Arne Willimczik

Arne Willimczik, who has been working as the Director of Studies at the Cologne Opera since the 2014/15 season, completed his piano and conducting studies at the Hamburg University of Music. From 1994, he was initially engaged at the Stadttheater Bremerhaven, then at the Staatstheater Darmstadt as a solo répétiteur and conductor. From 2001, he served as conductor at the Staatstheater Kassel and during this time also worked as a pianist and guest conductor at other theatres.

His broad repertoire ranges from the works of Henry Purcell to modern compositions (including Philip Glass's 'The Fall of the House of Usher' and Péter Eötvös's 'Tri Sestri'). He frequently conducts world premieres and first performances, such as Friedrich Schenker's 'Johann Faustus' at the Staatstheater Kassel (2004). As conductor at the Theater Regensburg, he represented a broad repertoire over several years, ranging from Simon Mayr and Jacques Offenbach to Rossini, Verdi, Puccini and Richard Wagner ('Lohengrin', 'Die Feen') to modern works.

At the Cologne Opera, he has conducted Udo Zimmermann's 'Weiße Rose', Leoš Janáček's 'Das schlaue Füchslein' and Wilfried Hiller's 'Ijob' in recent seasons, as well as performances of Giuseppe Verdi's 'Rigoletto', Richard Wagner's 'Tannhäuser', Richard Strauss' 'Salome', Jacques Offenbach's 'Hoffmanns Erzählungen für Kinder', Ralph Benatzky's 'Im weißen Rössl', Jacques Offenbach's 'Barkouf ou un chien au pouvoir' and Giacomo Puccini's 'La Bohème'.