DAVID STERN
conductor
News
HÄNDEL – HERCULES – Theater an der Wien, October 21st 2026
Handel always wanted this oratorio in English to be considered a musical drama. In order to reinforce the dramatic tension and to give Hercules its operatic colors, David Stern proposes an interpretation based on the original manuscript and the reworkings that Handel made in 1749 and 1752.
PUCCINI – LA BOHEME (Swedish tour) – Örebro Konserthus & Stokholm Folkoperan, November 2026
David Stern and Opera Fuoco propose a rendition of this timeless story which captures the true spirit of the opera: one of youth, of starving artists who live out their fantasies in the garrets of wintry Paris, defying fate for art and love. David Stern offers a chamber version which not only heightens the audience’s experience but also allows the young operatic stars to bring truly uninhibited youthful passion to the stage.
MOZART – LA CLEMENZA DI TITO – Théâtre de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, December 4th / Théâtre Impérial de Compiègne, December 11th
Mozart’s ultimate masterpiece, La Clemenza di Tito, transcends the opera seria genre to offer a complex and richly orchestrated score. David Stern musically shapes each character with equal importance and finesse. The acclaimed 2025 Opera Fuoco’s production comes back for two dates in two distinguished French venues.
Calendar
HÄNDEL – Hercules
PUCCINI – La Bohème
PUCCINI – La Bohème
Biography
DAVID STERN is an international conductor, creator of original projects, champion of rare works and mentor to tomorrow’s singers. Newly appointed Music Director of the Palm Beach Opera after 10 years of serving as Chief Conductor, he has also been Music Director of the Israel Opera in Tel Aviv, the Opera St Gallen in Switzerland, and previously led the Philharmonie Südwestfalen in Germany. In 2003 he founded Opera Fuoco, the independent, Paris-based opera company, adding to it its much lauded Young Artists program in 2008. The program has since nurtured some of the most important voices in Europe today. The company has just begun a three-year residency at the Paris area Opéra de Massy for bi-annual productions which serve as a platform for young artists to collaborate with renowned or emerging stage directors, choreographers, choruses, and ensembles.
Collaborations
Press
Palm Beach Opera wraps season with a dark and compelling “Rigoletto”
“The orchestra, conducted by David Stern, gave a vigorous performance. The musicians played with sharp precision in the fast nervous figures that provide so much energy to vocal passages and rich power in tuttis, such as the grave music that foreshadows the calamity to come at Sparafucile’s tavern. In the famous quartet of Act 3, […]
With early Bizet work, Palm Beach Opera finds a jewel
“Under the baton of Music Director David Stern, the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra rendered the luminous score with precision and a varied sound palette. The woodwind and percussion sections were particularly impressive, bringing forth the exotic colors of the score most convincingly.” Márcio Bezerra – Palm Beach Arts Paper , February 2026 full article here: https://palmbeachartspaper.com/with-early-bizet-work-palm-beach-opera-finds-a-jewel/
David Stern leading Palm Beach Opera into the future
“Stern, the son of iconic violinist Isaac Stern, had been with the company since 2015 as its Chief Conductor after leading positions at Israeli Opera and Theater St. Gallen in Switzerland. The conductor has had a major international career, performing with such companies as the Opéra de Lyon, English National Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, and the operas […]
