Giuliano Ciannella

Giuliano Ciannella (25 October 1943 – 10 January 2008) was an Italian operatic tenor who had a major international career from the mid-1970s through the late 1990s.

Ciannella mostly performed roles from the Italian repertory, particularly excelling in the operas of Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini.

Ciannella initially studied engineering at the University of Bologna until a chance encounter with Mirella Freni led him to his being encouraged towards an opera career.

After he graduated he continued with further training under Carlo Bergonzi before making his professional opera debut in 1974 at the Teatro Nuovo in Milan as Edgardo in Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.

[1] Ciannella joined the roster of principal tenors at the Metropolitan Opera in 1979, making his first appearance with the company as Alfredo in Verdi's La traviata opposite Eugenia Moldoveanu as Violetta in an outdoor concert at Clove Lakes Park, Staten Island on June 13, 1979.

He also gave several performances of Verdi's Requiem with the company alongside fellow soloists Johanna Meier, James Morris, and Florence Quivar in 1981.

He sang two roles at the Oper der Stadt Köln during his career, Don José (1988) and Des Grieux (1990).