MARCUS
MERKEL

Conductor, Composer, Pianist

„... one of the most interesting young German conductors of the present day ...“

— MDR Klassik

Marcus Merkel was born in Berlin and has been the Chief Conductor at Theater Koblenz since the 2022/23 season. He also performs as a pianist and composer. Besides guest conducting in Antwerp, Dresden, Madrid, Munich, Kyoto (Japan), Berlin, and Amsterdam, he has worked with soloists such as Jonas Kaufmann, Elina Garanča, Erwin Schrott, and Kristine Opolais. Sir Bryn Terfel & Ludovic Tézier rely on him as a conductor for their concert evenings.

Since youth work and supporting young musicians are very important to him, he founded the "Junge Philharmonie Berlin" and the "Junge Konzerte Graz" and works with Jeunesse Austria.

In the 2024/25 season, he will make his debut at Teatro Real Madrid with a concert, at the Dresden Semperoper with a series of performances of Die Fledermaus, at the Berlin Philharmonie with a symphony concert of the Berlin Symphoniker, and with the RSO Wien for a CD production with the Austrian star baritone Rafael Fingerlos.

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Schedule

Marcus Merkel at Antwerp Symphony (c) Antwerp Symphony & Bjorn Comhaire
Fri
26
Sep

Season Opening Gala with Javier Camarena | Antwerp Symphony Orchestra

Concert
20:15 – 22:45
Koningin Elisabethzaal Koningin Astridplein 20-23, 2018 Antwerpen, BelgienMaps
Pieces by Donizetti, Rossini, Verdi, Gounod and others

The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra opens the concert season in grand style with an evening of brilliance and operatic splendour. This year, the spotlight falls on Javier Camarena, the world-renowned Mexican tenor and Male Singer of the Year at the International Opera Awards. Known as the king of bel canto, Camarena enchants with arias by Donizetti, Rossini, Verdi, and Gounod, showcasing his unmatched vocal artistry and charisma. The orchestra complements his performance with dazzling overtures and intermezzi, delivering their signature elegance and flair. An unforgettable night of operatic magic, glamour, and musical fireworks awaits!

Javier Camarena, Tenor
Marcus Merkel, Conductor
Antwerp Symphony Orchestra
antwerpsymphonyorchestra.be
Sun
28
Sep

Gala with Jinxu Xiahou | Antwerp Symphony Orchestra in Amsterdam

Concert
11:00 – 13:30
Concertgebouw (Amsterdam) Concertgebouwplein 10, 1071 LN Amsterdam, NiederlandeMaps
With his warm timbre and impressive technique, Jinxu Xiahou has already enchanted audiences all over the world. Now he is on stage at The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, together with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. Together, they will perform a selection of arias from works by Donizetti, Rossini and Verdi, among others. The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra complements these vocal delights with sparkling overtures and intermezzi, and assists the soloist with unparalleled class.

Jinxu Xiahou, Tenor
Marcus Merkel, Conductor
Antwerp Symphony Orchestra
antwerpsymphonyorchestra.be
Fri
24
Oct
Wagner

Das Rheingold | Theater Koblenz

Opera
Premiere
19:00 – 21:30
Production: Wagner: Das Rheingold | Theater Koblenz
Theater Koblenz | Theaterzelt Greiffenklaustraße 1–3, 56077 Koblenz, DeutschlandMaps
Richard Wagner conceived "Das Rheingold" as a prelude to his four-part stage festival "Der Ring des Nibelungen". The Rheingold lays the thematic foundations for Wagner's epochal drama of humanity: Longing and love are pitted against violence and destruction, political action against social necessity. The egomaniacal behaviour of the (super)powerful inevitably leads to the downfall of the whole world. With its cast of mermaids, dwarves, giants and gods, "Rheingold" is at times like a timeless fantasy epic.

In this new production of "Das Rheingold", the aesthetic forms of various virtual experiences and the digital adaptation of music and text developed at Koblenz Theatre in recent years will be used in combination. In addition, 20 audience members per performance will have the opportunity to experience the underwater world of the Rhine and the legendary Nibelheim in a special way using virtual reality in a specially created VR environment and become part of the production. In this way, these aesthetic worlds combine with the plot of the opera to create a Gesamtkunstwerk - perhaps entirely in the spirit of Richard Wagner.

Nico Wouterse, Wotan
Christoph Plessers, Donner
Piotr Gryniewicki, Froh
Tobias Haaks, Loge
Haruna Yamazaki, Fricka
Shinyoung Lee, Freia
Ezgi Kutlu, Erda
Lawson Anderson, Alberich
Nando Zickgraf, Mime
Tae-Oun Chung, Fasolt
Jongmin Lim, Fafner
Hannah Beutler, Woglinde
Michèle Silvestrini, Wellgunde
Danielle Rohr, Floßhilde

Marcus Merkel - Musical direction
Inga Schulte, Markus Dietze - Staging
Christof von Büren - Stage
Carolin Quirmbach - Costumes
Ulrich Stöcker - Creative Director (VR)
Britta Bischof - Dramaturgy (VR) and technical coordination
Andreas Wahlberg - Dramaturgy
Mon
27
Oct
Wagner

Das Rheingold | Theater Koblenz

Opera
2nd performance
19:00 – 21:30
Production: Wagner: Das Rheingold | Theater Koblenz
Theater Koblenz | Theaterzelt Greiffenklaustraße 1–3, 56077 Koblenz, DeutschlandMaps
Richard Wagner conceived "Das Rheingold" as a prelude to his four-part stage festival "Der Ring des Nibelungen". The Rheingold lays the thematic foundations for Wagner's epochal drama of humanity: Longing and love are pitted against violence and destruction, political action against social necessity. The egomaniacal behaviour of the (super)powerful inevitably leads to the downfall of the whole world. With its cast of mermaids, dwarves, giants and gods, "Rheingold" is at times like a timeless fantasy epic.

