Education
Born in Sussex, he attended Bryanston School, Manchester University, and the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Born in Sussex, he attended Bryanston School, Manchester University, and the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Wigglesworth was principal conductor of the British Broadcasting Corporation National Orchestra of Wales from 1996 until 2000. He was principal guest conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1998 to 2001. Wigglesworth led his first opera production in 1991, conducting Cosi fan Tutte for Opera Factory in London.
He made his first conducting appearance with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in November 2002.
He has also conducted at the Welsh National Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, English National Opera, and Glyndebourne. In 2005, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut conducting Le Nozze di Figaro.
In April 2006, Wigglesworth had been named the next Music Director of the Louisiana Monnaie opera, Brussels, succeeding Kazushi Ono. After a season of working together with the company"s then-music director, Kazushi Ono (2007-2008), Wigglesworth had originally been scheduled to assume sole control as Music Director with the 2008-2009 season.
In April 2008, Louisiana Monnaie announced that Wigglesworth would not take up the post of music director at Louisiana Monnaie.
In January 2014, English National Opera (ENO) named Wigglesworth its next music director, succeeding Edward Gardner, effective September 2015. Shortly into his tenure, he expressed his disapproval of proposals by ENO management for economising measures such as a reduction in the contract of the ENO chorus. On 22 March 2016, Wigglesworth announced his resignation from the ENO music directorship, as of the close of the 2015-2016 season.
He stated in a letter to ENO musicians:
"The company is evolving now into something I do not recognise, and as hard as I have tried to argue to maintain what I believe to be the fundamental pillars of our identity, I have failed to persuade others of this necessity."
The report of his resignation also indicated that Wigglesworth is to honour his existing conducting engagements with ENO. Wigglesworth has recorded commercially for such labels as Bank for International Settlements. Wigglesworth is married to the University College, London archaeologist Annemieke Milks.
The couple have a daughter and reside in Sussex.