Speranza Scappucci
Speranza Scappucci opened 2022 making history as the first Italian woman to conduct at Teato alla Scala in Milan. With the following house debuts at Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, at State Opera in Berlin, and at Opera national de Paris, she consolidated her position as one of the most interesting conductors of her generation on the international scene.
With Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Speranza opens the 22/23 season at Opéra national de Paris. This house debut will be followed by her house debut at the Metropolitan Opera New York (Rigoletto). Later in the season, Speranza will return to the Canadian Opera Company to conduct Macbeth in Toronto. She will close the season with her return to Opéra Royal de Wallonie to lead the new production of Dialogues of the Carmelites.
Last season (21/22), Speranza led a new production of Eugene Onegin at Royal Opéra de Wallonie in Liège and was the first Italian woman to conduct the premiere of I Capuleti e i Montecchi at La Scala Milan. Furthermore, she conducted Le Villi at Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse, L'elisir d'amore, at Berlin State Opera, Attila at Royal Opera House Covent Garden London as well as Simon Boccanegra in Liège. In 2020/21 she conducted Così fan tutte at Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse and returned with La traviata to Liceu Barcelona. At New National Theatre in Tokyo, she gave her house debut conducting Lucia di Lammermoor. With the same opera, she returned to Opera Zürich. She closed the season with Verdi’s Requiem at Arena di Verona.
From 2017 to 2022, Speranza Scappucci hold the position of Music Director at Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège. In the last seasons she conducted Madama Butterly, La Cenerentola, La sonnambula, Aida, and I Puritani there.
With The Barber of Seville, she debuted at the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto and returned to Opera Zürich conducting La boheme. Concerts brought her to Bordeaux, Liège, Budapest, Lyon, and Paris. At Vienna State Opera, she conducted L'elisir d'amore, La boheme, and La Cenerentola, and at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées she led Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda. She returned to Washington Opera (Tosca) and gave her debut at Semperoper Dresden conducting La boheme.
Besides her operatic engagements, Speranza Scappucci also made a name for herself as a concert conductor. Among the many distinguished orchestras Scappucci has conducted so far are the Los Angeles Philharmonics at Hollywood Bowl, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra Arturo Toscanini, the Orchestra Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Vienna Symphonics, the Symphony Orchestra Luzern, the Orchestre national de Lyon, the Orchestre National du Capitole in Toulouse, and the Orchestre National d'Ile de France.
In November 2013, her first CD album was released on Warner Classics, Mozart arias with Latvian soprano Marina Rebeka and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and 2016 the CD album of the Albanian tenor Saimir Pirgu for Opus Arte with the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Her latest recording with Hungarian bassist Ödön Rácz and the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra was released in 2019 on Deutsche Grammophon. Speranza Scappucci received the honour of Chevalier de l'Ordre des arts et des lettres from the French Republic as well as the Premio Porto Venere Donna, the Premio Margherita Hack, the Premio Vittorio De Sica, and the De Sanctis Europe Price from Italy.