Biography
Jonathan Brandani is Artistic Director of Calgary Opera (Canada).
Upcoming engagements will include appearances at The Atlanta Opera (La Bohème), Opera Theatre of St. Louis (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Calgary Opera (Le Nozze di Figaro, Das Rheingold), with Orchestra Filarmonica Toscanini and with Symphonieorchester Vorarlberg.
Recent engagements include opera productions and concert appearances at the Bregenzer Festspiele in Austria (with the Wiener Symphoniker and the Symphonieorchester Voralberg), Orchestra del Teatro Lirico di Cagliari (Italy), Göteborg Opera (Sweden), Teatro Nuovo (New York), Calgary Opera (with Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra), the Danish Royal Opera House Copenhagen (with soprano Angela Gheorghiu), Staatestheater Meiningen (with Meininger Hofkapelle).
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Reviews
“Jonathan Brandani’s conducting was the revelation of the evening: at the head of the Donizetti Opera Orchestra, he knew how to emphasize all the particularities of the score with an exciting direction, underlining some instrumental refinements perfectly rendered by the Donizetti Opera Orchestra.”
“Jonathan Brandani conducts with panache, sure softness and a gesture of admirable clarity and style, with exemplary control of the stage and its balance with the pit. Fluid are the transitions between genres and quotations (between swing, classic Neapolitan song, Bernstein and more) with which Rota plays in the score. “
Strong musical support was provided by conductor Jonathan Brandani leading an orchestra that sounded properly Italianate: light and airy, with a crisp tone and just the right amount of “crash and dash” from the percussion and brass. Instrumental ensemble was very tight, and one couldn’t have asked for better synchronization with the singers.
“Conductor Jonathan Brandani whipped up musical storms and strife in the pit, drawing great energy from Mercadante’s striking harmonies and rich instrumental colours, but he also respected Mercadante’s more innovative and translucent orchestrations.”
“[…] a multifarious and multifaceted musical direction […] The Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari were well led by Jonathan Brandani, a young and versatile musician, absolutely aware of the rich expressive variety of Rossini’s music, which describes and at the same time determines the action. […] Brandani was therefore skillful in resolving the different levels of reading of this work of subtle comedy in the direction of a musical theater not confined to a specific genre, but lush with nuances and contrasts.”
“You won’t meet another conductor with such clear, purposeful indications as Jonathan Brandani. Moreover, he makes this music spark. And Brandani conveys this with his fine regard for the score’s details.”