Around the Music Festival

Italian conductor Nello Santi has died. He was 88. After studying composition at the Conservatory in Padua, he debuted in the opera in 1951, conducting “Rigoletto” at the Verdi Theater in Padua. Since then, he has been active mainly in conducting opera. He has performed at major opera theaters in Europe and the United States, and has performed with historical singers such as Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi, and Mario Del Monaco.

Santi was born in Adria. He had a big body and a long Conducting Baton. But his conducting action was compact. He was the oldest conductor in the Italian opera society, conducting the 25th anniversary of the Verona Festival in 1995. On the other hand, in addition to the Italian opera, Wagner was also good at it. It has received many awards, including the top medal in Italy, “Grand Officer” of the Star of the Italian Solidarity (Ordine della Stella della Solidarietà Italiana). Singers loved him as “Papa Santi”.

In 1958 he was appointed music director of the Zurich Opera House, and after his retirement in 1969, remained closely related as one of the conductors. In Switzerland, he was the principal conductor of the Basel Radio Symphony Orchestra (1986-1997). After conducting the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in 1999, his visit to Japan increased, and he frequently performed for the NHK Symphony Orchestra. He conducted “La Boheme” in 2007 and “Aida” in 2010, both of which were ranked first in the audience’s “remembering concerts” of the year.

Photo：Radiotelevisione svizzera