Polish conductor Marzena Diakun and Italian conductor Valerio Galli (*1980) have been appointed to lead the Toulon Opera Orchestra. The two conductors will take their position in September 2021. They will succeed Jurjen Hempel, who held this position since 2018.
Marzena Diakun graduated from the Karol Lipinski Academy of Music in Wroclaw in the class of Mieczyslaw Gawronski. She continued her studies at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna with Uros Lajovic. She also participated in several master-classes with Jerzy Salwarwoski, Marek Tracz and Gabriel Chmura. Internationally, she has studied with Howard Griffiths and Colin Metters, Kurt Masur and Pierre Boulez. In 2007, she won the 2nd prize at the Prague Spring International Conductors’ Competition in the Czech Republic. Currently a full professor at the Karol Lipinski Academy of Music in Wroclaw, Marzena Diakun has been assistant conductor of the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra since September 2015.
Valerio Galli began his career as a pianist. He was taught by Pietro Rigacci, Bruno Canino, Piero Rattalino, Paul Badura-Skoda and Franco Scala. His conducting career was launched in 2007 at the 53rd Puccini Festival, where he conducted Tosca at only 27 years old. In 2013, he received the 42nd Pucinni Prize, his favorite composer.
