Brazilian-born/British National lyric baritone Victor Sgarbi is widely recognised in the UK and Brazil as a very versatile singer from his critically acclaimed Handel, Mozart, Puccini and Verdi roles and his contribution to top professional choirs in Brazil and in the UK.
It was after enjoying a long and successful career as a Dentist and Oral Maxillo-Facial Surgeon for the Brazilian National Health System, that Victor decided to follow his gut feeling to become a full-time professional singer. Whilst still working as a surgeon in Brazil, Victor decided to study music again and in 1999 he was awarded a full scholarship to study classical singing at the Universidade Livre de Musica Tom Jobim (now EMESP), in Sao Paulo with the Brazilian tenor Marcos Thadeu and later with the world renown soprano Neyde Thomas. Having worked as a Dentist since the age of 21, he feels he has "retired" from Operation Theatres and now instead, is devoted to the Operatic Theatres.
Since his first appearance in an opera in 2006 as Schaunard at Teatro Sao Pedro in Sao Paulo, Victor has sung some of the most technically demanding lyric Baritone roles including Macbeth (Macbeth), Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), Amonasro (Aida), Renato (Un Ballo in Maschera), Nottingham (Roberto Devereux), Germont (Traviata), Malatesta (Don Pasquale), Figaro (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Belcore (L'Elisir d'Amore), Father (Hansel and Gretel), Sparrow (Maria de Buenos Aires), Maestro (Prima la Musica poi le Parole), Polyphemus (Acis and Galatea), Marcello, Schaunard and Colline (La Boheme), Conte Almaviva (Marriage of Figaro), Tonio (I Pagliacci), Papageno (Die Zauberflöte) to name but a few. The move to the UK in 2007 not only impacted on a complete change of scenario in his life but also facilitated access to renowned music schools, influential teachers and beneficial contacts.
As an Alumnus of the APS Opera Studio in London (2011), Victor has sung in master classes led by some of the most prominent names within the operatic scene, such as Janice Chapman, Jonathan Hinden, Rebecca Evans, Mary King, Jonathan Cohen, Robin Newton, Olivia Fuchs, Robin Norton-Hale, Max Key and Stuart Barker.
Victor's achievements opened doors to performances at Brazilian embassies in Asia, the Middle East and Europe where he sang Schumann Liederkreiss op24, V. Williams Songs of Travel and Brazilian songs, with important media coverage and political significance. His humanitarian causes also took him to Palestine (2016), where, together with the Choir of London, he took part in a series of workshops for Palestinian children and concerts to raise awareness of the longest conflict in modern history. Victor has performed in all major concert halls and theatres in Brazil, including Sala Sao Paulo, Teatro Municipal de Sao Paulo, Memorial da America Latina, Teatro Sao Pedro, Teatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro, and in London's Albert Hall, Festival Hall, Barbican, St James Piccadilly and St John's Smyth Square, in Spain's Palau de la Musica in Valencia and Alicante, in Germany at the Laeiszhalle and at the new Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, at it is inauguration Festival, in 2017, the Rheingau Festival in Wiesbaden and most recently at the Nouveau Siecle Hall in Lille.
Victor enjoys incorporating piano pieces and musical theatre repertoire into his schedule and not rarely includes performances of Bossa Nova and other modern Brazilian music in his recitals. His passion for music and his time working as a dentist made him an " average cook", however, Victor is now practising baking cakes and frequently brings his samples to rehearsals, for the delight of his colleagues (or not!). At home, his piano (his first instrument) still keeps him company and reminds him that music is more than his fingers, his vocal cords, his body and his soul, music is the engine that makes him breathe.
