Gianluigi Gelmetti


Gianluigi Gelmetti OMRI, is an Italian-born, naturalized Monaco citizen conductor and composer.

Early life

Gianluigi Gelmetti was born on 11 September 1945 in Rome, Italy. When 16-year old, Sergiu Celibidache let him conduct an orchestra, then took him as a pupil. He subsequently studied with Franco Ferrara and Hans Swarowsky. In 1967 he won the “Firenze” prize.

Career

Since his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Gelmetti regularly performs as a conductor at international opera houses, concert halls and festivals.
From 1989 to 1998, he has been Principal Conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra as well as the Schwetzingen Festival ; from 2000 to 2009, “Musical and Artistic Director” of Teatro dell%27Opera di Roma in Rome. From 2004 to 2008, he also was Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
In 2012, he was appointed Principal Conductor of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, a post that he held until 2016. He was then named Chef Honoraire for life and was awarded the Monaco citizenship by H.S.H. Prince Albert II.
In Pesaro, Italy, at the end of last century, Gelmetti conducted several productions at the Rossini Opera Festival: Tancredi, La Gazza Ladra, Otello, Maometto secondo, He was awarded the Rossini d’Oro for Guillaume Tell, a world premiere of the complete opera lasting over 5 hours.
While at the Rome Opera House, he led some lesser-known or rediscovered lyric works: the world premiere of Marie Victoire and La fiamma by Ottorino Respighi; La leggenda di Sakùntala by Franco Alfano, Iris by Pietro Mascagni.
He notably conducted Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro, Così Fan Tutte and Die Zauberflöte. Among other works he conducted: Francesca da Rimini, Das Rheingold and in Monte-Carlo ; Guillaume Tell in Zürich, Monte-Carlo and Paris; La Forza del Destino and Attila in Parma.; Les vêpres siciliennes in Naples; Turandot in Tokyo ; Il Barbiere di Siviglia and I Due Foscari in Toulouse; Un Ballo in Maschera, La Traviata in Trieste; La Fanciulla del West and Tosca in Liège; Rossini's Stabat Mater in Sarajevo. Most recently he led a video production of La Cenerentola directed by Carlo Verdone for Rada Film and Verdi’s Messa da Requiem in Rome.
Apart from opera, he regularly conducts symphonic concerts in Germany ; in France in Spain, in Italy; also the Czech Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra in the UK, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, in Copenhagen, in Oslo. He was also seen performing in China and in Oman.
He is very much appreciated in Japan, where he conducted the NHK Symphony Orchestra, the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra and the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. He was awarded the Tokyo critics’ prize “Best Performance of the Year” for Symphony No. 9.
His discography with EMI, SONY, RICORDI, FONIT, DECCA, TELDEC, NAXOS and AGORÀ, displays a vast and complex repertory: operas by Rossini, Puccini and Mozart; Ravel orchestral music; symphonies by Mozart, selected works by Stravinsky, Berg, Webern, Varèse and Nino Rota. Recent releases include two rare Rossini operas and Anton Bruckner’s symphony nr.6.
Mr. Gelmetti also writes music. He composed “In Paradisum Deducant Te Angeli”, premiered in Rome and later performed in London, Munich, Frankfurt, Budapest, Sydney and Stuttgart; “Algos”, premiered in 1997 by the Münchner Philharmoniker and “Prasanta Atma”, commissioned in 1999 to celebrate Sergiu Celibidache. More recently, the Teatro Comunale di Bologna commissioned him a “Cantata della Vita”. for choir, cello solo and orchestra.
He has been teaching conducting at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena and at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome.
He has been knighted "Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" in France, "Commandeur de l’Ordre du Mérite Culturel" in Monaco and "Cavaliere di Gran Croce" of the Italian Republic.

Partial Discography