José Miguel Pérez-Sierra
Conductor
Musical Director of the Teatro de La Zarzuela in Madrid, Musical and Artistic Director of the Royal Opera Festival in Krakow and Principal Guest Conductor of the Amigos de la Ópera de A Coruña season, the Spanish conductor José Miguel Pérez-Sierra shot to fame internationally after becoming the youngest conductor to take the podium at the ROF, the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro (Italy), where he conducted Il viaggio a Reims in 2006. That was the beginning of a vertiginous career which has taken Pérez-Sierra to theatres and auditoriums of Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Georgia, Uruguay, Canada and Chile, among others, conducting an extensive opera and symphonic repertoire.
He studied with Gabriele Ferro for four years and was his assistant at the San Carlo Theatre in Naples, the Massimo in Palermo and the Real in Madrid. He also studied with Gianluigi Gelmetti (Accademia Chigiana, Sienna) and Colin Metters (Royal Academy, London), to later become Alberto Zedda´s assistant from 2004 to 2009. In 2009 and 2010 he was Zedda´s assistant conductor at the Plácido Domingo Centre de Perfeccionament at the Palau de les Arts in Valencia. Much earlier, as a child, he began his musical studies by focussing on the piano with José Ferrándiz, a student of Claudio Arrau. He also studied virtuosity and musical phenomenology with José Cruzado. From 2009 to 2012 he had a close and fruitful relationship with Lorin Maazel, which was fundamental to Pérez-Sierra’s training, attending his rehearsals both in Valencia and Munich.
His debut as a conductor was in 2005 with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia and since then he has been a regular guest conductor at the Teatro Real and Teatro de las Zarzuela in Madrid, in addition to the Palau de les Arts de Valencia, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Ópera de Oviedo, Ópera de Las Palmas, Ópera de Tenerife, Asociación Gayarre de Amigos de la Ópera in Pamplona (AGAO), Teatre Principal in Palma (Majorca), Abao Bilbao Opera, Opéra de Marseille, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Opéra de Montreal, Teatro Municipal in Santiago de Chile, Royal Opera Festival in Krakow, Rossini Festival in Wildbad, Städtische Theater Chemnitz, Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Festival Puccini in Torre del Lago, Auditorium Comunale in Sassari, Teatro Verdi in Trieste, Festival de la Côte Basque in Saint-Jean-de-Luz and the Opéra de Massy and the Opéra-Théâtre in Metz (France), among many others.
Maestro José Miguel Pérez-Sierra’s 2024-2025 season include La bohème at the Ópera de A Coruña; Marina at Teatro de la Zarzuela; La verbena de la Paloma at Palau de les Arts in Valencia; Maria Stuarda at Teatro Real; Turandot at Theater Basel; Mahler’s Symphony Nº 9 with the Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra; Aida at FC Metz Stadium with the Opéra-Théâtre de Metz Métropole Company; and La tabernera del Puerto at Teatro de la Zarzuela, among other engagements.
In the 2023-2024 season he conducted Aida opening the Amigos de la Ópera de A Coruña season; Il Tabarro and Gianni Schicchi at the Ópera de Oviedo; Dialogues des Carmélites at the Opéra de Massy; Samson et Dalila at the Ópera de Tenerife; a Gala concert at the Ópera de A Coruña with Marina Monzó y Miren Urbieta- Vega; a concert alongside the soprano Lise Davidsen at Teatro Real in Madrid; Madama Butterfly at Teatro Coccia in Novara; Mahler’s Sixth Symphony with the Filarmónica de Málaga; La verbena de la paloma at Teatro de la Zarzuela; Falla’s La vida breve at Opéra-Théâtre de Metz; Luisa Fernanda with the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir; Rossini’s Messa di Gloria and L’Italiana in Algeri at Royal Opera Festival in Krakow; Rossini’s Messa di Gloria and L’Italiana in Algeri at Rossini Festival in Wildbad; and Bizet’s Carmen at Quincena Musical in San Sebastián.
Highlights of recent seasons include I puritani, L’elisir d’amore, Maria Stuarda, Lucrezia Borgia, La sonnambula e Il barbiere di Siviglia at ABAO Bilbao Ópera; La cenerentola in Montréal; Turandot, L’elisir d’amore, Aida y La bohème at Las Palmas; Samson et Dalila in Tenerife; two Rossini concerts at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris; Il signor Bruschino, Armida, La scala di seta, Matilde di Shabran, L’equivoco stravagante, Aureliano in Palmira, Messa di Gloria and L’italiana in Algeri at the Rossini Festival in Wildbad; Il signor Bruschino, Armida, La scala di seta, El barberillo de Lavapiés, Luisa Fernanda, Messa di Gloria and L’italiana in Algeri at the Royal Opera Festival in Kraków; Il turco in Italia, La cenerentola, Il barbiere di Siviglia snd L’italiana in Algeri en la Ópera Nacional de Chile; La donna del lago, Armida and Les Huguenots at the Opéra de Marseille; Rigoletto y Dialogues des carmélites at Opéra de Massy-París; Carmen, Tosca, Il trittico, Il turco in Italia, El amor brujo and La vida breve at Ópera de Metz; Les pêcheurs de perles, Il tabarro and Gianni Schicchi at Ópera de Oviedo; Don Fernando el Emplazado (Zubiaurre), Viva la Mamma! And the Gala Concert of the International Opera Awards at the Real in Madrid; Pagliacci, Norma, Aida and La bohème at Ópera de A Coruña; Carmen with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg; the Verdi Requiem with the Teatro Real Orchestra and Chorus; Madama Butterfly at the Gran Teatre del Liceu; besides, he has conducted concerts alongside Lise Davidsen, Mariella Devia and Roberto Alagna.
Some of the orchestras with which he habitually collaborates include the Sinfónica de Madrid, Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid, Orquesta de Radio Televisión Española (ORTVE), Sinfónica de Galicia, Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, Oviedo Filarmonía, Sinfónica de Navarra Pablo Sarasate, Euskadiko Orkestra Sinfonikoa, Sinfónica de Castilla y León, Sinfónica de Tenerife, Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, Filarmónica de Málaga, Orquesta de Córdoba, Simfònica de les Illes Balears, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Orchestre National d’Ile-de-France, Sinfónica de Tiblisi (Georgia), Filarmónica de Montevideo, Filarmónica de Santiago (Chile), Robert Schumann Philharmonie, Orquesta del San Carlo de Nápoles and Virtuosi Brunensis, among others.
José Miguel Pérez-Sierra’s discography includes a monographic CD by Illarramendi (Symphonies 4 and 9) with the Euskadi Symphony Orchestra (Sony), a recital with the mezzo-soprano Marianna Pizzolato (Naxos), the operas Adelson e Salvini, by Bellini (Bongiovanni), Ricciardo e Zoraïde, Matilde di Shabran, Aureliano in Palmira, L’equivoco stravagante and La scala di seta and Armida, by Rossini (Naxos), Manon Lescaut on DVD from the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania (Unitel) and a CD with the baritone Vittorio Prato with bel canto repertoire (Illiria).