(Maggio Musicale Fiorentino)
Many of Bruno Bartoletti's champions have eulogized his June 9th passing in print, including Milan's Isotta and Chicago's von Rhein. Maggio Musicale Fiorentino will honor the Sesto Fiorentino born maestro by dedicating its upcoming Verdi's Macbeth to his memory as Bartoletti's legacy is tied deeply to the Florence opera house -- he began as Tullio Serafin's assistant and made his Maggio premiere in the early 1950s, later serving as its artistic director. His last appearance at Maggio was in 2011, conducting Puccini's Manon Lescaut. Before retiring to Florence, he was the artistic director at the Lyric Opera of Chicago for a half-century.
A gentlemanly champion of modern heroes -- Schönberg & Hindemith, Berg & Berio, Henze & Penderecki -- Bartoletti spun pure elegance, and as much as we love the fresh crop of bright-eyed, even-tempered maestri in their ill-fitting white tie, we wonder when we'll next see such grace on the podium.