Conductor James Gaffigan Announces 2025-2026 Season Highlights

Third Season as General Music Director of Komische Oper Berlin Brings Multiple Opera Productions, Plus Special Tempelhof Airport Concert

Guest Engagements with the Houston Grand Opera, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, and Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana

Leads Solo Performances by Yo-Yo Ma, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Renée Fleming, Hélène Grimaud, and More

New York, NY (August 6, 2025) – Praised for his “impassioned leadership” (The Wall Street Journal) and “meticulous presentation” (OperaWire), American conductor James Gaffigan is known worldwide for his equal prowess as a conductor of symphony orchestras and opera. He holds unique prominence among American conductors in Europe, beginning his third season as General Music Director of Komische Oper Berlin, where he conducts Evgeny Titov’s new production of Strauss’s Salome and Barrie Kosky’s new production of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, along with revivals of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, and Shostakovich’s The Nose. He also leads a grand performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 in the unique acoustic space of a hangar at Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport.

Among his guest-conducting highlights, Gaffigan makes his return to the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia, Spain, where last year he concluded a celebrated four-year tenure as Music Director – now returning to lead Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana in a production of Salome. He also returns to the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester in Hamburg for a concert of music inspired by the works of Shakespeare. In the United States, Gaffigan returns to Houston Grand Opera to conduct director Francesca Zambello’s acclaimed production of Porgy and Bess. In concert, he returns to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducting a performance of Mozart’s Requiem at the Hollywood Bowl. He appears three times with the San Francisco Symphony, first conducting a program of Gershwin and Ellington featuring pianist Hélène Grimaud, and returning to lead the orchestra in performances of Elgar’s Cello Concerto featuring Yo-Yo Ma and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. Soprano Renée Fleming will be featured as Gaffigan returns to lead the National Symphony Orchestra, while pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet joins Gaffigan and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for a performance of Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2, “The Age of Anxiety.”

In Gaffigan’s season-opening engagement with Komische Oper Berlin on September 25 and 26, 2026, he and the orchestra bring the majesty of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 to the vast industrial space of Hangar 4 at Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport, allowing the music to resound in the unique setting. The orchestra of Komische Oper Berlin will be joined in this grand performance by the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin; the Children's Choir of the Komische Oper Berlin; and choral soloists from Vocalconsort Berlin and Rundfunkchor Berlin, as well as Komische Oper Berlin’s own company.

From November 22, 2025 to January 3, 2026, Gaffigan conducts Komische Oper Berlin in Evgeny Titov’s new production of Strauss’s Salome, leading seven performances of this classic one-act opera depicting its Biblical tale of temptation. Gaffigan goes on to lead Komische Oper Berlin in Barrie Kosky’s production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, running for five performances from January 16 to February 1, 2026. Kosky rejoins Gaffigan and Komische Oper Berlin to direct his new production of Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, running for eight dates from January 31 to March 14, 2026. From February 21 to April 4, 2026, Gaffigan leads the company in Dagmar Manzel’s production of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, running for a total of eight performance dates. Known for her earlier family-oriented production of Pippi Longstocking, Manzel invokes both the enchantment and the darker undertones in this classic German fairy tale. In Gaffigan’s final performances with Komische Oper Berlin this season, Barrie Kosky returns to direct The Nose, bringing Shostakovich’s satirical romp to the stage for five performances from March 15 to April 6, 2026.

In guest engagements, Gaffigan begins his season at the Hollywood Bowl, conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a performance of Mozart’s Requiem, joined by soprano Elena Villalón, mezzo-soprano Isabel Signoret, tenor Joshua Blue, bass-baritone Christian Van Horn, and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. The program also includes Brahms’ Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny) and Ellen Reid’s Body Cosmic, an LA Phil commission. On September 18, 19, and 20, 2025, Gaffigan returns to the San Francisco Symphony, where pianist Hélène Grimaud features in a performance of Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F, performed alongside Carlos Simon’s The Block, Gershwin’s An American in Paris, and Ellington’s Harlem.

Gaffigan returns to Houston Grand Opera for the first six performances of director Francesca Zambello’s production of George and Ira Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, running from October 24 to November 9, 2025. A part of HGO history, Porgy and Bess was first performed by the company 50 years ago in a landmark production that earned both a GRAMMY® and an Emmy. This season’s HGO production stars bass-baritone Michael Sumuel as Porgy alongside soprano Angel Blue as Bess.

Returning to Europe, Gaffigan conducts the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester in Hamburg on March 19 and 22, 2026. Violist Lawrence Power is featured on Grazyna Bacewicz’s Viola Concerto, paired on this program with a selection of pieces inspired by the works of William Shakespeare: Strauss’s Macbeth, Op. 23, Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture, Op. 21, and excerpts from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet.

From April 25 to May 9, 2026, Gaffigan makes his return to Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia, Spain, leading Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana in six performances of Strauss’s Salome. Damiano Michieletto will direct.

Beginning a string of U.S. performances to conclude his season, Gaffigan conducts the National Symphony Orchestra in Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene at the Kennedy Center on May 29 and 30, 2026. Soprano Renée Fleming performs with the orchestra for this program bringing together stunning images of nature with music reflecting the human experience in the environment – including selections from Handel, Nico Muhly, Maria Schneider, Villa-Lobos, Björk, Burt Bacharach/Hal David, and others. In keeping with the theme, the program also includes Ives’ Three Places in New England and Copland’s Appalachian Spring – Suite. On June 1, 2026, Yo-Yo Ma joins the San Francisco Symphony as Gaffigan conducts Elgar’s Cello Concerto, paired on this program with Mozart’s Symphony No. 41, “Jupiter.” Gaffigan goes on to conduct the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet in Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2 “The Age of Anxiety,” performed alongside Gershwin’s Overture from Girl Crazy, Weill’s Lady in the Dark, Symphonic Nocturne, and a selection of Spirituals for Gospel Choir and Orchestra, performed with the Apostolic Church of God Sanctuary Choir. In the final engagement of his season, Gaffigan returns to the San Francisco Symphony to conduct Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, joined by soprano Jessica Faselt, mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor, tenor Thomas Cooley, bass Peixin Chen, and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, directed by Jenny Wong.