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    Emmanuel Villaume

    The Mrs. Eugene McDermott Music Director

    “Emmanuel Villaume’s conducting is intense, passionate, and detailed, yet always considerate of the singers…”—The Guardian (London)

    Emmanuel Villaume
    Emmanuel Villaume

    French conductor Emmanuel Villaume has served The Dallas Opera (TDO) as its Mrs. Eugene McDermott Music Director for more than a decade. Since assuming this position in 2013, he has led dozens of performances of both beloved classics and newer works with the company at the Winspear Opera House, including the world premiere of the TDO-commissioned and critically acclaimed The Diving Bell and the Butterfly in 2023, Elektra, Tosca, Madame Butterfly, Hansel & Gretel, Rigoletto, Das Rheingold, The Magic Flute, The Golden Cockerel, Moby-Dick, Don Giovanni, Eugene Onegin, Le nozze di Figaro, Carmen and more, as well as the company premieres of Jonathan Dove’s Flight, Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Der Ring des Polykrates, and Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta.

    In addition, he serves on the artistic faculty for TDO’s annual Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors, and often leads the People’s Choice and other annual concert performances with The Dallas Opera Orchestra. He will conduct Orpheus and Eurydice in the 2024/25 season.

    Recognized for his equally insightful and dramatic interpretations, Maestro Villaume has also served as Music Director of the PKF-Prague Philharmonia since 2015, and he regularly guest conducts with leading opera companies worldwide, such as the Royal Opera Covent Garden, Bayerische Staatsoper, Paris Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, the Mariinsky Opera, and Venice’s Teatro La Fenice in Europe, and the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and San Francisco, LA, St. Louis and Santa Fe operas in the U.S.  Widely regarded as one of today’s premier interpreters of 19th- and 20th-Century French repertoire, he is also known for the Italian operas of Bellini, Verdi, Puccini, and Menotti.

    In symphonic repertoire, Villaume has led some of the world’s most distinguished orchestras, including the Montreal Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Los Angeles Philharmonic, and in Europe, the Royal Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Munich Radio Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Orchestra, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, and Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. Further afield, Villaume has led performances in Australia with the Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane symphony orchestras, as well as the NHK Symphony Orchestra and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in Japan, China National Opera Orchestra (the latter for the 2008 Olympic Games), and the Royal Opera House Muscat. He has recorded regularly for major labels including Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, and Warner classics.

    Emmanuel Villaume is the past Music Director of Spoleto Festival USA (2001-2010) and former Chief Conductor of both the Slovenian (2008-2013) and Slovak Philharmonic (2009-2016). He studied music at the Conservatoire in his hometown of Strasbourg, France. He continued his education at the Sorbonne in Paris, receiving degrees in literature, philosophy, and musicology, before his appointment as Dramaturg of Strasbourg’s Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg at the age of 21. Maestro Villaume resides in Paris, Los Angeles, and Dallas.

     

    Updated May 2024

    Image: Kyle Flubacker

    Nicole Paiement

    Nicole Paiement
    Nicole Paiement

    Nicole Paiement has gained an international reputation as a conductor of contemporary music and opera. Her numerous recordings include many world premiere works.

    Maestro Paiement’s 2012 Dallas Opera debut conducting Peter Maxwell Davies’ 1979 thriller, The Lighthouse earned rave reviews. Subsequently, Paiement was appointed Principal Guest Conductor at The Dallas Opera. Paiement has since returned to Dallas to conduct performances of Tod Machover’s Death and the Powers, as well as the critically acclaimed and highly anticipated world premiere of Joby Talbot’s opera Everest, Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw and Douglas Cuomo’s Arjuna’s Dilemma. In 2018, Paiement conducted the US premiere of Michel Van Der Aa’s Sunken Garden and most recently in 2022 conducted Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers.

