Michele Spotti appointed Principal Guest Conductor at the Deutsche Oper Berlin

Michele Spotti has been appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Deutsche Oper Berlin., a position he will assume starting from the 2026/27 season. Thirty-two years old, current music director of the Marseille Opera and Philharmonic Orchestra, Spotti will share the role with Maxime Pascal, becoming one of the cornerstones of the new musical structure desired by the designated general director Aviel CahnThe team is completed by the presence of Titus Engel as Conductor in Residence.

«I am very happy to have managed to attract Maxime Pascal and Michele Spotti, two conductors of enormous prestige and very different profiles, to commit themselves to our theatre.", declares Aviel Cahn.. "Pascal has deep roots in the twentieth-century repertoire, while Spotti is a young representative of the great Italian Romantic tradition. I have collaborated with Titus Engel for many years: few conductors in the German-speaking opera world are as open and innovative as he is."

"Over the past two years, I have discussed several times with the orchestra possible successors to General Music Director Sir Donald Runnicles, who will be leaving his post a season early, in the summer of 2026," the future superintendent continues. "Both parties have expressed a desire to take more time and get to know several artists better. For the first two or three seasons, we therefore expect an inspired and stimulating solution, based on teamwork, that will offer a wide range of creative experiences while also leaving room for other conductors."

The agreement with the Deutsche Oper requires Spotti to conduct at least two productions and a symphony concert each year, with the aim of broadening the orchestra's interpretive horizons. For the conductor from Brianza, this marks a return to Berlin, following his 2023 debut with Rossini's Il viaggio a Reims and his recent conducting of Verdi's Rigoletto in January 2025.

«Berlin has always been for me a city of artistic exploration and musical dialogue – he declares Michele SpottiI hope to help honor the long tradition of Italian conductors linked to this city, bringing the richness of our repertoire, and much more, to the dynamic stage of the Deutsche Oper."

The new assignment marks a particularly significant stage in the young maestro's international career. In recent months, in fact, the French Ministry of Culture awarded him the title of Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, one of the most prestigious honors awarded to personalities who distinguish themselves in artistic creation and dissemination. The 2025/26 season will also see him engaged in two highly prestigious debuts: in October at Verdi Festival of Parma with Falstaff and, in May, at New York Metropolitan with La traviata.