Dean of Opera

Gian Galeazzo Ganzarolli
Gian Galeazzo is Artistic Advisor of the NCPA, National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai, India for Opera & Classical Musici.
He was also past organizer of the Rosenblatt Recital Series.
He has worked as Producer and Impresario with Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Teatro la Fenice in Venice, Palau de les Arts in Valencia, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall and Wigmore Hall.
Vocal Studies

Barbara Frittoli
Soprano Visiting Opera Professor
Barbara has given performances at La Scala in Milan, Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, Metropolitan Opera in New York, Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Opéra Bastille in Paris, La Monnaie in Brussels, Vienna State Opera.
She is a Grammy Award Winner.
She has albums released by Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, Sony, Warner, Erato, including “Turandot in the Forbidden City” with Zubin Metha

Carlos Alvarez
Baritone Visiting Opera Professor
Carlos had his operatic debut in 1990 at Madrid’s Teatro de la Zarzuela. Since then performances at La Scala in Milan, Opéra Bastille, Teatro Real of Madrid, Liceu of Barcelona, Bavarian State Opera in Hamburg, Vienna State Opera, Zürich Opera, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Washington National Opera.
He has Grammy Awards for the title role of Álbeniz’s Merlin (with Plácido Domingo as King Arthur) and as Ford in Verdi “Falstaff”

Carmen Giannattasio
Soprano Visiting Opera Professor
Carmen has given performances at Royal Opera House, La Scala in Milan, Théatre des Champs-Elysées, Beijing, Dutch National Opera, La Fenice in Venice, Metropolitan Opera in New York, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Scottish Opera, Arena di Verona, Buenos Aires, Vienna State Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Opéra de Monte-Carlo.
She won first prize and Audience award in Operalia.
She studied at La Scala Accademia di Perfezionamento in Milan

Chiara Angella
Soprano Opera Professor
Chiara has had leading roles at “La Scala” in Milan, “Comunale” Theatre in Bologna, “C.Felice” Theatre in Genoa, “La Fenice” in Venice, “Opernhaus” in Zurich, “Capitole” in Toulouse.
She studied at “Verdi” Conservatoire in Milan and with Magda Olivero, Maria del Fante and Luciano Pavarotti.
She specialised in production and dramaturgy at the Stabile Theatre of Veneto.
She is winner of Circle Dordoni Brescia, “best singer 2006” and “Gold Mascagni 2007”, Winner of “Amici del Loggione” of the La Scala in Milan.

Gregory Kunde
Tenor Visiting Opera Professor
Gregory has had international performances at Metropolitan Opera, New York, Paris Opéra, Théâtre du Châtelet, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Opera Australia, Teatro Real, Madrid, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, La Scala, Milan, La Fenice, Venice, Teatro Massimo, Palermo, Theater an der Wien and Liceu, Barcelona.
He is a specialist in French and Italian repertory.
He has albums released by LORELT, SOMM, NMC, BBC

Joseph Calleja
Tenor Visiting Opera Professor
Joseph has held performances at Metropolitan Opera in New York, Los Angeles Opera, Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, Vienna Staatsoper, Zurich Opera, Deutsche Oper of Berlin. Barcelona’s Liceu, Dresden Semperoper and Frankfurt Opera, Spoleto Festival, Seattle Opera.
He is a prizewinner at Belvedere Hans Gabor competition, Caruso Competition in Milan and Operalia.
He has albums released by Decca including the Grammy Award-nominated La traviata with The Royal Opera House.

