Born in Rome to parents of Sicilian origin, he is an opera, theatre, television and video director. He has been the founder and artistic director of prestigious festivals in Italy such as Euro Mediterranean (Rome), Easter Festival (Rome, Vatican City), Festival Belliniano (Catania) and Taormina Opera Festival, where his productions Nabucco, Norma, Rigoletto, Cavalleria rusticana, Pagliacci, Carmen have been broadcasted live with great success in cinemas worldwide. Currently he is also president and artistic director of the International Montserrat Caballé Opera Competition (Spain). He has directed a wide operatic repertory (Mozart, Verdi, Bizet, Rossini, Puccini etc), as well as 20th-century works (Bernstein), and has directed mega concerts with such artists as Carreras, Maazel, Mehta, Caballé, Ricciarelli, Gasdia, Bruson, Rostropovich. In addition to more than two hundred DVDs of his theatrical and television production, his books include conversations with Leonard Bernstein (A life for music, 1989). // Last update of the biography: June 2016 - The list of the productions below is complete.