Federico Santi has been appointed associate conductor of the Opéra Grand Avignon.
“His precise and sensitive approach to each of the musical pieces, his openness to different repertoires, his humble attitude towards the scores and his collaborators, and his leadership of the orchestra and the distribution of singers are exceptional qualities to which I wish to pay tribute with this designation”.
Frédéric Roels, General Director of Opéra Grand Avignon.
Born in Turin where he studied composition, orchestra conducting, piano, and chamber music, Federico Santi’s international career started in 2008 when he was awarded the First Prize as well as the Special Prize of the Nice Opera at the 4th International Competition for conductors in Orvieto.
This first major success as a conductor opened the door to the Concertgebouw Amsterdam (concert version of Manon Lescaut), the Theater Bunkakaican in Tokyo (La Traviata), and the Opera Bellas Artes in Mexico City (Il trovatore). At the same time, he also started a long-term collaboration with the Mariinsky Theater in St Petersburg, conducting there an extensive italian repertoire including Lucia di Lammermoor, Lucrezia Borgia, Anna Bolena, La favorita, Linda di Chamounix, Gemma di Vergy, La sonnambula, Il Pirata, Beatrice di Tenda as well as I Capuleti e i Montecchi in the frame of the prestigious Festival “Stars of the White Nights”.
Federico Santi has more than 50 operas in his repertoire. He has collaborated with the Teatro Comunale di Bologna (I Capuleti e Montecchi, Il barbiere di Siviglia), the Rouen Opera (Viva la mamma, Die Entführung aus dem Serail), the Montpellier Opera (Chabriers Une éducation manquée and Poulenc’s La voix humain), the Opéra Grand Avignon (Peter Grimes, Howard Moody’s Les Rêveurs de la lune, La Traviata),the Opéra Royal de Wallonie de Liège (La bohème and the world premiere of Daniel Schell’s Le sabotage amoureux, based on a novel by Amélie Nothomb), the Forest National in Bruxelles (Nabucco), the Festival of Alden Biesen (Il barbiere di Siviglia, Manon Lescaut, Gianni Schicchi and Lehár’s Die lustige Witwe), the Teatro del Bicentenario in León, Mexico (Madama Butterfly), the Ente Luglio Musicale Trapanese (Cavalleria Rusticana andPagliacci), the Ente Marialisa de Carolis in Sassari (Salome Strauss, Rota’s Il cappello di paglia di Firenze), the Festival of Alexandria (Don Carlo), the National Opera of Timisoara (Le nozze di Figaro, Tosca), the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre in Moscow (L’Elisir d’amore).
He also dedicates himself to the study and deepening of a vast symphonic repertoire, conducting numerous lyric and symphonic concerts, from Haydn to contemporary composers, with particular attention to German, Russian, and French romanticism and post-romanticism.
In addition, Federico Santi is Opera Coordinator and teaches Conducting and Orchestral studies at the Conservatory of Maastricht.
STUDIES:
– Orchestra conducting: Gilberto Serembe (Accademia Musicale Pescarese), Yuri
Ahronovitch, Jsaac Karabtchevsky, Vladimir Ponkin (Leipzig), Ennio Nicotra (Peter the Great Music Academy of St. Petersburg), Leonid Korchmar (Mariinsky, St. Petersburg).
– Composition: Alessandro Ruo Rui (Torino), K.Stockhausen (Köln)
– Piano: Wally Peroni (Torino), Jorg Demus, Paul Badura-Skoda
– Chamber Music: Claudio Voghera, Franco Gulli- Enrica Cavallo.
– Harpsichord: Emilia Fadini, Walter Kolneder.
PRIZES:
– 2006 first classified audition with the Orchestre Nationale of île de France
– 2008 first absolute award and special prize of the Opéra de Nice to the IV
International conducting competition of Orvieto IT. The only Italian conductor to have ever won the first prize to date.
https://www.spaziomusica.org/archivio-concorso-mancinelli
ASSISTANT:
- Valery Gergiev (Mariinsky Theater)
- Claudio Abbado (Ferrara Musica)
- Carlo Rizzi (Opera National du Rhin)
- Alberto Zedda (Opéra Royal de Wallonie)
- Bruno Campanella (Teatro Regio di Torino)
- Dietfried Bernet (Opéra National du Rhin)
- Paolo Arrivabeni (Torino)
- Yuri Ahronovitch (Musica Riva Festival)
CHARGES :
– Associate conductor Opéra Grand Avignon (2024/25 – 2026/27)
– Opera coordinator Conservatorium Maastricht (from 2022)
– Guest conductor Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg (from 2017)
– Coach singers Academy at Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg (2015-2016)
– Teacher Conducting/Orchestral Studies Conservatorium Maastricht (from 2013)
– Permanent conductor Festival of Alden Biesen (2010-2012)
– Maestro collaboratore Teatro Regio of Torino (2003-2005)
– Chorus master Theater Carlo Felice of Genova (2000-2002)
– Pianist of Orchestra National RAI (1998-2004),
– Pianist of Theater of Sassari (1999-2001)
– Coach singers and Professor Maestri Collaboratori Teatro Lirico Sperimentale of Spoleto (1999-2005)
– Chorus master Coro di Torino (1995-2005)
– Musical stage director Theater in Modena and Ferrara (2001-2002)
Federico Santi 