Albanian tenor Saimir Pirgu made his LA Opera debut in 2008 as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, returning in 2011 as Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte. In the 2012-13 season, he debuted at Buenos Aires' Teatro Colón under the baton of Riccardo Muti in Mercadante's recently rediscovered I Due Figaro. He then debuted at the San Francisco Opera as Tebaldo in I Capuleti ed I Montecchi and performed Nemorino in L'Elisir d'Amore at the Vienna State Opera and Alfredo in La Traviata at Naples' Teatro di San Carlo. In 2013, he sings the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto and Alfredo in Zurich, and Alfredo at the Metropolitan Opera. Recent appearances include Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor with Washington National Opera; Edgardo and Nemorino in Hamburg; La Bohème in Barcelona; Don Giovanni in Paris and Verona; Alfredo in Vienna; and the Berlioz Messe Solennelle at the Salzburg Festival with Riccardo Muti leading the Vienna Philharmonic. (www.SaimirPirgu.com)