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

Today, seven restaurants in Mumbai under the Impresario group use the services of dabbawalas in this first-of-its-kind pilot project in food delivery.

From Salon • Aug. 25, 2021

Impresario John Cort, having reopened his burned-out Standard Theatre under a canvas big top, featured a joke that brought down the house: “How’s business?” asked the straight man.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 6, 2019

Impresario Thomas Q. Seabrook acquired touring rights for “Tabasco” and asked McIlhenny’s permission to use its trademark.

From Washington Times • Jan. 23, 2018

Impresario Sol Hurok, who had championed opera star Marian Anderson, persuaded her to become an opera singer and landed her a pivotal audition with the City Opera.

From Washington Post • Nov. 27, 2017

In Paris I found a letter from the Impresario Mapleson, who proposed that I should go to London with an Italian company, and play at Drury Lane on the off-nights of the opera.

From Little Masterpieces of Autobiography: Actors by Iles, George