Gianni Quaranta

Director, Production Designer, Set Designer and Costume Designer

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After three nominations, Gianni Quaranta won the Oscar in 1987 for Production Design with the film A Room with a View, directed by James Ivory. Since then, Quaranta has enjoyed a long and well- respected career as a director, production designer, set designer, costume designer and creative designer in the worlds of cinema and theatre – lyrical, prose and ballets – in advertising and in project development for various artistic exhibitions.

As a young man Quaranta assisted renowned architects and production designers then set out on his own to design sets for theatrical performances, working with directors like Goez Friedrich, Jean Mercuri, J. Jacques Karpo, Andrea Serban, Jeorges Lavaudant, Giorgio Ferrara, Luca Ronconi, Giancarlo Menotti, Mauro Bolognini, Filippo Crivelli, Sonja Frisell, Lorenzo Salveti, Marco Gagliardo and Franco Zeffirelli.

Quaranta has designed the sets for great operas such as La Traviata, Tosca, Rigoletto, Falstaff, Aida, Moise et Pharaon, Guglielmo Tell, Don Carlos, Carmen, Adriana Lecouvreur, Il Turco in Italia, Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi and many others. He has worked in the most important theatres in Italy and around the world, including Teatro Alla Scala in Milan, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, Teatro Regio in Turin, Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Teatro Politeama in Palermo, Théâtre National de l’Opéra in Paris, the Comédie Française in Paris (for the opening of the restored Salle Richelieu), the Grand Théâtre in Geneva, the Staatsoper in Vienna, Theatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro, The Dallas Opera House, the Philadelphia Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.

His sets for Aida at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York have been received so well that they are still used after more than 30 years.

Quaranta began his film career in 1971 when he created sets with Renzo Mongiardino for Brother Sun, Sister Moon by Franco Zeffirelli. Already in this early film he demonstrated a remarkable ability to blend elements of theatrical design with the realism of daily life, work which led to his first of three Oscar nominations for the Best Production Design.

In 1972, in addition to designing the sets for the ballet The Legend of the Peri by P. Dukas, at the theatre Alla Scala in Milan, he was acclaimed for the costumes he designed for the famous dancer Carla Fracci.

In 1976 he designed the sets for Lorenzaccio, by Alfred de Musset, which inaugurated the reopening after the restoration of the Salle Richelieu of the Comédie Française, direction by Franco Zeffirelli.

His work is highly regarded among such important Italian directors as Franco Zeffirelli, Lina Wertmuller, Ermanno Olmi, Angelo Longoni, Giacomo Battiato, Salvatore Samperi, Carlo Lizzani and Francesca Archibugi, all who have consulted him for their film projects.

For his set design in the film 900, by Bernardo Bertolucci, with Robert De Niro, Gérard Depardieu, Dominique Sanda, Stefania Sandrelli, Donald Sutherland, Burt Lancaster, Sterling Hayden, Alida Valli, Romolo Valli, he was awarded the first of four “Quality Awards” he has received to date.

Following Jesus of Nazareth by Zeffirelli, with Robert Powell, Olivia Hussey, Anne Bancroft, Rod Steiger, James Mason, Anthony Quinn, Ernest Borgnine, Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov, Claudia Cardinale, Fernando Rey, Michael York, Christopher Plummer, Stacy Kesch, Ian Holm – where in addition to creating the sets he also designed the interiors – he was awarded his first of three “Nastri d’Argento” (Italian Awards of Excellence).

Highly regarded in both Europe and America, he has worked alongside such directors as James Ivory, François Giraud, Paul Mazursky, Herbert Ross, Jean Pierre Ponnelle, Gerard Corbiau, H. Gordon Boos, Anthony Hickox, James Cellan Jones, Paul Schrader, Monika Teuber and Rachid Benhadj.

In 1995, he was awarded the “César” – the most important prize in French cinema – for The Best Production Design in the film Farinelli, by Gerard Corbiau, with the actors Stefano Dionisi and Enrico Lo Verso.

In the same year, he directed and also designed the sets and costumes for the opera Tosca by Giacomo Puccini, performed by Josè Cura and Barbara De Maio in Torre del Lago Puccini, the city which hosts a yearly festival dedicated to the great composer’s celebration.

