Bio
With more than fifty performed lead roles ranging from belcanto to the most demanding Wagnerian heroes, Gustavo López Manzitti has established himself as one of today's most prominent and ductile tenors. He is, for instance, the first argentinian tenor to have embodied Wagner's Tristan.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he completed his Piano studies at the Conservatorio Nacional Carlos López Buchardo under the guidance of Mtro. Juan Carlos Arabián, at the same time studying Composition and Orchestral Conducting with Mtros. Irma Urteaga and José Martí Llorca. Mr. Manzitti studied vocal technique in Argentina with Carlos Guichandut, Horacio Amauri, Nino Falzetti and María Rosa Farré; later, in the US, with Giovanni Consiglio and David Christopher.
During the 2022 season he performed Bacchus of Ariadne auf Naxos at Teatro Colón de Bogotá, Colombia and Cavaradossi in Tosca (Teatro El Círculo de Rosario).
He also performed at the reopening of the 2021 season of Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires as the soloist tenor in Das Lied von der Erde by Gustav Mahler with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Buenos Aires. During that year he gave concerts at IFT and Del Globo theaters, and was Manrico of Il Trovatore at Teatro El Círculo de Rosario.
Among his last performances before the pandemic (2019) we can highlight his debut as Tristan in Tristan und Isolde by R. Wagner at Auditorio del Sodre (Montevideo), Cavalleria Rusticana in Switzerland (Théâtre du Passage in Neuchatel, Théâtre de la Cité de Fribourg and Stand'été Festival in Moutier), his debut as Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos at Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires and Radamés of Aida in the US (New York and Connecticut). In 2018 Mr. Manzitti sung Rodolfo in La Bohéme at Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires and, by invitation of the Staatsoper Berlin, participated in Tristan und Isolde conducted by Maestro Daniel Barenboim. Previously that year he did his celebrated portrayal of Jim Mahoney in Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny at Teatro Mayor de Bogotá, Colombia. Also in that theater he sung Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Wiener Akademie conducted by Martin Haselböck. Then he starred as Don Carlo at Teatro del Bicentenario de San Juan and was the soloist tenor in Das Lied von der Erde in Paraná, Argentina. He also performed Marceau from the opera Blanca de Beaulieu at the CCK Auditorium in Buenos Aires.
In 2017 Gustavo López Manzitti sung the lead roles in three new productions of Teatro Colón: Maurizio in Adriana Lecouvreur, Jim Mahoney in Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny and Andrea Chénier. He also portrayed Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly at Teatro Municipal de Bahía Blanca.
Previous performances include an acclaimed Macduff in Verdi's Macbeth and Orsino in Beatrix Cenci by Ginastera at Teatro Colón, Jim Mahoney in Mahagonny at Teatro Municipal de Santiago de Chile and Rodolfo of La Bohéme at Teatro Argentino de La Plata. He has been unanimously acclaimed in his awaited return as Werther both in Teatro Colón and Teatro Avenida in 2015; during that season he made his debut as Faust in Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust (Auditorio SODRE of Montevideo) and Don Carlo in its italian version at Teatro Colón.
Gustavo López Manzitti has frequently performed throughout the United States. He made his debut in NYC at the Isaac Stern Auditorium of Carnegie Hall in a concert version of Verdi's Giovanna D’Arco with the New York Grand Opera Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Vincent La Selva. In successive seasons he was invited by numerous opera companies in that country: Opera Tampa (Il Trovatore and Tosca), Virginia Opera (Cavalleria Rusticana / I Pagliacci, Il Trovatore and Aida), Sarasota Opera (Don Carlos in its French version and Cavalleria Rusticana / I Pagliacci), Orlando Opera (Il Trovatore), Anchorage Opera (Il Trovatore), Opera Delaware (Rigoletto, Carmen and Tosca), Atlantic Coast Opera Festival (Cavalleria Rusticana / I Pagliacci), Gateway Classical Music Society (Carmen) and The Center of Music and Arts of Wintersville, Ohio (La Bohéme). He made his Canadian debut in 2004 singing arias in the concert Le Gala de l’Opéra at the Grand Théâtre de Québec under the baton of Giovanni Regioli. After this success he was invited by that Opera House to sing Don José of Carmen in 2006. At the Chrysler Theatre of Windsor, Ontario Gustavo sung Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana.
