Salvatore Licitra, Tenor (1968 – September 5, 2011)

Dear friends of Salvatore Licitra,

Here is to announce with great sadness that the wonderful Italian tenor Salvatore Licitra, 43, died today, September 5, 2011 of his severe injuries at Garibaldi Hospital in Catania, Italy.

He suffered head and chest injuries during an accident while riding a scooter on August 27, 2011 in the city of Modica near Ragusa. He was flown to the hospital in Catania where he had surgery. He was in a coma from the time the accident happened. He passed away this morning leaving behind his beloved parents, his brother and many other family members.

Salvatore Licitra was one of the leading tenors in the dramatic Italian repertoire where he showed his 'worthiness of the great Italian tradition' (The New York Times). A frequent guest at major opera and concert stages in Europe, the United States and the Far East, his repertory included Verdi’s Aida, Un Ballo in Maschera, La Forza del destino, Ernani, Macbeth, Don Carlos andIl Trovatore as well as Puccini’s Turandot, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La fanciulla del West andIl Tabarro, Bellini’sNorma, Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur, Giordano’s Andrea Chenier, Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci and Mascagni’sCavalleria Rusticana.

Salvatore Licitra was born in Bern, Switzerland, to Italian parents and studied in Parma where in 1998 he made his debut at the Teatro Regio inUn Ballo in Maschera. He garnered international attention later that year when he unexpectedly inaugurated the 1998 Arena di Verona, again in Ballo. The following year Maestro Riccardo Muti brought him to La Scala for a new production of La Forza del Destino. In May 2002 Mr. Licitra had his international break through when he stepped in on short notice for Luciano Pavarotti at the Metropolitan Opera in Tosca and had an overwhelming success.

His engagements have taken him to the Vienna State Opera, Opernhaus Zurich, Munich’s Bayerische Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper and Staatsoper Berlin, Teatro alla Scala, Arena di Verona, London’s Royal Opera, Paris Opera Bastille, Tokyo, Taiwan, China, the opera companies of Rome, Naples, Florence, Parma, Palermo, Oslo, Lisbon as well as to the New York Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, San Francisco and Los Angeles Opera.