Passing the baton
Alberto Veronesi has been appointed Music Director of Opera Orchestra of New York, effective in the 2011-12 season. He will succeed OONY founder Eve Queler, who will become Conductor Laureate once Veronesi’s initial five-year tenure begins.
During the Opera Orchestra’s 2010-11 40th-anniversary season he will serve as Music Director Designate and conduct an opera-in-concert performance, as well as helping to plan future seasons.
Didn’t Veronesi run for mayor of Milan some time ago?
It looks more like he ran for a seat on the Milan county council (complete with facebook page and coverage chez Opera Chic), but run he did. Can’t find if he got the vote, though.
And as for visual similarities, doesn’t he look a bit like Luis Lima too?
Damn, Luis lima was one hell of a hottie when he was 20-40
He reminds me of Ricky Nelson, but with a really bad 70′s haircut.
So, what are the chances this guy will program a) something that’s not Italian and b) written in the last 100 years at OONY? Odds anyone?
Veronesi is an excellent conductor. I had only praise for him when I reviewed L’amico Fritz. Unfortunately his political ideas lean way too much to the right. He is associated with MPA (Movement for the Autonomies, the Southern counterpart to the Northern League), which is an ally of Berlusconi’s right-wing government and strenuously opposes civil unions.
The official press release:
The Opera Orchestra of New York Appoints Alberto Veronesi as
Music Director Beginning with the 2011-12 Season
Eve Queler to Become Conductor Laureate
Mr. Verenosi To Serve as Music Director Designate in 2010-11
New York, January 26, 2010 – Norman Raben, Chairman and Eve Queler,
Music Director of The Opera Orchestra of New York today announced that
Italian conductor Alberto Veronesi has been appointed Music Director
effective in the 2011-12 season. Mr. Veronesi will succeed The Opera
Orchestra of New York founder Eve Queler, who will become Conductor
Laureate once Mr. Veronesi’s initial 5-year tenure begins. During the
Opera Orchestra’s 2010-11 40th-anniversary season, Mr. Veronesi will
serve as Music Director Designate and conduct an opera-in-concert
performance. He will also work with the Board of Directors, Ms. Queler
and the administrative staff to program and cast future seasons. The
complete 2010-11 season, which will include two opera-in-concert
performances, a recital and additional events, will be announced at a
later date.
Born in Milan, Alberto Veronesi is Music Director of the Puccini
Festival at Torre del Lago, Artistic Director of the Filarmonica del
Teatro Comunale di Bologna, and Music Director of the Orchestra
Sinfonica Siciliana, positions which he will continue to hold during
his tenure as Music Director of the Opera Orchestra.
The Opera Orchestra of New York was established in 1971 by Eve Queler
to present rare and unusual repertory in a concert setting, emphasizing
the operatic voice over visual production. Performances feature
internationally acclaimed established artists as well as exceptional
young singers in an effort to develop an appreciation of opera among
diverse audiences while cultivating a new generation of supporters.
“We are pleased to welcome Alberto Veronesi to The Opera Orchestra of
New York family,” said Mr. Raben. “During our 2009-10 ‘bridge’ season
we have been working to regain our financial footing and develop a
strategic plan to aggressively and optimistically continue the Opera
Orchestra’s longstanding tradition of exceptional opera-in-concert
performances. Mr. Veronesi’s background and experience in development,
his artistic ability and vision, and his musical knowledge of the
lesser known works of the operatic repertoire make him the ideal music
director for the company.”
“I am honored to accept the position of Music Director and begin this
next chapter in my life with The Opera Orchestra of New York,” said Mr.
Veronesi. “I look forward to continuing Eve Queler’s extraordinary
efforts in repertory renewal, presenting unique operas performed by
world-class and young singers. Ms. Queler has built an outstanding
company and I will do my best to follow in her footsteps.”
“I am proud of the accomplishments of The Opera Orchestra of New York
over the past 40 years and I was thrilled to find a conductor who
shares my philosophy and will carry on the legacy of The Opera
Orchestra of New York,” commented Eve Queler. “I offer him my support
and best wishes as he embarks upon this new phase in our organization.”
Alberto Veronesi
Italian conductor Alberto Veronesi has done extensive
research on the operatic repertoire of the late 19th to early 20th
Century by composers such as Pietro Mascagni, Ruggiero Leoncavallo and
Giacomo Puccini, among others, and has programmed and recorded as a
Deutsche Grammophon artist these lesser known works in an effort to
give this underexposed repertoire a wider audience with the hopes of
establishing new masterworks. His recent critically acclaimed
performances of Mascagni’s L’amico Fritz starring Angela Gheorghiu and
Roberto Alagna at Deutsche Oper Berlin were recorded live and have
since been released as his third album in an ongoing Verismo project
with Deutsche Grammophon comprised of works from the post-Romantic
Italian operatic repertoire. The series began in 2006 with the
critically acclaimed complete recording of Puccini’s early opera Edgar
with Placido Domingo in the title role. The second recording, Puccini
Rediscovered released in September 2009, is an album of original
editions and alternative versions of famous Puccini arias and ensembles
as well as little-known orchestral compositions sung by Placmdo Domingo
and soprano Violeta Urmana with the Vienna Philharmonic. The next
recording in the series is La Nuit de mai, an album of Leoncavallo
songs and arias performed by Mr. Domingo, pianist Lang Lang and the
Orchestra of Teatro Comunale di Bologna to be released in April 2010.
