The Artistic Director of the Orchestre Métropolitain

Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain since March 2000, Yannick Nézet-Séguin has dramatically raised the orchestra’s standard of excellence and popularity, sharing with his musicians rigor and passion. In September 2008, he succeeded Valery Gergiev as Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. At the same time, he also became Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Following his European debut in 2004 with the Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse, he swiftly established a fine reputation in Europe, appearing with a wide range of orchestras, among them City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Frankfurt and Flemish Radio Symphony Orchestras, Sydney Symphony, Scottish Chamber and Northern Sinfonia. Everywhere he has conducted, he has been re-invited! He is now a regular guest conductor of many leading orchestras, such as the Dresden Staatskapelle, Orchestre national de France, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. During 2008, he made acclaimed debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Wiener Symphoniker, National Symphony Orchestra (Washington), Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.

In Canada, Yannick Nézet-Séguin regularly conducts the Toronto Symphony, and has worked with all the orchestras of note, including the National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottawa), Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, CBC Radio Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and Victoria Symphony, of which he was Principal Guest Conductor between 2003 and 2006.

Recently, he made his debuts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and will continue with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Zurich Tonhalle, the Wiener Philharmoniker, the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Orchestra Sinfonica dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia and the Gewandhaus Orchester of Leipzig.

A native of Montreal, Yannick Nézet-Séguin has conducted many productions for Opéra de Montréal through the years. His most recent Canadian productions have been Gounod’s Faust for the Canadian Opera Company (2007), and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly with the Opéra de Montreal (2008). He has been invited by many operas houses throughout the world. In August 2008, he made an outstandingly successful Salzburg Festival debut conducting the Mozarteum Orchester in a new production of Gounod’s Roméo and Juliette with a cast led by Rolando Villazon and Nino Machaidze. In May 2009, he will make his debut at the Netherlands Opera conducting the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in Janacek’s The Makropoulos Case. Further engagements include the Metropolitan Opera in New York, La Scala in Milan and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

He records for the dynamic Canadian company ATMA Classique and all his recordings with his Orchestre Métropolitain have been awarded prizes and have received the highest praise by the international music press. His first recordings with Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra are due for release shortly.

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