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The Italian tenor, Massimo Crispi, was born in Sicily.. His studies were mostly humanistic and led him to know French, Spanish, English and German languages and literatures, not only the musical ones. He started his activity as a baritone but soon he changed his register into a heroic and lirico spinto tenor, keeping that so particular deep colour of his voice. Massimo Crispi studied at the Conservatorio G.B. Martini di Bologna (M° Leone Magiera) and staged with Claudia Carbi, Nigel Rogers, Wolfgang Fromme, Graziella Sciutti, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. He specialised under the leading of Margaret Hayward in Milano. Crispi follows anyway his research in every field of vocalism and is always curious to know the most various repertories. He was finalist at the IX Concours International d’Oratorio et de Lied in Clermont-Ferrand and winner at the XX Concorso Nazionale di Musica Vocale da Camera di Conegliano 2002, also awarded concerts in Venice and Northern Italy.
Massimo Crispi's artistic career in not a conventional one. His voice’s flexibility, texture and extension, his knowledge of various styles, but above all his curiosity allowed him to approach and play the most different repertories: from chamber music to opera and operetta, from madrigal and oratorio to Jazz and Musical.
Massimo Crispi sang for important seasons and musical societies as Musica e poesia a San Maurizio (Milano), I Pomeriggi Musicali (Milano),Musica nel nostro tempo (Milano), Società Veneziana Concerti (Venezia), Amici della Musica di Venezia, Accademia Musicale Chigiana (Siena), Sagra Musicale Umbra (Perugia), Associazione Siciliana Amici della Musica (Palermo and Sicily), Gioventù Musicale d'Italia (Milano, Trento, Modica, Modena, Monza, Verbania, etc) and in international festivals as: Festival Jazz di Villa Arconati (Milano), Festival de Beaune (France), Les Mercredis de la Musique (Braine l’Alleud, Belgique), Festival di Musica e Arte Veneta (Asolo), Antidogma Musica (Torino), Festival Internazionale dell’Operetta (Trieste), Vocis Imago (Venezia), Festival Umberto Giordano (Baveno), Lago Maggiore Festival (Lombardy and Piemonte), Festival Paesaggi di suoni (Tuscania).
Massimo Crispi was guest artist in Teatro alla Scala - Milano, Teatro Massimo - Palermo, Teatro Filarmonico - Verona, Teatro Verdi - Trieste,Teatro La Fenice - Venezia, Teatro Regio - Torino, Teatro Ponchielli - Cremona, Teatro Fraschini - Pavia, Teatro Alighieri - Ravenna, Opéra de Lyon, Cairo Opera House, Gran Teatre del Liceu di Barcellona, under the leading of Giuseppe Sinopoli,Alberto Zedda, Donato Renzetti, Fabio Biondi, Alan Curtis, Reynald Giovaninetti, Karl Martin and directors like Pierluigi Pier’Alli, Mauro Bolognini, Filippo Crivelli, Jonathan Miller, Gilbert Deflo, Ugo Gregoretti, Vito Molinari, Micha Van Hoecke,Beppe Menegatti.
Massimo Crispi has been the first performer for contemporary operas by Filippo Del Corno (Nascita di Afrodite), Carlo Boccadoro (A qualcuno piace tango) and Matteo D’Amico (Amin) and was the first Italian performer in Leonard Bernstein's Mass as the Celebrant (Milano, Musica nel nostro tempo, 1992).
In 1996-2007 he sang in the Duo Enfants Terribles with pianist Antonio Ballista, whose place was taken in 2007 by Marco Rapetti and later by Hans Schellevis. The several and always different programmes that duo presents to the audience are really distinguished for choice of pieces and show a trace for a new way to listen a voice-piano recital. With pianist Angéline Pondepeyre he created in 2009 Duo Chiaro&Scuro, playing new programmes in the same thematic way. With Angéline Pondepeyre he also teaches master classes of Italian and French vocal music.
Massimo Crispi recorded for Radio Clasica España, Radio della Svizzera Italiana di Lugano, Radio France, RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana. Recordings for Opus111 (Alessandro Scarlatti: Humanità e Lucifero. Europa Galante, cond. Fabio Biondi) awarded ffff of Télérama andTactus (Villanelle Napoletane del XVI secolo. Ensemble San Felice, Firenze. Conductor G.G. Pinardi).
On 2000 Massimo Crispi published for Fuorithema editions Il primo Odisseo, a book about his native island Sicily. He writes also musical critics on the national magazine Gli amici della musica nd the Spanish language magazines Pro Opera Mexico, Ayreopera. |
