CONDUCTOR Karen Kamensek conductor These performances mark Karen Kamensek’s first appearance with the Charlotte Symphony.
Karen Kamensek’s remarkable versatility and expansive artistry, coupled with her deep commitment to championing composers of the 20th and 21st century, is reflected in her work in both the opera house and on the concert stage. Recently, she made her long-awaited Metropolitan Opera debut with the Olivier award-winning Phelim McDermott production of Glass’ Akhnaten — her recording with the Met of this opera won the 2022 GRAMMY™ Award for Best Opera Recording — as well as debuts with the Malmö Symphony Orchestra and the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra conducting works by Camille Pépin and Tōru Takemitsu, respectively. Ms. Kamensek began her 21/22 season with a long-awaited conducting debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and closes the season with a return to the Metropolitan Opera for a revival of Glass’ Akhnaten. In February she led the orchestra of the Opéra National du Rhin in the world premiere of Glass’ ballet Alice choreographed by Amir Hosseinpour and Jonathan Lunn. In April she makes her debut with the Arizona Opera in a new production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte. Her orchestral conducting performances include a Mostly-Bernstein program with the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris and a debut with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra in a program featuring Borisova-Ollas, Shostakovich, and Sibelius. 6 conductor
Frequently in demand as a guest conductor with many of today’s most prominent opera companies and orchestras, Ms. Kamensek’s recent opera highlights include her debut and return performances with the English National Opera in Glass’ Akhnaten and Satyagraha; her debut with the San Francisco Opera conducting a new production of Floyd’s Susannah; and the Royal Swedish Opera’s production of Victoria Borisova-Ollas’ Dracula. Recent orchestral highlights include a focus on living-composer Thea Musgrave with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic as part of their highlylauded Composer Festival; a live-to-film performance of Miloš Forman’s iconic Oscar-winning film Amadeus with the Oslo Philharmonic; and performances of Philip Glass’/Ravi Shankar’s collaboration “Passages” with master sitar player Anoushka Shankar leading the Britten Symphonia in the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms. For more information please visit
karenkamensek.com
