„Feuer, Lebenslust …“
Concert
23. Nov 2025
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DE
Tickets for Cagliostro
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Born in Upper Austria, Ernst Theis studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna (now the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien).
His conducting career began with the Austrian Chamber Symphony Orchestra, where he served as artistic and managing director from 1991 to 2003. During this time, he focused intensively on classical modernism, contemporary music, and later, Viennese classical repertoire. Following a guest engagement at the Volksoper Wien in 1996, he became Kapellmeister there for four years. That same year, he won first prize at the international conducting competition held during the Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music, chaired by Peter Eötvös.
From 2003 to 2013, Ernst Theis served as chief conductor of the Dresden State Operetta, which was undergoing a period of crisis at the time. Through his visionary and conceptually driven approach, he secured the artistic future of the theatre. In 2011, a political decision was made to construct a new building, which opened in December 2016.
Today, he works with numerous orchestras across different continents, spanning a repertoire from early Viennese classicism to the avant-garde. His collaborations include the Symphonieorchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin (RSB), St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Basel Symphony Orchestra, Bochum Symphony Orchestra, Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Osaka Symphony Orchestra, Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, and the radio orchestras of Saarbrücken/Kaiserslautern (SR), Cologne (WDR), Munich (BR), Hanover (NDR), Leipzig (MDR), as well as the ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, Bruckner Orchester Linz, Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, among many others. Since 2015, he has been represented by the Japanese agency Japan Arts and made his debut with the Osaka Symphony Orchestra in June 2018.
One of Theis’s core artistic projects is RadioMusiken, a long-term initiative in collaboration with the Akademie der Künste Berlin, Deutschlandradio Kultur, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, and the German CD label CPO. This project is both artistic and academic in nature and continues to grow through research and recordings (RadioMusiken project website).
He records regularly with the CD label CPO, collaborating with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt (BSOF), Deutsche Radiophilharmonie Saarbrücken/Kaiserslautern, and the ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien. Recent releases have also appeared on the BR Klassik label. The Tonfilmschlager project has already been published, and the RadioMusiken series continued in spring 2023 with works by Hanns Eisler and Eduard Künneke, released in October 2023.
Ernst Theis is currently collaborating with Diana Damrau and Jonas Kaufmann, together with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester, on an album for Warner Music dedicated to operetta from Paris, Vienna, and Berlin. The album was released in autumn 2023. Joint concerts followed in May 2024 at MÜPA Budapest and in October 2024 at the Festival of Nations. On May 7, 2025, Diana Damrau and Ernst Theis will perform together at the Musikverein Wien as part of the Johann Strauss Festival Year.
Born in Upper Austria, Ernst Theis studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna (now the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien).
His conducting career began with the Austrian Chamber Symphony Orchestra, where he served as artistic and managing director from 1991 to 2003. During this time, he focused intensively on classical modernism, contemporary music, and later, Viennese classical repertoire. Following a guest engagement at the Volksoper Wien in 1996, he became Kapellmeister there for four years. That same year, he won first prize at the international conducting competition held during the Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music, chaired by Peter Eötvös.
From 2003 to 2013, Ernst Theis served as chief conductor of the Dresden State Operetta, which was undergoing a period of crisis at the time. Through his visionary and conceptually driven approach, he secured the artistic future of the theatre. In 2011, a political decision was made to construct a new building, which opened in December 2016.
Today, he works with numerous orchestras across different continents, spanning a repertoire from early Viennese classicism to the avant-garde. His collaborations include the Symphonieorchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin (RSB), St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Basel Symphony Orchestra, Bochum Symphony Orchestra, Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Osaka Symphony Orchestra, Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, and the radio orchestras of Saarbrücken/Kaiserslautern (SR), Cologne (WDR), Munich (BR), Hanover (NDR), Leipzig (MDR), as well as the ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, Bruckner Orchester Linz, Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, among many others. Since 2015, he has been represented by the Japanese agency Japan Arts and made his debut with the Osaka Symphony Orchestra in June 2018.
One of Theis’s core artistic projects is RadioMusiken, a long-term initiative in collaboration with the Akademie der Künste Berlin, Deutschlandradio Kultur, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, and the German CD label CPO. This project is both artistic and academic in nature and continues to grow through research and recordings (RadioMusiken project website).
He records regularly with the CD label CPO, collaborating with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt (BSOF), Deutsche Radiophilharmonie Saarbrücken/Kaiserslautern, and the ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien. Recent releases have also appeared on the BR Klassik label. The Tonfilmschlager project has already been published, and the RadioMusiken series continued in spring 2023 with works by Hanns Eisler and Eduard Künneke, released in October 2023.
Ernst Theis is currently collaborating with Diana Damrau and Jonas Kaufmann, together with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester, on an album for Warner Music dedicated to operetta from Paris, Vienna, and Berlin. The album was released in autumn 2023. Joint concerts followed in May 2024 at MÜPA Budapest and in October 2024 at the Festival of Nations. On May 7, 2025, Diana Damrau and Ernst Theis will perform together at the Musikverein Wien as part of the Johann Strauss Festival Year.
