Lucia Ronchetti, born in Italy in 1963, pursued her studies in composition and computer music at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome. She participated in composition seminars led by Sylvano Bussotti at the Scuola di Musica of Fiesole from 1981 to 1985 and studied with Salvatore Sciarrino at the Corsi Internazionali of Città di Castello between 1988 and 1989. In addition to her music education, Ronchetti earned a degree in humanities from Sapienza University of Rome in 1987, where her dissertation focused on the orchestral compositions of Bruno Maderna.
In 1991, she obtained a Diplôme d'Études Approfondies (D.E.A.) in aesthetics from the University of Paris I-Sorbonne. She continued her studies in musicology under François Lesure at the École Pratique des Hautes Études en Sorbonne, culminating in a doctorate that examined the orchestral style of Ernest Chausson and the Wagnerian influence on late 19th-century French orchestral writing. During her time in Paris, Ronchetti attended composition seminars with Gérard Grisey from 1993 to 1996 and participated in the annual computer music courses at IRCAM in 1997, guided by Tristan Murail. In 2005, she served as a Visiting Scholar (Fulbright Fellow) in the Music Department at Columbia University in New York, also at the invitation of Tristan Murail.
Her compositions have been published by notable publishers including Rai Trade, Durand, Ricordi, and Lemoine, and her works have been commissioned, produced, and performed by esteemed institutions such as the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Konzerthaus in Berlin, Rai Radio Tre in Rome, Deutschland Radio Kultur in Berlin, Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt, MaerzMusik in Berlin, Musik der Jahrhunderte in Stuttgart, Deutschland Radio in Berlin, ensemble recherche in Freiburg, Festival Ultrashall in Berlin, Orchestra of the Rai in Turin, WDR Sinfonieorchester in Cologne, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Wittener Tagen in Witten, G. R. M. at Radio France in Paris, and the Munich Biennale.
Beginning in 1998, she collaborated with Folkmar Hein on various productions at the Berlin Institute of Technology (TUB). In 2003, she joined the Experimentalstudio in Freiburg, where she developed a cycle of compositions focused on the sound configuration of the viola, collaborating with André Richard, Reinhold Braig, Joachim Haas, and violist Barbara Maurer. This work, titled “Xylocopa Violacea,” was presented at the Festival Ultrashall in Berlin in 2007 and released as a CD on Stradivarius in 2010.
In recent years, Ronchetti has concentrated on the vocal aspects of composition, working closely with the Neue Vocalsolisten of Stuttgart, a prominent ensemble in contemporary vocal music. Their collaboration has led to eight productions, including "Studio detto dei venti" for four voices (2010), "Le voyage d’Urien" for voices and ensemble (2008), "Hamlet’s Mill" for voices, viola, and cello (2007), "Coins and Crosses" for six voices (2007), "Pinocchio, una storia parallela" for four male voices (2005), "Last Desire," a chamber opera for treble voice, countertenor, and bass (2003), "Hombre de mucha gravedad" for four voices and string quartet (2002), and "Anatra al sal," a Comedia harmonica for six voices (2000), which was released as a CD on Kairos in 2010.
Ronchetti has also engaged in various music theatre projects that reflect social themes, exploring concepts of otherness through works such as "BendelSchlemihl" and "Strasse-opern" (2000, text by Ivan Vladislavic), as well as outsider groups and dystopia in "Narrenschiffe" (2010, text based on Sebastian Brant). Her other projects address themes such as transitional mental illness in "Le voyage d’Urien" (2008, text based on Gide and 19th-century psychiatric reports), sub-urbanity in "Rumori da monumenti" (2007, text by Ivan Vladislavic), and the radio play "Sebenza e-mine" in collaboration with Philip Miller (2010).
Throughout her career, Ronchetti has collaborated with a diverse group of writers, including Ermanno Cavazzoni, Ivan Vladislavic, and Eugene Ostashevsky, as well as artists such as Toti Scialoja, Alberto Sorbelli, Judith Cahen, Dörte Meyer, Adrian Tranquilli, Elisabetta Benassi, and Mirella Weingarten. She has also worked with sound designers like Marie-Hélène Serra, Folkmar Hein, André Richard, Reinhold Braig, Carl Faia, Olivier Pasquet, and Thomas Seelig.
