Behind the Baton, Insights from a Maestro

Free with RSVP

Musicians Foundation presents a conversation between Riccardo Frizza, Musical and Artistic Director of the Donizetti Opera Festival, and Fred Plotkin, one of America’s foremost experts on opera who has distinguished himself in many fields as a writer, speaker, consultant and teacher.

Plotkin will interview Frizza during the run of Bellini’s “La Sonnambula” at the Metropolitan Opera, which Frizza is conducting. The one-hour conversation will be followed by a 30-minute audience Q&A.

The event is presented by the Musicians Foundation and the United Palace of Cultural Arts. 

Riccardo Frizza, Musical and Artistic Director of the Donizetti Opera Festival and Honorary Conductor of the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir, is widely regarded as one of today’s leading conductors. Highlights for 2025 include productions and concerts at Teatro Comunale Bologna, Royal Ballet and Opera, Teatro San Carlo, ABAO Bilbao, and The Metropolitan Opera. In 2024, he was appointed Cavaliere al merito della Repubblica Italiana by the Italian President, Mattarella.

Fred Plotkin discovered the concept of "The Renaissance Man" as a small child and has devoted himself to pursuing that ideal as the central role of his life. Plotkin has worked in opera since 1972, doing everything but singing. His book, “Opera 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Opera” is the best-selling standard text in America on the art form. He has also written six renowned books on Italian cuisine.

Founded in 1914, Musicians Foundation is the nation’s oldest organization dedicated to providing financial assistance to musicians and their families in times of need. Over the decades, legendary artists such as Leonard Bernstein, Pablo Casals, Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Yo-Yo Ma, and Isaac Stern, along with visionary philanthropists like Walter Naumburg and Charles Steinway, have championed our mission through benefit concerts and other events, inspiring a legacy of support that continues to this day.

This program is supported by the United Palace of Cultural Arts, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.