Christopher Franklin
Equally at home on the concert stage and in the opera house, American conductor Christopher Franklin has been praised for his keen theatrical instincts and vibrant performances. His continued success in the Italian operatic repertoire is a natural result of having launched his career in Italy, conducting at several major Italian opera houses and festivals including the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Teatro Regio in Turin, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro Comunale in Bologna, Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, Teatro Lirico in Cagliari, Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Teatro Verdi in Trieste, Arena di Verona, and Sferisterio in Macerata.
Mr. Franklin has performed in theaters throughout the world such as the Musikverein and the Konzerthaus in Vienna, Herkulessaal in Munich, Teatro Real Madrid, Philharmonie in Köln, Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, Palau de les Arts in Valencia, Teatro de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Konzerthaus in Dortmund, Cadogan Hall in London, Carnival Center of Miami, International House of Music in Moscow, Dvořák Hall and the Smetana Municipal Hall in Prague, War Memorial Opera House with San Francisco Opera, at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts with Minnesota Opera. Over the years Mr. Franklin has established a collaboration with famed tenor Juan Diego Flórez, appearing with him on tour in many concert venues around the world.
Upcoming projects include Die Zauberflöte at the Opera Royal de Wallonie in Liege, concerts at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, and new productions of L’elisir d’amore and La Bohème at the Minnesota Opera.
Recent projects include Manon in Tenerife, Adriana Lecouvreur in Liege, Turandot and Hansel und Gretel at San Francisco Opera, Peter Grimes and Turn of the Screw at the Palau de les Arts in Valencia, Die Fledermaus at the New National Theatre in Tokyo, I Puritani and Otello at the Teatro Liceo in Barcelona, Tosca, La Bohème, Nabucco, Tristan und Isolde, and Werther at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste, a CD recording project with the Czech Philharmonic in Prague, Attila and Lucia di Lammermoor at Opera de Tenerife, La Traviata, Thais, Hamlet, L’Amant anonyme of Joseph Bologne Chevalier de St. Georges with Minnesota Opera, Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny at the Teatro Regio di Parma, L’Occasione fa il ladro in Oman, symphonic engagements with the Russian National Philharmonic, Turco in Italia at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna, Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci at the Macerata Sferisterio, and La sonnambula at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris.
A sought-after guest conductor, Mr. Franklin has conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Philharmonia, West Australian Symphony Orchestra, National Philharmonic of Russia, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, a German tour with the Münchner Symphoniker, SWR Orchester in Germany, Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Firenze, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale RAI di Torino, Hungarian National Opera Budapest, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Orchestra de Comunitat di Valencia, Orchestra Verdi di Milan, Orchestra della Toscana, Orchestra Filarmonica dell’Arena di Verona, Orchestra ‘900 of the Teatro Regio in Turin, and the Orchestra Toscanini of Parma.
Mr. Franklin was a first-prize winner of the Gino Marinuzzi International Conducting Competition. After winning the La Bottega-Toti dal Monte Competition in Treviso he was named Resident Conductor and assistant to Peter Maag at the Teatro Comunale di Treviso where he had his Italian debut. He also attended the conducting class of Gianluigi Gelmetti at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena where he was awarded the prestigious Franco Ferrara Prize.
He began studying the violin at the age of six in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After completing a BA in violin and German literature at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, he earned his MM in conducting at the University of Illinois and his DMA at the Peabody Conservatory with Frederik Prausnitz. He was awarded a scholarship to study at the Tanglewood Music Center, where he worked with Seiji Ozawa, Robert Spano, and Gustav Meier, and subsequently, a Fulbright Fellowship to study at the Musikhochschule in Saarbrücken. He began his conducting studies with Charles Bruck at the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors in Hancock, Maine. Christopher lives in Lucca, Italy.
