Born in Milan, where he did his musical studies, Daniele Callegari has established himself as one of his generation’s most interesting conductors. From 1998 to 2001 he served as the Principal Conductor at the Wexford Opera Festival. From 2002 to 2008 he has been Chief Conductor of De Filharmonie (Royal Flanders Philharmonic Orchestra of Antwerpen).
He has always been interested in conducting the Italian repertory of the 20th century, in reviving lesser-known repertory, and in championing contemporary works, conducting as well several world premieres, among which Alice by Giampaolo Testoni at the Teatro Massimo di Palermo (1993), Oedipe sur la route by Pierre Bartholomée at the Monnaie in Bruxelles (2003); in 2006 he recorded Debussy’s Préludes orchestrated by Luc Brewaeys.
He is a regular guest of important orchestras including Orchestre Nationale d’Île de France, Orchestre Nationale de Belgique, Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Orchestra of the Monnaie de Bruxelles, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, Orchestra Sinfonica dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Hessischer Rundfunk Sinfonie-Orchester of Frankfurt, MD Rundfunk Orchester, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Nacional de Madrid, Orquesta Filarmonica de Gran Canaria, Brabant Orkest, Prague Philharmonic, Orchestra Sinfonica “Giuseppe Verdi” di Milano, Gürzenich- Orchester, Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, Orchestra of the Staatsoper in Berlin, Orchestra of the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Slovenian Philharmonic, Tonkunstler- Orchester Niederosterreich, Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
He regularly appears at national and international leading concert halls and opera houses including Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall of New York, Wiener Staatsoper, Opéra Bastille de Paris, Canadian Opera of Toronto, Washington Opera, San Diego Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Deutsche Oper and Staatsoper in Berlin, La Monnaie de Bruxelles, de Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam, Dresden Semperoper, Gran Teatre del Liceu e Barcelona, New National Theatre in Tokyo, Opéra de Montecarlo, Capitole de Toulouse, Teatro alla Scala, New Israeli Opera of Tel Aviv, Opernhaus Zurich, Royal Danish Theatre, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Macerata Opera Festival, Teatro Regio di Parma, La Fenice di Venezia.
He opened the 2015/16 season conducting with a great sucess Otello for the opening of Verdi Festival at Teatro Regio di Parma, followed by successful productions of La bohème at Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm and at Dresden Opera, Il trovatore at Opéra National de Paris, Attila at Opéra de Montecarlo and Tosca at Staatsoper in Munich.
Among his future plans are productions of Don Carlo in Strasbourg and Mulhouse, Un ballo in maschera, L’elisir d’amore, Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Rigoletto and Norma at Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Norma and Madama Butterfly at Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Madama Butterfly in Oslo, Lucia di Lammermoor in Tel Aviv, Falstaff at San Diego Opera, Cavalleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci at Opéra de Strasbourg, Il trovatore and Poliuto at Liceu in Barcelona, Tosca at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm, I Masnadieri and Otello at Opéra de Montecarlo.
The beginning of 2014/15 season saw him conducting Don Pasquale at NCPA in Beijing, followed by Rigoletto at Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, La bohème at Palm Beach Opera, Don Giovanni at San Diego Opera, Andrea Chénier at Arts Center in Seoul, Ariane et Barbe-Bleue at Opéra de Strasbourg, Maria Stuarda at Théâtre des Champs Elysées de Paris and Madama Butterfly at Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich. He also conducts on Cameristi del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino’s podium in Piacenza.
In september 2013 he debuted on the podium of Teatro Petruzelli di Bari with Donizetti’s La Sonnambula, followed by Falstaff at Opéra de Montreal, Madama Butterfly at Opéra Bastille de Paris, Un ballo in maschera in Tel Aviv, Ernani at Opéra de Montecarlo, Tosca at Teatro La Fenice in Venice, and Don Giovanni at Festival Mozart in Torino (concert version).
He opened the 2012/13 season conducting on New York MET stage a successfull production of Il trovatore, so reviewed by New York Times: “Daniele Callegari conducted a crisp account of the score that pushed relentlessly forward”, followed by Cavalleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci at Den Norske Opera in Oslo, Aida at San Diego Opera, Tosca at Opéra de Strasbourg, Madama Butterfly and L’elisir d’amore at Liceu de Barcelona,. He also conducted symphonic concerts with the Orchestra “I Pomeriggi Musicali” in Milano and Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra of Ljubljana.
His reputation as a Verdian conductor has important tracks in his remarkable discography, which includes La traviata, Il trovatore and Oberto conte di San Bonifacio; on top of this, his most important recordings are La gioconda, Wolf-Ferrari’s I quattro rusteghi, Messa di gloria by Mascagni, Alice by Testoni, Stabat Mater by Pergolesi, Alessandro Stradella by Flotow. In DVD: Gioconda, Macbeth, Elisir d’amore and Madama Butterfly. With De Filharmonie he has recorded an anthology of Ravel’s orchestrations and Debussy-Brewaeys Préludes. His most recent release is a CD with Rolando Villazón and the Orchestra Sinfonica Giuseppe Verdi di Milano (Deutsche Grammophon).