Daniela Candillari to Lead Arizona Opera's DON GIOVANNI

Daniela Candillari's 2023-2024 season will continue in April with a return to Arizona Opera, where she will lead four performances of Mozart's Don Giovanni in Phoenix (April 20 & 21) and Tucson (April 27 & 28).

Don Giovanni marks Candillari's fourth time at the podium with Arizona Opera. Her company debut came in 2019 with a rendition of Fellow Travelers by Gregory Spears and Greg Pierce. She returned to conduct the celebrated film version of Clint Borzoni and John de los Santos' The Copper Queen, released in 2021 during the pandemic shutdown. Most recently, Candillari led Puccini's Tosca in 2023, with Opera Magazine praising how she "positioned the orchestra as a formidable force... transporting the opera on its trajectory to tragedy."

Candillari opened the 2023-2024 season to rave reviews for her of two world premieres: 10 Days in a Madhouse by composer Rene Orth and librettist Hannah Moscovitch at Opera Philadelphia, where she made her company debut; and Jeanine Tesori and George Brant's Grounded with Washington National Opera at The Kennedy Center, also a company debut. 10 Days in a Madhouse, starring soprano Kiera Duffy as trailblazing reporter Nellie Bly, plus mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis and baritone Will Liverman, was named the best classical music performance of 2023 by the Washington Post, which noted, "under the baton of Daniela Candillari, the ensemble swerved from lush, harmonically rich embraces of memory into disconcerting panic attacks of sound effects." Immediately following this triumph, Candillari conducted the world premiere of Grounded, a co-commission of the Metropolitan Opera starring mezzo-soprano Emily D'Angelo, with the Wall Street Journal praising her "expertly rendered" delivery of "Tesori's colorful orchestration."

Mozart's Don Giovanni, regarded by many as one of the greatest operas of all time, tells the centuries-old story of the libertine Don Juan. The title role will be shared by bass-baritone Richard Ollarsaba (Apr. 20 & 27) and Joseph Lattanzi (Apr. 21 & 28). The role of Donna Anna will be shared by sopranos Vanessa Vasquez (Apr. 20 & 27) and Lydia Grindatto (Apr. 21 & 28). Sopranos Toni Marie Palmertree (Apr. 20 & 27) and Mary-Hollis Hundley (Apr. 21 & 28) will take on the role of Donna Elvira. Tenor Zachary Nelson will portray Leporello.

Following Don Giovanni with Arizona Opera, Candillari's 2023-2024 season will conclude as she leads the company premiere of Handel's Julius Caesar (June 9-28) as well as the annual Center Stage concert (June 25) with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, where she is principal conductor; and Bizet's Carmen (July 12 & 14) at Music Academy of the West, where she serves as Principal Opera Conductor.

About Daniela Candillari

Daniela Candillari grew up in Serbia and Slovenia. She holds a Doctorate in Musicology from the Universität für Musik in Vienna, a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and a Master of Music and Bachelor's degree in Piano Performance from the Universität für Musik in Graz. A Fulbright Scholarship recipient, she was also awarded a TED Fellowship. Learn more at https://www.danielacandillari.com/

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