Among the sets for films signed by Gianni Quaranta, there are Tutto a posto e niente in ordine, with the actors Luigi Diberti, Isa Danieli, Giuliana Calandra; Tre simpatiche carogne with Michel Piccoli, Sylvia Kristel, e Gérard Depardieu; Dancers with the étoiles Michail Baryšnikov and Alessandra Ferri; The Legend of Holy drinker con Rutger Hauer, film that won the Golden Lio at the Venzeia Cinema Festival in 1989; Magdalena with Nastassja Kinski; The Comfort of Strangers with Christopher Walken, Helen Mirren, Rupert Everett and Natasha Richardson; Marquise with Sophie Marceau; Anniversario with Laura Morante and Luca Zingaretti; Mirka with Vanessa Redgrave, Gérard Depardieu, Franco Nero and Sergio Rubini.

Furthermore Gianni Quaranta has worked for important TV films as Cellini, a violent life with Wadeck Stanczak, Ben Kingsley, Max von Sydow; Il Giovane Casanova with Stefano Accorsi and Cristiana Capotondi; Maria José: l’ultima Regina with Barbara Bonulova; Renzo e Lucia with Paolo Villaggio, Stefano Dionisi, Laura Morante, Stefania Sandrelli; La Sacra Famiglia with Alessandro Gassman, Anna Caterina Morariu, Angela Molina and Franco Nero.

He has also been the Production Designer of various Opera Movies like Pagliacci with Plàcido Domingo, Teresa Stratas, Juan Pos; Cavalleria Rusticana with Plácido Domingo, Elena Obraztsova, Renato Bruson, Fedora Barbieri and Axelle Gall; Rigoletto with Luciano Pavarotti, Edita Gruberovà, Igvar Wixell and Ferruccio Furlaneto; La Traviata with Plácido Domingo, Teresa Stratas, Cornell MacNeil; Otello with Plàcido Domingo, Katia Ricciarelli, Justino Diaz.

Among his many accolades he received two English “Bafta Awards” for his sets in the films La Traviata, with Placido Domingo and Teresa Stratas, and A Room with a View, with Helena Bonham Carter, Maggie Smith, Daniel Day-Lewis, Julian Sands.

He directed and designed the lighting for the musical Give me three Ships, inspired by the life of Christopher Columbus and performed at the ancient Greek-Roman theatre in Taormina, Sicily.

He has directed other film projects such as Maruzzella, winner of the first prize at the “Festival of Sabaudia” and “The Gift of the Magi”, adapted from the story by O. Henry.

Quaranta’s work has developed steadily through the years so that he continues to be held in high regard.

In 2010 his lifetime of achievement led to his being chosen for the first ever theatrical set for the lyrical opera “Gogo no eiko”, with music by Hans Werner Henze, adapted from the novel by Yukio Mishima, which opened at the prestigious Two Worlds Festival in Spoleto, Italy.

In 2011, returning from this critical and commercial success, he was again chosen as set designer for the opera Amelia at the Dance by Giancarlo Menotti inaugurating the Two Worlds Festival in Spoleto, in celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the birth of the founder of the festival.

The same year 2011, the Royal Opera House in Muscat (Oman) commissioned him to direct and design the sets and costumes for the opera Carmen by Georges Bizet to inaugurate the theatre. This opera, also produced by Quaranta, has been a great success, much loved by both audiences and critics, and he received official thanks from the Royal Opera House Muscat.

In 2012, he was commissioned by The Rome Opera Theater to design Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini, with the soprano Daniela Dessì, and The Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten, for the opening of the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto.

Since the beginning of Quaranta’s long and varied career, his far-reaching artistic interests have drawn him to work on projects in interior and exterior design as well as gardens design.

He has planned the architecture, renovation and furnishings of important public and private buildings, and the luxurious residences of the international “jet set”. On these projects he has designed the floor plans, chosen the artworks, selected the interior finishes and the selection of materials, the lights, the furniture and supervised construction to insure integrity.

