Koen Kessels

Musical direction in La Strada

Biography

Education
Royal Conservatory Antwerp
Member of the Musical staff of La Monnaie, Brussels (1984-1987)
Assistent-conductor at Flanders Opera (1990-1994)

Debut
Cinderella by Sergej Prokofjev (Flanders Opera– Royal Ballet of Flanders); Opéra national de Paris, 2005; The Royal Opera House Covent Garden, 2008; Flanders opera, 2008; La Monnaie, 2008

Highlights
Ballet: Giselle, La Fille Mal Gardée, Swanlake (Jan Fabre) en La Bayadère (Royal Ballet of Flanders); Le Parc, Coppélia, Proust, Cendrillon, Hurlevent, Hommage à Robbins, Giselle (Opéra national de Paris)

Opera: Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Don Pasquale, Carmen, Die Fledermaus, Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor, Rigoletto, Nabucco, La Traviata,  Il Trovatore, Aida, Un Ballo in maschera, La Bohème, Tosca, The Rape of Lucretia, Albert Herring, Kullervo en The Lighthouse

Guest Conductor Nationale Opera Sofia
Musical Director Zomeroperafestival Alden Biesen
Member of the artistic direction of the Conservatory Antwerp

Musical director of The Royal Birmingham Ballet
Artistic director van het HERMESensemble
Regular Guest conductor with Opera National de Paris
Regular Guest conductor with The Royal Ballet Royal Operahouse Covent Garden

Worked with
o.a. Kent Nagano, Semyon Bychkov (Salzburger Festspiele), Luc Ferrari, Kaija Saariaho, Joby Talbot, George Benjamin, Luc Brewaeys, Wim Henderickx, Annelies Van Parys

Recent productions
La Strada (Flanders Opera), 2008; La Lumière Antigone (La Monnaie), 2008   

Future Productions
Hanjo (La Monnaie), 2011
Debuut Wiener Staatsoper
Debuut Bolshoj
Giselle (Covent Garden)
Coppelia (Opéra national de Paris)