Versatility, musicality and technical precision, and above all a natural and passionate approach are trademark features of French conductor Ariane Matiakh. The daughter of two opera singers, she grew up in an exceptionally musical environment and learnt to play the piano at an early age. Later, she studied orchestral conducting in Vienna, where she also sang in the renowned Arnold Schoenberg Choir under conductors including Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Adam Fischer. Particularly formative experiences during her comprehensive training include the time she spent studying with Leopold Hager and Seiji Ozawa.

Her first appointment conducting in an opera house was at the Opéra et Orchestre de Montpellier, where she worked closely together with James Conlon, Armin Jordan, Emmanuel Krivine and Alain Altinoglu, among others. Subsequent engagements brought her to the Komische Oper Berlin, the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm, and to Amsterdam, Gothenburg, Graz, Nice, Strasbourg and Halle. In 2009, she was nominated “Discovery of the Year” by the most important music prize in France, the “Révélation des Victoires de la musique”.

Today, Ariane Matiakh’s repertoire covers opera and ballet, a wide variety of symphonic works, contemporary compositions and baroque music…