B I O G R A P H Y
Rising Italian conductor Nicolò Azzena has a strong foundation in the symphonic and operatic repertoire and a background as a pianist and répétiteur.
He is the Third Prize Winner at the prestigious Ferenc Fricsay Conducting Competition (HU) 2025, one of the six semi-finalists at the Concours International de Direction d’Orchestre de l’Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège 2025 and he also competed at the Concours de Genève.
He regularly works as assistant conductor in major opera houses. His most recent engagements include the Bühnen Bern (March-April 2026), the Bayerische Staatsoper München, the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liege and Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, conducting full productions alongside renowned conductors on the the international music scene such as Alevtina Ioffe, Giampaolo Bisanti and Andrea Battistoni. He was also assistant conductor to Antonello Allemandi at the Grand Théâtre in Luxembourg and the Semperoper Dresden, and to Leonardo Sini at the Teatro Municipale in Piacenza, Teatro Pavarotti-Freni in Modena and Teatro Valli in Reggio Emilia.
His upcoming engagements in 2026/27 include debuts with the Baden-Baden Philharmonie, the Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, as well as a return to Bühnen Bern for a new production of Don Giovanni.
In the operatic field, he has had the opportunity to work with acclaimed soloists such as: Ludovic Tézier, Eleonora Buratto, Charles Castronovo, Mihails Culpajevs, Gustavo Castillo, Gezim Myshketa, Claudio Sgura, Simone Alberghini, Maria Teresa Leva and Matteo Lippi.
In addition to a broad symphonic repertoire, he has several operatic titles to his credit such as: Il Barbiere di Siviglia, La Cenerentola, La scala di seta (Rossini), La sonnambula, Norma (Bellini), L’elisir d’amore, Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti), Rigoletto, Il trovatore, La traviata, Un ballo in maschera, La forza del destino, Otello, Falstaff (Verdi), Carmen (Bizet), Cavalleria rusticana (Mascagni), Pagliacci (Leoncavallo), Le Villi, Tosca, La bohème (Puccini).
He has conducted numerous concerts and rehearsals, working with important symphony orchestras such as the Orchestra and Chorus of the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège, the Orchestra of the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, L’Orchestre de la Haute École de Musique de Genève, the Niederbayerische Philharmonie, the Hungarian National Symphony Orchestra Szeged, the Bucharest Symphony Orchestra, the Ionel Perlea Orchestra of Bucharest, the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra of Kiev; various chamber orchestras like the Berlin Sinfonietta and I Musici di Parma, and youth symphony orchestras like the Senzaspine Orchestra and the Giovanissimi Orchestra in Bologna.
During his studies he has honed his skills by participating in many masterclasses held by important conductors such as Daniele Gatti, Andrea Battistoni, Michalis Economou, David Crescenzi, Colin Metters, Laurent Gay, Wolfgang Doerner, Hans Leenders, Daniele Agiman, Antonello Allemandi, and Luigi Gaggero.
He graduated in Orchestral Conducting at the G.B. Martini Conservatory in Bologna.
In 2021, the G.B. Martini Conservatory awarded him as the best conducting student, granting him the Toboli prize and scholarship.
As a pianist, he graduated with distinction from the A.Buzzolla Conservatory in Adria under the guidance of Maestro Luca Torrigiani and he specialized with important pianists such as Jean- Marc Luisada, Olaf John Laneri, Alberto Nosé, François Joel Thiollier, and Sofia Guliak. He partecipate and won several piano competitions such as the International Piano Competition “Città di Pesaro” (2nd Prize), and the National Music Competition of Lanusei (1st Prize and Virtuosity Prize).
He has given many solo concerts in many cities across Italy and has collaborated as a pianist accompanist and répétiteur with numerous musicians and singers.