Donato Renzetti is one of the most renowned Italian conductors worldwide. He was recently appointed Musical Director of the Macerata Opera Festival and he is also Director Emeritus at Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova.Renzetti has worked with major international orchestras around the world; among others, London Sinfonietta, London Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, DSO Berlin, Tokyo Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony, Belgian Radio and Television Orchestra in Brussels, Orchestre National du Capitol de Toulouse, Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Santa Cecilia Orchestra, and RAI (Italy’s public service broadcaster) Symphony Orchestras. Renzetti has also conducted several leading orchestras in some of the world’s most renowned theatres; among others, Opéra de Paris, Covent Garden in London, Grand Théâtre in Geneve, Staatsoper in Monaco, Capitole in Tolosa, Metropolitan Opera in New York, Lyric Opera in Chicago, Dallas Opera, San Francisco Opera, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo, and Megaron in Athens, as well as in all of the major theatres in Italy. He has been a Guest Conductor at festivals in Glyndebourne, Macerata, Spoleto and Pesaro, as well as at Verdi Festival in Parma.

Renzetti was Principal Conductor of Orchestra Internazionale d’Italia (1982-1987) and of Orchestra Regionale Toscana (1982-1992 and 2004-2007), as well as Principal Guest Conductor of Teatro Real de Sao Carlos (2004-2007). From 2007 to 2013, Renzetti was Artistic and Musical Director of Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana and since 2015, he is Musical Director of Filarmonica Gioachino Rossini. He now finds himself increasingly in demand abroad, working with international orchestras; among others, in October 2019, he made his debut with Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, presenting for the first time in Finland Symphony No. 2 by Alfredo Casella.

His intense recording activity includes works by Schubert, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Mayr and Cherubini on major labels such as Philips, Frequenz, Fonit Cetra, Nuova Era and Dynamic. His opera recordings include Attila, Il signor Bruschino, La cambiale di matrimonio and La Favorita. For DVD release, Renzetti recorded La Fille du régiment at Teatro alla Scala, La Cenerentola at Glyndebourne Festival, La Gioconda at Arena di Verona and L’italiana in Algeri at Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. His memorable recording of Manfred by Schumann with the Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro alla Scala in Milan was awarded the XIX Critica Discografica Italiana Prize. With Filarmonica Gioachino Rossini Orchestra, he recorded the complete Rossini Overtures in 2018 distributed by Decca record label as part of the Rossini 150 celebrations.

Renzetti taught conducting at Accademia Musicale Pescarese for 30 years, establishing himself as the major and most prolific Italian mentor after Franco Ferrara and Mario Gusella. He has trained some of the best Italian conductors of the modern era; among them, Gianandrea Noseda and Michele Mariotti. Since 2019, he has been teaching at Alta Scuola di Perfezionamento in Saluzzo (Cuneo, Italy), in collaboration with Filarmonica Teatro Regio Torino.

Renzetti studied with Mario Gusella at Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan. In 1976, he was awarded the “Premio Respighi” by Accademia Chigiana (Siena, Italy); in 1978, he won the bronze medal in the Ernst Ansermet competition in Geneva and in 1980, he was the winner of the “Guido Cantelli” competition at Teatro alla Scala (Milan, Italy).He has received several awards for his artistic merits; among others, Premio Frentano d’Oro (2002), Premio Rossini d’Oro (2006), and Premio Taormina Opera Stars (2016).