Susanne Moser was named the new chair of the Operkonferenz last weekend.

Moser, who is the co-artistic director and managing director of the Komische Oper Berlin, will take over for Bernd Loebe of the Frankfurt Opera, who held the position since 2010.

“I am very pleased about the election to chair the German-speaking Opera Conference and thank you for your trust,” Moser said in a press statement. “The opera houses have the task not only of preserving the uniqueness of the art form of opera, but also of developing it and exploring its limits. As Chair, I will also focus even more on issues such as sustainability and diversity. The consequences and challenges of the pandemic will certainly continue to occupy us. And the war in Ukraine, unfortunately, shows us how important it is not to stop thinking about social values ​​and questions on our stages and to stand up for the freedom of art with all our might. Opera is invaluable and an indispensable part of European culture.”

The conference, which brought together 35 directors from the 13 largest opera houses around Germany, was hosted by the Deutsche Oper am Rhein.

Among the other companies in attendance at this year’s conference were the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, the Komische Oper Berlin, Oper Leipzig, Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Staatstheater Stuttgart, Bayerische Staatsoper, Frankfurt Oper, and the Opernhaus Zürich. The Opéra National de Paris and Teatro alla Scala also had representatives on hand.

Among the major topics of discussion were the war on Ukraine and its impact on the opera world.

The conference was founded in 1957 to provide a forum for management teams from opera houses to exchange ideas. The representatives meet twice a year.