Advent Concert of ZDF

Joshua Weilerstein

The 26/27 season marks Joshua Weilerstein’s third season as Music Director of the Orchestre National de Lille and fourth as Chief Conductor of the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra. Acclaimed for passionate performances that balance clarity and emotional depth, he is a compelling advocate for both the classical canon, the music of today and forgotten composers of the past. 

This season Weilerstein takes the Orchestre National de Lille to the renowned La Chaise Dieu festival for two concerts and back to the Paris Philharmonie for a performance of Bizet’s The Pearlfishers. He also renews collaborations with soloists such as Alexandre Kantorow, Martin Fröst and Baibe Skride and explores some of the most important symphonic repertoire, including the Rite of Spring, Mahler’s 1st Symphony, and Scriabin’s Poem of Ecstasy. In Aalborg Weilerstein continues his popular live podcast series with the orchestra, as well as collaborating with Andreas Brantelid and Eldborg Hemsing, and he will open the season with the World Premiere by the Greenlandic composer Arnannguaq Gerstrøm. Elsewhere in 26/27 highlights include his return to the Dresden Staatskapelle, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, San Diego Symphony and Indianapolis orchestras and debuts with the Gulbenkian and Netherlands Radio Philharmonic orchestras amongst others. 

Weilerstein has conducted many of the world’s top orchestras, including in more recent seasons the Bavarian Radio Symphony in a televised performance of Shostakovich’s 5th symphony, Dresden Staatskapelle, London Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic both in Manchester and at the BBC Proms, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, National Symphony and New York Philharmonic orchestras. He regularly collaborates with leading soloists such as Emanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma, Vilde Frang and Matthias Goerne.  From 2015–2021, he was Artistic Director of the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne with whom he recorded the complete Beethoven symphonies and a disc of 20th and 21st century works by Ives, Ethel Smyth, William Grant Still and Caroline Shaw. 

Born into a musical family, Weilerstein’s commitment to classical music was inspired by his experience on a youth orchestra tour to Central America, during which he performed for audiences that had never heard a live orchestra. He studied violin andconducting at the New England Conservatory and in 2009 won both the First and Audience Prizes at the Malko Competition in Copenhagen. He later served as Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic from 2012–2015. In 2017, inspired by Leonard Bernstein’s musical evangelism, Weilerstein launched the podcast Sticky Notes, which now reaches listeners in 190 countries and has been downloaded over eight million times.

Regula Mühlemann

Within just a few years, Swiss soprano Regula Mühlemann has established herself as one of her generation’s most important voices. Equally at home on the operatic and concert stages, she is acclaimed by audiences and critics alike for her exceptionally beautiful timbre and sensitive performances. For her performances in the Salzburg Festival’s 2022 production of Die Zauberflote, The Telegraph hailed: “Regula Mühlemann is outstanding as a radiant Pamina.”

Mühlemann opens the 2025/26 season with her highly anticipated role debut as Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with the Semperoper Dresden, staged by Michiel Dijkema and conducted by Leo Hussain. Later in the season, she reprises Konstanze with the Bayerische Staatsoper, where Martin Duncan’s production is conducted by Ivor Bolton. The soprano returns to the Zürich Opera House as Adele for Anna Bernreitner’s new production of Die Fledermaus under the baton of Lorenzo Viotti, and with Teatro alla Scala she reprises her portrayal of Gilda in Rigoletto, directed by Mario Martone and conducted by Marco Armiliato.

Mühlemann’s 2025/26 concert season is filled with exciting tours and collaborations. The soprano can be heard in the New Year Concerts with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra and Michael Sanderling. Together with La Folia Barockorchester, the soprano embarks on tour to present a program of baroque arias from their album Cleopatra in Zurich, Antwerp, Essen and Liepaja. She joins Orchester der Oper Zürich for concerts in Zurich, Dijon and Hamburg with Mozart’s Exsultate jubilate & Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. Mühlemann sings Mozart’s Requiem at Les Grandes Voix concerts in Bern and Paris and returns tothe Théâtre des Champs-Élysées to perform Haydn’s The Creation. Mühlemann performs a series of concerts with the Munich Radio Orchestra across Bavaria, joins the Zurich Chamber Orchestra for performances in Zurich and Gstaad, while her enchanting recitals can be heard in Linz, Aarau and Weiden in der Oberpfalz.

Among the highlights of her previous seasons were her role and company debut at the Vienna State Opera as Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), followed by returns as Adina (L’elisir d’amore), Adele (Die Fledermaus) and Blonde (Die Entführung aus dem Serail). With Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, she was heard as Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier) and Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro) under the baton of Daniel Barenboim, and at Festspielhaus Baden-Baden she performed the role of Ilia (Idomeneo) in concert under the musical direction of Thomas Hengelbrock. Mühlemann starred as Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto at Theater Basel, as Adele in Die Fledermaus at Teatro Maggio Musicale in Florence under Zubin Mehta, and as Juliette (Roméo et Juliette) at the Lucerne Theatre. Mühlemann performed as Echo (Ariadne auf Naxos) at Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, joined the Salzburg Festival as Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and as Bellezza in Handel’s oratorio Il Trionfo del tempo e del disinganno alongside Cecilia Bartoli, and saw performances as Marie in La fille du regiment with Opéra de Monte-Carlo.

