2010 NATSAA Winner Recital
Baritone Thomas Florio, winner of the 2010 NATS Artist Awards Competition for Singers (NATSAA), will be performing live in his winning artist recital at the NATS 52nd National Conference in Orlando, FL. Register now to see Mr. Florio perform some of his favorite pieces.
Thomas Florio is rapidly becoming known as a versatile interpreter of classical music, who brings a strong element of theatricality to both stage and concert performances. In August of 2010 he performed the role of Dulcamara (L’elisir d’amore) as a member of the Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera. His performance was applauded by the San Francisco Classical Voice, which said, “Similarly impressive was…Thomas Florio as Dulcamara, whose voice delivered true value,” and “it’s no wonder that Dr. Dulcamara… stole much of the show. Not only was his voice fully up to the part and capable of comedic coloring, but he was also alive, physically nimble, and on top of the meaning of almost every note.”
In addition to winning First Place in the 2010 NATS Artist Award Competition, in 2011 he was awarded Second Place in the Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCallum Competition, First Place in the Shreveport Opera Singer of the Year Competition, Second Place in the Opera Columbus Irma M. Cooper Competition, and was a District Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. As a member of the Wolf Trap Opera Studio in 2007 he sang Judge No. 3 in John Musto’s Volpone, the recording of which was nominated for a 2009 Grammy Award (Best Opera Recording). In 2011 he joined the Hamburg Staatsoper to sing the roles of Marullo (Rigoletto), Hortensius (La fille du régiment), Archibius (Die unglückselige Cleopatra, Königin von Egypten oder Die betrogene Staats-Liebe), among others. In October, Florio performed his debut recital in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall sponsored by Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY). He holds a bachelor’s degree from James Madison University and a master’s degree from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
Florio is currently a member of Internationales Opernstudio of the Hamburgische Staatsoper and, this season, will sing Marullo (Rigoletto), Sciarrone (Tosca), Hortensio (La fille du régiment), 2nd Nazarene (Salome), Perückenmacher (Ariadne auf Naxos), Bischof von Feltre (Palestrina), 2nd Police Officer/Asylum Doctor (Bliss), Fiorello (Il barbiere di Siviglia), and Un sergente degli arceri (Manon Lescaut).
