Giedrė Šlekytė
Conductor
© Theresa Pewal
Born in Vilnius, Giedrė Šlekytė started training at the National M. K. Čiurlionis High School for the Arts before studying conducting at the University of Arts in Graz, the University for Music and Theatre in Leipzig and Zurich University of Arts. She's back at Oper Frankfurt, where she made her debut in 2021 with a new production of Dialogues des Carmélites, for these performances of Christof Loy's wonderful Die Entführung aus dem Serail. A much sought-after conductor she has worked with orchestras including the Munich Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the Swedish Radio Orchestra, hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, the Boulez Ensemble in Berlin, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, Sächsische Staatskapelle in Dresden, Konzerthausorchester in Berlin, the SWR Symphonieorchester, Orchestre de chambre de Paris, Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, Mozarteumorchester in Salzburg, Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona and the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra. She made her triumphant debut with the Bruckner Orchester Linz in 2019, and took up the post of First Guest Conductor in 2021/22. After being appointed 1st Kapellmeister at the Stadttheater in Klagenfurt (2016 - 2018) she conducted new productions at theatres including the Komische Oper Berlin (Káťa Kabanová), the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich (L'infedeltà delusa), Musiktheater an der Wien (Cunning Little Vixen), the Staatsoper in Prague (Kleider machen Leute / Clothes make the Man) Oper Leipzig (L'elisir d'amore, Snow White), Vlaamse Opera (Rusalka, Werther). During the 2023/24 season she conducted a new production of Ariadne auf Naxos at the Royal Danish Opera, made her debut at the Hamburg State Opera with Manon and returned to Oper Zurich for Werther and the Staatsoper Unter den Linden for Rigoletto. She won the International Malko Conducting Competition and was nominated for the 2015 Young Conductors Award by the Salzburg Festival and „Newcomer of the Year“ at the 2018 International Opera Awards.