Matthias Foremny

Matthias Foremny is distinguished by precise, richly colored sound design and a particular dramaturgical sensitivity. His artistic focus lies on the connection between the great operatic repertoire, symphonic literature, and contemporary music, and he is equally valued for his interpretations of classical works and for his commitment to new music and world premieres. Since 2011, together with the Gewandhausorchester, he has shaped the musical profile of the Oper Leipzig as its first permanent guest conductor. In 2012, he was awarded the German music prize Echo Klassik.

Regular invitations take him to renowned orchestras such as the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, the SWR Symphonieorchester, the MDR-Sinfonieorchester, and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra Helsinki, with which, in addition to concert projects, he regularly produces radio broadcasts and CDs. Further invitations have taken him, among others, to the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the WDR Sinfonieorchester, the Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, the Dresdner Philharmonie, the Staatskapelle Weimar, the Nürnberger Philharmoniker, as well as the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and the Athens State Orchestra, and to numerous other orchestras in Europe, Asia, and Australia.

In the 2026/27 season, Matthias Foremny will conduct the new production of Innocence at the Oper Leipzig, as well as the revival of Il viaggio a Reims, and will take on the musical direction of Ein Sommernachtstraum and Der Nussknacker. In the concert sphere, he will also be heard this season, among other engagements, together with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie at the SWR Kultur Junge Opernstars-Konzert 2027.

Among the focuses of his operatic repertoire are works by Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, Strauss, Britten, and Ligeti, as well as contemporary music. At the Komische Oper Berlin, he conducted, among others, the internationally acclaimed new productions of The Turn of the Screw, which was awarded the Bayerischer Theaterpreis, and Le Grand Macabre. At the Oper Leipzig, in recent seasons he has conducted, among others, the new productions of Così fan tutte and Coming Up for Air, as well as numerous other productions with the Gewandhausorchester. He has also regularly worked as a guest conductor at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Hamburgische Staatsoper, and the Oper Köln.

While studying in Detmold and Vienna, Matthias Foremny won the International Conducting Competition „Prager Frühling“ in 1995, thereby laying the foundation for his international career. This was followed by engagements as First Kapellmeister and Deputy General Music Director at the Landestheater Detmold, as well as First Kapellmeister at the Komische Oper Berlin. From 2003 to 2012, he was General Music Director and Opera Director at the Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin, followed by a position as Chief Conductor of the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester. Since 2014, Matthias Foremny has been Professor of Conducting and Orchestral Conducting at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater „Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy“ Leipzig. He is a prizewinner of the Forum Dirigieren of the Deutscher Musikrat.