History
The orchestra was founded in 1856 and gave its first concert on 14 December 1856, with an ensemble of 15 musicians, at the "Maison de jeux" ( the future casino), under the direction of Alexandre Hermann. By 1874, the orchestra had increased in size to 70 musicians, in particular during the leadership of Eusèbe Lucas. In 1953, Prince Rainier III had ordered the renaming of the ensemble to ''Orchestre National de l'Opéra de Monte-Carlo''. The orchestra acquired its current name in 1980, again through Rainier III. Past principal conductors of the orchestra have included Paul Paray, Louis Frémaux, Igor Markevitch, Lovro von Matačić, Lawrence Foster, Gianluigi Gelmetti, James DePreist, Marek Janowski, and Yakov Kreizberg. Kreizberg had originally been signed to a contract of five years, but his tenure was truncated by his death in March 2011. In March 2012, the OPMC and its president, Princess Caroline of Monaco, announced the return of Gelmetti to the orchestra as ''chef référent'' to provide interim artistic leadership for the orchestra. In January 2013, the OPMC formalised the full re-appointment of Gelmetti as its artistic director and music director. Gelmetti concluded his second OPMC tenure after the 2015–2016 season and subsequently took the title of honorary conductor. Kazuki Yamada first guest-conducted the OPMC in 2011. In the fall of 2013, he became the OPMC's principal guest conductor. In April 2015, the OPMC announced the appointment of Yamada as its next principal conductor and artistic director, effective September 2016, with an initial contract of three years. In September 2020, the OPMC announced a further contract extension for Yamada through the 2023–2024 season. In June 2023, the OPMC announced the most recent extension of Yamada's contract as its music director, through August 2026. In May 2025, the OPMC announced that Yamada is to conclude his tenure as its music director at the close of his current contract, in August 2026.Principal Conductors
* Alexandre Hermann * Carlo Allegri (1860–1861) * Eusèbe Lucas (1861–1871) * Arthur Steck (1885–1894) * Léon Jehin (1894–1928) * Paul Paray (1928–1933) * Henri Tomasi (1946–1947) * Louis Frémaux (1956–1965) * Claudio Scimone (1965–1967) * Igor Markevitch (1967–1972) * Lovro von Matačić (1972–1979) * Lawrence Foster (1980–1990) * Gianluigi Gelmetti (1990–1991) * James DePreist (1994–1998) * Marek Janowski (2000–2006) * Yakov Kreizberg (2009–2011) * Gianluigi Gelmetti (2013–2016) * Kazuki Yamada (2016–present)Selected discography
* ''Fantasies, Rhapsodies and Daydreams''. Works byReferences
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