Stefanos Koroneos is the Artistic and General Director of Teatro Grattacielo, one of New York City's most distinctive and adventurous opera organizations. Since assuming leadership in 2020 — following two years with the company as artistic administrator and performer — he has led a sweeping transformation of Teatro's mission, scale, and community impact.
Under his direction, Teatro Grattacielo has grown from a single annual performance to four productions and ten performances per year, expanded its reach to over 10,000 New Yorkers annually, and transitioned from a deficit organization to one with a sustained operating surplus. These achievements reflect not only artistic ambition but a deep commitment to building institutions that are financially resilient and community-rooted.
Koroneos approaches opera as a living, expandable art form — one that must speak to contemporary audiences while honoring its traditions. He has championed the commissioning and production of new American works, including world premieres by Daniel Asia, Joseph Summer, Joshua Daniel Nichols, and Nicolas Flagello, and has secured a commission for the 2027 LA28 Olympics. Simultaneously, he reimagines canonical works with fresh theatrical and visual language, integrating video design, projection art, dance, and poetry into productions that challenge what opera can be.
This vision extends beyond the stage. Koroneos founded Creative Tableaux, Teatro's tuition-free educational program serving NYC youth ages 13–22 through paid internships in stagecraft, costume design, multimedia, and visual art. He established Opera at Gotham Park, a free civic programming series beneath the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge that uses opera to foster dialogue around issues of climate change and civil rights. Through Officina Grattacielo, he has built an ever-expanding constellation of interdisciplinary collaborators — visual artists, filmmakers, poets, and designers — who bring genuine creative depth to every production and educational program.
A passionate advocate for ethical arts employment, Koroneos classifies all participating artists — singers, directors, designers, orchestra, and chorus — as W-2 employees, setting a standard for fair labor practices that is rare in the opera sector.
An internationally recognized opera director and baritone, he has worked with the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, and the Bolshoi Theater, and has collaborated with Franco Zeffirelli, Moisés Kaufman, and Richard Bonynge. He is fluent in Italian, German, English, Spanish, and Greek.
To check out his directorial work, visit his website: https://stefanoskoroneos.com/
Cate Pisaroni is a visionary Creative Director with a deep-rooted connection to classical music and a passion for reimagining how opera and the performing arts speak to contemporary audiences. As founder and principal of Lenny’s Studio, a boutique PR and digital agency specializing in classical music and opera, she has shaped the visual and narrative identity of artists, festivals, and institutions worldwide.
Her work bridges design, media, and storytelling — transforming tradition into bold, modern experiences. Cate’s approach blends aesthetic intuition with strategic insight, crafting campaigns, productions, and identities that resonate across cultures and generations.
As Creative Director, she drives cross-disciplinary collaborations that merge music, visual art, and digital media to create immersive, emotionally intelligent productions. Her leadership emphasizes inclusivity, innovation, and authenticity, championing new voices and connecting global audiences to the power of live performance.
Cate’s professional portfolio includes creative direction for international festivals and tours, album releases, rebranding initiatives for renowned artists, and digital strategy for institutions such as IDAGIO, the world’s leading classical music streaming platform. She is also Co-Artistic Director of Liedstadt, a festival dedicated to the art of song, known for its multisensory and forward-thinking programming.
Based in Vienna and working across continents, Cate leads a multilingual team of creatives united by a shared passion for music and design. Together, they redefine how the classical world communicates in the digital age.
“A virtuoso’s hands, a conductor’s mind, an orchestrator’s imagination, an improviser’s spirit, and a singer’s heart.” —Codalario
ABDIEL VÁZQUEZ is a Mexican classical artist whose wide-ranging passions are reflected in his work as a conductor and pianist, a collaborator with internationally renowned singers, and a creator of visionary musical and educational projects across the Americas and Europe.
Vázquez joins the National Opera Company of Mexico in the 2025-2026 season as Assistant Conductor and Head Coach, in a season that includes Elektra, Werther, La Légende de Rudel, and The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. With this company he will be the conductorfor their production of Falla’s La Vida Breve and El Amor Brujo in collaboration with the National Dance Company and will perform Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy as a soloist. He will also be the assistant conductor and pianist for the recording of Salome with the Minería Symphony Orchestra in Mexico City, with Ambur Braid and Nick Brownlee in the leading roles.
Vázquez is the founder of the Philharmonic Orchestra La Súper in his hometown of Monterrey, uniting alumni from his alma mater—the esteemed Escuela Superior de Música y Danza. With La Súper, he has led symphonic cycles of Beethoven, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky, premiered new works, and produced genre-blending performances for wide audiences, including a live performance with Danny Elfman of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. A Steinway Artist, Vázquez received the National Youth Award from the President of Mexico at just 21. He has performed at major Latin American venues including Buenos Aires’ Teatro Colón, Mexico City’s Palacio de Bellas Artes, Lima’s Gran Teatro Nacional, Guanajuato’s Festival Internacional Cervantino, and with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra in Caracas.
