Sir Antonio Pappano

One of today’s most sought-after conductors, acclaimed for his charismatic leadership and inspirational performances in both symphonic and operatic repertoire, Sir Antonio Pappano is chief conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and was music director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, from 2002 until 2024. He is music director emeritus of the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, having served as music director from 2005 to 2023. Pappano was appointed music director of Oslo’s Den Norske Opera in 1990, and from 1992 to 2002 served as music director of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels. From 1997 to 1999 he was principal guest conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Pappano is in demand as an opera conductor at the highest international level, including with the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the state operas of Vienna and Berlin, the Bayreuth and Salzburg festivals, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Teatro alla Scala. He has appeared as a guest conductor with many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, including the Berlin and Vienna philharmonics, Staatskapelle Dresden, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, as well as the New York Philharmonic, Chicago and Boston symphony orchestras, and the Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras. He maintains a particularly strong relationship with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

Highlights of the 2024-25 season and beyond included return visits to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, along with a new production of Die Walküre at the Royal Opera House. In his first season as chief conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, Pappano led the orchestra on a wide-ranging tour of the United States, including to Carnegie Hall, as well as to Japan, Korea, China, and several major European capitals and festivals. This collaboration also included flagship concerts at London’s Barbican Centre, featuring concertante performances of Puccini’s La rondine and Strauss’ opera Salome, and symphonic repertoire including Mahler’s and Walton’s first symphonies, Holst’s The Planets, Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben, Tippett’s A Child of Our Time, and Vaughan Williams' symphonies No. 1 and 9 as part of Pappano’s ongoing Vaughan Williams recording cycle for LSO Live.