CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA/PAGLIACCI Cast Biographies Cavalleria Rusticana Before making his San Francisco Opera debut in 1993 as Rodolfo in La Bohème, tenor Roberto Aronica (Turiddu) studied with famed singer Carlo Bergonzi and completed his training at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena. He made his professional debut as the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto at Teatro Municipal in Santiago de Chile. More recent engagements have included Manrico in Il Trovatore at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, the title role of Don Carlos at the Royal Opera House, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Calaf in Turandot at Turin’s Teatro Regio, and Alfredo in La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera. In 2018, Aronica performs Pinkerton at the Metropolitan Opera, Paolo in Francesca da Rimini at the Teatro alla Scala, and Don Carlo at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. Russian mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Semenchuk (Santuzza) made her San Francisco Opera debut in 2015 as Federica in Luisa Miller and in 2016 she returned as Amneris in Aida. Her recent engagements include Eboli in Don Carlo at Teatro alla Scala and Royal Opera, Covent Garden; Azucena in Il Trovatore with Rome Opera, St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre, and Covent Garden; Fricka in Das Rheingold at the Edinburgh International Festival; and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth at Los Angeles Opera opposite Plácido Domingo. Career highlights encompass Marina Mnishek in Boris Godunov at the Metropolitan Opera; Azucena and Amneris at Milan’s Teatro alla Scala; Iocasta in Oedipus Rex and Ascanio in Benvenuto Cellini at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées; the title role of Carmen at Arena di Verona; Preziosilla in La Forza del Destinoand Amneris with Berlin State Opera; Didon in Les Troyens at the Mariinsky Theatre, Carnegie Hall, and in Vienna and Tokyo; Laura Adorno in La Gioconda and Dalila inSamson et Dalila at Rome Opera; Giovanna Seymour in Anna Bolena at the Vienna State Opera; and Eboli and Azucena at the Salzburg Festival. On the concert stage, she has appeared as a soloist in Paris, Amsterdam, New York, Vienna, London, and Salzburg. As a recitalist, Semenchuk has performed at Cal Performances at UC Berkeley, London’s Wigmore Hall, Vienna’s Konzerthaus, Mariinsky Concert Hall, Moscow’s Great Concert Hall, and Beijing’s Concert Hall. Greek baritone Dimitri Platanias (Alfio) is making his U.S. and San Francisco Opera debuts as Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana and Tonio in Pagliacci. He has received acclaim in the title role of Rigoletto at Royal Opera, Covent Garden; the title role of Simon Boccanegra at the Bavarian State Opera; Iago in Otello at Oper Frankfurt; the title role of Nabucco at Bavarian State Opera, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and Covent Garden; and Scarpia in Tosca at Oper Frankfurt. In 2015, he made his debut at the Salzburg Easter Festival as Tonio and both Alfio and Tonio at Covent Garden. Upcoming engagements include Alfio at Brussels’ La Monnaie. Before pursuing a career in singing, Platanias performed classical guitar and studied English literature. A former San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow, mezzo-soprano Laura Krumm (Lola)has appeared on the War Memorial Opera House stage as the Second Maidservant in Elektra, Javotte in Manon, Rosina in The Barber of Seville for Families, Countess Ceprano and a Page in Rigoletto, and a Maid in the world premiere of Tobias Picker’s Dolores Claiborne. For the San Francisco Opera Center, she created the role of Martha in the world premiere of Nolan Gasser’s The Secret Garden, and she sang Laura in Jack Perla’s Love/Hate at the ODC Theater in association with the Opera Center. In recent seasons, Krumm made role and Company debuts as Zerlina in Don Giovanni at Nashville Opera, Mrs. Webb in Ned Rorem’s Our Town at Fresno Grand Opera, and Meg in Mark Adamo’s Little Women at Michigan Opera Theatre. Next season, Krumm returns to San Francisco Opera as Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana and the Kitchen Boy in Rusalka. In 2017, mezzo-soprano Jill Grove (Mamma Lucia) returned to San Francisco Opera to sing the role of First Maidservant in Elektra. Previous Company appearances include Madelon in Andrea Chénier and Grandmother Buryjovka in Jenůfa. She has also made recent returns to Houston Grand Opera as Ježibaba in Rusalka, the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Margret in Wozzeck, and Pittsburgh Opera as Baba the Turk in The Rake’s Progress. Other appearances include Klytaemnestra in Elektra at Michigan Opera Theatre and Ježibaba at New Orleans Opera. Grove is a frequent guest at the Lyric Opera of Chicago where she has also sung the Witch in Hansel und Gretel, Die Amme in Die Frau ohne Schatten, Amneris in Aida, Erda in Götterdämmerung, and Countess Geschwitz in Lulu. At the Metropolitan Opera, her performances include Erda in Götterdämmerung and Das Rheingold, Magdalene in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Madelon, Pantalis