Teatro Grattacielo is a professional opera company based in New York City specializing in concert performances of rarely heard verismo operas. The company's past performances have included the North American premieres of Mascagni's Il piccolo Marat and Riccardo Zandonai's I cavalieri di Ekebù and La farsa amorosa. Its name means "Skyscraper Theatre" in Italian, a reference not only to the New York skyline but also to the Teatro Grattacielo in Genoa, a cinema which was the city's temporary opera house while the Teatro Carlo Felice was rebuilt after extensive damage in World War II.
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Company history
Teatro Grattacielo was founded in 1994 by the former soprano and voice teacher, Duane Printz, who remains its Executive and Artistic Director. The company gave its first performance in 1997 – Italo Montemezzi's L'amore dei tre re. Most of its performances have taken place in the Alice Tully Hall, although other venues were used while the hall underwent renovation between 2006 and 2009 and in recent years the company performs at the Rose Theater, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Teatro Grattacielo's Honorary Director is Jolanda Tarquinia Zandonai, the daughter of composer Riccardo Zandonai. Notable singers who have appeared with the company include Lando Bartolini (who sang Giannetto in La cena delle beffe and the title role in Guglielmo Ratcliff) and Aprile Millo (who sang the title role in Zazà). Bartolini also serves on the company's Advisory Board.
On May 24, 2011 the company performed Umberto Giordano's last opera, Il Re (1929), as well as I Compagnacci (1923) of composer Primo Riccitelli. The 2012 performance featured the epic opera La Nave by Italo Montemezzi, which was written in 1918, and not seen internationally since 1938. In the United States, La Nave was last performed in Chicago in 1919, conducted by the composer.