April 2013
 April 2013 edition of Opera Magazine:
Opera Around the world, Review of Nabucco in Milan— “Nicola Luisotti's conducting was lively and detailed, the orchestral playing vivid and imposing.”
—Hugo Shirley of Opera Magazine
March 2013
March 2013 edition of Opera Magazine: Conductor Award:
 “A gratifyingly large response to the call for nominations for The Opera Awards drew more than 1,500 entries from 41 countries… The winners will be revealed at the ceremony in London on April 22 at the Hilton Hotel, Park Lane.”
—Opera Magazine
Conductor Nicola Luisotti is one of five on the short list of conductor finalist among colleagues: Richard Farnes, Ingo Metzmacher, Antionio Pappano and Christian Thielemann.
March 13, 2013
“Naples is one of this increasingly sought-after conductor’s two main bases, now that he has added the job of music director of the city’s historic Teatro San Carlo—he follows in the exalted foosteps of Rossini and Donizetti—to his existing directorship at the San Francisco Opera (a previous position for this globe-trotting musician was at the Tokyo Symphony). Later on in the day, I head to San Carlo to hear him conduct Verdi’s Requiem, in which he tempers the raw greasepaint of the house’s orchestra and chorus with a fascinating ear for orchestral colour and detail.”
—Neil Fisher, The Times
Read the interview in The Times here.
March 4, 2013
“All conductors will tell you that they put the music in front of everything and that they’re simply servants of the art, but Nicola Luisotti doesn’t have to even say it—his actions [on the podium] speak louder than words. While his Puccini’s unparalleled, his Verdi rocks. It’s like, Bro, have you even heard his Verdi?”
—Opera Chic
Read the full article here.
February 19, 2013
Conductor Nicola Luisotti tells Opera Chic Blogger, “‘Leo Nucci is legendary in the opera world because his humanity is on the same level as his artistry. When these two important aspects come together, the level of artistry grows immensely. Nucci doesn’t just sing Nabucco—he is Nabucco. From the beginning of the opera until the end, the audience believes in him because he has the ability and the talent to transport everyone to another time, another world.’ Susan Fisher, Head of Friends at the Royal Opera House, describes Leo Nucci as, ‘one of the greatest artists still performing, a true baritone and the Rigoletto du jour!’”
Read the full article here.
January 9, 2013
The San Francisco-Naples connection: Maestro Nicola Luisotti talks about his projects for Teatro di San Carlo and his tenure at the SF Opera with Marina Romani at Musical Criticism:
“We have to invest in culture so that everybody can appreciate knowledge and beauty…”
“‘How do you say excited in Italian?’ That is a question that came up during my conversation with maestro Nicola Luisotti. When speaking a language different than English, it is always difficult to find a term that implies what this one does—an emotional state, a high-level of energy. And it is a term that Luisotti must use a lot, as his personality is characterized by an infectious enthusiasm and a heart-warming desire for a collaborative kind of artistic work.…”
—Musical Criticism
Read the full interview here.
October 21, 2012
“…what most distinguished last night’s event was that it was the first time that SFO Music Director conducted a full Wagner opera… Over the course of Luisotti’s SFO tenure, serious listeners have come to appreciate his attention to details such as those that occupied Wagner so heavily in his Lohengrin score. The result was a thoroughly compelling account of the music that provided the best possible momentum for a plot line whose overall series of events is relatively limited. Where others have opted to taking a relatively static approach to the narrative, Luisotti provided a musical context that always churned with the connotations of what otherwise would have been straightforward actions by the members of the cast… In last night’s production this attentiveness to the chorus made sense both musically, through Luisotti’s direction, and dramatically, through Slater’s approach to staging”
—Stephen Smoliar, Examiner Online
September
17, 2012
Maestro Nicola Luisotti talks about his most treasured book, “The Operas of Verdi”, in the San Francisco Chronicle. Read more here.
September 7, 2012
Nicola Luisotti conducts San Francisco Opera’s season
opening production of Verdi’s Rigoletto to enormous critical acclaim:
“Even more arresting was the
leadership of music director Nicola Luisotti, who
rose on both nights to some of his most focused and energetic conducting in
recent seasons. Fearlessly challenging orchestra and singers with brisk tempos
and propulsive rhythms, Luisotti gave the proceedings
a breathless urgency that was well suited to the drama.”
—Joshua Kosman, San
Francisco Chronicle
“Company
music director Nicola Luisotti drew an ebullient
reading from the orchestra, bringing to the force the evil forces that plague Rigoletto. The orchestral playing was unleashed and lush,
culminating with an especially wild and effective storm scene.”
—CBS San Francisco
Download the full critical acclaim here.
