Salvatore Licitra 2-CD Set Issued by Sony In Memoriam

To honor Salvatore Licitra, who recorded exclusively for the label, Sony Classical will be releasing a two-CD set of arias from solo and complete opera catalog of the tenor who passed away September 5, 2010. Complete track listing after the jump.

Release dates: November 25 (Germany), November 29 (USA), December 5 (UK)

Riposa in Pace: Salvatore Licitra Dies in Italy

"Dear friends of Salvatore Licitra, here is to announce with great sadness that the wonderful Italian tenor Salvatore Licitra, 43, died today, September 5, 2011 of his severe injuries at Garibaldi Hospital in Catania, Italy. He suffered head and chest injuries during an accident while riding a scooter on August 27, 2011 in the city of Modica near Ragusa. He was flown to the hospital in Catania where he had surgery. He was in a coma from the time the accident happened. He passed away this morning leaving behind his beloved parents, his brother and many other family members. The hospital will hold a press conference on September 6, 2011 at 10:30 am at the Sala Dusmet at the hospital. Salvatore Licitra was one of the leading tenors in the dramatic Italian repertoire where he showed his 'worthiness of the great Italian tradition' (The New York Times). A frequent guest at major opera and concert stages 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 and Il Trovatore as well as Puccini’s Turandot, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La fanciulla del West and Il Tabarro, Bellini’s Norma, Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur, Giordano’s Andrea Chenier, Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci and Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana. Salvatore Licitra

As Manrico in Il Trovatore

was born in Bern, Switzerland, to Italian parents and studied in Parma where in 1998 he made his debut at the Teatro Regio in Un 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 breakthrough when he stepped in on short notice for Luciano Pavarotti at the Metropolitan Opera in Tosca and had an overwhelming success. His 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." [Source]

Absent Salvatore Licitra Will Be Made Honorary Citizen

Although tenor Sal­vatore Licitra was born in Switzer­land and grew up in Milan, his family is originally from Acate which is a small town in the south of Sicily. With the ill tenor still in a coma from his accident, the family has given their blessing for Mayor Giovanni Caruso to bestow him with honorary citizenship to Acate. The city council met in an emergency meeting at the castle of the Prince of Biscari to arrange the ceremony that will take place on September 5.

 "Il Consiglio comunale di Acate si riunirà domenica 5 settembre alle 19,30, al Castello dei Principi di Biscari, in seduta straordinaria, per il conferimento della cittadinanza onoraria al tenore Salvatore Licitra. L'artista si trova ricoverato da domenica scorsa in gravi condizioni all'ospedale «Garibaldi» di Catania, dopo il drammatico incidente in scooter di sabato scorso a Donnalucata, frazione di Scicli. Ma in queste ore i familiari, sia pure provati, hanno dato il proprio assenso al sindaco Giovanni Caruso, allo svolgimento della cerimonia." [Source]

Fans Gather on Facebook to Support Salvatore Licitra

In the wake of his most recent accident and the health reports that have surfaced, fans from around the world have taken to social media for sending the tenor best wishes for a speedy recovery. Check out the page and post your message by clicking here.

Salvatore Licitra Remains in a Coma and on Respirator

UPDATE ON THE CONDITION OF SALVATORE LICITRA AFTER ACCIDENT: The Garibaldi hospital has confirmed after respiratory monitoring and a CAT scan of the tenor's chest, there was a complication with his lungs and they had to drain fluid out of them. He is on a ventilator and remains in a coma. Reports are starting to come out that the tenor may have suffered a "brain hemorrhage" while driving his scooter and that is what forced him to lose control before the accident. [Source, Source]




"'Durante la nottata la monitorizzazione dell'attività respiratoria e una Tac di controllo del torace - si legge in un bollettino medico diffuso dall'azienda ospedaliera - mettevano in evidenza una complicanza polmonare quale esito dell'impatto subito a causa della caduta dalla moto pertanto in mattinata attraverso una broncoscopia si è reso necessario praticare una accurata toilette del polmone. Dopo la rimozione delle sostanze causa dell'infiammazione polmonare, l'attività respiratoria, permanendo comunque in ventilazione meccanica, si è regolarizzata.'"

Salvatore Licitra Still Struggling For Life After Surgery

Tenor Salvatore Licitra, 43, is still in critical condition at the Garibaldi hospital in Catania from injuries he received in a road accident near Modica in the Ragusa region of Sicily. He was traveling on a Vespa with his Chinese girlfriend, 29, on his way for a vacation and to collect the Ragusani nel Mondo prize (scheduled for September 3) when at 10:30 pm yesterday on the Miccichè street, in the hamlet of Donnalucata, his motorbike lost control and slammed into a wall. The opera tenor was not wearing a helmet and has sustained severe head, face and chest injuries. He was transferred by helicopter to the hospital for emergency surgery to relieve the mounting pressure on his skull. He remains in intensive care. Police reports show that the couple was traveling at a low speed of about 30 miles per hour when control was lost. No other vehicles were involved in the crash and speculation swirls that Mr. Licitra may have suffered a "sudden illness" that caused the incident. It seems as though his girlfriend, from Shanghai, was wearing a helmet (although some articles say the contrary) and she walked away from the incident with minor scrapes. [Source, Source]

Racette and Terfel Team Up Again for "Tosca" at Ravinia Festival

Maestro Conlon leads Racette and Licitra
(Photo: Patrick Gipson/Ravinia Festival)

"The trio of leads included two-thirds of the spring Metropolitan Opera cast from the Luc Bondy production that continues to stoke controversy in opera circles. At the core was a gripping, seething portrayal of the loathsome Scarpia by Bryn Terfel. The Welsh bass-baritone assumed a more static stage presence than the other cast members, yet he effortlessly commanded the full attention of a captivated audience with malevolent, coiled-spring intensity. His depiction of the sadistic police chief evolved from calm, confident brutality to wounded, vengeful fury, all evinced without bellowing or bombast. Italian tenor Salvatore Licitra has been well received at the Met and elsewhere for his idiomatic, dulcet-toned Cavaradossi. In this reading there was a hint of grain in a few top notes, as well as scenes in which he seemed needlessly risk-averse. On the whole his warm and ardent portrayal earned hearty and well-deserved kudos from his grateful admirers. Soprano Patricia Racette has also scored triumphs with leading companies in the title role, and her absorbing performance Saturday affirmed her status as a leading Tosca of our time. She wasn’t as vocally dazzling as some who have personified the celebrated singer and jealous lover, but she brought an honest dignity to a role often overwrought by helpless despair." [Source]

MET Sirius XM Radio Tonight: "Roméo et Juliette"

Listen to the Metropolitan Opera perform Gounod's Roméo et Juliette live tonight at 8:00 PM EST on Sirius XM radio. Intermission guest: Salvatore Licitra.