Ripalta Bufo may have left her native Italy, but the Scottsdale resident didn’t behind a musical career that has taken her to some of the world’s grand stages.
The soprano opera singer was born in a small town in Italy and said that from an early age she “developed a profound passion for music.”
While she learned to play piano, saxophone, and clarinet, she pursued studies in singing – inspired “by listening to Maria Callas and Celine Dion.”
She earned master’s degrees at the National Conservatory of Music “Umberto Giordano” and the National Conservatory of Music “Giuseppe Martucci,” both in Italy, graduating summa cum laude.”
She also studied under renowned figures in the operatic world and won numerous international singing competitions before starting a professional career that has taken her to theaters across Italy, England, Spain, Egypt, Japan, Greece, Russia, and the United States.
Bufo also was the runner-up on Italia’s Got Talent and made appearances on other prominent Italian TV channels.
She has debuted in numerous operas in leading roles, in classics such as including “The Barber of Seville,” “The Magic Flute,” “La Bohème and “La Traviata,” collaborating with famous stage directors and conductors.
Now that she is in Scottsdale, Bufo said she is broadening her musical horizons with a voice that some have described as “flexible and rich with nuances.”
She now not only performs in operas and major Italian and international classics but also has sung for movie soundtracks and in a variety of venues.
Not that she has left her native country in the past: She recently recorded a CD, “From Italy With Love” and is also the artistic director of a music festival “Francesco De Matteo”in Italy that she hopes to recreate here.
The official soprano of Ferrari Club America, Bufo has performed at the 34th annual Ambassadors’ Ball at Arizona Biltmore Resort and at the fourth annual Arizona Gala of the National Italian American Foundation at Caesar’s a Republic Resort as well as concerts at the Italian Festivals of Scottsdale and Phoenix.
Last month she received the Special Recognition Award from the Arizona Diamondbacks at the Italian Heritage Celebration at Chase Field Stadium, where she performed a short concert.
She also performed what some called a head-turning version of the National Anthem at the Cave Creek Car Show on Oct. 4.
People will have a chance to hear Bufo for themselves and at the 10th annual Italian Festival Oct. 25-26 at the Scottsdale Waterfront, where she is the featured performer.
Tickets are available at italianassociation.org/scottsdale-italian-festival.
People also can hear her singing at local supper clubs and restaurants in Scottsdale.
To find up-to-date information on those appearances: instagram.com/ripaltabufo?igsh=ajM0dW8yMDZzaTc3&utm_source=qr.