From 1864, while his father took up engagements in Europe's opera houses, Curti grew up with his uncle in Rapperswil, Switzerland, on the shores of Lake Zurich.

After graduating from high school in 1871 he travelled to Italy to recover from lung disease; while there he was impressed by the country's opera.

Curti published his first work Die Gletscherjungfrau in 1882, and his first opera, Hertha, was awarded the Gold Medal for Art and Science by Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg in 1887.

[1] Curti began his last opera, Dasösli vom Säntis in 1880, but did not live to see its 1898 premiere as he died in the same year at the age of 44.

In 1901 Franz-Curti-Straße, a street in the Dresden district of Loschwitz was named after Curti, as was in 2000 the Curti-Platz, a square at the harbour in Rapperswil.