Acclaimed as one of the most interesting among his generation, Juan Francisco Gatell’s voice has been called luminous, seductive, elegant, and agile, his acting dramatic and sensitive.
He has appeared on opera and concert stages throughout Europe, and in North and South America and performed with the most important Orchestra Conductors and Stage Directors.

Born in La Plata, Argentina, Juan Francisco Gatell began his musical studies at the age of nine in his hometown before continuing his training in Madrid and Florence.

His career took off in 2004 after he won the Caruso Award Le voci nuove dalla lirica. In 2005, he took first prize at the 7th Concorso Città di Pistoia, and in 2006, he won First Prize in the ASLICO competition as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni. In 2015 Francisco won the Aureliano Pertile Prize.

After a decade based in Italy Juan Francisco Gatell makes now his home in Catalonia with his wife Paula and two children, Francisco and Julia.

HIGHLIGHTS

Francisco’s highlights include his highly celebrated debuts as Alessandro Magno in Mozart’s Il Re Pastore and Tom Rakewell in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress at La Fenice in Venice, as Demetrio in Rossini’s Demetrio e Polibio at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro where he was invited for three editions as Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, performed too at the Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman, in Buenos Aires and in Vienna among others. His Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni was acclaimed in La Scala, Washington, Tokyo or Beijing, his Zauberflöte in Venice, Rome, Buenos Aires or Berlin and his Falstaff in Los Angeles, Parma, Valencia, Aix en Provence and Lyon.

Equally at home performing orchestral works, he has also sung Donizetti’s Messa di Requiem, Debussy’s L'enfant prodigue, Paisiello's Missa Defunctorum, Mozart's Requiem, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Stravinsky’s Pulcinella and Bach's Magnificat.

CDS AND DVDS

His recordings include: on DVD, Tybalt in Romeo et Juliette at the Salzburg Festival, in Il burbero di buon cuore (Dynamic), Don Pasquale (Arthaus-Musik) conducted by Muti, Il viaggio a Reims at La Scala (Vox Imago) and Il Barbiere di Siviglia in concert with the Rossini Opera Festival; on CD, Otello with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Riccardo Muti which won the 2014 International Opera Award, Mozart’s Requiem with the Orchestra della Toscana in Siena (Accademia Musicale Chigiana), Donizetti’s Messa di Requiem (Dynamic) and I Pagliacci conducted by Bartoletti recorded live at the Teatro Carlo Felice.

PERFORMANCES

2021 started with Francisco as Fenton in Verdi’s Falstaff at the Palau de Les Arts in Valencia, and he will perform the same rol at the Festival d’Aix en Provence and L’Opéra de Lyon.

2020 saw Francisco in the Mozart/Da Ponte Trilogy as Ferrando and Don Ottavio at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Bruxelles as well as The Merry Widow by Léhar and Mozart’s Zaide at the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome and Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro

In 2019 Francisco made his role debut as Alessandro Magno in Il Re Pastore at the The Teatro la Fenice in Venice and at Rossini Opera Festival his title role debut in Demetrio e Polibio.

He was Ernesto in Don Pasquale at Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni at Sofia Opera Ballet and at New National Theatre in Tokyo, at Teatro la Fenice in Venice and at Teatro dell’Opera in Roma and Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore at Teatro Real in Madrid.

The 2017-2018 season featured Francisco as Rodrigo in Rossini’s Donna del Lago with the Opéra de Lausanne, Elvino in Bellini’s Sonnambula at the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni at the National Theatre in Japan and for the Donizetti Foundation in Bergamo, Pietro Flimann in Borgomastr-o di Sardaam and in Donizetti’s Requiem. 

In 2016-2017 Francisco made his role debut as Idreno in Rossini’s tragedy Semiramide at the Opera di Firenze before taking on the role of Iago in Rossini’s Otello with the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. In the new year, Francisco returned to renowned roles: as Tamino in the Opera di Firenze production of Die Zauberflöte, as Ferrando in a new production of Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte and as the Cavalier Belfiore in a remounting of the Dutch National Opera production of Rossini’s Il Viaggio a Reims, both at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. In the 2015-2016 season, Francisco made two highly successful role debuts: as Don Ramiro in Rossini’s Cenerentola with the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and as Idamante in the Opera National du Rhin’s production of Idomeneo. As well, he appeared as Ferrando in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte in Florence, as Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with the Netherlands Opera, and in a concert of Haydn’s Creation at the Teatro Regio in Turin, conducted by Antonello Manacorda.