Valerio Contaldo is a remarkably versatile tenor, praised for his radiant, bronze timbre and expressive musicality. Equally at home in baroque opera, classical oratorio, and 20th-century sacred repertoire, he brings a distinctive warmth and refinement to a wide range of roles, from Monteverdi and Bach to Mozart, Rossini, and Frank Martin. His broad repertoire and stylistic flexibility have made him a sought-after soloist on both opera and concert stages across Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Australia.

One of his most celebrated roles is Monteverdi’s Orfeo, which he has performed to critical acclaim in Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Adelaide, Shanghai and Beijing, in productions led by Leonardo García Alarcón and Rinaldo Alessandrini. His interpretation has been described as “extraordinary,” marked by emotional depth and vocal agility.

In the 2025/26 season, he returns to Orfeo at the Schlosstheater Schwetzingen, and sings Mitridate in Cavalli’s Pompeo Magno at the Bayreuth Baroque Festival. At the Opéra Royal de Versailles, he appears in Lully’s Atys as Morphée and Dieu des fleuves. In concert, he sings the Evangelist in Bach’s St Matthew Passion with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Jupiter and Apollo in Händel’s Semele with Cappella Cracoviensis, and Damon in Acis and Galatea with Cappella Mediterranea at the festivals of Ambronay and Chantilly. He also performs Bach Cantatas with the Orchestre de chambre de Lausanne and continues multiple projects with Cappella Mediterranea.

In 2024/25, he sang Orfeo at the Palau de les Arts in Valencia and Telemaco in Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria at the Ravenna Festival. He toured as Polifonte in Terradellas’ Merope with Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Teatro Real, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, and Theater an der Wien. He was Evangelist in a staged St John Passion at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, in St Matthew Passion at the Aix-en-Provence Easter Festival, and sang the tenor arias in St Matthew Passion with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Other recent highlights include his debut at Teatro alla Scala as Oronte in Händel’s Alcina with Les Musiciens du Louvre, and the Evangelist in St John Passion at the Salzburg Easter Festival and Opéra de Dijon. He performed Orfeo in Brussels, Graz and Geneva, Tolomeo in Cesare in Egitto at the Innsbruck Festival, and Ulisse at the Opéra Royal de Versailles. He returned to Aix-en-Provence for Meyerbeer’s Le Prophète with the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Mark Elder and sang Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Haydn’s Die Schöpfung in Lisbon with the Gulbenkian Foundation.

Valerio Contaldo has performed at leading opera houses including the Opéra de Paris, Teatro La Fenice, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Palau de les Arts, and Teatro Colón, and is a regular guest at festivals such as Aix-en-Provence, Salzburg’s Mozartwoche, Edinburgh, the MA Festival Bruges, and the Utrecht Oude Muziek Festival. His collaborations include conductors such as Leonardo García Alarcón, William Christie, Philippe Herreweghe, Marc Minkowski, Ottavio Dantone, and Sébastien Daucé.

Born in Italy and raised in Switzerland, Valerio began his musical career as a classical guitarist. He studied voice with Gary Magby at the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne, earning a Master’s degree in vocal performance, and was a finalist at the Leipzig Bach Competition. 

His discography includes acclaimed recordings of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo (Alpha), Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria (CVS), Bach’s Mass in B minor (Claves), Fux’s Dafne in Lauro (Arcana), and Monteverdi’s Settimo Libro de’ Madrigali (Naïve).