After completing his studies in composition, piano and conducting at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome and at the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen, Luciano Acocella continued his training at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and attended the Kondrashin conducting masterclass in Hilversum. He also studied classical literature and musicology at La Sapienza University in Rome. In 1996 he won the International Prokofiev and Dimitri Mitropoulos conducting competitions which led to his appointment as assistant to Daniele Gatti. He has conducted extensively across Europe, Asia and the United States to critical acclaim. He was general music director of the Opéra de Rouen-Haute Normandie between 2011 and 2015.