George Petrou

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George Petrou

George Petrou (Greek: Γιώργος Πέτρου) is a Greek conductor, pianist and stage-director, with a distinguished international career.

He has particular interest in music of the 18th and 19th centuries and is currently considered one of the world's leading Baroque specialists, also with special affection for bel canto. His Händel opera recordings are considered by many critics as definitive. However, his musical activity is very wide including music of the 20 century as well as contemporary.

Biography[]

George Petrou was born in Greece. He studied at the Athens Conservatoire, the Royal College and the Royal Academy of Music in London. He started an early career as a concert pianist, but quickly turned into conducting developing a parallel interest in historical keyboard instruments and their practices. Since 2012 he is the artistic director of the renowned Athens based orchestra (former ) with which he tours and records extensively, performing both on period or modern instruments.

From the season 2021–22 he will be the new Artistic director of the historical Internationale Händel- Festspiele Göttingen.

Additionally, he has developed a vivid interest in stage-directing and has recently signed several successful opera and musical theater productions, including Handel's Alcina, C. Porter's "Kiss me Kate", L. Bernstein's West side story, S. Sondheim's Sweeney Todd and Company and the God's son by Theofrastos Sakellarides, the most celebrated Greek operetta.

He has been a guest of major opera houses including the Opera de Toulouse, the Oper Leipzig, the Oper Köln, the , the Opera de Nice, the Theater an der Wien, the Nederlandse Reisopera, the , the , the , the Korea National Opera, the , the Teatro Verdi di Trieste, the , the opera , the Royal Opera in Stockholm, the Greek National Opera working with orchestras such as the  Munich Radio Orchestra, the , the , the , the Noord Nederlands Orkest, the , the NAC Orchestra (Ottawa), the , the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, the Concerto Köln, the , the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, the Bern Symphony Orchestra, the Cottbus Philharmonie, the Athens and Thessaloniki State Orchestras, the , the , the Musica Viva, the . He has performed at major festivals including the , the , the Klara festival in Brussels, the Handel festivals of Halle and Karlsruhe, the festival de Valle Itria (Martina Franca).

George Petrou has been a very active recording artist, collaborating with the world's major recording companies, including , DECCA, MDG. All his recordings have received the highest critical acclaim from the international press (Diapason d’Or, Preis der Deutsche Schalplattenkritik, Choc-Monde de la Musique, Gramophone-Editor’s Choice, BBC Mag/Recording of the Month, CD of the week-Sunday Times, Recording of the month in Musicweb, Crescendo Bestenliste Platz 1, etc.). Tamerlano received the prestigious 2008, and Alessandro the Recording of the Year at the International Opera Awards, and the opera was voted by the viewers of Mezzo as opera of the Year 2013 receiving more than 250,000 votes. George Petrou has received a Grammy Nomination (for Handel's Ottone released by Decca) and a Pοrin Awards nomination (for Handel's Alessandro also by Decca) He was honored as an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, London (ARAM), was awarded the title of Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French government and the Grand Prize for Music 2018 from the association of the Greek Critics of Music and Drama.

Discography[]

• G. F. Händel : Oreste (pasticcio) (MDG)
• G. F. Händel : Arianna in Creta (MDG)
• G. F. Händel : Tamerlano (MDG)
• G. F. Händel : Giulio Cesare (MDG)
• G. F. Händel : Alessandro Severo (pasticcio) (MDG). Bonus: Niccolo Mantzaro:
• G. F. Händel : Alessandro (Decca)
• G. F. Handel: Arminio (Decca). Also a DVD issued by the Internazionale Händel-Festspiele Karlsruhe
• S. Mayr : La Lodoiska (OEHMS)
• S. Mayr: Ginevra di Scozia (OEHMS)
• L. v. Beethoven : Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus (Decca)
• J. A. Hasse : Siroe (Decca)
• with Franco Fagioli (Deutsche Gramophone)
• J. A. Hasse : with Max Emanuel Cencic (Decca)
• C. W. Gluck : Arias with Daniel Behle (Decca)
• (Decca)
• (Decca)
• with Mary Ellen Nesi. (MDG)
• with Xavier Sabata (Apartè)
• Masks by Dimitris Papadimitriou (Elliniko Sxedio)
• by Dimitris Papadimitriou (Elliniko Sxedio)
• by Dimitris Papadimitriou (Elliniko Sxedio)
• . (Elliniko Sxedio)

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