Born in Palermo, the bass-baritone Giovanni Bellavia studied with the tenor R. Lo Cicero, D. Lombardini and the soprano E. Smith. After success in international competitions he made his début in 1998 in Scontrino’s opera Gringoire at the Teatro Politeama Garibaldi in Palermo. He has appeared in operas by Henze, Cimarosa and Kurt Weill and won great success as Sharpless in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, and as Leporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. In addition to frequent engagements at the Palermo Teatro Massimo and the Malta Teatre Manuel he has also made guest appearances at the Michigan Opera Theatre and the Venice Teatro La Feria, among others. His appearances for Rossini in Wildbad include the rôle of Ormondo in Torvaldo e Dorliska, collaboration in Il barbiere di Siviglia under Alessandro de Marchi and in Mayr’s L’amor coniugale under Christopher Franklin.