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’s expansive artistry and deep commitment to championing composers of the 20th and 21st centuries continue to define her work in both the opera house and on the concert stage. The 2025/26 season underscores her remarkable versatility as she leads a diverse array of productions and concerts across the globe.
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In the operatic realm, Karen Kamensek makes a number of important debuts, including at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, conducting Philip Glass’s Akhnaten in a revival of Phelim McDermott’s acclaimed production; at the Opéra national de Paris to lead the Paris Opera Orchestra with Anthony Roth Costanzo at the Palais Garnier, presenting a program that juxtaposes works by Handel and Glass; and the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège to conduct a double bill that includes the world premiere of Benoît Mernier’s Bartleby, based on Herman Melville’s short story, and Francis Poulenc’s La Voix humaine, directed by Vincent Boussard. She will also return to the Royal Swedish Opera, where she conducts the Swedish premiere of Elena Langer’s Figaro Gets a Divorce.
This season on the concert stage, Kamensek makes her debut with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Netherlands Radio Choir, conducting a concert performance of Glass’s Akhnaten at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and reaffirming her reputation as one of the foremost interpreters of Glass’s work. She also opens the Calgary Philharmonic’s subscription season and returns later in the year to lead performances of Verdi’s Requiem. Additional engagements this season include concerts 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 frequently in demand as a guest conductor with many of today’s most prominent opera companies. Her recent opera highlights include performances at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in Tosca; the Houston Grand Opera in La Bohème; the Semperoper Dresden in Bernstein´s Candide; the San Francisco Opera in Poul Rouder´s The Handmaid’s Tale; the Metropolitan Opera in Jake Heggie’s Moby Dick, Akhnaten, and Rigoletto; the English National Opera in Glass’s Akhnaten and Satyagraha; the Welsh National Opera in Heggie’s Dead Man Walking and Bernstein’s Candide; the Lyric Opera of Chicago in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte; the Royal Swedish Opera in Victoria Borisova-Ollas’s Dracula; the Opéra National du Rhin in the world premiere of Glass’s ballet Alice; and Bernstein’s Wonderful Town with the Norwegian Opera. She has also appeared at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Oper Frankfurt, Opera Australia (Melbourne) and San Diego Opera, among others.
Kamensek’s recent work as a symphonic conductor has brought her to the podia of such orchestras as the London Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Oslo Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Vancouver Symphony, Brussels Philharmonic, Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, Orquesta Sinfónica RTVE in Madrid, Colorado Symphony, Norrköping Symphony, Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier, Calgary Philharmonic, Tiroler Symphonieorchester, and the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, among others.
Karen Kamensek served as the Music Director of the Staatsoper Hannover from 2011 to 2016. She has also held positions as First Kapellmeister at the Volksoper Wien (2000–2002), Music Director of Theater Freiburg (2003–2006), Interim Music Director at the Slovenian National Theatre in Maribor (2007–2008), and Associate Music Director at the Staatsoper Hamburg (2008–2011).
2025/26
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