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Giovanni Reggioli "masterful stylist" conducting Il Barbiere di Siviglia "Musical and dramatic clarity came together perfectly in PortOpera's production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia (July 29) in Portland, Maine's Merrill Auditorium. Giovanni Reggioli led a finely nuanced reading of the overture, using dynamic contrasts and variety of attack to impart a fresh, spontaneous feel to the familiar work. Keeping the strings slightly underbalanced while favoring the wind and brass choirs brought a distinctive color to the ensemble, historically appropriate to Rossini's intentions.
A sensitive Il Trovatore with Opera Australia "It is the music that is the glory of this work. Giovanni Reggioli, conducting Orchestra Victoria, is sensitive to the musical moods and gives fine support to his singers." (The Age, 23 April 2007) "With Italian conductor Giovanni Reggioli driving the music in sweeping style, this show is a winner, especially for Verdi tragics." (Herald Sun, 24 April 2007) "The orchestra is sensitively conducted by Giovanni Reggioli. The dynamics are carefully judged." (Australian Stage, 22 April 2007) "Conductor Giovanni Reggioli kept the pace brisk, and all the big moments worked well. In all, a very satisfying evening." (Sunday Age, 29 April 2007)
La Traviata with Opera Australia "...the orchestral playing and chorus work throughout the night were fine, with sensitive clarinet colours in Act II, and a responsive well-balanced overall cohesion. Reggioli had a sound instinct for balancing control and forward movement with moments where a phrase or note was allowed to open out and drift free.' (Sydney Morning Herald, 12 January 2007)
Giovanni Reggioli conducts a "Pair of Aces": Bluebeard's Castle and Gianni Schicchi in Washington "[Giovanni Reggioli] effortlessly captured the lyrical beauty of [Gianni Schicchi], as well as the satire and humour." (Opera Now, March/April 2007) “In both operas, the orchestra responded firmly and expressively to the assured, consistently stylish conducting of Giovanni Reggioli.” (Opera News, December 2006) "Giovanni Reggioli led the Washington National Opera Orchestra with sure lyricism and stage-to-pit synchronicity." (Washington Post, 18 September 2006) "Capping the attractions is a sterling effort by the orchestra, astutely and stylishly led in both works by Giovanni Reggioli" (Baltimore Sun, 3 October 2006)
Giovanni Reggioli captures the spirit of Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia “It was a classic Mozart opera turned into a quintessential bel canto showpiece, the concept of conductor Giovanni Reggioli….Reggioli imparted a polyrhythmic quality to the music and this, along with the luscious singing, brought a style that didn’t appear for at least two decades after Mozart’s death.” (Opera Now, January 2007) "Reggioli achieved a spirited performance that breathed with stage action as well as Rossini's brilliant and difficult score. He never pandered to sentimentality or comic silliness, but delivered the work's frothiness as well as its musical substance." (Times Argus, 26 June 2006)
Giovanni Reggioli's "engrossing" debut conducting Opera Australia's Falstaff “The lion’s share of the credit for that triumph simply must be awarded to the conductor, Giovanni Reggioli, whose intimate and loving knowledge of the detail of this wonderful work inspired the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra to give consistently of its very best, providing a reading of the music so incandescent it rendered all but irrelevant slight shortfalls in other areas of the premiere performance. May Reggioli return soon, and often, to adorn the future performance rosters of Opera Australia.” (Opera~Opera, February 2006) "In a production where cast members always have one eye on the slapstick and the other on the set they were trying not to fall off, the conductor, Giovanni Reggioli, controlled the difficult ensemble co-ordination and volatile changes of pace and mood with impressively professional discipline. He maintained the score's energy and momentum to engrossing effect with as much precision as one could reasonably expect." (Sydney Morning Herald, 16 January 2006) "The whole merry evening's romp is held together by the music of the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, superbly led by visiting Italian conductor Giovanni Reggioli." (The Mosman Daily, 9 February 2006)
L’Opéra de Québec’s Madame Butterfly “The Orchestre symphonique de Québec, conducted by Giovanni Reggioli, offered every nuance of this dramatic music.” (ResMusica, 24 October 2005)
Giovanni Reggioli Superb Conducting Saint-Saëns’ s Samson et Dalila at the Washington National Opera "From the intense, expansive way he shaped the sorrowful opening of the opera, it was clear that conductor Giovanni Reggioli would be a star of the production. His unflaggingly elegant phrasing and ear for subtle details paid off handsomely all night, revealing the soulful beauty in the score. Reggiolis classy effort was matched by refined, richly animated playing from the orchestra." (Opera News, August 2005)
Conducting l'orchestre symphonique de Québec "For Reggioli, the music is first and foremost and he is in his natural element. With him, nothing is set in stone. The musicians seem to have the space they need to breathe. This approach translates into a performance that is sincere, never stiff, open to the unexpected. What counts is to release the expressive potential of the score. To this end, the opening measures of Verdi’s Vespri Siciliani are eloquent. The conductor begins the work with a sustained gesture, concentrated, which brings out the (work’s) intensity. The pianissimo he draws out of the strings and percussion is very effective. In the hall, all ears were alert." (Le Soleil, November 4, 2004)
