Marco Guidarini, Cello
Among the most reputated conductors of his generation, Marco Guidarini has been performing through the years – all over the world – a very large repertoire, of about seventy operatic titles and over two hundreds symphonic works.
Born in Genoa, his wide academical background is comprehensive of studies in humanities – with a doctoral degree in Compared Literature at the Genoa University, cello and conducting at the Musik Hochschule in Vienna, composition, musical philology.
Deeply influenced in his youth by the artistical impact received by personalities such Claudio Abbado, Carlo Maria Giulini and Franco Ferrara, he makes his debut conducting Falstaff and Le Compte Ory at the Opera de Lyon, asked by Sir John Eliot Gardiner to become his assistant. From there he starts a worldwide career, on the podium of the major international theatres, from New York Metropolitan (Verdi) to La Scala in Milan (Donizetti), from Sydney’s Opera House (Mozart) to Moscow Bolshoi Theatre (Puccini).
Certainly France has somehow been his second country for a long time and between 2001 and 2009 he was Music director of both the Philarmonic Orchestra and Opera house in Nice, where he conducted most of the Mozart, Verdi and Puccini works, up to Debussy’s Pelleas et Melisande and Berg’s Wozzeck, as well as Brahms and Mahler cycles.
Since 2009 he has been a regular guest of the Canadian Opera Company, and in 2014 was appointed Guest conductor for the Italian and French repertoire at the Prague State Opera. Equally very active in the symphonic field, Marco Guidarini is currently Music Director of the Mitteleuropa Orchestra, one of the best in northern Italy.
His video and CD discography in both repertoire is very wide and critically acclaimed, having won the prestigious Orphée d’or in France for his recording of Puccini’s Le Villi with the Orchestre National de France and the Premio della Critica for Lucrezia Borgia in Italy, with Mariella Devia. His DVD recording of Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac for DG, with Roberto Alagna received great artistic and critical acclaim.
He is the founder of the renowned Apostrophe Ensemble, which specialises in modern music, and he is Artistic Director of the Bellini Belcanto Competition, taking place between Paris and Buenos Aires.
Marco Guidarini has been knighted by the Italian Government for his cultural achievements, and received the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres from the French Ministère de la Culture. He’s been recently awarded the outstanding Paul Harris Fellowship for humanitarian merits by the Rotary International.
Among his most recent productions are Andrea Chenier in Macau, Macbeth in Mexico City, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi in Buenos Aires and Lucca, Tosca in New Zealand, Boito’s Mefistofele and Roméo et Juliette in Prague, Carmen in Poland and Otello in Malaga, as well as symphonic concerts in Europe, both with his orchestra and as a guest. Maestro Guidarini has been recently appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Cordoba (Spain).
Marco Guidarini is also very active as a teacher in various international universities and gives masterclasses, in France, Switzerland and Italy. Marco Guidarini is also a writer, publishing music and literature. His recent Gulda in viaggio verso Praga has been very well received and will be translated and published in Russian.