Ricardo Frizza has been named the new Artistic Director of the Donizetti Opera Festival.

The news was announced following a Dec. 4 Board of Directors of the Fondazione Teatro Donizetti meeting. The Board unanimously voted to appoint Frizza as the new artistic director. The appointment marks a continuation of the festival’s ongoing success and stability, as Frizza has also served as its music director for the past eight years.

He will succeed Francesco Micheli who stepped down earlier this year.

In a statement, Frizza said, “It is an exceptional acknowledgement of the work I have been doing since 2017 as music director of the festival devoted to Donizetti and I am deeply grateful to all the members of the board presided over by Giorgio Berta. Besides being a great honor, this double responsibility indicates a clear cut pathway to follow with the determined will to preserve the history and success of the festival, without losing sight of the origins of the historical, musical, and cultural patrimony encapsulated in the towering, beloved, immortal name, Gaetano Donizetti.”

He added, “Those who, like me, have known and been studying his scores for a lifetime, are aware that this authentic ‘reservoir of music’ must be transformed into artistic projects equal to the stature of such a treasure, increasing international awareness of Donizetti, supporting and promoting the Research Centre of the Fondazione, envisaging a festival that involves both the inhabitants of Bergamo and a global audience. I will soon unveil my project. Now is the time to reflect on everything that Donizetti Opera has been during the first 10 years of its existence, and on Francesco Micheli’s irrepressible contribution, which has left the bold mark of his creativity. And, immediately afterwards, it will be time to make great plans and take action so that new, exciting ideas can take shape. To do this, I am certain that I can count on the continued support of everyone who has accompanied me over the years in my work as music director. “