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.[5] He has also conducted at the
Welsh National Opera,[6][7] the
Metropolitan Opera,
English National Opera,[8][9] and
Glyndebourne.[10] 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
La 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.[11] In April 2008, La Monnaie announced that Wigglesworth would not take up the post of music director at La Monnaie.[12]
In January 2014,
English National Opera (ENO) named Wigglesworth its next music director, succeeding
Edward Gardner effective September 2015.[13] Shortly into his tenure, Wigglesworth expressed disapproval of proposals by ENO management for economising measures, such as a reduction in the contract of the ENO chorus.[14] On 22 March 2016, he resigned from the music directorship of ENO, effective at the close of the 2015–2016 season. The resignation report indicated that he was to honour existing conducting commitments with the company. In a separate letter to ENO musicians, Wigglesworth said:[15]
"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.”
In November 2021, the
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra announced the appointment of Wigglesworth as its next principal guest conductor, with immediate effect.[16] In March 2024, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra announced the appointment of Wigglesworth as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2024-2025 season, with an initial contract of four years.[17]
Wigglesworth has recorded commercially for such labels as BIS.[18][19] In 2018, Faber & Faber published Wigglesworth's book The Silent Musician: Why Conducting Matters.[20]
Wigglesworth is married to the University College London archaeologist Annemieke Milks. The couple have a daughter and live in Sussex.[21]