Chorus director to leave Covent Garden
mainThe Italian conductor Renato Balsadonna has let it be known that he’s tired of London, or at least of the Royal Opera House. He will leave a year from now. An advert for his successor went out today.
photo (c) Neil Gillespie
UPDATE: We understand Renato wants to upgrade to a career as an opera conductor.
I have been fortunate to see at first hand how Renato Balsadonna has given his all during his post as Chorus Master of the Royal Opera Chorus since taking it up in 2004. He wants to pursue more conducting work – having already conducted “I Due Foscari” at the ROH and Massenet’s “Don Quichotte” at Garsington. He has also undertaken other freelance Musical Directing engagements in Japan and the USA. If he is as conscientious at his conducting as he has been with his chorus mastering, he will do very well indeed. I wish him all the very best.
Doesn’t sound as if he is “tired of” London or the ROH, then — more that a world of opportunities is opening up and he is eager to grasp them. The blog comment leaves an unpleasant taste — why is this sort of sideswipe at people an increasingly frequent feature of SD?
Correction : Maestro Renato Balsadonna conducted “Don Quichotte” at Grange Park Opera in 2014 not at Garsington.
Maestro Balsadonna is very talented.He conducted la Traviata for the Cincinnati opera this year 2018, i have never seen a better interpretation of this opera. Bravo Maestro! I got to meet him personally, he came to my house for brunch and he is a warm and kind person. I hope to see more of this talented conductor in the USA, we need more brilliant musicians like him in America.