The Austrian-Italian conductor Guido Mancusi was born in Naples in 1966. Raised in a musical household, he received his first piano instruction from Nino Rota. After the death of his father, the family moved to Vienna. Mancusi became a soprano soloist in the Vienna Boys’ Choir and attended the Vienna Musikgymnasium.
After graduation, Mancusi studied bassoon and voice at the Conservatory of the City of Vienna, as well as composition and conducting at the Vienna Music University. He completed his studies with honors.
His first engagements as music director and choir director were at the City Theater Coburg (FRG), the Theater an der Wien, the Raimund Theater and the City Theater St. Pölten.
To perfect his training as a conductor, he became assistant to Riccardo Muti at La Scala in Milan, assistant in Bayreuth, and assistant to Adam Fischer.
As a conductor, he was a guest in Graz and Kiel. It was in Klagenfurt with Madame Butterfly that Mancusi finally attracted the attention of director Dietmar Pflegerl who made the young conductor the principal conductor, a position Mancusi then held for five years. There he expanded his repertoire and gained important leadership experience. His successes in Klagenfurt also allowed Mancusi to gain greater international attention.
In 1998, Mancusi took over the position of Principal Conductor of the Schönbrunn Palace Orchestra and in this role, founded the Chamber Opera Schönbrunn.
With increasing prominence, he was invited on major tours in the following years and so Mancusi conducted in Moscow, Tel Aviv, Helsinki, Stockholm, Rome, Toronto, in the USA, in South America, and finally in Japan and South Korea.
In his home country, he conducted at the KlangBogen Wien and the Wiener Festwochen. Eventually he became permanent guest conductor at the Volksoper Vienna, where he has been an integral and important part of the theater since 2014.
In 2017, Mancusi received the appointment as Principal Guest Conductor of the BDZ Orchestra in Budapest and in 2018 as Music Director of the Seefestspiele Mörbisch.
From the earliest days of his musical life, Mancusi also composed. Today his compositions include masses, passions, cantatas, orchestral works, film scores, two operettas, a ballet, and an opera. Premieres and CD recordings as well as commissions prove Mancusi’s place in the cosmos of contemporary composers.
Mancusi has always considered himself a theater person, as a creator and enabler of fantastic worlds. He understands the division of the words music theater as a unity. As a composer he creates dramatic works, as a conductor he is their lawyer. An interwoven life that cannot be put in a box. This is the life he wants, and he can have it too. Composers and conductors want to give something to people – this is an ideal and Mancusi has been following this ideal for over 30 years.
Vinicius Kattah
GUEST CONDUCTOR
Born in the enchanting land of Brazil and having called Vienna, Austria, his home for the past 15 years, Vinicius Kattah is a conductor whose illustrious career has left an indelible mark on the global stage. With a journey marked by brilliance and dedication, he has risen to prominence as a revered figure in the realm of classical music.
Kattah’s ascent to the upper echelons of the classical music world was marked by an impressive victory in prestigious opera conducting competitions, which acted as the launchpad for his extraordinary career. His virtuoso baton has graced the podiums of esteemed orchestras across the seven continents, taking audiences on a transcendent musical journey from the United States to South America, Europe to Africa, Turkey to Greece, Israel to Japan, China to Australia.
In recent times, Kattah has enchanted audiences with a series of remarkable performances, including the “Austria for Life” concert alongside the legendary soprano Anna Netrebko. A world premiere of Raquel-Garcia’s opera “Je suis Narcissiste” at the Teatro Real. He also added to his list of accolades with the Viennese Opera Ball in New York, featuring renowned talents like Joyce-El-Khoury, Stephen Costello, and Donata d’Annunzio Lombardi. Kattah’s repertoire showcases his artistry with premieres of classics like Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” Verdi’s “Otello” and “La Traviata,” Beethoven’s “Fidelio,” and Massenet’s “Werther” at the Kosice State Opera.
But Maestro Vinicius Kattah’s influence transcends the confines of the stage. He has graced internationally acclaimed television programs such as the BBC, where he delved into the genius of Mozart, and participated in the documentary “Finding Cinderella,” shedding light on the process of world premiering the opera “Cinderella,” composed by the prodigious Alma Deutscher, with Kattah at the helm. Furthermore, the Brazilian channel Rede Globo has celebrated his extraordinary career, underscoring his eminence in the classical music landscape.