    Founder and Artistic Director of San Francisco’s Opera Parallèle, Paiement has conducted many new productions, including: world premieres of Lou Harrison’s final version of Young Caesar, Dante De Silva’s commissioned opera Gesualdo, Prince of Madness (presented as a graphic opera), Luciano Chessa’s commissioned opera A Heavenly Act, the commissioned chamber version of John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby, the premiere of the re-orchestration of Terence Blanchard’s Champion in collaboration with SFJAZZ Center; West Coast premieres of John Rea’s re-orchestration of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck and Philip Glass’ Orphée; Virgil Thomson’s Four Saints in Three Acts; Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar; Francis Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias; Kurt Weill’s Mahagonny Songspiel; American Premieres of Adam Gorb’s Anya 17 and Tarik O’Regan’s Heart of Darkness; the San Francisco Bay Area return of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking; a new production of Peter Maxwell Davies’ The Lighthouse; Philip Glass’ Les Enfants Terribles; and Jonathan Dove’s Flight.  In 2017/18 Paiement conducted a new double bill of Jake Heggie’s At the Statue of Venus and Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti in collaboration with SFJAZZ, as well as Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince. Opera Parallèle made its debut at Phillip Glass’ Days & Nights Festival in the 2018/19 season with Glass’ In the Penal Colony. That season also featured Paiement conducting the world premiere performances of Today it Rains, a commissioned opera by Laura Kaminsky based on the life of Georgia O’Keeffe, and the return of Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince. In 2021, Paiement was conductor for the company’s groundbreaking film project, Everest – A Graphic Novel Opera. The 2021/22 season saw Paiement lead the West Coast premiere of Lembit Beecher’s Sophia’s Forest, and complete Glass’ Cocteau trilogy with a new production of La Belle et La Bête at SFJAZZ.

    Ms. Paiement is a very active guest conductor. In 2019, she made her debut at Lyric Opera of Chicago with Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, as well as performances with the Washington National Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival (2016 – 2018) and a debut at Seattle Opera with Mason Bates’ The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. Other prior engagements include Talbot’s Everest with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Puts’ Silent Night at The Atlanta Opera and Washington National Opera for the world premiere of Mohammed Fairouz’s The Dictator’s Wife. In 2019 Paiement also conducted the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s If I Were You with Merola Opera Program, San Francisco. Mo. Paiement made her debut at Opéra de Montréal with the Canadian premiere of Benjamin’s Written on Skin in January 2020 and with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in November 2020.

    In 2022, Mo. Paiement returned to The Dallas Opera for a new production of Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers, and made her UK premiere with the English National Opera conducting It’s a Wonderful Life by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer. Paiement also returned to the UK in June 2023 to conduct Talbot’s Everest with the BBC Symphony at the Barbican Center, London. Also in the 2022/23 season Mo. Paiement returned to L’Opéra de Montréal with Ainadamar by Golijov and made her concert debut with the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana in Palermo, Italy. For Opera Parallèle, Paiement conducted the premiere of a new chamber orchestration of the Moravec/Campbell opera The Shining in June 2023.

    The 2023/2024 season will include the world premiere of The Emissary (by Kenji Oh & Kelley Rourke) with Opera Parallèle in October 2023  followed by Birds & Balls at SFJAZZ in April 2024. Paiement also returns to the Dallas Opera in March 2024 for Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette, as well as a debut with the Volksoper Vienna in June 2024, conducting both a symphonic concert and The Gospel According to the Other Mary by John Adams. Paiement will also return to L’Opéra de Montréal in the 2024/25 Season.

    Paiement has served as the Artistic Director of the BluePrint Project at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) where she has commissioned, premiered, and recorded works from many living American composers. At SFCM, she holds the Jean and Josette Deleage Distinguished Chair in New Music. Paiement previously served as the Director of Ensembles at the University of California – Santa Cruz (UCSC), where she was awarded the UCSC Eminent Professor Award in 2014. She received the Edward A. Dickson Emeritus Professorship in 2015 in recognition of her outstanding contributions and achievement in artistic scholarship and teaching.

