In spite of having studied violoncello, it became obvious very early that SÉBASTIEN ROULAND was to become a conductor. Since 2002, the French musician has established himself as one of the most successful and versatile conductors of his generation. His widespread repertoire ranges from the baroque (with historically informed interpretation on period instruments) to contemporary music.
In 2015 he made his successful debut with the Opéra National de Paris. He has conducted opera productions in Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg, Marseille, Vienna, Stuttgart, Wiesbaden, Essen, Berlin, Geneva, Lucerne, St. Gallen, Bergen, Lisbon, Tel Aviv and Mexico City, to name a few. In 2015 he made his successful debut at the Opéra National de Paris with Gluck’s opera Alceste. He has appeared on concert stages with orchestras such as the Radio Symphony Orchestra – Frankfurt, the Handel Festival Orchestra in Halle, the Badische Staatskapelle in Karlsruhe, the Essen Philharmonic, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, the St. Gallen Symphony Orchestra, the Camerata – Zurich, the Musicians of the Louvre, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Luxembourg, the Orchestre National de Lyon, etc.
Since the 2018/2019 season, Sébastien Rouland holds the position of General Music Director of the Saarbrücken State Theatre. A year earlier, in September 2017, he conducted the opera “Wilhelm Tell” by Gioachino Rossini, which was broadcast on the cultural TV channel Arte, with great success among the public and music critics. 2018 and 2019 include new productions of Lulu by Friedrich Kuhlau at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Cosi fan tutte at the Hamburg State Opera, Carmen by Georges Bizet at the Aalto-Musiktheater in Essen, The Postman from Longjumeau by Adolphe Adam at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, The Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach at the New National Theatre – Tokyo.
In 2021 maestro Rouland conducts a new production of Jules Massenet’s Manon and a revival of Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte at the Hamburg State Opera, a concert version of Madame Ango’s Daughter by Charles LeCocq at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris and a new production of Il Trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi in Saarbrücken. Excellent reviews accompany the release of productions capturing interpretations of the Maestro on DVD by Virgin Classics, Naxos and Palazetto Bru Zane.
Sébastien Rouland’s musical projects for 2022 include two new productions of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde and Bizet’s Carmen in Saarbrücken, as well as a new production of Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann at the Gothenburg Opera. In concert, he will conduct the Saarland State Orchestra at the Théâtre des Champs Elysees in Paris, as well as the Poznan Philharmonic.
