Biography
Damiano Michieletto has emerged on the international scene in a short time as one of the most interesting representatives of the younger generation of Italian directors. He studied opera and theatre production at the Paolo Grassi School of Dramatic Art in Milan and also graduated in modern literature at the university in Venice, his home town.
His critically acclaimed production of Jaromír Weinberger’s »Švanda the Bagpiper« at the Wexford Festival (Irish Times / ESB Theatre Award 2003) marked an early breakthrough. Among his early opera productions are »La gazza ladra« in a co-production for the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Bologna and Verona (Abbiati Award 2008), a Mozart/Da Ponte cycle at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Mozart’s »Die Entführung aus dem Serail« at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, »La scala di seta« at the Rossini Opera Festival and at La Scala, Martinů’s »The Greek Passion« in Palermo, and »Così fan tutte« at the New National Theatre in Tokyo. He also staged »La Bohème«, »Falstaff«, »La Cenerentola«, and »Alcina« at the Salzburg Festival, »Guillaume Tell« and »Cavalleria rusticana« / »Pagliacci« at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden (Olivier Award 2016), Perocco’s »Aquagranda« at La Fenice (Abbiati Award 2017), Berlioz’s »La damnation de Faust« for the season opening of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma (Abbiati Award 2018), Britten’s »A Midsummer Night’s Dream« at the MusikTheater an der Wien, »Jenůfa« at the Staatsoper Berlin, »Rigoletto« at La Fenice (Abbiati Award 2022), Rossini’s »La Cenerentola« at the Semperoper Dresden, and »Il viaggio a Reims« at De Nationale Opera in Amsterdam and Opera Philadelphia.
Among his recent engagements are new productions of Mozart’s »La clemenza di Tito« at the Opernhaus Zürich, Wagner’s »Lohengrin« at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, and »Falstaff« at the Semperoper Dresden — conducted by Daniele Gatti — for the opening of the 2025/26 season; Bernstein’s »West Side Story« at the Caracalla Festival, the summer program of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma (of which he was Artistic Director for the 2025 edition); the immersive installation »Il sonno uccidesti«, inspired by the figure of Macbeth, for the “Verdi Off” section of the Parma Verdi Festival in collaboration with set designer Paolo Fantin; the world premiere of »Il nome della rosa« at Teatro alla Scala, based on the novel by Umberto Eco and composed by Francesco Filidei; Prokofiev’s »Betrothal in a Monastery« at the MusikTheater an der Wien; »La fille du régiment« at the Bayerische Staatsoper and Teatro di San Carlo; Handel’s »Messiah« and Gluck’s »Orfeo ed Euridice« at the Komische Oper Berlin; Battistelli’s »Le baruffe« at La Fenice (with libretto by the director himself); Handel’s »Giulio Cesare in Egitto« at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and Opéra du Capitole de Toulouse; the Italian premiere of Bernstein’s »Mass« at the Caracalla Baths in Rome; the world premiere of »Animal Farm«, based on Orwell’s novel and composed by Alexander Raskatov, at De Nationale Opera in Amsterdam and the Wiener Staatsoper; »Les Contes d’Hoffmann« in Sydney, Venice and London; Cherubini’s »Médée« and Strauss’s »Salome« at La Scala; »Carmen« at the Royal Opera House in London; Schreker’s »Der ferne Klang« in Frankfurt; and Berlioz’s »Béatrice et Bénédict« at the Opéra de Lyon and Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa (Italian premiere of the work).
Other highlights include »Rigoletto« at the Circus Maximus in Rome in 2020 — which later led to a film adaptation produced by Indigo Film with the Rome Opera — and a film version of Puccini’s »Gianni Schicchi« (Genoma Films, 2021). In 2022, he presented »Archèus. Labirinto Mozart«, a multidisciplinary immersive installation created for the Venice Biennale to celebrate the city’s 1600th anniversary. In 2025, his first feature film, »Primavera«, freely adapted from Tiziano Scarpa’s novel »Stabat Mater«, was released in Italian cinemas. The film was produced by Warner Bros Italia and Indigo Film in collaboration with Moana Films. He was also among the Creative Directors responsible for the Opening Ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
Besides his busy operatic career, Damiano Michieletto is also active in spoken theatre across major Italian venues, including Teatro Stabile del Veneto and the Piccolo Teatro in Milan. His theatre productions include Goldoni’s »Il ventaglio« (»The Fan«), Gogol’s »The Inspector General« at Teatro Stabile del Veneto, a new production of Brecht and Weill’s »Threepenny Opera« at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan, and »La domanda di matrimonio« / »L’orso« by Čechov with Teatro Stabile del Veneto at the Goldoni Theatre in Venice.