In opera Nicola Luisotti has conducted at the Metropolitan Opera, New York; La Scala, Milan; Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Vienna State Opera; Munich State Opera; Stuttgart State Opera; Teatro Real, Madrid and in San Francisco.

The culmination of this meteoric start to his conducting career has been Nicola Luisotti’s appointment as Music Director Designate of San Francisco Opera, a position which has never before been filled by an Italian. He returns to San Francisco this season for La bohème, before assuming the position of Music Director in September 2009.

Recent and future orchestral débuts include the NDR Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg; Atlanta Symphony; Filarmonica della Scala, Milan; Orchestra della RAI, Turin; Orchestra National de Radio France and the San Francisco Symphony.

Born in the Tuscan village of Viareggio and raised nearby, Luisotti began studying music as a child, with lessons on the church organ; by the age of 11 he was the director of the church choir. He later trained as a pianist, with secondary degrees in composition, trumpet and voice. Following completion of his formal studies, he travelled between Milan (where he was a rehearsal pianist for La Scala) and Florence (where he was a member of the chorus of the Maggio Musicale). Subsequent posts allowed him to assist such conductors as Lorin Maazel and Riccardo Muti at La Scala. His earliest full-time position was as Chorus Master for La Fenice in Venice.