On Tuesday, the Royal Opera House in London announced the appointment of Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša as its new music director starting in the 2025-26 season, replacing Antonio Pappano. Hrůša is coming from the Bamberger Symphoniker, a Bavarian orchestra with an excellent reputation, which he will continue to lead until the end of the same season. (It hasn’t been decided yet whether Hrůša will stay on in Bamberg after that, artistic director Marcus Rudolf Axt told me.) Among the biggest musical institutions, the 2022-23 concert season has been marked by a certain post-COVID conservatism, with even orchestras and opera houses known for good curation hewing to big names, famous works, and lots and lots of Wagner. The Royal Opera House is better than some, with works by Kaija Saariaho (“Innocence”) and Berg’s “Wozzeck” on its main stage, and new operas by Oliver Leith (“Last Days”) and Laura Bowler (“The Blue Woman”) appearing in the smaller Linbury Theatre. Still, against this backdrop, Covent Garden’s appointment of Hrůša—an outstanding musician but not a blockbuster name—is an excellent choice.
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