Micaele Sparacino General Director and Conductor

About Micaele Sparacino

Mr. Sparacino, founder and general director of Opera Bel Canto Washington, is a specialist in 19th century Italian bel canto, noted for his expertise and research in the forgotten operas of Gaetano Donizetti.

In collaboration with the Milanese publishing house, Ricordi, and the Fondazione Donizetti of Bergamo, Maestro Sparacino has presented the American premieres of the new critical editions of Donizetti’s Poliuto, Marin Faliero, Maria di Rohan and Lucrezia Borgia. He presented the world premiere of his own critical edition of La Favorita, which restores much of its original music, including a hitherto unknown cabaletta for the heroine Leonora and the original Italian ending, which was lost for more than a century.

Maestro Sparacino was trained in singing and conducting at the Catholic University of America, working with his mentors Michael Cordovana, James Perdue and Gerald F. Muller.

As a tenor he made his professional debut at the Kennedy Center in 1976, singing the title role in Handel’s Judas Maccabeus. Engagements followed with the Wolf Trap Company, the Washington Opera, the Boston Opera, the New York City Opera Mostly Mozart Festival and the San Francisco Opera. Mr. Sparacino sang principal roles in oratorio, bel canto opera and operetta, and comprimario roles in grand opera.

His repertoire included Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Don Basilio (Nozze di Figaro), The Impresario, Almaviva (Barbiere di Siviglia), Elvino (La Sonnambula), Goro (Madama Butterfly), Guillot de Morfontaine (Manon), Sandor Barinkay (Gypsy Baron), and the Evangelist (Saint Matthew Passion).

He proudly counts in his repertoire all of the principal tenor roles of Gilbert and Sullivan. For 21 seasons he was the principal tenor of the Washington Savoyards.

In the 1980s George London introduced him to Maestro Mario Salerno of La Scala Opera. Maestro Salerno convinced the young tenor that his true talent was in conducting and he began to make the transition shortly thereafter. It was making the acquaintance of noted Donizetti authority William Ashbrook at performances of L’Elisir d’Amore he was directing that had the most profound effect upon him. Ashbrook persuaded him to delve into the Donizetti canon.

The conductor with principals of an earlier performance.

The conductor’s repertoire also includes the operas of Rossini, Bellini, Verdi, Mascagni, Leoncavallo, Puccini, Cilea, Giordano, Massenet, Debussy, Gounod, Meyerbeer, Tschaikovsky and Gluck.

Maestro Sparacino has served as Music Director of the Maryland State Opera Company and the Victorian Lyric Opera Company. He founded the Opera Camerata of Washington and directed it for 11 seasons and is heading Opera Bel Canto in its second full season.