Metropolitan Opera Appoints New Chorus Director

Tilman Michael will assume the role as of the 2024/25 season, succeeding Donald Palumbo, who held the position for 17 seasons

New York’s Metropolitan Opera will welcome Tilman Michael to the position of Chorus Director as of September 2024, succeeding Donald Palumbo, who announced in 2023 that he would step down at the end of the current season.

Widely regarded as one of opera’s leading chorus masters, Palumbo’s tenure has overseen the chorus in nearly 25 productions each season. In 2021, the Met Chorus was awarded Best Chorus in the World at the International Opera Awards.

Chosen by The Met’s music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Michael will begin his duties as the C. Graham Berwind, III Chorus Director over the summer in preparation for the 2024/25 season. 

Michael has been Chorus Master at Oper Frankfurt since 2014/15, having previously held the same post at Mannheim’s National Theater. Under his leadership, both opera houses were voted Chorus of the Year by Opernwelt magazine and received the 2023 award for new productions of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Handel’s Hercules in Frankfurt. 

Additionally, he has assisted the Chorus Master at the Bayreuth Festival for ten years, plus worked at opera companies in Amsterdam, Dresden, Moscow, Stuttgart, and Vienna. 

Michael’s other engagements have included the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Chorus; the BR, MDR, NDR, and WDR radio choruses; and vocal ensembles who have performed in leading concert halls and churches across 25 countries.

“I am honored to accept the role of Chorus Director at the Metropolitan Opera and look forward to being part of the extraordinary music making that happens in this very special opera house,” Michael said in the press release. “I would also like to especially thank Intendent and General Manager Bernd Loebe and Oper Frankfurt, where I have been privileged to spend the last decade working with wonderful colleagues.”

“Tilman Michael is a longtime collaborator and friend whose work I deeply respect, and I welcome him wholeheartedly to the Met family,” added Nézet-Séguin. “He has an innate understanding of the complexity of the voice and draws out the best in the choruses he works with. I would also like to express my thanks to the entire Met Chorus for their valuable cooperation in the interview process, skillfully led by Director of Music Administration, Thomas Lausmann.”