Conductor
Rory Macdonald
Rory Macdonald is one of the most engaging British conductors of his generation, leading stylish performances of a notably wide range of operatic and symphonic repertoire.
Recent engagements include returns to Oper Frankfurt for Le nozze di Figaro and to the Opera Theater of Saint Louis for The Magic Flute, La bohème with the Glyndebourne Tour, as well as performances with the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, debuts with the Philharmonia and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and a return to the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
Rory made his debut with Oper Frankfurt in 2018/19 with Così fan tutte and has conducted new productions of Die Zauberflöte for Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Royal Danish Opera and Opera Australia. Other highlights include Hänsel und Gretel, ll barbiere di Siviglia (Royal Opera House), Fra Diavolo (Teatro dell’Opera di Roma}, Carmen (Santa Fe Opera, Canadian Opera, Teatro Sao Carlos), Ariadne aut Naxos (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis}, The Cunning Little Vixen (Bergen National Opera}, La Fanciulla del West (Grange Park Opera), A Village Romeo and Juliet (Wexford Festival).
On the concert podium, Rory’s highlights include his debut with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, a return to conduct the Essen Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and performances with the London Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony, Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal, the Royal Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, Ulster, and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestras. He also performed in Japan with the Nagoya Philharmonic and Kanagawa Philharmonic orchestras.
Rory has conducted the premieres of works by notable composers such as Sir James Macmillan, Sally Beamish and Geoffrey Gordon. His discography with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra includes an album with Danny Driver for Hyperion and with Nicola Benedetti for Decca. His recording of symphonies no. 3 and 4 by Thomas Wilson with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra was released in 2019 on Linn Records to critical acclaim, and similarly with symphonies no. 2 and 5 In 2020.