Ivo Gamulin Gianni

Short Biography

Ivo Gamulin Gianni was born in the town of Jelsa on the island of Hvar. As the youngest of five brothers, he spent his childhood in a warm community of his parents, father Gianni and mother Margarita, who published a book of poems in cakavština dialect. As a 5-year-old child, on Christmas Eve, Gianni was introduced to his first microphone and climbed onto a stage of the local church that was the centre of life in Jelsa. The event was all the more special because he performed a song written and composed by his mother. In 1989 he arrived to Zagreb and enrolled in the University of Theology. Six years later Gianni founded a vocal ensemble klapa “Jelsa” and recorded two albums with them. Later that year Gianni attended an audition for the Croatian National Theatre’s choir, which resulted in permanent engagement. Cooperation with a vocal coach, professor Stojan Stojanov, resulted in his first solo opera engagement in 'La Traviata', an opportunity offered by the Opera Director at the time, Maestro Vladimir Kranjcevic.