As a guest conductor, Mr. Veronesi led the Orchestra Guido Cantelli and
I Madrigalisti Ambrosiani in Salieri’s Falstaff at the Brooklyn Academy
of Music, Giordano’s Andrea Chinier at the Tel Aviv Opera Theatre, and
Puccini’s Madama Butterfly in Athens and at the NHK in Tokyo. He has
also conducted Leoncavallo’s I Medici at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino,
Puccini’s Tosca at Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Giordano’s Fedora at La
Monnaie Bruxelles.
Born in Milan, Mr. Veronesi studied at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory,
graduating with honors in piano, composition and orchestral conducting.
As a student he founded the Guido Cantelli Orchestra, which has since
remained in residence at the Conservatory. He directed the orchestra
until 2000, including performances at the Salzburg Easter Festival (at
the invitation of Claudio Abbado), Teatro alla Scala and Maggio
Musicale.
In 1999, Mr. Veronesi was appointed Music Director of the Puccini
Festival at Torre del Lago, where he has not only since conducted all
of Puccini’s operas but was also actively involved in the construction
of a new opera house. In 2003, his production of La Bohhme at the
Festival won the Premio Abbiati, awarded by the Italian Music Critics
Association. His performances at the Festival in 2009 included a new
production of Manon Lescaut and a gala concert with soprano Angela
Gheorghiu.
In 2001 Mr. Veronesi was named Artistic and Music Director of the
Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana in Palermo, where he is performing
complete cycles of symphonies by Beethoven, Bruckner, Mahler and
Shostakovich, as well as giving prominence to 20th-century Italian
symphonic music and continuing to program contemporary works. He was
also recently named Artistic Director of the Filarmonica del Teatro
Comunale di Bologna. Mr. Veronesi lives in Palermo with his wife and
young daughter.
The Opera Orchestra of New York
The Opera Orchestra of New York was established by Eve Queler in 1971
to give new life to rarely-heard operas and provide the public with an
opportunity to hear these operatic rarities in major concert
performances. Among its numerous American premieres are Puccini’s Edgar
with Carlo Bergonzi and Renata Scotto; Boito’s Nerone with James Morris
and Pablo Elvira; and Smetana’s Libuse with Gabriela Benackova and Paul
Plishka. The Company also performed the New York premiere of
Tchaikovsky’s The Maid of Orleans, with Dolora Zajick and Jorma
Hynninen, which was also the American premiere of the Russian language
version. The ensemble has also presented works long neglected in New
York, such as Wagner’s Rienzi, Verdi’s I Lombardi, Bizet’s Les pjcheurs
de perles, and Catalani’s La Wally. These pioneering efforts have led
national opera companies such as the Metropolitan, Chicago Lyric and
Houston Grand Opera to add to their permanent repertoires works that
received their first major modern hearing by The Opera Orchestra of New
York including I lombardi, Donizetti’s La Favorita, Zandonai’s
Francesca da Rimini, Dvorak’s Rusalka and Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina.
Opera Orchestra takes an active role in identifying young operatic
talent and fostering its training. Since 1978 Opera Orchestra’s Young
Artists Program has identified, trained and showcased young singers,
assisting their professional development and advancing their careers as
performing artists. It is the only program in the New York metropolitan
area that provides young singers with an opportunity to rehearse and
perform with full orchestra and chorus. The program has nurtured the
talents of Renie Fleming, Aprile Millo, Vivica Genaux, Deborah Voigt,
Latonia Moore, Stephen Costello, Michael Fabiano and Eglise Gutierrez.
Other singers who have worked with Opera Orchestra very early in their
careers include Josi Carreras, Barbara Hendricks, Dwayne Croft, Samuel
Ramey and James Morris. Singers who made their American or New York
debuts with Opera Orchestra include Gabriela Benackova, Stephanie
Blythe, Olga Borodina, Ghena Dimitrova, Jane Eaglen, Carlo Guelfi,
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Vesselina Kasarova, Paul Plishka, Rosalind
Plowright and Krassimira Stoyanova and Dolora Zajick.
