IAN ROBERTSON
Artistic Director
|
Awarded the Olivier Messiaen Foundation Prize for his artistic
contribution to the preparation of San Francisco Opera’s (SFO) North
American premiere of Saint François d’Assise, Ian Robertson has been Chorus Director and conductor with this Company since 1987
and has prepared more than 200 productions. He has served as Artistic
Director of the San Francisco Boys Chorus (SFBC) where he has been
responsible for the phenomenal growth in the organization’s musical
stature and reputation. He recently prepared the SFBC and the
newly-created San Francisco Festival Chorale for performances of Mahler’s
3rd Symphony at the Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming.
Robertson made his SFO conducting debut with the 1988 production of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and has since led performances of Falstaff, Lohengrin, Rigoletto, La Traviata, Don Carlo, Turandot,Il trovatore and La Bohème. In addition to his highly
praised work with the Opera Chorus, he has led the Opera Orchestra and
Chorus in many concerts.
Additional conducting assignments include the San Francisco Opera Center’s The Italian Girl in Algiers, Cosi fan tutte, La Perichole, The Elixir
of Love, La Boheme and he conducted the Merola Opera Program’s Grand Finale
Concert for eight consecutive years. He has led Don Giovanni for
Sarasota Opera, The Magic Flute and Rigoletto for Edmonton
Opera and has conducted La Rondine, Iolanta, Eugene Onegin, The Rape of
Lucretia, Don Giovanni, Vanessa and The Rake’s Progress for Curtis Opera Theatre in Philadelphia. He recently conducted a concert of “Greatest Opera
Choruses” with the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh
Opera Orchestra.
Before joining San Francisco Opera, Robertson was Head of Music and Chorus Director of
Scottish Opera, where he conducted The Barber of Seville and led The Secret of Susanna for Scottish Television’s award-winning film. He went on to conduct several productions for that company, including The Pearl Fishers, Rigoletto, My Fair Lady, The Abduction from the Seraglio, Die
Meistersinger von Nürnberg and The Magic Flute, as well as concerts with the Scottish Opera
Orchestra. He worked as Assistant Director with the Edinburgh International Festival Chorus and the Scottish National Orchestra Chorus. He was Music Director of the Scottish Youth Theatre.
A native of Scotland, the maestro trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and the
University of Glasgow. He has appeared as pianist at the Edinburgh International Festival and the Wigmore Hall and Purcell Room in London. He recorded recitals for the BBC and appeared as pianist with the New Music Group of Scotland in contemporary works and with Cantilena as harpsichordist.
|
BOYS CHORUS
