Parma: Verdi Operas on Centerstage

Results from the Arturo Toscanini intl. Conducting Competition

Parma´s operatic public has a reputation as particularly demanding and famous for being unforgiving of any singer not in good voice, notes American soprano Carol Plantamura, and accordingly, the city´s famous Teatro Regio has seen some of Italian opera´s finest artists. Fondazione Toscanini, the presenter of the Arturo Toscanini Intl. Conducting Competition, has thus made its 2021 edition a special contest focussing on opera conductors. While keeping performances in concert style, there were still over 100 musicians on stage including multiple soloists, a 56-member chorus, and the full-size Toscanini Philharmonic. Competitors had to conduct repertoire solely by Verdi and Rossini. From 240 applications, 12 were selected to take part in a two-week workshop with 14 instructors including jury president Fabio Luisi. 6 advanced to the semifinals, 3 went to the finals and were to conduct an entire act of a Verdi opera on stage at Teatro Regio, in front of an illustrious jury: Fabio Luisi as the only conductor, along with seven opera directors from Milan, Dresden, New York, London, Valencia, Buenos Aires and Parma.