“In a cast without weaknesses, bass Donato DiStefano’s Don Magnifico stands out. Di Stefano is a great Italian singing actor, commanding every trick in the comedian’s arsenal, and manages to be spectacularly stylish without concealing Magnifico’s abusiveness.”  – Canadian Opera company 

Donato Di Stefano
Bass

One of the most sought after basses in the opera world, Donato DiStefano has sung at the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Munich, Paris, Brussels, Toronto, Dallas, Hamburg, Toronto, Washington, Tokyo, Frankfurt, and Miami, just to name a few. This season Donato sings the title role in Don Pasquale with Staatstheatre Karslruhe. Engagements this season include Geronte in Manon Lescaut with Gran Teatro del Liceu. Most recently he performed the title role in Gianni Schicchi with Oldenburgisches Staatstheater, the title role of Don Pasquale and Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro with Opera Frankfurt, and Spinelloccio in Gianni Schicchi at the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Sacristan in Tosca at the Canadian Opera Company,  Don Pasquale at the Tiroler Festspiel Erl, Simone in Gianni Schicchi with the Saito Kinen Festival, Alcindoro/Benoit in Koln and Toronto, Geronte in Manon Lescaut in Frankfurt, Bartolo in Barbiere at the Berlin Staatsoper, and Geronimo in Il Matrimonio Segreto at the Staatsopera Koln. Prior to that he performed Mustafa in Nancy, Simone in Gianni Schicchi in Toronto, Bartolo in Munich, Don Magnifico in Valencia, Melitone in La Fortza del Destino with the Staattheater St. Gallen, and Mustafa in Avignon. Prior to that he was heard at the Dallas Opera as Don Pasquale, the Metropolitan Opera as Simone in Gianni Schicchi, and the Washington National Opera as Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, a role he reprised in Leipzig, Munich and Lisbon. He also performed Il Matrimonio Segreto at the Innsbruck Festival.

Notable performances include Simone in Gianni Schicchi at the Metropolitan Opera and the Canadian Opera Company, Mustafa in Nancy and Avignon, Bartolo in Munich, Don Magnifico in Valencia, Il Matrimonio Segreto in Köln, Don Pasquale at the Dallas Opera, Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Washington National Opera, Leipzig, Munich and Lisbon, Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola at the Canadian Opera Company, Don Magnifico for La Monnaie, L’Opéra National de Lorraine in Nancy, and the Minnesota Opera, Bartolo in Leipzig and Hamburg, the title role of Gianni Schicchi in Frankfurt and in Tel Aviv.

Donato Di Stefano’s discography includes two recordings of La Serva Padrona, with La Petite Bande conducted by Sigiswald Kuijken for Accent Live, and one under Gustav Kuhn for Ricordi-Bmg. A broadcast production of the same title for RAI International is slated for release on DVD. He can also be heard as Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro on Naxos, La Traviata with Zubin Mehta on Philips, Rendine’s Un Segreto di Importanza for Ricordi, Linda di Chamounix on Frequenz and Soliva’s Giulio e Sesto Pompeo for the Radio Svizzera Italiana label.