Eve Queler
Founder and creator of The Opera Orchestra of New York, Eve Queler is a
pioneer, establishing herself as one of the first prominent female
conductors of an orchestra. She is internationally renowned for her
ground-breaking work with the Opera Orchestra and as a guest conductor
of symphonic and opera repertoire at venues that span the international
musical world. She has conducted many rarely performed operas, bringing
them to the attention of the American public and introducing them to
the standard repertoire. Standing out among her many successes are
Wagner’s Rienzi, Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini, Smetana’s Dalibor, and
Strauss’ Die Liebe der Danae. She celebrated her 100th Carnegie Hall
performance as Music Director of The Opera Orchestra of New York during
the 2007-2008 season.
Ms. Queler has guest conducted at opera companies including the Kirov
Opera in St. Petersburg, Russia, Hamburg Oper, Frankfurt Oper, Oper
Bonn, Australian Opera in Sydney and Nice Opera. She guest conducted
Anna Bolena with the San Diego Opera; La Bohhme with the Utah Opera; I
puritani in Royal Festival Hall, London; Lakmi in Caracas; Tales of
Hoffmann in South Africa and Quebec City; and she led Rossini’s
Elisabetta, regina d’Inghilterra at Buenos Aires’ legendary Teatro
Colsn. Her opera gala concerts have included performances at the Salle
Pleyel, Paris, and with the Honolulu Symphony, the Montreal Symphony,
the National Symphony and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. She has conducted
numerous symphony orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra,
Cleveland Orchestra, Rome Opera, and Montreal Symphony. Recently she
conducted the Orchestra Sinfonia Siciliana in Palermo, Italy, in
Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 1 and Poulenc’s Piano Concerto.
Ms. Queler has been named a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des
Lettres (one of the highest awards presented by the French government)
for her commitment to French operas. She has also received the Sanford
Medal, Yale University’s highest musical honor.
Reading his resume, his rare repertoire impulses seem to be entirely late Italian – doesn’t Teatro Grattacielo already cater for that? I mean, I am a huge fan of yet-to-be-exhumed verismo crapola, but there are other repertoire areas that need digging up once in a while………..
Then YOU find the money for it and do it.
I am also a “a huge fan of yet-to-be-exhumed verismo crapola” (thank you for a wonderful line, Regina A) and hope he does Leoncallo’s ‘I Medici’, which I’ve long been interested in. Teatro Grattacielo is okay but the audience is kinda Carmela and Tony Soprano, but OONY is always more fun ’cause it’s in Carnegie.
Interesting that he is performing Bruckner for the palermitani! Senso?
Camille, I actually witnessed a concert performance of ‘I medici’ in Frankfurt, conducted by the late Marcello Viotti, with Renato Bruson, bit past it but most charismatic – early 90′s I think. It was supposed to be recorded (as was a previous concert of Franchetti’s ‘Cristoforo Colombo with the same folks, which WAS released) but never appeared. It was fun, I recall – with a very tense last act with big ensemble.
Quanto Painy Fakor, was that remark pointed at me? If so why? Doesn’t OONY exist to exhume things? I was advocating a wide sweep of repertoire, not a niche of limited interest.
Salve Regina Amahelli!
Thanking you so kindly for that fascinating titbit. I hadn’t ever noticed the Cristoforo Colombo recording, but would be curious to hear it. Only have heard a bit of ‘Germania’ via a Caruso recording, which struck me as interesting.
The Medici was sung in Italian, I presume? Yes, maybe by that time Mr. Bruson was getting on, but by his Macbetto, seen twice, I know him to be most interesting on stage.
My! You truly have seen many wonderful things — Beato Lei!!
Speaking of Leoncavallo, I hope he does the Boheme. I sang a scene from it in college and it was lovely.
Last I heard, Medea was still on for next season.
more Leoncavallo – English national Opera did his version of ‘Boheme’. It really didn’t work – there’s a sort of muddle about who the main lovers are – suddenly in the last acts it’s Marcello and Musetta, and the first half is endless tinkly party scenes. I have a feeling it’s one of those where stray excerpts and scenes work best….
A friend of mine just saw Bruson as Falstaff in Rome and said he was still terrific at 70 or however old he is.
I just read on Opera Chic that he’s actually 76!
Well thank you, Camille – I think I’m just attracted to oddities. Cristoforo Colombo has its moments, and by the end is rather moving – it’s a little long. ‘Medici’ was in Italian, and I distinctly remember a note in the programme telling us to suppress coughs, gas, hysteria and so on, as there was a recording being made. It seemed a very tight performance too – I wonder if anyone has insider knowledge why the recording never surfaced?
Bruson was very compelling in ‘Macbeth’ I remember: he even managed to hold his own at the ROH when Scotto was the Lady……..
RRnest Thesiger: I’m not sure what night your friend saw but I was there on the opening and sadly neither Bruson nor the production were terrific. It was a sad commentary on the state of things at the Teatro dell’Opera.
More about it or at least my view of it here:
http://willyorwonthe.blogspot.com/2010/01/tutti-il-mondo-e-burla.html