For many years he has been the President of the Roman branch of Italian Academy of Art, Fashion and Design. The Academy also has international cooperation programs with the most prestigious universities all over in the world.

Gianni Quaranta has worked on many interesting and varying marketing campaigns, including

F.I.A.T. cars, Martini spumante (Testimonials: Sharon Stone and Danny Quinn), American Express (Testimonials: Bulgari brothers), Furrier’s Annabella di Pavia (Testimonial: Jerry Hall), IP Petroli (Testimonial: Valeria Marini), Bank Istituto San Paolo di Torino (Testimonial: Vittorio Gassman), American Express (Testimonial: The famous roman restaurant “Checchino al Mattatoio”), Bank di Credito Cooperativo di Roma, Omnitel, Bank Nazionale del Lavoro, T.I.M., Lavazza International Coffee, Peroni Beer (Testimonial: Milli Carlucci), Foglia d’Oro Butter, Pandoro Melegatti, Revlon make up.

Particularly from 1991-1995, he was Artistic Director for Barilla S.p.a., for all Mulino Bianco products, a brand for which he conceived, designed and implemented the construction of the famous Mill for their first advertising campaign (Director Giuseppe Tornatore). In this project he developed the brand-image that appears on all the company’s products.

Over the years, he has also conceived and overseen the production of entertainment events, art shows and exhibitions, where he’s held the dual role of director and set designer. These events have included “Masters of Linen” (Sant’Elmo Castle, Naples – Italy), a fashion show of the ten best European fashion designers; the photographic exhibition “The Bed Tells” (Navigli Museum, Milan – Italy), with the contribution of the sculptures of the artist Arnaldo Pomodoro.

In this field, in 2011, entrusted by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, he designed and directed the exhibition Falsity Doesn’t Make Sense, in order to raise awareness on the issue of

counterfeiting. This exhibition involved a number of public institutions and world-famous Italian companies: Lamborghini, Dainese, Cavalli, Fendi, Gucci, Versace, Luxottica, Safilo, Artemide, Parmigiano Reggiano, Ferrero, and many more.

In 2013 he was the Director of the musical “Darwin, l’evoluzione? Opera concept”, a multifaceted and multimedia show with the rock progressive music of Maestro Vittorio Nocenzi.

Requested again by the Festival of Two Worlds of Spoleto, for the opening he was the set designer of the ballet “The Piano Upstairs”, with the étoile Alessandra Ferri and the American actor Boyd Gaines.

In the same year, Gianni Quaranta has been committed with the musical La Sciantosa, tra Napoli e Belle Epoque, with the singer and actress Serena Autieri.

Important artists such as Carla Fracci, Alessandra Ferri, Luciana Savignano, Ekaterina Maximova, Vladimir Viktorovich Vasiliev, James Urbain, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Roberto Bolle, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Josè Cura, Marcello Giordani, Eva Marton, Giulia Gertzeva, Teresa Stratas, Barbara De Maio, Daniela Dessi have danced or sung on sets designed by him or have been directed by him and dressed in his costumes.

Highly regarded in both Europe and America, he has worked alongside such conductors as Carlos Kleibe, Riccardo Muti, Lorin Maazel, Thomas Shippers, Zubin Mehta, Georges Prêtre, Pinchas Steinberg, Peter Maage, James Levine, Nino Sanzogno, Patrick Fournillier.

In 2015 for the celebration of 250 years of the main Polish theatre, which coincided with the anniversary of Poland’s first royal ballet company, he was committed by the National Theater Wielki Opera Narodowa (Warsaw) with the world première of the ballet Casanova in Warsaw, based on the memoirs of the famous lover, with the music of W. A. Mozart  and  the  choreography  of  Krzysztof Pastor.

He then followed with the musical Roman Holiday, based on the famous film, with the singers and actors Serena Autieri and Paolo Conticini.

In 2017 he created a set design with a dream-like tone for the musical Diana & Lady D, based on the last hours of the life of Princess Diana of England, played by Serena Autieri.

In 2018 he designed the sets and costumes for the theatrical play Imperfect Love, a serious comedy performed in New York and inspired by the tumultuous life of Eleonora Duse and her poet-lover Gabriele D’Annunzio, written by Brandon Cole and co-produced by John Turturro.

