Internationally renowned for his exceptional interpretations of the late-Romantic repertoire, Marc Albrecht is also celebrated as a leading expert in contemporary music. His chamber music approach brings remarkable transparency to his work with large orchestras, allowing symphonic structures to shine with striking clarity.

In the 2025/26 season, Marc Albrecht is the designated Chief Conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, officially assuming the role of Chief Conductor in the 2026/27 season.

This season, Albrecht returns as a guest conductor at leading opera houses, including the Bayerische Staatsoper and Deutsche Oper Berlin, as well as in Cologne, Amsterdam, Geneva, and Tokyo. His repertoire centres on pivotal works of late-Romantic music theatre, particularly those by Richard Wagner (“Lohengrin”, “Das Rheingold”, “Die Walküre”, “Tristan und Isolde”), Richard Strauss (“Elektra”, “Salome”, “Die Frau ohne Schatten”), and Leoš Janáček (“Káťa Kabanová”), whose dramatic intensity and richly-coloured orchestration he interprets with exceptional precision. In previous seasons he has conducted productions at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, La Scala in Milan, and the Opéra de Paris.
 

Marc Albrecht's concert engagements have seen him conduct such prestigious orchestras as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Münchner Philharmoniker, and Dresdner Philharmonie, as well as the Orchestre National de France, Orquesta Sinfónica y Coro de RTVE, Gulbenkian Orchestra, and the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI in Turin.  Further afield, he has also worked with the Cleveland Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Taiwan Philharmonic, and Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra.

He has also appeared at major festivals, including the Bayreuth Festival (Wagner’s “Der fliegende Holländer”), the Aix-en-Provence Festival (Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos”), and the Salzburg Festival (Berg’s “Lulu”). At the BBC Proms, he conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance featuring excerpts from Wagner’s “Götterdämmerung” with Christine Goerke and Stephen Gould.

His artistic achievements have been recognised with numerous awards. In 2021, Marc Albrecht was honoured with the OPUS KLASSIK award as "Conductor of the Year." Two years earlier, he had received the International Opera Award in the same category. For a decade, he served as Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and the Dutch National Opera; the latter was named “Opera House of the Year” in 2016 under his direction. In recognition of his contributions to the arts, he was appointed “Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion” in 2020.

Marc Albrecht's highly-acclaimed discography reflects his versatility and interpretive depth. He has twice received the OPUS KLASSIK award for “Best Opera Recording of the 20th/21st Century” – for Korngold’s “Das Wunder der Heliane” (NAXOS) and Zemlinsky’s “Die Seejungfrau” (Pentatone), both recorded with the

Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra. His production of Alban Berg’s “Wozzeck” at the Dutch National Opera was nominated for a GRAMMY in the category of “Best Opera Recording” in 2017. His most recent recording of Zemlinsky’s “Eine florentinische Tragödie” with Pentatone received widespread critical acclaim.

Marc Albrecht’s musical career was profoundly influenced by Claudio Abbado. Following his studies in Vienna and early roles as a répétiteur at the Vienna and Hamburg State Operas, he became Abbado's assistant and played a pivotal role in establishing the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, leading and shaping it for over five years. In 1995, he was appointed to the Staatstheater Darmstadt as one of Germany’s youngest General Music Directors, following his tenure as First Kapellmeister at the Semperoper in Dresden.

SEASON 2024/2025