DIRIGENT
Born in Marseille, Yannis Pouspourikas studied at the Conservatoire supérieur de Genève and continued his education as apprentice at the Opernhaus Zürich, where he won unanimous first prize in orchestral conducting.
After his debut in Geneva where he has conducted Die Fledermaus in 1999, he was appointed assistant conductor by Sir Simon Rattle at the Glyndebourne Festival. From 2002 until 2004 he filled the same position at the Opéra National de Paris. In 2004 he was appointed resident conductor of the Orchestre National de Lyon, in addition to which in 2005 he was appointed associate conductor of the Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse, a position he held for four seasons. In September 2008 Yannis Pouspourikas was appointed music director at the Opera Ballet Vlaanderen where he conducts a very diverse repertoire, from Le nozze di Figaro,
Don Giovanni, Idomeneo, Rusalka, Samson et Dalila, Carmen, Nabucco, Aida, La bohème, Turandot, La Juive, to more contemporary titles like Peter Grimes, Candide, Love for Three Oranges, Cinderella, Roméo et Juliette, Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, Elektra. Until 2017, he was also associated as a conductor with the Aalto-Theater in Essen.
In September 2010, after having replaced Jesus Lopez-Cobos for Les Contes d’Hoffmann at the Opéra National de Paris, Yannis Pouspourikas conducted, also at the Opéra National de Paris, Henri Dutilleux’ “Le Loup”, in the presence of the composer.
In the following seasons, the artist returned to the Opernhaus Zürich for a new production of The Nutcracker and to the National Opera in Paris to replace Fabio Luisi in conducting A. Reimann’s opera Lear. He has led the premiere production of L. Eötvös Radames / S. Sciarrino Lohengrin at the Biel-Solothurn Theater in Switzerland, which was later repeated at Fondazione Haydn di Bolzano e Trento Teatro Comunale and made his debut in the United States during a tour with fourteen film music concerts. Other important engagements included conducting ballet by B. Asafyeva The Fountain of Bakhchisaray at the National Opera in Budapest, Tosca and Carmen at the Opéra en Plein Air in Paris or the ballet by A. Messager Les deux Pigeons at the National Opera in Paris.
The highlights of the 2020/2021 season for Yannis Pouspourikas are his regular performances at the Theater Erfurt as well as receiving the nomination for the post of the Chief conductor of the Biel Solothurn Symphony Orchestra and the post of the Director of Concerts of the Biel Solothurn Theater Orchestra for the 2022/2023 season.
With operatic, as well as with symphonic repertoire, Yannis Pouspourikas is regularly invited
by the Teatro Real in Madrid, Orchestre philharmonique de Monte–Carlo, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, Magyar Állami Operaház in Budapest, Orchestre de la Radio Suisse Italienne, Staatsorchester Braunschweig, Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal, Dublin Radio Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, National Theatre Mannheim and Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz.
In France, he collaborated with numerous orchestras, such as the Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse, Orchestre Philarmonique de Strasbourg, Orchestre de l’Opéra de Marseille, Orchestre national de Lorraine, Orchestre de Tours, Orchestre des Pays de Savoie, Orchestre philharmonique de Nice, Orchestre Colonne.
Soon, a recording will be released of Dirk d’Ase’s opera l’intruse (libretto by M. Maeterlinck) conducted by Yannis Pouspourikas, commissioned by the Opera Ballet Vlaanderen to commemorate the Nobel Prize for Maurice Maeterlinck.
Currently Yannis Pouspourikas is associated conductor at the Theater Erfurt and Music Director at the Theater Biel Solothurn in Switzerland.
