NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� will become just the third principal guest conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in its nearly century-and-a-half history, leading at least two productions each season starting in 2025-26 as a No. 2 to music director Yannick N茅zet-S茅guin.
Rustioni agreed to a three-year term, the company announced Wednesday. He is to helm revivals of 鈥淒on Giovanni鈥� and 鈥淎ndrea Ch茅nier鈥� next season, Puccini鈥檚 鈥淟a Boh猫me鈥� and 鈥淭osca鈥� in 2026-27 and a new production of Verdi鈥檚 鈥淪imon Boccanegra,鈥� possibly in 2027-28.
鈥淭his all started because of the chemistry between the orchestra and me and the chorus and me,鈥� Rustioni said. 鈥淚t may be the best opera orchestra on the planet in terms of energy and joy of playing and commitment.鈥�
N茅zet-S茅guin has conducted four-to-five productions per season and will combine Rustioni for about 40% of a Met schedule that currently includes , down from 28 in 2007-08.
The music director role has changed since led about 10 productions a season in the mid-1980s. since 2018-19 and also has held the roles with the Philadelphia Orchestra since 2012-13 and of Montreal鈥檚 Orchestre M茅tropolitain since 2010.
鈥淢usic directors today typically don鈥檛 spend as much time as they did in past decades because music directors typically are very busy fulfilling more than one fulltime job,鈥� Met general manager Peter Gelb said. 鈥淚n the case of Yannick, he has three, plus being very much in-demand as a guest conductor of the leading orchestras like Berlin and Vienna. To know we have somebody who鈥檚 at the very highest level of the world, which I think Daniele is, to be available on a consistent basis is something that will provide artistic surety to the Met.鈥�
A 41-year-old Italian, Rustioni made his Met debut leading a revival of Verdi鈥檚 鈥淎ida鈥� in 2017 and conducted new productions in a pair of New Year鈥檚 Eve galas, Verdi鈥檚 鈥淩igoletto鈥� in 2021 and Bizet鈥檚 鈥淐armen鈥� last December. He took over a 2021 revival of Mozart鈥檚 鈥淟e Nozze di Figaro鈥� on short notice when and Rustioni also led Verdi鈥檚 鈥淔alstaff鈥� in 2023.
鈥淚 dared to try tempos in this repertoire that they know very well,鈥� Rustioni said of the orchestra. 鈥淚 offered and tried to convince them in some places to try to find more intimacy and to offer the music with a little bit more breathing here and there, maybe in a different space than they are used to,鈥�
Valery Gergiev was the Met鈥檚 principal guest conductor from 1997-98 through 2008-09, leading Russian works for about half of his performances. Fabio Luisi assumed the role in April 2010 and was when Levine had spinal surgery. The role has been unfilled since Luisi left at the end of the 2016-17 season.
Rustioni lives in London with his wife, violinist Francesca Dego, and 7-month-old daughter Sophia Charlotte. He has been music director of the Lyon Opera since 2017-18, a term that concludes this season. He was music director of the Ulster Orchestra in Northern Ireland from 2019-20 through the 2023-24 season and was the first principal guest conductor of Munich鈥檚 Bavarian State Opera from 2021-23.
Rustioni made his London Symphony Orchestra debut this month in a program that included his wife and has upcoming debuts with the New York Philharmonic (Jan. 8), Detroit Symphony Orchestra (Jan. 16) and San Diego Symphony (Jan. 24).
Ronald Blum, The Associated Press
