Alfred Eschwe

Vienna-born conductor ALFRED ESCHWÉ graduated from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna in violin, piano and conducting, and embarked on a career as opera conductor. Since 1989, Mr. Eschwé has served as principal conductor at the Vienna Staatsoper and as frequent guest conductor with major European opera theatres, such as Hamburg State Opera, Unter den Linden State Opera of Berlin, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Teatro Verdi in Triest, Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Teatro Regio in Turin, Teatro Filarmonico in Verona, and Teatro Bellini in Catania, as well as Den Norske Opera in Oslo and the New National Opera in Tokio. His famous recordings include Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore with Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón, as well as his involvement in the stage production of Lehár‘s Der Graf von Luxemburg at the Theatre an der Wien. Mr. Eschwé has received invitations from Sony Records to record in collaboration with Angelika Kirchschlager and Simon Keenlyside. In addition to his performances in the field of opera and operetta, Alfred Eschwé has conducted symphony concerts with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Austrian Radio Symphony Orchestra (ORF) and the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, the West German Radio Orchestra Cologne (WDR), the South German Radio Orchestra Stuttgart and the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome and Arena di Verona Orchestra. As an expert and active interpreter of Johann Strauss's music, he has organized guest-performances with the Vienna Johann Strauss Orchestra performing Strauss repertoire around the world, including 270 concerts in Japan alone, but also tours of the United States, South Korea, Italy and Spain. He conducted the Vienna Opera Ball in 2009 and 2010, as well as the Viennese Balls in Moscow since 2003 and Almaty (2017). In 1775, Pierre de Beaumarchais completed Le Barbier de Séville ('The Barber of Seville') – the opening part of his Figaro trilogy. Giovanni Paisiello wrote in 1782 an opera based on The Barber of Seville. Some sources report more operas based on the same plot, and Gioachino Rossini would offer a subsequent version of his own in 1816.