Massimo Cavalletti was born in Lucca, where he began his vocal studies under Graziano Polidori before attending the Accademy of the Teatro alla Scala, refining his vocal technique with soprano Luciana Serra. During his time at the Academy he participated in masterclasses with Leyla Gencer and Leo Nucci, who helped him develop his knowledge of operatic interpretation.
In October 2004, he made his operatic debut at the Donizetti Theatre in Bergamo, singing in the production of La Parisina, put on by the Accademia di Perfezionamento del Teatro alla Scala. The following year, he sang the role of Figaro in The Barber of Seville at La Scala.
Starting in 2005, Cavalletti began his collaboration with the Teatro alla Scala, which saw him performing roles in La Bohème (Schaunard, 2005, 2008 and 2012), Lucia di Lammermoor (Henry, 2006, 2014), Simone Boccanegra (Paolo Albiani, 2010) and L’Occasione fa il ladro (Don Parmenione, 2010), while in 2013 he sang Ford in Falstaff and Rodrigo in Don Carlo.
In Italy, he debuted in Parma (Montano in Otello, 2006), Turin (Figaro in The Barber of Seville, 2006 and Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale, 2008), Genoa (Fra Melitone in La Forza del Destino, 2006) and Bologna (Henry in Lucia di Lammermoor, 2008).
He began his international career in 2006 with the role of Marcello in Bohème in Dublin and subsequently, in 2006 as well, he interpreted Jake Wallace in Fanciulla del West at the Concertgebouw concert hall in Amsterdam. In Tokyo he performed Henry in Lucia di Lammermoor in 2007 and in the same year he sang Belcore in Elisir d’amore at the Glyndebourne Festival. In 2008 he was Henry in Lucia di Lammermoor in Dresden, as well as Lescaut in Manon Lescaut in Berlin. In 2009 he was part of the soloists singing the Messa di Gloria in Leipzig. He gave his debut at the Metropolitan Opera New York as Schaunard in Zeffirelli’s Bohème in 2010, in the same production he also sang Marcello in 2014, a performance which was broadcast worldwide in selected cinemas on March 5th. In 2010 Cavalletti interpreted Paolo Albiani in Simone Boccanegra, conducted by Daniel Barenboim at the Staatsoper Berlin, as well as Marcello in Brussels and in 2011 Figaro in Barber of Seville and Henry in Lucia di Lammermoor – both in Hamburg. The same year he presented himself as Belcore (Elisir d’amore) in Beijing, and Vienna called him in 2013 to sing the role of Escamillo in Zeffirelli’s production of Carmen.
In 2012 and 2013 Cavalletti experienced two very intensive festival seasons at the Salzburg Summer Festival. He sang Marcello in 2012 in Bohème, conducted by Daniele Gatti, and in 2013 Ford in Falstaff, under the baton of Zubin Mehta.
In 2007, Cavalletti began a successful collaboration with the Zurich Opera House, which saw him involved in many productions: Marcello in La Bohème (2007/2009/2011/2012/2013), Ruggiero in La Juive (2007/2011), Le Roi in Le Cid (2008), Lord Henry Ashton in Lucia di Lammermoor (2008/2009), Escamillo in Carmen (2008/2009/2010/2011/2012) Paolo Albiani in Simon Boccanegra (2009/2010/2012), Figaro in The Barber of Seville (2009/2010/2011), Ford in Falstaff (2011/2012/2013), conducted by Daniele Gatti, Belcore in Elisir d’Amore (2011), Severo in Poliuto and Procolo in «Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali» as well as Rodrigo in Don Carlo, all of them in 2012.
Among Cavallettis next commitments in 2014 are the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, where he will have his debut as Marcello (July), a role which he will also perform in the National Opera of Amsterdam in December, at the latter house he is also to sing Ford in June. He then returns to Japan to perform Ford at the Festival of Matsumoto, conducted by Maestro Fabio Luisi, and finally he will give Escamillo in September at the Metropolitan Opera of New York.

ROLES PERFORMED TO DATE:
Operatic works
Gaetano Donizetti – Lucia di Lammermoor: Enrico Ashton
Giacomo Puccini – La Bohème: Marcello, Schaunard
Gioachino Rossini – Il Barbiere Di Siviglia: Figaro
Giuseppe Verdi – La Forza del Destino: Melitone
Gaetano Donizetti – L’Elisir D’amore: Belcore
Giacomo Puccini – La Fanciulla del West: Jake Wallace
Gaetano Donizetti – La Parisina: Azzo d’Este
Gaetano Donizetti – Don Pasquale: Malatesta
JacquesHalevy – La Juive: Ruggiero
Gaetano Donizetti – Anna Bolena: Lord Rochefort
Jules Massenet – Le Cid: Le Roi
Gaetano Donizetti – Le convenienze e le inconvenienze teatrali: Procolo
Gioachino Rossini – L’occasione fa il ladro: Don Parmenione
Giuseppe Verdi – Otello: Montano
Georges Bizet – Carmen: Escamillo
Benjamin Britten – L’Arca di Noè: Noè
Giuseppe Verdi – Simon Boccanegra: Paolo Albiani
Giacomo Puccini – Manon Lescaut: Lescaut
Giuseppe Verdi – Don Carlos: Rodrigo, Marchese di Posa
Gaetano Donizetti – Poliuto: Severo
Giuseppe Verdi – Falstaff: Ford

Sacred Works
Giacomo Puccini – Messa di Gloria: Baritono solo
Pietro Mascagni – Messa di Gloria: Baritono solo