Background
Kägi was born in 1957 in Zurich, Switzerland, where he completed his primary and secondary education.
Kägi was born in 1957 in Zurich, Switzerland, where he completed his primary and secondary education.
In the 70s, he studied Musicology and German Literature in Zürich and Paris.
Over the last 30 years, Kaegi has directed over 100 operas worldwide. In 1980, Dieter Kaegi became assistant director at the Zurich Opera under Claus Helmut Drese who had been in charge of the opera house since 1975. In 1982, he became assistant to leading French opera director Jean-Pierre Ponnelle.
During his time with Ponnelle, he worked on opera productions for the stage and film.
television productions included L"Italiana in Algeri (1986), two episodes of Live from the Metropolitan Opera Idomeneo (1983) and Le Nozze di Figaro (1985), Cardillac (1985) and Tristan und Isolde (1983). From 1986, Kaegi joined the Deutsche Oper am Rhein as assistant before moving to the Opéra de Monte-Carlo in 1989 as production manager and personal assistant to the Director-General John Mordler.
From 1990 until 1998, he worked as director of productions at the Festival d"Art Lyrique d"Aix-en-Provence. In 1998, he was appointed Artistic Director of Opera Ireland in Dublin.
While at Opera Ireland he met Jennifer O"Connell.
In 2010, he co-founded Lismore Music Festival with O"Connell to create an Irish base for young emerging musicians and singers. 2007 Opera advisor to the Scottish Arts Council.
2001 Member of the Board of Opera Europa
2002 Member of the Chambre des Directeurs d"Opera.