On tour, the Swiss soprano’s captivating presence on the concert stage has been shared with thousands of audience members: with CHAARTS Chamber Artists, she performed across Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, presenting the program from her CD “Fairy Tales”. She enchanted the public with a program from her CD “Songs from Home” in Switzerland and at the Vienna Konzerthaus and embarked on tours with the Basel Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Umberto Benedetti Michelangeli.

Patricia Nolz

Austrian mezzo-soprano Patricia Nolz graduated from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and made her debut as Cherubino/Le Nozze di Figaro at the Theater an der Wien in 2020, before joining the Opera Studio of the Vienna State Opera. As Ensemble Member there from 2022-2024, she enjoyed success as Cherubino, Rosina/Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Orlofsky/Die Fledermaus, Silla/Palestrina, and as Zerlina in a new production of Don Giovanni under Philippe Jordan, for which she received the Austrian Music Theatre Prize. Further celebrated debuts include the Komische Oper Berlin (Cherubino/Le Nozze di Figaro) and the Danish Royal Opera (Rosina/Il Barbiere di Siviglia). In the 2025-2026 season, Patricia Nolz returned to the Vienna State Opera for Cherubino and on tour in Japan. Recent highlights included her debut as Hansel in a new production of Hansel & Gretel at the Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg and her celebrated debut as Octavian in Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier at the Berlin State Opera under the baton of Christian Thielemann.

Patricia was featured as a "Great Talent" by the Vienna Konzerthaus in 2023/2024, where she appeared in several concert and lied programmes. Furthermore she has appeared at the Vienna Musikverein, the Gewandhaus Leipzig, Schleswig-Holstein and Heidelberger Frühling festivals, Grafenegg and Salzburg Festivals, as well as the Carinthian Summer festival, Bachfest Leipzig, the Baroque Festival in Melk and at the Berlin Philharmonie. In recital she has performed at the Vienna Konzerthaus, London's Wigmore Hall, the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, and most recently the Leeds Song Festival. 

Highlights of the 2026/27 season include a return to the Vienna State Opera as Annio/La Clemenza di Tito and Orlofsky/Die Fledermaus, as well as a return to the Berlin State Opera for Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann. The season also features house and role debuts as the Child in Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges at the Hamburg State Opera and at the Opéra Bastille in Paris as Zerlina. Further appearances include the Mozart Week in Salzburg as Dorabella/Così fan tutte with the Camerata Salzburg under Ivor Bolton, and in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Vienna Philharmonic under Christian Thielemann, as well as numerous recitals across Europe.

María Dueñas

Spanish violinist María Dueñas has established herself as a luminous talent in classical music, captivating audiences with her extraordinary range of tonal colours, impeccable technical prowess, and interpretations that combine artistic maturity with bold expressiveness. 

Her meteoric rise led to an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. María Dueñas' third album, Homage to Heifetz, will be released in August 2026. Recorded with Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, it pays tribute to the legendary Jascha Heifetz, combining Lalo's Symphonie espagnole and Korngold's Violin Concerto - two works closely associated with the great violinist's legacy. Following the success of her debut recording, Beethoven and Beyond, which earned her the Opus Klassik Award for Young Talent of the Year, she received equal international acclaim for her second album, an ambitious exploration of Paganini's iconic 24 Caprices. For this recording, she was distinguished as Young Artist and Instrumentalist of the Year at the 2025 Gramophone Classical Music Awards. 

María Dueñas has also claimed first prizes at some of the world's leading violin competitions, including the Menuhin Competition, the Vladimir Spivakov International Violin Competition, and the Zhuhai International Mozart Competition. Her artistry has been recognised with numerous further distinctions, among them her selection as a BBC New Generation Artist, Focus Artist at Rheingau Musik Festival, and the Princess of Girona Arts and Letters Award.

As globally recognized soloist,  María Dueñas performs with the leading orchestras of Europe, North America and Asia, such as the Vienna Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Berlin, Munich Philharmonic, Bamberger Symphoniker, Wiener Symphoniker, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Accademia di Santa Cecilia and Orchestre de Paris. She regularly collaborates with outstanding conductors such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Christian Thielemann, Herbert Blomstedt, Alan Gilbert, Paavo Järvi, Vasily Petrenko, Marin Alsop, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Karina Canellakis, Elim Chan, Gustavo Gimeno, Antonio Pappano, Manfred Honeck, Lahav Shani, Andris Nelsons, Daniel Harding, Kent Nagano und Zubin Mehta.

