FULL In Memory of Francisco Casanova New York 2019 Gustavo Ahualli, Kristian Benedikt, Maria Brea, Carlo Colombara

Francisco Casanova (1957-2019) went on to obtain international success in 1996 when he replaced Luciano Pavarotti in a concert with the New York Philharmonic and went on to make his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2001. He performed 39 times with the company including a highly praised revival of “I Vespri Sicilianni,” and productions of “Tosca” and “Il Trovatore.”He also performed at the Wiener Staatsoper, Berlin State Opera, Teatro Alla Scala, Rome Opera Theater, Arena di Verona, the Concertgebuow (Amsterdam); the Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, the ABAO theatre of Bilbao, The Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires, The Opera of Tel-Aviv, Teatro Massimo, Opera Orchestra of New York, and Carnegie Hall, among others. In total, he went onto sing 56 leading tenor roles including 22 by Giuseppe Verdi.Casanova went on to receive such distinguished awards as the Beniamino Gigli d’Oro 2004 (Recanati) and the Beniamino Gigli d”Oro (Helsinki 2007) becoming the first non-Italian singer ever to receive this award. He also won Singer of the Year 2002 by the Berlin Opera, The First Grand Prize for Male Voices of the 28th Edition of the Francisco Viñas Singing Competition, as well as the Special Prize La Traviata (Barcelona 1990), the Second Prize for Male Voices of the Bilbao III Singing Competition (Bilbao 1990). He was also a National Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera Guild Singing Competition in 1989.