Born in Tijuana, Mexico, in 1973, Pablo Varela is an Italian-based conductor whose work encompasses opera, symphonic repertoire and music education. He has developed an international career with engagements across Europe and the Americas.
He graduated in Orchestral Conducting from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan and studied composition with Franco Donatoni at the Accademia Lorenzo Perosi in Biella and the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, where he was awarded a Diploma of Merit in Composition.
His early professional experience included assisting Mark Wigglesworth in Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. He subsequently worked alongside Guido Maria Guida on the production of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Mexico National Opera.
His operatic repertoire includes Don Pasquale, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Il viaggio a Reims, La bohème, Mese mariano, Cavalleria rusticana, Don Giovanni and L’elisir d’amore. He also conducted the world premiere of La muerte pies ligeros by Mexican composer Víctor Rasgado with the Guanajuato Symphony Orchestra.
Varela has conducted orchestras and ensembles in Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Romania, Venezuela and Mexico, appearing at numerous international festivals. His extensive work with the Chorus of the Mexico National Opera has encompassed a wide-ranging repertoire, including operatic productions such as Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, Monteverdi’s L'Orfeo and Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites; major choral and orchestral works such as Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy and Ninth Symphony, Verdi’s Requiem and Quattro pezzi sacri, Stravinsky’s Les Noces and Rachmaninoff’s The Bells; as well as works by Wagner and Verdi, including Der fliegende Holländer, Otello, Macbeth and Stiffelio.
In 2003, Varela founded the International Philharmonia of the Californias, serving as its Artistic and Music Director until 2005. Since 2019, he has maintained a regular artistic collaboration with I Solisti Lucani, performing alongside distinguished soloists and leading instrumentalists from major Italian orchestras. He also collaborates with I Solisti Fiorentini, an ensemble based in Florence.
Alongside his conducting career, Varela is Professor of Orchestral Conducting at the Luigi Boccherini Conservatory in Lucca and Artistic Director of Lucania Musicale, based in Matera, Italy. His educational activities reflect a longstanding commitment to nurturing young musical talent and preparing the next generation of orchestral musicians.
Last update: October 2026.
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