Alberto Zedda |

Alberto Zedda

Alberto Zedda – an outstanding Italian conductor, musicologist, writer, renowned connoisseur and interpreter of Rossini’s work – was born in 1928 in Milan. He studied conducting with such masters as Antonio Votto and Carlo Maria Giulini. Zedda’s debut took place in 1956 in his native Milan with the opera The Barber of Seville. In 1957, the musician won the competition of young conductors of the Italian radio and television, and this success was the beginning of his brilliant international career. Zedda has worked in the most prestigious opera houses in the world, such as the Royal Opera Covent Garden (London), La Scala Theater (Milan), the Vienna State Opera, the Paris National Opera, the Metropolitan Opera (New York), the largest theaters in Germany. For many years he headed the music festival in Martina Franca (Italy). Here he acted as musical director of many productions, including The Barber of Seville (1982), The Puritani (1985), Semiramide (1986), The Pirate (1987) and others.

The main business of his life was the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, of which he has been artistic director since the founding of the forum in 1980. This prestigious festival annually brings together the best Rossini performers from all over the world. However, the sphere of artistic interests of the maestro includes not only the work of Rossini. His interpretations of the music of other Italian authors gained fame and recognition – he performed most of the operas by Bellini, Donizetti and other composers. In the 1992/1993 season, he served as Artistic Director of La Scala Theater (Milan). The conductor has repeatedly participated in the productions of the German festival “Rossini in Bad Wildbad”. In recent years, Zedda has performed Cinderella (2004), Lucky Deception (2005), The Lady of the Lake (2006), The Italian Girl in Algiers (2008) and others at the festival. In Germany, he has also conducted in Stuttgart (1987, “Anne Boleyn”), Frankfurt (1989, “Moses”), Düsseldorf (1990, “Lady of the Lake”), Berlin (2003, “Semiramide”). In 2000, Zedda became honorary president of the German Rossini Society.

The conductor’s discography includes a huge number of recordings, including those made during performances. Among his best studio works are the opera Beatrice di Tenda, recorded in 1986 on the Sony label, and Tancred, released by Naxos in 1994.

Alberto Zedda is well known throughout the world as a musicologist-researcher. His works devoted to the work of Vivaldi, Handel, Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi, and, of course, Rossini received international recognition. In 1969, he prepared a scholarly academic edition of The Barber of Seville. He also prepared editions of the operas The Thieving Magpie (1979), Cinderella (1998), Semiramide (2001). The maestro also played a significant role in the publication of Rossini’s complete works.

This is not the first time the conductor has collaborated with the Russian National Orchestra. In 2010, in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, under his direction, a concert performance of the opera The Italian Girl in Algiers took place. In 2012, the maestro took part in the Grand RNO Festival. In the closing concert of the festival, under his direction, Rossini’s “Little Solemn Mass” was performed in the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall.

Source: Moscow Philharmonic website