In conversation with Claudio Sgura: "Music is life and I thank God for giving me the gift of singing!"

09. April 2025

Rubrik Interviews

©Marco Bigotti

Singing is life and eventually a life-saving gift. When Italian baritone Claudio Sgura started off his professional career as a nurse, singing for his patients to cheer them up and giving them comfort, it was probably not to be foreseen that his mission for doing good eventually would take on a completely different, but ever so rewarding path, leading him into the magical world of opera.

Today Claudio Sgura is singing at the most reknowned opera houses in Italy and the world, performing the most sought-after baritone roles in the Puccini and Verdi repertoire and taking all the merits for embodying the bad characters utterly convincing and with great passion and depth.

The secret of Claudio Sgura´s success as an opera singer with an utterly charismatic down-to-earth approach is having a good portion of self-reflection combined with a hard-working skill set, as it can only take a second to be totally forgotten.

Not so with Claudio Sgura, who knows well enough how to keep his audience enthralled, thrilled and always asking for more. In a very personal conversation with the opera singer, Claudio Sgura talks about what it takes to be a baritone, which role character he loves best and why the opera is a unique experience that evokes deep emotions. 

Operaversum: Dear Claudio, you told me that you were working as a nurse before you became an opera singer. Tell me about this interesting path and the challenges to become a sought-after baritone? 

Claudio Sgura: When I started working as a professional nurse I immediately understood that it would allow me to do something useful and important for those in need. My 10 years working at a nursing home have been intense but beautiful, both professionally and personally.  

I have never considered it a job but a mission. Every time I finished my shift I left utterly exhausted but happy and satisfied knowing that I had done something valuable for my patients. I always say that being a nurse is not a job like any other. So until the end of my days I will defend this respectable profession. 

If they call someone in nursing a "Caring Angel" there is a good reason for that. I warmly remember when a child brought us a rose with his legs to thank us for our help and support, which was when I was working in Pediatric Resuscitation at De Marchi in Milan, I would recall these kind of encounters "Small victories".

They are very rare but when they happen they give you great gratification. This job is a life changing experience: eventually you get to have a different view of the world and you learn to re-evaluate the things that really matter. 

Now, how did all this enter my artistic career? "Simply by singing to my patients. How many times have I found myself in the nursing home with patients who asked me to sing. So I tried my best to be able to give them a moment of happiness, a moment of comfort. 

And how many times have I hugged and comforted the patients in tears, who started to smile soon after they had listened to my singing. But in the end it was me who thanked them because their smile changed my day for the better.

I have always thought that music can help patients reduce pain and stress, it can help them get out of their isolation and improve their quality of life in an environment totally foreign to them. Music is life and I thank God for giving me the gift of singing. It has improved my life and with my small contribution also that of others. 

If I have reached this point in my career now, I owe it only and exclusively to the people who have helped me and who still support me like my wife does. I study with her every day, as the motto of a singer is: study, study, study! I mean in this world, it just takes a moment to be forgotten!!! 

©Marco Bigotti

Operaversum: What a lifetime story, Claudio! But being a baritone now, you usually play the bad guys. Having witnessed though that you are a very charismatic person, how difficult is it to transform into these mean characters on stage? Or is that even part of the thrill to act a character you would never want to personify in real life? 

Claudio Sgura: First of all, thank you so much that you got to realize that in real life I am not the evil guy at all. Some people might have their doubts on that though.

But talking of the baritone roles, I recall that George Bernard Shaw, the English writer and playwright, brought the role of the baritone straight down to the point: "Opera is when tenor and soprano want to make love but the baritone gets in the way to hinder them from doing so".

And he wasn't entirely wrong, as in some operas the baritone is the key figure where events develop around him and love and political turmoil are intertwined with each other.

As a dramatic baritone, I often play the role of the villain or hero, whereas the "evil" is always amplified by the darkness and grandeur of the voice. 

Practising this profession for me comes with ease as I love playing character roles, roles in which all the evil of the protagonist and his twisted psyche come to light and not only those facettes connected to jealousy and bloodthirst, but also the addiction to power. 

