Acclaimed for his scintillating, authentic, and inclusive approach to conducting, Petr Popelka has served as Chief Conductor at the Wiener Symphoniker since the 24-25 season and ist he General Music Director designate oft he Bayerische Staatsoper, beginning with the 29-30 season. 

Highlights of the 26-27 season include, in addition to concerts and tours with the Wiener Symphoniker, his debuts with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Orchestre National de France, as well as at the Salzburg Festival this summer. He will also return to the Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Gewandhaus Orchestra, Staatskapelle Berlin, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Danish National Symphony Orchestra. He will once again be a guest at the Zurich Opera House with Verdi’s Don Carlo.

Previous debuts have taken him to the Berlin Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and NHK Symphony Orchestra, among others. In previous seasons, he featured in prestigious televised gala concerts such as the Czech Philharmonic’s Velvet Revolution concert, the opening of the Prague Spring Festival, and the Nobel Prize Concert with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.

As a celebrated opera conductor, he made guest appearances at the Bayerische Staatsoper (Káťa Kabanová & Rusalka), Staatsoper Unter den Linden (Tosca), Deutsche Oper Berlin (Tristan und Isolde), Semperoper Dresden (Die Nase), Theater an der Wien (Schwanda & Die Fledermaus), Zurich Opera House (Don Giovanni), Norwegian Opera in Oslo (Elektra), and National Theatre in Prague (Rusalka, Carmen, Le nozze di Figaro).

Petr Popelka began his conducting career during the 19-20 season after serving as deputy principal double bassist at the Staatskapelle Dresden from 2010 to 2019. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed as the Chief Conductor at the Norwegian Radio Orchestra in Oslo (2020–2023) and subsequently led the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (2022–2026). He received his musical training in his hometown of Prague and in Freiburg and is also active as a composer.