Manuela Custer
Mezzo Soprano Visiting Opera Professor
Manuela has held performances at Scala in Milan, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Royal Festival Hall, Paris’ Theatre des Champs-Elysées, Rossini Opera Festival, Teatro Regio in Turin, Wiener Konzerthaus, Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, Teatro La Zarzuela in Madrid, Dallas Opera.
She has albums released by Warner Fonit, Virgin Classics

Roberto Scandiuzzi
Bass Visiting Opera Professor
Roberto has given performances at La Scala, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera, the Opéra Bastille in Paris, Vienna Staatsoper, Bavarian Staatsoper in Munich, the San Francisco Opera, and many others.
He has albums released by Decca (Simon Boccanegra, Turandot), Philips (Don Carlo, Jerusalem and Aroldo), EMI (Messa da Requiem and La Gioconda), DGG (Stabat Mater and Rigoletto), Erato, TDK, Koch

Saimir Pirgu
Tenor Visiting Opera Professor
Saimir has given performances at Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Teatro alla Scala, the Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow, the Vienna State Opera, the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, the Paris Opéra, the Berlin Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Opernhaus Zurich, Barcelona’s Liceu, the San Francisco Opera, the Los Angeles Opera, the Salzburg Festival, and the Arena di Verona.
He won first prize at both the Caruso and Tito Schipa international voice competitions, Franco Corelli Prize and the prestigious “Pavarotti d’Oro”.
He received a Grammy Nomination for Król Roger of the Royal Opera House

Silvio Zanon
Baritone Opera Professor
Silvio has had leading roles of Verdi’s and Verismo”s repertoire worldwide, including “La Scala” in Milan, Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, «Staats Oper» in Vienna, “Liceu” in Barcelona, “Bunkamura” in Tokyo, “Megaron” in Athens.
He studied with Giuseppe Scandola and Luciano Pavarotti.
He is Founder and Director of the Opera Academy «Progetto Voce».
He specialized in production and dramaturgy at the Stabile Theatre of Veneto and is the winner of “Primo Palcoscenico” international competition

Simon O’Neill
Tenor Visiting Opera Professor
Simon has had performances at Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Teatro alla Scala, Deutsche Staatsoper and Deutsche Oper, and the Bayreuth, Ravinia and Salzburg festivals, BBC Proms and Edinburgh Festival.
He has album released by EMI

Alessandro Pagliazzi
Italian Opera Coach
Alessandro is a voice coach in Vienna, working with artists such as Peter Dvorsky and Neil Shicoff.
He has directed numerous concerts and opera productions. Including the “Bolshoi Theater” in Moscow, Nico Malan Opera Theater in Cape Town, in Baden – Austria, in St. Margarethen, Gars am Kamp, Bratislava, Kosice, Neuchatel (Switzerland) and also in Norway, Hungary, Estonia, Lithuania and Greece.
He is a juror at international competitions and master classes in Switzerland, Norway and Lithuania.

Diego Mingolla
Italian Opera Coach
Diego is a Piano Accompaniment and Opera` Repetiteur at State Philharmonic of Kazakistan, NCPA (National Centre for Performing Arts) in Mumbai, International Sommerakademie Mozarteum in Salzburg, L’Accademia della Voce in Piemonte and the L. Perosi Academy for Post Graduate Music Studies in Biella.
He has had collaborations with
Mirella Freni, Barbara Frittoli, Lucio Gallo, Manuela Custer, Laura Claycomb, Francis Keeping, Rockwell Blake

Lola Toursunova
Russian Opera Coach
Lola’s speciality lies in the Russian language and music repertoire, as well as composing, singing and performing Russian Repertoire with Samson Tsoy. A piano graduate from Guildhall School of Music and Drama and singing graduate from Royal Academy of Music, Lola studied Russian Singing Repertoire with Maestro Chachava at Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Conservatoire and Italian repertoire with Maestro Danilo Rigosa in Italy.
Lola G. is also a singer songwriter, finalist of Future Classic Women Awards and her debut album Undreamt Dreams was broadcast on Calon FM and WRS among many.

Russell Painter
English Opera Coach
Russell is an English Tenor and Opera coach sitting in the Board of Directors of Equity Uk.
A Master graduate from Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Ian Kennedy, Russell’s Opera credits include Tamino (The Magic Flute), Title role in Albert Herring, Don Basillio (The Marriage of Figaro), Don Jose (Carmen), Count Almaviva (The Barber of Seville) Gaston (La Traviata) and Roman’s Isabella and the Pot of Basil at Covent Garden and Buxton.
Russell has also a large experience with the Gilbert and Sullivan repertoire, with many principal roles including The Defendant, Marco, Frederic, Hilarion, Ralph, Captain Fitzbattleaxe, Richard Dauntless, Earl Tolloller, Duke, Alexis, Nanki-Poo and Box.

