photo © Jim Wilkinson 2020, Palm Springs, CA

ABOUT

Matteo Marziano Graziano (they/them) is an avant-garde opera director based in Berlin, known for their boundary-pushing and transformative artistic approach. With a profound understanding of contemporary performance, installation art, and experimental music theater, Graziano has established themselves as a visionary queer choreographer, stage director, performer, and cross-disciplinary artist.

Graziano's artistic endeavors encompass a diverse range of mediums, including film, video, small and large stage productions, as well as immersive and participatory formats. They are also renowned for their site-responsive interventions, creating dynamic and interactive experiences for audiences.

From an early age, Graziano's unique perspective as a neurodivergent individual has shaped their artistic exploration. Their work resides at the intersection of somatic embodiment, consciousness exploration, paranormal phenomena, and radical pleasure biopolitics. By questioning the embodiment of consciousness, the influence of affects, and the dynamics of social relationships, Graziano's artistry delves into moving-image-making processes and explores the notion of subjectivity within spectatorship. Their artistic research draws inspiration from consciousness sciences, queer studies, system theory, and ecofeminism.

Graziano's artistic vision has resonated on an international scale, with their works being presented at prestigious venues and events such as HAU Berlin, PACT Zollverein, ICKamsterdam, ImPulsTanz Vienna, KOW Gallery Berlin, Künstlerhaus Bethanien Berlin, Artissima Turin, and Mostra del Cinema di Venezia.

In 2018, Graziano served as the in-house choreographer at BTT Balletto Teatro di Torino, further solidifying their reputation as a sought-after artistic collaborator. Their talents have been recognized and awarded, including the Young Direction Production Prize at the Macerata Opera Festival in 2018. Graziano has also had the honor of performing for acclaimed artists such as Doris Uhlich, Tino Sehgal, Ivo Dimchev, and Amanda Piña at renowned events like Tanz im August Berlin, Ruhrtriennale Essen, and Short Theatre Rome.

Within the realm of opera, Graziano has showcased their directorial prowess in esteemed institutions including Aalto Theater Essen, Oper Wuppertal, Dutch National Opera Amsterdam, and Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Outside of their artistic practice, Graziano has pursued training in systemic constellations under Bert Hellinger and neural energo-reprogramming through Theta Healing. They regularly host healing circles in Berlin, providing support and guidance to individuals in need. Graziano's active involvement in the politically radical queer-feminist collective LECKEN demonstrates their commitment to fostering bodily consciousness expansion, collective transformation, and queer counter-economy.

DANCE | CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCE  | CHOREOGRAPHY

  • DanceWEB scholarship recipient at ImPulsTanz Festival Vienna

  • Choreographer for a.o. Balletto Teatro di Torino, Schaubühne Berlin, Aalto Theater Essen. Assistant choreographer for Emio Greco PC

  • Artist-in-residence at Tanzfabrik Berlin, PACT Zollverein Essen, ICKamsterdam, Dansmakers Amsterdam, Experimental Film Virginia

  • Performer for | with Lucinda Childs, Emio Greco PC, Ivo Dimchev, Doris Uhlich, Florentina Holzinger, Meg Stuart, Tino Sehgal

OPERA

  • International activity as opera director: a.o. Macerata Opera Festival in Italy, Rossini in Wildbad Opera Festival – Opera Base profile

  • International engagements as opera choreographer: a.o. Dutch National Opera, Aalto Theater Essen.

  • Collaborations with opera directors Stefan Herheim, Guy Joosten, Nicola Berloffa

  • Collaborations with opera conductors M° Mariss Jansons, M° Antonino Fogliani, M° Gianluigi Gelmetti, and M° Jacopo Brusa

FILM

  • Film director in residence at Mostra del Cinema di Venezia

  • Film director, 1st Assistant Director, and Creative Producer on indie sets as well as large-scale film productions

  • Artistic consultant for CINEDANS Dance on Screen International Videodance Festival

  • Juror for international film festival and competitions, a.o. La Danza In Un Minuto Turin

ACADEMIA

  • Guest Lecturer at Università degli Studi di Torino, published by Università La Sapienza di Roma.

  • Regular Lecturer at ICN Business School Nuremberg and Berlin

  • Alumnus German Academic Scholarship Foundation

  • MA Summa Cum Laude in Choreography at HZT Inter-University of Dance Berlin, BA Literature Università degli Studi di Torino