Project Category: Conductor

After his debut at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna with Il Signor Bruschino and engagements in major Italian opera houses and festivals, Maurizio Benini made his debut at the Teatro alla Scala in 1992 with La donna del lago and Don Carlo, followed by Pagliacci, Don Pasquale and Rigoletto. In the same year he also conducted La scala di seta at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, where he returned subsequently for L’occasione fa il ladro, Le siege de Corinthe and again for La scala di seta. He appears regularly with the Opéra de Paris and has also conducted at the Wexford Festival, the Wiener Staatsoper, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Metropolitan Opera and Covent Garden where he conducted the concert performances of Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux recorded by Opera Rara (ORC24). For Opera Rara he has conducted concert performances at the Edinburgh International Festival of Rossini’s Zelmira (ORC27) and La Donna del lago (ORC34) plus studio recordings of Mercadante’s Virginia (ORC39) and Rossini’s Aureliano in Palmira (ORC46) and in the autumn of 2015 will conduct the BBC Symphony Orchestra in our studio recording of Leoncavallo’s Zazà which will also be given in concert at London’s Barbican on Friday 27 November 2015. Maurizio Benini is Associate Conductor for Opera Rara.

Born in Legnago (Verona), Gabriele Bellini completed his studies at the Venice and Milan Conservatories, with M° Dallavecchia, Coltro, Maderna and Donatoni. He then went on to study conducting, initially with M° Ferrara and then with M° Scherchen, Celbidache and Swarowsky. As a conductor of symphonic music and opera, M° Bellini has performed in important European houses, including Covent Garden, Komisch Oper and La Scala Opera House, where he was also a close collaborator of M° Abbado for many seasons. In 1990, M° Bellini was named musical director at The Netherlands’ Opera Forum (later called Oost Nederlands Orkest), where, during his 8 years there, he conducted both Italian and German repertoires (which included, L’Elisir d’Amore, Norma, Così fan tutte, Carmen, Macbeth, Stiffelio, Werther and Wozzeck). At the same time, M° Bellini recorded Linda di Chamounix, Il Matrimonio Segreto and La Sonnambula for the ARTS label. He has also recorded Il Barbiere di Siviglia with the English National Opera Orchestra for Chandos and Le Rondine for Kicco Classic. For Opera Rara he has conducted Ricci’s La prigione di Edimburgo(ORR228).