Frédéric Chaslin, conductor and opera composer

As part of our extended coverage of Santa Fe Opera's production of the brand new critical edition of Rossini's Maometto II, we talked to Maestro Frédéric Chaslin, who had been holding for the last three years the position of Chief Conductor at Santa Fe Opera. [Opera Lively interview # 42]


Frédéric Chaslin made his SFO company debut in 2009 leading the highly acclaimed production of Verdi’s La Traviata. Conductor, pianist, composer and author, Chaslin was born in Paris and educated at the Paris Conservatoire and the Salzburg Mozarteum. With an operatic and symphonic repertory that ranges from Bach to contemporary music, he has appeared with major opera companies and at international festivals in New York, Berlin, Munich, Leipzig, Madrid, Barcelona, Rome and Venice and with all the major Parisian orchestras. He served as music director of the Rouen Opera, general music director of Germany’s Nationaltheater Mannheim, chief conductor of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and a resident conductor at the Vienna Staatsoper.

Maestro Chaslin made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2002 conducting Il Trovatore, and subsequently The Tales of Hoffmann, Sicilian Vespers, The Barber of Seville and La Boheme. In 2005 he led the Los Angeles Opera production of Romeo and Juliet starring Rolando Villazon and Anna Netrebko.

As pianist Maestro Chaslin has appeared with major orchestras in Austria, Japan, Italy and Israel. As composer he has written orchestral pieces, movie soundtracks and operas. His opera Wuthering Heights has been recorded by the London Philharmonic and London Symphony Chorus. His latest book, Music in Every Sense is an in-depth look at aspects of modern music and its relationship with the audience. It has been published in French and German and will soon appear in English.
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