OTSL Announces Four-Year Contract Extension for Principal Conductor Daniela Candillari

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL) announced the continuation of the creative partnership between Principal Conductor Daniela Candillari and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Candillari’scontract has been extended for four years, through September 2028.Increasingly renowned for guiding groundbreaking world premieres to the stage as well as her artistic prowess with opera’s most frequently performed masterpieces, Candillari made her OTSL debut in 2021 conducting the New Works, Bold Voices Lab and began her tenure as OTSL’s Principal Conductor in 2022.

Opus: Uspešni slovenski glasbeniki v tujini

[…] V ZDA se uveljavlja dirigentka slovenskih korenin Daniela Candillari, ki je konec lanskega leta debitirala v newyorški Metropolitanki, zdaj pa je postala glavna dirigentka glasbenega gledališča v Saint Louisu, obenem pripravlja predstave v drugi največji operni hiši-Lyric operi v Chicagu. […]

Everyone’s First Opera is Carmen! ft. Daniela Candillari

[@ 5 min] Oliver goes ‘Inside the Huddle’ with Daniela Candillari who was just named principal conductor of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. She talks about her very recent conducting debut at the Met on Aucoin’s “Eurydice” and geeks out with Oliver on... a Mozart piano concerto...?!

[@ 30 min] In the ‘Two Minute Drill’… Cancel culture kills Katherina’s classic co-production, and Central City celebrates a stylish CEO. (Try saying that after three Gin Slings...)

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Do you watch the OBS on The Dallas Opera Network? Check out our full episode by subscribing to the podcast, wherever you get your pods…

Po dirigentskem debiju v Metu | DNEVNIK

Dirigentka, skladateljica in doktorica muzikologije Daniela Candillari, rojena v Srbiji, ki je nekaj let prebila tudi v Sloveniji, je prejšnji teden debitirala v Metropolitanski operi v New Yorku (Met), v sodobni operi Evridika. Nastopiti na tako prestižnem odru je želja vsakega, ki se z glasbo ukvarja profesionalno, tako pomemben korak v karieri pa je vedno zelo težko prigaran.

Newyorško občinstvo opero pospremilo z navdušenjem | RTV SLOVENIJA

Prva umetnica iz Slovenije, ki je dirigirala v Metu | DNEVNIK

Svetovno uspešna dirigentka Daniela Candillari, ki si jo radi lastimo tudi Slovenci, je sinoči debitirala na odru Metropolitanske opere v New Yorku (Met). Dirigirala je sodobno opero Eurydice (Evridika) ameriškega skladatelja Matthewa Aucoina. Je prva umetnica iz Slovenije, ki je dirigirala v Metu.

SIGHT LINES | OPERANEWS

F. Paul Driscoll speaks with conductor and composer Daniela Candillari about making her Met debut conducting Matthew Aucoin's Eurydice, how she's become a specialist in contemporary opera and how watching her grandmother perform the title role in a Serbian-language performance of Carmen in the former Yugoslavia inspired her own career in music.

Music Academy of the West announces appointment of Principal Opera Conductor

The Music Academy of the West is pleased to share the appointment of Daniela Candillari as Principal Opera Conductor of the Summer Festival. Candillari has conducted the west coast premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s Cold Mountain for the Academy in 2019 and led several works on a program of all contemporary vocal chamber music in 2021. The Principal Opera Conductor role is a new one for the Academy’s roster of faculty artists. The designation will extend for three years beginning in 2022.

Q & A: Conductor Daniela Candillari Discusses Her Met Debut Conducting ‘Eurydice’ and Her Approach to Score Study | OPERA WIRE

“Conductor Daniela Candillari makes her Met Opera podium debut on Wednesday, December 8th, pacing Matthew Aucoin and Sarah Ruhl’s ‘Eurydice.’ OperaWire connects with Candillari to discuss her creative process leading up to ‘Eurydice’ and how she constructs her perspective.” - Jennifer Pyron 

The Copper Queen | OPERA NEWS

"Conducting the Arizona Opera Orchestra Candillari gives Borzoni’s score a detailed and kaleidoscopic performance, weaving seamlessly through genres and allusions to create a unified musical story." - Steven Jude Tietjen

St. Louis Symphony Concert Review | KDHX

“Candillari’s opera house experience is extensive, and it showed in her ability to bring out all the drama here and elsewhere in the program.” - Chuck Lavazzi

New Works, Bold Voices | BROADWAY WORLD

“The small orchestra for the evening […] does remarkably beautiful work under the baton of Maestra Daniela Candillari.” - Steve Callahan

Creative Blessings in Disguise | NEW MUSIC BOX

Daniela joins composer Julia Adolphe in conversation about creativity, meditation, dealing with uncertainty, and finding silver linings where we can.

