Rico Saccani (born April 16, 1952) is a conductor who served as Music Director/Artistic Adviser of the

Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra The Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra ( Hungarian: ''Budapesti Filharmóniai Társaság Zenekara'') is Hungary's oldest extant orchestra. It was founded in 1853 by Ferenc Erkel under the auspices of the Budapest Philharmonic Society. For many years i ...

between 1996 and 2005 and was principal guest conductor of the Hungarian State Opera from 1985 to 2005.

Biography

Saccani began his music career with

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

studies at age six. He attended the

National Music Camp Interlochen Center for the Arts is a non-profit corporation which operates arts education institutions and performance venues in northwest Michigan. It is situated on a campus in Interlochen, Michigan, roughly southwest of Traverse City. In ...

Interlochen, Michigan Interlochen ( ') is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Grand Traverse County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the population was 694, up from 583 at the 2010 census. The community is located with ...

from 1965–1968 and went on to the Chautauqua Summer Music Institute from 1969-1972. In 1973, he attended the Summer Academy at Fontainebleau where he worked with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

. Following 300 Community Concert piano recitals from 1974–1978, he participated in the 1978

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

and Tchaikowsky International Piano Competitions. In 1974, Saccani graduated from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

with a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

in Business and returned in 1980 for a B.M. in Music. From 1980-1982 he attended the

University of Michigan School of Music The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance is an undergraduate and graduate institution for the performing arts in the United States. It is part of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. The school was founded by Calvin Brainerd ...

where he obtained his M.M. in Conducting under Gustav Meier and his D.M.A. under Louis Nagel. Saccani attended the 1983 summer conducting seminar for young conductors at

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Tanglewood is also home to three music schools: the ...

where he worked with Seiji Ozawa, Leonard Bernstein and

Maurice Abravanel Maurice Abravanel (January 6, 1903 – September 22, 1993) was an American classical music conductor. He is remembered as the conductor of the Utah Symphony Orchestra for over 30 years. Life Abravanel was born in Salonika, Rumelia Eyalet, Otto ...

. During a seven-year apprenticeship with Italian conductor

Giuseppe Patane Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph, from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף. It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it. The feminine form of the name is Giusep ...

, Saccani won top prize in the 1984

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

International Conducting Competition in Berlin. Saccani was engaged to perform with the

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and Stuttgart Radio Orchestras, the Royal Danish Philharmonic and the

Spoleto Festival The ''Festival dei Due Mondi'' (Festival of the Two Worlds) is an annual summer music and opera festival held each June to early July in Spoleto, Italy, since its founding by composer Gian Carlo Menotti in 1958. It features a vast array of conce ...

. His

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

debut came in 1985 in Verdi's ''

Un giorno di regno ''Un giorno di regno, ossia Il finto Stanislao'' (''A One-Day Reign, or The Pretend Stanislaus'', but often translated into English as ''King for a Day'') is an operatic '' melodramma giocoso'' in two acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto ...

'' at the

Teatro Filarmonico di Verona The Teatro Filarmonico is the main opera theater in Verona, Italy, and is one of the leading opera houses in Europe. The Teatro Filarmonico is property of the Accademia Filarmonica di Verona. Having been built in 1716, and later rebuilt after ...

, '' La traviata'' at the Paris Opera and the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August ...

, ''

Il turco in Italia ''Il turco in Italia'' (English: ''The Turk in Italy'') is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The Italian-language libretto was written by Felice Romani. It was a re-working of a libretto by Caterino Mazzolà set as an opera (w ...

'' at the

Rossini Festival The Rossini Opera Festival (ROF) is an international music festival held in August of each year in Pesaro, Italy, the birthplace of the opera composer Gioachino Rossini. Its aim, in addition to studying the musical heritage of the composer, is to r ...

in Pesaro plus ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '' quadri'', '' tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giusep ...

'' at the Philadelphia Opera with

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

for the PBS American television network.

Guest conducting

Saccani appeared regularly as guest conductor with many important symphony orchestras including the Bavarian Radio Orchestra (Munich), the

Czech Philharmonic The Česká filharmonie (Czech Philharmonic) is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. The orchestra's principal concert venue is the Rudolfinum. History The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title ...

