Bruno Bartoletti
ItalyBiography of Bruno Bartoletti
Bruno Bartoletti, an Italian opera conductor, was born on June 10, 1926, in Sesto Fiorentino, Tuscany. His father, Umberto Bartoletti, worked as a blacksmith and played the clarinet in a Florence band. At a young age, Bruno learned to play the piccolo and was recognized for his musical talent by a teacher in Florence. With the help of sculptor Antonio Berti, the husband of his teacher, Bruno was able to attend the Cherubini Conservatory where he played the flute and piano.
During his early career, Bartoletti performed as a concertmaster in the "Musical May" orchestra in Florence and later became the concertmaster in the "Teatro Comunale" vocal training center. He worked as an assistant conductor with renowned conductors such as Artur Rodzinski, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Vittorio Gui, and Tullio Serafin. Tullio Serafin encouraged Bartoletti to study conducting, which led to his debut as a conductor in 1953 at the "Teatro Comunale" with Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Rigoletto".
In 1956, Bartoletti became the resident conductor of the "Florence Musical May" festival, where he conducted the Italian premiere of Dmitri Shostakovich's opera "The Nose". From 1957 to 1960, he served as the chief conductor of the Royal Danish Theatre. He later became the artistic director of the Rome Opera from 1965 to 1973. Bruno returned to the "Musical May" festival in 1985 as the artistic director until 1991.
Bartoletti made his debut in the United States at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1956, conducting Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Il Trovatore" as a replacement for the ailing Tullio Serafin. He served as the principal conductor of the Lyric Opera from 1964 to 1999, sharing the role of artistic director with Pino Donati until 1975 when he became the sole artistic director. He remained the honorary artistic director of the Lyric Opera until his retirement in 2007. Throughout his career, Bartoletti conducted 55 operas at the Lyric Opera, making approximately 600 appearances on the conductor's podium.
Bartoletti's notable conducting engagements include the American premiere of Benjamin Britten's opera "Billy Budd" in 1970 and the world premiere of Krzysztof Penderecki's opera "Paradise Lost". He also conducted several world premieres by composers such as Luciano Berio, Luigi Dallapiccola, Paul Dessau, Lodovico Rocca, and Alberto Ginastera. His commercial recordings include "La Gioconda" by Amilcare Ponchielli, "Manon Lescaut" by Giacomo Puccini, and "La cena della beffe" by Umberto Giordano. Several of his performances were released on DVD, including "Death in Venice", "La bohème", "Giovanna d'Arco", "Macbeth", and "La gazza ladra". His productions of "La sonnambula" and "Tosca" were also broadcasted on television.
Bartoletti was awarded the title of Knight Grand Cross by the Italian government and was a member of the National Academy of St. Cecilia. He received the Franco Abbiati Prize for his achievements in the field of opera. In his later years, Bartoletti taught at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena. In February 2011, he participated in his final opera project, "Manon Lescaut".
Bruno Bartoletti was married to Rosanna Sandretti, an elementary school teacher, from July 1, 1953, until her death on August 2, 2011. The couple had two children, Chiara Bartoletti and Maria Podgi, both of whom survived their parents.
