TOMÁŠ HANUS

 

Tomáš Hanus is Music Director of the Welsh National Opera, a position he has held since the 2016/17 season.

As well as conducting symphonic concerts this season with the WNO orchestra at St David’s Hall, Tomáš will conduct Così fan tutte at the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff and on tour. Tomáš opened the 2023 Prague Spring Festival with WNO Orchestra with a televised performance of Ma Vlast. Otherwise, in previous seasons with Welsh National Opera have included productions of Makropoulos Case, Barber of Seville, Jenufa, Carmen, The Cunning Little Vixen, Der Rosenkavalier, Die Fledermaus and Khovanshchina.  Tomáš recently performed Sir David Pountney’s WNO production of House of the Dead in his hometown of Brno at the Janacek Festival and was presented with a Leoš Janáček memorial medal as recognition as an outstanding performer promoting Janáček’s music. Last autumn, Tomáš and the orchestra returned to the Brno Festival with both a symphonic concert and Makropoulos Case.

Outside of Wales in the 2023/24 season, Tomáš makes his debut with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, returns to the Brno Theatre with a new production of Dalibor and returns to the Vienna State Opera for performances of Rusalka.

As a symphonic conductor, Tomáš returned last season to the DSO Berlin for concerts at the Berlin Philharmonie - an orchestra with whom he works regularly.  In recent seasons, he has worked regularly with the Halle and made his debut with the Royal Philharmonic. Other orchestras he has conducted include MDR Leipzig, London Symphony Orchestra, SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden, Prague Symphony, the Czech Philharmonic, Stuttgart Opera Orchestra, Bremen Philharmonic, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, the Ensemble Intercontemporain (performing at the Prague Spring Festival) Teatro Real Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg on tour in the UK, Prague Radio Symphony, Stuttgart Opera Orchestra, Madrid Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra and Mostly Mozart Festival New York with the Festival Orchestra. 

Last season, Tomáš made his debut at Teatro alla Scala with a new production of Rusalka and returned to Vienna State Opera for performances of Onegin and to Bayerische Staatsoper for performances of Fledermaus. Since making his triumphant debut with performances of Rusalka at the Vienna State Opera, Tomas returns each season with plans in place for a new productions.  He also returns regularly to the Bavarian State Opera since his debut in 2009 with Jenufa directed by Barbara Frey, and has conducted new productions of Rusalka directed by Martin Kušej in 2010, Hänsel und Gretel directed by Richard Jones in 2012 and Věc Makropulos directed by Árpád Schilling using Tomáš’s critical edition of the Bärenreiter score, in 2014 and The Bartered Bride directed by David Bösch, in 2017.

As an opera conductor, in the past seasons, Tomáš returned to the Opera National de Paris in 2018/19 for Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta having made his debut there in 2007 with Leoš Janáček’s Věc Makropulos directed by Krzystztof Warlikovwski.  He has recently conducted new productions and revival performances at the Grand Theatre de Geneve, the Dresden Staatskappelle, the Danish National Opera and Teatro Real Madrid. Having assisted Jiri Belohlavek in 2003 at the Finnish National Opera with a new production of Katya Kabanová he was invited to conduct the revival in 2005. Since making his debut in 2001 with the National Theatre Prague and a production of Bedřich Smetana’s Devil’s Wall he has worked regularly in the house and most recently conducted performances of Věc Makropulos directed by Christopher Alden.  From 2007/08 to 2009 Tomas was Music Director of the National Theatre Brno, Janacek Opera House. 

Tomáš has made several recordings with both the Prague Philharmonia and the State Philharmonic Orchestra Brno, and also records for Czech Radio. More recently, he has recorded the Viktor Ullmann symphonies with the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK and has collaborated with outstanding Czech soloists for Lotos Records. 

September 2023

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