(Credit: Drew Gardner)

The Opernhaus Zürich has announced that the Italian conductor Riccardo Minasi has been appointed the first artistic director of the Orchestra La Scintilla.

The La Scintilla Orchestra performs regularly at the Opernhaus Zürich. Apart from opera, La Scintilla appears regularly in large concert halls and gives concerts with renowned soloists, instrumentalists and singers such as Cecilia Bartoli, Rolando Villazon, Andreas Scholl and others.

“With this appointment, the Opernhaus Zürich continues a tradition founded by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, whose La Scintilla emerged over 20 years ago – the only historically informed performance practice orchestra in the world whose members are also part of a permanent opera orchestra, “said Andreas Homoki, manager of the Opernhaus Zürich.

“I am extremely happy to welcome Riccardo Minasi to the Opernhaus family… I am sure that his knowledge, enthusiasm and inspiration, as well as his fruitful relationship with La Scintilla, will bring additional excitement to Zürich”, said Gianandrea Noseda, musical director of the Opernhaus Zürich. in an official press release.

Minassi has performed with the best orchestras and operas in the world, including the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, the Salzburger Festspiele, the Staatsoper Hamburg, and the Dutch National Opera, among others.