For a busy, on-the-go conductor of symphonies, operas and ballets, it might be difficult for Ari Pelto to keep track of all the dates and places in his lengthy résumé – but not when it comes to Opera Colorado.

“My wife was five months pregnant when I started here, conducting their Don Govanni,” the curly-headed maestro recalled with a wistful smile. “My son is now 10.” Which makes the math pretty simple.

And coincidental, in fact. On Saturday, Pelto will celebrate his 10th year with Denver’s premiere opera company, once again conducting Mozart’s brilliant, tuneful, often comic, sometimes tragic “Don Giovanni” in the Ellie Caulkins Opera House.

Pelto’s decade with Opera Colorado has seen him in the pit for almost all of the company’s productions, teaming with General Director Greg Carpenter and an ongoing parade of guest stage directors. Along the way, he’s filled in his work calendar elsewhere by guest-conducting orchestras and opera companies, mostly in the U.S., plus a 23-year stint as featured guest maestro with Atlanta Ballet.

Visiting with him after observing a three-hour morning rehearsal at the Studio Loft next to the Opera House, Pelto looked refreshed and full of energy – the mark of a tireless jet-setting conductor who’s used to this lifestyle.

As he talked of his evolution from young violin student to grown-up conductor, there’s no trace of any old-world accent one might have expected from a man with such an exotic name. “My father was Finnish,” he explained (his mother was Lithuanian). “Both my parents were anthropologists, so we moved around a lot.” Pelto was born in Hartford, Connecticut.

Out of that intellectual upbringing came a fascination with languages – as a boy he spoke Finnish and English. His mother had encouraged him to take up the violin, and he began studying with a Russian teacher.

“There were a lot of languages in the house,” he recalled. “As it turned out, all of that was leading me to opera.” While at Oberlin College in Ohio, Pelto’s violin studies eventually came to an end when he developed hand problems – though that closing door led to another one opening.

“We had played for college opera productions, and I loved that. I loved all the languages that were being sung, and the connection we (in the orchestra) had with the singers. I could see there was a triangulation between the orchestra, the conductor and the singers up there onstage.”

The conductor’s baton soon landed in the 21-year-old’s hand, when he led a modest student performance of Stravinsky’s chamber piece, “The Soldier’s Tale.” Serious studies would continue at Indiana University, and three years later, he was named an assistant conductor at the Spoletto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina.

Looking back on his journey, Pelto observed, “It took years of searching.”

For the casual observer, the job of opera conductor seems impossible. Imagine the challenges at the Caulkins Opera House: With the score in front of you, the orchestra mostly tucked below the stage, you need to cue the players, keeping them in balance with the singers, as you keep an eye on the onstage action, watching the cast, most of them visible, giving their cues as well – hoping that they remember their parts.

And, yes, occasionally they draw a blank. Pelto smiled when asked about that.

“Sure, it has happened,” he replied. “I look at them and mouth the (forgotten) words and that usually works.”

The Opera House has no prompter’s box, like some European houses built in the old days.

What makes his job workable, of course, is experience and plenty of preparation. But enough rehearsal time is not always available. If it’s available at all.

“I made my New York City Opera debut at the last minute with (Verdi’s) Traviata in 2004,” he remembered. “On that occasion, I had no rehearsals with the orchestra. None. It was a Saturday night performance. I just walked onto the podium and off we went. I’d rehearsed with the singers, but had nothing with the players. It went fine.”

No such mini-crises with Opera Colorado in his first 10 years, Pelto reported – though when he arrived, the company had just survived a decade of upheaval, featuring four leadership changes.

More recently, the Opera House went dark due to COVID.

“I came at a difficult moment,” the conductor noted, “but Greg (Carpenter) showed faith in me. During my years here, we’ve seen a consistent level of growth. The company has been steadily building.”

Pelto has found a home in Denver – literally.

“I live here,” he said. “I have to. With each production I have six weeks of commitment. Production meetings, rehearsals, and, of course, the performances. We were doing two operas for a while, but now we’re back to three.”

As music director, he must work closely with Carpenter year round, not just during preparations for each upcoming production. There is planning and budgeting for future seasons, choosing repertory, hiring casts, etc. The division of labor with Carpenter, he said, is 50/50.

With the upcoming “Don Giovanni,” it’s more than just waving the baton for Pelto.

“I’m interested in, and tied to, the dramatic elements,” he stressed. “I’ve got to create a chemistry between the orchestra and the singers. Between the director (David Lefkowich) and me. I’ve worked with all of them over the years – with David, with most of the singers. They all bring in their ideas, and we go from there. We prepare long in advance (of the four performances).”

As our conversation nears an end, Pelto turns thoughtful.

“Once a performance begins, I’m hearing what’s happening at every moment – onstage and in the pit. I’m feeling the energy coming in both directions, sensing the flow. I’m the composer’s advocate. That’s my responsibility.”