Giulio Cilona
A young Belgian-American conductor has been appointed as principal guest conductor at the Opéra National de Lorraine
Young Belgian-American conductor, pianist and composer Giulio Cilona will return to the Orchestra of the Opéra national de Lorraine in Nancy, France, as Principal Guest Conductor (Premier Chef Invité) starting from the 2024-2025 season.
First coming to notice during the 2022 International Opera Conducting Competition at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège, Cilona is currently Kapellmeister at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. He has conducted La bohème, Turandot, La Gioconda, Il Viaggio a Reims, The Barber of Seville, The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute and a notable new production of Puccini's Trittico, during which he replaced Donald Runnicles at short notice. Next season, he will conduct, among others, Der fliegende Holländer, Turandot, Rigoletto, La Traviata and Carmen.
Giulio Cilona. Photo © 2023 Barbara Rigon
Among other highlights of the 2024-2025 season, Cilona will be conducting Così fan tutte at Norwegian Opera and Ballet, Nabucco at Cologne Opera and Die Zauberflöte at Semperoper Dresden. On the symphonic side, he will make his debut with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Rossini Opera Festival and the Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse.
In Nancy, Giulio Cilona made his debut at the Opéra national de Lorraine in a memorable production of Don Pasquale in December 2023. A shared desire between the musicians of the orchestra and the management of the Opéra national de Lorraine led them to entrust him with the position of Principal Guest Conductor for the 2024-2025 season. He will reunite with the Orchestra for La Cenerentola (directed by Fabrice Murgia) from 13-22 December 2024 at the Opera House and will conduct Mahler's Symphony No 5 on 21 and 22 November 2024 at Poirel Hall.
Further information: giuliocilona.com and opera-national-lorraine.fr
Posted 7 June 2024 by Keith Bramich
