ABOUT
Praised by Maestro Zubin Mehta for being “a conductor with immense musicality and warm personality,” Nir Kabaretti is a versatile conductor, expertly leading orchestras, opera houses, and ballet companies around the world. With a profound understanding of music and a commanding stage presence, he engages both performers and audiences, continually striving to create experiences that go beyond traditional boundaries.
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Kabaretti, Music and Artistic Director of the Santa Barbara Symphony, is a passionate advocate for the universal power of music, and believes it has the ability to unite, inspire, and enrich lives.
NIR KABARETTI
Education & Early History
Born in Israel, Kabaretti began his musical journey at the age of six with piano lessons. What started as a childhood hobby quickly evolved into a lifelong passion. He went on to study both piano and conducting at the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv, before pursuing advanced training at the prestigious University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, where he graduated in 1995.
Upon his graduation, Kabaretti dove straight into the heart of the musical world, stepping into the position of pianist and chorus master at the iconic Vienna State Opera and the renowned Salzburg Festival. These early experiences led him to appointments as assistant to the music director at the Teatro Real in Madrid, and personal assistant to the legendary Maestro Zubin Mehta at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale in Florence, Italy.
During this formative period, Kabaretti was privileged to collaborate with some of the most iconic and revered conductors of the time, including Claudio Abbado, Lorin Maazel, Seiji Ozawa, Valery Gergiev, and Riccardo Muti. Each collaboration deepened his musical insight, expanding his artistic horizons and shaping his own distinctive voice as a conductor.
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Collaborations and Appearances
Maestro Kabaretti has had the honor of working with some of the world’s most distinguished musicians. His esteemed collaborators include Lang Lang, Plácido Domingo, Joyce DiDonato, Itzhak Perlman, Gil Shaham, Vadim Repin, Hélène Grimaud, Lynn Harrell and André Watts.
As a guest conductor, Kabaretti maintains a vibrant international schedule. His engagements have included appearances with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Orchestra Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra, Chicago Philharmonic, Santa Fe Symphony, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Filarmónica de Buenos Aires, Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotà, Orchestre National du Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Orchestre Philharmonie Royale de Liège, Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, Orchestra del Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari, Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano “La Verdi”, Orchestra da Camera di Mantova, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Haifa Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Niederösterreichisches Tonkünstlerorchester, La Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid, La Orquesta Filarmonica de Gran Canaria, Real Orquesta Sinfònica de Sevilla and the Bochumer Symphoniker.
Nir Kabaretti served as Music Director of the Israel Sinfonietta Be'er Sheva (2018-2023), the Southwest Florida Symphony (2014-2020) and the Symphonette Raanana (2002-2008).
Operatic and Ballet Experience
Kabaretti’s operatic experience includes productions at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Macbeth, Il Trovatore, Gianni Schicchi, The Journey to Reims), Teatro Petruzzelli (Die Fledermaus), Teatro Real in Madrid (Cenerentola, Die Walküre), The Israeli Opera (Fidelio, Manon Lescaut), Opéra de Lausanne (Il Cappello di Paglia di Firenze, Die Fledermaus, Falstaff, L’elisir D’amore ), Avenches Festival (Nabucco, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Madama Butterfly), The New National Theatre in Tokyo (The Barber of Seville), Opera Santa Barbara (Carmen) and the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, Italy (Madama Butterfly). He conducted The Diary of Anne Frank by Fried, a guest production of the Vienna State Opera performed at both the Bregenz Festival and Expo 2000 in Hannover. In 2005, Kabaretti led Teatro San Carlo di Napoli on its first tour to Japan, conducting Il Trovatore both in Kyoto and Tokyo.
Recent Opera productions include Tosca at the French Opéra-Théâtre in Metz, and La Traviata in Pisa and Jesi in Italy.
During the 2004-05 season, Kabaretti made his debut at Teatro alla Scala di Milano with Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, and was invited again in 2007 for Balanchine’s production of Mendelssohn's Midsummer night's Dream broadcasted by Italian television RAI.
In July 2010, Kabaretti conducted Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet during the summer season at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, set in the magnificent Caracalla Roman Baths. He later returned to Rome to conduct a series of acclaimed ballet productions, including Swan Lake, Cinderella, Carmen, and Don Quixote.
In 2023 Kabaretti started an artistic relationship with the legendary choreographer Mats Ek and the Royal Swedish Ballet. In 2025 he returned to Stockholm to conduct the world premiere of Ek’s creation “En Kopp Kaffe”.
Recordings
Nir Kabaretti has recorded five CDs for Deutsche Grammophon featuring modern piano concertos by Polish and Japanese composers, intended for young pianists. A DVD of his performance of Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Teatro alla Scala in Milan was produced by TDK. In 2024, Naxos released The Devil’s Bridge, a four-piece album by contemporary Italian composer Cristian Carrara. Kabaretti’s most recent recording, War Silence (2025), featuring four rare Italian piano concertos with pianist Roberto Prosseda and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, was released by Hyperion and has earned rave reviews worldwide.
Awards
Maestro Kabaretti received the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Grant for Young Conductors. In 1993, he won the Forum Junger Künstler Conducting Competition in Vienna. In 1994 he was among the finalists in the International Competition for Conductors in Douai, France.
Nir Kabaretti speaks fluently English, Italian, German, Spanish and Hebrew.