“When you receive an award, there are two sides of the coin...gratitude, and responsibility to continue, if possible, even better.”
That is Maestro Gianandrea Noseda, in an Italian interview, reacting with typical eloquence to receiving the 54th annual Puccini Award at the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago where he was conducting the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Maestro Noseda follows a long list of musical luminaries who have won the prestigious Award, founded in 1930 to honor artists who have made significant contributions to international culture, including Renata Tebaldi, Maria Callas (in memoriam), Mirella Freni, Birgit Nilsson, Renata Scotto, Grace Bumbry, Lorin Mazel, Luciano Pavarotti, Riccardo Chailly, Jonas Kaufmann, Angela Gheorghiu and even Patti Smith.
The Puccini Festival at Torre del Lago takes place every summer in July and August, near Puccini’s beloved home where he wrote some of his greatest operas. The Great Open-Air Theatre seats 3,4000 music lovers in an idyllic lakeside setting.
Washington music fans know Maestro Gianandrea Noseda as the Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra. He is also General Music Director of the Zurich Opera House, and Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.
Hear our conversation with Maestro Noseda on Classical Breakdown
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