impresario

American  

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

noun

plural

impresarios

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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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

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

Later, in England, Little gains fame as the waxwork impresario Madame Tussaud.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

A jury found Ye, the controversial music impresario formerly known as Kanye West, liable in the legal dispute brought by his former contractor and ordered him to pay $140,000.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026

For 10 long, intimidating seconds, the pair played piano and sang for the impresario.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

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