in Mefistofele, Emila in Otello, and Cornelia in Giulio Cesare. A sought-after concert soloist, Grove has performed with the San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, National Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Utah Symphony, and Houston Symphony. Pagliacci Italian tenor Marco Berti (Canio) made his San Francisco Opera debut as Don José (Carmen) in 2006, a role he has also performed at the Metropolitan Opera; the Royal Opera, Covent Garden; and in Verona, Turin, Cagliari, and Copenhagen. His most recent San Francisco Opera appearances were in the title role of Il Trovatore in 2009, Calaf (Turandot) in 2011, and Pollione (Norma) in 2014. Berti launched his international career at Milan’s La Scala, where he made his debut as Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor and subsequently appeared there in productions of Beatrice di Tenda, La Bohème, La Rondine, and Macbeth, among others. Sought internationally for his interpretations of the dramatic Italian repertory, Berti has performed Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) at the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and in Paris, Naples, and Florence. Other career highlights include Gabriele Adorno (Simon Boccanegra) and Radames (Aida) at Houston Grand Opera and in Verona and Florence; Radames at the Arena di Verona as well as in Tokyo and Florence; the title role of Don Carlos in Athens; Riccardo (Un Ballo in Maschera) in Bari, Vienna, Trieste, and at the Bregenz Festival; Manrico in Barcelona; Calaf at La Scala and in Parma, Barcelona, and Valencia; Luigi (Il Tabarro) with Paris Opera; Dick Johnson (La Fanciulla del West) in Seville; and Cavaradossi (Tosca) at La Scala, the Vienna State Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Florence’s Maggio Musicale Festival, and Madrid’s Teatro Real. Berti was the recipient of the 2005 Giuseppe Verdi Gold Medal. His first solo album, Rare Verismo, released in 2007, is a compilation of arias by Leoncavallo, Catalani, Franchetti, and Zandonai. Engagements in the current season include Calaf at Opera Shanghai and Radames at Hamburg State Opera. Soprano Lianna Haroutounian (Nedda) made her San Francisco Opera debut in 2014's Tosca and in 2016 she returned as Cio- Cio-San in Madama Butterfly. Previously, she made her triumphant debut with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, stepping in at late notice to sing Elisabetta in Don Carlo under the baton of Antonio Pappano. She was immediately reengaged by Covent Garden to perform the role of Hélène in Les Vêpres Siciliennes. Her operatic appearances have included Hélène at Frankfurt Opera and in Bilbao and Athens; Leonora (Il Trovatore) in Marseilles and Covent Garden; Amelia (Un Ballo in Maschera) in Bern and Tours; Marguerite (Faust) at the Opéra de Massy; Salud (La Vida Breve) in Toledo and Alicante, Spain; Desdemona (Otello) in the Amphithéâtre of the Opéra-Bastille of Paris; and the title roles of La Traviata and Madama Butterfly in Sanxay. Among her awards are a special Prize at the Sixth Giacamo Aragall International Singing Competition in Spain, first prize at the Arlesian Lyrical Forum in France, first prize at the Riviera Adriatica Competition, and finalist at the Busetto International Singing Competition. Recent and upcoming engagements include Cio-Cio-San at Hamburg State Opera and Seattle Opera and the title role of Aida at the Teatro Real in Madrid. Greek baritone Dimitri Platanias (Tonio) is making his U.S. and San Francisco Opera debuts as Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana and Tonio in Pagliacci. He has received acclaim in the title role of Rigoletto at Royal Opera, Covent Garden; the title role of Simon Boccanegra at the Bavarian State Opera; Iago in Otello at Oper Frankfurt; the title role of Nabucco at Bavarian State Opera, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and Covent Garden; and Scarpia in Tosca at Oper Frankfurt. In 2015, he made his debut at the Salzburg Easter Festival as Tonio and both Alfio and Tonio at Covent Garden. Upcoming engagements include Alfio at Brussels’ La Monnaie. Before pursuing a career in singing, Platanias performed classical guitar and studied English literature. Baritone David Pershall (Silvio) made his San Francisco Opera debut in 2016 as Roucher in Andrea Chénier and returned in 2017 as Lescaut in Manon. A 2008 graduate of the Merola Opera program, he debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2015 in the title role of Il Barbiere di Siviglia, which he quickly followed with performances the following year as Schaunard in La Bohème and Lord Cecil in Maria Stuarda. He has also been seen in many leading roles at the Vienna State Opera, including the title role of Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Belcore in L’Elisir d’Amore, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, Sebastian in Thomas Adès’ The Tempest, and Lescaut. In 2017, he made his role debut as Marcello in La Bohème with the Salzburger Landestheater. Amitai Pati (Beppe) is a tenor of Samoan descent who received his master's degree in advanced vocal studies at the Wales International Academy of Voice under the tutelage of tenor Dennis O’Neill.