Riccardo Chailly

Acting

Riccardo Chailly

Born 1953-02-20 · Milan, Italy

Riccardo Chailly, who was born in 1953 in Milan, studied at the Conservatories of Perugia, Rome, and Milan and at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana, beginning his career as an assistant to Claudio Abbado at La Scala in Milan. Chailly was appointed Music Director of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra in 1980, and in 1988 he moved to the same position with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, which he helmed for sixteen years. From 2005 to 2016, Riccardo Chailly served as head of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra; starting in 2015, he became Music Director of La Scala in Milan, and since the summer of 2016 he has held the position of Music Director of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. Chailly regularly conducts such leading European orchestras as the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestre de Paris. In the United States, he has worked with the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. As an opera conductor – in addition to his performances at La Scala – he has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Royal Opera House in London, Zurich Opera, the Bavarian and Vienna Staatsoper companies, Chicago Lyric Opera, and San Francisco Opera. Riccardo Chailly has received many prizes for his more than 150 CDs, including two Echo Klassik Awards (in 2012 and 2015); Gramophone magazine chose his account of the Brahms symphonies as Recording of the Year in 2014. Riccardo Chailly is a Grand’Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana, Cavaliere di Gran Croce, and a Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion. In 1996 he was made an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music in London, and in France he has been an Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres since 2011.

Acting credits

Turandot - Teatro alla Scala poster
NR

Visually this is a gripping production which captures the drama of this opera perfectly. It's downright exciting! and I found the singing, acting, and orchestral playing reasonably fine. I found only one major problem with it, a problem that kept Puccini for quite a few years. Turandot has been looking for an opportunity to kill Calif and Calif has singlemindedly tried to get Turandot to love and wed him focusing on her and ignoring a better looking girl who loves him truly. The problem is how to get the audience to applaud the match once Calif gets his wish. Puccini couldn't figure out how to do it. The traditional quick ending doesn't do it, and Berio's attempt is longer , tries its best, but ends up making it plain this is one wierd couple.

Turandot - Teatro alla Scala

2015

Conducting Mahler poster
9.0

Documents the interpretations of Gustav Mahler's compositions by conductors Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Chailly, Riccardo Muti, Claudio Abbado, and Simon Rattle, who detail the special relationship they have with Mahler's work.

Conducting Mahler

2002

Attrazione D'Amore/Voyage to Cythera poster
6.3

Attrazione d'Amore is a touching illustration of the unique relation that has developed between the Conductor Riccardo Chailly and his famous Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Voyage to Cythera navigates through wonderful musical quotes made of performances conducted by Berio, rehearsals, archival documents and interviews featuring Riccardo Chailly and Louis Andriessen.

Attrazione D'Amore/Voyage to Cythera

1998

Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 9 (Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, Riccardo Chailly) poster
NR

A passionate conductor and composer, Gustav Mahler never received the recognition he deserved during his lifetime but has since come to be known as a prominent post-Romantic master of song and symphony. Filmed in Vienna, Austria; Budapest, Hungary; Hamburg, Germany; and the Czech Republic, this documentary explores the Bohemia-born Mahler's life and inspirations, from his turbulent childhood years to his ambitious adult career.

Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 9 (Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, Riccardo Chailly)

2014

Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 5 (Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, Riccardo Chailly) poster
NR

As Riccardo Chailly points out, "The Fifth begins with a dark, gloomy, and tragic tone, but then is enlivened in the Scherzo and Adagietto, and eventually ends with a more positive character in the Finale perhaps for the last time in Mahler's life. The Adagietto is a revelation, a spiritual oasis. It is not an expression of pain, but rather Mahler's declaration of love to Alma a song without words." With the Gewandhaus Orchestra, Chailly gives the piece an unsurpassed intensity of sound and emotional expression. He achieves a compelling arc of tension in which the symphony's unique fascination unfolds. The Wiener Zeitung characterized Chailly's interpretation as "impressive with powerful and unreserved intensity."

Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 5 (Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, Riccardo Chailly)

2013

Waldbühne 2011: Fellini, Jazz & Co poster
10.0

The Waldbühne in Berlin, one of the most appealing outdoor amphitheatres on the European continent, is the home of the Berliner Philharmoniker’s summer concerts. With audiences of more than 20,000, these are some of the most popular classical music concerts in the world. Riccardo Chailly is famous for having one of the broadest and most eclectic repertoires. Here, under his baton, the orchestra presents perennial favourites by Shostakovich, Rota and Respighi. Live recording from the Waldbühne, Berlin, 23 August 2011, directed by Kasten Henning, produced by Jan Bremme. TV Producer: Dorothea Diekmann, RBB. Repertoire Dmitry Shostakovich: Suite No. 2 for Jazz Orchestra (Suite for Variety Orchestra), Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk Suite – Allegretto; Nino Rota: ‘La Strada’ Ballet Suite; Ottorino Respighi: Fountains of Rome • Pines of Rome • Danza gueresca ‘Belkis’; Paul Lincke: Berliner Luft

