Sebastian Weigle (born 1961, in East Berlin) is a German conductor and horn player. He is currently principal conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra.
Weigle is a nephew of the conductor and music educator Jörg-Peter Weigle and the brother of the late violist Friedemann Weigle of the Artemis Quartet. [1] Weigle studied at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" in horn, piano and conducting. [2] In 1987 he founded the Berlin Chamber Choir, and later he led the New Berlin Chamber Orchestra. [2] He was principal horn player in the orchestra of the Berlin State Opera for 15 years. He also was a member of the jazz orchestra "Vielharmonie" in East Berlin.
In 1993, Weigle became chief conductor of the Junge Philharmonie Brandenburg. In 1997, he became Erster Staatskapellmeister of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. [2] In 2003, Weigle was named "Conductor of the Year" by the German magazine Opernwelt , [2] [3] and subsequently won this award in 2005 and 2006. From 2004 to 2008, he was music director of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. [2]
Weigle conducted a new production of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Bayreuth Festival in 2007, staged by Katharina Wagner, as well as repeated performances in the following years. [4]
From 2008 to 2023, [5] [6] Weigle was Generalmusikdirektor (General Music Director) of the Oper Frankfurt. [2] He conducted new productions of Daphne and Arabella by Richard Strauss, Korngold's Die tote Stadt , Reimann's Lear and Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauß, and he took over Mozart's Die Zauberflöte , Beethovens Fidelio , and Wagner's Tristan und Isolde and Parsifal . [3] He conducted Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen , staged by Vera Nemirova, with two complete cycles in 2012. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] Single performances were recorded. With Oper Frankfurt, Weigle has made commercial recordings of opera for the OEHMS Classics label. [13] [14]
Outside of Europe, Weigle became principal conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra on 1 April 2019, with an initial contract of three years. [15]
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of stage works by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived and promoted the idea of a special festival to showcase his own works, in particular his monumental cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen and Parsifal.
Harry Alfred Robert Kupfer was a German opera director and academic. A long-time director at the Komische Oper Berlin, he worked at major opera houses and at festivals internationally. Trained by Walter Felsenstein, he worked in the tradition of realistic directing. At the Bayreuth Festival, he staged Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer in 1978 and Der Ring des Nibelungen in 1988. At the Salzburg Festival, he directed the premiere of Penderecki's Die schwarze Maske in 1986 and Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss in 2014.
Christian Thielemann is a German conductor. He is currently Generalmusikdirektor of the Berlin State Opera and chief conductor of the Staatskapelle Berlin.
The Oper Frankfurt is a German opera company based in Frankfurt.
René Pape is a German operatic bass. Pape has received two Grammys, was named "Vocalist of the Year" by Musical America in 2002, "Artist of the Year" by the German opera critics in 2006, and won an ECHO award in 2009.
Sir Donald Cameron Runnicles is a Scottish conductor, known for his Romantic symphonic and operatic repertoire, especially Richard Wagner, Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss and Anton Bruckner. With a career that has spanned the USA, Germany and his native Scotland, Runnicles has served as Music Director of the San Francisco Opera, Principal Guest Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Principal Conductor of the Orchestra of St. Luke's, Music Director of the Grand Teton Music Festival, Generalmusikdirektor of Deutsche Oper Berlin and as Chief Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He is scheduled to serve as chief conductor-designate for the 2024–2025 season of the Dresden Philharmonic.
Jörg-Peter Weigle, is a German conductor and music professor. He is the uncle of the conductor Sebastian Weigle and the violist Friedemann Weigle. Weigle received his first musical training from 1963 to 1971 as a member of the Thomanerchor in Leipzig. From 1973 to 1978, he studied at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" in Berlin, where his teachers included Horst Förster (conducting), Dietrich Knothe and Ruth Zechlin (counterpoint). He later participated in master classes with Kurt Masur and Witold Rowicki.
The Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester(Frankfurt Opera House and Museum's Orchestra) is the resident orchestra of the Oper Frankfurt. Its somewhat peculiar name is derived from the series of "Museum Concerts", organized by the Frankfurter Museumsgesellschaft since 1808. The orchestra is ranked as an "A-list" ensemble under the German TVK regulations. Its music director and principal conductor is Thomas Guggeis.
Ortrun Wenkel is a German operatic contralto. She notably portrayed the role of Erda in the Bayreuth Jahrhundertring in 1976 and was awarded a Grammy Award as a Principal Soloist in 1983.
James Allen Gähres is an American conductor with an international career, based in Germany.
Camilla Nylund is a Finnish operatic soprano. She appears internationally in lyric-dramatic roles such as Beethoven's Leonore, Verdi's Elisabetta, and Wagner's Elisabeth and Sieglinde. She is especially known for portraying leading female characters in operas by Richard Strauss,. She has appeared at international festivals and the openings of the Dresdner Frauenkirche and the Elbphilharmonie.
Tanja Ariane Baumgartner is a German operatic mezzo-soprano. A member of the Oper Frankfurt since 2009, she has enjoyed an international career, appearing in major European and American opera houses and the Salzburg Festival.
Vera Nemirova is a Bulgarian-German opera director who has worked at major opera houses in Europe, staging for example Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Oper Frankfurt. She directed for the Munich Biennale and the Salzburg Festival.
Tobias Kratzer is a German stage director, especially of opera, who has worked internationally after winning a competition in Graz with two entries in 2008. He has staged works by Verdi and Wagner, but also contemporary music. He directed Wagner's Tannhäuser for the 2019 Bayreuth Festival.
Katharina Magiera is a German operatic contralto. A member of the Oper Frankfurt, she has appeared in major European opera houses. She is active also as a lieder singer and has recorded.
Daniel Behle is a German classical composer and operatic tenor. He has performed at international opera houses and festivals, and has recorded both operas and Lieder recitals.
Albert Dohmen is a German operatic bass-baritone who is known internationally for performing leading roles by Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. He has also worked in concert halls and given lieder recitals.
Patrick Lange is a German conductor.
Constantin Trinks is a German conductor.
Erich Witte was a German stage actor, operatic tenor and opera director. He was based for almost five decades at the Berlin State Opera, and performed leading roles at major opera houses in Europe and at the Metropolitan opera. He participated in world premieres, including Louise Talma's Die Alkestiade and Alan Bush's Joe Hill.