Christian Thielemann was born in Berlin in 1959 and began what Karajan called the classical conductor’s “hard but indispensable slog” through numerous small theatres at an early age.

Christian Thielemann will assume the position of General Music Director at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden starting with the 2024/25 season. From 2012 to 2024, he served as Chief Conductor of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden. His career led him through positions at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Gelsenkirchen, Karlsruhe, Hannover, and Düsseldorf before becoming General Music Director in Nuremberg in 1988. In 1997, the Berlin native returned to his hometown as General Music Director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, a post he held until 2004. He then served as General Music Director of the Munich Philharmonic from 2004 to 2011. In addition to his Dresden tenure, he was Artistic Director of the Salzburg Easter Festival from 2013 to 2022 and served as Musical Advisor and Music Director of the Bayreuth Festival.

Christian Thielemann maintains a close collaboration with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras, conducting their New Year’s Concerts in 2019 and 2024. He is also frequently invited to lead the world’s most prestigious orchestras and opera houses.

Thielemann is an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music in London, an Honorary Professor at the Hochschule für Musik "Carl Maria von Weber" in Dresden, and an Honorary Doctor of the Hochschule für Musik "Franz Liszt" in Weimar and the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. In 2003, he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In May 2015, he received the Richard Wagner Prize from the Richard Wagner Foundation in Leipzig, and in October 2016, he was honored with the Prize of the Foundation for the Promotion of the Semperoper. In 2022, he was awarded the Medal of Honor of the State of Salzburg and the Gold Medal of Arms of the City of Salzburg. In 2024, he was named an Honorary Member of the Vienna Philharmonic and Honorary Conductor of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden. The State of Saxony also awarded him the Saxon Constitutional Medal. Thielemann serves as the patron of the Richard Wagner Sites in Graupa and has received numerous awards for his extensive discography.

Thielemann made his debut at the Vienna State Opera in 1987 and has conducted nearly 70 performances there, including numerous premieres. His repertoire has included Lohengrin, Parsifal, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Tristan und Isolde, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Ariadne auf Naxos, Der Ring des Nibelungen, and Hänsel und Gretel. In 2023, he was named an Honorary Member of the Vienna State Opera.

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