Alain Altinoglu

Alain Altinoglu is music director of Brussel’s Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, chief conductor of the hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, and artistic director of the Festival International de Colmar. At both La Monnaie and Frankfurt, he has earned widespread acclaim for his visionary leadership, compelling performances, and innovative programming. In 2025, Altinoglu was named Conductor of the Year at the International Opera Awards.

Highlights of the 2025–26 season include a return to the Wiener Staatsoper for Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande and appearances with the hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt at several European festivals — including the Prague International Music Festival and Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival — alongside a tour of Spain. At La Monnaie, he leads Verdi’s Falstaff and Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini. Altinoglu also guest conducts the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Philharmoniker, Oslo Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, and The Cleveland Orchestra.

Altinoglu regularly conducts such distinguished orchestras as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, Czech Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, and Concertgebouworkest, as well as all the major Parisian orchestras.

A regular guest at the world’s leading opera houses, Altinoglu appears at The Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Teatro alla Scala, Opernhaus Zürich, Teatro Colón, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and all three opera houses in Paris. He has also appeared at festivals in Bayreuth, Salzburg, Orange, and Aix-en-Provence.

Alongside his conducting, Altinoglu maintains a strong affinity with the lied repertoire and regularly performs with mezzo-soprano Nora Gubisch. Altinoglu has released audio recordings for the Deutsche Grammophon, Naïve, Pentatone, and Cascavelle labels. DVD productions of Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher (Accord), Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman (Deutsche Grammophon), and The Golden Cockerel, Iolanta, The Nutcracker, and Pelléas et Mélisande (BelAirClassiques) have also been released to critical acclaim.

Born in Paris, Altinoglu studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where he now teaches conducting.