Rustioni, who has been leading the Ulster orchestra since 2019, will stand down at the close of the 2022/23 season

The Italian conductor Daniele Rustioni has announced his departure from Belfast's Ulster Orchestra, with his tenure coming to a close at the end of the 2023/24 season. Rustioni was appointed in 2019 and given the title of Music Director after three seasons there.

Much in demand as a conductor of opera, Rustioni is presently Music Director of the Opéra National de Lyon, a position he has held since 2017. He is also Principal Guest Conductor of the Bavarian State Opera and was Music Director of the Orchestra della Toscana between 2014 and 2020.

Rustioni has recently made a number of important debuts, with the highlight being an appearance at Carnegie Hall — in which he led the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra — in February 2023. He has also recently made debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

"The season 2023/24 will mark the end of my amazing journey at the helm of the Ulster Orchestra, first as Chief Conductor, then as Music Director," Rustioni said. "It has been a complicated time, marked by the devastating effects of the pandemic, but also very exciting for what we have been able to achieve against all odds: new repertoire, the return to the BBC Proms in London and a tour in Austria, bringing one of our more original programmes to Linz, the city of Anton Bruckner."

"I am thrilled to share the podium for this new season with so many talented female conductors, proving that gender equality is not only a wish but a reality," he added. "Ending the season and my tenure with the monumental Symphony No.2 by Gustav Mahler has been a dream for me and I am grateful to the Ulster Orchestra for their efforts to make this become true."