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

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Etymology

Origin of impresario

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

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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

Trump stood behind the spread as host and Quarter Pounder impresario.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

Ms. Allen, a professor at Harvard, claims to have discovered a secret impresario of radical political thinking in the highest reaches of the British aristocracy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

In 1785 the impresario Carlo Delpini promoted a Venetian night at the royal command of the Prince of Wales.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

And it’s Cooper Hoffman, in a performance as flustered as his impresario in “Licorice Pizza” was confident, who commands the movie, topping from the bottom.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026

Lawrence’s experience as an impresario of Big Science gave him an instinctive grasp of how to scale up a process from prototype to production.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

But offshore internet betting, and the exception enjoyed by fantasy leagues, eroded the principles of sports impresarios.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

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

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2023

"They seemed to look upon the Queen and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, as impresarios who made it possible to forget and have fun," the report said.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2022

The event was due to take place two days hence at the Olympia for a purse of 40,000 pounds offered by Mr. Montague Doulton, the prince of impresarios.

From Malcolm Sage, Detective by Herbert George Jenkins

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