Giovanni Reggioli outstanding in l'Opéra de Québec's Un Ballo in Maschera "The star of this première, we can say off the top, was not the personage of King Gustave, but the conductor Giovanni Reggioli, a sensitive and assiduous musician who obviously knows what he is doing. He is not content merely have the OSQ make music, he also understand how to make them play softly and correctly, sometimes with restraint, sometimes with more character. For him, expression and clarity of intention marry admirably. The overture was a delight in itself. Rarely has an orchestra shone so brilliantly in the pit. The singers, soloists and chorus were also in good hands. Technically, the musical line was never broken. The drama therefore could take centre-stage.” (Le Soleil, October 18, 2004)
Giovanni conducts Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci at the Portland Opera in Maine "The new team at Portland Opera Repertory Theater, director Dona D. Vaughn and conductor Giovanni Reggioli, has a hit with its double bill of "Cavalleria Rusticana" and "Pagliacci," ...From a musical standpoint, the production is one of the best in memory." (Press Herald, July 31, 2004)
Giovanni Reggioli Wows Washington Audiences Once Again (La Traviata with the Washington National Opera) “The superb, incisive conducting of Giovanni Reggioli ensured an involving performance. He shaped the prelude exquisitely; the first violin chord emerged as if from another realm, and each subsequent note — and any silences in between — spoke volumes about the nature of the tragedy to come. Throughout the opera, Reggioli increased the expressiveness of a phrase with subtle, natural shifts of dynamics and tempo.” (Opera News , September 2004) "Conductor Giovanni Reggioli shaped the orchestral prelude exquisitely. He gave to the first 16 bars something of the profundity of the prelude to Wagner's Tristan, no small achievement. The initial violin chord seemed to emerge from another realm; each subsequent chord and, especially, pregnant silences between some of the measures spoke volumes about the tragedy to come. Throughout the opera, Reggioli ensured that the music from the pit - played with considerable sensitivity by the orchestra - enriched the action onstage. His remarkable ability to increase the expressiveness of a phrase with subtle shifts of dynamics and tempo helped make this one of the best conducted Traviata's I've heard in a long time." (Baltimore Sun, May 13, 2004) "Giovanni Reggioli's command of the orchestra throughout the opera felt like a labor of love. The celestial overtures were conducted with particular sensitivity." (Georgetowner, May 20, 2004) "Giovanni Reggioli's conducting was thoughtful, intense and vibrantly alive." (Washington Post, May 10, 2004) "The early score could hardly receive better advocacy than that given by conductor Giovanni Reggioli. Here’s a man with the Italian idiom clearly in his blood: He knows when to change the tempo with a juicy rubato as much as he knows when to keep things bustling along. Most arresting of all is Reggioli’s treatment of the Act 1 and Act 3 preludes. Daringly slow, febrile, and scrupulously shaped, they showcase the WNO strings at their very finest." (Washington City Paper, May 28, 2004) "Kudos to Giovanni Reggioli for his finely honed conducting of the WNO orchestra." (Washington Times, May 10, 2004) "Also unchanged are conductor Giovanni Reggioli's sensitive, skilled treatment of the score, the excellent response of the company's orchestra and chorus." (Washington Post, May 28, 2004, review of cast change)
L’Opéra de Québec’s Turandot “Under the solid musical leadership of Giovanni Reggioli, the soloists and large chorus happily rose to the occasion…l’Orchestre Symphonique de Québec performed impeccably under Reggioli.” (Opera Canada , Winter 2003) “Irreprochable
conducting. Finally, it was with irreproachable conducting and an
exceptional coherency that the Florentine conductor, Giovanni Reggioli,
led the musicians of the Orchestre symphonique de Quebec , recreating
the great richness of instrumentation of this fabulous score of
Puccini’s last opera.” (Radio-Canada,
19 October, 2003 ) « Maestria irréprochable. Enfin, c'est
avec une maestria irréprochable et une cohérence exemplaire que
le chef d'orchestre florentin Giovanni Reggioli a dirigé les musiciens
de l'Orchestre symphonique de Québec, restituant ainsi la grande
richesse d'instrumentation de cette fabuleuse partition du dernier
opéra de Puccini. » “Giovanni Reggioli has the same confidence in the pit that Calaf has on stage, while still maintaining a surprising discretion. The OSQ offered this relaxed and respectful Conductor a very high level performance.” (Le Soleil , October 20, 2003 ) «Dans la fosse, Giovanni Reggioli a l’air aussi sûr de lui que Calaf peut l’être sur sc ène, mais tout en demeurant d’une étonnante discretion. L’OSQ offre à ce chef déntendu et respectueux une performance de haut niveau.»
Other Recent Excerpts “Giovanni Reggioli conducted the orchestra with a firm and knowing baton, drawing from the musicians a balanced sound that was effective in its positioning on stage never flooding the hall with sound that obscured the voices.” (ConcertoNet , review of the Washington Opera’s Don Giovanni , 29 March 2003 ) “Giovanni Reggioli’s effective phrasing and tempos…inspired much more fervent playing from the orchestra; the score's climactic moments sounded truly ravishing.” (Opera News , review of the Washington Opera's La Bohème , January 2003)
Last Updated: October 25, 2007 © 2004 Moira Johnson Consulting, All Rights Reserved
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