Mr. Manzitti also portrayed Chénier at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm, Tito of La Clemenza di Tito at Auditorium de Palma de Mallorca, Don José in Carmen and Conte Ciano in the world premiere of Il Duce at Teatro Solís de Montevideo.
Since his debut in Il Turco in Italia (2000) Gustavo López Manzitti is regularly invited by Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires, where he sung the main roles of Mahagonny, Rigoletto (2002 and 2004), Simon Boccanegra (2003 and 2011), Carmen (2003 and 2004), Idomeneo, I due Foscari, I Lombardi, Armide, Doña Francisquita and the already mentioned Werther, Ariadne auf Naxos, Don Carlo, Beatrix Cenci and Macbeth. In 2014 he was chosen by Mtro. Daniel Barenboim to sing in the concert version of Tristan und Isolde as part of his Festival de Música y Reflexión alongside the likes of Waltraud Meier, Peter Seiffert and René Pape with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra.
Gustavo López Manzitti is also frequently invited by other important opera houses in Buenos Aires. At Teatro Argentino de La Plata he performed La Bohéme, Werther, Il Trovatore, Cavalleria Rusticana / I Pagliacci, Madama Butterfly, Andrea Chénier, Alceste and La Traviata. At Teatro Avenida he sung Werther in the seasons 2004 and 2015, Ernani, Adriana Lecouvreur, La Clemenza di Tito, Lucrezia Borgia, Beggar’s Opera and Die Fledermaus. At Teatro Margarita Xirgu he portrayed Gualtiero in Il Pirata and Ruggero in Le Villi. The famous Luna Park Stadium saw him as Alfredo in La Traviata and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly.
Gustavo also appeared as lead tenor in several opera houses throught Argentina, among them the Auditorio Juan Victoria (Samson et Dalila) and Teatro del Bicentenario (Don Carlo) in San Juan, El Círculo de Rosario (Rigoletto, Luisa Fernanda, Il Trovatore and Tosca), Teatro Provincial de Salta (Rigoletto) and Teatro Vera de Corrientes (I Pagliacci).
He has been invited on many occassions to the concert stage. In 2016 he sung with the Orquesta Estable del Teatro Colón at La Usina del Arte a concert of opera arias and duos. He was invited by renowned baritone Sherrill Milnes to participate in the concerts A Night of Stars and Arias and Encores at the Straz Center in Tampa, FL. At Teatro Colón de Buenos aires he sung the soloist tenors in two south american premiéres at Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires: Rienzi by Richard Wagner conducted by Janos Kulka and Te Deum in D by Georg Friedrich Händel conducted by Alan Tongue. Over several seasons he sung in the Zurich Gala de Mar megaconcerts and often appeared with the New York Grand Opera Orchestra, New World Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquestra Simfónica de Balears, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional, Orquesta Filarmónica de Buenos Aires, Orquesta Estable del Teatro Colón, Orquesta Estable del Teatro Argentino de La Plata, Orquesta Sinfónica de Rosario, Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad de San Juan and Orquesta Sinfónica de Avellaneda.
His theatrical activity as a singer, actor and instrumentalist is an eclectic one. He was part of the famous musical-humoristic group Les Luthiers during several years, performing in Buenos Aires and touring Spain and Latin America. Alongside Uruguayan musician and writer Leo Maslíah he formed the duo Maslíah-Manzitti, performing in Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Brasil and touring Argentina, also releasing several commercial recordings. He performed at Teatro Maipo of Buenos Aires the role of Tony Candolino during two seasons in the local version of Master Class-Maria Callas alongside renowned actress Norma Aleandro, winner of the Festival de Cannes prize as best actress.