Damiano Michieletto

Michieletto was born in Venice and grew up in Scorzè, a village in the Metropolitan City of Venice. He studied literature at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice, and directing at the Scuola d'Arte Drammatica Paolo Grassi in Milan.[2] He made his directing debut with a production of Weinberger's Švanda dudákat at the Wexford Festival in 2003.[1][3][4]

He has directed productions in Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Japan and China. He is a specialist for works by Gioacchino Rossini, who staged besides Il barbiere di Siviglia also La gazza ladra, La scala di seta and L'italiana in Algeri, among others, especially at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro.[1] At La Fenice in his hometown, he directed Mozart's three operas on librettos by Lorenzo da Ponte, conducted by Antonello Manacorda, and Gounod's Roméo et Juliette.[1] He staged some rarely performed operas by Ramón Carnicer, Michael Daugherty, Nino Rota, Stefano Pavesi and Marco Tutino. In 2012, he made his debut at both the Salzburg Festival, where he directed Puccini's La Bohème,[1] and at the Theater an der Wien, where he directed the same composer's Il trittico.[5]

Michieletto directed at La Scala in Milan, for the first time in the 2013/14 season, a production of Verdi' Un ballo in maschera. At the Salzburg Festival, he directed Verdi's Falstaff. A production of Mozart's Idomeneo for the Theater an der Wien was also presented in Tokyo. He staged Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore at the Teatro Real in Madrid, and Handel's Alcina in Florence. A production of Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress was made for both the Leipzig Opera and La Fenice. He directed Rossini's La Cenerentola for the Salzburg Festival, with Cecilia Bartoli in the title role. In 2014, Michieletto staged Wagner's Lohengrin at the Festival della Valle d'Itria in Martina Franca, Italy, and the same composer's Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Theater an der Wien.[6] He made his London debut in June 2015, staging Rossini's Guillaume Tell at the Royal Opera House.[1]

Michieletto directed Massenet's Cendrillon at the Komische Oper Berlin in 2016.[6] He staged Martinů's The Greek Passion at the San Francisco Opera and Samson et Dalila by Saint-Säens in Paris.[6] The same year, he directed the world premiere of Filippo Perocco's Aquagranda at La Fenice in 2016, written on a commission on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the 1966 acqua alta flooding. In 2019, Michieletto directed Franz Schreker's Der ferne Klang at the Oper Frankfurt, where the world premiere had taken place in 1912.[7] The new production was conducted by GMD Sebastian Weigle, with Jennifer Holloway and Ian Koziara in the leading roles.[8]

Michieletto has collaborated regularly with scenic designer Paolo Fantin,[9] costume designer Carla Teti and lighting designer Alessandro Carletti, including Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci at the Royal Opera House,[10] Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress at the Oper Leipzig,[11] and Salome by Richard Strauss at La Scala.[12]

• 2003 Švanda dudákat – Wexford Festival Opera[5]
• 2004 Il trionfo delle belle by Stefano Pavesi – Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro[1]
• 2007 La gazza ladra – Rossini Opera Festival[1][13]
• 2008 Lucia di Lammermoor – Opernhaus Zürich[1]
• 2009 Roméo et Juliette – La Fenice[5]
• 2009 Die Entführung aus dem Serail – Teatro San Carlo, Neapel[1]
• 2009 La scala di seta – Rossini Opera Festival[1]
• 2010 Il corsaro – Opernhaus Zürich[5]
• 2010 Don Giovanni – La Fenice[5]
• 2010 Madama Butterfly – Teatro Regio, Turin[1]
• 2010 Sigismondo – Rossini Opera Festival[1]
• 2011 Le nozze di Figaro – La Fenice[5]
• 2011 The Greek Passion by Bohuslav Martinů – Teatro Massimo, Palermo[5]
• 2012 Il ventaglio – Teatro Stabile del Veneto[5]
• 2012 Così fan tutte – La Fenice / Liceu, Barcelona[5]
• 2012 La Bohème – Salzburg Festival[1]
• 2012 Il trittico – Theater an der Wien, Copenhagen Opera House[5]
• 2013 Un ballo in maschera – La Scala[1]
• 2013 Falstaff – Salzburg Festsival[1]
• 2013 Idomeneo – Theater an der Wien[1]
• 2014 L’ispettore generale – Teatro Stabile del Veneto[5]
• 2014 The Rake’s Progress – Opernhaus Leipzig, La Fenice[5]
• 2014 La Cenerentola – Salzburg Festival[1]
• 2015 Il viaggio a Reims – De Nationale Opera[5]
• 2015 Divine Parole (Divinas Palabras by Ramón María del Valle-Inclán – Piccolo Teatro di Milano[1]
• 2015 Guillaume Tell – Royal Opera House, London[1]
• 2015 Die Zauberflöte – La Fenice[5]
• 2015 Cavalleria rusticana – Pagliacci – Royal Opera House[13]
• 2016 Otello by Rossini – Theater an der Wien[1]
• 2016 Die Dreigroschenoper – Piccolo Teatro di Milan[1]
• 2016 Cendrillon – Komische Oper Berlin[1]
• 2016 Aquagranda – world premiere, La Fenice[5]
• 2018 La Damnation de Faust – Rome[2]
• 2019 Macbeth – La Fenice[2]
• 2019 Der ferne Klang – Oper Frankfurt[9]
• 2019 Alcina – Salzburg Pentecost Festival[9]

• 2003 Irish Times ESB Irish Theatre Awards – Best Opera Production, for Schwanda[2]
• 2008 Franco Abbiati Prize – Best Director, for La gazza ladra[5]
• 2013 Reumert Prize – Best Opera Production, for Il Trittico[14][15]
• 2015 Österreichischer Musiktheaterpreis – Goldener Schikaneder, category Beste Regie, for Idomeneo at the Theater an der Wien[16]
• 2015 Laurence Olivier Award – Best Opera Production, for Cavalleria rusticana – Pagliacci[1]
• 2017 Franco Abbiati Prize – Best Director, for Aquagranda[2]
• 2018 Franco Abbiati Prize – Best Opera Production, for La Damnation de Faust[2]
• 2018 Melbourne Green Room Award - Best Director, for Cavalleria Rusticana - Pagliacci
• 2019 Casta Diva Award - Best Opera Production, for "Il viaggio a Reims"
• 2020 Melbourne Green Room Award - Best Opera Production, for "Il viaggio a Reims"

• Literature by and about Damiano Michieletto in the German National Library catalogue
• Das Bühnenbild ist die halbe Miete (in German) welt.de, retrieved 23 October 2010
• Franz Schreker: Der ferne Klang Oper Frankfurt 2019