Grammy-nominated and Echo Klassik-winning conductor George Petrou enjoys
a remarkable international career. Since the 2021–2022 season, he has been
Artistic Director of the Händel-Festspiele Göttingen and also leads the
Armonia Atenea orchestra, with which he tours and records extensively on
both period and modern instruments. He was Music Director of the Greek
Radio National Symphony Orchestra.
Born in Athens, he studied piano at the Athens Conservatory and later at
the Royal College and Royal Academy of Music in London. After a successful
career as a pianist, he turned to conducting, gaining international
acclaim through recordings with top labels such as Deutsche Grammophon,
Decca, and MDG. His repertoire ranges from baroque to 20th-century works,
with a focus on historically informed performance. He is considered one of
today’s foremost baroque specialists.
He has conducted at major opera houses including the Leipzig Opera,
Strasbourg Opera, Opéra de Nice, Theater an der Wien, Lausanne Opera,
Korea National Opera, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Opéra Royal de
Versailles, Royal Swedish Opera, Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, Teatro Verdi
in Trieste, and many others. He has appeared at leading festivals such as
the Salzburg Whitsun Festival, BBC Proms, Rossini Opera Festival in
Pesaro, Klara Festival in Brussels, and the Händel festivals in Halle and
Karlsruhe. He has collaborated with renowned orchestras including the
Leipzig Gewandhaus, New Russia Symphony, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic,
Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, La Toscanini of Parma,
Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, Munich Radio Orchestra, and the
State Orchestras of Athens and Thessaloniki. He regularly conducts top
period ensembles such as Il Pomo d’Oro, Concerto Köln, B’Rock, and La Lira
d’Orfeo.
In addition to conducting, George Petrou has developed a keen interest in
stage direction, signing several acclaimed productions.
Notable past engagements include: Il barbiere di Siviglia in
Cologne; Porpora’s Carlo il Calvo and Polifemo at the
Bayreuth Baroque Festival; La Traviata at Théâtre du Capitole de
Toulouse; La donna del lago in Lausanne, Wiesbaden, and Zagreb; Lucia
di Lammermoor in Athens (Greek National Opera); Vivaldi’s Orlando
furioso in Madrid and Vienna; and Alcina in Athens.
Recent highlights include: Purcell’s Miranda in Cologne, Gluck’s
Iphigénie en Tauride in Zurich and Athens, Händel’s Semele
and Hercules at the Göttingen Händel Festival (as both conductor
and stage director), Porpora’s Carlo il Calvo at Teatro alla Scala
and in Dortmund, Rossini’s Aureliano in Palmira in Pesaro,
Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte in Stuttgart, Tancredi in Rouen,
symphonic concerts with Teatro La Fenice Orchestra and La Toscanini, a
Vivaldi concert at the Ravello Festival, and the operetta O
Vaftistikos by Sakellaridis in Athens. He also recently directed and
conducted Vivaldi’s Giustino in Stockholm, Händel’s Giulio
Cesare in the Netherlands and Göttingen, Mozart’s Idomeneo
in Athens, Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea in Cologne, Il
barbiere di Siviglia in Verona and Parma, a new staged production of
Händel’s Messiah at the Komische Oper Berlin, Partenope in
Frankfurt, Don Giovanni in Dortmund, and Händel’s La
Resurrezione at the Caracalla Festival.
Upcoming 2025-26 engagements include: Händel’s Deidamìa
at the Wexford Opera Festival; Norma at Théâtre Royal de la
Monnaie in Brussels; Belshazzar at the Komische Oper Berlin;
Donizetti’s Le convenienze e inconvenienze teatrali at Teatro
Massimo in Palermo; and Tancredi in Cologne.
George Petrou has been named Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in
London (ARAM), awarded the title of Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des
Lettres by the French government, and received the “Grand Prize” from the
Greek Union of Critics for Music and Theatre.
August 2025