Tomáš
Netopil

An inspirational force in Czech music, Tomáš Netopil continues his tenure as Chief Conductor of the FOK-Prague Symphony Orchestra, a partnership that remains at the centre of his artistic activities. In the 2026/27 season, he leads the orchestra in a wide range of programmes and projects, including a tour in Japan, alongside several weeks of performances in Prague. Elsewhere this season, he returns to Oper Köln for “The Bartered Bride”, conducts the San Francisco Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Orchestre National de Lyon and Auckland Philharmonia, and appears at the Janáček Brno Festival with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra in a double symphonic programme as well as performances of “The Cunning Little Vixen”. Renowned for the authenticity and vitality he brings to Czech repertoire, Netopil continues to combine a distinguished operatic career with a broad international symphonic presence.

Previously, Netopil served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic from 2018 to 2024, a close collaboration that continued through televised New Year concerts and performances at the Litomyšl and Kissinger Sommer festivals. From 2013 to 2023, he was General Music Director of the Aalto Musiktheater and Philharmonie Essen, following his appointment as Music Director of the Prague National Theatre from 2008 to 2012. Recent seasons have included productions at the Geneva Opera (“La Clemenza di Tito”), Berliner Staatsoper (“Madama Butterfly”), Lyric Opera of Chicago (“Salome”), New National Theatre Tokyo (“Die Zauberflöte”), Prague National Theatre (“Rusalka”) and Deutsche Oper Berlin (“Die Zauberflöte”). He has appeared with orchestras including the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich, Oslo Philharmonic, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Sydney Symphony Orchestra, while maintaining regular relationships with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo and Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire. In North America, he opened the 2025/26 season with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal.

Alongside his symphonic and operatic work, Netopil continues to expand his activities in the period-instrument field. He maintains regular collaborations with Concentus Musicus Wien and Collegium 1704 and works closely with the ensemble Silentium. During the 2025/26 season, their projects included performances of previously unheard Baroque music from the archives of Kroměříž, as well as a production of Rameau’s “Les Indes galantes” at the Znojmo Festival. Netopil is also the founder of the International Summer Music Academy in Kroměříž, which offers young musicians exceptional artistic tuition and the opportunity to work alongside leading international artists. In 2021, in association with the Dvořák Prague Festival, the Academy established the Dvořák Prague Youth Philharmonic, bringing together students from conservatoires and music academies under the guidance of principal players of the Czech Philharmonic.

Netopil’s most recent recordings with the Czech Philharmonic include Richard Blackford’s Cello Concerto with Alisa Weilerstein and Dvořák’s Legends and Rhapsodies, both released on Pentatone. His Supraphon discography includes Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass in the original 1927 version, Dvořák’s complete works for cello, Martinů’s “Ariane” and Double Concerto, and Smetana’s Má vlast with the Prague Symphony Orchestra. During his tenure in Essen, his recordings included Suk’s Asrael and Mahler’s Symphonies Nos. 2, 3, 6 and 9. He studied violin and conducting in his native Czechia and at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm with Professor Jorma Panula. In 2002, he won the First Sir Georg Solti Conductors Competition at the Alte Oper Frankfurt.