Nir Kabaretti

Festa Italiana - Molto Bello!

The maestro wasted no time and spared not the rod in leading a taught, authoritative, stylish, moody, fast and furious performance.

Voice Magazine, Dan Kepl, October 21 , 2019

Santa Barbara Symphony Salutes Bernstein with All-American Tribute

Wild applause for the orchestra, chorus, soloists and conductor led to a delightful surprise: maestro Kabaretti made his way to the piano back in the percussion department while the lights on stage went romantic and dim and accompanied Vroman in Bernstein’s "Some Other Time." Magic!

Noozhawk, Dan Kepl, February 28, 2018

Guest conductor elicits mature sound from IU Symphony

Maestro Kabaretti’s decision to end his program with Mussorgsky’s homage to an artist friend, “Pictures at an Exhibition,” was a wise one. Musicians can aurally paint scenes ranging from bickering children and hatching chicks to a hectic market and eerily quiet catacombs and, finally, to the grand gates of Kiev. That’s a thrilling journey when performed by a worthy orchestra and wise conductor. Sunday’s combination of Maestro Kabaretti and the IU Symphony Orchestra had what it takes, and then some. The audience was stirred into a standing ovation.

P. Jacobi, Heraldt.com, April 21, 2017

What a treat! An orchestra that has reached a level of professionalism and ensemble cohesion under conductor Nir Kabaretti that confirms with each concert, its standing as one of the best in the region. 

(...) Kudos to maestro Kabaretti for putting together a remarkably entertaining concert.

Dan Kepl, Voice Magazine, November 25, 2016

La Slovenska Filharmonija di Ljubljana chiude il Mittelfest 2016

Il concerto si chiude con L’Oiseau de feu di Igor Sravinsky (...). Qui l’orchestra slovena dà il meglio di sé. Grazie anche all’attenta e precisa conduzione di Kabaretti la Slovenska Filharmonjia rende con rara perfezione lo stile armonico, l’energia ritmica, gli impasti timbrici e le dinamiche che costituiscono l’ossatura di questo capolavoro. È un’esecuzione di grande bellezza, assolutamente priva di smagliature a dispetto dell’impervia scrittura stravinskiana. Un capolavoro esecutivo, salutato alla fine dal pubblico con grandissimo entusiasmo, compensato dalla splendida orchestra con ben due bis in cui vengono eseguiti la Danza ungherese n.5 di Johannes Brahms e, visti gli applausi, da una riproposizione della Danza ritual del fuego di de Falla.

Sergio Zolli, InstArt Web Magazine, July 27, 2016

«Madama Butterfly» transporte Avenches au firmament lyrique. 

Un vendredi soir de rêve à Avenches, après la pluie, pour récompenser les courageux fidèles du festival d’opéra. Alors que l’obscurité s’installe dans les arènes, sur scène les invités de la noce sont partis. Madame Butterfly (Sae Kyung Rim), jeune geisha naïve de 15 ans, se retrouve seule avec son mari, le fier lieutenant Pinkerton de la marine américaine en poste au Japon (Carlo Ventre). La servante Suzuki (Qiulin Zhang) vient allumer les lanternes et se retire. La jeune Japonaise évoque alors la nuit qui tombe et se livre à son grand amour. Les martinets font un dernier tour de piste alors que la maison aux parois coulissantes se transforme en écran géant, découvrant la baie de Nagasaki illuminée d’une clarté lunaire fugace (magnifiques vidéos de Lorenzo Bruno et Igor Renzetti).

Chamber Orchestra's conductor surprise 
But the concert started with Haydn's little-known overture to the opera Armida, conducted by the lesser-known Nir Kabaretti with a solidity not heard consistently since Ignat Solzhenitsyn's departure and, more than that, a distinctive, glistening personality.Though this level wasn't always maintained (you heard the spots when rehearsal time ran low), Kabaretti may be the kind of conductor the orchestra needs when music director Dirk Brossé is off conquering the film world. The 47-year-old Israeli projects unfiltered enthusiasm and commitment to what he's doing. The Haydn overture didn't warrant a spoken introduction (it's good, not great), but he couldn't resist giving it anyway, so enamored is he of the music. Other program choices were off the beaten track: Mendelssohn's charming Sinfonia No. 10 (repertoire familiar from Solzhenitsyn's years) and Verdi's String Quartet expanded for chamber orchestra by Arturo Toscanini - a footnote but a fascinating one. Verdi had the chops to write a string quartet, but without a theatrical scenario, his usual lyrical gifts were oddly untapped. The exposed string writing sometimes pushed Chamber Orchestra to the edge of its resources, though the performance took an impressive turn at the end when Kabaretti made the tempo accelerate like a shot. The orchestra was with him all the way and hardly broke a sweat.

