Masterclass

Maestro Davide Cavalli is an Italian pianist, chamber musician, and music director internationally recognized for his extensive work in opera and his long-standing collaboration with Maestro Riccardo Muti. Since 2015, he has been the pianist of the Riccardo Muti Italian Opera Academy, playing a central role in one of the most influential projects dedicated to the transmission of the Italian operatic tradition. In this context, he has participated in productions, performances, and advanced training activities under Muti’s direction, contributing as pianist, répétiteur, musical assistant, and coach. Maestro Cavalli has worked with Maestro Muti in major opera productions at leading international institutions, including the Salzburg Festival, where he took part in Ernani and Aida by Giuseppe Verdi, and served as maestro di sala and musical assistant for Aida in 2017, collaborating with artists such as Anna Netrebko, Francesco Meli, Katerina Semenchuk, and Luca Salsi. He has also collaborated with the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma (Manon Lescaut by Puccini) and regularly performs with the Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra, founded by Riccardo Muti. His international activity includes participation in the “Le vie dell’Amicizia” concert series conducted by Riccardo Muti, performed in cities of strong cultural and symbolic significance such as Kyiv, Tehran, Athens, Yerevan, Lourdes, and Jerash, projects that combine musical excellence with cultural dialogue. Alongside his operatic career, Maestro Cavalli maintains an active international concert profile as a soloist and chamber musician, performing at venues such as Teatro La Fenice (Venice), Frankfurt Opera, Tel Aviv Opera, St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral (New York), the Etihad Museum (Dubai), the Odessa Philharmonic, the Ravenna Festival, the Festival della Valle d’Itria, Teatro Regio di Parma, Teatro Carlo Felice (Genoa), the Schubert Club (Saint Paul), and leading concert halls and conservatories throughout Europe and the United States. A multiple international competition winner, he has received first prizes at the Seiler Piano Competition (Crete), the Frédéric Chopin International Competition (Rome), and the Camillo Togni Competition (Brescia). His discography includes radio and television recordings for ORF (Austria), notably Sergei Rachmaninov’s Suites for Piano Duo. Maestro Cavalli has taken part in major institutional and commemorative projects, including the Verdi bicentenary celebrations (Echi notturni di incanti verdiani, in collaboration with RAI 1), the Senato & Cultura series at Palazzo Madama on the occasion of Franco Zeffirelli’s lifetime achievement award, and the opening of the national celebrations for the 700th anniversary of Dante Alighieri’s death, performing Donizetti’s Il Conte Ugolino in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic. He currently serves as Musical Director of an advanced training academy for opera singers at the Teatro Opera Carlo Felice Genova Education Davide Cavalli began his piano studies with Alfredo Speranza and graduated with highest honors and distinction from the Luisa D’Annunzio Conservatory of Pescara. He pursued advanced studies with Edith Fischer, Robert Szidon, Aquiles Delle Vigne, and Pier Narciso Masi, and obtained Second-Level Academic Diplomas with highest honors in Piano (class of Roberto Cappello) and Chamber Music (class of Pierpaolo Maurizzi) at the Arrigo Boito Conservatory of Parma.