© Kaupo Kikkas

Titus Engel

The state orchestra performs wonders, the choir does the same as the instrumentalists. What happens here musically is of the utmost magnificence, Titus Engel conducts this highly complex construct with stupendous naturalness. 
Süddeutsche Zeitung, Egbert Tholl, 12 June 2023

Titus Engel was named Conductor of the Year by Opernwelt magazine in 2020. Thanks to his comprehensive view of repertoire from a wide range of eras, he always understands works in their diverse relationships. Appreciated for his expertise in the field of historical performance practice as well as for his precise conducting of complex contemporary projects, the Berlin-born Zurich native can also be seen regularly with central works of opera literature - for example, he delighted audiences with "Lohengrin" at the Tyrolean Festival Erl in 2021. Always ready to break new ground in his exploration of scenic concepts on the podium, he sees music theatre as a field of experimentation on which social utopias can flourish. 

Titus Engel has been Principal Conductor of the Basel Sinfonietta since the start of the 2023/24 season; he gave his inaugural concert at the Ruhrtriennale. Right at the beginning of the season, he conducted Tobias Kratzer's new production of Henze's "Floß der Medusa" at the Komische Oper Berlin, which took place in Hangar 1 at Tempelhof Airport. He was then in Basel for the revival of Weber's "Der Freischütz" (Christoph Marthaler), followed by Hèctor Parra's new opera "Justice" at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, which was subsequently also performed in St. Pölten. In concerts in 2023/24, he can be heard with the WDR Symphony Orchestra in the Musik der Zeit series, with the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra and in Innsbruck with Mingus' "Epitaph". 

The 2022/23 season ended with a monumental production: Titus Engel conducted Messiaen's "Saint François d'Assise" in Stuttgart with great success in a production that incorporated the urban space. He was also a guest again at the Bavarian State Opera with Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel" and Lehár's "Giuditta" and in Lyon with Bartók's "Bluebeard's Castle".

Guest conducting engagements have taken him to the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Philharmonia Orchestra, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, SWR and WDR Sinfonieorchester, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Staatsorchester Hannover, Deutsche Radiophilharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the chamber orchestras of Zurich and Munich, Ensemble Modern and Klangforum Wien. He has appeared with the Camerata Salzburg at the Salzburg Festival and the Tyrolean Festival Erl, where he conducted all Brahms symphonies. 

He has conducted Monteverdi's "L'Orfeo" (Theater an der Wien), Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman", Berg's "Wozzeck" and Bartók's "Bluebeard's Castle" (Stuttgart Opera), Mozart's "Betulia liberata", among others, Strauss' "Salome" and Nielsen's "Maskerade" (Frankfurt Opera), Haas' "Bluthaus" (Bavarian State Opera), Nunez' "La Douce" (Berlin State Opera), Glass' "Einstein on the Beach" (Grand Théâtre de Genève) and Verdi's "La Traviata" (Basel Theatre). His acclaimed debut at the Teatro Real Madrid, which he gave at the invitation of Gérard Mortier in 2011 with the world premiere of Pilar Jurado's "La página en blanco", was followed by equally successful world premieres of Charles Wuorinen's "Brokeback Mountain" (2014) and Elena Mendoza's "La ciudad de las mentiras" (2017).

Together with Lydia Steier, he brought Stockhausen's "Donnerstag" to the stage of Theater Basel in 2016; the production was named performance of the year by Opernwelt magazine. The world premiere of the year in 2017 was Chaya Czernowin's opera "Infinite Now", which he conducted at the Opera Vlaanderen, the Nationaltheater Mannheim and the Philharmonie de Paris. He has conducted further world premieres at the Salzburg Festival, the Berlin Festival, the Lucerne Festival, the Ruhrtriennale and the Vienna Konzerthaus. 

Titus Engel studied musicology and philosophy in Zurich and Berlin and learnt his conducting craft in Dresden with Christian Kluttig, supplemented by scholarships from the Conductors' Forum of the German Music Council and David Zinman's American Academy of Conducting at Aspen as well as assistantships with Sylvain Cambreling, Marc Albrecht and Peter Rundel. He has recorded numerous works for radio and CDs and is the initiator of the Akademie Musiktheater Heute as well as the editor of several books on contemporary opera. 

Season 2023/24