Anthony Barrese is not conducting Cavalleria rusticana. He’s in Sarasota conducting Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, which presents a funny historical coincidence. He recently learned that Humperdinck had trouble finding a theater interested in producing Hansel and Gretel because everyone in Germany was obsessed with Cavalleria rusticana. Mascagni’s opera had taken Europe by storm, and apparently nobody wanted to hear about two children getting lost in the woods when they could watch Sicilians murder each other instead.
Some 130 years later, Anthony is conducting Humperdinck in Florida while we’re doing Mascagni in Albuquerque. History has a sense of humor, even if the opera field generally doesn’t.
Now: Robert Mollicone.
Robert has spent much of his career at San Francisco Opera, where he’s worked on more than fifty productions. That’s a lot of opera, and he’s got strong opinions about how it’s done. He’s also got the most immaculate spoken Italian pronunciation we’ve heard in the rehearsal hall.
He’s conducted Carmen, Ariadne auf Naxos, and Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges, among other works, and has extensive experience with contemporary American opera. Did we mention he’s also a pianist and vocal coach?
One of the pleasures of running an opera company is getting to work with musicians whose careers have taken them through very different corners of the profession. Robert brings the experience of a major international opera house to the NHCC.
We’re delighted to have him. Visit Robert Mollicone’s website
Cavalleria runs October 25-November 1, 2026
