Michael Recchiuti

MICHAEL RECCHIUTI, Artistic Director of the American Opera Theater, and founding Principal Conductor of the New Jersey Opera Theater, is active internationally as a conductor, and as a pianist and accompanist. He has collaborated with stars of the international opera stage, Grammy and Tony award winners, and major musical theater personalities.

In Italy, he was engaged as head of the musical staff/assistant conductor at Venice's Teatro La Fenice, and as Consulente Musicale at the Ente Lirico in Cagliari, Sardegna, where he helped prepare the first full performance of Rossini's Guillaume Tell in French presented in Italy - starring Chris Merritt.

He has appeared as accompanist to some of Europe's leading singers in recitals at Parma's Teatro Regio, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, and for the RAI. In 1990 he conducted the Budapest Philharmonic during the Budapest Spring Festival.

In recording, he has conducting the Orchestra di Camera di Padova e del Veneto in bel canto arias with tenor Chris Merritt, which was chosen as "Best of the Year" by Opera News, Opera International, and CD Classica magazines. As a pianist, he and American tenor Paul Austen Kelly released a disc of English art songs by Benjamin Britten and Roger Quilter for GM Records.

In America, he was engaged by Mo. Alfredo Silipigni as Associate Conductor of the New Jersey State Opera, he prepared and conducted Mascagni's Lodoletta, Iris, and Zanetto, and Puccini's Le Villi. At the New Jersey Opera Theater - now Opera New Jersey, he was founding Principal Conductor, and led performances of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Verdi's Il Trovatore. As Music Director of the Opera Ensemble of New York he performed Gluck's Orfeo, and Robert Ward's The Crucible, under the supervision of the composer. For the Long Beach Opera he conducted acclaimed productions of Puccini's La Rondine, Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, and Massenet's La Navarraise.

He was invited by the Orchestra of St. Luke's to conduct Haydn's Lo Speziale at New York's Town Hall. He also conducted the Korean Symphony of New York, and the Musician's Emergency Fund Gala, both at Lincoln Center.

From 1999 to 2001 he conducted over 70 performances of 15 different works - dividing his time between the Orlando Opera, the DiCapo Opera in New York, and the National Lyric Opera in New England.

He was the founding Music Director of Opera de las Americas, the national opera of the Dominican Republic.

After completing studies at the Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts, and the Manhattan School of Music, he assisted many conductors, primarily Nicola Rescigno, Alfredo Silipigni, Giuseppe Patanè, and Bruno Bartoletti. Earlier in Philadelphia, he studied with Joseph Primavera, who engaged him as Assistant Conductor of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, and choral conducting with Michael Korn, where he was Assistant Conductor of the Philadelphia Singers. He went to the Aspen Music Festival as Fellowship Conductor, and later returned as Music Director of the Vocal Institute. He was accepted into Italy's prestigious Accademia Chigiana in Siena, where he studied with Franco Ferrara, Carlo Maria Giulini, and Bruno Bartoletti. Consequently he was awarded the Diploma di Merito in Direzione della Lirica, and was chosen to conduct public performances of Bellini's Beatrice di Tenda with the soprano Cecilia Gasdia.



Michael Recchiuti is represented by
Encompass Arts, LLC
119 West 72nd Street
New York, NY 10023
Phone: (212) 439-8055

Contact Kathy Olsen:
kathy@encompassarts.com

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