Opera Institute faculty
David Aronson
Vocal Coach
David Aronson, a native of New York, holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and the Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam. He began his career as a vocal coach and accompanist in New York City, followed by engagements as assistant conductor with the opera companies of Kansas City, Miami, and Lake George, New York. After four years as coach, assistant chorus master and conductor at the Zurich Opera, Mr. Aronson began a nine-year appointment as Kapellmeister of the Municipal Theater of Lucerne, where he conducted over forty operas, operettas, and ballets. During this time he assisted Herbert von Karajan at the Salzburg Festival.
In 1991 Mr. Aronson began a twenty-four year association with the Vienna State Opera. It was here that he assisted many of the world’s foremost conductors, including Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Christian Thielemann and Seiji Ozawa. As conductor of the State Opera’s acclaimed children’s opera program, he led over one hundred performances, both on the main stage and in the innovative Children’s Opera Tent on the opera house terrace. A highlight of his tenure was conducting the world premiere of Violeta Dinescu’s Der 35. Mai.
A seasoned continuo player, Mr Aronson has performed at the pianoforte and harpsichord throughout his tenure at the State Opera and was afforded the opportunity to tour to Israel, Italy, China, Korea, Singapore, and Japan as well as record with the Vienna Philharmonic on Deutsche Grammophon. A particular honor was being chosen as Riccardo Muti’s designated continuo player for his acclaimed productions of the Mozart-da Ponte operas, a position he held for five years.
Mr Aronson has had multiple engagements with the European Sinfonietta of Gibraltar and the Schönbrunn Palace Orchestra in Vienna, and has also guest conducted at the Darmstadt State Theater and the European Music Festival in Stuttgart. Most recently Mr. Aronson served as music director of Teatro Barocco’s acclaimed productions of Le Nozze di Figaro and Cosi fan Tutte in the Baroque theater of Schloss Laxenburg near Vienna.