David Patrick Stearns, Inquirer Classical Music Critic, Philly.com, March 24, 2015

Teatro dell'Opera di Roma: Cenerentola
Della partitura − presentata integralmente, senza tagli −, Nir Kabaretti, direttore versato nell’accompagnamento musicale dei balletti e affezionato dell’Opera di Roma, fornisce (per nostra fortuna) una convincente lettura: i ritmi sono sostenuti, gli slanci lirici debitamente espansi, colte le particolari singolarità di questa composizione. V’è sempre comunicazione diretta fra la buca e il palco. L’orchestra suona come meglio non potrebbe: la palpabile pastosità sonora cesella ogni momento coreutico, facendo sfavillare lo screziato ingegno musicale del russo.

Stefano Ceccarelli, GBOpera, October 7th 2014.

Southwest Florida Symphony introduces new Maestro.
Maestro Kabaretti was chosen through a painstaking process that included charging a selection committee with poring over the resumes and audition videos of more than 150 candidates (...) The Southwest Florida Symphony feels strongly that the organization will benefit from Maestro Kabaretti’s international and regional orchestra experience, forward-thinking and strong artistic leadership.
Florida Weekly, May 21th 2014

Il Don Chisciotte in punta di piedi
Occorre essere grati al Teatro dell’Opera che ha chiamato un vero concertatore e direttore d’orchestra, il bravissimo Nir Kabaretti. Il quale è anche un ragazzo di travolgente simpatia che nei Valzer si libra a ritmo nell’aria.

Paolo Isotta, Corriere della Sera, December 27, 2012

The Santa Barbara Symphony at the Granada Theatre

Maestro Kabaretti demonstrated an excellent knack for matching the orchestra’s tonality to that of the piano, and Watts played with ease and panache.

Charles Donelan, Independent, October 22, 2012

The S.B. Symphony at the Granada Theatre
Kabaretti did an excellent job of knitting together the disparate sections of this 24-minute piece into a coherent whole, and the overall effect was one of mastery and calm. Big and beautiful, but never scary or outrageous, the Bloch composition served to center the entire afternoon on the values of the classical tradition.
Charles Donelan, Independent, January 25th 2012

Opera di Roma: Lo Schiaccianoci 
Il Maestro Nir Kabaretti ha diretto, in modo elegante e attento allo svolgimento della scena, l’orchestra del teatro regalando al pubblico, che lo ha calorosamente applaudito, un suono vibrante e ricco di sfumature proprio della musica di Čajkovskij.

Sabrina Lucido, GBOpera, January 6th 2012

BoSy hautnah: Expressive Musik gerät zum Kraftakt
Nir Kabaretti leitet di Bochumer Symphoniker wie aus die Ärmel geschüttelt. Beethovens Leonoren - Ouvertüre  Nr. 3 war präzise, punktgenau und immer nach vorne drängend. Ein so ausgezeichneter Dirigent kann der schlechten Akustik der Kammerspiele einige Vorzuge abtrotzen. So setz er eine Fanfare hinter das Publikum. Wirkungsvoll.  Tschaikowskys  Ouvertüre – Phantasie Romeo und Julia“ entlockt Kabaretti  Straichermelodien, so süß wie Sahne. Sehr gut ausbalancierte Bläsersätze, sowie ein virtuoses Orchester fuhrte Kabaretti mit großer Souveranität.
Nina Schröder, WAZ Bochum, February 11, 2011

Trionfa a Bari il genio di Roland Petit con un sorprendente Alessandro Riga
La parte musicale è stata impeccabilmente eseguita dall’Orchestra della Fondazione Petruzzelli, diretta dal maestro israeliano Nir Kabaretti, che ha garantito un ottimo equilibrio fra resa espressiva della partitura ed esigenze del palcoscenico.
Enzo Garofalo, www.cannibali.it, January 8, 2011

In scena la danza delle passioni nel segno di Petit
E tuttavia non si può non sottolineare quanto e come al successo della serata abbia contribuito l’apporto della “base” musicale, curata dal direttore d’orchestra Nir Kabaretti, reputato “specialista” in materia di opere e balletti. La musica – presentata con salda ed efficace tenuta ritmica dall’orchestra del teatro – ha coronato l’azione coreografica. 
Nicola Sbisà, La Gazzetta di Bari, January 8, 2011

Grande serata di danza con l'Abbagnato, i suoi straordinari amici e l'eccellente corpo di ballo dell'Opera di Roma. 
A guidare poi con rara musicalità e raffinata precisione (nel rapporto spesso delicato tra buca e palcoscenico) l'ottima orchestra della Fondazione Petruzzelli, c'era il maestro Nir Kabaretti.
Alessandro Romanelli, L’Orecchio di Dioniso, January 7, 2011

To The Ninth Degree

It was an entirely heartening experience to hear Maestro Nir Kabaretti mashal an impressive performance of the Ninth, giving off the feeling of the composer's majestic life affirmative expression and also, in the present historical moment, a defiant answer to cultural doomsday thinking.
Josef Woodward - Santa Barbara News Press, October 19, 2010

The Santa Barbara Symphony Performs Mahler’s 5th

Mr. Kabaretti’s orchestral forces were in even crisper form by the time of the joyous and celebratory finale, heaping buoyant energies and 16th-note traffic upon thematic bluster. By this point, late in the Symphony’s game, the music sounds like the musical equivalent of a hopeful toast for a happy marriage, fittingly enough (...) The value of his hard work was evident in this rendition, as Kabaretti made the bones of the piece evident in each of its five movements.

