Giulio Chazalettes
Encyclopedia
Giulio Chazalettes is an Italian opera director and former actor.
(according to another source in Torino). He was taught in music by his mother, a German
pianist. After having settled in Milan
, he was accepted by the Piccolo Teatro's acting school. Soon he also joined the company, and appeared in Sacrilegio massimo by Stefano Landi
, and replaced Giorgio De Lullo in The Madwoman of Chaillot
. Later he went to Dresden
to work as an actor and assistant director. Returning to Italy, he finished his musical education at the Florence
conservatory. Chazalettes then started his career as an opera director. In 1976, he debuted at La Scala
with Massenet's Werther
(conducted by Georges Prêtre
). His debut at the Vienna State Opera
came in 1980 with Verdi's Attila
(conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli
). Chazalettes also worked for the Chicago Lyric Opera and the Bavarian State Opera
. In 1989, he directed Frederica von Stade
in Massenet's Cherubin for the Santa Fe Opera
, about which the New York Times wrote: "Giulio Chazalettes's staging adopts a broadly comical, burlesque-opera approach that emphasizes Cherubin's lack of discrimination in woman-chasing. The countess (Melanie Helton) and the baroness (Judith Christin) fluttered about as painted gargoyles, their grotesqueness contrasting sharply with the beauty of the boy's other loves, the dancer L'Ensoleillad (Karen Huffstodt) and the peasant girl Nina (Sheryl Woods). Subtler production styles could be imagined, certainly, but this one often tickled the work hilariously into life."
Biography
He was born in VeronaVerona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
(according to another source in Torino). He was taught in music by his mother, a German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
pianist. After having settled in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, he was accepted by the Piccolo Teatro's acting school. Soon he also joined the company, and appeared in Sacrilegio massimo by Stefano Landi
Stefano Landi
Stefano Landi was an Italian composer and teacher of the early Baroque Roman School. He was an influential early composer of opera, and wrote the earliest opera on a historical subject: Sant'Alessio .-Biography:Landi was born in Rome, the capital of the Papal States.In 1595 he joined the Collegio...
, and replaced Giorgio De Lullo in The Madwoman of Chaillot
The Madwoman of Chaillot
The Madwoman of Chaillot is a play, a poetic satire, by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux, written in 1943 and first performed in 1945, after his death. The play has two acts and follows the convention of the classical unities...
. Later he went to Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
to work as an actor and assistant director. Returning to Italy, he finished his musical education at the Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
conservatory. Chazalettes then started his career as an opera director. In 1976, he debuted at La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
with Massenet's Werther
Werther
Werther is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann based on the German epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe....
(conducted by Georges Prêtre
Georges Prêtre
- Biography :He was born in Waziers , and attended the Douai Conservatory and then studied harmony under Maurice Duruflé and conducting under André Cluytens among others at the Conservatoire de Paris. Amongst his early musical interests were jazz and trumpet. After graduating, he conducted in a...
). His debut at the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
came in 1980 with Verdi's Attila
Attila (opera)
Attila is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the play Attila, König der Hunnen by Friedrich Ludwig Zacharias Werner. Initially, Verdi had enlisted Francesco Maria Piave to prepare the libretto, after Verdi's own scenario...
(conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli
Giuseppe Sinopoli
-Biography:Sinopoli was born in Venice, Italy, and later studied at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice under Ernesto Rubin de Cervin and at Darmstadt, including being mentored in composition with Karlheinz Stockhausen...
). Chazalettes also worked for the Chicago Lyric Opera and the Bavarian State Opera
Bavarian State Opera
The Bavarian State Opera is an opera company based in Munich, Germany.Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra.- History:The opera company which was founded under Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy has been in existence since 1653...
. In 1989, he directed Frederica von Stade
Frederica von Stade
Frederica von Stade is an American mezzo-soprano. Born in Somerville, New Jersey, she acquired the nickname "Flicka" in her childhood. Von Stade attended the Mannes College of Music in New York City. She made her debut with the Metropolitan Opera in 1970 and in 1971 appeared as Cherubino in The...
in Massenet's Cherubin for the Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe Opera
The Santa Fe Opera is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe in the U.S. state of New Mexico, headquartered on a former guest ranch of .-General history:...
, about which the New York Times wrote: "Giulio Chazalettes's staging adopts a broadly comical, burlesque-opera approach that emphasizes Cherubin's lack of discrimination in woman-chasing. The countess (Melanie Helton) and the baroness (Judith Christin) fluttered about as painted gargoyles, their grotesqueness contrasting sharply with the beauty of the boy's other loves, the dancer L'Ensoleillad (Karen Huffstodt) and the peasant girl Nina (Sheryl Woods). Subtler production styles could be imagined, certainly, but this one often tickled the work hilariously into life."