Conductor Antonino Fogliani has died at the age of 50.

Born in Messina, Italy on June 29, 1976, the conductor studied composition at the Conservatorio “G. B. Martini” in Bologna and graduated with honours in orchestral conducting at the Milan Conservatory. Fogliani later continued his studies at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena.

In 2001, he made his Rossini Opera Festival debut conducting “Il viaggio a Reims” and that began his international career. He would go on to conduct at the Teatro alla Scala, Teatro Regio di Parma, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Teatro La Fenice, and Teatro San Carlo, among others.

In the U.S., he debuted in 2011 at the Houston Grand Opera conducting “Lucia di Lammermoor.” That same year, he was named Music Director of the Rossini in Wildbad Belcanto Opera Festival in Bad Wildbad, Germany. Later during the 2017-18 season, he was named Principal Guest Conductor at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf. 

Throughout his career, Fogliani also conducted major orchestras including the National Orchestra of Santa Cecilia, the Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, the Orchestra of the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, the Orchestra Sinfonica Toscanini Foundation of Parma, the Regional Orchestra Tuscany in Florence, the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Teatro Massimo Bellini of Catania, and the Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala, among others.

Fogliani was well known for his Italian repertoire including the music of Donizetti, Cilea, Puccini, Paisiello, Mascagni, Verdi, Rossini, and Mercadante. He also conducted Wagner, Lehar, Massenet, and Mozart.

He went on to make numerous recordings including Rossini’s “Otello,” “Il signor Bruschino,” “La scala di seta,” “L’occasione fa il ladro,” “Edipo Coloneo,” “Ciro in Babilonia,” “La Cenerentola,” “Il turco in Italia,” “Semiramide,” and “Adina.” He also recorded Mercadante’s rare operas “Don Chisciotte alle nozze di Gamaccio” and “I briganti.”

Outside of his performances, he taught orchestral conducting at the Conservatory A. Scarlatti in Palermo.

During a performance of “Madama Butterfly,”OperaWire praised Fogliani’s conducting stating, his “greatest achievement was his consideration for the voices of the singers, measuring and leveling the orchestral sound with the voices.”

Fogliani was set to begin his 2026-27 season at the Deutsche Oper Berlin conducing “Tosca” in September. He was also set to open a new production of “Maria Stuarda” later this fall at the Bayerische Staatsoper.