, the Irish National Symphony, the

Tokyo Philharmonic The is recognized as the oldest symphony orchestra in Japan. It was founded in 1911 and debuted at the original Matsuzakaya store in Nagoya as the . It relocated to Tokyo in 1938. As of 2005, it has 166 members. The orchestra plays frequently a ...

and Yomiuri Symphonies, the

Oslo Philharmonic The Oslo Philharmonic (Oslo-Filharmonien) is a Norwegian symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra traces its roots to the Philharmonic Society founded in 1847 and the Christiania Musical Association co-founded by Edvard Grieg in 18 ...

, the

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

and Bilbao Orchestras, the Gurzenisch Orchestra (Cologne), the Orchestre de chambre de Genève (Geneva Chamber Orchestra), the Hungarian National State Philharmonic, the Mannheim National Theater Orchestra, the Marseilles Opera Orchestra and the

Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra The Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra ('':hu:Liszt Ferenc Kamarazenekar, Liszt Ferenc Kamarazenekar'') is a chamber orchestra based in Budapest, Hungary. The Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra took the name of the great composer, to pay homage to the ge ...

. Maestro Saccani also appeared at the

Hamburg State Opera The Hamburg State Opera (in German: Staatsoper Hamburg) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''General ...

, the

Lyon Opera Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...

, the Monte-Carlo Opera, the Arena de Nîmes Festival, the Paris

Opéra Comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular '' opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...

, Rome, Dresden and Cologne Operas. Saccani made his

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

debut in ''

Il trovatore ''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mos ...

'' and was re-engaged for the first international radio broadcast of Traviata and ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...

''. He also conducted at the Teatro San Carlo (Naples), the Arena di Verona (''Rigoletto''), the

Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is an American opera company located in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1955 by German-born impresario Walter Herbert and three local Houstonians,Giesberg, Robert I., Carl Cunningham, and Alan Rich. ''Houston Grand Opera at ...

, the Puccini Festival Torre del Lago (''Turandot''), the Teatro Bellini di Catania (''

La Favorite ''La favorite'' (''The Favourite'', sometimes referred to by its Italian title: ''La favorita'') is a grand opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, based on the play ''Le comt ...

'' and ''

I puritani ' (''The Puritans'') is an 1835 opera by Vincenzo Bellini. It was originally written in two acts and later changed to three acts on the advice of Gioachino Rossini, with whom the young composer had become friends. The music was set to a libretto ...

'') as well as the

Maggio Musicale Fiorentino The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (English: Florence Musical May) is an annual Italian arts festival in Florence, including a notable opera festival, under the auspices of the Opera di Firenze. The festival occurs between late April into June annuall ...

, the Avenches Swiss Festival and the Santander Summer Music Festival in Spain. Maestro Saccani was Chief Conductor/Music Director of the Budapest Philharmonic from 1999-2006 as well as Principal Guest Conductor of the Hungarian State Opera during the same years. He initiated a "Verdi Marathon" in the Hungarian State Opera house in January 2000 celebrating the Millennium where he conducted seven

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

operas in nine evenings."Budapest Bound" Opera News. 63:11 (May 1999) He returned to New York's

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

and Washington's

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

that same year with the Iceland Symphony as their Music Director during their North American tour.

Symphonies and performers

Among those with whom Saccani has performed are:

Symphonies

* American Symphony Orchestra (New York City) * Bavarian Radio Orchestra (Munich) * Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra * Budapest Philharmonic * Hungarian State Opera Orchestra * Houston Grand Opera Symphony Orchestra (Houston Symphony) * Irish National Opera Orchestra (Dublin) * Metropolitan Opera Orchestra (New York City) * Monte-Carlo Opera Orchestra * Moscow Symphony (Puccini Festival, Torre del Lago Italy) * Oslo Philharmonic * Paris Opera Orchestra * Rome Opera Orchestra * Royal Philharmonic of Denmark (Copenhagen) * Stuttgart Radio Orchestra * Tokyo Philharmonic * Vienna State Opera Symphony Orchestra (Vienna Philharmonic) * Yomiuri (Tokyo) Symphony Orchestra * GuiYang（China）Symphony Orchestra

Performers

Roberto Alagna Roberto Alagna (; born 7 June 1963) is a French operatic tenor. He obtained French citizenship in 1981, while also retaining his previous Italian citizenship. Early years Alagna was born in Clichy-sous-Bois, outside the city of Paris, in 1963 to ...

