Bruno de Sá, a young male soprano from Brazil, has signed to classical music specialist Warner-Classics-Erato, the Paris-based record company has announced.
de Sá began singing at a very early age; he made his professional debut in 2013 in São Paulo as Der Knabe in Kurt Weill’s Der Jasager (The Yes Sayer, 1930) while still a student. In 2015 he had his major role debut as Sesto in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito (The Clemency of Titus, 1791) at the Teatro São Pedro in São Paolo.
Further performances in Brazil came in works by composers ranging from Bach and Rossini to Scott Joplin. de Sá made his German debut in 2016. His repertoire now also encompasses Puccini, Britten, Bernstein, Adams and the 19th century Italian composer Giuseppe Balducci.
As a male soprano, Bruno de Sá has a voice with a particular colour and texture that distinguishes him from both female sopranos – with whom he shares a vocal range – and countertenors, male singers whose range generally matches that of a mezzo-soprano. His philosophy is “to sing what my voice allows me to sing. It doesn’t matter which boxes it ticks or which gender it is.”
He has performed such roles as Sesto in Giulio Cesare (1724) by Handel, the First Lady in Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute, 1791) and Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro, 1786), both by Mozart, and the Shepherd in Wagner’s Tannhäuser (1845). He also sang the role of the Little Mermaid at the 2019 world premiere of Andersens Erzählungen, by contemporary American composer Jherek Bischoff.
Bruno de Sá commented: “I am overwhelmed with joy to join the Warner Classics/Erato roster beside all these incredible artists that have inspired me to sing. Only a few years ago, I left my homeland with a suitcase full of dreams… I cannot believe I achieved so much so quickly! I am now thrilled to share with you countless exciting recordings.”
In 2019-20 de Sá was a member of Theater Basel’s young artists’ programme, while his engagements in the 2020-21 season included Berardo in Porpora’s Carlo il calvo (Carlo the Bald, 1738) at the Bayreuth Baroque Opera Festival – in which he sang alongside Franco Fagioli and Julia Lezhneva in a staging by Max Emanuel Cenčic with George Petrou conducting – and Scarlatti’s Il primo omicidio (The First Murder, 1707), conducted by Philippe Jaroussky, and presented in 2021 in Montpellier and Salzburg.
He is a laureate of a number of competitions, including the Maria Callas Competition in São Paulo and the Manhattan International Music Competition. In June 2018, de Sá won the 19th Concorso Spiros Argiris in Sarzana, Italy, and in November 2020 he received an OPER! Award for Best Newcomer of the Year.
de Sá’s debut album Roma Travestita will be released internationally on 16 September 2022.
Welcoming Bruno de Sá to the label, Alain Lanceron, president of Warner Classics and Erato, said: “As a male soprano, Bruno de Sá makes an immediate impact. He sustains that impact with a tone that is luminous and seamless throughout his voice – from the highest to the lowest notes – and with artistry of consistent elegance and insight.
“Over the years Erato has collaborated with a succession of distinguished countertenors, from Gérard Lesne to David Daniels, Philippe Jaroussky, Max Emanuel Cenčić and Jakub Józef Orliński. Now, with an outstanding male soprano in the form of Bruno de Sá, we can embark on further musical adventures.”
Watch Bruno de Sá perform Romeo’s aria ‘Se Romeo t’uccise un figlio’ (‘If Romeo killed your son’) from Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi (The Capulets and the Montagues, 1830), with Orquestra Mozarteum conducted by Carlos Moreno.
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Brazilian male soprano Bruno De Sá has signed to world-leading classical music recording company Warner Classics-Erato; his first album is due in September 2022 (Laure Bernard).