Eleonora Buratto

Eleonora Buratto has been hailed as “the most precious and complete soprano that the Italian school has produced in recent years.” (Il Foglio, 2022). With “luscious” and “marvelously voluptuous and balanced voice” (Bachtrack), the soprano is at the “height of her vocal maturity” (Platea Magazine), and her interpretations are seen as a point of reference in a repertoire that ranges from bel canto to Puccini. In recent seasons, she has been frequently engaged at leading opera houses such as the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Wiener Staatsoper, Opéra national de Paris, and the Bayerische Staatsoper, performing roles such as Madama Butterfly, Mimì, and Countess Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro. Marina, a full recording of Giordano’s lost opera was released on Decca in July 2026 with Ms. Buratto in the title role, adding to the soprano’s discography. In December 2026, she will star as Desdemona in Verdi’s Otello to open the Teatro alla Scala’s 2026/27 season.

Her 2026/27 season begins with her house debut at San Francisco Opera, as she opens their season with one of her signature roles,  Amelia in Simon Boccanegra. The soprano returns to the role later in the season at Les Arts in Valencia, to perform in a new production by Àlex Ollé, conducted by Sir Mark Elder. This is one of three Verdi roles the soprano takes on this season, also performing Desdemona in Otello to open the Teatro alla Scala’s season, and performing as the soprano soloist in Verdi’s Requiem at Teatro Regio Parma. In January and February, Ms. Buratto returns to the Staatsoper Berlin to perform another signature role, Tosca, a role she also performs for her return to the Metropolitan Opera in April and May 2027, and at the Bayerische Staatsoper at the end of May 2027. The soprano also makes her return to Chicago, performing Rossini’s Stabat Mater, conducted by Maestro Riccardo Muti, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Over the course of her career, several standout milestones emerge. Among them is her long-standing collaboration with Maestro Riccardo Muti, with whom she has performed roles such as Susanna in Mercadante’s I Due Figaro, Norina in Don Pasquale, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, Alice in Falstaff, Countess Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte and Aida, as well as appearing with him in numerous concerts and gala performances. Her close artistic connection with Mozart’s Da Ponte operas, along with her acclaimed portrayal of Elettra in Idomeneo, re di Creta, has established her as one of today’s most sought-after Mozart interpreters. A major turning point came in 2015 when she appeared as Corinna in Il Viaggio a Reims at the Dutch National Opera and as Micaëla in Carmen under the baton of Zubin Mehta in the season-opening production at the Teatro San Carlo. Since then, her repertoire has continued to expand, adding roles such as Liù, Mimì, Donna Anna, Luisa Miller, Elvira in Ernani, Desdemona in both Verdi’s and Rossini’s Otello, Anaï in Moïse et Pharaon, Antonia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Elisabetta in Verdi’s Don Carlo, and Donizetti’s Anna Bolena and Maria Stuarda.
Further career highlights include performing twice at the New Year’s Concert broadcast worldwide from La Fenice, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra at the Teatro alla Scala, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, Desdemona in Otella, and Micaëla in Carmen at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Mimì, Madama Butterfly, Norina in Don Pasquale, Elisabeth de Valois in Don Carlo, and Lìu in Turandot,  at the Metropolitan Opera House, the Arena di Verona’s 2024 season-opening gala concert and Puccini secondo Muti in Lucca (both concerts were broadcast internationally), the Belcanto Concert at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Madama Butterfly at the Opéra national de Paris,  a concert performance of Tosca, which opened the season at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (new music director Daniel Harding’s inaugural concerts, also recorded for Deutsche Grammophon), Amelia in Simon Boccanegra for the season opening of the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, as well as Tosca, Madama Butterfly, Contessa, Micaëla, and Norina, Elettra in Idomeneo, Madama Butterfly, Sister Angelica in Suor Angelica, Mimì, Contessa, Alice in Falstaff, and Amelia at the Wiener Staatsoper, Madama Butterfly at the Baden-Baden Easter Festival followed by a concert performance of the same opera at the Philharmonie Berlin under Kirill Petrenko, Elisabetta in Roberto Devereux, Maria Stuarda and Anna Bolena, completing the trilogy of all three Donizetti queens, at Les Arts Valencia, Tosca at the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, Alice in Falstaff for the season opening at the Semperoper Dresden under Daniele Gatti, Leonora in Il trovatore at the Staatsoper Hamburg, She also performed the world premiere of Umberto Giordano’s rediscovered first opera Marina at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan (simultaneously recorded by Decca)and the Verdi Requiem at the conducted by Gianandrea Noseda.

Her symphonic repertoire has grown over the years with Rossini’s Messa di Gloria at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under Antonio Pappano (released on CD and awarded the 2023 International Classical Music Award for “Choral Music” and the Abbiati Prize for Best Recording), Verdi’s Quattro pezzi sacri, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and Rossini’s Stabat Mater and Petite Messe Solennelle, and Verdi’s Requiem. She has performed these pieces at prestigious venues around the world, including the Philharmonie in Paris, Palau de la Música in Barcelona, Musikverein in Vienna and the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid. In addition, she has performed Donizetti’s Requiem in Bergamo before the President of the Italian Republic. On 7th December that same year, she participated in A riveder le stelle, the gala that marked La Scala’s season opening. Both performances were broadcast by national and international television networks.
Her debut solo album, Indomita (Pentatone), was released in April 2025, and features scenes from operas by Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi. It was described by Gramophone as “powerful stuff, and highly recommended.” Her discography also includes Tosca for Deutsche Grammophon, Susanna in the world premiere recording of I due Figaro, Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle released by Pentatone, and Rosisni’s Messa di Glora released by Warner Classics. She is also featured on several DVDs, including Falstaff from the Wiener Staatsoper, Idomeneo from Teatro Real, and Le nozze di Figaro from Dutch National Opera.
She was awarded the Abbiati Prize by the Italian Association of Music Critics as “Best Singer of 2021” and has received several other awards, including the Pesaro Music Award, the Rossini d’oro, Virna Lisi Special Prize – Opera di Roma, Virgilio d’oro, 2025 Illica Award, the Rosina Storchio Award and the 2025 award as “Best Singer of the Year” by Opernwelt (the first Italian singer to receive this recognition), and was made Cavaliere al Merito della Repubblica Italiana. Born in Mantua and raised in the small town of Sustinente, she has served as its global ambassador since 2015 and in August 2025 was awarded the Keys to the City in a public ceremony. She Her social commitment has led her to produce the Butterfly Gala in support of the non-profit organisation Debra Family which provides assistance for the so-called ‘butterfly children’. As a global ambassador for both Tebaldi 100 and the Renata Tebaldi Museum in Busseto, she frequently takes part in commemorative events in honour of Tebaldi.