Cancelled Conducting Course Pockets Applicants’ Fees

Two conducting courses organized by Davide Cicchetti for June and November 2024 are still yet to take place. Applicants claim they have not been refunded their application fees.

The scoop: The classical music website Musical Chairs reports that two conducting courses organized by Davide Cicchetti for November and June 2024 have yet to take place. The clincher? The organization has pocketed applicants’ application fees, although they promise to refund them at some point. Cicchetti published an online letter, citing financial difficulties and claiming not to be a pirate. He says that applicants have no right to accuse him of fraud.

Digging deeper: During his performance career, the tenor Davide Cicchetti appeared in productions with the Opéra Comique, Opéra Vichy and Opéra de Lausanne, amongst other companies. As an organizer, he has produced competitions including the Dorati, Mendelssohn, Opéra de Nice, the EU Conducting Competition, Almaty Conducting Competition, and numerous masterclasses.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time aspiring conductors have cried fraud over expensive masterclasses held in Italy. Many festivals are known for over-promising and under-delivering at high price tags for applicants. A cautionary tale for those hoping to train in an already precarious field.

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Sara Schabas

Sara Schabas is a Dora-nominated soprano, writer and yoga teacher. She has performed and created leading roles with companies including Vancouver Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, the Dayton Opera, and Aspen Opera, and is a former member of Barbara Hannigan’s Equilibrium Young Artists. Currently based in Montreal, she is a doctoral student at McGill University — where she recently received the Wirth Vocal Prize — and editor of Art Song Canada magazine.