In the 2023-2024 season, American bass-baritone Patrick Carfizzi makes his company debut at LA Opera as Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia and returns the Metropolitan Opera as the Speaker in The Magic Flute and Fra Melitone in a new production of La Forza del Destino, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He sings Leporello in Don Giovanni at Boston Baroque, and returns to Opera Theatre of St. Louis as Don Basilio in The Barber of Seville.
Last season, Mr. Carfizzi sang Swallow in Peter Grimes and the Sacristan in Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera. He also returned to Houston Grand Opera as both Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro and Baili in Werther, and returned to the Tanglewood Music Festival with the Boston Symphony Orchestra as Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, conducted by Andris Nelsons. He also sang Dr. Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Florentine Opera and Don Magnifico in Cenerentola with Opera Maine.
At the Metropolitan Opera, his home house at which he has now sung over 400 performances, his recent roles include the Sacristan in Tosca, the Speaker in The Magic Flute, Brander in La damnation de Faust, and the Lackey in Ariadne auf Naxos. In the 2020-2021 season, he returned to Santa Fe Opera as both Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro and Starveling in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, returned to San Diego Opera to reprise his celebrated Dr. Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and sang Dr. Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore in a recording made with Seattle Opera. He had also been scheduled to join the Metropolitan Opera as Dr. Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Houston Grand Opera as Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola, and Arizona Opera as Dr. Dulcamara. The season prior, he returned to Minnesota Opera as Dr. Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and had been scheduled to sing Dr. Dulcamara at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden.
Notable past operatic engagements include Cecil in Sir David McVicar’s production of Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda (Metropolitan Opera), his role debut as Zeta in Lehár’s The Merry Widow opposite Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson, directed by Susan Stroman and conducted by Sir Andrew Davis (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Henry Kissinger in Nixon in China (San Francisco Opera, San Diego Opera and Houston Grand Opera), Music Master and Truffaldino in Ariadne auf Naxos at Seattle Opera, Paolo in Simon Boccanegra (San Francisco Opera, Metropolitan Opera, and Houston Grand Opera), Belcore in L’elisir d’amore (Santa Fe Opera), Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola (Seattle Opera and Houston Grand Opera), Dr. Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Austin Lyric Opera, Seattle Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Central City Opera, and Canadian Opera Company), Taddeo and Mustafa in L’italiana in Algeri (Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Dallas Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera and the Canadian Opera Company), Papageno in Die Zauberflöte (Houston Grand Opera and Dallas Opera), and Dr. Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore (Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Houston Grand Opera and Lyric Opera of Kansas City). Mr. Carfizzi made his company debut at Opera Philadelphia as Bartolo in a new production of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, conducted by Corrado Rovaris, and at Central City Opera as Don Alfonso in Mozart’s Così fan tutte.
Mr. Carfizzi made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1999 and has performed over 300 times with the company in a variety of roles, including Schaunard in La Bohème, which was broadcast on the Live in HD series to movie theaters around the world, the Jailer in John Dexter’s production of Dialogues des Carmélites, Masetto in Don Giovanni, Haly in L’Italiana in Algeri, Brander in Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust, Peter Quince in Tim Albery’s production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Frank in Jeremy Sams’ new production of Strauss’ Die Fledermaus. Other Met productions include Le nozze di Figaro, Turandot, and Gianni Schicchi.
Mr. Carfizzi made his European debut with Oper Köln as Leporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and reappeared with the company as Fra Melitone in La forza del destino. He made his role and company debut as the title role of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale with the Hessisches Staatstheater, and later returned as the title character in gala performances of Le nozze di Figaro.
Orchestral highlights of Mr. Carfizzi’s recent seasons include performances with the St. Louis Symphony of Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem and Vier ernste Gesänge, under the baton of Markus Stenza, as well as Britten’s Peter Grimes under the baton of David Robertson, performed both in St. Louis’ Powell Hall and New York City’s Carnegie Hall in commemoration of the composer’s 100th birthday. Past concert work includes performances of Handel’s Messiah with the San Francisco Symphony, Maria Stuarda with the Washington Concert Opera, and Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass with the Seattle Symphony. He has performed with The Opera Orchestra of New York, Washington Concert Opera, and the Mostly Mozart Festival. Notable conductors with whom Mr. Carfizzi has worked include James Levine, Louis Langrée, Marco Armiliato, Vladimir Jurowski, Plácido Domingo, and Philippe Jordan.
Mr. Carfizzi is a graduate of the Yale University School of Music and the winner of several prestigious awards including the Richard Tucker Career Grant Award, the George London Award, the Sullivan Foundation Award, The Richard F. Gold Career Grant from The Shoshana Foundation, and the Sergio Franchi Memorial Scholarship from the National Italian American Foundation. He also participated in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions where he was the Connecticut District Winner.