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LA GRANDE OPERA IN JAZZ
A piano recital by Danilo Rea
WEDNESDAY 17 DECEMBER 2025
7:30PM
VICTORIA CONCERT HALL
Ready to fall in love with opera all over again?
Join us for an extraordinary evening where Italian opera meets jazz innovation! On 17 December 2025, renowned European pianist Danilo Rea brings his internationally acclaimed performance “La Grande Opera in Jazz” to Singapore at the Victoria Concert Hall.
While classically trained and graduating from the famed Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, Danilo Rea has been an active musician in the vibrant jazz scene in Italy and worldwide since his debut in 1975. He has shared the stage and recording studios with such greats as Chet Baker, Lee Konitz, Art Farmer, John Scofield, Joe Lovano, Mimmo Cafiero, Phil Woods, Curtis Fuller, and Kenny Wheeler.
Experience the magic as Rea's masterful piano interpretations breathe new life to iconic arias by Puccini, Verdi, Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti, blending them seamlessly with historic recordings of legendary voices such as Maria Callas, Beniamino Gigli and Enrico Caruso, accompanied by archival footage and contemporary visual projections.
From the soaring drama of “Nessun Dorma” to the lyrical beauty of “Casta Diva”, this performance transforms Italy’s operatic heritage into a fresh, genre-defying journey — bridging centuries of music in a way that captivates both longtime opera lovers and newcomers alike.
La Grande Opera in Jazz is presented in collaboration with the Embassy of the Republic of Italy in Singapore to commemorate 60 years of enduring diplomatic, cultural and economic ties between Italy and Singapore.
PROGRAMME
❖ Io son l’umile ancella – Maria Caniglia from "Adriana Lecouvreur" by Francesco Cilea
❖ E lucevan le stelle – Beniamino Gigli from "Tosca" by Giacomo Puccini
❖ Casta Diva – Maria Callas from "Norma" by Vincenzo Bellini
❖ Nessun dorma – Mario Del Monaco from "Turandot" by Giacomo Puccini
❖ Addio al passato – Elisabeth Schwarzkopf from "Traviata" by Giuseppe Verdi
❖ Ave Maria – Tito Schipa – Mascagni
❖ Tu ca nun chiagne – Caruso - Bosio/ De Curtis
❖ Un bel dì vedremo – Amelita Galli Curci from "Madama Butterfly" by Giacomo Puccini
❖ Di quella pira – Giuseppe Lauri Volpi from "Trovatore" by Giuseppe Verdi
❖ Oh mio babbino caro - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf - Giacomo Puccini
❖ Una furtiva lagrima – Enrico Caruso from "Elisir d’amore" by Gaetano Donizetti
❖ Dal mio stellato Soglio – Nazzareno De Angelis from "Mosè" by Gioachino Rossini
❖ O Sole Mio – Caruso
(Programme subject to change at the artist’s discretion)
THE ARTIST
DANILO REA, piano
Danilo Rea was born in Vicenza, Italy, in August 1957. He discovered his passion for music at the very early age. Danilo took his first piano lesson before his sixth birthday, from where he started his extraordinary journey.
Danilo took his classical studies at Santa Cecilia music conservatory in Rome, where he graduated in 1978. Despite this, he realised soon that jazz was his true nature. Danilo made his debut in the jazz scene with the "Trio di Roma", with Roberto Gatto (Drum) and Enzo Pietropaoli (DoubleBass) in 1975. Rea sought out opportunities to explore jazz and improvisation. He immersed himself in the vibrant jazz scene of Rome.
Danilo has shared the stage and worked in the recording studios with great musicians, such as Chet Baker, Lee Konitz, Art Farmer, John Scofield, Joe Lovano, Mimmo Cafiero, Phil Woods, Curtis Fuller and Kenny Wheeler.
His eclecticism leads him to perform with some of the most important Italian pop music singers, such as Domenico Modugno, Mina, Pino Daniele, Riccardo Cocciante, Gianni Morandi, Claudio Baglioni, Fiorella Mannoia and many others, with each of whom he has produced long collaborations.
In 1997 Rea co-founded “Doctor 3” with Enzo Pietropaoli and Fabrizio Sferra, a project destined ante litteram to mark the trend in the jazz scenario to contaminate styles, inserting national and international popular covers into the repertoire and arranging them jazz style. With their first album, “Tales of Doctor 3” (Via Veneto Jazz 1998), the band make themselves pioneers of re-arranging pop and rock throughout a unique jazz-key improvisations, in order to prevent from altering drastically the original compositions.
Among his discography works [https://www.youtube.com/daniloreamusic], Danilo has recorded the Solo album, “Lost in Europe” (2000), which brings together the highlights of his European tour. In 2003 he recorded “Lirico” where opera and jazz were blended in his original improvisations. Then, Danilo undertook his inedited compositions in the albums “Solo” (2006) and “Introverso” (2008), “Tribute To Fabrizio De Andre’” (2010). After that, his album "Something in our way" (Warner Music Italy) was released still in 2015, a new Piano Solo record inspired by the unforgettable repertoire of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. With the brilliant trumpeter Flavio Boltro, Danilo recorded “Opera”, released in 2011 and in 2015 Danilo co-started a quattro mani live project with Ramin Bahrami which became a record published by DECCA in 2017, entitled "Bach Is In The Air".
The fascinating work with the popular Italian song-writer Gino Paoli stands out among his recent collaborations. Previously they have worked together on “Un incontro in Jazz” project and their artistic partnership continues with the albums and the live concerts “Due come noi che..” (2012), “Napoli con amore” (2013), and “3” (2017), all published by Parco della Musica Records.
Following his great success at the Umbria Jazz Tour in China in 2016, where he was invited to perform in the most prestigious theatres of Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao and Canton, Danilo Rea was awarded with the Leone D'Oro during the China Awards at the end of the same year.
In April 2018 his biography was published by Rai ERI, entitled “Il Jazzista Imperfetto”, written by Danilo Rea and Marco Videtta, which has given rise the eccentric Italian radio program directed by Luca Bernardini.
Throughout his latest live projects, in 2023 the duo piano/voice with the singer Fiorella Mannoia stands out; the tournee “Luce” has taken them to iconic venues across Italy creating an enchanting atmosphere that captivates their audiences; The music project becomes a record published by Sony just recently.
For ten years, Danilo has contributed to the voluntary commitment of The Music Donors Association, holding free concerts in Italian hospitals.
With his Piano Solo concerts and improvisations, Danilo ranges over any repertoire, conquering audiences all over the world. His concert activity continues prolifically with tours in Italy and abroad. In recent years he has also dedicated himself to teaching and master classes in jazz and improvisation techniques.
