Vittorio Gui |

Vittorio Gui

Vittorio Gui was born in Rome and studied piano as a child. He received a liberal arts education at the University of Rome, studied composition at the Academy of St. Cecilia under the direction of Giacomo Setaccioli and Stanislao Falchi.

In 1907, his first opera David was premiered. In the same year, he made his first performance as a conductor in Ponchielli’s La Gioconda, followed by invitations to Naples and Turin. In 1923, at the invitation of A. Toscanini, Gui conducted R. Strauss’s opera Salome at the La Scala Theatre. From 1925 to 1927 he conducted at the Teatro Regio in Turin, where his second opera Fata Malerba premiered. Then from 1928-1943 he was a conductor at the Teatro Comunale in Florence.

Vittorio Gui became the founder in 1933 of the Florentine Musical May festival and headed it until 1943. At the festival, he conducted such rarely performed operas as Verdi’s Luisa Miller, Spontini’s The Vestal Virgin, Cherubini’s Medea, and Gluck’s Armida. In 1933, at the invitation of Bruno Walter, he participated in the Salzburg Festival, In 1938 he became the permanent conductor of Covent Garden.

In the post-war period, Gouy’s activities were mainly associated with the Glyndebourne Festival. Here, the conductor made his debut with Mozart’s opera “Everyone Does It So” and in 1952 became the music director of the festival. Gui held this position until 1963, and then until 1965 he was the artistic consultant of the festival. Among the most significant works of Gouy in Glyndebourne are Cinderella, The Barber of Seville and other operas by Rossini. Gui performed a lot in the largest theaters in Italy and the world. Among his productions are Aida, Mephistopheles, Khovanshchina, Boris Godunov. “Norma” with Maria Callas in Covent Garden in 1952 made a splash.

Vittorio Gui is also widely known for his performances of symphonic works, especially Ravel, R. Strauss, Brahms. Gouy conducted a concert cycle of all Brahms’ orchestral and choral works, dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death in 1947.