Bartoletti, Bruno

Bartoletti, Bruno, noted Italian conductor; b. Sesto Fiorentino, June 10, 1926. He studied flute at the Florence Cons., and then received training in piano and composition while serving as a flutist in the orch. of the Florence Teatro Comunale. In 1949 he became an asst. conductor there, making his formal debut conducting Rigoletto in 1953. In 1954 he made his debut as a sym. conductor at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, where he later was director (1957–64). On Oct. 23, 1956, he made his U.S. debut at the Chicago Lyric Opera conducting II Trovatore, and then served as its resident conductor until 1963. With Pino Donati, he was its co-artistic director from 1964 to 1975, and then its sole artistic director from 1975 to 2000 and then served as its music director emeritus. He also was artistic director of the Rome Opera (1965–69), and later artistic advisor (1986–87) and artistic director (1987–92) of the Florence Teatro Comunale. As a guest conductor, he appeared throughout Europe, the U.S., and South America, becoming especially admired for his idiomatic readings of the Italian operatic repertoire; also conducted various French and Russian operas with success.