Jonathan Bloxham appointed music director at Luzerner Theater

Lucerne’s Luzerner Theater has today announced the appointment of conductor Jonathan Bloxham to the role of music director. Effective from the start of the 2023-24 season in September, Bloxham’s appointment ends a multi-season search for the theatre’s music director.

Bloxham’s new appointment follows his Lucerne debut last year which saw him direct Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle. In his new role Bloxham will lead new productions of Dido and Aeneas and La Bohème plus a coproduction of Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi with the Lucerne Festival.

Bloxham said: ‘I worked here last summer doing Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle and not only fell in love with this incredible city, but also the team here with its incredible ensemble of singers, talented music staff and absolutely world-class orchestra. I feel I’ve found the perfect ingredients for really focused creative work on opera. The size of this town and the community around the theatre feeds into that because it gives you a great space to do this.’

With previous experience including conducting Verdi’s Luisa Miller at Glyndebourne, as well as Rigoletto and Don Pasquale with Glyndebourne Touring Opera, Bloxham will balance his new role with his responsibilities as artistic advisor and conductor in residence with the London Mozart Players.

Bloxham added: ‘We're already starting to talk about plans for all three seasons in terms of what operas to do. But also, I think it’s the perfect moment to build the theatre’s audiences around the world. I think here in particular the team is so fresh, all the marketing is so fresh, that we’re in a really good position to build on what they already do here in terms of audience development.’

Bloxham will move to the Swiss city of Lucerne, home of leading international festival, the Lucerne Festival, and will work closely with the theatre’s management team including drama, dance and opera directors as well as artistic director Ina Karr. Having presented its first performance in autumn 1839, Luzerner Theatre welcomes audiences totalling over 100,000 every year.

Talking about his ideas for his new role, Bloxham said: ‘I think in the role of a music director, you have a specific responsibility to the house and the musicians in the house, but I think there’s also a responsibility to the community as a whole. I’m making sure that the process of opera is open. I’m therefore hoping that we can make this community feel involved in the whole process, rather than only coming to see the performance.’