Vittorio Grigolo (correctly Vittorio Grigòlo, born 19 February 1977) is an Italian operatic tenor.

Early life

Grigolo was born in Arezzo and raised in Rome. He began singing by the age of four. When he was nine years old he accompanied his mother to have her eyes tested and, hearing someone singing from another room, he spontaneously began his own rendition of "Ave Maria". The singer, the optician's father, was so impressed that he insisted Grigolo have an audition for the Sistine Chapel Choir as soon as possible. Young Vittorio was chosen to become part of Sistine Chapel Choir as a soloist. He then studied for five years at the Schola Puerorum at the Sistine Chapel. At age 13 he played the Pastorello in a performance of Tosca at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, where he shared the stage with Luciano Pavarotti. He became the youngest man to perform in Milan's La Scala at age 23. Grigolo made his debut at the Royal Opera House in 2010 as Des Grieux in Manon, going on to sing Faust, the Duke in Rigoletto, Rodolfo in La bohème, Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore, Werther, and Cavaradossi in Tosca. In August 2013 he took part in the first “Concert de Paris” on the Champ de Mars, performing before more than 800,000 spectators. He made his role debut as Manrico in Il Trovatore in Barcelona in November 2021 and "commanded the stage".

Allegations of inappropriate behavior

In September 2019 Grigolo was dismissed firstly by the Royal Opera House Covent Garden on the grounds of inappropriate behavior during the Royal Opera's tour in Japan. His contracts with the Metropolitan Opera were subsequently also cancelled.

Repertory

Giuseppe Verdi: Don Carlo, I Due Foscari, Un Ballo in Maschera, Luisa Miller, Messa da Requiem, Rigoletto, La Traviata, Il Corsaro; Gaetano Donizetti: L´Elisir d’Amore, Don Sebastiano, La Favorita, Anna Bolena, Lucrezia Borgia & Lucia di Lammermoor Giacomo Puccini: La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly; Charles Gounod: Faust, Roméo et Juliette; Gioachino Rossini: Petite Messe Solennelle, Stabat Mater; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Idomeneo, Così fan tutte; Jules Massenet: Werther, Manon; Leonard Bernstein: West Side Story; Jacques Offenbach: Les Contes d’Hoffmann;

Awards

The European Commission of the EU granted Grigolo and Romano Musumarra a European Border Breakers Award, along with the record company, authors and publishers, for recording the highest sales for a debut album in 2006 within the European Union, but outside of its country of production.

Nominations

Discography

Albums

Singles

DVD

Recorded at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli, Italy. A live performance of tracks from his album, as well as a few additional pieces. The DVD was recorded specifically for the Great Performances series on PBS TV USA. Grigolo plays Cassio in Giuseppe Verdi Otello recorded at Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona 2006

Appearances