Jan. 31, 2012. The recent announcement of the extension of the contract for Dominique Meyer, the General Director of the Vienna State Opera was a firm endorsement of his leadership by the Austrian government. Meyer, 57, the first French person to hold the office, will continue now through August 31, 2020.
Meyer, born in the Alsace region of France, where German is a common second language, has worked in arts administration in France, including a period with the Opéra de Paris, and was the respected director of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris at the time he was given the job of Vienna’s “designated director” in June 2007. Only midway through his second season, his careful expansion of the opera’s repertory while giving attention to the conservative public has won him wide support.
Meyer’s hiring of Austrian-born Franz Welser-Möst, 51, as the General Music Director has also been a hit with audiences and critics. One of the top conductors of today, his music leadership has also been extended. Welser-Möst’s contract will now expire in 2018 but there is an option to renew until 2020. His current contract with the Cleveland Orchestra will draw to an end in 2018 also.
“Vienna has grown on me,” Meyer’s commented. “I have an excellent music director at my side, a wonderful team and I feel a lot of support from the audience. There is no better job in my profession than to lead the Vienna State Opera.”
Frank Cadenhead