Vincenzo Scalera

Vincenzo Scalera began playing the piano at age five. He was educated at the Manhattan School of Music and worked as an assistant conductor at the New Jersey State Opera. He continued his studies in Italy and was appointed a coach and pianist at La Scala, Milan, where he worked with conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, and Carlos Kleiber. Scalera has played at many major festivals including Edinburgh, Jerusalem, Istanbul and Les Chorégies d’Orange, as well as the Carinthian Summer Music Festival, the Salzburg Festival, and the Rossini Opera Festival. He has accompanied many renowned singers including Carlo Bergonzi, Andrea Bocelli, Montserrat Caballé, José Carreras, Leyla Gencer, Vittorio Grigolo, Sumi Jo, Raina Kabaivanska, Katia Ricciarelli, and Renata Scotto, and has performed in all the world’s prominent musical venues. He can be heard playing the harpsichord on the soundtrack of the film of La cenerentola, as well as on the first ever recording of Il viaggio a Reims, both under Claudio Abbado. Scalera is a Steinway Artist and is currently on the staff of the Academy for the Performing Arts at La Scala.