IMG Artists announces the representation of the distinguished Italian conductor Carlo Rizzi. A native of Milan, and known well to UK audiences from his long and greatly acclaimed tenure as Music Director of the Welsh National Opera, where he now holds the post of Conductor Laureate, Rizzi works as a guest in many of the world’s major opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, New York, Royal Opera, London, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Theatre Royale de La Monnaie, Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opéra de Paris and Netherlands Opera. He also appears frequently on the podium with a wide range of orchestras, including the Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, the Hallé and the Hong Kong Philharmonic.
Rizzi will be represented worldwide by Nicholas Mathias and Thomas Walton in the IMG Artists London office.
Nicholas Mathias said: “Carlo has a very significant career, a strong presence as a symphonic conductor, and his experience in the highest level operatic institutions and his affinity with singers are second to none. We are delighted to take on his management, and look forward to working with him and developing his profile further in the years ahead.”
Rizzi is currently conducting back-to-back productions of Tosca and La Forza del Destino at Welsh National Opera, garnering glowing reviews:
“Former music director Carlo Rizzi, given a hero’s return, conducted a searing account of Verdi’s score right from the ebullient rendition of the barnstorming overture. He drew magnificent playing from the WNO Orchestra, [and] also secured big, whole-hearted singing from his cast.” (Bachtrack)
“Rizzi has Verdi in his blood, and from his cracking account of the celebrated overture to its final seraphic cadences, he conducts a fast-paced and vividly coloured account of the score, played with exceptional clarity by WNO’s wonderful orchestra.” (The Telegraph)
“All are sustained immaculately by Rizzi’s conducting, which exudes respect for the score in every bar.” (The Guardian)
“Carlo Rizzi knows exactly what Puccini needs and he draws wonderful colours from Welsh National Opera’s orchestra. The pacing is precise, the playing supple and gripping. I could listen many times over to the hot-blooded brass, muscular strings and the despairing regret of the clarinet…” (The Times)
His 17/18 season began with an acclaimed return to the Metropolitan Opera, leading both Turandot and a new production of Norma, and continues with productions of Madama Butterfly at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, a double bill of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci at the Opera di Roma, and his first performances of Les Contes d’Hoffmann at the Netherlands Opera.
