Arnaud Arbet is a highly acclaimed conductor in Europe and beyond, particularly sought after for modern and contemporary repertoire as well as opera.
He is regularly invited by prestigious institutions, including the Cologne Opera (Die Eroberung von Mexico by Rihm, Die Soldaten by Zimmermann — as co-conductor, Mare Nostrum by Kagel, La Scuola de’ Gelosi by Salieri, and Carmen by Bizet), the Milano Musica Festival (concert at La Scala in Milan), Norrlandsoperan in Umeå (The Tales of Hoffmann, broadcast on Swedish national television), and the National Opera of Bucharest (Le Nozze di Figaro by Mozart).
At the George Enescu International Festival, he conducted two Romanian premieres with the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra of Bucharest: Le Grand Macabre by Ligeti and Fin de partie by Kurtág.
Founder of the ensemble Le Seuil Musical, Arnaud Arbet explores the aesthetics of the first half of the twentieth century and the many artistic “thresholds” that shaped this period. The ensemble performs both in France and internationally.
Alongside his conducting career, Arnaud Arbet is also active as a composer.
He began his career as a vocal coach at the Atelier Lyrique of the Paris National Opera, before becoming assistant conductor at the Teatro Real in Madrid. He was subsequently invited by numerous opera houses and festivals, where he worked alongside Pierre Boulez, Semyon Bychkov, Sylvain Cambreling, Ingo Metzmacher, Seiji Ozawa, Alejo Pérez, and Sir Simon Rattle.
For five years, Arnaud Arbet also served as György Kurtág’s assistant during the composition of the opera Fin de partie, premiered at La Scala in Milan in 2018. He is currently writing a memoir about this period.