“Francesco Milioto presides with verve and bite!”“Conductor Francesco Milioto elicited orchestral playing for both operas that was polished, sympathetic and wholly idiomatic.”
Francesco Milioto continues to establish himself as an incredibly gifted conductor whose interpretations are fueled by deep curiosity, and executed with a philosophy of collaboration.
Maestro Milioto currently serves as Music Director of OPERA San Antonio, The Florentine Opera, and Holy City Arts and Lyric Opera in Charleston, SC. Mr. Milioto's most recent acclaimed performances, outside his home companies, include productions at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Kansas City Opera, as well as Ballet San Antonio. He is currently a member of the music staff at the world-renowned Lyric Opera of Chicago and will join the faculty of DePaul University as Music Director of its Symphony Orchestra.
He begins the 2025-26 season with two Mozart productions back to back at his home companies in San Antonio and Milwaukee. First in San Antonio to conduct Barry Kosky’s innovative production of The Magic Flute, and then quickly to Milwaukee for the Florentine Opera’s production of Don Giovanni. Mr. Milioto will then head to the Lyric Opera of Chicago as cover conductor for Carmina Burana, A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness, and Cosi fan tutte. Maestro Milioto will finish the season with two productions at the Florentine Opera, in continued collaboration with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, of The Tales of Hoffmann, and Puccini’s Tosca.
Maestro Milioto is an avid coach and much sought after master teacher. He looks forward to continuing his fundamental mentorship of the young artists in The Florentine Opera’s Baumgartner Studio Artist Program, as well as those in the 210 Festival, a summer collaboration between OPERA San Antonio and Classical Music Institute. The immediate bond created between Mr. Milioto and the DePaul Symphony Orchestra last season led to this important appointment as Music Director of the DPSO. Maestro Milioto is extremely excited to begin work with the talented and eager students that make up this unique and diverse ensemble.
As a music director and guest conductor Mr. Milioto has thrived in Chicago and beyond. Over his many years in Chicago, he claimed the title of Music Director to the New Millennium Orchestra, the Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra, the Highland Park Strings, Access Contemporary Music, and the Chicago Cultural Center Summer Opera. As a guest conductor, he has amassed several critically acclaimed productions with Chicago Opera Theater and has collaborated with many professional local orchestras. His work with the New Millennium Orchestra and Chicago Opera Theater were each named to the Chicago Sun-Times list of the “10 best performances of the year.” Mr. Milioto is particularly proud of his work with the New Millennium Orchestra of Chicago, which he co-founded in 2005. The NMO had an incredible range of repertoire, playing everything from classical music and opera to collaborations with jazz and hip-hop artists. His highly acclaimed work over ten seasons with both the Highland Park Strings and Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra ranged from early music to contemporary works and often featured world-renowned soloists. As Artistic Director/Conductor of Access Contemporary Music, Mr. Milioto led the brilliantly vibrant ensemble Palomar which has been featured on the radio and in performances throughout the city and abroad. He has also conducted successful productions with The Atlanta Opera, Arizona Opera, Tulsa Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Opera Southwest, Elgin Opera, and Opera on the James in Lynchburg Va.
As an assistant/cover conductor, Mr. Milioto flourished under world-class mentorship. As a member of the music staff of the Lyric Opera of Chicago since 2013, he has had the pleasure of working on many incredible productions and concerts with the likes of Sir Andrew Davis, Enrique Mazzola, Jakub Hrusa, Marco Armiliato, and Edward Gardner. He was also a member of the music staff at the Santa Fe Opera, the Bregenz Festival, the Canadian Opera Company, and The Dallas Opera. For over 10 years Mr. Milioto worked at the Ravinia Festival as an assistant conductor, prompter, pianist, and vocal coach, and was involved in over a dozen operas and countless concerts with such artists as James Conlon and Daniel Barenboim.
Mr. Milioto is a first generation Italian-Canadian and was born in Toronto. He began playing the piano at age seven and continued his early musical education at the Royal Conservatory of Music. He has earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance from the University of Western Ontario and a double Master’s Degree in Orchestral Conducting and Opera Repetition from McGill University.
