Semyon Bychkov will succeed Gustavo Dudamel as music director of the Paris Opera starting in August 2028, the company’s general director Alexander Neef said Tuesday.
The 73-year-old Bychkov agreed to a four-year contract and will conduct two operas and six symphonic concerts per season, Neef said.
Dudamel quit as the Paris Opera’s music director in May 2023, two seasons into a six-year contract. He announced his Paris departure three months after announcing he was leaving the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the New York Philharmonic in 2026-27.
“After the departure of Gustavo Dudamel from the Paris Opera, there were some what I would call vibrations coming out of the house towards me,” Bychkov said during a telephone interview Tuesday.
He become music director of the Czech Philharmonic in 2018 and in September 2022 agreed to a contract through the 2027-28 season, so Bychkov put off further commitments. He said he was approached again last August at a dinner after a concert by the Paris Opera orchestra at the Ravel Festival in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, near where he lives with his wife, pianist Marielle Labèque.
Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the terms
“During the dinner I was, if I could use the word, ‘assaulted’ by the musicians, saying: ‘You must come to us. The position is free, etc, etc.,’” Bychkov recalled. “That kind of response from the musicians during that dinner was a bit of a trigger in my mind and in my heart.”
Bychkov also said he feels healthy again following lumbar decompression surgery in September 2024 and a hip replacement three months later.
He was born in Leningrad to Jewish parents, left the Soviet Union with his family for Vienna in 1974, then settled in the US one year later. He was music director of the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra from 1980-85 and became a US citizen.
Bychkov was music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra from 1985-89, the Orchestre de Paris from 1989-98 and the WDR Symphony Orchestra in Cologne, Germany, from 1997-2010.
He first conducted the Paris Opera in 2007 and will lead Ralph Fiennes’ opera directing debut on January 26 in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.” Bychkov will become music director designate this August.
His Paris tenure will come during major renovations. The stage of Palais Garnier, the ornate building opened in 1875, will be closed for two years after the 2026-27 season, and the Opera Bastille will close for two seasons starting around 2030.
“They’ve done absolutely everything in the genre of opera and ballet,” Bychkov said. “Because of the restoration of both houses they will have to naturally do less of the productions, and I thought that this would present a historic opportunity for the orchestra to develop itself as a symphonic instrument.”
Is The Times of Israel important to you?
If so, we have a year-end request.
Every day during the past two years of war and rising global antisemitism, our journalists kept you abreast of the most important developments that merit your attention. Millions of people rely on ToI for fact-based coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
We care about Israel – and we know you do too. So as 2025 draws to a close, we have an ask: show your appreciation for our work by joining The Times of Israel Community, an exclusive group for readers like you who appreciate and financially support our work.
Yes, I’ll give
Yes, I’ll give
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You appreciate our journalism
You clearly find our careful reporting valuable, in a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.
Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically since October 7.
So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you’ll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
