Japanese-American conductor Kensho Watanabe is internationally acclaimed for his dynamic musicality, thoughtful interpretations, and engaging presence on the podium.  Following a successful run at the Metropolitan Opera of Kevin Puts’ The Hours last season, Watanabe returns to the Met this season for eight performances of Puccini’s La bohéme.

 

In addition to Watanabe’s return to the Met, highlights of the 2024-25 season include a Suntory Hall debut with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, and debuts with the Calgary Philharmonic and Opera Theatre St. Louis.  The 2023-24 season saw Watanabe make his Detroit Opera debut with Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, as well as returns to l’Orchestre Métropolitain in Montréal, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the RTE Concert Orchestra in Dublin.  Recent highlights include work with the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, with whom he maintains a close relationship following his tenure as Assistant Conductor from 2016-19.  

 

Based in Paris, France, Watanabe is an accomplished violinist, receiving his MM from the Yale School of Music, and serving as a substitute violinist of the Philadelphia Orchestra from 2012-16.  A protégé of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Watanabe was the inaugural conducting fellow of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with both Nézet-Séguin and Otto-Werner Mueller.   Additionally, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Yale, where he studied molecular, cellular, and developmental biology.