During O19, the third edition of Opera Philadelphia’s season-launching festival, he conducts the company premiere of Prokofiev’s comedic gem, The Love for Three Oranges (Sep 20–29), and early next year he helms iconic works by two of his most distinguished compatriots, taking the podium for Verdi’s Requiem and Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. Meanwhile Maestro Rovaris will also be honored at the Festival O19 Celebration, which features a solo recital by Brenda Rae (Sep 21). Single tickets for festival 019 available from May 15, and may be ordered at operaphila.org, or by calling (215) 732-8400.

Rovaris’s tenure to date

A native of Bergamo, Italy, Corrado Rovaris previously served as Assistant Chorus Master at Milan’s La Scala and has appeared at such esteemed Italian houses and festivals as the Rome Opera, Teatro Regio di Parma, Teatro Regio di Torino, Rome’s Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Pesaro’s Rossini Opera Festival, and Florence’s Maggio Musicale. Maestro Rovaris made his Opera Philadelphia debut in 1999 and became its first Music Director in 2005, during the company’s 30th anniversary season. Since then he has led the majority of Opera Philadelphia’s productions, besides continuing to enjoy international success with guest conducting engagements at the Santa Fe Opera Festival, England’s Garsington Opera Festival, Tokyo’s Japan Opera Foundation, and many more.

Looking back at the early days of his Philadelphia tenure, Maestro Rovaris recalls:

“I will never forget my first month because of how well people treated me and my family. I had a wonderful experience, and it was so great to work in such a beautiful opera house.”

As the Philadelphia Inquirer notes, “the Italian conductor has had considerable influence at the company, choosing repertoire, scouting for singing talent, and building the orchestra and chorus.” Star tenor Lawrence Brownlee credits Rovaris with helping to launch his career:

“It was nearly 20 years ago that I met Corrado Rovaris in Milan, Italy. I was granted an audition at La Scala where Corrado and the artistic team were looking for a second-cast tenor for The Barber of Seville that next summer. Immediately after the audition, Corrado greeted me and I was given the contract on the spot. He believed in my talent and that opportunity opened so many other doors for me. That was so important for me and my career, but it was also the beginning of a close, lasting friendship that is strong today. I am forever indebted to Corrado, my dear colleague, and even more, my dear friend.”

Rovaris has been equally successful when it comes to forging enduring relationships with artists already at the height of their careers. Preeminent Verdi soprano Sondra Radvanovsky reports:

"When describing Corrado Rovaris as a musician, one must first describe Corrado the person, because his persona is so entwined with his musicianship.  Corrado is such a refined, elegant and kind person, always 100% impeccably prepared musically, always dressed to impress, and always respectful of every artist he is working with. When he enters a room, he has a huge smile on his face, which exudes a musical confidence that relaxes everyone around him in a work environment. From a singer’s point of view, he always has a way of making you feel like you are supported from the first note of the opera to the last: a true talent. Corrado is, in my opinion, one of the hardest working people in the classical music business, and it is proven by the quality of the musical productions Opera Philadelphia presents year after year.”

It was under Rovaris’s auspices that Opera Philadelphia launched a number of key recent initiatives. To complement its mainstage offerings at the historic Academy of Music with more intimate, risk-taking productions in the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater, in 2011 the company founded the American Repertoire Program. Designed to foster a new generation of homegrown opera composers, this has already yielded the world premieres of such contemporary classics as Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD and Breaking the Waves, securing Opera Philadelphia’s status as “one of North America’s premiere generators of valid new operas” (Opera News). Maestro Rovaris explains:

“The Academy of Music is a wonderful opera house, but it’s too big for introducing new repertoire – the moment you have to sell so many tickets, you have to go to standard repertoire. It was having the Perelman at the Kimmel Center that allowed us to start thinking about new repertoire and building a new audience. The fact that we have been able to devote so much of our time to new American opera, that is the biggest achievement, I think – not just for me, but for this company. I’m so proud of being part of this journey.”

Opera Philadelphia’s next major innovation followed in fall 2017, with the inaugural edition of Festival O, the company’s game-changing new season-opening annual festival. A two-week immersion featuring multiple world premieres and other operatic happenings at a variety of venues across the city, O17 was hailed as “one of the most enjoyable additions to the fall calendar in years” (Washington Post), underscoring the company’s reputation as “a hotbed of operatic innovation” (New York Times). The Music Director reflects:

“The festival allows us to play different music in different styles and different locations, over the same period, and to be really in the city, not just waiting for people to come to see us. That’s very simple, but it’s a very important step. The general thought behind it is that opera’s not like a museum, but something breathing, something new and connected to contemporary life. We’re trying to build a bridge between the past, the present, and the future. We have to open new doors for people.”