Born in
Cronenberg, now part of
Wuppertal, Zanotelli learned to play the violin and piano as a child. He studied music at the
Musikhochschule Köln from 1942 to 1944, conducting with
Hans Swarowsky. Zanotelli began his career as a
répétiteur at the
Remscheid-
Solingen theatres. At the age of 24, he became
Kapellmeister in
Düsseldorf, after which he moved to the
Oper Bonn and
Hamburgische Staatsoper. In 1957, he was appointed
Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) at the
Darmstadt, as the youngest GMD in Germany at that time. In 1963, he moved to
Theater Augsburg as GMD and deputy
artistic director. In 1971, Zanotelli became chief conductor of
Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, promoted to GMD in 1975. He held the post until 1984. He also conducted at the
Deutsche Oper Berlin and the
Bavarian State Opera. As a guest, Zanotelli also conducted concerts of the
Niedersächsisches Symphonie-Orchester in 1966 and 1967 Hannover. In 1977, Zanotelli was appointed professor and in 1984 he received the
Bundesverdienstkreuz. From 1985, he was GMD of
Kiel, responsible for
Opernhaus Kiel. Zanotelli had to end his career in 1987 for health reasons. He died in 1993 in Stuttgart at the age of 65 and is buried in his native hometown. == Recordings ==