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Leslie Suganandarajah

Music Director of the Salzburg Landestheater, Leslie Suganandarajah is a natural communicator who brings abundant charisma, energy and sensitivity to his performances both on the symphonic and operatic stages. Having taken the helm in Salzburg in 2019–20, in his fourth season there he conducts new productions of Aida, Les pecheurs de Perles, Anthropozän and Die Fledermaus, as well as guest engagements in Germany, the UK and Scandinavia.

Suganandarajah’s extensive opera experience dates back to Kapellmeister positions in Koblenz and Linz prior to his tenure in Salzburg, working on a wide range of German repertoire, notably Strauss (Ariadne auf Naxos, Rosenkavalier, Elektra), Mozart (Figaro, Zauberflöte) and Wagner (Lohengrin, Parsifal), as well as Puccini, Bizet, Verdi and Stravinsky.

Alongside his operatic activities, he is in growing demand as a symphonic conductor. Recent successes have included with Berlin Konzerthausorchester, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, MDR Sinfonieorchester and London Mozart Players. Following an impressive debut with Chineke! Orchestra at the South Bank Centre, he led the group on tour in Europe last season, visiting Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Bozar in Brussels and Frankfurt’s Alte Oper, among other venues.

Highlights of the 2023–24 season include re-invitations to the BBC Philharmonic and Ulster Orchestras, as well as engagements with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony, Norwegian Radio and National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland.

As a young child, Suganandarajah’s family fled the civil war in Sri Lanka and settled in Germany, where he began lessons in piano, flute and organ. He studied at the Musikhochschules in Hannover and Lübeck and completed his conducting studies at the Musikhochschule Franz Liszt in Weimar. He was accepted onto the Deutsche Dirigentenforum in 2011 and was awarded the Hermann-Hildebrandt Scholarship for young conductors, leading to his appointment as Assistant Conductor to Michael Sanderling and the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra for the 2014–15 season.