As a soloist with orchestra, he has performed piano concertos by Beethoven, Liszt, Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Gershwin, Ravel, de Falla, Ricardo Castro, and Leonard Bernstein. He gave the Mexican premiere of Samuel Barber’s Piano Concerto, the New York premiere of Ponce’s Piano Concerto at Carnegie Hall, and the world premiere of Juan Pablo Contreras’ The Sun Pyramid with the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico. Known for his versatility, he frequently conducts from the piano in works like Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Concerto in F, Ponce’s Piano Concerto, and Márquez’s Danzón No. 2.
Vázquez has collaborated as conductor or pianist with operatic luminaries such as Ailyn Pérez, Elīna Garanča, Kristine Opolais, María Katzarava, Javier Camarena, and Joshua Guerrero, as well as Broadway star Meghan Picerno and Hispanic pop icons Susana Zabaleta and Concha Buika. His operatic repertoire includes The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro, La Cenerentola, Lucia di Lammermoor, Carmen, La Bohème, Tosca, Roméo et Juliette, Hansel and Gretel, La Traviata, Simon Boccanegra, Dialogues des Carmélites, La Voix Humaine, and Pelléas et Mélisande.
Abdiel is the founder of Vincerò Academy, a global mentorship platform connecting young singers with today’s greatest opera stars, and of the International Music Theatre Academy, which bridges students in Mexico with leaders from the Broadway industry. His discography includes two solo albums—Love & Death (Wagner and Verdi) and In the Silent Night (Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff)—as well as a feature recording with the Jalisco Philharmonic on the Latin GRAMMY®-nominated album Mariachitlán (Universal Music). All are available on major streaming platforms, alongside his podcast Maestro in Tune.
Web, YouTube, Albums: /abdielmaestro
Instagram: @abdielmaestro
Facebook: /abdielmaestro
Hilary Baboukis is a Greek-American mezzo-soprano, conductor, and arranger/orchestrator. She had the good fortune to grow up surrounded by music, sang her first opera at age ten (as a “street urchin” in a local production of La bohème), and has been blissfully ensconced in the arts ever since, as a performer and, eventually, in arts administration. She studied at Columbia University, the American University in Cairo, and Oklahoma State University, and has worked with arts organizations across the tri-state area. She is also the Associate Music Director at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New York City, teaches voice at Wagner College in Staten Island, and maintains a private voice studio in Jersey City. She is honored to become a part of the Teatro Grattacielo family.
Enrico Fagone has been named Associate Conductor of Teatro Grattacielo, effective November 2025, following his acclaimed performance of the world premiere of The Tin Angel by Daniel Asia with the company.
Fagone also serves as Music and Artistic Director of the Long Island Concert Orchestra in New York. He has conducted world-renowned ensembles such as the London Symphony Orchestra, RAI National Symphony Orchestra of Turin, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Milan Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Orchestra of the Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, Orchestra of the Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari, Göttingen Symphony Orchestra, Munich Chamber Opera, and many others.
In 2025, Fagone made a celebrated return to the Verdi Festival in Parma and conducted the CulturArte Gala in Puerto Rico, featuring rising stars Emily D’Angelo and Freddy Di Tommaso. In October, he led the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana in a special concert commemorating the United Nations’ visit to Switzerland, and later returned to the Juilliard School to give a masterclass.
Upcoming engagements include debuts at the Arena di Verona, a third appearance this year with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, and a debut with Opera Southwest in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In 2023, Fagone conducted the London Symphony Orchestra on the album Aspire (Musica Solis), featuring clarinetist Seunghee Lee and composer/bandoneonist JP Jofre. The recording received a GRAMMY nomination.
A musical journey that has spanned over five decades as arranger, pianist, répétiteur, and conductor, Francisco X. Miranda (www.fxmmusic.com) was recently recognized as an eminent arranger in the classical, opera and popular genres.
Since the mid-1990s, he has created many arrangements and reductions of music, including those of George Gershwin, Philip Glass, Pietro Mascagni, Maurice Ravel, Giuseppe Verdi, plus Broadway Selections for Ms. Christine Ebersol. His arrangements have been performed throughout the United States, including The Phoenicia Festival of the Voice. His most recent project, a reduction of Riccardo Zandonai’s complex opera Giulietta e Romeo received all-around praises.
Exuberance comes to mind being part of the creative team at Teatro Grattacielo. The opportunity to share my passion for the performing arts through philanthropy and cultural outreach is the ultimate ovation, Bravi Tutti...the best is yet to come!
Duane Printz founded Teatro Grattacielo an ambitious opera-in-concert organization devoted to the performance and promotion of neglected works of the verismo school of Italian opera . Since its founding in New York in 1994, the company's energetic and passionate Founding and Executive director, Teatro Grattacielo has presented such rarities as Mascagni's Iris, Cilea's L'Arlesiana, Zandonai's I Cavalieri di Ekebu, Mpntemezzi's La Nave and Gchecchi's Cassandra. Several of the works Teatro Grattacielo has uncovered have proved to be surprisingly effective and impassioned entertainments.