    Paiement was awarded American Composer’s Forum’s “Champion of New Music Award” for her outstanding contributions to contemporary music in 2016. In addition to being a leader in the world of contemporary opera, Ms. Paiement is also a specialist in early 20th Century French music and regularly conducts music from the Baroque and Classical repertoire.

     

    Valery Saul

    Valery Saul
    Valery Saul

    Acclaimed as a “powerful presence on the podium” by Marin Alsop, Valery Saul’s leadership spans prominent orchestras, including her recent appointment as Associate Conductor with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and cover conductor roles for the Minnesota Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony, Oregon Symphony and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. She’s celebrated for her striking rendition of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2, securing second place at the Denver Philharmonic International Conducting Competition. Valery is a graduate of Peabody Conservatory (M.M. 2022). She has been mentored by Marin Alsop, Cristian Măcelaru, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, David Danzmayr, and George Manahan. In addition to conducting, Valery is a professional opera singer.

    CJ Wu

    CJ Wu
    CJ Wu

    Taiwanese conductor CJ Wu began her musical career as a violinist. As a conductor, she has been invited to prestigious competitions and masterclasses including the Riccardo Muti Opera Academy, Järvi Academy, Cabrillo Festival with Cristian Macelaru, Chigiana Academy with Daniele Gatti, Britten Pears Academy with Antonio Pappano, BBC Concert Orchestra masterclass with Marin Alsop, and Rotterdam International Conducting Competition. In recent years, she was selected by Riccardo Muti for Nabucco opera academy in Milan, and stood in for Muti at performances in Ravenna and Rimini. Wu was also invited to assist Music Director Jun Märkl with the Taiwan Philharmonic. She has worked with leading Danish orchestras including Copenhagen Phil, Aarhus Symphony, Aalborg Symphony, Odense Symphony, Sønderjyllands Symphony, and Danish Sinfonietta under DKDM project. She won first prize at the BBCA competition in the UK and Progetto Johannes Brahms competition in Italy. She holds a Master’s degree in Conducting from the Royal Northern College of Music in the UK, and is nearing completion of her Soloist Diploma at the Royal Danish Academy of Music.

    Anna Skryleva

    Anna Skryleva
    Anna Skryleva

    “Music is a constant part of my life”. This is how Anna Skryleva – the award winning conductor, composer, pianist and synaesthete – describes her work, with which she has made a name for herself on the international stage in recent years. The cosmopolitan began playing the piano as a child and composed her first piece at the age of eight. Since then, as a composing conductor, she has been committed to pushing the boundaries of the traditional with creativity, prudence and depth: “For me, the primary goal is to be able to perform theatre and art on an equal footing with reality.”

    Anna Skryleva is currently the General Music Director at Magdeburg Theatre and is enthusiastically committed to expanding the current orchestral and operatic repertoire. Her rediscovery and world premiere of Eugen Engel’s opera “Grete Minde” in 2022 caused an international sensation and is considered a discovery of the century. The production of “Grete Minde” was nominated for the International Opera Awards 2022; In a remarkable achievement, Anna Skryleva and Magdeburg Philharmonic have won the prestigious Opus Klassik award 2024 for World Premiere Recording of the Year and were nominated for Opus Klassik award 2024 as the Best Opera Recording of the Year. Skryleva received the special “Innovative Orchestra 2019” award from the German Orchestra Foundation for her tireless efforts.

    As a conductor, her training has taken her through the classic stages of a general music director: from solo pianist to positions as a repetiteur, assistant and conductor, with mentors including Simone Young and Julia Jones, as well as the Institute for Women Conductors at the Dallas Opera.

