ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
PAOLO GAVAZZENI

He was born in Bergamo, where he also obtained his diploma in piano at the music academy (1990). He has a degree in Law from the University of Milan (1994), with a final thesis on the professional interactions between opera foundations and artists. He continued his studies on the piano in Lausanne and, until 1994, he held concerts both as a solo artist and as part of orchestras and camera ensembles. In the following years, he practiced musical production and cultural management on the occasion of two internships at the Royal Opera House and the Decca Records Company in London (1994-1996).
From 1996 to 2000, he was Artistic Director of the Italian TV channel Tele+3 Classica and Artistic Coordinator of the instrumental department of the Teatro alla Scala Academy, focusing on the training course for orchestra professors. In 2002, he joined the Artistic Director’s team at Teatro alla Scala, in the role of Manager of musical services, where he remained until 2011. His work mainly focused on the orchestra management, in collaboration with the Human Resource Department and with special attention on the relationship between the artists and the trade unions. Later in those years, he was also involved in the management of the theatre’s daily activities.
From 2012 to 2016, he was Artistic Director of Fondazione Arena di Verona, in charge of the overall artistic programming, the auditions, the job openings and the tours.
Since November 2016, he is Artistic Director of the Italian TV channel Classica HD, that is part of the Sky family (Channel 136). Since 2021, he runs a weekly music programme titled Mestiere Teatro that is broadcast every Monday on the same channel (9.10 pm).
In 2023, he was appointed Artistic Director of the Macerata Opera Festival.
His professional partnership with Piero Maranghi brought to life many projects as opera stage director: from Aida by Giuseppe Verdi at the Teatro Coccia in Novara (2016), on to Manon Lescaut, Teatro Bellini in Catania (2017), Delitto e Dovere, Spoleto opera festival (2017), Rigoletto, Teatro Coccia in Novara and Teatro Comunale in Sassari (2018), Le cantatrici villane, Teatro Petrarca in Arezzo (2019), Pagliacci, Teatro Comunale in Sassari (2019) and Teatro Lirico in Cagliari (2022), La cenerentola, Teatro Bellini in Catania (2019) and Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova (2022), Il tabarro, Teatro Comunale in Sassari (2020) and Teatro Filarmonico in Verona (2021), Il trespolo tutore, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova (2020), La bohème, Teatro Regio in Torino (2020 and 2022), La traviata, Teatro Bellini in Catania (2021), Lorenzo Da Ponte & Friends, Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza (2021), Don Giovanni, Teatro Comunale in Sassari (2022), Adriana Lecouvreur, Teatro Bellini in Catania (2022).