Antonino Fogliani is internationally recognized as one of the foremost Italian conductors of his generation, acclaimed for the stylistic refinement of his interpretations, his profound understanding of the bel canto repertoire and his strong theatrical sensibility.

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Since 2017 he has served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, and since 2012 he has been Music Director of the Rossini in Wildbad Festival. Following his critically acclaimed debut at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro in 2001 with Il viaggio a Reims, he rapidly established an important international career, appearing at many of the world’s leading opera houses and collaborating with distinguished orchestras including the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Neue Philharmonie Westfalen, Moscow State Philharmonic Society at the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow and Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen.

Throughout his career he has conducted a wide range of productions, from cornerstone operatic repertoire to rediscovered and rarely performed works, consistently earning critical acclaim and enthusiastic audience response.

Among his major successes in recent seasons are Maria Stuarda at Teatro alla Scala, Don Pasquale, Mascagni’s Amica and Mosè in Egitto at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio and Otello at the Teatro Filarmonico di Verona, Il barbiere di Siviglia at La Fenice in Venice, Rigoletto and Il turco in Italia at Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Turandot at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Otello, Il Signor Bruschino and La sposa di Messina at Rossini in Wildbad, Lucia di Lammermoor at the Donizetti Opera Festival in Bergamo and at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Carmen at both the Bregenzer Festspiele and the Semperoper Dresden, and Tosca at the Arena di Verona and Oper Frankfurt.

His recent and forthcoming engagements include new productions of I Puritani and La Bohème in Düsseldorf and Duisburg, Il trovatore in Leipzig, Les Contes d’Hoffmann and La donna del lago in Zurich, and Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London.

An important part of his artistic activity is dedicated to recording projects. His discography includes Donizetti’s Ugo, Conte di Parigi (Dynamic), Cimarosa’s Il marito disperato (Bongiovanni), Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Ciro in Babilonia, Mosè in Egitto, Semiramide, Guillaume Tell and Otello, as well as Vaccaj’s La sposa di Messina (Naxos). Additional releases include Lucia di Lammermoor (Dynamic DVD) and Maria Stuarda (Arthaus Musik DVD).

Born in Messina, he graduated in Piano at the Conservatorio di Bologna, in Conducting at the Conservatorio di Milano and in Music Disciplines at the University of Bologna. He further specialized at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena under the guidance of Franco Donatoni and Ennio Morricone.

A decisive artistic turning point in his career came with his encounter with Gianluigi Gelmetti in 1997. Working closely alongside the renowned conductor as assistant, Fogliani had the opportunity to participate in numerous opera productions and symphonic concerts, experiences that deeply influenced his artistic development.

Alongside his international conducting career, Antonino Fogliani is Professor of Orchestral Conducting at the Conservatorio “Alessandro Scarlatti” in Palermo.

In 2018 he was awarded the honorary title of Ufficiale dell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana by the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella.