Karen Kamensek
Metropolitan Opera - Moby Dick
Heggie's newly staged Moby Dick lands triumphantly at the Met
Throughout the evening conductor Karen Kamensek ably supported the singers and led the great Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in a performance of great beauty and vibrance, while the magnificent all-male chorus – on-stage or off – continually impressed.
Bachtrack (March 12, 2025)Operawire (September 26, 2024)Season 25/26 and Highlights
CALGARY PHILHARMONIC
Smetana - Ma Vlast
Dvorak - Violin Concerto
Strauss, R. - Four Symphonic Interludes from « Intermezzo »
Dvorak - Slavonic Dances
Sep 12/13
GRAN TEATRE DEL LICEU
Glass, P. - Akhnaten
PREMIERE Oct 16
Oct 19/22/27/29/31, Nov 3
ORCHESTRA DE L' OPÉRA NATIONAL DE PARIS
Trade, Managing Director
Amadigi di Gaula, “Pena tiranna”
Flavio, « Rompo i lacci »
Rinaldo, "Lascia ch'io pianga"
Rodelinda, “Vivi, tiranno”
Tolomeo, “Inumano fratel”, “Silence amare”
Glass, P.
1000 Airplanes on the Roof, “The Encounter” (arr. Michael Riesman)
Liquid Days (arr. Michael Riesman)
Monsters of Grace, “In the Arc of Your Mallet” (arr. Michael Riesman)
The Fall of the House of Husher, «How all Living Things Breathe»
No More, You Petty Spirits
Nov 14
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ORQUESTA SINFÓNICA DE TENERIFE
Ravel - La Valse
Ravel - Piano Concerto in G
Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue
Gershwin - American in Paris
Dec 12
CYPRUS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Debussy - Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Glass - Suite from the Hours
Berlioz - Symphony Fantastique
Dec 19
ROYAL SWEDISH OPERA
Langer, E. - Figaro Gets a Divorce
PREMIERE Jan 31
Feb 3/7/11/17/25, March 4/7/11
CALGARY PHILHARMONIC
Verdi - Messa da Requiem
March 18/20
OPÉRA ROYAL DE WALLONIE-LIEGE
Mernier, B. - Bertelby (World Premiere)
Poulenc - The Human Voice
PREMIERE May 13
May 15/17/19/21
NETHERLANDS RADIO PHILHARMONIC
Glass, P. - Akhnaten
June 6
NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Glass, P. - Symphony No.15 “Lincoln” (World Premiere)
Barber - Violin Concerto
Gershwin - An American in Paris
June 12/13
ORQUESTRA SINFÔNICA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO
Ortiz, G. - Antrópolis
Shostakovich - Piano Concerto No. 2
Bartók - Concerto for Orchestra
June 25/26/27
Biography
Grammy Award-winning conductor Karen Kamensek impresses with her stylistic versatility and deep commitment to composers of the 20th and 21st centuries – qualities that characterize her work both on the opera stage and in the concert hall. The 2025/26 season underscores her exceptional artistic range with a diverse program of opera and concert projects on the international stage.
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In the realm of opera, Kamensek will make several significant debuts this season: at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona with Philip Glass's Akhnaten in Phelim McDermott's acclaimed production; at the OPÉRA NATIONAL DE PARIS, where she will conduct the Paris Opera Orchestra at the Palais Garnier alongside countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo – with a program juxtaposing works by Handel and Glass; and at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège, where she will conduct a double bill: the world premiere of Benoît Mernier's Bartleby, based on the short story by Herman Melville, and Francis Poulenc's La Voix humaine, directed by Vincent Boussard. Additionally, she returns to the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm, where she will lead the Swedish premiere of Elena Langer's Figaro Gets a Divorce.
In the concert sphere, Kamensek debuts this season with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and the Netherlands Radio Choir, with a concert performance of Glass’ Akhnaten at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam – further evidence of her reputation as one of the leading interpreters of Philip Glass’ music. She also opens the subscription series of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and returns later in the year for performances of Verdi's Requiem. Further engagements include appearances with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife, the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C., and the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra.
Karen Kamensek is a regular guest at the world's most important opera houses. Recent highlights include Tosca at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, La Bohème at the Houston Grand Opera, Candide at the Semperoper Dresden , The Handmaid's Tale by Poul Ruders at the San Francisco Opera, as well as Moby Dick , Akhnaten and Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. At the English National Opera she has performed Akhnaten and Satyagraha , at the Welsh National Opera with Heggie's Dead Man Walking and Bernstein's Candide , at the Lyric Opera of Chicago with Mozart's The Magic Flute , at the Royal Opera in Stockholm with Victoria Borisova-Ollas' Dracula , at the Opéra National du Rhin with the world premiere of Glass's ballet Alice , as well as Bernstein's Wonderful Town at the Norwegian National Opera. Further engagements have taken her to the Deutsche Oper Berlin , the Oper Frankfurt , Opera Australia (Melbourne) and the San Diego Opera.
Karen Kamensek is also in demand internationally as a concert conductor. She has conducted numerous renowned orchestras, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Oslo Philharmonic, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Brussels Philharmonic, the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, the Orquesta Sinfónica RTVE in Madrid, the Colorado Symphony, the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, the Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier, the Calgary Philharmonic, the Tiroler Symphonieorchester and the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano.
From 2011 to 2016, Karen Kamensek was General Music Director of the Hanover State Opera. Previously, she was First Kapellmeister at the Volksoper Vienna (2000–2002), Music Director at the Theater Freiburg (2003–2006), Interim Music Director at the Slovenian National Theatre in Maribor (2007–2008) and Associate Music Director at the Hamburg State Opera (2008–2011).
2025/26
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