Michelle Rofrano
Michelle Rofrano is an Italian-American conductor with a keen interest in the intersection of art, storytelling, and social activism. An avid opera conductor, upcoming engagements in the 2023-24 season include debuts leading La Cenerentola with Toledo Opera, L’Amant Anonyme with Madison Opera, Turandot with Fargo Moorhead Opera, and a return to the Curtis Institute of Music leading a double bill of Les Mamelles de Tirésias and The Seven Deadly Sins. Recent projects include conducting The Turn of the Screw with the Curtis Institute, Amelia al Ballo with the Juilliard School, La Traviata and Cendrillon (Viardot) with City Lyric Opera, The Fall of the House of Usher (Glass) with Orpheus PDX, Don Quichotte at Camacho's Wedding (Telemann) with Opera Saratoga, and both Trouble in Tahiti and the new Francesca Zambello production of The Queen of Spades with The Glimmerglass Festival. In 2022-23, Ms. Rofrano was involved in several exciting experimental opera projects, including conducting the meditative opera Song of the Ambassadors (Skye/Allado-McDowell) at Alice Tully Hall, a groundbreaking opera in development that interweaves music, science, and technology; and music directing the recorded project No One Is Forgotten: An Immersive Opera, the first opera designed for 3D Spatial Audio adapted from the original play by Winter Miller and co-composed by Paola Prestini and Sxip Shirey. She has previously served as cover conductor with companies such as San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Glimmerglass Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, Florida Grand Opera, and Opera Birmingham. A champion of social progress in the field of classical music, Ms. Rofrano is the founder and artistic director of PROTESTRA, an activist orchestra that advocates for social justice through diverse programming and benefit performances. She is also a co-creator of Girls Who Conduct, an initiative that mentors young women and non-binary musicians in an effort to achieve gender parity on the conducting podium.
