Lorenzo Mariani works as a stage director of opera across the world, and has been artistic director of the Teatro Massimo in Palermo since 2005.
He was born in New York and studied modern history at Harvard University before making his opera staging debut with Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle at the Teatro Comunale in Florence, a project which marked the beginning of his subsequent regular collaboration with the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Festival.
He has to his credit stagings for some of the world's most prestigious opera houses and festivals, including Chicago's Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, Finnish National Opera, Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv, Teatro Comunale in Bologna, Teatro Regio in Turin and Wexford Festival.
Lorenzo Mariani has worked with many prominent conductors, including Claudio Abbado, Myung-Whun Chung, John Eliot Gardiner, Daniele Gatti and Zubin Mehta.
Mr Mariani's recent productions include Lucio Dalla's musical Tosca amore disperato, The Rake's Progress and The Threepenny Opera for Rome's Accademia di Santa Cecilia; Candide for Teatro San Carlo of Naples; Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci for the Teatro Massimo of Palermo, Teatro Lirico of Cagliari and Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland. Last year he directed a new production of La fanciulla del West for San Francisco Opera.
