Markus Lehtinen can look back on an international career as an opera and ballet conductor.
He received his diplomas in orchestral conducting and piano from the Sibelius Academy in 1985 and studied composition with Aulis Sallinen und Einojuhani Rautavaara.
His conducting career began when he won the Nordic Conducting Competition in 1987, after which he was soon engaged as a conductor at the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen from 1988 to 1993 and regularly at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm from 1992 to 2002.
Between 1985 and 1997, he worked at the Finnish National Opera, then as a guest conductor. From 1999 to 2002 he was chief conductor of the Jyväskylä Sinfonia and from 2002 to 2006 chief guest conductor of the Malmö Symphony Orchestra.
In spring 1993, he made his debut at the Hamburg State Opera with Prokofievʼs ballet Cinderella. His engagements there and his collaboration with John Neumeier and his Hamburg Ballet have now lasted for over 30 years. He recently conducted Neumeierʼs Die Kameliendame there.
Further appearances at German opera houses have included the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. Lehtinen has also performed at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, the Bunka Kaikan concert hall in Tokyo, the Opéra national du Rhin and the Opera Carlo Felice in Genoa.
His collaboration with orchestras such as the philharmonic orchestras in Luxembourg and Baden-Baden, the Sinfonia Lahti, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and orchestras in Sweden, Denmark, Lithuania, Greece, China, the Netherlands and the USA is just as extensive.
From 1993 to 2006 Markus Lehtinen was artistic director and conductor of the Tapiola Youth Symphony Orchestra at the Music Institute in Espoo with many tours throughout Europe.
An expert in contemporary opera, he has conducted numerous world premieres, including several for the Savonlinna Opera Festival, with which he has been closely associated for over 20 years, was a member of the artistic committee and was named Artist of the Year in 2005.
Markus Lehtinen has been Professor of Opera at the Sibelius Academy since 2004. He is also a well-known Lied pianist and gives masterclasses, conducting lessons and guest lectures. As a conductor, pianist and composer, he has recorded several CDs and made many recordings for broadcasting companies in various countries.
Markus Lehtinen made his debut at the Vienna State Opera in the 2011/12 season, conducting the three-part ballet evening Meisterwerke des 20. Jahrhunderts. This was followed by Triple Bill Tanzperspektiven and Prokofievʼs Romeo and Juliet in John Crankoʼs choreography until 2015. He returns to the Vienna State Opera in March 2024 with the musical direction of John Neumeierʼs The Lady of the Camellias.