Piotr Beczala - Lyric Opera of Chicago Debut

Piotr Beczala, tenor, debuts this month in the title role of Gounod's Faust. He was born in southern Poland and trained in Katowice. Beczala has had many phenomenal debuts before this. In April 2004, he made his debut at London's Royal Opera House as the Tenor in Der Rosenkavalier and in October, 2004, the title role of Faust, then in June 2005 as the Duke in Rigoletto, and in September 2006, Faust. He made his San Francisco Opera and US debut as Lensky in Eugene Onegin. Beczala's La Scala debut came in January 2006 as the Duke in Rigoletto, as well as the Metropolitan Opera debut on December 19, 2006.

In 2007 he was award the Munich Opera Festival Prize for Rigoletto, Der Rosenkavalier and Werther. Beczala sings the role of Alfredo Germont in the Farao Classics recording of La traviata, which was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award.

Lyric Opera of Chicago's director, William Mason, states, "When I first heard Beczala, I was struck most vividly by the clear, beautiful sound he produces, married to an impeccable technique and marvelous artistry.