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 1st 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, Werther, La Traviata, Il Trovatore, Rigoletto, Madama Butterfly, Hänsel und Gretel, Die verkaufte Braut, Die Fledermaus, Die Csárdásfürstin, Das Land des Lächelns, Erwartung, Heart Sutra (Christian Jost), The Raven (Toshio Hosokawa) or Il canto s’attrista, perché? (Salvatore Sciarrino). Furthermore, Johannes Witt is very passionate about dance as an art form. His ballet experiences include productions of Giselle, Schwanensee, Der Nussknacker, Dornröschen, Don Quixote, Romeo und Julia or Carmen/Bolero. After the premiere of Onegin with the Aalto Ballett Essen, he conducted this ballet by John Cranko in 2021 also with the Stuttgart Ballet, the premiere with the Norwegian National Ballet Oslo and performances at the Vienna State Opera. He was the conductor for Cranko’s The Taming of the Shrew at the Stuttgart Ballet and Aalto Ballett Essen and directed performances of La Fille mal gardée at the Vienna State Opera.
Other guest appearances have taken Johannes Witt to the Finnish National Opera, Nationaltheater Mannheim, Oper Bonn, Staatstheater Kassel, Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern and Teatro de la Maestranza Seville. Highlights in 2023 included the Dutch premiere of Du Yun’s opera Angel’s Bone at the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam.
Johannes Witt’s concert repertoire includes works from early baroque to contemporary compositions. He has worked with orchestras such as Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn, Duisburger Philharmoniker, Essener Philharmoniker, Bremer Philharmoniker, Philharmonie Südwestfalen, Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal, Folkwang Kammerorchester, Vanemuine Symphony Orchestra. This season will see his debut with the WDR Funkhaus Orchester Cologne.
As Artistic Director of the Landesjugendorchester Hamburg, a position he started in 2020, Johannes Witt shares his passion for music with highly talented young musicians.
Performances with Johannes Witt