Attilio Colonello
Introduction '''Attilio Colonello''' (9 November 1930 – 12 August 2021) was an Italian scenic designer and stage director who was active within the field of opera.
Biography Born in Milan, Colonello studied architecture in Milan with Gio Ponti and Ernesto Rogers. He first drew critical praise for his designs for ''La traviata'' at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in 1956.This was followed by designs for Arrigo Boito's ''Mefistofele'' at La Scala in 1958.He designed several more Milan productions, including ''Don Pasquale'' in 1965 and two productions for Margherita Wallmann: the première of Ildebrando Pizzetti’s ''Clitennestra'' in 1965 and another ''Don Pasquale'' in 1973.In 1962 Colonello made his United States debut at the Dallas Civic Opera with a critically acclaimed production of Giuseppe Verdi's ''Otello''. He designed another production at that house following a year, Monteverdi's ''L'incoronazione di Poppea''. He worked for the Metropolitan Opera for the first time in 1964 when he designed a Jacobean ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' for Wallmann. He later designed two productions for Nathaniel Merrill at the Met: a 19th-century ''Luisa Miller'' (1968) and a gloomy ''Il trovatore'' (1969).Since 1964 Colonello has worked frequently as a scenic designer and director for the Teatro di San Carlo. His first production with the company was ''Roberto Devereux'', again with Wallmann as director. He then designed and directed productions of ''Adriana Lecouvreur'' (1966), the première of Jacopo Napoli’s ''Barone avaro'', and ''Samson et Dalila'' (both 1970), ''Carmen'' (1975), ''La Gioconda'' (1977) and ''I puritani'' and ''Luisa Miller'' (both 1988).Colonello's best work has been with the Arena di Verona Festival, beginning with a splendid ''Nabucco'' in 1962.In 1964 he designed and directed productions of ''Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''La bohème'' and designed a production of ''Mefistofele'' for director Herbert Graf. He then designed ''Carmen'' (1965), ''Rigoletto'' (1966), ''La forza del destino'' (1967) and ''Andrea Chénier'' (1967). For the festival's 100th anniversary he staged ''Aida'' (1968) and later returned for a lauded production of  ''Un ballo in maschera'' (1972). In 1984 he returned to design and direct ''I Lombardi''.
Sources *David J. Hough, "Attilio Colonello". The ''New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', edited by Stanley Sadie (1992),