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José Miguel Pérez-Sierra Biography

Pérez-Sierra is one of the most important spanish conductors of his generation. He studied piano with José Ferrándiz, a Claudio Arrau’s disciple. After that, he undertook studies of musical virtuosity and phenomenology and got his higher degree early as 16 years old. 

In 2002, Giancarlo del Monaco introduces him to Gabriele Ferro, who would accept Pérez-Sierra as his assistant for productions in San Carlo of Naples, Massimo of Palermo, Teatro Real Real in Madrid. Pérez-Sierra has attended Masterclasses given by Colin Metters at the Royal Academy of London and by Gianluigi Gelmetti at the Accademia Chigiana of Siena. From 2004 works as assistant for Alberto Zedda, and from 2009 is his assistant director in Valencia’s Placido Domingo Young Artist Program. 

He made his professional debut as a conductor in 2005 with Galicia Symphony Orchestra that has invited him often in the following seasons. In 2006 Pérez-Sierra made his international debut conducting Rossini’s Il Viaggio a Reims in the Rossini Opera Festival of Pesaro with the orchestra of the Teatro Comunale Bologna, becoming the youngest conductor in the Festival history, and reaping an unanimous success both of audience and critics. 

From this moment, Pérez-Sierra has conducted the finest orchestras of Spain, Italy, Georgia and Portugal, like the Orchestras of the Comunidad Valencia, Madrid, Navarra, Castilla y Leon, Córdoba, Baleares, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Oviedo, Tbilisi, Porto’s Orchestra do Norte. In the last seasons he conducts La Traviata in Pamplona, Norma in Palma de Mallorca, La Scala di Seta in Valencia (Palau de les Arts), L’ Italiana in Algeri in Las Palmas, L’ Elisir d’Amore in Oviedo (Campoamor Theatre), Rigoletto in Tenerife (2011), and several symphony concerts. 

Invited again at the Pesaro’s Rossini Festival in 2011, he has been again acclaimed in La Scala di Seta and later in Mahler’s Rückert Lieder in Montevideo (2012), Il Trovatore in Palma de Mallorca (2012), L’Elisir d’Amore in Bilbao (ABAO 2012). 

The season 2012/2013, was rich in great productions such as Madama Butterfly in Pamplona, debuts with the orchestra of the Radio/Televisión RTVE in Madrid (Dvorak 4.), Rossini’s Stabat Mater with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Euskadi, Wagner in Palma de Mallorca (1rst act Walküre & 3d act Götterdämmerung), Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda in Bilbao with Sondra Radvanovski and last but not least, his debut at the Gran Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona in Madama Butterfly with Hui He and Roberto Alagna.  

In 2013, he conducts Rossini’s Ricciardo e Zoraide at the Wildbad Rossini Festival, with recording for Naxos. In 2013/2014 he conducts Cenerentola in Metz, Il Trovatore in Pamplona, concerts with the Castilla y Leon Symphony Orchestra, the Euskadi Symphony Orchestra, the Robert-Schumann Philhamonie in Chemnitz/Germany, L’occasione fa il Ladro en Trieste, Bellini’s I Puritani in two different productions in Bilbao and in Santiago de Chile and makes his debut at the Teatro San Carlo de Napoli conducting a bel canto concert with Mariella Devia. 

In 2014, Pérez-Sierra conducts Madama Butterfly for the opening evening of the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago and he makes his debut at the Teatro Real in Madrid in a concert tribute to Montserrat Caballé with great soloists such as Mariella Devia etc.

Highlights among his engagements of this period are Turandot in Metz, La Bohème at the Opéra de Reims (France), Falstaff at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste (Italy), a concert with the mezzo-soprano Marianna Pizzolato and L’Italiana in Algeri at the Rossini Belcanto Opera Festival in Wildbad, La Bohème at the Festival Puccini in Torre del Lago, Il Turco in Italia both at the Teatro Municipal in Santiago de Chile and at Metz Opéra and La Sonnambula and Barbiere di Siviglia in Bilbao for the ABAO season. In concert, he conducts various tours with the orchestra of San Sebastian (Dvorak, R. Strauss), and the 3rd Bruckner Symphony with the Radio Television Orchestra (RTVE) in Madrid, the Galicia Symphony Orchestra (Beethoven 4. & 5.), Mendelssohn´s Scottish Sinfony & Midsummer night’s dream at the Palau de les Arts in Valencia etc. 

In 2016, he debuts with the Orquesta Nacional de España in Madrid (Verdi, Moussorgsky, Scriabine). 

