Petr Popelka will be the new General Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera. The Czech conductor will take up the post from the 2029/30 season, Bavaria's Minister of Arts Markus Blume (CSU) announced in Munich on Wednesday. Popelka succeeds Vladimir Jurowski, whose contract ends in the summer of 2029 after eight years.

Serge Dorny, Petr Popelka, Markus Blume

Blume declared Popelka to be one of the most exciting conductors of his generation. Born in Prague in 1986, and having served for ten years as principal double bassist in the Staatskapelle Dresden before embarking on his conducting career, he is the ideal choice to lead the venerable Bavarian State Orchestra. "He combines artistic excellence with a profound understanding of what holds a large ensemble together and makes it successful."

Since 2024, Popelka has been chief conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Previously, he led the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. Guest engagements have taken him to, among others, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, as well as to the opera houses in Dresden, Zurich, and other cities.

Popelka made his debut at the Bavarian State Opera in 2025 at the Munich Opera Festival with Leoš Janáček's "Káša Kabanová". From the very first moment with the Bavarian State Orchestra, he knew "that this is the place where a special artistic relationship can develop for me," said the conductor, who, with the position of General Music Director, also assumes the musical direction of the Bavarian State Opera and the Bavarian State Orchestra.

State director Serge Dorny explained that he had closely followed Popelka's artistic development over many years. He emphasized that he had been deeply impressed by Popelka's musical clarity, exceptional ability to shape sound, and direct connection with musicians.

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