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

Inflected Forms

noun

• 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

Mr. Orbán was ultimately more impresario than statesman.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

Earlier, in 1999, Naveen Kishore, theatre impresario and publisher of the Kolkata- based publishers Seagull Books, documented Bhaduri's life in a film and exhibition.

From BBC • Apr. 4, 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

In real life he’s an Australian impresario who, surprise, plays the trumpet.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 14, 2025

Gay’s Beggar’s Opera was produced by the impresario John Rich, so the saying around town was that the venture had 'made Rich gay and Gay rich’.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall