Oleg Caetani
Encyclopedia
Oleg Caetani is a conductor of Ukrainian and Italian descent. He is the son of Igor Markevitch
and Donna Topazia Caetani, Markevitch's second wife, who is descended from a Roman family that included the early 14th-century Pope Boniface VIII
. Caetani has chosen to use his mother's family name to continue its lineage. His half-brother is Vaslav Markevitch.
Caetani studied with Nadia Boulanger
for several years. At the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome, he studied conducting with Franco Ferrara
and composition with Irma Ravinale. He made his debut at age 17 with a production of Claudio Monteverdi
's Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda
in Rome. He then went to the Moscow Conservatory
to study conducting with Kirill Kondrashin and musicology with Nadezhda Nikolaeva. He graduated from the St Petersburg Conservatory in conducting with Ilya Musin.
Caetani won the RAI Turin and the third prize at the Karajan
Competitions in Berlin, and started his professional career as assistant to Otmar Suitner
at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin. He has since been Chief Conductor at the Nationaltheater Weimar, First Conductor at the Oper Frankfurt, Music Director first at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden
, later at the Chemnitz Opera House and of the Robert Schumann Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 2001, Caetani conducted his first production at La Scala
, Milan, with Turandot
. His first conducting appearance with English National Opera
(ENO) was in 2003 with Khovanshchina
. In February 2005, ENO announced the appointment of Caetani as its music director to succeed Paul Daniel
, effective in 2006. However, after the November 2005 resignation of ENO's then artistic director, Seán Doran, who had appointed Caetani, Caetani's own appointment as the next ENO Music Director was cancelled in December 2005, the month before he was scheduled to take up the post. Concerns had arisen that Caetani's commitments in Australia
limited his available time to serve with ENO. Even though Caetani never formally took up the post of ENO's music director, he fulfilled his contract to conduct ENO's 2006 production of Sir John in Love
(the first fully staged revival since 1958).
Caetani made his Australian conducting debut in 2001 with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
(MSO). In January 2005, he became the MSO's Chief Conductor and Artistic Director. In 2007 he led the MSO on its second European tour, which took in performances in major centres including Berlin, Madrid, Milan and Paris. In March 2008, the MSO announced the extension of Caetani's contract through to the end of 2010. He led the MSO in the Australian premiere of Shostakovich
's Symphony No. 13
("Babi Yar") on 7 August 2008. His recording projects with the MSO include symphonies of Alexandre Tansman
and the orchestral works of Rudi Stephan
. On 14 October 2009, a year ahead of schedule, the MSO announced it had terminated Caetani's contract due to artistic differences.
Caetani's other recordings include the first complete cycle of the Shostakovich symphonies by an Italian orchestra, with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi
.
Caetani has been married twice. He has a son and three daughters, two with his first wife Karin, and another one with his second wife Susanna.
Igor Markevitch
Igor Markevitch was a Ukrainian, Italian, and French composer and conductor.- Origin :Igor Markevich was born in Kiev, to an old family of Ukrainian Cossack starshyna ennobled in the 18th century...
and Donna Topazia Caetani, Markevitch's second wife, who is descended from a Roman family that included the early 14th-century Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII , born Benedetto Gaetani, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1294 to 1303. Today, Boniface VIII is probably best remembered for his feuds with Dante, who placed him in the Eighth circle of Hell in his Divina Commedia, among the Simonists.- Biography :Gaetani was born in 1235 in...
. Caetani has chosen to use his mother's family name to continue its lineage. His half-brother is Vaslav Markevitch.
Caetani studied with Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor and teacher who taught many composers and performers of the 20th century.From a musical family, she achieved early honours as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but believing that her talent as a composer was inferior to that of her younger...
for several years. At the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome, he studied conducting with Franco Ferrara
Franco Ferrara
Franco Ferrara was an Italian conductor.After obtaining diplomas in piano, violin, organ and musical composition at the Conservatory of Bologna, Ferrara began his career as violin player in Bologna, in Rome and in Florence, with the Orchestra of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino...
and composition with Irma Ravinale. He made his debut at age 17 with a production of Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, gambist, and singer.Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two individual styles of composition – the...
's Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda
Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda
Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda is an operatic scena for three voices by Claudio Monteverdi, although many dispute how the piece should be classified. The piece has a libretto drawn from Torquato Tasso's La Gerusalemme Liberata , a Romance set against the backdrop of the First Crusade...
in Rome. He then went to the Moscow Conservatory
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
to study conducting with Kirill Kondrashin and musicology with Nadezhda Nikolaeva. He graduated from the St Petersburg Conservatory in conducting with Ilya Musin.
Caetani won the RAI Turin and the third prize at the Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
Competitions in Berlin, and started his professional career as assistant to Otmar Suitner
Otmar Suitner
Otmar Suitner was an Austrian conductor who spent most of his professional career in East Germany. He was born in Innsbruck and died in Berlin. He was Principal Conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden from 1960 to 1964, and then Music Director at the Berlin State Opera from 1964 to 1990...
at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin. He has since been Chief Conductor at the Nationaltheater Weimar, First Conductor at the Oper Frankfurt, Music Director first at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden
Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden
The Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden is the State Theatre of the German state Hesse in the capital Wiesbaden, producing operas, plays, ballets, musicals and concerts on four stages. It is also known as Staatstheater Wiesbaden or Theater Wiesbaden...
, later at the Chemnitz Opera House and of the Robert Schumann Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 2001, Caetani conducted his first production 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...
, Milan, with Turandot
Turandot
Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
. His first conducting appearance with English National Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
(ENO) was in 2003 with Khovanshchina
Khovanshchina
Khovanshchina is an opera in five acts by Modest Mussorgsky. The work was written between 1872 and 1880 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The composer wrote the libretto based on historical sources...
. In February 2005, ENO announced the appointment of Caetani as its music director to succeed Paul Daniel
Paul Daniel
Paul Daniel CBE is an English conductor. He is particularly noted for performances and recordings of opera and of British music....
, effective in 2006. However, after the November 2005 resignation of ENO's then artistic director, Seán Doran, who had appointed Caetani, Caetani's own appointment as the next ENO Music Director was cancelled in December 2005, the month before he was scheduled to take up the post. Concerns had arisen that Caetani's commitments in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
limited his available time to serve with ENO. Even though Caetani never formally took up the post of ENO's music director, he fulfilled his contract to conduct ENO's 2006 production of Sir John in Love
Sir John in Love
Sir John in Love is an opera in four acts by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. The libretto, by the composer himself, is based on Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor. Vaughan Williams originally titled his opera The Fat Knight...
(the first fully staged revival since 1958).
Caetani made his Australian conducting debut in 2001 with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Melbourne, Australia. It has 100 permanent musicians. Melbourne has the longest continuous history of orchestral music of any Australian city and the MSO is the oldest professional orchestra in Australia...
(MSO). In January 2005, he became the MSO's Chief Conductor and Artistic Director. In 2007 he led the MSO on its second European tour, which took in performances in major centres including Berlin, Madrid, Milan and Paris. In March 2008, the MSO announced the extension of Caetani's contract through to the end of 2010. He led the MSO in the Australian premiere of Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
's Symphony No. 13
Symphony No. 13 (Shostakovich)
The Symphony No. 13 in B flat minor by Dmitri Shostakovich was first performed in Moscow on 18 December, 1962 by the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra and the basses of the Republican State and Gnessin Institute Choirs, under Kirill Kondrashin . The soloist was Vitali Gromadsky...
("Babi Yar") on 7 August 2008. His recording projects with the MSO include symphonies of Alexandre Tansman
Alexandre Tansman
Alexandre Tansman was a Polish-born composer and virtuoso pianist. He spent his early years in his native Poland, but lived in France for most of his life...
and the orchestral works of Rudi Stephan
Rudi Stephan
Rudi Stephan , was a German composer of great promise who shortly before the First World War was considered one of the leading talents among his generation....
. On 14 October 2009, a year ahead of schedule, the MSO announced it had terminated Caetani's contract due to artistic differences.
Caetani's other recordings include the first complete cycle of the Shostakovich symphonies by an Italian orchestra, with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi
Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi
The Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi is an Italian orchestra based in Milan. The orchestra refers to itself as La Verdi colloquially. The orchestra's primary residence is the Auditorium di Milano Fondazione Cariplo.-History:Vladimir Delman founded the orchestra in 1993 as an...
.
Caetani has been married twice. He has a son and three daughters, two with his first wife Karin, and another one with his second wife Susanna.