Italy: Rome opera house and S. Cecilia orchestra get new music directors

Rome: Accademia di S. Cecilia has announced that Antonio Pappano, the present music director, will become its music director emeritus at the end of his contract in October 2023.

The announcement of this new position comes soon after the news that Pappano is moving on to become the chief conductor at the London Symphony Orchestra.

The emeritus position will however mean that he will still have important ties with Rome’s orchestra, which has made enormous strides onto the international scene under his leadership.

Pappano’s position as music director of S. Cecilia, which he has held for 17 years will go to Daniele Gatti, whose contract as music director of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma orchestra expires at the end of this year.

Corriere della Sera is reporting that Gatti’s position at the Teatro dell’Opera will then be filled by Michele Mariotti, who is at present the music director at the Comunale di Bologna and who has conducted many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, such as the Wiener Staatsoper, the Met in New York and the Royal Opera House in London.

Mariotti is scheduled to conduct Luisa Miller by Verdi in concert form at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma on 20-21 April and the symphonic concert of music by Verdi on 28 April, both to be broadcast live on Radio Rai 3.

This lineup of talent secures a place for Rome as one of the important cities on the European if not the international music scene, moving ahead of Milan, where La Scala has been falling behind during the covid-19 pandemic.

Both S. Cecilia and the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma have been very active during these difficult times, not just with streamed repeats of previous productions and performances but also with challenging and imaginative new work.