NICOLAS ANDRÉ
Conductor
“Conducted with the precision of a goldsmith by French conductor Nicolas André, the orchestra gave a finesse of great clarity to a piece [Das Lied von der Erde] whose vibrant simplicity was exalted.”
A strong, singular and endearing personality, Nicolas André conducts both opera and concerts; from early music to contemporary world premieres, ballet or vocal music. With energy and curiosity, he traces a path strewn with clear interpretations, combining precision and vitality. Associate conductor of the leading French ensemble Le Concert Sprituel, founded by Hervé Niquet, Nicolas André is also a regular guest of some of Europe’s leading orchestras and festivals including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Salzburg Easter Festival, the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Brussels Philharmonic, Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, and the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine.
Mr. André’s 2024/25 season is marked by a return to the Capitole de Toulouse for Coppelia, as well as the world premiere The Illusions of William Mallory by Rodolphe Bruneau Boulmier at the Staatsoper Hamburg. He also conducts Elektra by Richard Strauss and Offenbach’s Contes d’Hoffmann, covering for Kent Nagano at Staatsoper Hamburg.
In an unusually wide range of repertoire from early music to the 21st century, Nicolas André has been invited to conduct the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Concert Spirituel, Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen, the Orchestre national de Montpellier, the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre symphonique et lyrique de Nancy, Orchestre de Limoges, Orchestre de Dijon, Orchestre National Avignon, Orchestre de Cannes Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, the Brussels Philharmonic, the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, and the Saint-Etienne Loire Symphony Orchestra.
In recent seasons he also conducted Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde at the Capitole in Toulouse in a choreography by John Neumeyer. Several concerts in France including Saint Etienne (Schéhérazade) and Limoges (Mozart’s Mass in C minor) were followed by performances at Staatsoper Hamburg with Messiaen’s Saint François d’Assise (cover for Kent Nagano) and Ciboulette by Reynaldo Hahn. In 2022/2023 he was the guest of the Staatsoper Hamburg for the David Bösch production of Massenet's Manon, with Benjamin Bernheim and Elbenita Kajtazi as soloists, and the Herbert Fritsch production of Mozart's Così fan tutte. For the 2021/22 season, he continued his collaboration with the Staatsoper Hamburg as guest conductor, for several productions including Le Nozze di Figaro and Manon, and returned to France with the Concert Spirituel for Le malade imaginaire by Molière/Charpentier at the Opéra de Nantes and Reims, Die Zauberflöte at the CNSMD in Lyon, and a new production of La Sylphide (ballet) at the Opéra de Bordeaux. He has been invited by the Salzburg Easter Festival 2018 and the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie for the world premiere of Philipp Maintz's opera Thérèse directed by Georges Delnon.
During the 2020/21 season, with the Hamburgische Staatsoper, Nicolas André recorded for Arte Udo Zimmermann's opera Weiße Rose directed by David Bösch, he also conducted Schönberg's Pierrot Lunaire (videos: Luis Krawen) and Poulenc's La voix humaine (directed by Georges Delnon), and Bizet's Carmen directed by Jens Daniel Herzog. He conducted the orchestras of Limoges and Dijon for symphonic concerts and a new production of the ballet La Sylphide at the Bordeaux Opera. He also conducted Die Zauberflöte (directed by Jette Steckel) at the Hamburg Staatsoper, a new production of La Belle Hélène at the St. Gallen Opera (directed by Ansgar Weigner), and the Jean-Pierre Ponnelle production of L'Elisir d'Amore at the Hamburg Staatsoper.
From 2018 to 2022, Nicolas André was the musical assistant of Kent Nagano at Staatsoper in Hamburg. He has also been collaborating for several years with Hervé Niquet, who appointed him as the associate conductor of the Concert Spirituel. From 2009 to 2018 he was a regular guest of the Vlaams Radio Koor, with which he gave nearly 80 concerts. Very committed to transmission, he taught choral conducting at the Pôle supérieur de Rennes from 2014 to 2018. Founder and artistic director of the Arromanches Festival, Nicolas André led the festival orchestra in numerous symphonic concerts, featuring soloists such as Julien Behr, Anaïk Morel and Paul Gay. In addition to being an organist, harpsichordist and choir director, Nicolas André was trained in the conservatories of Caen and Versailles. He graduated with distinction from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Lyon.