Born in
Campi Salentina (Lecce). His father was a teacher and university dean. His mother a housewife. He has a younger brother Sergio and two nieces Elena and Eva. Ciannella initially studied engineering at the
University of Bologna until a chance encounter with
Mirella Freni led him to his being encouraged towards an opera career. He entered the
Bologna Conservatory where he studied under
Leone Magiera. After he graduated he continued with further training under
Carlo Bergonzi before making his professional opera debut in 1974 at the
Teatro Nuovo in
Milan as Edgardo in
Gaetano Donizetti's
Lucia di Lammermoor. That same year he won the Bussetto international singing competition. He made his first appearance at
La Scala in 1976 as Cassio in Verdi's
Otello. Over the next three years he had several successes at important opera houses in Italy, including the
Teatro Carlo Felice, the
Teatro Regio di Parma, and
La Fenice. Ciannella was also a regular performer with the
Lyric Opera of Chicago during the 1980s. He made his debut with the company as Pinkerton on November 17, 1982 with
Elena Mauti Nunziata as Cio–Cio–San,
Elena Zilio as Suzuki, and
Sesto Bruscantini as Sharpless. His other roles in Chicago included Enzo Grimaldo in
La Gioconda, Manrico, and Rodolfo among others. His last performance with the company was as Mario Cavaradossi in
Tosca opposite
Renata Scotto in the title role on February 5, 1988. Ciannella also performed roles with many other companies internationally during the 1980s and 1990s. He sang frequently at the
Vienna State Opera from 1985 up until the end of his career, performing much of the same repertoire he performed at the Met. He notably gave a lauded portrayal of Riccardo in Verdi's
Un ballo in maschera in 1990. Ciannella made his debut at the
San Francisco Opera in 1984 as Don José in
Carmen. He appeared at the
Houston Grand Opera for the first time in 1985 in the title role of
Charles Gounod's
Faust, and that same year made his debut at the
Bavarian State Opera in the title role of Verdi's
Don Carlo. In 1986 he performed for the first time at the
Royal Opera at
Covent Garden as Manrico. He appeared in operas at the
Arena di Verona during the summers of 1983, 1985, 1986 and 1988. In 1987 he sang the title role in Verdi's
Ernani at the
Bregenzer Festspiele. He sang two roles at the
Oper der Stadt Köln during his career, Don José (1988) and Des Grieux (1990). His other performances include appearances with the
Deutsche Oper Berlin and the
Grand Théâtre de Genève among many others. After retiring from the stage in the late 1990s, Ciannella taught on the voice faculties of the
Parma Conservatory and the
Ferrara Conservatory. He was still teaching at the time of his death in
Ferrara in 2008. ==Videography==