impresario

American  

[im-pruh-sahr-ee-oh, -sair-] / ˌɪm prəˈsɑr iˌoʊ, -ˈsɛər- /

noun

impresarios plural

1. a person who organizes or manages public entertainments, especially operas, ballets, or concerts.

2. any manager, director, or the like.

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impresario British  

/ ˌɪmprəˈsɑːrɪˌəʊ /

noun

1. a producer or sponsor of public entertainments, esp musical or theatrical ones

2. the director or manager of an opera, ballet, or other performing company

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impresario Cultural  

1. A sponsor or producer of entertainment, especially someone who works with opera or ballet companies or performers of classical music.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• impresarios
  plural

Etymology

Origin of impresario

1740–50; < Italian, equivalent to impres ( a ) impresa + -ario -ary

Explanation

An impresario is a promoter: someone who books, promotes, and organizes shows such as concerts. Impresario comes from an Italian word for a businessperson, and in English it especially refers to someone in the promotion business. In the music business, Bill Graham was a famous impresario who arranged concerts for huge bands such as The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd. An impresario signs a band — or other entertainment — and makes a deal with the venue. Impresarios then arrange advertising and promotion to alert fans and arrange for tickets to be sold. Impresarios make shows happen.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

impresario impresarios

Argentine lifestyle impresario Alan Faena opened his namesake New York hotel late last year in the bottom of a torqued high rise by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026

Mr. Orbán was ultimately more impresario than statesman.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026

Henry Pollock, who signed a new representation deal with boxing impresario Eddie Hearn earlier in the week, celebrating Archie McParland's match-winning score with a blizzard of fresh-air jabs was another.

From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2026

Further evidence of a paradigm shift: Enthusiastic theatergoers thronging to “Malinche the Musical,” the brainchild of Nacho Cano, a Spanish rock star turned impresario.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2026

It had a fur collar and a lining of crimson silk, and had apparently been made for an impresario about as big as an organ-grinder’s monkey.

From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut

Later this year, the hot dog impresarios at Oscar Mayer will release their own vegan version in partnership with food technology startup NotCo.

From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2024

Streisand was booked to play shows all around Greenwich, attracting celebrities, record labels and theatrical impresarios.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2023

He sought out potential Republican candidates and courted votes and money from farmers, tech impresarios and billionaires.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2023

And the impresarios who made that space safe for them are unsung heroes.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 7, 2023

I fear that the ghost exists," said Lord Canterville, smiling, "though it may have resisted the overtures of your enterprising impresarios.

From The Canterville Ghost by Goldsmith, Wallace