One of today’s preeminent conductors, James Conlon has cultivated a vast symphonic, operatic and choral repertoire, and developed enduring relationships with many of the world's most prestigious symphony orchestras and opera houses.  Since his New York Philharmonic debut in 1974, Mr. Conlon has appeared as guest conductor with virtually every major North American and European orchestra and has been a frequent guest conductor at the Metropolitan Opera for over thirty years. Mr. Conlon is Music Director of Los Angeles Opera; the Ravinia Festival, summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; and the Cincinnati May Festival, where he has provided the artistic leadership for more May Festivals than any other Music Director in the Festival’s 137-year history. Mr. Conlon served as Principal Conductor of the Paris National Opera (1995-2004); General Music Director of the City of Cologne, Germany (1989-2002); and Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic (1983-1991).  

Since beginning his tenure at L.A. Opera in September 2006, Mr. Conlon has sought to establish a Wagnerian tradition in Los Angeles. He conducted his first Ring cycle in the United States at L.A. Opera in the summer of 2010 and during the 2010/11 season he will conduct Wagner’s Lohengrin, as well as Verdi’s Rigoletto and Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia.  He will also revive an earlier L.A. Opera tradition of performing works by Benjamin Britten. Beginning in 2011 with Turn of the Screw, he will embark on a four-year initiative celebrating the centenary of the composer’s birth.  Elsewhere, Mr. Conlon will conduct Puccini’s La Bohème at the Rome Opera in summer 2011.  His 2010-11 orchestral engagements include performances with the Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto and Montreal Symphonies in North America. In Europe he will conduct the Deutsche Sinfonie Orchester in Berlin, National Philharmonic of Russia in Moscow, NDR Sinfonie Orchester in Hamburg, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale in Florence, the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini in concerts at Piacenza and Parma, and the Orchestre National de France.  In addition, Mr. Conlon will conduct a special gala concert celebrating Placido Domingo’s 70th birthday at the Teatro Real in Madrid.  He will also lead the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra at the May Festival and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival ... read full bio

One of today’s preeminent conductors, James Conlon has cultivated a vast symphonic, operatic and choral repertoire, and developed enduring relationships with many of the world's most prestigious symphony orchestras and opera houses.  Since his New York Philharmonic debut in 1974, Mr. Conlon has appeared as guest conductor with virtually every major North American and European orchestra and has been a frequent guest conductor at the Metropolitan Opera for over thirty years. Mr. Conlon is Music Director of Los Angeles Opera; the Ravinia Festival, summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; and the Cincinnati May Festival, where he has provided the artistic leadership for more May Festivals than any other Music Director in the Festival’s 137-year history. Mr. Conlon served as Principal Conductor of the Paris National Opera (1995-2004); General Music Director of the City of Cologne, Germany (1989-2002); and Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic (1983-1991).  

Since beginning his tenure at L.A. Opera in September 2006, Mr. Conlon has sought to establish a Wagnerian tradition in Los Angeles. He conducted his first Ring cycle in the United States at L.A. Opera in the summer of 2010 and during the 2010/11 season he will conduct Wagner’s Lohengrin, as well as Verdi’s Rigoletto and Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia.  He will also revive an earlier L.A. Opera tradition of performing works by Benjamin Britten. Beginning in 2011 with Turn of the Screw, he will embark on a four-year initiative celebrating the centenary of the composer’s birth.  Elsewhere, Mr. Conlon will conduct Puccini’s La Bohème at the Rome Opera in summer 2011.  His 2010-11 orchestral engagements include performances with the Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto and Montreal Symphonies in North America. In Europe he will conduct the Deutsche Sinfonie Orchester in Berlin, National Philharmonic of Russia in Moscow, NDR Sinfonie Orchester in Hamburg, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale in Florence, the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini in concerts at Piacenza and Parma, and the Orchestre National de France.  In addition, Mr. Conlon will conduct a special gala concert celebrating Placido Domingo’s 70th birthday at the Teatro Real in Madrid.  He will also lead the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra at the May Festival and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival.

In an effort to raise public consciousness to the significance of works of composers whose lives and compositions were suppressed by the Nazi regime, Mr. Conlon has devoted himself to extensive programming of this music in North America and Europe.  At both the Ravinia Festival and L.A. Opera he continues to program works of these composers, including Alexander von Zemlinsky, Viktor Ullmann, Pavel Haas, Kurt Weill, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Karl-Amadeus Hartmann, Erwin Schulhoff, and Ernest Krenek.  

Mr. Conlon has recorded extensively for EMI, SONY Classical, ERATO, CAPRICCIO, and TELARC, for which he has received numerous citations. He has been featured on DVDs for DECCA, and has appeared in several television series on PBS.

Mr. Conlon was recently inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame. He is also one of five first recipients of the Opera News Award given in recognition for distinguished achievement in opera, and he received the Crystal Globe Award from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for his efforts in championing the works of composers silenced by the Third Reich. He was awarded honorary doctoral degrees by The Juilliard School, Chapman University and Brandeis University and he received the Zemlinsky Prize for his efforts in bringing the composer’s music to international attention. His other honors include a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Los Angeles, the Music Institute of Chicago’s Dushkin Award, the Medal of the American Liszt Society, and Italy’s Premio Galileo 2000 Award.

Mr. Conlon was named an Officier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government in 1996, and in 2004 was promoted to Commander.  In 2002, James Conlon received France’s highest distinction from the President of the French Republic, Jacques Chirac—the Légion d’honneur.

Last updated August 2010. Contact Opus 3 Artists for the most up-to-date version.