Antonio Pappano has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top of his profession. Born in London (on December 20, 1959) to Anglo-Italian parents, he received most of his musical training in the United States, where he studied piano with Norma Verilli, composition with Arnold Franchetti, and conducting with Gustav Meier. A gifted pianist, he became a répétiteur at the New York City Opera at the age of 21, then served as Daniel Barenboim’s assistant during the preparation of Barenboim’s productions at Bayreuth. He also worked as an assistant to Michael Gielen before making his conducting debut at the Norwegian National Opera (Den Norske Opera) in 1977, a position in which he became music director three years later. He subsequently conducted at the English National Opera, the San Francisco Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Berlin Staatsoper, and the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris; in 1992, he was appointed music director of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, a position he held for ten years. In 1993, he made a remarkable debut at the Vienna State Opera, stepping in at the last minute to replace Christoph von Dohnányi and conduct a new production of Wagner’s opera Siegfried. Among his other prestigious honors and engagements are his appointment as principal guest conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and his collaborations with leading ensembles such as the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, the Orchestre de Lyon, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Cleveland Orchestra. One of the highlights of his career was his appointment as music director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London in 2002; there, he notably conducted the world premiere of Birtwistle’s opera The Minotaur in 2008. He has also served as music director of the Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He has also enjoyed a distinguished recording career: his recording of Puccini’s La Rondine won two awards from Gramophone magazine in 1997, for Best Opera Recording and Recording of the Year. In 2011, Antonio Pappano was honored with the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in France, before being knighted by the Queen of England in 2012. A specialist in Romantic opera, he has conducted several productions by Wagner (Tristan und Isolde), Verdi (Il Trovatore, Don Carlo), Puccini (La Bohème, La Rondine, Tosca, Madame Butterfly), and Massenet (Werther, Manon), featuring, among others, Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, and José Van Dam. As music director of the Orchestra dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome from 2005 to 2024, he notably recorded Verdi’s opera Aida with Anja Harteros and Jonas Kaufmann (2015), before leaving that post to join the Royal Opera House to conduct the London Symphony Orchestra in 2024. With this orchestra, he has recorded works by Mendelssohn, Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Holst, Bax, Ravel, Copland, and Walker.
