Equally at home in the symphonic and opera repertoire the young German conductor Michael Balke is quickly gaining international attention for his performances. He regularly follows invitations to many European countries as well as Japan, South Korea, Russia and the USA.
Michael Balke was recently named Principal Guest Conductor at the St. Gallen Theatre and Symphony Orchestra (Switzerland) starting his tenure in the the 2018/19 season.
Current engagements include his return to Japan for MADAMA BUTTERFLY (Tokyo, Osaka) as well as symphony concerts in Tokyo, gala concerts with Marina Rebeka and the Croatian National Radio Orchestra (Zagreb) and the Munich Radio Orchestra, concerts at the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Sarasota Orchestra in Florida, at the Tongyeong Music Festival with Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and a new production of DIE GEZEICHNETEN in St. Gallen (Switzerland).
He led the new production of TOSCA at the St. Gallen Theatre, L’HEURE ESPAGNOL/GIANNI SCHICCHI at Opéra national de Lorraine, LA BOHEME with Danish National Opera, MERRY WIDOW at the Metropolitan Theatre in Tokyo, DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER in Sweden, ROMÉO ET JULIETTE at the Teatro Grande in Brescia, and LA TRAVIATA at the Mannheim National Theatre (Achim Freyer production).
Important engagements of the recent past also include gala concerts with Ludovic Tézier at Opéra national de Montpellier (France), with Ian Bostridge and the Orchestra Siciliana Palermo (Italy), and with Lawrence Brownlee and the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra (Denmark).
From 2011 to 2016 Michael Balke was Principle Conductor at Magdeburg Opera where he has conducted a broad repertoire of new productions from Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti to Verdi, Strawinsky, Korngold and Richard Strauss, as well as numerous symphony concerts.
He regularly works with orchestras like Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra (Tokyo), Osaka Philharmonic, Orchestre national Montpellier, Orchestre de Nancy, Orchestra Siciliana Palermo, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Copenhagen Phil, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, Residentie Orkest and Budapest Symphony Orchestra.
Michael Balke was born in Braunschweig, Germany and studied conducting under Christopher Zimmerman and piano under James Tocco and Frank Weinstock at the Cincinnati Conservatory (USA). Chamber music studies with the Tokyo String Quartet, LaSalle Quartet and Menahem Pressler. Between 2008 and 2011 he regularly assisted Riccardo Frizza in Italy.
