Vassilis Christopoulos
Vassilis Christopoulos is one of Greece’s most acclaimed conductors, equally at home on the concert podium and in the opera pit.
Since September 2023, he has served as Chief Conductor of Opera Graz, where his first two productions—Verdi’s Macbeth and Sleepless by Peter Eötvös—were met with great critical acclaim. He has been particularly praised for his sensitive and committed accompaniment, his ability to draw a wide and nuanced dynamic range from the orchestra, his transparent sound, and for “dark, almost Rembrandt-like colors” (Kleine Zeitung).
In 2022, he made a successful U.S. debut with Eugene Onegin during San Francisco Opera’s 100th anniversary season.
In 2017, he inaugurated the Greek National Opera’s new stage in Athens with the company’s first-ever performance of Strauss’s Elektra. The production was a triumph, and Christopoulos has since returned as a guest conductor for several productions, including Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, and Madama Butterfly. In 2020, he was the “driving force” behind the first Wozzeck in the opera house’s history—a production that, according to the Financial Times, brought the company “onto the international stage.”
He has conducted numerous prestigious orchestras, including the Philharmonia Orchestra, Mozarteum Orchestra, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie, New Japan Philharmonic, Korean National Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Flanders Symphony Orchestra, as well as the radio orchestras in Frankfurt (HR-Sinfonieorchester), Saarbrücken (Deutsche Radio Philharmonie), Hanover (NDR Radiophilharmonie), and Cologne (WDR Funkhausorchester). In addition, he has conducted the Nuremberg State Philharmonic, the state orchestras of Darmstadt, Kassel, and Wiesbaden, the Bremen Philharmonic, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, and all the major Greek orchestras.
As Artistic Director of the Athens State Orchestra from 2011 to 2014, he significantly elevated the orchestra’s level. Reviews were consistently enthusiastic and hailed him as a “great reformer,” and ticket sales doubled despite the economic crisis. Under his leadership, the orchestra supported young soloists and composers, commissioned and premiered 14 new works over three years, performed throughout Greece—including in remote areas—introduced a comprehensive social and educational program, and received significant national and European design awards for its new visual identity.
From 2005 to 2015, he was Chief Conductor of the Southwest German Philharmonic Orchestra in Konstanz, where he also achieved a marked improvement in the orchestra’s standard. During his tenure, the number of subscribers exceeded 2,500 for the first time—in a city of around 85,000 inhabitants—the orchestra gained new permanent positions and enjoyed great success on tour at renowned festivals and concert halls in Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Greece, France, Spain, China, Japan, and throughout Germany.
In 2013, he was appointed a Chevalier of the French Order of Arts and Letters (Ordre des Arts et des Lettres).
In 2016, he was appointed Professor of Conducting at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt.
Vassilis Christopoulos studied oboe and music theory at the Athens Conservatoire and orchestral conducting at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich under Professor Hermann Michael. He also worked for three years as an oboist in the Greek Radio Symphony Orchestra.
He is fluent in seven languages.
