Marco Ciaponi - Don Ottavio*

After studying with Rebecca Berg, Giuseppe Sabbatini and at the Accademia Internazionale del Bel Canto in Modena, Marco Ciaponi gained huge success in important lyric International contests such as: Voci Verdiane Competition in Busseto (first prize, 2015); Flaviano Labò (first prize, 2015) in Piacenza; "Spiros Argiris" in Sarzana; “Ottavio Ziino” in Rome; “Beniamino Gigli jr” (third prize) in Rome. In May 2008 Mr. Ciaponi made his debut as Rodolfo in La bohème (Puccini) at the Vigilanti Theatre in Portoferraio, after that he was chosen for Opera Studio- Cantiere Lirico at the Teatro Goldoni in Livorno.

He recently starred as Nemorino in L'Elisir d'Amore in Lucca, Piacenza and Ravenna; Tamino in Die Zauberflöte at the Teatro Comunale in Modena; Alfredo in La Traviata in Cremona; Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni in Tirana; Haydn’s Die Schöpfung under Gianlugi Gelmetti in Trieste; a Gala concert at the Teatro Regio in Parma.

Plans include  Macbeth at the Teatro Municipale in Piacenza and a Gala concert at the Teatro Regio in Parma.

Gianpiero Ruggeri - Masetto*

Gianpiero Ruggeri made his debut in the title role of Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro where he returned in the following season with La Gazzetta. Mr. Ruggeri was also invited in Ruegen’s and Wildbad’s Rossini Festivals. Other engagements include: Frank in Die Flederamus, Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Don Giovanni at the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome, Falstaff in Fermo and Jesi, Don Giovanni at the San Carlo in Naples, Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Michigan Opera Theatre in Detroit; Così Fan Tutte on tour in China with the Piccolo Teatro of Milan; Manon Lescaut in Salerno;The Merry Widow and Il Cappello di Paglia di Firenze at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari;Lucia di Lammermoor in Jesi; Le nozze di Figaro in Copenaghen; The rape of Lucretia (Junius) and Un Ballo in Maschera in Trieste; La Traviata in Lecce; I Shardana, gli uomini dei Nuraghi and I Pagliacci at the Teatro Lirico in Cagliari.

Gianluigi Gelmetti - conductor

Music director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo.

Conductor and composer, Gianluigi Gelmetti, is one of today’s most prestigious conductors. Since his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Italian conductor regularly appears on the podium of the world’s most important opera houses and festivals. M° Gelmetti was Principal Conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra for ten years and Music Director of the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome from 2000 to 2009; he was Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. He also regularly works at the Royal Opera House - Covent Garden as well as in the most important theaters in the world. In Italy he performed many works by Rossini at Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, thus receiving the Rossini d’Oro Prize for his Guillaume Tell. M° Gelmetti was honored with the title of “Chevalier de l’ordre des arts et lettres” in France and appointed “Cavaliere di Gran Croce” in Italy.

Among his past engagements, it is worth mentioning: Falstaff, Francesca da Rimini, Mefistofele, L’Amica and Das Rheingold at the Opéra in Monte Carlo; Guillaume Tell in Zurich; La Forza del Destino in Parma, where he also conducted Un Ballo in Maschera at the Verdi Festival; Les Vêpres Siciliennes in Naples; Turandot in Tokyo; Il Barbiere di Siviglia in Toulouse; La Fanciulla del West in Liège; numerous symphonic concerts in Berlin and Copenhagen. M° Gelmetti conducted La Traviata and Mozart’s Requiem in Trieste, where in the past seasons he conducted La Clemenza di Tito, Rossini’s Stabat Mater and Un Ballo in Maschera. He recently obtained a great success conducting Guillaume Tell in Monte Carlo and in Paris (Théâtre des Champs-Elysées)and after that  Stabat Mater in Monte Carlo then on tour in Bratislava and Budapest and Haydn’s Die Schöpfung at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste where he will return to conduct Die Fledermaus.