Lucia Aliberti Lucia Aliberti (born 12 June 1957) is a Italian operatic soprano singer. She performed the bel canto roles of Bellini, Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini, Vivaldi, Mercadante and so on. Life and career Aliberti was born in Messina (Sicily). ...

Cecilia Bartoli Cecilia Bartoli, Cavaliere OMRI (; born 4 June 1966) is an Italian coloratura mezzo-soprano opera singer and recitalist. She is best known for her interpretations of the music of Bellini, Handel, Mozart, Rossini and Vivaldi, as well as for her ...

* Carlo Bergonzi *

Beaux Arts Trio The Beaux Arts Trio was a noted piano trio, celebrated for their vivacity, emotional depth and wide-ranging repertoire. They made their debut on 13 July 1955, at the Berkshire Music Festival, Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, known today as th ...

Alessandro Corbelli Alessandro Corbelli (born September 21, 1952) is an Italian baritone opera singer. One of the world's pre-eminent singers specializing in Mozart and Rossini, Corbelli has sung in many major opera houses around the world and won admiration for his ...

Ghena Dimitrova Ghena Dimitrova ( bg, Гeна Димитpова, 6 May 1941 – 11 June 2005) was a Bulgarian operatic soprano. Her voice was known for its power and extension used in operatic roles such as Turandot in a career spanning four decades. Early car ...

* Peter Dvorsky * Edita Gruberova *

Alfredo Kraus Alfredo Kraus Trujillo (; 24 November 192710 September 1999) was a distinguished Spanish tenor from the Canary islands (known professionally as Alfredo Kraus), particularly known for the artistry he brought to opera's bel canto roles. He wa ...

* Denis Matsouev * Aprile Milo *

* Alberto Rinaldi * Roberto Scandiuzzi * Diana Soviero * Sharon Sweet * Julian Lloyd-Weber * Dolora Zajick * Giorgio Zancanaro * Franco Zeffirelli

Selected discography

Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra

* Schumann: ''Symphony #4'' - Cello Concerto (Tamas Varga, solo) - Manfred Overture * Dvořák: ''Symphony #9'' ("From the New World") -- Scherzo Capriccioso * Tchaikovsky: ''Symphony #1'' ("Winter Dreams") - Prokofiev: Piano Concerto #3 (Kun-Woo Paik, solo) * Rimsky-Korsakov: ''Capriccio Espagnol'' — Bartók: ''Hungarian Sketches'' — Vaughan Williams: ''Fantasy on a theme by Thomas Tallis'' - Erkel: ''Festival Overture'' * Gershwin: ''An American in Paris'' — Copland: ''Rodeo Suite'' — Barber: ''Adagio'' — Bernstein: ''Symphonic dances from ''West Side Story' * Dvořák: ''Symphony #8'' --- Khachaturian: ''Violin Concerto'' (Livia Sohn, solo) * Kodály: ''Hary Janos suite'' --- Bartók: ''Concerto for Orchestra'' * Beethoven: ''Symphony #3 ''("Eroica") - Prokofiev: ''Symphony #1'' ("Classical") * Respighi: ''The Pines of Rome'' - ''Roman Festivals'', ''The Fountains of Rome'' * Mussorgsky: ''Pictures at an Exhibition'' - Rimsky-Korsakov: ''Scheherazade'' * Orff: ''Carmina Burana'' * Cilea: ''Adriana Lecouvreur'' (Maria Temesi, Alberto Cupido, Cleopatra Ciurca, Lorenzo Saccomani) * Donizetti: ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' (Inga Nielsson, Piero Cappuccilli, Giorgio Lamberti) / ''Messa di Gloria'' / ''La Favorita'' (Denyce Graves, Salvatore Fisichella, Paolo Coni, Dimitri Kavrakos) * Giordano: Andrea Chenier (Kristjan Johansson, Maria Guleghina, Bela Ferencz) * Leoncavallo: ''I Pagliacci'' (Vladimir Atlantov, Natalia Troitskaya, Alexandru Agache) * Mascagni: ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (Galina Savova, Piero Cappuccilli, Vasile Moldoveanu) * Mozart: ''Le nozze di Figaro'' (Janet Perry, William Stone, John Cheek) * Ponchielli: La Gioconda (Maria Guleghina, Kristjan Johannsson, Bela Perencz, Judit Nemeth) * Verdi: ''Otello'' (Kristjan Johansson, Ilona Tokody, Sherrill Milnes, Antonio Marcenò) * Verdi: ''Falstaff'' (Alberto Rinaldi, Patricia Schuman, Andrea Andonian, Ned Barth, Kathleen Kuhlmann, Eva Batori, Istvan Kovachshazi) * Verdi: ''Un ballo in maschera'' (Giorgina Lukacs, Peter Kelen, Anatolij Fokonov, Zsusa Csonka) * Verdi: ''Aida'' (Wilhemina Fernandez, Bruno Sebastian, Barbara Dever, Mark Rucker) * Verdi: ''Rigoletto'' (