María Dueñas enjoys a longstanding artistic partnership with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, marked by a series of significant collaborations, including a concert at the Hollywood Bowl's centennial celebrations, and the world premiere of Gabriela Ortiz's violin concerto Altar de Cuerda, with subsequent performances across North America and Europe. The recording of the concerto forms part of Revolución diamantina, which received three GRAMMY Awards in 2025.

A versatile artist also dedicated to composing, her works include Homage 1770 for solo violin, published by Ricordi, Farewell, a solo piano piece, and cadenzas for numerous violin concertos. She is also committed to performing contemporary music, and is much in demand as chamber musician with partners such as Matthias Goerne, Itamar Golan, Renaud Capuçon, Yo-Yo Ma, Denis Kozhukin und Alexander Malofeev.

In 2024, María Dueñas portrayed the reincarnation of violinist Kathleen Parlow in the film Measures for a Funeral directed by Sofia Bohdanowicz. The movie featured Johan Halvorsen's long-lost Violin Concerto op. 28, introducing the rediscovered work to a wider audience through her compelling performance with the Orchestre Métropolitain under the direction of Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The concert recording and movie soundtrack are scheduled for release on Deutsche Grammophon.

Highlights of the 2026/27 season include performances with the Bamberg Symphony under Jakub Hrůša in Bamberg and Hamburg, Philharmonia Orchestra under Santtu-Matias Rouvali in London and Munich, and a return to Staatskapelle Berlin under Christian Thielemann. María Dueñas also continues her acclaimed artistic collaborations with Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, as well as with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Orchestre Métropolitain. The season is further marked by several major international tours, beginning with performances in South Korea and Taiwan with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and Gustavo Gimeno. Together with the Camerata Salzburg, María Dueñas makes her South American debut, followed by concerts in Austria and the Canary Islands with the Wiener Symphoniker under Petr Popelka, and concluding with a tour alongside the National Youth Symphony Orchestra of Colombia under Andrés Orozco-Estrada - another longstanding artistic partner - taking her to Germany, Vienna, Zurich and Paris.

María Dueñas plays the Giambattista Guadagnini violin of 1779 from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben as well as the Antonio Stradivarius “Michelangelo” (1718), on generous loan from the Karolina Blaberg Foundation.

Sächsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden

Der Dresdner Opernchor wurde am 8. Oktober 1817 per königlichem Dekret durch Friedrich August l. gegründet. Der Erlass dieses Dekrets war vor allem ein Verdienst Carl Maria von Webers, der mit dem Antritt seiner Stelle als Hofkapellmeister die Einrichtung eines »stehenden Theaterchors« forderte, welcher den gestiegenen Anforderungen des dafür neu zu schaffenden Opernrepertoires gewachsen sein würde.

Aus den damals engagierten 32 Damen und Herren mit „musikalischen Kenntnissen und guten Stimmen“ ist in über mehr als 200 Jahre ein hervorragender Klangkörper gewachsen, der große Chorpartien sowie Oratorien und Sonderkonzerte auf höchstem Niveau präsentiert. Die Fähigkeit mit großer Intensität und Spielfreude sowie höchsten musikalischen Ansprüchen die Chorpartien auf der Bühne der Semperoper zu verkörpern, zeichnet den Dresdner Opernchor aus und wird vom Publikum in besonderem Maße geschätzt.

Mit der Sächsischen Staatskapelle Dresden verbindet der Staatsopernchor Dresden eine enge sowie kontinuierliche künstlerische Zusammenarbeit, die von namhaften Dirigenten geprägt ist. In jüngerer Vergangenheit zählen dazu Giuseppe Sinopoli, Sir Colin Davis, Herbert Blomstedt und Christian Thielemann.

Zwischen 2013 und 2021 war der Sächsische Staatsopernchor gemeinsam mit der Sächsischen Staatskapelle Dresden ständiger Gast bei den Osterfestspielen in Salzburg, deren künstlerische Leitung in den Händen von Christian Thielemann lag.

Die maßstabsetzende Qualität des einzigartigen Zusammenspiels zwischen Chorensemble und Orchester wurde bereits in zahlreichen CD-Produktionen dokumentiert und veröffentlicht.

Über die Jahrhunderte hinweg wurde unter der künstlerisch umsichtigen und traditionsbewussten Leitung herausragender Persönlichkeiten ein bis heute individuelles Klangideal entwickelt. Die Homogenität des Klangs, die stimmliche Noblesse sowie der kultivierte Pianogesang bei gleichzeitiger Klangdichte und -fülle sind wesentliche Eigenschaften, die sich der Sächsischen Staatsopernchor bis heute bewahrt und für künftige Generationen pflegt.

Seit der Spielzeit 2024/25 hat Jan Hoffmann das Amt des Chordirektors inne. Die Position des zweiten Chordirektor bekleidet Jonathan Becker.