Chief conductor
CRISTÓBAL SOLER
Considered one of the most important conductors of his generation, Cristóbal Soler develops a career made up of a wide repertoire, both in the symphonic field and in the lyrical genre. Critics have been unanimous in highlighting his charisma and interpretive depth, as well as a precise and consolidated directing technique. All this, the result of a solid and rigorous training in Vienna, studying the great Central European repertoire of the 19th and 20th centuries, under the guidance of great conductors such as Harnoncourt, Sawallisch, Prêtre, Fedoseyev or Mariss Jansons.
During his six seasons as chief director of the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid, he has directed productions such as El Gato Montés (“Teatro Campoamor Lyric Award” for Spanish lyrical production, 2013); Los Diamante de la Corona (nomination at the “International Opera Awards 2015); the modern-day premiere of Galanteos en Venecia (nomination at the Max Awards, 2016), and an extensive catalog of zarzuelas: El barberillo de Lavapiés, Pan y toros, Alma de Dios, El trust de los tenorios, Los claveles, La Reina mora, Doña Francisquita, Luisa Fernanda, La Generala, La Revoltosa, La Verbena de la Paloma, Agua, azucarillos y aguardiente, El año pasado por agua, Los descamisados, Marina, El Domino azul, La Dogaresa, La Gran Vía, Los Flamencos , La buena ventura,Katiuska, etc.
In the operatic field he has directed Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro, Cosí fan tutte, La Traviata, Rigoletto, L’elisir d’amore, Don Pascuale, La Sonambula, Carmen, Aida, Le Roi d’Ýs, Mireille, La Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein, Werther, as well as premieres and revivals of forgotten operas such as Le Revenant and Le Diable à Seville, by J. M. Gomis, Il Tutore burlato and Il Burbero di Buon Cuore by V. Martin y Soler, Los amores de la Inés, by Falla, or L’Indovina, by S. Giner.
He has conducted concerts with the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra (Victoria Hall, Genève and Salle Metrópol, Lausanne), as well as national and international tours, in Austria (Sala Mozarteum, in Salzburg; Austria Center, in Vienna); France; Portugal (O. National Symphony, O. Metropolitana de Lisboa); Poland; R. Czech; Slovenia; Romania; Cuba; Venezuela (Municipal District of Caracas); Mexico, Brazil or Argentina, with the Municipal Symphonic Bands of Madrid, Barcelona, Mallorca…
He has recorded Stravinsky’s History of the Soldier; Britten’s Guide to the Orchestra for Young People; Overture 1997; Abu Simbel, by Llopis; “Música clásica”, by Chapí; works by Falla, Granados, Turina, Esplá, Sarasate, etc. He has recently recorded with the JONDE works by José Luís Turina, José María Sánchez Verdú and Francisco Coll, and Anatomía de la Zarzuela (Warner), with the RTVE symphony orchestra and choir.
Founding president of AESDO, Spanish Association of Orchestra Directors. He has been musical artistic director and founder of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the University of Valencia (1995-2010). He was appointed musical director of the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid (2010-2015) and artistic director of the Cuenca Religious Music Week (2016-2020), being awarded the “Ciudad de Cuenca” Award for his work in 2018, and in 2022 with the FSMCV Euterpe Prize, in its 23rd edition. He has been Director of the Symphonic Band of the Santa Cecilia de Cullera Musical Society 1991-1995.
Since 2019, he is artistic and musical director of the CullerArts Open-Air Opera Festival and president of the CullerArts International Violin Competition. He is founder and artistic and musical director of the SMCV Federation Symphony Orchestra created in 2014. Since 2021, he has been artistic director of the “AESDO-Llíria City of Music” International Orchestral Conducting Competition.
