participated in the international gala La grande Opera italiana Patrimonio dell'Umanità, broadcast worldwide, and returned to the Arena in 2025 for a new production of Rigoletto. During the 2024–2025 season, he also appeared as Frère Laurent in Roméo et Juliette at Teatro di San Carlo and as Tempo in Handel's Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno at MusikTheater an der Wien. In 2026, he further expanded his repertoire by making his debut as Ramfis in Aida at Arena di Verona. He also returned as Colline in La Bohème at the Royal Opera House in London, Teatro di San Carlo in Naples and other international venues. Engagements during the 2025–2026 season also included Wurm in Luisa Miller at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia, Barbe-Bleue in Ariane et Barbe-Bleue at Teatro Real in Madrid, and Giorgio Talbot in Maria Stuarda at the Staatsoper Hamburg. In autumn 2026, he is scheduled to appear as Banco in Macbeth at Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège. Throughout his career, Gianluca Buratto has collaborated with conductors including Riccardo Muti, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Riccardo Chailly, Kent Nagano, Christophe Rousset, Alan Curtis, Fabio Luisi, Carlo Ipata and Vittorio Ghielmi, developing a distinctive artistic approach that combines stylistic integrity with dramatic intensity. His discography likewise reflects the breadth of his musical interests, spanning Baroque repertoire and twentieth-century music. It includes La Bohème, conducted by Riccardo Chailly, for Unitel; Handel's Giulio Cesare for Naïve; Luigi Rossi's Oratorio della Settimana Santa for MV Cremona; the Lieder of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach for Winter & Winter; Francesco Cavalli's Missa pro defunctis for Tactus; Bassani's La tromba della divina misericordia for Concerto; and Nino Rota's Mysterium for Decca. An artist equally at home in historically informed performance, the great operatic repertoire and contemporary music, Gianluca Buratto continues to build an international career in which the distinctive depth of his bass voice is matched by musical curiosity, stylistic versatility and a compelling stage presence.