Alexander Mikhailovich Anissimov |

Alexander Anissimov

One of the most sought-after Russian conductors, Alexander Anisimov is the head of the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Belarus, is the Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Samara Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, Honorary Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Principal Conductor of the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra (South Korea).

The professional career of the musician began in 1975 in Leningrad at the Maly Opera and Ballet Theater and already in the 80s he was invited to cooperate with the leading opera companies of the country: the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater of the Republic of Belarus, the Perm Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, the Leningrad Theater named after Kirov, Rostov Musical Theatre.

Alexander Anisimov’s close contacts with the Mariinsky (until 1992 Kirov) Theater began in 1993: here he conducted all the main works of the opera and ballet repertoire, and also performed with the theater’s symphony orchestra. In 1996, A. Anisimov accepted an offer to conduct the opera “Prince Igor” on tour in Korea. The musician assisted Valery Gergiev in a production of Prokofiev’s War and Peace in San Francisco, where he made his American debut.

In 1993, Alexander Anisimov had a chance to work with the great Mstislav Rostropovich in Great Britain and Spain.

Since 2002, A. Anisimov has been the chief conductor of the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Belarus, which, under the guidance of a talented musician, has become the country’s leading orchestra. The schedule of the orchestra’s tours has significantly expanded and its repertoire has been enriched – paying due attention to the classical heritage, the orchestra performs a lot of modern music, including works by Belarusian composers.

In 2011, Alexander Anisimov was invited to the post of chief conductor and artistic director of the Samara Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, which had just opened after a large-scale reconstruction. His debut in the opera “Prince Igor” already caused a great public outcry, followed by the successful premiere of “The Nutcracker”, concert programs “It’s time for us to go to the opera”, “The Great Tchaikovsky”, “Baroque Masterpieces”, “Offering to Tchaikovsky”. The performances of the operas Madama Butterfly, La Traviata, Aida, The Tale of Tsar Saltan, The Barber of Seville and other performances received high critical acclaim.

The musician tours a lot, acting as a guest conductor in the most famous theaters: the Bolshoi Theater of Russia, the Houston Grand Opera, the San Francisco Opera, the Colon Theater in Buenos Aires, the Carlo Felice Theater in Genoa, the State Opera of Australia, the Venetian La Fenice Theater, the State the operas of Hannover and Hamburg, the Berlin Comic Opera, the Paris Opera Bastille and the Opera Garnier, the Liceu Opera House in Barcelona. Among the orchestras with which the maestro has worked are the Dutch Symphony Orchestra, the orchestras of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Warsaw, Monte Carlo and Rotterdam, the Lithuanian National Symphony and the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestras, the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Symphony and the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and other famous bands. One of the highest recognitions of the art of a Russian conductor was a gift from the orchestra of the Roman Academy of Santa Cecilia – a conductor’s baton by Leonard Bernstein.

Alexander Anisimov has been collaborating with the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland for many years. Among the biggest projects of the creative tandem is the staging of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen tetralogy, which received the Allianz Business to Arts Award in Ireland as an outstanding event in 2002 in the field of music. The conductor fruitfully collaborates with the Irish Opera and the Wexford Opera Festival, and is Honorary President of the Wagner Society in Ireland. In 2001, A. Anisimov was awarded the title of Honorary Doctor of Music of the Irish National University for his personal contribution to the musical life of the country.

At home, Alexander Anisimov was awarded the title of Honored Artist of Russia. He is a laureate of the State Prize of the Republic of Belarus, People’s Artist of the Republic of Belarus, laureate of the Russian national theater award “Golden Mask”.

In July 2014, the maestro was awarded the National Order of Merit of France.

The conductor’s discography includes recordings of Glazunov’s symphonic and ballet music, all Rachmaninov’s symphonies, including the symphonic poem “The Bells” with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland (Naxos), Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony with the Youth Orchestra of Australia (MELBA), the DVD recording of the opera “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District” performed by the Liceu Opera House (EMI).

In 2015, the maestro conducted Puccini’s Madama Butterfly on the stage of the Stanislavsky and V. Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Musical Theatre. In 2016 he acted as a conductor-producer of Shostakovich’s opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District at the Samara Opera and Ballet Theatre.