Many define me by the wickedness I display on stage because they think I may have a true evil nature that wants to be revealed there. Fortunately that is not the case at all!! Otherwise my wife would have already seen to it to have the colour of my voice changed. 😂 

Operaversum: Thank God, there is no need for a change in voice, which would be a shame since your signature roles include amongst others Scarpia in Tosca, Jack Rance in La Fanciulla del West and Carlo Gérald in Andrea Chénier.  If you had to pick your favourite character out of these three personalities, which one would that be and why? 

Claudio Sgura: This is an extremely tricky question to answer because I love all three characters. But if I really have to choose one, I prefer the role of Jack Rance in "The Girl of the Golden West" 

I have always been fascinated by this man. I think he is the key character of the opera!!  In fact I don´t think that he is a bad guy overall but a rather disillusioned personality who compensates his deficites by trying to conquer everything with power and money...... even the love of the girl he is infatuated with.

He is neither a bad nor a cynical type of person, but presents himself as nonchalant and brazen and his ease of being can be found in his autobiographical monologue in Act One.

But as Jack Rance is wounded by his unsatisfied life and thus consumed by jealousy, he needs to feel important by ruling out his desire for revenge and superiority, thus taking advantage of his position as a sheriff.

As a complex personality, Jack Rance needs a complex interpretation!. This role requires a Verdi baritone like Jago but at the same time a dark and powerful voice like the character of Scarpia.  I would say that Jack Rance resembles the latter, as he represents power, wants to make the soprano his own and then persecute his rival, in this case Dick Johnson. 

Compared to the Roman aristocrat, his manners are more elegant and polished. Rance tries to conquer his beloved woman in vain, offering her wealth with the only asset that has never betrayed him: Gold!

This character resembles everything, which enables me to express my emotions to the fullest in order to get the audience excited. 

©Marco Bigotti

Operaversum: But Claudio, is there a danger, when you convincingly interpret these bad guys like in the scene between Scarpia and Tosca, that at some point you may get overwhelmed by your emotions. How do you still keep them under control?  

Claudio Sgura: That is a really difficult task but I always try to get the audience excited without ever exceeding the limit. Let´s take Scarpia, for example.  

If you overdo his role emotionally, he could become too violent and monotonous a character. Thus you have to tackle the role at 360 degrees to express both his wickedness convincingly as much as his deep humanity that is expressed through his loneliness and despair. 

For example, the Te Deum is a moment of great emotional intensity that is masterfully accompanied by sensual music to bring out the complexity of Scarpia´s character and his ability to arouse emotions. In this moment I feel like a snake that would like to instantly attack it´s prey!! 

In order to create this intensity I hold all my emotions back to be able to control my emotional energy in both voice and body such that I can create a convincing and engaging character. 

Operaversum: Change in topic! Tenor´s voices are challenged by the exposed overtones they have to sing, which are considered unnatural. How about the baritone? Are there vocal challenges in your register range? And how do you keep your voice fit and healthy? 

Claudio Sgura: I keep my voice fit and healthy by following some very important rules that any singer should follow. First of all, the constant study of the vocal chords with singing exercises, correct breathing, a healthy and balanced diet. But above all vocal rest to give the voice time to recover.  

As far as I'm concerned, there are many vocal challenges that require a lot of study. For example, the big vocal range to sing roles that require both low and high notes.

In order to be able to express different roles, a baritone also requires a rich and expressive vocal tonality and color, plus bullet proof vocal dynamics in order to perform smooth transitions from piano to pianissimo. 

Of course, achieving all these skills always takes a lot of work and dedication. 

Operaversum: As the summer season is coming closer, I got to know that you were performing in Pagliacci at the Classic Open Air in Hannover in 2019. How important do you rate Open-Air Festivals for the opera business and do you think that these outdoor venues are a means to get more people interested in classical music and opera? 

Claudio Sgura: I have always maintained that summer festivals are fundamental events for the production of classical music, opera and culture in general.

Moreover they are very important for attracting a wider audience who loves to enjoy the outdoor show. In a best-case-scenario it would take place in front of a dream sunset in the evocative location of the Ancient Theater of Taormina.  