Waldbühne 2011: Fellini, Jazz & Co

2011

Gustav Mahler - Symphony No.  2 (Riccardo Chailly, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra) poster
10.0

The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and their Music Director Riccardo Chailly have already acquired legendary status – glorious reviews and many awards for their recordings testifying to their continuing success. At Leipzig’s International Mahler Festival, to mark the centenary of Mahler’s death, they performed his monumental Second Symphony in the Gewandhaus – together with two marvellous soloists and choral forces quite beyond compare. About the final movement the composer said: “The increasing tension, working up to the final climax, is so tremendous that I don’t know myself, now that it is over, how I ever came to write it.” The painting “Morgenrot” was chosen by internationally acclaimed artist Neo Rauch to feature on the cover of this release on DVD and Blu-ray.

Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 2 (Riccardo Chailly, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra)

2011

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Riccardo Chailly dirige la 9e de Beethoven - Scala de Milan

2026

Il Trittico poster
NR

Juan Pons, Barbara Frittoli, Mariana Lipovsek, and Leo Nucci star in this 2008 La Scala production of the Puccini trilogy (Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi) conducted by Riccardo Chailly.

Il Trittico

2008

A Lady Macbeth of the District of Mcensk poster
NR

On the 50th anniversary of Shostakovich’s death, La Scala opens the Season with his masterpiece Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, based on the novella by Nikolai Leskov. After its premiere in St. Petersburg, the opera – which was intended to be the first part of a trilogy on women’s condition in Russia – enjoyed great success at home and abroad. Stalin attended a performance in Moscow in 1936; two days later, the famous denunciation titled “Chaos Instead of Music” appeared in Pravda, through which the regime blacklisted the opera and its composer. Years later, Shostakovich prepared a new version that was staged in Moscow in 1963 under the title Katerina Izmailova, after Superintendent Ghiringhelli had unsuccessfully tried to secure its premiere for La Scala. Today, the theatre presents the original 1934 version, conducted by M° Chailly and the debut of director Barkhatov.

A Lady Macbeth of the District of Mcensk

2025

La Scala: The Force of Destiny poster
7.0

Legendary opera house, La Scala is more than just a stage— it’s a dream factory. And this year, over the course of four intensive months, 900 people will work relentlessly to incarnate Verdi’s opera masterpiece, ‘‘The Force of Destiny”. Under the masterful eyes of director Léo Muscato, we will follow set designer Federica Parolini, as her sketches evolve into towering architectural marvels crafted by dedicated artisans. In the costume workshop, Silvia Peroni and her team weave magic with fabric and thread through their expert hands. Then, a stellar international cast of virtuosos arrives in Milan, ready to fill La Scala’s hallowed halls with their soaring voices. But with the clock ticking, and expectations going through the roof, tensions unfold like an opera of its own. As Milan holds its breath for the legendary Prima on the 7th of December, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Will they be ready in time for curtain rise?

La Scala: The Force of Destiny

2025

I Am La Scala poster
NR

The 200-year-old story of Milan’s illustrious opera house, La Scala, home to the great tenor Placido Domingo, conductor Arturo Toscanini and acclaimed soprano Maria Callas.

I Am La Scala

2016

No artwork available
6.0

Composed in 1824, Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9" will celebrate its bicentennial in 2024. With its famous finale based on Schiller's poem "An die Freude" (Ode to Joy), this colossal work is now one of the symbols of European unity. How was this symphony created? And how has it survived two centuries of history?

Die Macht der Musik - 200 Jahre Beethovens Neunte

2024

Riccardo Chailly & Alexander Malofeev Lucerne Festival 2024 poster
NR

On the shores of Lake Lucerne, Riccardo Chailly and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra continue their Rachmaninov odyssey with the Symphonic Movement, a rarely performed piece, as well as the Symphonic Dances and the Scherzo in D minor. The highlight of the evening is the Piano Concerto No. 1, performed by Alexander Malofeev, a rising star on the keyboard. Chapters : Sergueï Rachmaninov - Scherzo in D minor - Symphonic movement in D minor (youth symphony) - Piano Concerto No. 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 1 - Danses symphoniques, op. 45

Riccardo Chailly & Alexander Malofeev Lucerne Festival 2024

2024

Elīna Garanča @ Lucerne Festival 2025 poster
NR

Since its founding in 2003, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra has established itself as a benchmark in the interpretation of Mahler. The composer's Symphony No. 10 and his Rückert Lieder, performed by Elīna Garanča and conducted by Riccardo Chailly will open the 2025 Lucerne Festival with a tribute to Pierre Boulez, another figure of this renowned festival.

