Sir Antonio Pappano

Antonio Pappano enjoyed a whirlwind rise to the top of his profession. Born in London in 1959 to Anglo-Italian parents, he gained most of his significant musical education in America where he studied piano with Norma Verilli, composition with Arnold Franchetti and conducting with Gustav Meier. A gifted pianist, he became rehearsal accompanist with the New York City Opera at the age of 21 and then became assistant to Daniel Barenboim in the lead-up to Barenboim's 'Bayreuth' productions. He also served as an assistant to Michael Gielen and went on to make his conducting debut at Den Norske Opera in 1977, going on to become music director there three years later.

Performances with English National Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Berlin Straatsoper and Theatre du Chatelet in Paris followed and in 1992 he was appointed music director of Théâtre Royale de la Monnaie at the Belgian Opera House, a post he held for a decade, and he made a spectacular debut at the Vienna Staatsoper in 1993, replacing Christoph von Dohnànyi at the last minute to lead a new production of Wagner's 'Siegfried'.

Other accolades included being appointed principal guest conductor with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra as well as conducting high profiled orchestras like the Oslo Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre de Lyon, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra and Cleveland Orchestra. One of his highest moments came when he was chosen as music director at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London in 2002, conducting the world premiere of Birtwistle's 'The Minotaur' in 2008.

He also became conductor of the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. There has also been an eminent recording career with Puccini's 'La Rondine' going on to win two Gramophone Awards for Best Opera Recording and Record of the Year in 1997. In 2012 he received a knighthood from the Queen.