Louis Langrée

On a proposal from the Minister of Culture, Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, French President Macron appointed Louis Langrée as director of the Opéra Comique National Theatre. Louis Langrée thus took up office on 1st November 2021 for a five-year term.

Born in Mulhouse in 1961, he studied at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg and then began his career as a vocal conductor and assistant, first at the Opéra National de Lyon and later at the Orchestre de Paris. He was music director of the Orchestre de Picardie and Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège, as well as of the Opéra National de Lyon and the Glyndebourne Touring Opera.

He has been the symphonic conductor of the Mostly Mozart Festival at the Lincoln Center, New York, since 2003 and of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra since 2013. Both these institutions enabled him to invite many French artists to perform overseas.

As a symphonic conductor, Louis has directed the philharmonic orchestras of Berlin, Vienna, London, New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Paris and the Orchestre National de France. He also performs with ensembles on period instruments (Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, Freiburger Barockorchester, Concert d’Astrée…). He has directed and taken part in the creation of many opera productions at the Staatsoper in Vienna, La Scala in Milan, the Covent Garden - Royal Opera House in London and the Opéra National de Paris, as well as the Glyndebourne, Hollywood Bowl and Aix-en-Provence opera festivals.

Ardent advocate of the French lyrical repertoire, notably at the Metropolitan Opera in New York where he has directed Iphigenia in Tauris, Dialogues of the Carmelites, Carmen and Hamlet to name a few, he has been regularly invited to perform at the Opéra Comique. Here, he has indeed directed Fortunio, Pelléas and Mélisande, Le Comte Ory and Hamlet, conducting the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées. Three of these productions have been released on DVD and were critically acclaimed: Diapason d’Or of the year, Grand Prize of the Charles Cros Academy, Caecilia Prize, Diamant award from Opéra magazine, Best Recording of the year at the International Opera Awards and Best Video Performance at the International Classic Music Awards.

Louis Langrée has been appointed Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneurand Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in recognition of his significant contribution to the Arts.