DANIELE ABBADO




Daniele Abbado studied at the School of Dramatic Arts of the Piccolo Teatro di Milano and graduated in philosophy. He began his career as a theatre director in 1988, extending progressively his interest in stage dramaturgy, TV direction, multimedia shows and lyric opera productions.

Since 1995 he he has been working as director of Mozart/Da Ponte musical theatre. In 2005 he directed a new production of Die Zauberflöte in Reggio Emilia, subsequently revived at the Edinburgh International Festival (2006). In 2006 he also directed a new production of the trilogy: Così fan tutte (Sassari, Cagliari, Pavia, Cremona, Brescia, Bergamo, Palermo); Le nozze di Figaro (Sassari, Cagliari); Don Giovanni (Lecce, Köln, plus a tour promoted by the European Union in numerous French and Italian cities. His work on these scores has never stopped, bringing him to stage new productions of all these three operas, nearly ten years later at the Teatro Filarmonico di Verona and in other opera houses.

In 2007/08 season he has staged new productions of Genoveva by Schumann at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Die Zauberflöte at the Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, at the Opera in Bilbao and at the Festival Mozart de La Coruña, Nabucco at the Teatro delle Muse in Ancona, Don Giovanni at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste and Madama Butterfly at the Teatro Piccinni in Bari.

In 2009/10 season he has staged a new production of Matteo d’Amico’s Patto di sangue at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (world premiere), Nabucco in Wiesbaden, Madama Butterfly at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice and during a tour in Beijing, La Cenerentola at the Teatro Valli in Reggio Emilia and at the Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari.

Just returned from Venice where he directed Rigoletto at the Teatro La Fenice, highlights of his future engagements include productions of La Cenerentola at the Opéra de Nice and at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna, Simon Boccanegra at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Don Carlo at the Wiener Staatsoper, Oberon at the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, as well as a new production of Nabucco in a co-production with Teatro alla Scala, Covent Garden and San Francisco Opera.

Since 2008 he has been making several productions at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Roma, including Fidelio, Tannhäuser, Wozzeck and Così fan tutte. On top of other works above mentioned, Daniele Abbado’s strong interest towards contemporary music has brought him to stage new productions of Luciano Berio’s Passaggio (Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova), of Henze’s Pollicino (Roma and Firenze), of Alberto Colla’s Il processo (Reggio Emilia and Teatro alla Scala), of Fabio Vacchi’s Les oiseaux de passage (Teatro Comunale di Bologna), of Giorgio Battistelli’s both Esperimentum mundi (Luzern Festival).

His production of Dallapiccola’s Prigioniero and Il volo di notte, staged at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, has won the “Premio Abbiati” as best Italian production in 2004.
During his career he has worked with Luciano Berio, Giorgio Battistelli, Hans Werner Henze, Helmut Hoering, Nicola Sani, Shigeaki Saegusa, Fabio Vacchi. In 2007 he directed Giorgio Battistelli’s Miracolo a Milano in Reggio Emilia, revived in 2008 at the Auditorium in Rome.