Roberto Abbado

Former SPCO Artistic Partner

Roberto Abbado’s crisp, dramatic music-making, instinctive lyricism, and evocative command of varied composers and styles have made him an esteemed conductor among orchestras and opera companies today. He has performed regularly with the orchestras of Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Houston and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Born into a dynastic musical family, Abbado studied with famed conducting teacher Franco Ferrara at Venice’s La Fenice and Rome’s Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Known for his work in opera, Abbado has led many new productions and world premieres at leading opera houses. In 2009, he was honored with the Abbiati Prize for Conductor of the Year by the National Association of Italian Music Critics. He was again recognized at the Abbiati Awards for conducting Rossini’s Mosè in Egitto, named Best Production of 2011, recently released on DVD for Opus Arte. Most recently Abbado conducted La Gioconda and Maometto II at Teatro dell'Opera in Rome, Macbeth and Parsifal at Teatro Comunale in Bologna, Così Fan Tutte at Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, La Traviata in Hong Kong on tour with Teatro San Carlo in Naples. On the concert platform he conducted, among others, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai, Orchestra del Teatro Comunale in Bologna, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Naples Philharmonic.