Summer festivals are unique and innovative experiences that leave the audience speechless while listening to their favorite work, not to forget that these classical outdoor venues are also a very important tourist magnet to attract visitors from all over the world which eventually contributes a good share to the economy. 

©Marco Bigotti

Operaversum: And how do you rate the importance of social media, in order to make opera singers more visible to a broader audience? 

Claudio Sgura: Unlike old-fashioned singers, our art, thanks to social media, is disseminated immediately and appreciated even by a different audience. It is great for those opera singers who start their career to make themselves known. But there are pros and cons, of course!!  

Social media can become dangerous and counterproductive. It can even turn out to be a place where people can express negative criticism at the expense of the singer's self-confidence. 

In my opinion, social media is an important tool to promote one's career and connect with the public, but it is important to use it consciously and responsibly. 

Operaversum: Puccini or Verdi? Which of the two composers works are the most fascinating  to approach for you as an opera singer? And why is that? 

Claudio Sgura: Well, Puccini and Verdi with their unforgettable music are two of the greatest Italian opera composers of all time. Both have written a lot for my repertoire.  

Honestly speaking I feel more drawn to  the Puccini repertoire but I love Verdi especially in certain dramatic roles where the baritone is the absolute protagonist as in "Simon Boccanegra" or as in "I due Foscari". And as we know... Verdi loved baritone voices very much. 

Operaversum: Do you have any future projects on the way, you are looking forward to? 

Claudio Sgura: There are many projects but as a "good superstitious Italian" I cannot reveal them!! What I can give away though is that I can't wait to debut a role that I like very much and I hope the theaters can make my dream come true. It is the role of " Posa " in Don Carlo by Giuseppe Verdi.  

I love this role because it requires great expressiveness and deep emotionality, showcasing a brave man who sacrifices his life to protect his friend. It would make me really excited to be singing this role sometime in the future, but above all it would thrill me even more to get the audience excited. 

Operaversum: In a few words: If you had to explain the “Magic of Opera” to somebody who has never entered an opera house, how would you convince them to watch a performance? 

Claudio Sgura: Once I convinced a friend of mine to enter a theater to attend Giaccomo Puccini's "Tosca". I told him that it would be a unique and unforgettable experience because he would be enveloped by music, history, sets but above all by the singers with their voices and stage presence.  

I would have refunded his ticket if he had been getting bored. Of course, I didn't sing in that production. So how did it end? He was very excited at the end of the opera and could not believe what he had witnessed. So in a few words I can say that the opera is a unique experience that evokes deep emotions!! 

Operaversum: Same with me! I totally agree. Thank you so much for these fascinating insights into the professional life of a baritone. It was a pleasure deep-diving into this conversation. Mille grazie, Claudio!

©Marco Bigotti

Claudio Sgura, born in Brindisi/Italy, studied in Lecce with Maria Mazzotta. He made his operatic debut at the Lecce Theatre as Germont (La traviata). His repertoire includes Dulcamara (L'elisir d'amore), Sharpless (Madama Butterfly), Jack Rance (La fanciulla del West), Scarpia (Tosca), Carlo Gérard (Andrea Chénier), Marcello (La bohème), Alfio (Cavalleria rusticana), Francesco Foscari (I due Foscari), Luna (Il trovatore), Ezio (Attila) and the title role in Simon Boccanegra.

Claudio Sgura, one of today’s foremost Italian dramatic baritones, debuted at the La Scala in Milan in 2007 as Sharpless. Performances since then have led him to the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera, the Opéra de Paris, the Zurich Opera, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the Sydney Opera House, the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, the Bregenz and Savonlinna Festivals, the Opera in Oslo, and the most important stages in Italy. In November 2018, he debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in New York with one of his signature roles, Scarpia in Tosca.

His forthcoming performances after a breathtaking "Fanciulla del West" alongside Gregory Kunde and Anna Pirozzi at the Hamburg State Opera will be an Otello production in Bilbao/Spain and two more Tosca productions in Naples/Italy and Helsinki/Finland.