Alfonso Scarano

Chief Conductor

2021/2022 marks Alfonso Scarano’s fifth season as Chief Conductor of the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra after having served as Guest Conductor for six consecutive seasons since 2011/2012. His previous positions include Chief Conductor of the Severočeská Filharmonie Teplice (2013 – 2018), Principal Guest Conductor of the Virtuosi di Praga (2000 – 2010) and Music Director and Conductor of the Toscana Opera Festival in Italy (2006 – 2008).

Alfonso Scarano was the winner of the 1993 Bottega International Conducting Competition in Treviso, winner of the 1997 Franco Capuana European Community Conducting Competition in Rome, second prize (first and third not assigned) at 2005 Luigi Mancinelli International Conducting Competition in Orvieto and recipient of 2003 Young European Conductors scholarship for Daniele Gatti biennial conducting course at Scuola di Musica in Fiesole in Italy.

In addition to his position in Bangkok, Alfonso Scarano regularly conducts worldwide orchestras included the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra in Israel, Orquestra Sinfonica de Porto Alegre in Brazil, The New Russia State Symphony Orchestra in Moscow Tchaikovsky Hall, IDSO Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra in Turkey, Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra in South Korea, Savaria Symphony Orchestra in Hungary, Kiev National Radio Television Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra del Teatro Regio di Parma in Italy, Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra in Sweden and Prague Philharmonia in tour with Mischa Maisky.

Alfonso Scarano has conducted the mainstays of operatic repertoire including Nabucco, La Traviata, Rigoletto, Tosca, La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, Carmen, Don Pasquale, La Sonnambula, Pagliacci, Cavalleria Rusticana, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Gianni Schicchi and Gluck’s opera Le Cinesi in theatres such us Politeama Greco in Lecce, Teatro Sperimentale in Spoleto, Teatro Civico in Vercelli, Teatro Comunale in Treviso, Pompei Festival, Anfiteatro Romano di Ostia Antica in Roma, Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine, Stagione Lirica in San Gimignano, Friedrichshafen Theater, Freiburg Theater, Roman Amphitheater in Plovdiv and Prince Mahidol Hall in Bangkok.

A supporter of the contemporary music, he has conducted several works (some in first world performance) by Aharon Harlap, Gerhard Kaufmann, Narong Prangcharoen, Piyawat Louilarpprasert, Simon Laks, Paolo Ugoletti, Roberto Di Marino, Renato Dionisi, Ede Terényi, Fredrik Osterling, Colin Riley and many others.

Besides the classic ballets (Swan Lake, Don Quixote and Raymonda), Alfonso Scarano has concentrated its attention on the historical twentieth century repertoire conducting La Giara by Alfredo Casella, Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev and Apollon Musagete by Stravinsky. The international dance gala conducted at Mittelfest 2009, 2010 and 2011 was enthusiastically reviewed by the press. He has collaborated with the greatest dancers of the world and particularly with etoiles from Wiener Staatsoper, Ljubljana Ballet, Hamburg Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Ballet du Capitole de Toulouse, Ballet de l’Opèra de Paris and Birmingham Royal Ballet. In 2011 he has conducted the first performance of the ballet “The Death and the Maiden” by Schubert in the version for orchestra by Gustav Mahler, new creation of the Balletto di Roma.

His discography includes recordings for Tactus (first world recording of the Suite for organ and orchestra by Respighi), Lupulus (works of Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti with Virtuosi di Praga), Triart (Menschheit op.28 by Erwin Schulhoff and Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder) as well as several Thai music CD recorded with Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra.

Alfonso Scarano was born in Italy and he is graduated summa cum laude in Conducting (Conservatorio Umberto Giordano in Foggia), Opera Conducting (Accademia Musicale Pescarese) as well as in Choral Conducting (Conservatorio Niccolò Piccinni in Bari) and Trumpet (Conservatorio Tito Schipa in Lecce).