Eleonora Contucci

Eleonora Contucci, when still a child, sang in the world premiere of Hans Werner Henze’s Pollicino. This was staged for the Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte in Montepulciano, where in the years she experienced a wide range of performing arts and various artistic media, from dance-theatre to acting and mime, and worked alongside such personalities as Marcel Marceau. She took part in numerous productions at the Cantiere, including the Italian premiere of Maxwell-Davies’ Cinderella. Having begun her voice studies with Maria Vittoria Romano, she went on to graduate cum laude from the Conservatorio in Latina, where her teacher was Nicoletta Panni. Later she was chosen to participate in prestigious masterclasses with Alfredo Kraus, Renata Scotto, Julia Hamari and a specialist class in baroque voice music with Hervé Niquet.

She appeared in the main Italian opera venues and international Festivals singing Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro in Florence conducted by Zubin Mehta, Melissa in Handel’s Amadigi conducted by Rinaldo Alessandrini at the San Carlo Opera in Naples, in Rome and at the Baroque Festival of Beaune in France, Inès in Donizetti’s La Favorite at Carlo Felice Theatre in Genua, a new production of Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea conducted and staged by Rinaldo Alessandrini in Salamanca and at the Baroque Festival in Beaune, L’elisir d’amore conducted by Bruno Campanella at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Monteverdi Orfeo at Teatro alla Scala conducted by Rinaldo Alessandrini and directed by Bob Wilson.

Her more recent engagements include L’elisir d’amore at Teatro Comunale di Modena and Teatro Regio di Parma, Gianni Schicchi in Parma, Pollicino and Salieri Il mondo alla rovescia at Cantiere di Montepulciano, Elektra at Teatro Comunale di Bologna.

Contucci also has a busy concert and chamber schedule and a repertoire that runs from baroque to contemporary music. She has performed with such conductors as Albrecht, Bolton, Mazzola, Piovano, Stenz and Tate, has collaborated with relevant ensembles and orchestras such as Capella Cracoviensis in Krakow, Concerto Italiano conducted by Rinaldo Alessandrini, Sentieri Selvaggi, Lautten Compagney Berlin, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto and took part to several Liederabend, one of them with Malcolm Bilson at the fortepiano.

The Dutch label Brilliant Classics released her recording of the complete Lieder of Norbert Burgmüller with Costantino Mastroprimiano at the fortepiano and the first world recording of the complete Lieder of Hugo Staehle, again with Costantino Mastroprimiano at the fortepiano.
She teaches opera singing at the State Conservatorium in Potenza and since 2015 she gave birth to the Festival di Pasqua a Montepulciano (Easter Festival in Montepulciano, Tuscany), where she serves as Artistic Director.