Hello
Sebastian Schwarz
Jury President (2025)
About Me
(Musician and Artistic Director)
Sebastian F. Schwarz is a German-born musician, teacher and arts administrator. Since 2021 he is Artistic Director of Festival della Valle d’Itria (this year celebrating its 50th edition) and Accademia del Belcanto. 2019-2022 he also served as Sovrintendente and/or Direttore Artistico at Teatro Regio di Torino. Prior to this he was General and Artistic Director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera (2015-2018), Deputy Artistic Director of Theater an der Wien (2008-2016) and Artistic Director of the Vienna Chamber Opera (2012-2016) where he established Vienna’s first Young Artist Program. He held a variety of other posts, including in company management with the Wexford Festival Opera and as assistant to the opera director at the Staatsoper Hamburg.
Sebastian F. Schwarz is a German-born musician, teacher and arts administrator. Since 2021 he is Artistic Director of Festival della Valle d’Itria (this year celebrating its 50th edition) and Accademia del Belcanto. 2019-2022 he also served as Sovrintendente and/or Direttore Artistico at Teatro Regio di Torino. Prior to this he was General and Artistic Director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera (2015-2018), Deputy Artistic Director of Theater an der Wien (2008-2016) and Artistic Director of the Vienna Chamber Opera (2012-2016) where he established Vienna’s first Young Artist Program. He held a variety of other posts, including in company management with the Wexford Festival Opera and as assistant to the opera director at the Staatsoper Hamburg.
Over the years he worked on opera productions also with film directors such as William Friedkin, Stefan Ruzowitzky, Michael Haneke, Werner Herzog and others.
He studied vocal performance and musicology in Berlin and at the Conservatory Benedetto Marcello in Venice as well as theatre management at Università Cà Foscari in Venice. He worked as a language coach for German, English and Russian productions at Teatro La Fenice and as an artists’ manager in Milan and Venice. For several years, he taught history of music at tertiary level.
He was a co-founder and continues to be Artistic Director for the International Singing Competition for Baroque Opera Pietro Antonio Cesti, part of the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music. He is a regular jury member of major international voice competitions and founder and inaugural chairman of the jury of the Glyndebourne Opera Cup in 2018. In 2015 he was made Cavaliere of the Order of the Star of Italy in recognition of his propagation and support of Italian art and artists.