Del Monaco, Giancarlo

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Del Monaco, Giancarlo

Del Monaco, Giancarlo , Italian Opéra producer and administrator, son of Mario Del Monaco; b. Venice, Dec. 27, 1943. He received training in languages and music in Lausanne. In 1964 he staged his first opéra, Samson et Dalila, in Siracusa, and then was an assistant to Giinter Rennert, Wieland Wagner, and Walter Felsenstein (1965–68). After serving as personal assistant to the general director of the Vienna State Opéra (1968–70), he was principal stage director in Ulm (1970–73). From 1980 to 1982 he was Intendant of the Kassel State Theater, and then was director of the Macerata Festival from 1986 to 1988. In 1989 he staged Laforza del destino at the Vienna State opéra, La Fille du régiment in Zürich, and Samson et Dalila in Barcelona. His production of Les Huguenots opened the new Opéra house in Montpellier in 1990. In 1991 he staged La fanciulla del West at the Metropolitan Opéra in N.Y. From 1992 to 1997 he was Intendant of the Bonn opéra, where his productions included Cavallena rusticana and Pagliacci (1993), Les Conies d’Hoffmann (1994), and Manon Lescaut (1995). In 1997 he staged Aida in Cologne. He became general director of the Nice Opéra in 1997.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire