Gustavo Dudamel, the superstar conductor of the Paris Opera, resigns

"With a heavy heart", the superstar conductor Gustavo Dudamel resigned, Thursday, May 25, from his position as musical director of the Paris Opera

Gustavo Dudamel, the superstar conductor of the Paris Opera, resigns

"With a heavy heart", the superstar conductor Gustavo Dudamel resigned, Thursday, May 25, from his position as musical director of the Paris Opera. The institution announces it and mentions "personal reasons". "After careful consideration, I am announcing my resignation from the position of musical director of the Paris Opera in order to spend more time with my family", said in a press release from the Opera, the Venezuelan, who had arrived at Paris in 2021 for a six-year contract.

"We are living in a time which, I believe, has profoundly and intimately changed our beings", further specified the conductor. "I have no other plans than to be with my loved ones," assured the 42-year-old maestro.

In February, the New York Philharmonic appointed him as its future artistic and musical director from 2026, which was considered a big operation on the musical transfer window. Gustavo Dudamel, one of the highest paid conductors in the world and one of the best known, has also conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra since 2009.

"I thank Gustavo Dudamel, whose passion and immense talent have brought a lot to the repertoire of our house," reacted the general manager of the Paris Opera, Alexander Neef, in the press release. "He was able to forge a special relationship with the musicians of the orchestra, the artists of the choirs, the singers and the artistic teams, a relationship imbued with mutual respect and the desire to put on the most beautiful shows together," he said. he says.

"A great musician"

"The recent success of 'Nixon in China' is one of the most striking illustrations of this. Gustavo Dudamel is an immense musician. I express my deep gratitude to him for the work accomplished during his tenure, and I fully respect his decision, "said the director again.

Fervent defender of wider access to music, Gustavo Dudamel, son of a trombonist and a singing teacher, is a pure product and one of the most illustrious representatives of El Sistema, the national system of orchestras for the youth of Venezuela, a famous project for popular education in classical music founded in 1975.

He had led the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra for a duet with Coldplay during the Super Bowl halftime concert in the United States in 2016.