Salvatore Licitra, 1968 - 2011

The Italian Salvatore Licitra was considered one of the best dramatic tenors of his generation in the Italian repertoire where he showed his 'worthiness of the great Italian tradition' (The New York Times). He sang at the top opera houses in Europe, the United States and the Far East. His repertory included Verdi’s  Aida, Un Ballo in Maschera, La Forza del destino, Ernani, Macbeth, Don Carlos andIl Trovatore as well as Puccini’s Turandot, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La fanciulla del WestandIl Tabarro, Bellini’sNorma, Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur, Giordano’s Andrea Chenier, Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci and Mascagni’sCavalleria Rusticana.

Salvatore Licitra was born in Bern, Switzerland to Italian parents and studied in Parma where in 1998 he made his debut at the Teatro Regio inUn Ballo in Maschera. He garnered international attention later that year when he unexpectedly inaugurated the 1998 Arena di Verona, again in Ballo. The following year Maestro Riccardo Muti brought him to La Scala for a new production of La Forza del Destino. In May 2002 Mr. Licitra had his international break through when he stepped in on short notice for Luciano Pavarotti at the Metropolitan Opera in Tosca and had an overwhelming success.

Mr. Licitra’s engagements have taken him to the Vienna State Opera, Opernhaus Zurich, Munich’s Bayerische Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper and Staatsoper Berlin, Teatro alla Scala, Arena di Verona, London’s Royal Opera, Paris Opera Bastille, Tokyo, Taiwan, China, the opera companies of Rome, Naples, Florence, Parma, Palermo, Oslo, Lisbon as well as to the New York Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, San Francisco and Los Angeles Opera.

His discography includes Il Trovatore and Tosca (both conducted by Maestro Riccardo Muti), two solo albums of Verdi, Puccini and verismo arias and the soundtrack of “The Man Who Cried”. He can be seen on DVD in the  Aida production of the Zurich Opera as well as La Scala’s Tosca conducted by Riccardo Muti.

Salvatore Licitra died in Catania, Italy, on September 5, 2011 of his severe head injuries he sufferd during an accident in traffic in Modica near Ragusa.