Stephanie Childress

Rebellious in nature and a born communicator, Franco-British conductor Stephanie Childress has firmly established herself on both sides of the Atlantic, equally at home in opera and on the concert platform. Through her striking individuality and bold, cross-disciplinary programming, she offers a forward-thinking vision for the role of a conductor in the 21st century.

Childress has received much critical acclaim for her interpretations of Mozart’s operas, “revealing herself to be a Mozartian to her fingertips” (OperaToday 2023). She makes debuts at the Opéra de Paris in Spring 2027 conducting a new production of Don Giovanni, directed by Louisa Proske, and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in December 2026 with a revival of Die Entführung aus dem Serail. She previously conducted productions of Don Giovanni and Le Nozze de Figaro at Glyndebourne, garnering praise from Fiona Maddocks: “Her focus and poise resulted in a performance of lithe vitality, detailed and assured” (The Guardian 2022). An advocate for contemporary opera, she conducted Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves at Detroit Opera and Simon Voseček’s Ogres at the Prague State Opera. The 2025-26 season saw her first production of Verdi’s La Traviata at the Finnish National Opera alongside a gala performance with l’Orchestre de l’Opéra de Paris at the Palais Garnier.

Inspired by the inherently collaborative nature of opera, Childress brings this spirit to her symphonic work and is hugely passionate about cross-disciplinary projects, whether they involve cinema, theatre, dance or a DJ set. She previously worked with director Tom Morris on a re-imagining of Mahler’s First Symphony with Sinfonia Smith Square and made her debut as reciter alongside Thomas Adès in a performance of Walton’s Façade at the La Jolla Chamber Music Festival (MediciTV). Platforming contemporary composers also lies at the heart of her artistic mission. Following discussions with GRAMMY®-nominated composer and documentarian Mary Kouyoumdjian on the nature of power (on and off the podium), she spearheaded a consortium to commission the latter for a new piece where she performs as conductor and narrator. Keep Your Eyes Open receives its premiere this season with the Tampere Philharmonic, followed by performances with the Milwaukee Symphony, Naples Philharmonic and at the Caramoor Summer Festival. This season also sees her reunite with genre-defying trio Time For Three for a performance of Jennifer Higdon’s Concerto 4-3, and she conducts Gwilym Simcock’s new triple concerto for soprano saxophone, horn and cello with Jess Gillam, Ben Goldscheider, Sheku Kanneh-Mason and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

This season sees Childress return to the MDR Leipzig, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, NAC Orchestra Ottawa and the Utah, Cleveland and New World symphonies. Further highlights include debuts with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Antwerp Symphony and Orchestre Métropolitain. She also curates the Sun Valley Winter Music Festival in March 2027, leading Britten’s Les Illuminations from the violin. Her 2025-26 season saw her continue her tenure as Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya (OBC), as well as debuts with the hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt and LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.

Born in London to a non-musical family, as a teenager she would skip classes and spend her afternoons watching stage and orchestra rehearsals at the English National Opera, eventually dropping out of school to pursue musicology at the University of Cambridge, aged 16. In 2020 she gained international recognition following her second-prize win at the conducting competition ‘La Maestra.’ She previously undertook a residency at the Villa Albertine, a network for arts and ideas spanning France and the United States and is a member of the Franco-British Young Leaders’ Program.