Marc Albrecht

Marc Albrecht is internationally renowned as an outstanding interpreter of the late Romantic repertoire and is considered an expert in contemporary music. His chamber music approach lends remarkable transparency to his work with large ensembles and allows symphonic structures to shine with particular clarity. Following the premiere of „Die Frau ohne Schatten“ in season 2023.24, he will return to the Cologne Opera with „Das Rheingold“ in 2025.

Marc Albrecht has been appointed principal conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra for 2025.26 and will take up the position of principal conductor there in season 2026.27.

During season 2024.25, Marc Albrecht made guest appearances at leading opera houses, including the Bavarian State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and opera houses in Cologne, Amsterdam, Geneva, and Tokyo. His repertoire focuses on key works of late Romantic music theatre, in particular 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 colourful orchestration he brings out with particular precision. He has also conducted productions at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, La Scala in Milan and the Opéra de Paris. Concert engagements connect him with renowned orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Münchner Philharmoniker and the Dresdner Philharmonie, as well as the Orchestre National de France, the Orquesta Sinfonica y Coro de RTVE, the Gulbenkian Orchestra and the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai in Turin. Outside Europe, he works with the Cleveland Orchestra, the NHK Symphony Orchestra, the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de Sao Paulo, the Taiwan Philharmonic and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. Marc Albrecht has also appeared at renowned festivals such as the Bayreuth Festival (Wagner's „Der fliegende Holländer“), in Aix-en-Provence (Strauss' „Ariadne auf Naxos“) and the Salzburg Festival (Berg's „Lulu“). He most recently conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the BBC Proms, where he performed excerpts from Wagner's „Götterdämmerung“ with Christine Goerke and Stephen Gould. Marc Albrecht has received numerous awards for his artistic work. In 2021, he received the OPUS KLASSIK award for Conductor of the Year. Two years earlier, he had already been awarded the International Opera Award in the same category. For ten years, he was at the helm of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and the Dutch National Opera, which was named „Opernhaus des Jahres“ in 2016 under Marc Albrecht's leadership. In 2020, he was awarded the title of „Ritter des Ordens des Niederländischen Löwen“. Marc Albrecht's award-winning discography reflects his versatility and interpretative depth. He has twice received the OPUS KLASSIK award in the category „Beste Operneinspielung des 20./21. Jahrhunderts“– for Korngold's „Das Wunder der Heliane“ (NAXOS) and for Zemlinsky's „Die Seejungfrau“ (Pentatone) with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra. The production of Alban Berg's „Wozzeck“ at the Dutch National Opera (2017) was nominated for a GRAMMY in the category „Best Opera Recording“. The 2024 recording of Zemlinsky's „Eine florentinische Tragödie“ on Pentatone received considerable attention in the specialist press. Marc Albrecht's musical career was significantly influenced by Claudio Abbado. After studying in Vienna and initial positions as a répétiteur at the Vienna and Hamburg State Operas, he played a decisive role as Abbado's assistant in establishing the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, which he supervised for five years. In 1995, he was appointed to the Staatstheater Darmstadt as one of Germany's youngest general music directors, having previously served as principal conductor at the Saxon State Opera in Dresden.