The Opéra Orchestre national Montpellier () is a French orchestra, associated with the

Opéra national de Montpellier The Opéra national de Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon () is an opera company located in the Place de la Comédie in Montpellier, France. The company was established in 1755 and was granted the status of "National Opera" in 2002 by the Minister ...

Languedoc-Roussillon Languedoc-Roussillon (; ; ) is a former regions of France, administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, it joined with the region of Midi-Pyrénées to become Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It comprised five departments o ...

. The orchestra and opera are also associated with the

Festival de Radio France et Montpellier The Festival Radio France Occitanie Montpellier, formerly the Festival de Radio France et de Montpellier, is a summer festival of opera and music held in Montpellier, France created in 1985. The music festival concentrates on classical music and jaz ...

(created in 1985 by

René Koering René Koering (born 27 May 1940) is a French composer, film producer and theater director. He is particularly known for his involvement in the creation of the Festival de Radio France et Montpellier in 1985. Life Born in Andlau (Bas-Rhin), he p ...

History

The orchestra was established in 1979, with 40 musicians, as the ''Orchestre Philharmonique de Montpellier'', with Louis Bertholon as its first music director and principal conductor. The orchestra was granted national status (''Orchestre national'') in 1999. In the 2000-2001 season, the Opéra de Montpellier and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Montpellier were merged into a single association, the ''Opéra Orchestre national Montpellier Occitanie''. The orchestra's current general director is Valérie Chevalier, since December 2013. The orchestra's most recent principal conductor was

Michael Schønwandt Michael Detlev Schønwandt (born 10 September 1953 in Frederiksberg) is a Danish conductor. In Denmark, he studied piano, theory, and composition, and later continued musical studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Biography In 1979, Sc ...

, from 2015. to 2023. In April 2024, the orchestra announced the appointment of Roderick Cox as its new music director, effective September 2024.

Music directors

* Louis Bertholon (1979–1985) * Cyril Diederich (1985–1990) * Gianfranco Masini (1992–1993) * Friedemann Layer (1994–2007) *

Lawrence Foster Lawrence Foster (born October 23, 1941) is an American conductor of Romanian ancestry. Early life Foster was born in Los Angeles, California, to Romanian parents. His father died when Foster was three years old. He was later adopted by his step ...

(2009–2012) * Michael Schønwandt (principal conductor, 2015–2023) * Roderick Cox (2024–present)

References

External links

Official French-language homepage of the Orchestre national Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon
French orchestras 2001 establishments in France Musical groups established in 2001 Languedoc-Roussillon Organizations based in Montpellier Musical groups from Occitania (administrative region) {{orchestra-stub