Latest news with #Hindoyan
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. Opera names rising star Domingo Hindoyan as music director
When Domingo Hindoyan, the Venezuelan chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, made his debut with L.A. Opera last November with 'Roméo et Juliette,' Times classical music critic Mark Swed called it 'a coup for the company.' Swed also wondered if it was a 'signal that he is a candidate to succeed Music Director James Conlon, who steps down in 2026?' It turns out Swed was right. On Friday, L.A. Opera announced that Hindoyan has been named the company's Richard Seaver Music Director. He will succeed Conlon, the longtime music director who joined the company in 2006 and announced last year that he will step down at the end of the 2026 season. Conlon will take on the newly created role of conductor laureate. In a statement, Hindoyan said he was deeply honored to become only the third music director in the company's nearly 40-year history. 'From the first rehearsal, I felt a strong connection to the extraordinary musicians, staff, and spirit of this company,' he said. 'It is a privilege to follow Maestro James Conlon, whose legacy has shaped L.A. Opera into what it is today — a dynamic and ambitious institution.' After considering 'dozens' of candidates from around the world, L.A. Opera President and CEO Christopher Koelsch said he was 'struck by the fluidity of his technique and the clarity and command of his musical ideas' after seeing Hindoyan at the Berlin State Opera in 2016. 'His deeply collaborative nature and generous spirit in rehearsal make him a favorite among singers, who are inspired by the space he creates for musical risk-taking and expressive freedom.' Koelsch also praised Hindoyan's 'deep rapport with musicians and audiences alike.' Hindoyan, 45, is originally from Caracas, Venezuela, and began his career as a violinist. Like departing Los Angeles Philharmonic Music Director Gustavo Dudamel, he attended Venezuela's renowned public music education program known as El Sistema. In addition to his role as chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, a role he has held since 2021, Hindoyan has served as principal guest conductor for the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra; he has conducted opera productions at New York City's Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Berlin State Opera, Vienna State Opera, Paris Opera, Royal Swedish Opera, Dresden Semperoper, Madrid's Teatro Real and Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu. In a statement, Conlon said he was happy to pass the baton to someone who shares his passion for opera. 'Domingo is an artist of exceptional depth and imagination, and I know the company will welcome him warmly,' Conlon said. Hindoyan's five-year contract will begin July 1, 2026, and continue through the 2031 season. According to a Facebook post from Hindoyan, the new role in L.A. will run concurrently with his position with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Hindoyan, son of Venezuelan violinist Domingo Garcia, a former president of the Orquesta Sinfónica Venezuela, is married to the soprano Sonya Yoncheva, who's singing at the Metropolitan Opera in Tchaikovsky's 'The Queen of Spades.' (Performances are scheduled on Wednesday and Saturday.) The couple has two children and lives in Switzerland. In late April, the album 'Tchaikovsky: Souvenir de Florence & Symphony No. 6 'Pathetique,'' from Hindoyan and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, was released.
3 days ago
- Entertainment
Domingo Hindoyan to become music director of LA Opera for 2026-27 season
NEW YORK -- Domingo Hindoyan will succeed James Conlon as music director of the LA Opera and start a five-year contract on July 1, 2026. The appointment of the 45-year-old Venezuelan-Armenian, the husband of soprano Sonya Yoncheva, was announced Friday night. Conlon has been music director since 2006-07 and said in March 2024 that he will retire after after the 2025-26 season. 'LA is a city that is known by innovation, taking risks in productions and musically,' Hindoyan said in New York, where his wife is currently singing at the Metropolitan Opera. 'The idea is to do new pieces, commissions and modern pieces, something to really have a balance between what is classic and go further as much as we can.' Hindoyan will conduct two productions in 2026-27 and three in each of the following four seasons, LA Opera President Christopher Koelsch said. Koelsch hopes Hindoyan can lead works with Yoncheva, who has not sung a staged production at the LA Opera. Like other companies, the LA Opera has struggled with increased costs following the pandemic and scrapped a planned pair of world premieres over finances. Tenor and conductor Plácido Domingo was a key figure in fundraising for the company as general director from 2003-19. 'Part of my job as a music director and the job of any musician is to really take care of the art form as much as we can," Hindoyan said, "not only on stage, not only studying at home (but also) the connection with the community and the connection to the donors.' Hindoyan was born in Caracas, played violin and is a product of El Sistema, the Venezuelan music education system that was instrumental in the careers of Gustavo Dudamel and Rafael Payare. He was an assistant to Daniel Barenboim at Berlin's Staatsoper unter den Linden. 'Given Barenboim's extremely exacting standards, I was impressed that he had that job and held onto that job," Koelsch said. 'And then I saw a performance of 'Tosca' and was kind of immediately struck by the elegance of the baton technique and just the sort of the absolute clarity of what he was conveying.' Hindoyan has been chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic since the 2021-22 season. He first conducted the LA Opera last November in Gounod's 'Roméo et Juliette.' 'There's a kind of a natural warmth and charisma to him. In my experience, he almost always coaxes the best out of people," Koelsch said. 'The 'Roméo' run for me was kind of a test run of how those qualities resonated inside our building, how it worked with the orchestra and the chorus and the administration and the audiences.'
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Domingo Hindoyan to become music director of LA Opera for 2026-27 season
NEW YORK (AP) — Domingo Hindoyan will succeed James Conlon as music director of the LA Opera and start a five-year contract on July 1, 2026. The appointment of the 45-year-old Venezuelan-Armenian, the husband of soprano Sonya Yoncheva, was announced Friday night. Conlon has been music director since 2006-07 and said in March 2024 that he will retire after after the 2025-26 season. 'LA is a city that is known by innovation, taking risks in productions and musically,' Hindoyan said in New York, where his wife is currently singing at the Metropolitan Opera. 'The idea is to do new pieces, commissions and modern pieces, something to really have a balance between what is classic and go further as much as we can.' Hindoyan will conduct two productions in 2026-27 and three in each of the following four seasons, LA Opera President Christopher Koelsch said. Koelsch hopes Hindoyan can lead works with Yoncheva, who has not sung a staged production at the LA Opera. Like other companies, the LA Opera has struggled with increased costs following the pandemic and scrapped a planned pair of world premieres over finances. Tenor and conductor Plácido Domingo was a key figure in fundraising for the company as general director from 2003-19. 'Part of my job as a music director and the job of any musician is to really take care of the art form as much as we can,' Hindoyan said, 'not only on stage, not only studying at home (but also) the connection with the community and the connection to the donors.' Hindoyan was born in Caracas, played violin and is a product of El Sistema, the Venezuelan music education system that was instrumental in the careers of Gustavo Dudamel and Rafael Payare. He was an assistant to Daniel Barenboim at Berlin's Staatsoper unter den Linden. 'Given Barenboim's extremely exacting standards, I was impressed that he had that job and held onto that job,' Koelsch said. 'And then I saw a performance of 'Tosca' and was kind of immediately struck by the elegance of the baton technique and just the sort of the absolute clarity of what he was conveying.' Hindoyan has been chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic since the 2021-22 season. He first conducted the LA Opera last November in Gounod's 'Roméo et Juliette.' 'There's a kind of a natural warmth and charisma to him. In my experience, he almost always coaxes the best out of people,' Koelsch said. 'The 'Roméo' run for me was kind of a test run of how those qualities resonated inside our building, how it worked with the orchestra and the chorus and the administration and the audiences.'
