About - KILLIAN FARRELL

BIOGRAPHY

Killian Farrell © Andrew Bogard

Killian Farrell, Generalmusikdirektor of the Staatstheater Meiningen, began his career at Theater Bremen, serving as First Kapellmeister and conducting a range of repertoire including new productions of Die Zauberflöte and Wolfgang Rihm’s Jakob Lenz, alongside performances of Der Rosenkavalier, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Alcina, Rusalka, and Fidelio, among others. Farrell also held the position of First Kapellmeister at the Staatsoper Stuttgart, where he conducted a wide range of repertoire including Monteverdi’s Orfeo and Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges.

Recent and upcoming performances in the opera house have brought him to Semperoper Dresden, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Irish National Opera, Komische Oper Berlin, De Nationale Opera Amsterdam, and Theater Heidelberg, and concert engagements with Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra Dublin, Irish Chamber Orchestra, Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz, and Georgian Chamber Orchestra.

Killian served as a Conducting Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Centre in 2019, conducting the Tanglewood Music Centre Orchestra and receiving guidance from conductors such as Andris Nelsons, Thomas Adés and Giancarlo Guerrero. He is a former Young Artist at the National Opera Studio, Britten-Pears Young Artist, and alumnus of the Académie du Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, participating in the Mozart Residency. A former member of the German Conductors’ Forum, he was awarded a scholarship from the Bryden Thomson Trust.

Farrell comes from Dublin, Ireland, and is a former Deputy Head Chorister of Dublin’s Palestrina Choir. He made his professional conducting debut at 17 with Bach’s St. John Passion. He studied conducting, piano and organ at the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama and read musicology at Trinity College Dublin.

Killian Farrell, designated Generalmusikdirektor of the Staatstheater Meiningen, currently holds the position of First Kapellmeister at the Staatsoper Stuttgart, where he has conducted a wide range of repertoire from Monteverdi’s Orfeo to Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges. The 2022/23 season includes performances of Rusalka, Carmen and Hänsel und Gretel, and his debut at the Semperoper Dresden with Die Zauberflöte.

Killian followed the traditional Kapellmeister route through the German opera house, beginning his career at Theater Bremen, where he served as First Kapellmeister. During his time in Bremen, he conducted a range of repertoire from the Baroque to the contemporary, including new productions of Die Zauberflöte and Wolfgang Rihm’s Jakob Lenz, alongside performances of Der Rosenkavalier, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Alcina, Rusalka, and Fidelio, among others. Recent and upcoming performances in the opera house have brought him to the Komische Oper Berlin, De Nationale Opera Amsterdam, and Theater Heidelberg, and concert engagements with Ulster Orchestra, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestra Academy of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, and Bremer Philharmoniker.

Killian served as a Conducting Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Centre in Summer 2019, conducting a wide range of repertoire in concert with the Tanglewood Music Centre Orchestra and receiving masterclasses and guidance from Boston Symphony Orchestra Music Director Andris Nelsons, and guest conductors including Thomas Adés and Giancarlo Guerrero. He is a former Young Artist at the National Opera Studio, London, a 2016 Britten-Pears Young Artist, and an alumnus of the Académie du Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, where he participated in the Mozart Residency 2016. He is a member of the German Conductors’ Forum and was awarded a scholarship from the Bryden Thomson Trust in 2018.