Patrick Lange (conductor)
Patrick Lange is a German conductor focused on opera. He has been Generalmusikdirektor of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden since 2017, and has appeared internationally, with regular performances at the Komische Oper Berlin and the Vienna State Opera.Life
Born in Roth, Lange grew up in Greding. He was a member of the boys' choir Regensburger Domspatzen with conductors Georg Ratzinger and Roland Büchner. At age 12, he decided to become a conductor. At age 16, he conducted his first premiere, a youth club production of Stephen Sondheim's Zustände wie im alten Rom, at the Stadttheater Regensburg. After his Abitur, he studied conducting with Hans-Rainer Förster and Peter Falk at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg and with Johannes Schlaefli at the Zurich University of the Arts.
From 2005, Lange was supported by the of the. Claudio Abbado made him assistant conductor of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester the same year. Lange assisted Abbado also with the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Orchestra Mozart in Bologna and the orchestra of the Lucerne Festival. He made his debut at the Komische Oper Berlin in 2007, conducting Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro. Lange became First Kapellmeister there in 2008 and principal conductor in 2010.
In 2009, Lange first conducted at the Glyndebourne Festival, in 2010 at the Vienna State Opera, in 2011 at the Royal Opera House in London, in 2012 at the Semperoper in Dresden, and in 2013 at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. He has been Generalmusikdirektor of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden from the 2017/18 season. He opened his first season there with Mozart's Die Zauberflöte for children, and conducted new productions of Wagner's Tannhäuser, Verdi's Un ballo in maschera and Arabella by Richard Strauss. A reviewer of Arabella noted a powerful but controlled orchestra sound, with excellent string solos. The performance of Tannhäuser, with Lance Ryan in the title role and Sabina Cvilak as Elisabeth, staged by Uwe Eric Laufenberg, was recorded live. His contract in Wiesbaden was extended to the end of the 2022/23 season.
Lange has been a regular guest at the Vienna State Opera where he conducted first Puccini's Madama Butterfly, then Mozart's Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte and Die Zauberflöte for children, Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel, Puccini's Tosca, and Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss.
Lange is a member in the advisory board of the Young Euro Classic festival in Berlin and of the Kuratorium of the.Awards
