Diego Fasolis

The conductor, chorus master, harpsichordist, and organist Diego Fasolis, who was born in 1958 in Lugano, graduated from the Zurich Conservatory and Music Academy; he studied piano with Jürg Vintschger, organ with Erich Vollenwyder, voice with Carol Smith, and conducting with Klaus Knall. Subsequently he supplemented his training with the organist Gaston Litaize in Paris and also took courses with Michael Radulescu in Cremona, who introduced him to historically informed performance practice. In 1986 he began his partnership with the ensembles of Radiotelevisione Svizzera di Lingua Italiana (RTSI) – initially as an instrumentalist, and, starting in 1993, as the conductor of various ensembles, in particular the Coro della Radio Svizzera. Fasolis founded the ensemble Vanitas in 1995 and, in 1998, he was chosen to lead I Barocchisti, with whom he cultivates a repertoire ranging from Palestrina through Handel, Bach, and Vivaldi to Luigi Cherubini – all performed on historical instruments. Fasolis has conducted opera performances at La Scala in Milan, the Salzburg Festival, the Opera di Roma, Cologne Opera, and the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and has worked with the RIAS Chamber Choir, the Sonatori della Gioiosa Marca, the Concerto Palatino, and the Concerto Köln. In the spring of 2016 he was engaged by Zurich Opera for Rossini’s Le Comte Ory; this October he will perform Bellini’s Norma in Paris with Cecilia Bartoli. More than 80 CDs document his artistic work. Fasolis has moreover composed several film scores, as well as works for organ, voice, and orchestra. He received an honorary doctorate from the Papal Institute for Church Music in 2011 and, in 2013, the Echo Klassik Award for his recording of Leonardo Vinci’s Artaserse.

LUCERNE FESTIVAL debut on 10 September 2012 with Cecilia Bartoli and the ensemble I Barocchisti in an all-Vivaldi program.

August 2016