    Anna Skryleva regularly works as a guest at renowned opera houses and with outstanding orchestras, including the Hamburg State Opera, the Royal Swedish Opera, the Dallas Opera, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony orchestra, the Copenhagen Philharmonic and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. In the 2024/2025 season, she is working on two new productions at the Leipzig Opera: Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet” and Tchaikovsky’s “Pique Dame”.

    The conductor also works closely with international soloists and singers such as Andreas Schager, Camilla Nylund and Vida Miknevičute, violinist Arabella Steinbacher, pianists Lucas & Arthur Jussen and horn player Felix Klieser.

    Anna Skryleva’s versatile repertoire spans the Viennese classical era of Mozart and Beethoven, German and Russian Romanticism from Tchaikovsky to Wagner and Strauss, as well as Italian “bel canto” and “verismo” of Rossini, Verdi and Puccini. As a conductor, she also pays special attention to the music of the 20th century with a focus on Britten, Shostakovich and Prokofiev, as well as contemporary music. In close collaboration with composers such as Lera Auerbach, Konstantia Gourzi and Elena Kats-Chernin, Anna Skryleva continues to create groundbreaking projects; in 2025, she will perform at the Ultraschall Festival together with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin.

    Since she was accepted into the composition class at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory at the age of only ten, Anna Skryleva has worked steadily as a composer; her works are published by Universal Edition Vienna. She has created several opera and orchestral arrangements for the theatres in Magdeburg and Winterthur, including Mozart’s “La clemenza di Tito” and Wagner’s prelude to the opera “Lohengrin”. In 2023, “Lullaby” was created for two voices and orchestra, which had its world premiere in Magdeburg. Two further world premieres took part in May and June 2024: “3 Impromptus in C” in the orchestral version with the Augsburg Philharmonic Orchestra and “Mirror” for soprano and orchestra with the Magdeburg Philharmonic Orchestra. “Mirror” is based on the “Solresol” language, in which each musical motif is assigned a specific word. The work is based on a poem that Skryleva wrote in 2021 – in her composition, the music is triggered and shaped by words.

    Anna Skryleva is not only committed to music, but also to society: in 2014, she founded the international peace initiative “CLASSIC FOR PEACE” (CFP), with which the versatile artist aims to promote international understanding through classical music.

    Deborah Borda

    Deborah Borda
    Deborah Borda

    Deborah Borda has extended the artistic, commercial, and technological boundaries of what an orchestra can be in the 21st century through creative leadership, commitment to innovation, and progressive vision. She transformed top orchestras on both American coasts—the New York Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Philharmonic—through the opening of contemporary yet elegant concert halls, introduction of dynamic programming initiatives, and the hiring of Gustavo Dudamel as Music and Artistic Director.

    Borda’s appointment to the NY Phil in the 1990s marked her as the first woman to serve as the chief executive of a major American symphony orchestra. Upon returning to New York in 2017 she worked with Philharmonic and Lincoln Center leadership to transform David Geffen Hall, deepened connections with the community, and engaged Dudamel as the next Music and Artistic Director. On deciding to step down as President and Executive Director, the Orchestra named her its first-ever Executive Advisor to the President and Board of Directors. While at the LA Phil she oversaw the completion of the construction of Walt Disney Hall, the addition of a new shell for the Hollywood Bowl, and the appointment of music director Gustavo Dudamel. The orchestra’s success during her 17-year tenure was chosen for case studies by Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School.

    Deborah Borda’s accomplishments over her career (which also included presiding over the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra) have been acknowledged through a host of honors. She was the first arts executive to join Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership as a Hauser Leader-in-Residence. She has received Honorary Doctor of Music degrees from The Juilliard School (2023), Curtis Institute of Music, Manhattan School of Music, and New England Conservatory. Among her many other accolades include being named an Honorary Member of the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York; the Gold Baton award — the League of American Orchestras’ highest honor; and election to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. She serves as Chair for the Avery Fisher Artist Program, a judge of the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition, and on Oxford University’s Humanities Cultural Programme Advisory Council.