The Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège and its General and Artistic Director Stefano Pace are proud and happy to announce the appointment of Maestro Giampaolo Bisanti as Music Director of the House, from the 2022-2023 season.

In an opera house, the Music Director occupies an extremely important position: he or she is present to conduct several operas and concerts each season, chairs the jury for auditions to recruit musicians and choral artists, and closely follows all musical aspects of the institution’s life. In addition, he embodies its artistic identity abroad.

Since 1967, the year in which it acquired its current form, the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège has had six Music Directors, each of whom has made a major contribution to the development of its artistic quality and its international influence. After the beginnings with the Belgian conductors Marcel Désiron, then Roger Rossel and Robert Bléser, the position took on an international character with the outstanding personalities of Friedrich Pleyer (1994-2008), Paolo Arrivabeni (2008-2017) and Speranza Scappucci (2017-2022). Over the course of these successive mandates, and particularly in recent years, the Orchestra and Chorus of the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège have developed greatly, producing work that has been acclaimed by both the public and guest artists.

With Speranza Scappucci in particular, the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège has acquired considerable international influence. To succeed her, who now conducts in the greatest Houses and who will return regularly as guest conductor, the General and Artistic Director Stefano Pace has chosen an experienced, rigorous and dynamic conductor, in the person of Maestro Giampaolo Bisanti.

A native of Milan, Giampaolo Bisanti is no stranger to Liège: he has indeed conducted productions of Rigoletto in 2017 and Anna Bolena in 2019 on our stage, and has also taken the latter production on tour to the Royal Opera House of Muscat (Oman) in 2020. During these first contacts, the Maestro’s good relationship with the different teams of the Opera was immediate, and translated into great public and critical success. Enthusiastic and attentive to everyone, Maestro Bisanti is already leading a remarkable international career, and is regularly invited to such prestigious theatres as the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, La Fenice in Venice, the Zürich Opera, the Liceu in Barcelona, the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, the Vienna Staatsoper, the Opéra National de Paris…

The arrival in Liège of an artist of Giampaolo Bisanti’s stature is certainly a great source of pride for our House. His presence for several productions each season will contribute to further developing the artistic level of the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège, while highlighting it internationally.

Maestro Bisanti will make his first appearance as Music Director of the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège at the opening concert of the 2022-2023 season on Saturday 27 August 2022.