Stefan Soltesz

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Stefan Soltész (born 6 January 1949) is an Austrian conductor of Hungarian origin. Trained in Vienna, he was from 1997 to 2013 he was artistic director of the Aalto Theatre and Generalmusikdirektor in Essen, leading the opera house to international recognition.

Life[]

Soltész was born in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary, and received piano lessons from age four.[1] He came to Vienna in 1956, where he became a member of the Wiener Sängerknaben at age ten.[1][2] He studied piano, conducting and composition at the Wiener Musikakademie beginning at age 14,[2] conducting with Hans Swarowsky.[3][4]

In 1971 he began his career as Kapellmeister at the Theater an der Wien,[2] followed by engagements as répétiteur and conductor,[2] at the Vienna State Opera from 1973 to 1983,[3] and as guest conductor at the Graz Opera from 1979 to 1981.[3] At the Salzburg Festivals of 1978, 1979 and 1983, he worked as a musical assistant to Karl Böhm, Christoph von Dohnányi and Herbert von Karajan.[3][4]

Soltész was conductor at the Hamburg State Opera from 1983 to 1985, and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1985 to 1997.[4] He worked as Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) at the Staatstheater Braunschweig from 1988 to 1993, and as chief conductor at the Flemish Opera from 1992 to 1997 in Antwerp and Gent.[4]

From 1997 until the end of the 2012/13 season, Soltész was both artistic director and GMD of the Aalto-Theater in Essen.[4][5] The opera house was voted "Opera House of the Year" by Opernwelt in 2008, and the Essen Philharmonic orchestra was named "Orchestra of the Year" in 2003 and 2008.[2][3]

Soltész is a regular guest conductor at the European opera houses such as the Vienna State Opera, the Bavarian State Opera, Oper Frankfurt, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, the Budapest State Opera, the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw, the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and the Grand Théâtre de Genève.[4] He has made guest appearances at the Paris Opera and the Zurich Opera House, Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam, the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, at the Bilbao Opera, at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, in Japan, Taiwan, at the Washington and San Francisco Opera, and the Royal Opera House. He has conducted at festivals such as Festival de Radio France et Montpellier, Aix-en-Provence Festival and Savonlinna, the Baden-Baden Pfingstfestspiele, anima mundi in Pisa, the Tongyeong Festival in Korea and the Glyndebourne Festival.[4]

Recordings[]

Soltesz conducted recordings such as excerpts from Puccini's La Bohème, Giuseppe Gazzaniga's Don Giovanni and Alexander von Zemlinsky's Der Kreidekreis, as well as arias and songs with Grace Bumbry, Lucia Popp and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. In 2010, he recorded the Alban Berg's Lulu Suite and Hans Werner Henze's Appassionatamente plus with the Essen Philharmonic and soprano Julia Bauer, as part of the Ruhr being European Capital of Culture.[6] The album was nominated for Grammy and ICMA awards.[3][4]

Awards[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Umbach, Klaus (26 March 2007). "Musiktheater – In Rausch und Bogen. Mit der Don Giovanni-Einstudierung von Stefan Herheim ist der Essener Oper endgültig der Sprung in die europäische Spitzenklasse geglückt". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Fasel, Andreas Fasel (8 September 2001). ""Ich träume von einer Zauberflöte unserer Zeit"". Die Welt. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h "Stefan Soltész / Conductor". Bolshoi Theatre. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i "Stefan Soltész / Dirigent" (in German). Komische Oper Berlin. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  5. ^ Christiane Hoffmans: Das hat Stefan Soltesz nicht verdient Die Welt, 15 May 2011
  6. ^ "Appassionatamente plus / CD" (in German). Hans Werner Henze Stiftung. 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2021.

External links[]

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