As the curtain lifts on the Houston Ballet 2023-24 season, it will signify the final year of one of its most cherished members. After 32 years as music director, maestro Ermanno Florio will step down from his position as music director when the season concludes. He has been the principal conductor for everything from the classics to world premieres by Artistic Director Stanton Welch AM and other world-renowned choreographers.
“It’s been wonderful,” Florio said of his time with the Houston Ballet. “The body of work and the body of experiences I’ve had thus far have been phenomenal.”
His multi-decade career with the Houston Ballet is punctuated by involvement with some of the best performing arts groups in the world. He held the position of music director of the American Ballet Theatre from 1998 to 2001, and he was the music director of the Het Nationale Ballet in Amsterdam from 2004 to 2012.
During his time as a conductor, Florio built an impressive list of accomplishments. His discography includes a critically acclaimed performance of Don Quichotte with L’Orchestre de L’Opera National de Paris, which won the Cannes Classical Music Award for Best DVD in the Concert and Ballet Recordings category. His recording of Le Corsaire with the American Ballet Theatre won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Classical Program in the Performing Arts.
Though he has spent much of his career conducting music for ballet, his entrance into the art form was almost accidental. His background was completely in symphonic music and did not involve a dance element. He was living in Amsterdam when he heard about a job opening in his native Canada and decided on a lark to audition.
“I was living on about $50 or $60 a day. I was a struggling student,” he said. “The company offered to pay for my flight back to Toronto, and my family is in Toronto. I don’t think I was terribly interested in the job, but it got me back to Toronto for very little money.”
He sailed through the three-part audition, and just like that, he was offered a position conducting with the National Ballet of Canada.
His mentor, Erik Bruhn, told him at the time of his hiring, “I think you’re an unbelievably gifted conductor. Although you have no experience in dance, it will take you three years, which is the amount of time required to work through all of the company’s repertoire. I have confidence that you’ll be able to get through the three years, and then that’s when you’ll really understand what choreography, ballet and music mean for this art form.”
Bruhn’s prophecy was true. Florio remained working with ballet orchestras, and he developed a sense of awareness regarding how the orchestra, dancers and choreographers work together to create the beautiful productions seen on stage.
“The music creates the harmonic pushing and pulling of emotions as well as sets the rhythm for the choreography,” Florio said.
Leading the orchestra to enhance the dancers’ performances on stage is a fine art that demands much of his focus, but he has found a balance between the two that works for everyone involved.
“You have more than one cast of dancers. You may have slightly different tempi for different soloists, and those tempi are determined by the abilities of individual dancers,” he said. “For example, you might have a dancer who is unbelievably technically gifted, can dance whatever tempo you set to them and who is listening to the music.”
Other times, he has to adjust the orchestra’s tempo to fit the needs of the dancer.
“On the other side of the equation, you might have a performer who is dancing a role for the first time … or a dancer coming off an injury … so the possibilities are more limited,” he said. “You have to be aware of that as a conductor, not only in the studio rehearsals but also in the performance because certain things happen in performance that you haven’t planned for.”
To make matters even more complex, in addition to catering to the needs of the dancers, Florio also attends to the musicians creating the music. Again, he has found his stride in working with them in a way that has captured their devotion. Many of the musicians have played in the ballet orchestra for decades.
“I think I’ve been able to set up trust with the orchestra. They trust my musical and personal leadership. I think that it all starts there,” he said of the players’ reason for longevity. “When they feel as if they are a part of a whole … that it’s a group effort … I think that’s what instills the loyalty, the commitment and the very fine playing.”
While he nears his eventual exit from his position, Florio says the move is more of a “see you next time” rather than a “farewell.” He plans to guest conduct in the future and is working to ease the transition as he passes the baton to the next music director.
Houston Ballet has not yet announced plans for a search or successor.
One other thing Florio will be doing is spending time with friends and family.
“I’ll be spending a bit more time with my grandchildren,” he said. “I’ve just gotten back from a wonderful two weeks with my grandkids, and I have to say, they bring great joy to my life.”
Houston Ballet’s 2023-24 season launches September 8 with A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Wortham Theater Center, 501 Texas. For more information, call 713-227-2787 or visit houstonballet.org. Full season subscriptions start at $120 for orchestra level seating.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
