general director

Francesca Campagna was named General Director in September 2019. As a globally renowned artistic manager and consultant to cultural institutions, she has built a formidable reputation for her deep knowledge of opera, and her ability to extend the reach of preeminent artists and institutions to new audiences. Francesca began in Italian Opera with roles at Fondazione Teatro Massimo in her native Palermo and she worked in more than 300 productions over 12 years; her subsequent work to establish the Royal Opera House Muscat created the first opera house in the Middle East, and has been widely recognized for the artistic integrity and cultural diversity of its programming. She is the first female and first immigrant General Director in the organization’s history and was selected by the Board in an international search. Italian by birth, Francesca resides in Manhattan.

Antonio La Mantia started collaborating with the Center for Contemporary Opera and its General Director as Executive Assistant and Communication Expert in December 2021.

His expertise lies in international and public communication, PR and event management for political and cultural institutions.Over the last eight years, Antonio worked for a pan-European green party and an international federation of social service providers advocating social justice. He particularly focused his activity on the development of external communications and positive relationships between members and high-level stakeholders.

Antonio currently works for a European organization promoting the progress and market deployment of sustainable industrial solutions to mitigate climate change.