Maestro Steven Mercurio is an internationally acclaimed conductor and composer who is currently the Music Director of the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Notably, Mercurio also served as Music Director of the Spoleto Festival under Founder Gian Carlo Menotti and Principal Conductor for the Opera Company of Philadelphia and Principal Guest Conductor of the Michigan Opera Theater. A sought after collaborator for many award winning recordings, arrangements and film projects, he received his masters from the Juilliard School.
For the stage, he has conducted more than sixty different operas in seven different languages. His engagements have taken him to many of the world's best loved opera houses including the Teatro dell'Opera, Roma; Teatro Bellini, Catania; Teatro Filarmonico, Verona; Teatro Reggio, Torino; Teatro Verdi, Trieste; Theatre de la Monnaie in Brussels, Bonn Opera, Teatro Massimo, Palermo, English National Opera as well as the American opera companies of San Francisco, Washington, Philadelphia, Seattle, Detroit, Opera Pacific, Florida Grand, Pittsburgh, Dallas and Cincinnati. In addition to Maestro Mercurio's operatic repertoire, his symphonic appearances have spanned the globeappearing throughout Europe with numerous Italian orchestras, Australia, the Far East and broadly throughout the United States. With his own Czech National Symphony Orchestra he completed a US tour in 2023 and this past Spring 2024, a critically acclaimed tour of the United Kingdom.
Maestro Mercurio has conducted countless operatic and symphonic television broadcasts including the internationally acclaimed, ”Christmas in Vienna" series highlighted by the best-selling “Three Tenors” featuring Carreras, Domingo and Pavarotti. In addition to several now classic PBS broadcast specials, Maestro Mercurio also led the 20th Anniversary Richard Tucker Opera Gala with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Maestro Mercurio also played a lead role in creating the stage show for the worldwide tour and subsequent DVD recording of Sting’s “Symphonicities” (“Live from Berlin” Deutsche Grammophon).
Other distinguished telecasts have included Maestro Mercurio conducting the RAI's production of “Christmas from the Church of San Francesco in Assisi,” and "La Bohème" from Cagliari, the Spoleto Festival performances of Berlioz's "Requiem," Scriabin's "Prometheus,"Mahler's "Second Symphony," and, an evening featuring the music of Chick Corea and Mozart with the Youth Orchestra of Santa Cecilia. In June 2020 during the pandemic, he gave a live outdoor performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra for ARTE TV in commemoration of the global orchestral Beethoven 250th Anniversary celebration.
Maestro Mercurio’s relationship with Andrea Bocelli began 26 years ago when the two collaborated for the RAI television broadcast of Puccini’s “La Bohème,” marking Andrea’s first leading role in an operatic stage production. From there, the two artists established a deep and abiding musical bond that has resulted in many noteworthy events includingAndrea’s first tour of the United States, his first operatic appearance in the United States as “Werther,” in 1999 with the Michigan Opera Theater, a “Butterfly,” and a “Tosca,” at the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, and, “L’Amico Fritz” in Verona. They have made several recording projects together for Decca including, “Il Trovatore,” “Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci” and most recently, Verdi’s “Otello.” Other recordings together have included, “Incanto,” and “Believe,” which Mercurio produced, conducted and arranged. Their historic, Liberty Island” Concert for American television in 2000 marked the first of many thrilling and noteworthy televised concerts including two “Christmas in Assisi,” specials for the RAI, an opera gala in Taormina and the internationally beloved, “A Bocelli Family Christmas (2020).
Maestro Mercurio’s discography is vast and highlights from his recent recordings with the Czech National Symphony for the Audiophile Recordings label include “Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 “New World,” Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” “Death and Transfiguration/Metamorphosen,” and “Dedication” - a collection of masterpieces for string orchestra. The recording of “A Grateful Tail,” his symphonic tribute to dogs lovers which he scored and produced for large orchestra, chorus and a singing actor was released in 2013 and features Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham. Mercurio’s own original recording of vocal songs, “Many Voices,” was recorded with the Prague Philharmonia for SONY Classics alongside many other recordings for the label including a Grammy Award winning CD with Chick Corea.
Maestro Mercurio has conducted a wide range of premieres including the U.S. premiere of Zemlinsky's "Der Zwerg," for the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, Puccini's "Manon Lescaut" at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville and, with the Teatro Verdi in Trieste, he gave the premiere and recording of Zandonai’s “I Cavalieri di Ekebu.” For the Spoleto Festival in Italy, he performed Menotti's opera, "Goya" (recorded for Nuova Era), Puccini's"Il Trittico," Berg's "Wozzeck," Korngold's "Die Tote Stadt," Shostakovich's "The Nose"and John Corigliano's "Symphony No.1." Among his accomplishments was the highly acclaimed Italian premiere of the complete version of Zemlinsky's "Der Zwerg," for the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome, the Italian premiere of Andre Previn's, "Streetcar Named Desire," in Torino, the Italian premiere of Kurt Weill's "Lady in the Dark" in Palermo and Rome. He conducted a new production of Verdi's "La Traviata" for the Staatsoper Bonn, and London's English National Opera, Puccini's "La Bohème” and Offenbach's "Les Contes d'Hoffman" for the San Francisco Opera.
As a composer, Maestro Mercurio's compositions include songs, chamber works, and pieces for large orchestra. His large scale orchestral work, ”For Lost Loved Ones," was given its world premiere by Zubin Mehta and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. His"Mercurial Overture," was given its world premiere by the Oslo Philharmonic in a live concert telecast honoring the Nobel Peace Prize winners, Médicins sans Frontières. Maestro Mercurio is an acclaimed and sought after arranger and producer and has created arrangements for a wide array of performers across multiple genres including Sting, Chick Corea, Hauser, Secret Garden, Bryn Terfel, Placido Domingo and, Andrea Bocelli.
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