Roberto Rizzi Brignoli

Biography

Roberto Rizzi Brignoli studied with Piero Rattalino and Aldo Ciccolini and graduated with full marks in piano at the Milan Conservatory "Giuseppe Verdi", where he completed also his studies in composition and conducting. He started his career as assistant for the most famous theatres and musical institutions among which Teatro alla Scala di Milano.
He was assistant to the principal Conductor at the Festival dei due Mondi di Spoleto and at the Orchestra della RAI di Milano.

In 1995 during the Festival celebrating the 150th of Mayr’s Death, he conducted at the Teatro Donizetti di Bergamo two J. S. Mayr’s farces.
In Tokyo, he conducted B. Galuppi’s L’Italiana in Oriente for the "Japan Opera Fondation-The Fujiwara Opera".

During the 1997/98 season he performed at Teatro alla Scala Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia.

He conducted some symphonic concerts with the Arena di Verona, the symphonic orchestra of Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, Pomeriggi Musicali di Milano, I Cameristi del Teatro alla Scala, the Arturo Toscanini Orchestra of Parma, the Orchestra Stabile of Bergamo.

For the 1999/2000 season of Teatro alla Scala, he also conducted at the Nuovo Piccolo Teatro di Milano two ballets: Rieti’s La Sonnambula and Gavazzeni’s Il furioso all’isola di San Domingo with George Iancu as protagonist and in the season 1999/2000 he conducted other two ballets: Serenade by Tchaikovsky and Cheri, whose protagonist was Carla Fracci, with music by Poulenc.
He conducted Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro at the Teatro Verdi di Trieste, Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur at Teatro alla Scala.

In 2000 he made his debut at the Rossini Opera Festival with the Lyon Opera Orchestra and subsequently at the Sferisterio di Macerata with Macbeth by Verdi.

In 2001 he conducted La Boheme at Teatro Comunale di Firenze, L’Elisir d’Amore and Otello at Teatro alla Scala and Norma for the opening season 2001 at Sferisterio di Macerata, participated again at the Rossini Opera Festival conducting two farces by Pavesi and Pacini. He also made his debut at the Frankfurt Opera conducting Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci.

In 2002 he made his debut at the Bilbao Opera with Le nozze di Figaro and at the Teatro la Fenice di Venezia with La scala di seta.
In 2002 he conducted for Teatro alla Scala the complete productions of Otello, La Traviata and Rigoletto.

He made his debut with La Traviata at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where he conducted in December 2003 Un Ballo in Maschera.

This year he conducted L’elisir d’amore for Teatro La Fenice di Venezia and I due Foscari for Teatro alla Scala.
He recently made his debut with great success of public at the Teatro Real of Madrid with La Favorite.
In September 2003 he conducts Manon Lescaut at the Bilbao Opera, where he conducts in 2004 Les Pecheurs de Perles and will come back in 2005 with La Traviata.

In 2004/2005 he made his debut in the United States, Miami, where he conducted Norma. Then he conducted Elisir d’Amore at Teatro Carlo Felice of Genova.

He did also the revival of Lucia in Toulouse in November 2004.
In 2005 he did a new production of Madama Butterfly at the Bolshoi as well as Forza del Destino at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, (as well as an arias concert) Barbiere di Seviglia in France.

From 1999 to 2002 he was responsible for the orchestra and the musical services of Teatro alla Scala.