Elīna Garanča @ Lucerne Festival 2025

2021

I Vespri Siciliani poster
NR

I Vespri Siciliani must me Verdi's most underrated masterpiece. Most people are put off by the fact that it has 5 acts, therefore they conclude that it must be incredibly long. It is long but not as long as some people may fear as most of the acts are under half an hour each. The total length of the DVD in question is 171 minutes, just under 3 hours, including titles at the beginning, applauses and curtain calls between the acts and at the end. The opera contains Verdi's most powerful overture and a number of very elegant arias, duets and ensembles for the principals.

I Vespri Siciliani

1986

Mendelssohn - Midsummer Night’s Dream, Tchaikovsky - Manfred Symphony - Riccardo Chailly, Lucerne Festival Orchestra poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Mendelssohn - Midsummer Night’s Dream, Tchaikovsky - Manfred Symphony - Riccardo Chailly, Lucerne Festival Orchestra

2018

Gustav Mahler Symphony No.4 (Ricardo Chailly, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra) poster
NR

"The greatest mix of colors that ever existed" was Gustav Mahler's description of the third movement of his Fourth Symphony. Ricardo Chailly and the Gewandhaus Orchestra transformed the entire Fourth Symphony into this kaleiodoscope of sound. The unmistakable timbre of the orchestra has become synonymous withwith late Romantic repertoire and Mahler-esque style - it was described by Der Tagesspiegel as "uncommonly present, even in the thread-fine piannissimo, compact, concentrated, satin:' Recorded live at the Gewandhaus zu Lepzig. 26/27 April 2012

Gustav Mahler Symphony No.4 (Ricardo Chailly, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra)

Gustav Mahler: I Have Lost Touch with the World poster
NR

A documentary based on Gustav Mahler's 9th Symphony. Riccardo Chailly is conducting and analyzing the four movements of the symphony.

Gustav Mahler: I Have Lost Touch with the World

2004

In Search of Beethoven poster
6.2

In Search of Beethoven offers a comprehensive documentary about the life and works of the great composer. Over 65 performances by the world's finest musicians were recorded and 100 interviews conducted in the making of this beautifully crafted film. Eleven interviews are included in the Extras and Six complete movements.

In Search of Beethoven

2009

Verdi Macbeth Chailly poster
NR

Claude D'Anna's film of Verdi's Macbeth is a gloomy affair, stressing the descent into madness of the principal villains. It's acted by the singers of the Decca recording of the opera (with two substitutions of actors standing in for singers) and the lip-synching is generally unobtrusive. The musical performance is superb, conducted by Riccardo Chailly with admirable fire, and sung by some of the leading lights of the opera stages of the 1980s. Shirley Verrett virtually owned the role of Lady Macbeth at the time, and she delivers a terrific performance, the voice equal to the role's wide register leaps and it's suffused with emotion, whether urging her husband on to murder or maddened by guilt in the Sleepwalking Scene. Leo Nucci's resonant Macbeth may lack the ultimate in vocal color and steadiness (his last notes of the great aria Pietà, rispetto, amore are wobbly) but he compensates with intensity in both singing and acting.

Verdi Macbeth Chailly

1987

Berliner Philharmoniker - Waldbühne 2011 - Fellini Jazz e Co poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Berliner Philharmoniker - Waldbühne 2011 - Fellini Jazz e Co

2011

Schumann - Symphony No. 4 – Piano Concerto poster
NR

Riccardo Chailly conducts the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and pianist Martha Argerich in this 2006 celebration of the work of Robert Schumann (1810-1856), filmed at Leipzig, Germany's famed Gewandhaus. Selections include Schumann's Piano Concerto in A Minor, "Von Fremden Ländern und Menschen" from "Kinderszenen" and Symphony no. 4 in D Minor.

Schumann - Symphony No. 4 – Piano Concerto

2006

Ludwig van Beethoven, Felix Mendelssohn - Violin Concertos, Nikolaj Znaider poster
NR

Felix Mendelssohn Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E minor, Op. 64 Ludwig van Beethoven Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major, Op. 61 Nikolaj Znaider, violin Riccardo Chailly Gewandhausorchester Leipzig

Ludwig van Beethoven, Felix Mendelssohn - Violin Concertos, Nikolaj Znaider

2016

Behind the camera