Zurich Opera House Orchestra

The Zurich Opera House Orchestra was created in 1985 after the venerable “Tonhalle- und Theaterorchester” (Tonhalle and Opera Orchestra) was disbanded.

The Orchestra can be heard during approximately 250 opera and ballet performances at Zurich Opera House every season, as well as at the Philharmonic Concerts. Soirées and chamber music matinee concerts round off the Orchestra’s artistic spectrum.

The Zurich Opera House Orchestra works regularly with conductors such as Christoph von Dohnányi, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Heinz Holliger, Nello Santi, Ralf Weikert and Franz Welser-Möst, while guest conductors over the years have included Riccardo Chailly, John Eliot Gardiner, Valery Gergiev, Georges Prêtre, Sándor Vegh and Marcello Viotti.

The Zurich Opera House Orchestra is also highly prominent on the CD and DVD market: recordings have been made with Franz Welser-Möst, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Nello Santi and Ralf Weikert. Increasing numbers of performances at Zurich Opera are televised, and the Orchestra is frequently invited to give guest performances. Franz Welser-Möst, Chief Conductor from the 1995/96 season and General Music Director of the Orchestra of Zurich Opera House from 2005 to 2008, not only led the ensemble in countless opera productions and concerts in Zurich, but also in performances abroad, such as at Vienna’s Musikverein, the Brucknerhaus Linz, the Alte Oper Frankfurt and London’s Royal Festival Hall.

In the 2000/01 season, the Zurich Opera House Orchestra was internationally recognised for its consistently excellent performances when it was voted “Orchestra of the Year” in a survey conducted by “Opernwelt” magazine.

The Italian conductor Daniele Gatti has been Chief Conductor of the Zurich Opera House Orchestra since the 2009/10 season.