Charles Donelan - Independent, May 17, 2010

Ying Yang and Lang Lang

Helmed by Music and Artistic Director, Nir Kabaretti, the orchestra was in superb form. Soloist was the twenty-seven year old Chinese pianistic wonder, Lang Lang. (...)” “ conducting the entire program from memory, maestro Kabaretti emerged in svelte Nehru jacket to conduct Coriolan with an élan that speaks to his confidence in the emerging virtuosity of the Santa Barbara Symphony under his tutelage these past three seasons. The orchestra played with comfortable and comforting poise. Ensemble balances seemed particularly focused and the dynamic contrasts the orchestra achieved were more than gratifying — exhilarating.
Daniel Kepl - Santa Barbara News Press, 08/10/2009

Nir Kabaretti’s Influence Shines Through

The level to which Kabaretti has brought the group in its performances of such canonical symphonies, as well as the intelligent and challenging programming of the smaller ensembles, both bode well for the future of this now young and vibrant orchestra.
Charles Donelan - Independent, 02/24/2009

Mellow Clash of Titans.

Santa Barbara Symphony conductor Nir Kabaretti has already fashioned an extraordinarily personal watermark on the orchestra’s sound palate in his three seasons as Music and Artistic Director (...) The artistic stamp that Mr. Kabaretti has brought to the orchestra during his tenure is silken: the ensemble playing, sectional balances and color are elegant and refined.
Daniel Kepl - News-Press correspondent, 11/10/2009

Santa Barbara Symphony Season Opens at Granada

Here, Maestro Kabaretti brought us something clearer and yet more complex than one usually encounters in performances of Tchaikovsky's symphonic works. Instead of the usual fireworks, we heard huge forces at work, at times in conflict, at others at peace, but always governed by the power of an intelligent mind. When the music stopped, the audience gave out an astonished "Oooh!" They got it!
James Hanley Donelan – Indipendent, 10/21/2009

Compelling Carmen.

New as well was the conductor, Nir Kabaretti, who also is music director of the Santa Barbara Symphony. The Israeli native, who lives in Florence, Italy, galvanized the orchestra in a performance that brought out appropriate bravado in the “Toreador” song and the “March of the Toreadors,” while finessing the seductive rhythms of “Habanera” and “Seguidilla” and the gentle sweetness of romance that pulls against the sweep of Carmen’s hold on the fatally smitten corporal, Don Jose.
Rita Moran - Vcstar.com, 03/10/2009

Nir Kabaretti has an affinity for the music of Gustav Mahler. He is alive to its huge range of emotions, to its grandiloquence and its intimacies, and he is able to tame its large and sometimes unruly structure. Mr. Kabaretti has a fine feel for the score, and in his hands the First Symphony emerged a cogent whole, well- shaped and well- paced. He captured lots of the music's tang.
George Gelles - Santa Barbara News Press, 10/28/2008

“ Le plaisir vient aussi de la fosse, où Nir Kabaretti, au diapason de la mise en scéne, imprime finesse et verve à la partition.” Claudio Poloni - The Classical Music Network (Suisse), January 2008

DIE FLEDERMAUS
“Les abituelles qualités de précision, de finesse et de souplesse de l’orchestre sont au rendez vous. stimulées par le chef Nir Kabaretti, elles ont réellement magnifiè la partition de Johann Strass fils, d’une efficacité décidement diabolique, et transforment chaque scène en folles retrouvalles mélodique."

M. Chenal- 24 Heures (Suisse), January 2008

Kabaretti, un director impecable

Con un Brahms estupendo conquistò definitivamente a una audiencia que se habìa mostrado remisa a las efusiones, la segunda sinfonia di Brahms sonò expresiva, intensa, precisa y atrapante. Concentrado y vital Kabaretti, que dirigiò todo el programa de memoria, eliminò cualquier chance de alguna lectura inercial, sin permittir que, ni por asomo, la orquesta funcionara con alguna suerte de piloto automàtico”
Pablo Kohan - La Nacion (Argentina), 11/22/2006

“Israeli conductor Nir Kabaretti seemed to be the only one who understood real Puccini style. Music with drama in it's vains. ... The Rishon Le Zion orchestra played wonderfully with a rich, full sound ... pay attention to this Kabaretti, as a conductor, he will go far."

Hanoch Ron - Yedioth Ahronoth (Israel), February 2006

The enormously talented 25-years-old Nir Kabaretti at its helm, gave us a magnificent insight into the mysterious twilight zone of the disintegrating Romanticism. Kabaretti must be hailed not only for his excellent performance and rich romantic sound he elicited from the orchestra, but also for choosing these illuminating pieces.

The Jerusalem Post, 01/05/1993