Monique Klongtruadroke
Italian Opera Coach
Monique is a coloratura soprano of Italian/Thai heritage. A top graduate in Opera Singing from the Venice Conservatoire in Italy, she has a singing career spanning four continents. She was invited to sing for the King of Thailand, and in several Thai Royal Command Performances. Praised by OPERA UK magazine for singing the role of Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute), leading roles in the World Premieres of the first Thai language Opera The Lunchbox (IHOS Opera) in Australia, and opera-ballet Bhuridat (Opera Siam International) in Thailand. With teaching experience at Thailand’s top universities in Voice and Italian Diction, she divides her activity between UK, Thailand and online.

Luciana Di Bella
Italian Opera Coach
Luciana Di Bella is an Italian soprano and jazz singer. Luciana graduated in Opera at the Trapani Conservatoires under the guidance of Ilya Aramajo, before continuing her specialization with Mariella Devia, Gregory Kunde, Birgitt Nickl and Alaimo among others. Her repertoire ranges from Vivaldi to Rossini and Mozart, to contemporary music. In recent years she focused on chamber and sacred music and has participated in several international sacred music festivals in Italy, France, Switzerland. Luciana has taught at the classical music department of the University of Agder in Norway as Italian specialist for diction and interpretation in the operatic repertoire. She has lived in London since 2016 and carries out her concert and educational activities between the United Kingdom and Europe.

Vivien Hewitt
Musical Dramaturgy, Production & Design Professor
Vivien is a Stage director and
costume designer in major theatres including Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, C.Felice Theatre in Genoa, Bunka Kai Kan in Tokyo, Seoul Arts Centre in South Korea, Teatro Municipal in Lima (Peru), Teatro Solìs in Montevideo, Baltimore Opera.
She is a Puccini and opera expert with many TV and radio programmes for BBC, Channel 4, France 5/Arté, RAI, Carlo Felice Streaming and Rete Versilia.

Alessio Pizzech
Scenic Art Professor
Alessio is Opera Director with the leading theatres and festivals in Italy and worldwide, including Opera Youth Arezzo, Bergamo Music Festival, La Fenice in Venice, Verdi in Trieste, Slovenian Theatre in Maribor, Conservatoires in Norway and Libanon, Opera Festival in Barga and Oslo.
He has been Stage Director for theatre plays in Metastasio Theatre in Prato, “Teatro in scatola” in Rome, “Cut” in Venice, “Grassi” Foundation in Milan, “Festival dei Due mondi” in Spoleto, “Experimental Centre” of Filmography in Rome

Zenaida Des Aubris
Career Strategies Professor
Zenaida has worked in artistic administration at the San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Palau de les Arts Valencia. As a producer, she was general manager of “Turandot in the Forbidden City” in Beijing and then general director of the Hangzhou Grand Theater, China. She ran her own boutique agency for opera singers and was personal manager to the film and opera stage director Jean-Pierre Ponnelle and later to the conductor Lorin Maazel. She has a Masters in Sociology from the University of Washington. Her current focus is on career strategy and business courses for opera singers and classical musicians.

Nicola Colabianchi
Italian Repertoire Tradition
Conductor, composer, pianist and librettist, MºColabianchi is Director of the Lyric Theatre of Cagliari. Member of the Board of the Lazio Regional Orchestra, he has also been Artistic Director of the Rome Opera Theatre for several years.
As conductor, he collaborated on opera, concert and recording productions with such artists as Domingo, Pavarotti, Krauss, Ramey.
Expert and historian of lyric voices, he has created and conducted 120 radio broadcasts for Rai International, based on recordings of opera singers from the origins of phonography to the 1960s.