Roberto De Simone

Roberto De Simone (Italian: [roˈbɛrto de siˈmoːne]; 25 August 1933 – 6 April 2025) was an Italian stage director, academic teacher, playwright, composer and ethnomusicologist. Beginning as a harpsichordist, he turned to research of early Italian music and co-founded the Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare to perform it. The musical La Gatta Cenerentola, which he authored, composed and directed, was first performed at the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto in 1976 and received international recognition. He directed the San Carlo Theatre from 1981 to 1987, and was stage director of operas at La Scala in Milan from 1986. He was director of the Conservatorio San Pietro a Majella from 1995 to 2000.