DIRIGENT
General Music Director, Theater Hagen and Philharmonic Orchestra Hagen (from 2025/26) Beginning with the 2025/26 season, Sebastian Lang-Lessing will assume the position of General Music Director in Hagen, where he will introduce himself to the audience with new productions of La Traviata and Salome, five symphonic concerts, numerous special concerts, and several education projects. Shortly before taking up his post in Hagen, he will conduct the closing concert of this year’s Dubrovnik Festival with the Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra, featuring Nino Machaidze, Vittorio Grigolo, and Marko Mimica.
Korean National Opera 2020–2024 | Music Director Emeritus, San Antonio Symphony Sebastian Lang-Lessing was appointed Music Director of the Korean National Opera in 2020. Since 2018, he has conducted over twelve new productions there. During the pandemic, he opened the season with Fidelio, in collaboration with visual artist Kevork Mourad, exploring new ways of presenting opera. During his tenure, the KNO Academy was founded, which today supports 18 singers and 4 répétiteurs in their professional development. Lang-Lessing has led the National Opera on national tours and given numerous masterclasses. He made his debut with the KBS Symphony Orchestra in Seoul in a Brahms program and has conducted many of South Korea’s leading orchestras. In 2024, he will tour with the KNO to the Daegu International Opera Festival with Verdi’s I Vespri Siciliani, and in October he will debut with the Bucheon Philharmonic.
After ten successful years as Music Director of the San Antonio Symphony, Lang- Lessing was named Music Director Emeritus, allowing him to continue his close relationship with the orchestra and his strong advocacy for the performing arts in South Texas. He played an important role in the creation of the San Antonio Philharmonic. In 2021, he was awarded the title “Hidalgo of the City of San Antonio,” the city’s highest honor.
Recent highlights include performances of his Tristan/Elgar arrangement with cellist István Várdai and the Hungarian National Philharmonic in Budapest and with the Liechtenstein Symphony Orchestra, conducting the St. Matthew Passionfor the reopening of the renovated Hungarian State Opera, and closing concerts at the Tivoli Festival in Copenhagen with Renée Fleming. In September, he recorded three song cycles by Oliver Gruhn with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra; the CD will also include orchestrations of the last two songs by Richard Strauss, Malven and Nacht.
International Career in Opera and Symphony A fluent speaker of five languages, Sebastian Lang-Lessing’s curiosity, versatility, and vast repertoire, together with his interest in all cultures, make him a unique artist who has held music director positions on five continents. He has conducted at many of the world’s leading opera houses and orchestras, including Berlin, Hamburg, Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Palermo, Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas, Houston, Washington, Beijing, Seoul, and Cape Town.
He inaugurated Oslo’s iconic opera house with a new production of Porgy and Bess in collaboration with Cape Town Opera, where he later became Music Director. In Paris, he worked with Maurice Béjart on his spectacular interpretation of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, later touring Japan with this production. At the NCPA in Beijing, he conducted China’s first-ever in-house production of a Richard Strauss opera, Der Rosenkavalier.
Lang-Lessing’s symphonic repertoire extends far beyond his German roots. His deep personal connections to the symphonies of Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, and Beethoven can be heard in numerous recordings and concerts. He also has strong affinities with French, Russian, Italian, American, and contemporary repertoire and regularly conducts major symphony orchestras across all five continents. His friendships with composers such as Detlev Glanert, Brett Dean, and Stewart Copeland have led to many new commissions and world premieres. He shares a close artistic partnership with Renée Fleming, documented in their joint Decca album Guilty Pleasures.
Deutsche Oper Berlin 1993–2001 After his debut at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Lang-Lessing was appointed Resident Conductor by Götz Friedrich, becoming the youngest artist to hold this position. He conducted an extensive repertoire of new productions and revivals, including the final production of his mentor Götz Friedrich. The opportunity to conduct hundreds of performances at a young age, working with leading international singers and directors, proved formative for his artistic development. In 2010, he conducted Philip Stölzl’s acclaimed new production of Wagner’s Rienzi, released on DVD.
Music Director, Nancy, Opéra National and Orchestre Symphonique et Lyrique 1998–2006 As Music Director in Nancy, he elevated the ensemble to national standing, transforming it into the “Opéra National de Lorraine.” With this orchestra, he rediscovered the late-Romantic French repertoire and recorded an award-winning cycle of the symphonies of Guy Ropartz. As a passionate educator, he launched several initiatives and concert formats for children and young audiences.
Chief Conductor, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra 2004–2011 During his tenure, Lang-Lessing strengthened the orchestra’s profile in Classical, early-Romantic, and contemporary repertoire. He established an annual concert cycle in Sydney and led the orchestra on national and international tours, soon making it the most recorded orchestra in Australia. In close collaboration with Brett Dean, the orchestra produced a collection of 20 CDs featuring works by Australian composers. Lang-Lessing’s recordings of the symphonies of Schumann, Mendelssohn, Mozart, and Schubert document the ensemble’s exceptional artistry. He also championed conducting education in Australia through masterclasses with the TSO and at ANAM in Melbourne.
Music Director, San Antonio Symphony 2009–2020 Lang-Lessing founded an annual festival in San Antonio involving more than 20 performing arts organizations, showcasing his creative programming and collaborative vision. He inaugurated the new Tobin Center with Renée Fleming in Strauss’s Four Last Songs, later returning with a new production of Salome starring Patricia Racette. His project 14 American Preludes, featuring works by composers from both America and Europe, celebrated the orchestra’s 75th anniversary and cultural diversity. He introduced a Baroque series that integrated opera, commissioned new works, and programmed composer cycles, broadening the orchestra’s repertoire and stylistic versatility. Lang-Lessing built strong ties between the orchestra and international artists, raising San Antonio’s profile as a cultural hub in Texas. Frequent guest artists included Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Vadim Gluzman, Olga Kern, Susan Graham, Renée Fleming, Kirill Gerstein, Lynn Harrell, Lang Lang, and Augustin Hadelich, many of whom share close artistic friendships with him.
Repertoire Through his international career, Lang-Lessing has built an extensive repertoire of more than 80 operas and symphonic works spanning all eras from the Baroque to contemporary music.
Teaching and Jury Activities Lang-Lessing is in demand worldwide as a teacher of masterclasses. During his time in Australia, he gave conducting classes with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and collaborated with ANAM in Melbourne on numerous projects, concerts, and workshops. He regularly teaches at the Brevard Festival, working with students from across the United States. Recently, he has given masterclasses within the “Talent Norge” program for young conductors with the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra and with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. At the KNO Academy, which he founded, he regularly teaches in Seoul.
In January 2025, he returns for another masterclass with the Lithuanian National Orchestra, and in March he will once again work on orchestral projects at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University in Bloomington.
He has served as a jury member at numerous competitions, including the Bundeswettbewerb Gesang, the Olga Kern International Piano Competition, and as President of the Gurwitz International Piano Competition in San Antonio, Texas.
Education and Awards Sebastian Lang-Lessing studied piano in Essen with Detlev Kraus and in Lübeck with Wilhelm Rau. He studied conducting in Hamburg with Klaus-Peter Seibel, in Vienna with Karl Österreicher, and in Bucharest with Constantin Bugeanu. In 1990, after his debut concert at the Berlin Philharmonie, he was awarded the prestigious Ferenc Fricsay Prize. He became assistant to Gerd Albrecht at the Hamburg State Opera and was a fellow of the Jürgen Ponto Foundation. One year later, he became First Kapellmeister in Rostock. His discography for various labels is available on Spotify and Apple Music.
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