Florence, March 13th 2024 – The Accademia del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the higher education center of the Teatro del Maggio, announces the name of Matteo Pais as artistic director. Pais will hold the position starting from March 16th, 2024.

“I know the Accademia del Maggio well – declares Matteo Pais – having been among its teachers for several years. I am happy and enthusiastic to be the new artistic director of an exemplary institution in training young talents, stimulating their curiosity for musical theater and enriching their cultural background. Many singers and pianists in their careers today have perfected their skills here. Thanks to the work of the president Mario Curia, the Board of Directors and the general director Luca Ioseffini, the Academy is in excellent health and enjoys unanimous praise. Furthermore, I can only thank maestro Tangucci for having put his profound experience and legendary history in the Italian theatrical world at the service of the Academy and his talents."

Matteo Pais was artistic coordinator at the Toscanini Foundation in Parma from 2020 until March 10, 2024. For around 25 years he worked as a master collaborator and musical assistant at prestigious theaters and festivals including Semperoper Dresden, Theater an der Wien , Baden Baden Osterfestpiele, Canadian Opera Company, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Ed. Hannover, working with conductors such as Christian Thielemann, Simon Rattle, Zubin Mehta, Omer Meir Wellber, Bruno Bartoletti and many others. He was also assistant to the artistic director at the Valle d'Itria Festival.

Among the national and international academies with which he has collaborated, we mention in particular the Theater an der Wien Junges Ensemble, the Young Singers Project-Salzburg Festival, the Oberlin College in Ohio and the Opera School of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, a project which he helped start in 2008 with the role of music coordinator. He is also currently an honorary board member at the Rame Lahaj International Opera Festival.

Regarding the work that awaits him, Matteo Pais said that: “My first objective will be to consolidate the heritage represented by the Academy and then go on to implement its profile, vision and international positioning according to the models that I have known and appreciated in European theaters in which I was lucky enough to work. We must continue to bring the best young people to Florence, aware and proud of the fact that the two-year period spent at the Academy represents not only an extraordinary moment of artistic improvement but also a very high example of sharing, mutual understanding and inclusion between girls and boys with different origins, cultures and different stories, a topic that is more relevant and extremely important today than ever. Together with the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, we have to offer them a precious experience, which provides support and a unique opportunity in Italy, in the city which is the cradle of melodrama and the Italian language".

Accademia del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
The Accademia del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, international center of advanced training of the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Foundation, was established with the aim of guaranteeing the most accurate and prestigious professional preparation of young talents who intend to dedicate themselves to the arts and crafts of the Theater of opera.

The courses are aimed at young opera singers, master collaborators, orchestra directors, set designers, iron builders, wood builders, toolmakers, stagehands, audio/video technicians, theatrical tailors, as well as those who intend to acquire and develop specific skills in area of entertainment organization and management. The training plans aim to achieve specialist and innovative skills and competences, while maintaining a close link with the tradition of musical theatre. The educational-training proposal stands out for a strong integration between classroom training and field work experience, as well as for an effective interaction between the various professional profiles involved.

The classroom and laboratory activity is therefore followed by a significant stage experience which, under the guidance of internationally renowned artists, allows the verification of the results achieved and offers students the opportunity to measure themselves with the complex dynamics of staging the stage. 'opera. The strategic lines of development and the synergies implemented with the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Foundation ensure that young people in training have a context of professional growth of the highest level, within which they can live the theatrical experience on a daily basis and acquire the art and secrets of profession according to the "workshop" learning methodology. By focusing precisely on the new generations, the Academy aims to enhance, pass on and spread the rich Italian operatic tradition, which has its origins in Florence, home of melodrama and the language universally recognized as that of opera. The Academy also intends to give continuity to that fortunate experience which was the "Start-up Opera Centre", active at the same Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino between 1937 and 1950, in which some of the most famous singers in the history of the opera, including Fedora Barbieri, Ferruccio Tagliavini, Gino Bechi, Rolando Panerai, Franco Corelli, Gian Giacomo Guelfi and Paolo Washington. With the aim of promoting and spreading musical culture among the new generations, the Academy has also created the Coro delle Voci Bianche del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and the related choral singing school for children's voices.

Regarding institutional relations, since its inception the Academy has implemented educational and cultural cooperation projects with the most prestigious national and international musical institutions. The training proposal and the concrete career starting opportunities offered have made the Academy a reality known and appreciated throughout the world, a valid point of reference for young people to be introduced to the theatrical professions.

The Academy is an organization accredited by the Tuscany Region for funded and recognized training (accreditation code OF0175) and is in possession of the ISO 9001:2015 quality certificate.