In this new production of "Das Rheingold", the aesthetic forms of various virtual experiences and the digital adaptation of music and text developed at Koblenz Theatre in recent years will be used in combination. In addition, 20 audience members per performance will have the opportunity to experience the underwater world of the Rhine and the legendary Nibelheim in a special way using virtual reality in a specially created VR environment and become part of the production. In this way, these aesthetic worlds combine with the plot of the opera to create a Gesamtkunstwerk - perhaps entirely in the spirit of Richard Wagner.

Nico Wouterse, Wotan
Christoph Plessers, Donner
Piotr Gryniewicki, Froh
Tobias Haaks, Loge
Haruna Yamazaki, Fricka
Shinyoung Lee, Freia
Ezgi Kutlu, Erda
Lawson Anderson, Alberich
Nando Zickgraf, Mime
Tae-Oun Chung, Fasolt
Jongmin Lim, Fafner
Hannah Beutler, Woglinde
Michèle Silvestrini, Wellgunde
Danielle Rohr, Floßhilde

Marcus Merkel - Musical direction
Inga Schulte, Markus Dietze - Staging
Christof von Büren - Stage
Carolin Quirmbach - Costumes
Ulrich Stöcker - Creative Director (VR)
Britta Bischof - Dramaturgy (VR) and technical coordination
Andreas Wahlberg - Dramaturgy
Sun
02
Nov
Wagner

Das Rheingold | Theater Koblenz

Opera
2nd performance
18:00 – 20:30
Production: Wagner: Das Rheingold | Theater Koblenz
Theater Koblenz | Theaterzelt Greiffenklaustraße 1–3, 56077 Koblenz, DeutschlandMaps
Richard Wagner conceived "Das Rheingold" as a prelude to his four-part stage festival "Der Ring des Nibelungen". The Rheingold lays the thematic foundations for Wagner's epochal drama of humanity: Longing and love are pitted against violence and destruction, political action against social necessity. The egomaniacal behaviour of the (super)powerful inevitably leads to the downfall of the whole world. With its cast of mermaids, dwarves, giants and gods, "Rheingold" is at times like a timeless fantasy epic.

In this new production of "Das Rheingold", the aesthetic forms of various virtual experiences and the digital adaptation of music and text developed at Koblenz Theatre in recent years will be used in combination. In addition, 20 audience members per performance will have the opportunity to experience the underwater world of the Rhine and the legendary Nibelheim in a special way using virtual reality in a specially created VR environment and become part of the production. In this way, these aesthetic worlds combine with the plot of the opera to create a Gesamtkunstwerk - perhaps entirely in the spirit of Richard Wagner.

Nico Wouterse, Wotan
Christoph Plessers, Donner
Piotr Gryniewicki, Froh
Tobias Haaks, Loge
Haruna Yamazaki, Fricka
Shinyoung Lee, Freia
Ezgi Kutlu, Erda
Lawson Anderson, Alberich
Nando Zickgraf, Mime
Tae-Oun Chung, Fasolt
Jongmin Lim, Fafner
Hannah Beutler, Woglinde
Michèle Silvestrini, Wellgunde
Danielle Rohr, Floßhilde

Marcus Merkel - Musical direction
Inga Schulte, Markus Dietze - Staging
Christof von Büren - Stage
Carolin Quirmbach - Costumes
Ulrich Stöcker - Creative Director (VR)
Britta Bischof - Dramaturgy (VR) and technical coordination
Andreas Wahlberg - Dramaturgy
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Reviews

„Voces del Real: Ludovic Tézier“

„... The discovery of the evening, however, was the conductor, a young artist who is able to switch between the academicism of a David, the Offenbachian splendour, the biblical and oriental cancan of a Don Camille, the decadent exaltation of a Massenet and the monumentality of a Wagner.“ — Blas Matamoro, scherzo

„La clemenza di Tito“

„... The Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie, under the direction of Marcus Merkel, performs in the orchestra pit of the Rokokotheater with a wide-awake presence and delivers a lively and crisp sound that does Mozart credit. ...“ — Uwe Rauschelbach, Schwetzinger Zeitung

„Carmen“

„...Conductor Marcus Merkel challenges the orchestra made up of members of the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra to brilliant performances, builds up a broad dynamic spectrum and awakens the Andalusian flair in the audience's imagination with Bizet's sparkling rhythms....“ — Paul Stepanek, Oberösterreichische Nachrichten

„Così fan tutte“

„...The sparks also fly in the orchestra pit, Marcus Merkel draws a lively Mozart sound from the Rheinische Philharmonie....“ — Florian Oberhummer, Salzburger Nachrichten

„Die Zauberflöte“

„...Conductor Marcus Merkel [...] puts himself entirely at the service of the music and supports the singers. He ensures balance and vivid, natural phrasing. The orchestra plays wonderfully light-footed.“ — Jenny Camilleri, De Volkskrant

More reviews
Tosca Preview - Jonas Kaufmann & Marcus Merkel

Repertoire

Marcus Merkel's repertoire includes 54 works of stage literature - in 69 productions to date.

View entire repertoire
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