Born in Puglia in 1993, Danila Grassi graduated in conducting with top
marks and honors under the guidance of Marcello Bufalini at the
Conservatorio “A. Casella” in L’Aquila, furthering her studies with Dario
Lucantoni and Donato Renzetti.
She was awarded two scholarships, respectively for an internship with the
Mannheimer Philharmoniker and as orchestral trainer at the Scuola di
Musica di Fiesole; she was also selected for Sian Edwards’ advanced
conducting courses at St. Andrew University (Scotland).
She conducted orchestras such as: Orchestra of the Teatro Regio di
Torino, Orchestra of the Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Orchestra of the
Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari, Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino,
Orchestra Filarmonica di Benevento, ORT-Orchestra della Toscana, Orchestra
Haydn Bolzano and Trento, I Pomeriggi Musicali, Orchestra Sinfonica di
Milano, Fondazione Arturo Toscanini, Orquestra de la Comunitat
Valenciana, Istituzione Sinfonica Abruzzese, and the Orchestra
Metropolitana della Città di Bari.
In 2019, as artistic director of the project “Il Guercio di Puglia – tra
parole e musica,” winner of a regional grant, she created and promoted the
first opera entirely produced with Apulian artists under 35, conducting
the world premiere of the work composed by Nicola Scardicchio. She
maintains a strong artistic connection with her home region through her
annual collaboration with the Orchestra Regionale dei Conservatori di
Puglia.
She worked as assistant conductor to Fabio Luisi for the Festival della
Valle d’Itria in Martina Franca, where she made her debut conducting a new
production of La Scuola de’ gelosi by Antonio Salieri, thus
becoming the first woman to conduct an opera title in the Festival’s
history. As assistant conductor, she also collaborated with Maurizio
Benini for Anna Bolena and Maria Stuarda at the Palau de
les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia.
Among her recent engagements are Theodorakis' Zorba the Greek and
a ballet to music by Rachmaninov at the Teatro Massimo di Palermo, and her
debut at the Staatstheater Stuttgart with L’Elisir d’amore (2023);
her debut at the Wexford Festival Opera with a new production of Le
convenienze e inconvenienze teatrali by Donizetti (2024); and Pinocchio
by Carpi with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, as well as symphonic
concerts with the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana at the Palau de les
Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, the Maggio
Musicale in Florence, and the Teatro Regio di Torino (2025).
In the 2025-26 season, highlights include her debut at Theater Basel in a
new production of Macbeth by Verdi, and symphonic concerts with
the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, and
the Orchestra dei Conservatori di Puglia.
She collaborates with the music journal Rassegna Musicale Curci:
Periodico di Cultura e Attualità Musicali, for which she has published her
research on the operatic genre of the “Literaturoper,” with the articles Debussy
and the Birth of the Literaturoper and Who is Lulu? From F.
Wedekind to A. Berg.
November 2025