Leo Nucci Leo Nucci (born 16 April 1942) is an Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with Verdi and ''Verismo'' roles. Biography Born at Castiglione dei Pepoli, near Bologna, Nucci studied with Giuseppe Marchese. He made his stage debut ...

Mariella Devia Mariella Devia (born 12 April 1948) is an Italian operatic soprano. After beginning her career as a lyric coloratura soprano, in the finale part of it she also enjoyed considerable success with some of the most dramatic roles in the bel canto ...

Marcello Giordani Marcello Giordani (born Marcello Guagliardo; 25 January 1963 – 5 October 2019) was an Italian operatic tenor who sang leading roles of the Italian and French repertoire in opera houses throughout Europe and the United States. He had a distinguis ...

) * Verdi: ''Macbeth'' (Yasuo Horiuchi, Giorgina Lukacs, Attila Kiss) * Verdi: ''La traviata'' (Diana Soviero, Jerry Hadley, Brian Schexnayder) * Verdi: Il Trovatore (Vyacheslov Polozov, Sharon Sweet, Dolora Zajick, Alexandru Agache) * Verdi: Un Giorno di Regno (Alessandro Corbelli, Enzo Dara, Nelson Portella, Luciana D'Intino, Krystyna Rorbach, Paolo Barbacini * Puccini: ''Turandot'' (Ghena Dimitrova, Kristjan Johansson, Katia Ricciarelli, Paata Burchuladze) * Puccini: ''Manon Lescaut'' (Ilona Tokody, Peter Kelen, Lajos Miller) * Puccini: ''La Bohème'' (Luciano Pavarotti, Veronica Kinsces, Sandor Sòlyom-Nagy, Madeline Reneè, Laszlo Polgar) * Puccini: ''Tosca'' (Giorgina Lukacs, Paul Lyon, Ned Barth) * Puccini: ''Madama Butterfly'' (Raina Kabaivanska, Nicola Martinucci, Paola Romanò, Franco Giovine ) * Rossini: ''Il Barbiere di Siviglia'' (Dalibor Jenis, Gloria Scalchi, Benjamin Brecher, Edward Crafts, Alberto Rinaldi, Judith Nemeth) * Rossini: ''Il Turco in Italia'' (Simone Alaimo, Bruno Praticò, Valeria Esposito, Robert Swensen)

Other orchestras and performances

* National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland & Rico Saccani **Verdi: ''Aida'' (Maria Dragoni, Kristjan Johannsson, Barbara Dever, Mark Rucker) * National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland & Rico Saccani ** Respighi: ''Ancient Airs and Dances'' suites 1, 2 and 3 * Anatoli Fokonov, Gianni Mongiardino, Marta Szucs and Rico Saccani ** Bellini: ''I Puritani'' (Marta Szucs, Gianni Mongiardino, Anatoli Fokonov)

Awards and recognition

2005 Legion of Honor (Hungary) for "distinguished contributions to Hungary's cultural life for over 20 years"

References

External links

Rico Saccani Home Page
* Rico Saccani at AllMusic {{DEFAULTSORT:Saccani, Rico Italian male conductors (music) 1952 births Living people University of Arizona alumni University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni 21st-century Italian conductors (music) 21st-century Italian male musicians