The unique amalgamation of Kattah’s exceptional talent, extensive experience, and magnetic charisma render him a versatile conductor, capable of transmuting any evening into an indelible experience. His unwavering passion for classical music is palpable in every nuanced gesture of his conducting, creating an enchanting and spellbinding atmosphere that lingers in the hearts of all fortunate enough to be in attendance.
Mika Eichenholz
GUEST CONDUCTOR
Mika Eichenholz is one of Sweden’s most experienced conductors, with more than 300 opera performances on tours throughout Europe, conducting the opera company of Kazan and singers from the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theatres. With his vast knowledge, straightforward and highly appreciated musical leadership, Eichenholz is frequently re-engaged as guest conductor in the Swedish and the Finnish orchestras and is a returning conductor in orchestras, also in Central and Eastern Europe (Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Romania), in Austria as well as in South America (Argentina, Chile, Brazil a.o). He has worked with Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, Gävle Symphony Orchestra and Kuopio Symphony Orchestra and has conducted in Los Angeles (Disney Hall), in the David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center New York (previously known as Avery Fisher Hall), in San Diego, Montreal and in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South-Africa. In recent years, Eichenholz has worked as the musical director and conductor of the production Nordlichter, eine Sibelius Phantasie at the Haus für Mozart in Salzburg.
In 2017-2018, Eichenholz conducted The NK Orchestra of Israel on a successful tour in Israel with programs with Haydn, Schubert and Puccini. He conducted Orquesta Estable in a Shostakovich/Sibelius program at Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. Eichenholz is regurlarly invited to conduct the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (in 2018, together with star baritone Peter Mattei), and has given concerts with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta de Cámara de Chile, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and the Hamburger Symphoniker. In January 2018, the Swedish conductor led a ballet production of Carmen in Winterthur with music by Shchedrin and Elgar, Switzerland and later the same year, he toured with the Schönbrunn Schlossorchester, and conducted in Santiago (Chile) and held master classes at the Royal College of Music in, Stockholm Sweden.
As an opera-conductor he has also been engaged by Folkoperan in Stockholm (La Traviata, Das Rheingold) and lead the Salzburger Landestheater in Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake. He has also conducted the Stockholm Royal Philharmonics in a full Tchaikovsky opera program.
Mika Eichenholz made his debut with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in 1989 after studying with Prof. Jorma Panula at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. He was awarded First Prize at the Swedish Competition for Conductors and was chosen to replace Neeme Järvi at very short notice on a tour with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and soloists Ida Haendel and Lynn Harrell, thus beginning a career that has since brought him to orchestras worldwide. His discography includes a large number of CD releases on EMI, Marco Polo, Naxos and other record labels.
Rick Stengards
GUEST CONDUCTOR
Following a four-year engagement as Assistant General Music Director at the Volksoper Vienna and a seven-year tenure as Principal Music Director at the Luzerner Theater, the Swedish-Australian conductor Rick Stengårds is once again a freelance artist based in Vienna.
He has a music theater repertoire of over 100 works performing with companies such as the Vienna State Opera, Folkoperan Stockholm, and Opera Australia.
Highlights in his career include: L’Heure Espagnole, La Sonnambula, West Side Story, and A Midsummernight’s Dream for the Luzerner Theater, The Csardas Princess in Leipzig, Die Fledermaus in Lüneburg, and concerts with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxenbourg, Orchestra Victoria, and MUSIKFABRIK.
Comfort Ye in Capetown, Macbeth and Bluebeard’s Castle in Melbourne and concerts with the Australian Philharmonic, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and Klangforum Wien are among future projects.
David Scarr
GUEST CONDUCTOR
Born in South Africa, David Scarr received his musical training both there and in Austria, where he completed his studies in conducting with distinction at the Vienna Conservatory in 1994.
Scarr has since conducted orchestras, choirs, and chamber music ensembles, concentrating on symphonic repertoire, opera, and choral compositions.
He has conducted productions in Spain, Portugal, Slovakia, South Africa, and Australia (Sydney Opera House), directed a number of world premieres, and recorded works for Austrian Radio, South African Radio, Classic FM, and Fine Music Radio.
From 2002 to 2007, he held the position of Professor and Head of the Music Department of Rhodes University, Grahamstown in South Africa.
In 2009, he returned to Vienna where he is a conductor of the Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra.
