Marc Albrecht

Conductor

“Strauss’s wonderfully varied and complex score [for Die Frau ohne Schatten] demands not only a virtuoso orchestra to make its effect, but also a commanding conductor who can pull such a performance out of them. And this the Netherlands Opera had in spades with Mighty Maestro Albrecht […] He and the orchestra were the triumphant stars of the night, their ovation before the start of each succeeding act growing in intensity until a veritable shouting match of approval ensued at the final call."

www.operatoday.com

Acclaimed for his interpretations of Wagner and Strauss, as well as for his commitment to contemporary music, Marc Albrecht is a regular guest at Europe’s most prestigious opera houses and orchestras. In the early years of his conducting career, Albrecht spent several seasons at the opera houses of Hamburg and Dresden, and also was appointed personal assistant to Claudio Abbado at the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra in Vienna. In 1995 he embarked on a highly successful 6 year tenure as Music Director of the Staatstheater Darmstadt, and since 2006, he has held the position of Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg. In March 2009, following the tremendous acclaim for his performances of Strauss’ Die Frau Ohne Schatten which opened the season at the Netherlands Opera in September 2008, Marc Albrecht was appointed Chief Conductor Designate of both the Netherlands Opera and Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, positions he will take up in September 2011.

Marc Albrecht has appeared with many key orchestras in Europe including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Staatskapelle Dresden, Munich Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony and the Orchestre National de Lyon. In 2006 he made his BBC Proms debut in London with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Highlights of the 2008/09 season included his US debut with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, and debut performances with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and the SWR Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart. In future seasons he returns to the Hallé Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, RSO Berlin and conducts the orchestras of the Maggio Musicale in Florence and the RAI Turin. He will undertake several tours with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, including appearances at Salle Pleyel in Paris, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and the Prague Autumn Festival.

In the opera house, Marc Albrecht’s highly acclaimed work during the past seasons has included a new production of Der fliegende Holländer at the Bayreuth Festival (2003 – 2006), Die Bacchantinnen by Wellesz at the Salzburg Festival (2003) as well as Janacek’s From the House of the Dead at the Opèra National de Paris (2005). From 2001-2004 he was Principal Guest Conductor at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, leading successful productions such as Messiaen’s Francois d’Assise, and he also maintains a close relationship with the Semperoper Dresden, where his 2007 performances of Berlioz’ Le Damnation de Faust and Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten were notably praised by the press and audience alike. In Spring 2008 Marc Albrecht was reinvited to the Munich State Opera for a new production of Henze’s Die Bassariden and to the Strasbourg Opera with a new production of Beethoven’s Fidelio.

In 2009 he returned to Dresden for Elektra and to the Netherlands Opera to conduct Carmen. He also made his debut at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden with Der fliegende Holländer (with Bryn Terfel in the title role), and conducts Henze’s Der Prinz von Homburg at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien. 2010 and beyond sees productions of Fidelio at Netherlands Opera, Lulu at Geneva Opera, and Die Freischutz and a double bill of Zemlinsky’s Eine Florentinische Tragödie and Der Zwerg at the Teatro Liceu in Barcelona.

The 2008/09 season also saw the release of Marc Albrecht’s debut Pentatone recording of Strauss tone poems with the Orchestra Philharmonique de Strasbourg, and he and the orchestra will continue this recording partnership with future release including the piano concertos of Dvorak and Schumann with Martin Helmchen, a disc of French works by Dukas, Koechlin and Ravel, and the music of Berg and Strauss.

SEASON 2009/2010

THIS BIOGRAPHY IS AVAILABLE COURTESY OF IMG ARTISTS.