Jean-Romain Vesperini studied acting at l’École du Théâtre National de Chaillot in Paris and singing at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London where he trained as a baritone. After graduation, Jean-Romain decided to pursue a career as a stage director and spent several years collaborating with Luc Bondy, Peter Stein and Georges Lavaudant from 2005 until 2017.  

           As a result of these long-term partnerships he built solid professional experience by managing, leading the artistic ensembles, planning and negotiating in major Opera Houses such as La Scala, Paris and Lyon Opera, Bolshoi Opera, as well as at the Opéra-Comique, Salzburg Festspiele, Verona Opera, Aix en Provence festival…

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                 In 2012 his own career developed with a successful production of La Traviata invited by Rennes, Limoges and Reims Opera houses in France, which was broadcast on french national television and radio, and which led to a return invitation by these Opera houses to stage a new production of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. He also founded his own company and became a producer of his own theatrical shows, being responsible of fundraising and building production budget. He staged Ibsen’s The Lady from the sea, Paravidino’s Two Brothers, Levin’s The Labour of life, Sacha Guitry’s Quadrille… 

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                  At the same period he was appointed artistic director of Les Nuits de Corté festival in Corsica where he worked on all aspects of the development of the festival, building a special partnership with Lyon Opera house. He staged in this festival Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Die Zauberflöte and Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia.

At only 33, on Nicolas Joël and Stéphane Lissner’s specific request, he staged Gounod’s Faust at Opéra National de Paris conducted by Michel Plasson with whom he would work on the same opera at Geneva Opera house in 2018.

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             In 2018, The Bolshoi Theatre invited him to create a new production of Puccini’s La Bohème, now an important part of the opera house’s repertoire. This same year, Hong Kong Opera, in coproduction with The French May Festival, hired him for Bizet’s Carmen.

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           He staged Puccini’s Turandot at Ekaterinburg National Opera house, as well as rediscovering Benjamin Godard’s Dante at Saint-Etienne opera house in coproduction with Palazzetto Bru Zane. Saint Etienne Opera House also invited him for a new french rediscovery, Joncières’s Lancelot.

                    In 2021, he staged Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov at Opéra de Monte-Carlo, which was revived in Avignon in 2024.  

 

                   He also made his debut in the USA, staging Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi at Festival Napa Valley thanks to the support of Maria Manetti Shrem. With this festival he staged  Donizzetti's L'Elisir d'Amore, Don Pasquale, and this upcoming season Mozart's The Abduction from the seraglio.

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                   Vesperini keeps developping his career in North America, staging Henry VIII by Saint-Saëns at the Fisher Center at Bard, NY, Summerscape 2023, which was nominated Best Classical music performances by the New York Times. 

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               In Canada, he staged a new Faust production and following this production, he was invited to stage La Vie Parisienne and Le Comte Ory.

                             

            With his education and background, Vesperini is deeply connected to the music and particularly aware of what the score brings to dramaturgy. He is extremely grateful to have had the chance to work with great artists such as Sir Antonio Pappano, Tugan Sokhiev, Evan Rogister, Zubin Mehta, Myung-Whun Chung, Daniele Rustioni, Alain Altinoglu, Daniele Gatti.

 

Jean-Romain Vesperini speaks french (mother-tongue) and english, german, italian and russian fluently.