Others engagements include Il Trittico in Metz, Lucrezia Borgia in Bilbao, Otello in Pamplona, Il signor Bruschino at the Opéra de Strasbourg, Lucia de Lammermoor in Mahon, La Cenerentola in Santiago de Chile and Opéra de Montreal, Bellini‘s Adelson e Salvini at Teatro Pergolesi in Jesi, Barbiere di Siviglia in Santiago de Chile, Turandot in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria… 

In 2018, he debuts at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris with two Rossini concerts for Radio Classica. In the 2018/2019 season, he conducts Tancredi in Bari, La Donna del Lago at the Opéra de Marseille, he comes back at the Teatro Real in Madrid for concerts with Mariela Devia, El Barberillo de Lavapies at Teatro de la Zarzuela, Tosca (January) and Carmen (June) at the Opéra de Metz, Rigoletto at Opéra de Massy-Paris, concerts with Radio Television Orchestra (RTVE) at the Auditorio Nacional de Madrid etc… 

In 2019/20, he appears in Matilde di Shabran at the Wildbad Rossini Festival (July), L’Italiana in Algeri at the Ópera Nacional de Chile (October), he conducts symphonic concerts with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao (November), La Cenerentola at Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania (December), 

In 2020, he conducts Norma in Pamplona and Elisir d’amore in las Palmas de Gran Canaria, then saw his entire season cancelled for COVID: El barberillo de Lavapiés at Teatro de la Maestranza (Cancelled/Covid), La Bohème in Mahón (Cancelled/Covid), La scala di seta à Wildbad (Cancelled/Covid), Don Giovanni at  Festival de Macerata (Cancelled/Covid), Otello  Verdi in Sassari(Cancelled/Covid).

In 2021, he was able to conduct some productions in Spain: Les Pêcheurs de perles in Oviedo, El barberillo de lavapiés in the Teatro de la Maestranza in Siviglia, Benamor at Teatro de la Zarzuela and two operas, Don Fernando el Emplazado (Zubiaurre) and Donizetti´Viva la Mamma in Laurent Pelly´s production at Teatro Real in Madrid, a ​​Lise Davidsen Wagner-Verdi Gala and Pagliaci in the Opera de la Coruña, and Marina in Pamplona.

Highlights of the 2021/2022 are Armida (Rossini) at the Opéra de Marseille, his debuts at the Théâtre Royal de La Monnaie in Brussels in Carmen (canceled for covid), Carmen at the Grand Théâtre of Luxembourg, a Lise Davidsen Wagner-Verdi Gala in the Bucharest Opera, El barberillo de Lavapiés at Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid, Armida in the Royal Opera Festival di Cracovia and in the Wildbad Rossini Festival, Norma at Ópera de la Coruña, Traviata at Santiago de Chile, San Franco de Sena in Pamplona, Loidi (World creation) at the Teatro Real in Madrid and a Nancy Fabiola Herrera concert in Tenerife.

He has been conducting the most prestigious singers such as Sondra Radvanovsky, Ermonela Jaho, Nino Machaidze, Olga Peretyatko, Lise Davidsen, Mariella Devia, Hui He, Inva Mula, Eva Mei, Karine Deshayes, Varduhi Abrahmian, Roberto Alagna, Michael Fabiano, Enea Scala, Maxim Mironov, Michele Angelini, Xabier Anduaga, José Cura, Roberto Arónica, Leo Nucci, Carlos Álvarez, Luca Salsi, Pietro Spagnoli, Juan Jesús Rodríguez, Carlo Lepore, Simón Orfila, Mirco Palazzi…

Further seasons include new productions of Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots in Marseille (June 2023), Aïda in Ópera de Las Palmas (Mars 2023), Il signor Bruschino (July 2023) Il Trittico (October 2023), Aida (September 2023), Les Dialogues des Carmélites (November 2023), Samson et Dalila (December 2023), Vida breve (Junio 2024), Rondine (October 2024), Maria Stuarda (January 2025), etc.

His discography includes a CD Illarramendi for SONY (symphonies 4 & 9) with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Euskadi, Puccini´s Manon Lescaut in  DVD (UNITEL) recorded at Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, Bellini´s opera Adelson e Salvini for BONGIOVANI (DVD) and six Rossini operas for NAXOS : Ricciardo e Zoraïde (2013), Aureliano in Palmira (2017), L’equivoco stravagante (2018 DVD), Matilde di Shabran (2020),  La scala di seta (2021) &  Armida (2022).

Updated: may 2022