About Us

The Puccini International Opera Composition Academy Lucca was founded with the purpose of creating new Lyric Operas. By studying the past, new forms are invented.
The students, guided by experienced teachers in the field of Opera, tackle their own personal research into the various opportunities that the academy provides:
- Puccini Chamber Opera Festival
- Puccini International Opera Composition Course
- Puccini International Chamber Opera Composition Competition

Girolamo Deraco
president

Composer, Contemporary Opera Stage Director, Cultural Manager. His lyric operas have been played in Carnegie Hall (USA), Bartokplusz Miskolci Operafesztivál (Ungheria), Tiroler Festspiele Erl (Austria), Gran Teatro “José Asunción Flores" (Paraguay). In Italy at the Festival Pucciniano, Auditorium Parco della Musica, Festival Play.it, Teatro del Giglio, and many others. He has been a finalist and the winner of almost thirty five international composition contests. He has received the ‘Riconoscimento di merito’ at the Premio Abbado Award 2015 from the President of the Italian Republic. His opera ‘Dr. Streben’, a Robotic Festival Pisa commission, is the first opera written with a humanoid robot on the scene. His piece ‘Phonè – symphonic installation for 100 grammophones and choir’ has been performed at Bartokplusz Miskolci Operafesztivál in Hungary. In 2018 The Italian Synchronized Swimming Team won the Silver Medal performing his music at the 2018 European Aquatics Championships of Glasgow. He is President and Founder of the PUCCINI International Opera Composition Academy Lucca. His music is performed all around the world, and it is published by Edizioni Sconfinarte, Scomegna Edizioni and EMA Vinci.

Alessandro J. Bianchi
executive director

Actor, Stage Director, Theater Pedagogue, Cultural Manager. He graduated as an actor and director at the SAT school GITIS with Jurij Alschiz. He specialized in Theater Pedagogy and Theater Biomechanics with Nikolaij Karpov; He specialized with Anatolij Vassiliev in Dramatic Art; studies and perfects itself in Commedia dell'Arte at the Scuola Sperimentale dell'Attore di Pordenone and at the Kalambur Teatro. Member of the Kalambur Theater Commedia dell'Arte Company and of the "Cave Carro" Commedia dell'Arte Company. Collaborator, trainer and director at the Puccini Chamber Opera Festival in Lucca. Co-creator of the International WorkShop of Commedia dell'Arte "Officina Commedia dell'Arte". Co-creator of MITOS Italian meeting of social theater. Actor/founder of Cantiere Obraz_Laboratorio Permanente, company formerly directed by Nikolaij Karpov; Co-founder and vice president of “Maestro Performing Artists from Zeffirelli Foundation” at the Zeffirelli Foundation. Co-founder of Experia, Empatheatre, Talibè Teatro. Artistic director “Nottilucente” 2022 and 2023, San Gimignano. Theater director/trainer at the C.R. of San Gimignano, C.R. Lucca and C.R. Massa. Co-founder of Dublab S.r.l. Film Production House.