Biography
Konrad Junghänel will make his debut at the National Theatre Opera and the State Opera in the 2025/26 season, conducting a new production of Mozart’s Idomeneo. Renowned for his refined interpretations of early music, he began his musical career as an internationally acclaimed lutenist and soon collaborated with leading figures and ensembles in the early music world, including René Jacobs, Les Arts Florissants, La Petite Bande, and Musica Antiqua Köln. As both a soloist and chamber musician, he has performed on major stages worldwide. His deep interest in baroque vocal music led him in 1987 to found the vocal ensemble Cantus Cölln, which became one of the foremost groups of its kind internationally. In 1994, he was appointed professor at the State University of Music in Cologne. For more than two decades, Konrad Junghänel has been one of the most sought-after conductors both in concert halls and, above all, in the field of opera – particularly in the baroque and classical repertoire. In a critics’ poll by Welt am Sonntag, he was named the best conductor in North Rhine-Westphalia. His operatic engagements have included acclaimed productions at Komische Oper Berlin, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Winter Opera Potsdam, the Schwetzingen Festival, and the Wiener Festwochen. In recent years, he has drawn particular praise at Staatstheater Wiesbaden, where he conducted a series of baroque operas and a cycle of Mozart’s seven major operas.