Lothar Koenigs

Who is Lothar Koenigs?

Lothar Koenigs is a German conductor.

Koenigs received his general secondary education at Aachen's Kaiser-Karls-Gymnasium, while studying piano and conducting at the Cologne Conservatory. After his studies he held appointments in Hagen, Münster and Bonn. From 2000 to 2003, he was Generalmusikdirektor at the Osnabrück Theatre. His freelance work since his Osnabrück tenure has included engagements at the Opéra National de Lyon of Wozzeck, a Janáček cycle of Jenufa, Káťa Kabanová and The Makropulos Affair, and Lohengrin.

Koenigs first conducted the orchestra of Welsh National Opera in January 2005. He subsequently appeared as a guest conductor in WNO productions of Salome and Khovanshchina. In July 2008, WNO appointed Koenigs its next music director, effective with the 2009-2010 season. His initial WNO contract is for 5 years. He made his Proms conducting debut on 17 July 2010 with a concert performance of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, with Bryn Terfel as Hans Sachs, in the first complete performance of Die Meistersinger at The Proms.

In the United States, Koenigs made his first conducting appearance at the Metropolitan Opera in December 2008 with Don Giovanni.