A graduate of Harvard, Lorenzo Mariani has directed operas at some of the world’s most prestigious opera houses, including the Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatro Regio di Torino, Wexford Festival Opera, Finnish National Opera, San Francisco Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago. From 2005 until 2012, he was the artistic director of the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. Mariani also directed Andrea Bocelli's operatic debut in La Bohème.
Mariani has worked with many prominent conductors, including Zubin Mehta, Myung-Whun Chung, Claudio Abbado, John Eliot Gardiner and Daniele Gatti.
Mariani's recent productions include Lucio Dalla’s musical Tosca Amore Disperato, The Rake's Progress and The Threepenny Opera for Rome's Accademia di Santa Cecilia; Candide for Teatro San Carlo of Naples; Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci for Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Teatro Lirico of Cagliari and the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland; and La Fanciulla del West for the San Francisco Opera.