Stage director

I was born in Buenos Aires. My training and theatrical activity began with dance at an early age. Later on I turned to the musical genre. I learned about theatre and stage direction under the guidance of some of Argentina’s great masters including Rubén Szuchmacher, David Amitín and Augusto Fernández, and in Spain with Sergi Belbel, Juan Mayorga and Guillermo Heras.

In 1997 I began to work as Assistant Opera Director at the Colón Theatre in Buenos Aires with Pier Francesco Maestrini, Alfredo Arias, Marcelo Lombardero, J. Kauffman, amongst others.

In 1998 I debuted as an opera director with Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona.

Since then, I have staged repertoire operas, contemporary opera, dance, theatre, zarzuela and written and directed musical productions for children.

In addition to directing opera, dance and theatre, I also have experience in production, management, artistic coordination and programming at renowned institutions such as the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and the Teatro Real in Madrid.

My experience

From 1998 to 2007 I was Artistic Coordinator at the Colón Theatre Experimentation Centre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which promotes contemporary music, opera and dance.

Since 2013 I am the Head of the Pedagogical Department at the Teatro Real in Madrid, where we shape new audiences and expose young children to opera and music.

My 1997 début as a stage director with Pergolesi's "La Serva Padrona" was followed by Gian Carlo Menotti’s "Amelia al ballo" and "The Telephone", Massenet's “Werther” , Verdi's “Rigoletto”, Puccini's “Madama Butterfly“, Tchaikovski's “Yevgueni Oneguin” , Puccini's “Gianni Schicchi” e “Il Tabarro”, Gluck's “Iphigénie en Tauride”, Stravinski's “Histoire du Soldat”, Salvatore Sciarrino's “Vanitas” and also Montiverdi’s “L’Orfeo” for the Teatro Real Opera Studio.

I have directed world premières of several contemporary operas including "Parodia" by Pablo Ortiz, “Tenebrae” by Alejo Pérez, based on the life of the poet Paul Celan, both for the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, “Java Suite” with music by Agustí Charles, for the Castell de Peralada International Festival in Barcelona and the Theater Kleineshaus in Basel, Switzerland.

I have directed Mozart's “Lucio Silla” at the Philharmonie of Paris, the Grand Théâtre de Aix en Provence, the Theâtre du Châtelet in Versailles, Le Volcan Theatre in Le Havre (France) and the Theater An der Wien (Vienna) with the Insula Orchestra conducted by Laurence Equilbey and the Schoenberg Choir of Vienna; Rimski-Korsakov’s “Mozart and Salieri” in a co-production for the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid, the Juan March Foundation and the Santander International Festival and , “Lucia di Lammermoor” at the Teatro Argentino de la Plata in Buenos Aires (Argentina), "A streetcar named Desire" composed by A. Previn at Teatro Colon de Buenos Aires (Argentina), "Il segreto di Susanna" by W. Ferrari at the Museo del Romanticismo in Madrid and Festival de Santander (Palacio de Hualle), Spain.

Dances I have staged include Manuel de Falla’s “El Amor Brujo “ and “El Corregidor y la Molinera “, and Pablo Luna’s “El Sapo enamorado”, a performance with music, dance and silent movies co-produced with the Jacinto Guerrero Foundation and Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid.

I have directed the Zarzuelas, “El Chaleco Blanco” by Federico Chueca with a musical version by Julio Awad performed by the Madrid Region Youth Orchestra at the Teatros del Canal and the San Lorenzo del Escorial Auditorium, and “La Gran Vía” with the Concerto XXI Company at the Teatro Fernán Gómez, Madrid.

I have scripted and staged a musical tale for young audiences, “El niño y la creación del mundo (The Boy and the Creation of the World)” based on Patagonian myths, with music by composer and conductor Miquel Ortega, and “La pequeña cerillera (The Little Match Girl)” inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s story, both for the Teatro Real in Madrid and the Teatro Arriaga in Bilbao, "El Gato con Botas" composed by X. Montsalvatge at Auditorio de Tres Cantos, Madrid.

I have given courses in opera staging for the Teatro Real and the Museo del Romanticismo in Madrid, and for four consecutive years, I have been a guest speaker at the International Opera Congresses organised by the CEU San Pablo University, Madrid. Some of my articles about staging have been published in several magazines, Scherzo, Sociedad y Utopía and Cuadernos Escénicos de Casa de América in Madrid and publications by the CEU San Pablo University.

I have directed contemporary plays and musical productions of my own based on works by Samuel Beckett (M. O.R), Rainer Rilke (Love Song), Alejandra Pizarnik (Solo Vine a Ver el Jardín), Jules Verne (Mobilis in Mobili) and Bertolt Brecht (Brecht Project), with invitations to perform at local and international festivals such as the Buenos Aires International Theatre Festival, the Casa de America Festival in Madrid, and the Music and Theatre Festival in Mexico.

Education

I began to study dance and acting at an early age, and later on also studied drawing and painting at the National Academy of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires.

I studied stage direction at the Ricardo Rojas Centre, University of Buenos Aires, under Rubén Szcuchmacher. Other teachers included David Amitín, Augusto Fernández and Gustavo Tambascio in Baroque opera staging.

In 1997 I graduated from the Higher Institute of the Arts at the Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires, with a major in Opera Staging.

Awards, nominations and scholarships

  • 2017

    Nominated for the Max Award (Spain) for two productions, “El Sapo Enamorado” and “El corregidor y la molinera", part of the “La Pantomima en Escena” project.

  • 2015
    Finalist in the Opera Creation Competition, Centre François de Promotion Lyrique, Paris, for the opera "Les Caprices de Marianne" by French composer Henri Sauguet.
  • 2008-2009

    Nominated for the Critics Association Award (ACE) for the best opera season production in Buenos Aires for Gluck's “Iphigenie en Tauride”.

  • 2004-2005

    Nominated for the Critics Association Award (ACE) award for the best opera season production in Buenos Aires for Verdi’s “Rigoletto”.

  • 2004
    Spanish Government INAEM student scholarship.
    Carolina Foundation arts scholarship.
  • 2003
    Winner of the Antorchas Foundation arts scholarship.
Rita Cosentino - Directora de Escena

Rita Cosentino
Directora de Escena

Rita Cosentino - Directora de Escena

Rita Cosentino
Directora de Escena

Rita Cosentino - Directora de Escena

Rita Cosentino
Directora de Escena

Rita Cosentino - Directora de Escena

Rita Cosentino
Directora de Escena

Rita Cosentino - Directora de Escena

Rita Cosentino
Directora de Escena

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