Carlo Colombara is considered one of the greatest Verdi basses of our time. Born in Bologna, his musical journey began at the age of twelve with piano studies, and by fifteen, he discovered his passion for singing, studying with Paride Venturi in Bologna. In 1986, he was awarded the prize for Best Italian Singer at the G.B. Viotti competition, followed by a victory at the As.Li.Co. competition in Milan the following year.

His professional debut came as Silva in Giuseppe Verdi’s Ernani at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. The following year, he made his debut at several of Italy’s most prestigious opera houses, portraying Silva in Ernani at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Seneca in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna, and Creon in Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice.

Soon, he was called upon for international guest appearances in cities such as Tokyo, Beijing, New York, Chicago, London, Paris, Berlin, and Vienna, rapidly establishing himself as one of the leading opera singers of his generation. He made his acclaimed debut at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan in 1989 as Procida in I vespri siciliani under the direction of Riccardo Muti. This was followed by further successful roles at Italy’s leading opera houses, including Arcibaldo in Montemezzi’s L’amore dei tre Re, Zaccaria in Nabucco, and again under Muti, Banco in Macbeth for the opening of the 1997 season. Under the direction of Zubin Mehta, he performed in a landmark open-air production of Puccini’s Turandot in Beijing’s Forbidden City, a performance that was recorded and broadcast globally.

Carlo Colombara has graced the stages of the world’s most prestigious opera houses, including the Wiener Staatsoper, the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Opéra Bastille in Paris, Covent Garden in London, Arena di Verona, and Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, among others.

Throughout his career, he has collaborated with many of the most illustrious conductors, such as Riccardo Chailly, Myung-Whun Chung, Colin Davis, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Carlo Maria Giulini, Eliahu Inbal, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Antonio Pappano, Michel Plasson, Georges Prêtre, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Philippe Auguin, Giuseppe Sinopoli, and Georg Solti.

Equally at home on concert stages, Carlo Colombara frequently interprets Verdi’s Messa da Requiem in cities such as Florence, Rome, London, Naples, Paris, and Modena – the latter in memory of Luciano Pavarotti, with whom he shared the stage in Pavarotti’s final performance of the Requiem.

In addition to his active career as a singer, Carlo Colombara is a highly sought-after voice coach.