Karen Kamensek

Grammy Award-winning conductor Karen Kamensek’s expansive artistry and deep commitment to championing composers of the 20th and 21st centuries continue to define her work in both the opera house and on the concert stage. The 2025-26 season underscores her remarkable versatility as she leads a diverse array of productions and concerts across the globe.

In the operatic realm, Kamensek makes a number of important debuts, including at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, conducting Philip Glass’ Akhnaten in a revival of Phelim McDermott’s acclaimed production; at the Paris Opera to lead the Paris Opera Orchestra with Anthony Roth Costanzo at the Palais Garnier, presenting a program that juxtaposes works by George Frideric Handel and Glass; and the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège to conduct a double bill that includes the world premiere of Benoît Mernier’s Bartleby, based on Herman Melville’s short story, and Francis Poulenc’s La Voix humaine, directed by Vincent Boussard. She will also return to the Royal Swedish Opera, where she conducts the Swedish premiere of Elena Langer’s Figaro Gets a Divorce.

This season on the concert stage, Kamensek makes her debut with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Netherlands Radio Choir, conducting a concert performance of Glass’ Akhnaten at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and reaffirming her reputation as one of the foremost interpreters of Glass’ work. She also opens the Calgary Philharmonic’s subscription season and returns later in the year to lead performances of Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem. Additional engagements this season include concerts with the Cyprus, Tenerife, São Paulo State, and D.C.'s National symphony orchestras.

Kamensek is frequently in demand as a guest conductor with many of today’s most prominent opera companies. Her recent opera highlights include performances at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in Tosca; the Houston Grand Opera in Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème; the Semperoper Dresden in Leonard Bernstein´s Candide; the San Francisco Opera in Poul Rouder´s The Handmaid’s Tale; the Metropolitan Opera in Jake Heggie’s Moby Dick and Glass' Akhnaten and Rigoletto; the English National Opera in Akhnaten and Satyagraha; the Welsh National Opera in Heggie’s Dead Man Walking and Candide; the Lyric Opera of Chicago in Mozart’s The Magic Flute; the Royal Swedish Opera in Victoria Borisova-Ollas’s Dracula; the Rhine National Opera in the world premiere of Glass’ ballet Alice; and Bernstein’s Wonderful Town with the Norwegian Opera. She has also appeared at the German Opera Berlin, Frankfurt Opera, Opera Australia (Melbourne) and San Diego Opera, among others.

Kamensek’s recent work as a symphonic conductor has brought her to the podia of such orchestras as the U.S., Canada, Australia, and throughout Europe.

Kamensek served as the music director of the Hanover State Opera from 2011 to 2016. She has also held positions as first kapellmeister at the Vienna People's Opera (2000-02), music director of Theater Freiburg (2003–06), interim music director at the Slovenian National Theatre in Maribor (2007–08), and associate music director at the Hamburg State Opera (2008–11).