February 7, 2012
Nicola Luisotti has been appointed Music Director of Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Italy, effective immediately. The news was announced over the weekend by General Director Rosanna Purchia and the Board of Directors of the Teatro di San Carlo Foundation following a meeting where the unanimous decision was taken. Download the press releases here: English | Italian
November 15, 2011
Maestro Nicola is profiled in The San Francisco Chronicle: “After a morning rehearsal of ‘Carmen,’ San Francisco Opera Music Director Nicola Luisotti sat down for lunch and launched into his thoughts on the power of music. ‘I am not the star, but I’m very artistic,’ he demurred … ‘The musicians are not the star. The music is the star. We are all servants to the music.’ Luisotti, who turns 50 this month, grew up in a small Tuscan village playing in the local band and supporting his music studies by doing everything from plucking chickens to working in a shoe factory. He now conducts at nearly every major opera company in the world, from La Scala in Milan, Italy, to the Metropolitan Opera in New York.” Read the entire article here.
December 13, 2010
Maestro Nicola Luisotti was awarded the 40th “Premio Puccini” Award in conjunction with the historic 100th Anniversary of Puccini’s La fanciulla del West at The Metropolitan Opera on December 10, 2010. Read more….
Maestro Nicola
Luisotti was awarded the 40th “Premio Puccini” Award in conjunction with the
historic 100th Anniversary of Puccini’s La fanciulla del West at The
Metropolitan Opera on December 10, 2010. At a special reception
following the performance, Metropolitan Opera General Manager Peter Gelb
saluted the historic occasion and recognized Maestro Luisotti and the cast. Mr.
Paolo Spadaccini, President of the Fondazione
Festival Pucciniano, presented the statuette to Maestro Luisotti, stating that
“Nicola Luisotti, who began his career just meters away from Puccini’s home
theater, is an ambassador to the world for the music of Puccini.”
“It is such an honor to receive this
special award on the historic occasion of the 100th anniversary of Puccini’s
masterpiece, La fanciulla del West,” stated Nicola Luisotti, “and I
truly thank Fondazione Festival Pucciniano for recognizing my work in such a
meaningful way.” “Tonight I am very proud to be Italian, and to share
with the people of America the music of this incredible composer from the place
where I was born. Puccini is here tonight with us, for all of the
incredible artists here at The Met have the blood of Puccini in their
veins. For sure I am not an expert but someone who will always be
learning new ways into Puccini’s music. I expect to serve the music of
Maestro Puccini for the rest of my life.”
Born in the Tuscan city of Viareggio,
Nicola Luisotti has a special relationship with The Fondazione Festival
Pucciniano. Luisotti can trace his earliest professional performances
back to the Puccini Festival at Torre del Lago where he sang in the chorus in
1984. Now internationally acclaimed, Maestro Luisotti serves as the Music
Director of San Francisco Opera and as Principal Conductor of the Tokyo
Philharmonic.
Nicola Luisotti will lead a total of eight
performances of La fanciulla del West at The Metropolitan Opera,
including the HD broadcast of the final performance on January 8, 2011.
Writing in the New York Times, Tony Tommasini called Luisotti’s
opening night performance a “distinguished performance” and praised his
“stylish, nuanced and sensitive conducting.”
Luisotti makes his professional debut at
Milan’s La Scala in a new production of Attila in June of 2011 and
will also lead Tosca and Die Zauberflöte with Dresden Opera.
Equally at home on the concert stage, his schedule includes upcoming
engagements with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Frankfurt’s Hessischer
Rundfunk Orchestra and Alte Oper Orchestra, the orchestra of Rome’s Accademia
Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and Milan’s Filarmonica della Scala.
The “Premio Puccini” Award, created in
1971, is a representation of the Paolo Troubetzkoy statue of Puccini placed in front of the composer’s former home in Torre del
Lago in 1949. Maestro Luisotti joins a long line of distinguished artists
who have received the award, including internationally acclaimed film director
Woody Allen, conductors Lorin Maazel, Bruno Bartoletti and Riccardo Muti,
and renowned opera singers Luciano Pavarotti, Josè Carreras, Renata Scotto,
Mirella Freni, Renata Tebaldi, and many more.
Complete information on the award can be found at: www.puccinifestival.it
Summer 2010
Listen to a podcast on Operalovers.net: Maestro Nicola Luisotti, described by the New York Times reporter as an ‘Italian Phenomenon’ is musical director of San Francisco Opera. He’s famed for his interpretation of the great Italian masters Puccini and Verdi and in this candid and humorous interview with Neil Shestopal, he talks about a childhood steeped in Puccini, his ‘discovery’ as a highly talented young musician at the age of only 12 and his subsequent ‘training’ in the art of opera when he worked as both a singer in a chorus and later as the youngest chorus master in Italy.
April 29, 2010
Listen to a podcast of an interview with Nicola Luisotti about conducting Aida at the Royal Opera House.
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San Francisco Opera
For official information: sfopera.com
Important Note: All information given is correct at time of publication and is subject to change without notice. Confirmation of dates, repertoire, and guest artists can be found at the web addresses provided.
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