Best Classical Music of 2020 | THE NEW YORK TIMES

The New York Times has named “The Mother of Us All” as their Number 1 pick for Best Classical Music of 2020.

New Artist of the Month | MUSICAL AMERICA

“Blessed with an ability to pull together disparate elements from the most complex of scores making her something of a go-to for contemporary opera.” - Clive Paget

Across the Musical Globe | INSIDE OPERA PODCAST

The newest episode of Cincinnati Opera’s Inside Opera Podcast is available for streaming on Spotify and Apple Music.

The Mother of Us All | OPERA NEWS

“The gifted Daniela Candillari conducted a half-dozen ace Philharmonic players and a chorus of ten capable professionals, expressively shaping Thomson’s quirky mix of homespun and hymn with Satie- and Nadia Boulanger-imparted texture.” - David Shengold

The Mother of Us All | OPERA WIRE

“One might say that Candillari’s sensitivity was one of the most special ingredients that made this collaboration savory to the senses.” - Jennifer Pyron

Q & A: OPERA WIRE

“Conductor Daniela Candillari also made her NY Philharmonic debut for this compelling MetLiveArts series and spoke with OperaWire more about her personal artistic journey, the significance of “The Mother of Us All” and exploring the possibilities of finding one’s own voice.” - Jennifer Pyron

The 25 Best Classical Music Tracks of 2019 | THE NEW YORK TIMES

“Beautiful Monster” from “Acquanetta” named one of the 25 Best Classical Music Tracks of 2019

Fellow Travelers | ARIZONA DAILY STAR

“Conductor Daniela Candillari, in her Arizona Opera debut, brought rich color to Spears’ American minimalist style that also borrows from what he described as medieval troubadour singing. Candillari emphasized the pulsing rhythmic passages and repetitive riffs, including a soaring clarinet to create the tension and menace Tim and Hawk were experiencing as the McCarthy hysteria hit close to home.” - Cathalena E. Burch

10 Months of Classical Music Concerts | THE NEW YORK TIMES

A list by Zachary Woolfe, including:
- "Desire" by Hannah Lash at the Miller Theatre at Columbia University;
- "The Mother of Us All" with The Juilliard School & New York Philharmonic at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York;
- Dai Fujikura Composer Portrait with International Contemporary Ensemble;
- and "Martha" at the Manhattan School of Music.

Sound Bites | OPERA NEWS

”An up-and-coming conductor finds equal inspiration in tradition and novelty.”
By Louise T. Guinther

Riders to the Sea/Empty the House | OPERA NEWS

“Conductor Daniela Candillari drew deserved cheers from the audience and her cast for making a well-prepared case for two such different and challenging works.” - David Shengold

Five Questions | I CARE IF YOU LISTEN

“My path to conducting was perhaps somewhat unpredictable, though looking back now, I can see the dots connect. I started playing piano when I was 5 years old. It was my first contact with music, and it started through my grandmother who was an opera singer. Before I started formal education in music, I knew for instance how to play “Habanera” from Carmen and would very often listen to tapes of operas and operettas and try to find the melodies on the piano.” - by Stephanie Ann Boyd

An American Dream | CHICAGO TRIBUNE

“Some of the most wondrous music-making emerged from the orchestra, conductor Daniela Candillari bringing forth poetically turned phrases and shimmering instrumental color.” - Howard Reich

Fellow Travelers | CHICAGO TRIBUNE

“The spare orchestration for 16 players, precisely attended to by a solid pit band under conductor Daniela Candillari, mirrors the behind-closed-doors reticence with which the lovers must conduct their forbidden affair.” - John von Rhein