Johannes Witt
Johannes Witt studied conducting with Michael Luig at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln and with Leonid Korchmar of the Rimski-Korsakov-Conservatory St. Petersburg and is also a trained percussionist, specialized on the marimba. He began his professional career as a coach at the Staatstheater Darmstadt. From 2012 to 2021 he worked as Kapellmeister and coach at the Alto Theater Essen, where he has been also the Assistant of Stefan Soltész. Since the 2021/22 season he has been 1. Kapellmeister for the Wuppertaler Bühnen.
His repertoire includes a wide range of operas and operettas, among others »Cain, overo il primo omicidio«, »Orfeo ed Euridice«, »Die Zauberflöte«, »Così fan tutte«, »Don Giovanni«, »Il barbiere di Siviglia«, »Norma«, »Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor«, »Die verkaufte Braut«, »Hänsel und Gretel«, »Il trovatore«, »Madama Butterfly«, »Die Fledermaus«, »Die Csárdásfürstin«, »Land des Lächelns«, »Heart Sutra« (Christian Jost) and »The Raven« (Toshio Hosokawa).
Furthermore, Johannes Witt is very passionate about dance as an art form. His ballet experiences include productions of »Giselle«, »Swan Lake«, »The Nutcracker«, »The Sleeping Beauty«, »Don Quixote«, »Romeo and Juliet« or »Carmen / Bolero«. After the premiere of »Onegin« with the Aalto Ballett Essen, he conducted this ballet by John Cranko also with the Stuttgart Ballet and the premiere with the Norwegian National Ballet Oslo in 2021. Other guest appearances have led Johannes Witt to the Nationaltheater Mannheim, the Oper Bonn, the Staatstheater Kassel, the Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern and the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville. He has worked with orchestras such as the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Duisburger Philharmoniker, Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Folkwang Kammerorchester or Vanemuine Symphony Orchestra. As Artistic Director of the Landesjugendorchester Hamburg, a position he took up in 2020, he shares his love for work with highly talented young musicians.
In December 2021, Johannes Witt made his debut with the Vienna State Ballet in the production of John Cranko's »Onegin«. In the current season at the Wuppertal Opera he is conducting the productions of »Die lustige Witwe«, »Die Zauberflöte«, »Werther« and »La traviata«.