From June 2014 until October 2016 he served as Head of The Culture Department of the city of Spoleto, city that hosts the famous Festival of Two Worlds.

It would be impossible to list the numerous successes in the many different areas of Quaranta’s brilliant career, achievements which are due to a true artistic sensibility and a versatile professional approach. His uncompromising artistic integrity has been affirmed and reaffirmed by the judgment of his peers and by the numerous awards he has received.

It is important to note that Gianni Quaranta’s contributions to the international reputation of Italian arts have been recognized with his being awarded the title of Commander of the Italian Republic.

AWARDS and NOMINATIONS

2018 PREMIO VIDEOCITTÀ, Rome, Italian Award of Excellence, Life achievement;
2018 PREMIO INTERNAZIONALE LE MUSE, Florence, International Award of Excellence, for his artistic contribution to the Cinema;
2018 RCFF BEST PRODUCION AWARD at the Reggio Calabria Film Fest, Italian Award of Excellence, for his artistic contribution to the Cinema;
2017 PREMIO CAPRI HOLLYWOOD, Capri, International Award of Excellence, Life achievement for his artistic contribution;
2017 NASTRO d’ARGENTO, Italian Award of Excellence, Life achievement for his artistic contribution;
2011 CREDO AD ASTRAM, Ukrainian Award of Excellence, Life achievement for his artistic contribution to the World culture enrichment;
2009 PREMIO AQUILA D’ORO, Sulmona, Italian Award of Excellence, Life achievement;
2006 PREMIO QUALITA’, Italian Award of Excellence, Best Production Design for the film “Farinelli”;
2005 WINNER OF THE FESTIVAL DI SABAUDIA, Best Direction for the short film “Maruzzella”;
2002 DONNA CIRCE AWARD, Italian Award of Excellence, Life achievement;
2001 PREMIO CAPRI HOLLYWOOD, Capri, International Award of Excellence, Life achievement;
2001 PREMIO QUALITA’, Italian Award of Excellence, Best Production Design for the film “Mirka”;
1995 DAVID DI DONATELLO NOMINATION (Italian Academy Award), Best Production Design for the film “Farinelli”;
1995 CESAR, French Academy Award, Best Production Design for the film “Farinelli”;
1994 PREMIO CINEMA & SOCIETA’, Italian Award of Excellence, Life achievement;
1988 PREMIO QUALITA’, Italian Award of Excellence, Best Production Design for “The Legend of the Holy Drinker”;
1987 OSCAR, American Academy Award, Best Production Design for the film “A Room with a View”;
1986 BAFTA FILM AWARD, British Academy Award, Best Production Design for the film “A Room with a View”;
1983 NASTRO d’ARGENTO, Italian Award of Excellence, Best Production Design for the film “La Traviata”;
1983 Carta BENVENUTO A CINECITTA’, Italian Award of Excellence, for Professionalism;
1982 BAFTA FILM AWARD, British Academy Award, Best Production Design for the film “La Traviata”;
1983 OSCAR NOMINATION, American Academy Award, Best Production Design for the film “La Traviata”;
1981 A.I.C. Venice Festival, Italian Association of Critics Award, Best Production Design for the film “Tempest”;
1978 NASTRO d’ARGENTO, Italian Award of Excellence, Best Production Design for the film “Jesus of Nazareth”;
1975 PREMIO QUALITA’, Italian Award of Excellence, Best Production Design for the film “900”;
1974 OSCAR NOMINATION, American Academy Award, Best Production Design for “Brother Sun, Sister Moon”;
1973 PRIX d’HONNEUR, Berlin International Festival, Best Production Design for “Brother Sun, Sister Moon”.

HONOURS

The President of the Italian Republic has honoured him with the title of Commander of the Italian Republic (1995);

Pope Benedict XVI invited him to a meeting between the Pontiff and the most famous and established artists from around the world: a total of only 280 artists worldwide in every field of the arts (2009);

The Constantine Academy has given him the honorific title of Worthy Academic (2015); His Municipality of birth Arsiè (BL) has dedicated the city library to him (1987).