Met Opera Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin

The Met Opera Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin is one of the most talented and respected conductors in the world. He has led some of the most acclaimed productions in recent years, and his work has been praised by critics and audiences alike.

Introduction

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, a French-Canadian conductor and pianist, is the Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Orchestre Métropolitain. He is also the Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He was born in Montréal, Québec, in 1975, and began his musical studies at the age of five. He went on to study at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal and later at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

Early Life and Training

Yannick Nézet-Séguin was born in Montreal, Canada, on March 6, 1975, to a musical family. His father was a jazz bassist, and his mother was a piano teacher. Nézet-Séguin began his piano studies at the age of five and his conducting studies at the age of nine. He later studied at the Montreal Conservatory of Music and the Juilliard School in New York City.

Nézet-Séguin made his professional debut as a conductor in 1999, leading an orchestra in Montreal. He quickly established himself as a leading conductor of both symphony orchestras and opera companies. In 2006, he became music director of the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal. He held this position until 2010, when he became music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in the Netherlands.

In 2010, Nézet-Séguin was named principal guest conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He held this position until 2012, when he became the orchestra’s music director. He is also the music director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and the artistic director of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Nézet-Séguin has conducted some of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, and New York Philharmonic. He has also conducted operas at major international opera houses, such as La Scala in Milan and The Royal Opera House in London.

Nézet-Séguin has won numerous awards for his contributions to music. In 2018, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest civilian honors.

Conducting Career

Yannick Nézet-Séguin has been the Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera since the beginning of the 2018–19 season, a position he has held since September 1, 2020. He is also the Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, the first Canadian to hold that title.

North American Debut

Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin made his much-anticipated North American debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 2009 conducting Verdi’s La traviata. He has since led acclaimed productions of Les contes d’Hoffmann, Romeo et Juliette, Don Carlos, La damnation de Faust, Parsifal, and Tosca. In the 2014-15 season, he conducted new productions of Verdi’s Otello and Don Giovanni. The 2015-16 season included a new production of Verdi’s Il trovatore.

The Metropolitan Opera

The Metropolitan Opera is one of the most prestigious opera companies in the world. Founded in 1883, it is based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. The company presents about 27 different operas each year from late September through early May. It also gives about 15 live performance transmissions to movie theaters around the world each season.

Repertoire

As Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera, Yannick Nézet-Séguin has conducted a repertoire that ranges from French operas of the 19th century to works by contemporary composers. He made his Met debut in 2009 with a new production of Bizet’s Carmen, and has since led such works as Verdi’s La traviata, Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, and Philip Glass’s Satyagraha. He also regularly conducts concerts with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.

Personal Life

Yannick Nézet-Séguin was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1975. He is the son of a French Canadian father and a Québécois mother. His father was an engineer and his mother was a piano teacher. Nézet-Séguin began playing the piano at the age of five and started taking conducting lessons at age fourteen. He studied at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal and the Juilliard School in New York City.

Nézet-Séguin is married to Marie-Nathalie (née LaRoche), a violinist. They have two sons: Alexandre and Louis. The family resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Awards and Honours

Yannick Nézet-Séguin has been the music director of the Metropolitan Opera since 2020. He is also the music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the artistic director of the Miami Bach Society.

Nézet-Séguin was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1975. He began his musical training as a piano student at the Montreal Conservatory of Music. After completing his undergraduate degree at McGill University, he pursued graduate studies in conducting at The Juilliard School in New York City.

Nézet-Séguin has won numerous awards and honours for his conducting. In 2010, he was named one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 by Maclean’s magazine. In 2011, he received an honorary doctorate from McGill University. In 2012, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest civilian honours.