New York, NY (November 13, 2024)—The Metropolitan Opera announced the appointment of Daniele Rustioni to the position of Principal Guest Conductor for a three-year term, becoming only the third Principal Guest Conductor in Met history, beginning with the 2025–26 season. In his new position, Rustioni will conduct a minimum of two operas per season. This morning, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director, made the announcement of Rustioni’s appointment to the orchestra at the start of a rehearsal for Strauss’s Die Frau ohne Schatten.
Nézet-Séguin said, “I am delighted to invite Daniele to the conducting roster of the Met as Principal Guest Conductor. We have shared artistic values, which are first and foremost led by our deep love, commitment to, and respect for the music and the musicians. Having Daniele in this elevated role is good for the orchestra, good for the chorus, and good for opera.”
Rustioni made his Met debut leading Verdi’s Aida in 2017 and returned to lead new productions of Verdi’s Rigoletto and Bizet’s Carmen and revivals of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and Verdi’s Falstaff. He made his Carnegie Hall debut with the Met Orchestra in February 2023. In coming seasons, Rustioni will conduct a new production of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra, as well as revivals of Giordano’s Andrea Chénier, Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and Puccini’s La Bohème.
Rustioni said, “I am honored to be appointed as the Met’s Principal Guest Conductor and to work with Yannick, Peter [Gelb], and this legendary orchestra, chorus, and company. Every time I have conducted here, I have been inspired by the incredible Met Orchestra and Chorus, and the artists on and off stage. To be following in the footsteps of so many of the greatest artists in history, including Italian artists like Arturo Toscanini, is a highlight of my artistic life. I’m looking forward to sharing our passion and love for opera with our audiences in the coming seasons.”
Rustioni has more than 70 operas in his repertoire, having conducted in every major international opera house, including extensively throughout his home country of Italy; his new home in the United Kingdom, where he was music director of the Ulster Orchestra; in Munich, as the first-ever principal guest conductor of the Bavarian State Opera; and in Lyon, where he is music director of the Opéra National de Lyon.
Peter Gelb, the Met’s Maria Manetti Shrem General Manager, said, “I’m very pleased that Daniele has agreed to join us on a regular, ongoing basis. His presence will further bolster the Met’s artistic excellence.”
Conductor Daniele Rustioni rehearsing Verdi’s “Falstaff” with the Met Orchestra. Photo: Karen Almond / Met Opera.
Performance History
2016–17 Aida (debut)
2021–22 Rigoletto (new production)
Le Nozze di Figaro
2022–23 Met Orchestra at Carnegie Hall
Falstaff
2023–24 Carmen (new production)
Conductor Daniele Rustioni rehearsing with the Met Orchestra. Photo: Jonathan Tichler / Met Opera.
Daniele Rustioni Bio
Daniele Rustioni, 41, is one of the most compelling conductors of his generation and is a major presence at leading opera houses and with symphony orchestras. In 2022, the International Opera Award’s named him Best Conductor. His opera repertoire numbers more than 70 works spanning the centuries and ranging from Italian to French, German to Russian, and more.
Now in his eighth season as music director of the Opéra National de Lyon, Rustioni concludes his tenure in summer 2025. From 2021 to 2023, he was principal guest conductor of the Bavarian State Opera, a position created especially for him for the first time in the history of the opera house.
He has led performances at nearly all of the most important international opera houses and festivals, including the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, BBC Proms, Staatsoper Berlin, Dutch National Opera, Paris Opera, Covent Garden, Salzburg Festival, Madrid’s Teatro Real, Zurich Opera House, and La Scala. In Italy, his homeland, he has also conducted at the Opera di Roma, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Florence), Teatro La Fenice (Venice), Rossini Opera Festival (Pesaro), and Teatro di San Carlo (Naples).
In addition to his opera and symphonic concerts, Rustioni and the Opéra National de Lyon give regular performances at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, as well as at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. He opened the company’s 2024–25 season with critically acclaimed performances of Richard Brunel’s new production of Berg’s Wozzeck. In July 2024, he received the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres of the French Republic for his cultural services as music director of the Opéra National de Lyon.
The Met has been an important part of Rustioni’s artistic life since his debut in 2017 with Verdi’s Aida. Most recently, he led performances of the new production of Bizet’s Carmen, which premiered at the New Year’s Eve Gala on December 31, 2023. Other productions at the Met have included Verdi’s Falstaff, Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, and a new production of Veri’s Rigoletto. He made his Carnegie Hall debut with the Met Orchestra in February 2023.
Rustioni has been invited to guest conduct many of the leading orchestras in North America, Europe, U.K., and Asia. Highlights of the 2024–2025 season include debuts with the Detroit Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, and San Diego Symphony. He returns to the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Pittsburgh Symphony, among others.
In spring 2024, Rustioni completed his tenure as music director of the Ulster Orchestra, which he repositioned within the orchestral firmament in the U.K. He was music director of the Orchestra della Toscana from 2014 to 2020 and served as artistic director until January 2023.
Rustioni’s most recent recording was Aigul Akhmetshina’s debut album on Decca. His discography includes a range of repertoire for Deutsche Grammophon, Naxos, Opera Rara, and Sony Classical. In 2022, Naxos released the video of Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Goolden Cockerel directed by Barrie Kosky at the Opéra National de Lyon.
Rustioni began his career in 1993 as a member of La Scala’s children’s chorus. He continued his studies at Milan’s Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi, Siena’s Accademia Musicale Chigiana, and London’s Royal Academy of Music. He resides in London with his wife, violinist Francesca Dego, and their daughter.
Contact
Jen Luzzo
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