The Oper Graz has announced that Roland Kluttig will be the company’s new chief conductor from 2020-21 season.

Kluttig has been General Music Director at the Landestheater Coburg since 2010 and conducted such renown productions as “Lohengrin”, “Parsifal”, “Fidelio” and also with the Stuttgart “Salome.” He has also conducted at the Oper Frankfurt, the Hamburg State Opera, the National Theater Mannheim, the Opéra National du Rhin, the Opéra Nice, and the Leipzig Opera.

Nora Schmid, director of Oper Graz said, “Roland Kluttig made a wonderful debut last season with Dukas’ “Ariane et Barbe- Bleue” as a guest at the Graz Opera and will play in the current season, King Roger’ by Karol Szymanowski. I am happy that we have been able to win him over to the position of Chief Conductor on the basis of this continuous collaboration, and we look forward to this artistic partnership with great joy.”

Kluttig’s appointment comes as the company announced that its current principal conductor Oksana Lyniv will not extend her contract beyond the 2019-20 season. Lyniv, who was appointed during the 2017-18,  has conducted numerous opera productions and concerts.

In a press statement, Lyniv said, “I am grateful to Oper Graz and director Nora Schmid that I was able to further develop my work as a conductor with the Graz Philharmonic. That this work quickly gains such an international appeal, is also due to the outstanding quality of the orchestra and the high artistic standards of Oper Graz and I am very pleased.” 

She continued, “However, the obligations of a chief conductor can only be very limitedly agreed with my numerous international commitments, so I decided to work as a freelance conductor.”